16 Week Update

Hi!

Yesterday afternoon I went in for my 16 week OB visit. Everything is still on track and I am doing great. Little t's heart was beating at 150 bpm which is great! My blood pressure was excellent, and I am measuring exactly where I need to be measuring for this stage in the game. While we were listening to the heartbeat, little t was kicking or punching and we could hear four loud thumps over the doppler. I cannot feel any movement yet, but little t is certainly trying to let me know that he/she is active in there.

I talked to my doctor about the hypno-birthing classes that JM and I are going to take and asked her about her views regarding un-medicated, natural childbirths. She said that I was a great candidate and that she fully supported me in the type of delivery that I want to have. She was very understanding and she let me know ,that if at all possible, she totally prefers vaginal births to c-sections. This was really great to hear considering that the United States has a really high c-section rate (30-something%). Of course, in some instances, c-sections are necessary, but I am hoping that I can make it through a natural childbirth. She delivered two babies naturally just last week! We also discussed the hospital that I will be delivering at which helped me to feel really good about where the baby will be born. All of the delivery and post-partum rooms are private and they all have showers, birthing stools and birthing balls. There are also jacuzzi tubs that are available to laboring women if they need to relax in some warm water for a while.

Overall the visit was really great and I am feeling really happy with the choices we have made thus far. The next appointment is scheduled for 12/15, where I will meet with a midwife and get our 22 week ultrasound scheduled. We are still discussing whether or not we want to find out the sex of the baby before it is born, but if we want to know, they would be able to tell us during that ultrasound.

That is all for now. I think that my baby bump is just starting to become noticeable, so shortly we will post some photos!

Paix,

Christina

15 Week Update

Hello Everyone!

I can hardly believe how fast time is flying! I am 15 weeks and 1 day today and feeling great. JM and I spent part of this morning raking up some major leaves. I am working from home today, and JM has a Noon-9 pm schedule this week. It makes scheduling a little hectic this week, but I think JM really likes to have the mornings free.

On the baby side of things, I am signing up for birthing classes today which will begin January 7 for 10 weeks. JM will be able to make all but 2 of the classes. I finished the hat and booties that I made for little tillema, and I have some yarn ordered for a blanket that I am going to get started on shortly.


We are getting ready for Thanksgiving (planning the menu and seeing who will be able to make it) and we finally got our tickets to go see the Tillema family in Nederland for Christmas.

Work for me is really busy right now, and I start a new term at the community college tomorrow. We switched text books last term, which meant that when I got assigned two COMP I sections instead of my normal COMP II, I had to spend a large portion of last evening writing a new syllabus and coming up with new assignment sheets, quizzes, in-class writings, etc.

Well, that is what is happening with us. I have my third OB visit next week and will update everyone again then!

Kus,

Christina

13 Weeks and Counting!

Hello Everyone,

It has been quite a while since I posted anything. Things have been very hectic around the Tillema house. After returning from California, I went to New Orleans for a conference. It was very exciting to "step it up" professionally. Mom picked me up at the airport and helped me go through all of the upstairs closets and the basement to get it organized prior to little tillema's arrival. I feel the need to get everything in order. We filled many garbage bags and got a load of stuff dropped off at Goodwill. A few things got put to the curb for the junk man who visits our neighborhood every Thursday evening.

Then, the very next week Freek and Jet came to visit van Nederland. We had a fun time with them and even rented a cabin in Red River Gorge. It was beautiful weather and we built a roaring campfire! JM was worried that I was standing too close to the fire and that I could accidentally BBQ little t. My tummy was extra warm that night!

Now that the first trimester is almost over, I feel that I have more to do than I can get done. I am so excited for what our lives will be like once the baby is here. I am not showing yet, but I can wait! At my second ob visit, they told me that I had actually lost two pounds. I know that all of that is about to change.

I am going to start posting belly photos as soon as there is something to post. Most of my friends showed by 16 weeks, so I have a feeling that by the end of November, I will be buying my first pair of maternity jeans!

More to come!

-cbt

Bijna 11 weken! Almost 11 weeks!

Hello,

JM and I just returned from a one week vacation in the Bay Area out in California. It was one of the best trips we have had there. We got to eat at Green's Restaurant, hang out in Monterey and Big Sur, hike Big Basin, tour Napa Valley, hang out with some good friends from Nijmegen in Daly City, hit the beach in Santa Cruz and carve pumpkins with Brendan in Los Gatos. One of the highlights was definitely hanging out in Oakland at Yoshi's for sushi (all veggie) and a Bill Frissell concert. It was a really great show. Bill played with Russell Malone, so it was just two guitars on stage.

The best of the whole trip, however, was that my sub-chorionic bleed has fully resolved itself and I can exercise as much as I want again. We had our second ultra-sound on 10/2 and little tillema is growing a lot! We heard the heart beat and saw the hands and feet! I am going to go ahead and post two of the ultrasound pics here and catch all of you up more later. We got home late last night after picking up Cider at my brother's house in Lexington and we have tons to do before the week starts.

Love,

cbt

9 Week Update

Hello Everyone!

Well, I was supposed to have a follow up ultrasound this past Friday, but when Jan-Mendelt and I showed up there had been a scheduling problem due the death of one of the ultrasound techs, so I was rescheduled for this Thursday. That means that I do not have any news on that front just yet. In other doctor-related news, I did have my bloodwork done last week so that is at least one more thing I can take off my to do list.

JM was on call Friday, so I had dinner with two friends and then caught a Midpoint Musical Festival Show. I figure that I have to take advantage of my free time while I still have it. I know that our lives are going to change drastically and that late nights out will have to go on the back burner for a while.

I am still totally exhausted, but other than that I feel that I am doing really well! I just go to bed a lot earlier than I used to!

JM and I are taking a vacation starting this Friday, 10/3. We are going to visit to my dad and little brother out in the bay area of California! We are also celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary there. It is hard to believe sometimes that we have been together since 1999!

JM never ceases to amaze me. He is kind and intelligent and always makes me laugh. I am so lucky to have him in my life, and our little tillema is especially lucky to have him as a father! JM is going to be a wonderful father. (He had a great role model!)

I promise I will update as soon as I have the ultrasound tomorrow at 2:00.

Wish all three of us luck!

Love,

cbt

PS-My weekly pregnancy e-mail from this week informed me that little tillema is now the size of a grape!

7 1/2 Week Update

Goede Morgen!

I just wanted to come on and write a little update about what is going on this week. I was so excited after the ultrasound last Friday and everything seemed to be going great (it still is!), but unfortunately I got a call from one of the nurses at my doctor's office who informed me that the ultrasound showed "subchorionic bleeding" and that I had to take it easy for the next few weeks. I have been so committed to doing yoga and exercising on my elliptical machine and walking Cider at least twice a day, that I felt pretty bummed that I am not supposed to do any of those things for a while. I want to stay strong and healthy during this pregnancy. More than worrying about what I can or cannot do, I have been feeling very worried about the baby and I felt really scared when I got the call. I discussed this situation with my good friend Phoebe (one of JM's colleagues) and of course with JM. It is a common occurrence in almost 30% of pregnant women and should go away on its own. There aren't any medical solutions to the problem, it is just a "wait and see" situation. I cried a little Tuesday night because I was feeling sad and scared and JM was stuck in the hospital overnight. However, I woke up Wednesday feeling a lot better and I am positive that everything will work out and that we have a healthy little tillema in May!

I already knew that something was going on because I had been "spotting" for two weeks. This is why my OB ordered an early ultrasound. The positivity must be working, because I have not had ANY spotting since Tuesday afternoon!! I am going to continue to take it easy for a few weeks to ensure that both little tillema and I are doing well. (By the way - the condition I have causes me to bleed, not the baby.)

Other than this situation and feeling very very tired by the end of the day, I am feeling really great. I have barely had any nausea and for the most part, I have had energy to do things with JM and with our friends.

I also started to knit a hat for little tillema last week. When I am finished with it, I will post a picture on this site.

There will definitely be more to come!

Love,

Christina

Little Tillema Has a Heartbeat!!!!!

Check it out! I had my first ultrasound today and so far so good. Everything is in the right place and I even heard the heartbeat for just a few seconds. Here are two of the better pictures they gave me to bring home.