Half-Way There

With week 20 behind us, we've officially crossed the half-way point of our pregnancy. By now our little bean weighs around 11 ounces and is about 7 inches long (think large banana). Its bones are gradually hardening, meaning that pretty soon Jay will be able to feel the flutters that Jade has been feeling since she took off for Costa Rica. The kicks get stronger every day. It even seems to react when we harmonize with each other!

After a lot of thought and research, we decided to hire a doula to support us during the birth. We're really thrilled with Libby Garofalo, pre- and post-natal masseuse and very good soul. She'll give both of us a wide range support and peace of mind, making the baby's transition into the world, and Jade's transition into motherhood, gentler during and after birth.

We also attended an postpartum Ayurvedic pregnancy class. Ayurveda is the oldest traditional medicine, native to India, and speaks to balance, balance, balance. The biggest thing we took away was that no matter how strong a brand new mother may be, she is as delicate as her newborn and should chill out for the 6 weeks after the birth. ("42 days for 42 years of vibrancy"). Taking this restful time significantly reduces what we're taught to be "normal" post-partum problems like depression, difficulty healing, troublesome nursing, bad digestion, trouble sleeping, and on and on. Our midwife has also been stressing that we take this time, so it was good to learn more about why it's so important. As they say, your baby is only one week old once, but the laundry, that'll be there forever.

We just purchased our first official baby toy — a Totoro baby gym shipped directly from Japan. The characters are from an 80's japanamie film we love. Totoro, spirit of the forest. Sasha's already shown how comfortable and engaging it can be. Even if the baby doesn't love it, she will!

The Belly vs the Volcano

The belly and I were very fortunate to go to Costa Rica two weeks ago with my Design and Marketing department at New Chapter. Though only five days long (two for travel, three for work and play) it was an extremely full experience – like Vacation Concentrated, just add bottled water. We've all only just stopped feeling exhausted (I think it's sunshine withdrawal...).

We stayed at the gorgeous open-air Luna Nueva eco lodge and biodynamic farm. (see start of slideshow below) Don't think of "farm" in the traditional sense. Aside from the manicured vegetable gardens, you don't see fields of crops or long pens of animals. Both are mixed into their jungle landscape so naturally that they're hard to notice (until the water buffalo suddenly raises its head out of the foliage, complete with nose ring and egret perched on back). It's a very comfortable place to be. You step outside your room and feel the pulse of the forest. I spent my mornings wrapped in a blanket in a giant hammock listening to the forest wake up. I didn't take a lot of pictures this time (I was traveling with my camera-laden art department – I didn't have to!) but I did a LOT of listening.

The farm director and flora expert, Steven Farell, gave us an extensive tour of the organic gardens, compost sheds, and the most recent turmeric and ginger harvest. We nibbled jungle-hardy varieties of spinach and walked under towering spiky nettles. You could practically hear things growing (if the cicadas weren't buzzing). I ate the best banana I've ever tasted, right off the tree cluster. It was a rich, complex flavor with a perfumey aftertaste. I haven't craved much with this pregnancy, but I've wanted more of those tree-ripened bananas!

The belly and I went on a hanging bridges hike through 400 year old protected rainforest. We saw toucans, enormous trees, and a million forms of plants from all levels of the canopy. We also took a gentle wildlife rafting trip (the water was maaaaybe a foot deep...rainy season is on its way) and saw sloths, howler monkeys, an anteater, basilisk lizards, and dozens of bright and chatty birds. My favorite was the kiskadee. It reminded me of a tropical chickadee.

Towering over all, if it isn't in its own cloud, is Arenal Volcano. It erupts a little every day, so is considered a 'safe' volcano. We had spectacular views of it as we toured around.

We were nourished with true equatorial vitamin D, starfruit smoothies fresh from the tree, floats in an oxygen-filtered pool, big delicious homemade meals with lots of hot sauce and ginger, and slept serenaded by frog orchestras. (We worked, too, but that's not as interesting a story. But the group did have a wonderful bonding experience and produced some fantastic ideas that impressed the bosses.)

The only bad thing about the trip was that JAY wasn't there experiencing it with me! I was very ready to come home and get back into the humbler rhythm of our stubborn New England spring, and see all of these frog and salamander eggs Jay said were rapidly filling our pond! (When I left, the pond had still been frozen!)

On the flights back, the baby in the belly started making itself KNOWN. I felt my first little pops and pokes and flutters, especially during takeoffs and landings (is that like womb free-fall?) The sensations have been present every day since. It's an incredible daily reminder that someone is indeed in there.

And I'm sure they're asking for more of those bananas.

(Slideshow: You can turn off the captions (green word balloon, lower left), pause it to read longer bits of story, or click to go directly to the slideshow for full screen with a lot more control. Enjoy!)

Guess What...

Boy or girl, it's definitely a leprechaun...

This was a big week in our child's preexistence. Not only did the belly perform its first international trip, it also became eligible for duel-citizenship. For those of you who don't know, Jay's grandfather, Andrew Fee, was born in Fermanagh, Ireland, and emigrated to America in 1923. Ireland permits duel-citizenship, meaning that becoming a citizen does not require one to renounce one's former citizenship. Eligibility only goes back two generations, so only a child or grandchild can apply. Furthermore, the application process needed to begin before the birth of our child because it can only be passed on to the unborn. All that said, as of April 11, 2011, Jay is now a confirmed Irish citizen of foreign birth and can apply for an Irish (therefore, EU) passport.

You might be asking what all this means for the belly. Well, it means that both Jay and his progeny can live and work in any European Union country (there are currently 27 in all) without residence or work permits, can purchase property and travel anywhere with an EU passport, and would be eligible for social benefit programs like unemployment and health insurance after working there for a short time. Best of all, they can apply for school in the EU just like those born there as well. Essentially, Jay's becoming an Irish citizen presents opportunities for our family that may otherwise have not been available.

We're all very excited and wonder how this will change the course of our decisions over the coming decades - should we retire to Wales, Sweden, Amsterdam, Estonia... However, we ask everyone to withhold the urge to purchase “burp me, I'm Irish” garments, although those baby-sized Irish hooded capes are quite cute... just kidding, seriously...

Do bellies need passports?

After weeks (well, months) of leaking our pregnancy slowly and in-person, we've finally outed our exciting news with all our friends and family in our greater community. The timing is fortunate because Jade's physique is changing daily as we begin our fifth month with the belly. The 'bump' is becoming much more prominent.

This past Friday we met with our midwife for the second time. All checked out well. The little hummingbird's heart is still beating a strong 150 beats per minute and we could hear its gurgly womb movements over the speaker, though Jade still can't feel them.

The belly has been doing a lot of dancing, from Zumba to Bolliwood to the silly and addicting Kinect Dance Central, and it's heard some good beats drumming at an Afro-Cuban dance class. Now that it's hearing is developing, we harmonize some of our favorites to it. There's a good chance this kid will love music!

This week also marks an exciting new event in our belly's life – its first flight and international trip. Jade will be escorting her belly to Costa Rica where her company, New Chapter, has a biodynamic eco lodge. It's a business trip for her department to discuss new ideas, etc... but some time will be reserved for jungle walks and low intensity adventure. Who knows: Maybe it will hear howler monkeys in the womb. Check back next week for a recap of their trip.

Other than that, Jade's feeling great and our excitement intensifies daily. Crocuses are appearing, geese are flying overhead, peepers are peeping, and a friendly barred owl just the other day asked the neighborhood, “Who cooks for you? Who cooks for you all?”

Happy Spring everyone and thank you for your wonderful comments, support, and for sharing this journey with us.