The Last Belly Pictures

The Belly is Expanding

Belly Controversy

Are You Kidding Me?!?

This is an article about a newspaper editor who got in trouble for publishing a photo of a woman showing her friend her pregnant belly. As you can see from the article it's a black and white photo of two fully clothed smiling women and one is revealing her belly, that’s it. I don't get it. What is it that inflames people about a pregnant belly? I think they are amazing, but even if you feel indifferent it's hard to understand someone being offended. It's a natural process and the physical manifestation of it is aesthetically pleasing so what's the problem?
I understand in times past a pregnant woman showing her belly was unheard of, but there was also times when showing ankle was "immodest." Times move forward. Here’s the magazine cover reffered to in the article: Vainity Fair Cover Mentioned in Article Again, I'm perplexed by the controversy here as well. I understand that she's naked, but her breasts aren't exposed. Here again I think it's very pretty picture of a beautiful pregnant woman and I can't imagine being offended by it.
Maybe it's because of my recent experience with this. I posted a few pictures from my maternity shoot. None of them were completely nude and any that were topless I was covered by my arm, hands or hair. Not unlike Demi's picture except I'm wearing pants in all of them. I posted my pictures in a private album on MySpace and Facebook. This inadvertently offended someone who decided the appropriate course of action was to report an image to MySpace as offensive. Here's my issue, if you don't want to see it you're more than welcome not to look. If you must look and find yourself upset with an image why not tell me so I can decide to crop it or delete it or offer some kind of solution?
It leaves me wondering if people were actually offended or just expressing their negative feelings about something else. Maybe looking at these bellies on radiant confident women inflames a woman who felt uncomfortable with her pregnant body. There’s no way to control the feelings of others. It makes sense that they may choose to be resentful rather then enjoy the pictures for pure aesthetic value and move on. These pictures are not pornographic they are artistic. I don’t think any of these women were "showing off”, “being immodest" or even being narcissistic. Speaking for myself, I was just sharing a moment in time with my friends and family the same way I would share pictures of the baby once she's born. Maybe people are just too sheltered now (although I can't imagine how with access to the internet and cable). I personally grew up going to art museums and seeing paintings of chubby naked women as masterpieces not smut. What makes a painting of a long dead pregnant woman in the nude art and a photograph of an exposed pregnant belly offensive?

A Completely Inverse Weight Problem

So, an ex-boyfriend once described my inability to gain or keep on weight as "a completely inverse weight problem." I have always been small and never registered on the pediatricians’ growth chart, but I was always told I was the right height for my weight. Proportionate. I won't tell you how much I weighed when I got pregnant, but I will tell you I'd been the same weight for about 10yrs at that point.
My pregnancy books and a midwife had told me a pound a week was the goal during the first trimester. Well, given my morning sickness and fatigue what sounded completely reasonable was quite impossible. I figured I'd make up for it eventually (or at least I hoped so). The doctor never said a word about it until my second trimester started and with the sudden relief of morning sickness I mysteriously started losing weight. I was mystified until the doctor deduced that my activity level was canceling out my calorie intake. Oops, forgot about that high metabolism. I was burning off those 5 meals a day.
Well, things slowed down quite a bit when the contractions hit because that lead the way for pelvic rest and eventually bed rest. I was now eating all day and not moving around at all. Voila! I have gained steady weight recently and since the start of my pregnancy I'm up 20lbs.
Now, even I worry about losing the pregnancy weight once the baby comes. Partly out of vanity, but it also reeks havoc on my joints and balance. It was one of the motivating factors for doing maternity yoga (second to pain control). Well, I read in my pregnancy book the other day that you burn 500-650 calories a day breast feeding. Great, I'll have a newborn and be exhausted and not eating as much as I'm burning and drop the weight too fast or drop so much weight milk production stops. I know it sounds like a wonderful problem to have, but it's gotta be similar (albeit more socially acceptable)to being overweight. Both situations can cause health problems. Anyway, not one to be caught unprepared I've been doing research and added the question to my list to ask the doctor tomorrow. I think the best solution I've heard so far is to eat every time you breast feed or pump to replace some calories. I'm open though, if anybody has suggestions let me know.

My Baby Shower

My baby shower was Saturday (July 18th). Because we don't have a lot of space we did the party in halves family came 12-2 and friends came 2-4. I was very nervous leading up to the shower that there wouldn't be enough space, chairs, etc for everyone. My RSVPs showed 36 total guests confirmed (38 counting Michael and I). Luckily everything worked out nicely and we had enough guests to be comfortable and not cramped. As far as chairs thank you Doreen and Dad and Joanne for bringing extra seating. The food was really good exactly what I was looking for. Thank you Bobby for working so hard to make all those mini cheesecakes they were amazing as usual. Also big thank yous to Bongo and Ruthie for the sandwiches which not only tasted wonderful they looked gorgeous. Thanks to Lara for bringing drinks and cups as well as your camera (and being so speedy to upload!). Last but not least bless you Doreen for humoring my fruit lady bug request!

Also, we never could have pulled it off without Chance's help. Thanks for all the time and labor you put into painting, furniture moving, cleaning, decorating etc. He stayed until 2am the night before working and still watched Isaac for us before coming to the party to be my official photographer of the second half. I could never thank you enough. He was also one of 3 people who remembered a baby picture for our game, so way to go!
I loved my decorations we did green and white because it wouldn't give away the gender and it's my favorite color. The decision was reinforced when I found these adorable plates, napkins etc that had a baby in a pea pod and said "sweet pea". I sent Mike and Chance all over for those because Party City didn't have them. Here's a picture:

We played the gender reveal game first, which was something Michael invited called "Bun in the oven." He passed out buns one of which had a G for girl written in pink. All the rest where blank inside. People peeked one at a time and then said either boy or girl. One person had the answer and everyone else was bluffing. Then we went around and guessed who had the answer. The person who had the answer won a prize and so did the person everyone thought had the answer. At the noon party Ruthie had the answer, but everyone thought it was Shannon. Also the bluffs were 50-50 boy and girl at that time. At two Sandy had the answer, but everyone thought Denise had it. That time one person said boy and everyone else said girl. Here's some pictures:



We also played the "yarn/belly" game which is the one where everyone tries to cut a piece of yarn that is the closest to the size of my belly. This was the point in the noon party where my father exclaimed "Oh, no. Now I know why men don't come to these things!" Susie had an interesting technique she decided since I was tiny she'd measure her bust line for comparison and ended up winning with an almost perfect length. At the second party Milissa took the prize for that one. We also played name the baby. Even though it was the first line of the invitation very few people remembered to bring a picture so we had 5 babies on the board the first party and 6 the second. It's fun to see who hasn't changed a bit. Here are some yarn game photos:




This little girl is awful lucky to have so many people who love her! Thank you so much for all the wonderful gifts and especially the good company as I gear up for a few more months of bed rest. Because I left the registry so open I was completely surprised by everything we got (which is WAY more fun). Funnily enough Bob and Susan got us a wonderful Graco Winnie the Pooh travel system and my dad and Joanne picked out a matching pack and play. It wasn't on the registry and neither of them had any idea what the other was getting us. I love them! Here's a picture of the stroller and pack and play put together:


I love them. Especially the color scheme it matches our nursery so well. I also got a wonderful handmade blanket from Gigi that’s green and yellow (it’s the blanket in the pack and play in the picture), an awesome shadowbox from Lara, a white piggy bank to customize from Amanda and all kinds of other goodies. Like I said she's a lucky little girl. And yes the gender neutral request is officially lifted so do what you gotta do. For those of you who weren't here to see it the nursery it has sort of a sage green on the walls the trim is lavender and there are some very pale yellow dragonflies on the walls. I'll post pictures one Mike finishes the base boards and I get some of the shower gifts put away. Thank you all so much again I'm brimming over with gratitude! Not only does it look like a real room for a real person, but I don't feel as completely unprepared for the baby should she decide to come early.

Third Trimester Reflections

I can't believe it's been 7months. Times takes on a different sort of shape and feel when you're pregnant. I remember the time before I took the test stretching on and on forever in the early days I wanted to go back there. To that still calm period when I suspected, but maintained total ignorance. I ignored the little twinges, didn't over analysis what I ate or worry about every possible outcome of my life decisions (as much). Then there was the storm of emotions when I was faced with the reality of things. Maybe storm is an inappropriate metaphor, more like monsoon or tsunami. I was shaking with anticipation and then there was a slow leak of information permeating the wall of my complete shock. It was one of the most surreal moments of my life. When that wall fell I was engulfed by emotion. Mostly negative to begin with. I could barely speak through my tears. I don't remember any one emotion being predominate, but I would guess it was fear. After I calmed down slightly I just felt like I was in a fog that never lifted. One day it did and I was completely at peace. It was the most calm I'd ever felt in my life. My cousin told me it was my maternal instincts kicking in because stress is bad for the baby.
That was early on and didn't last long. I was so sick in the beginning. I didn't want to eat or even move. The same cousin informed me that one day at about 11wks it would be like someone flipped a switch and I'd feel better. I remember thinking I'd never survive the 6wks it would take to get to that point. I just kept telling Mike "I'm no good at pregnant." I was beyond miserable. The lowest moment came near the end of that time when I was fired. I'd never been fired before ever. I thought I was good at my job, but running to the ladies room to puke every night and calling out for trips to the ER don't go over well. I was still feel sad thinking about that phone call. When I hung up I kept thinking two more weeks and I'd be fine. Why couldn't they wait two weeks?
Then like promised the switch flipped. That's when the excitement started to set in. I had the energy to be out and about, I was eating without throwing up again, my skin started clearing up, my hair grew and so did my belly. It wasn't easy I had my stupid hip popping out of the socket, the bursitis (same hip), swelling, horrible back pain and a couple of scares, but over all I feel pretty good. I was doing maternity yoga which helped a lot, but pregnancy’s rough on a tiny person with bad joints and tight muscles. 11-26wks was good. I started to feel excited. My maternity clothes fit better, I bought some things for the baby and oh, the ultrasounds. First peek at little one didn't count it was at 8wks in the ER no pictures and the baby closely resembled a gummy bear. The second time I cried. It was a person with fingers, toes, a face and a beating heart. A person I made that was alerting me to its presence with lots of kicks at that point. A beautiful healthy baby. The third time was a wonderful one too. Not only did I know there was a person in there, but now I knew what kind of person it was. I thought I'd be disappointed depending on what we heard, but I was thrilled beyond belief just to know. I'll talk more about that day after tomorrow when everyone finds out.
The last few weeks were scary and stressful. I have a ticker on one of the baby sites I go to counting days since I was put on bed rest and I can never believe how few it's been. On the plus side I'm more ravenous than ever and obviously not able to burn off all the calories so my belly (and baby) are expanding. I hope this little one stays put and keeps growing for a while. I'm really going to miss feeling the baby move around in there. So, now we wait. I'm no good at that never have been and it's literally all I can do until the baby comes. Which I cry when I think about. I think I'm noticing alot more weepiness lately in general, but think about holding your first baby and tell me if it doesn't stir emotion. To be fair though the sight of a cheeseburger "stirs emotion" for me at this point. (:
So, there you have an overview of my emotional roller coaster to date. Much more commentary to come about what's happened and happening with me and the baby. Thanks for reading.

Grow Belly Grow

Here's my progression from from 19-26weeks:
 

You Don't Look Pregnant

So, I started out a very tiny person (under 100lbs, under 5ft) and I wasn't quite sure how pregnancy weight would hit me. I had been told by several people that small people show faster and I had my fingers crossed for that. The truth is I saw a difference at about 10-11 weeks, but the rest of the world is just seeing it now, 23wks.
When I was about 3 months along Michael and I went out to eat. I ordered a decent amount of food and the waitress remarked "that's alot of food for such a small girl." I smiled and said "well it helps that I'm eating for two." She then proceeded to look me up and down twice furrow her brow and remark "you don't look like it."
It's not just strangers, either. Every time I've seen my father since announcing the pregnancy he says "you don't look pregnant." Somehow even with all the milestones: finishing the first trimester, hearing the heartbeat, wearing maternity clothes, having an ultrasound, there's still something isolating about being pregnant and not looking the part. Your whole world is upside-down and nobody knows.
Of course right around 5months I was waiting in line in the women's restroom dressed in non-maternity clothes (not too tight from before I got pregnant stuff) and this old lady said "Honey, is that your first baby?" I was elated, but it hasn't happened since.
The other down side to being tiny is one I've dealt with my whole life and is now complicated by pregnancy, looking alot younger than I am. My mother vividly remembers telling people she was pregnant and getting remarks like "oh, no you're not old enough for that." Granted I'm 8yrs older than my mother was when she was pregnant with me, but that doesn't stop comments and stares. Also adding fuel to the fire is the fact that Mike's height dwarfs me further and causes people to wonder about a possible indecent age difference/foul play.
For those of you who were on the other side of the comments "Are you sure it isn't twins?" or "How far along did you say? That's gonna be a big baby!" I hope you're not rolling your eyes at me because either end of the comment spectrum stinks. I wish people would just say "congratulations" and walk away sometimes. Something about being pregnant makes you vulnerable to all kinds of remarks and unsolicited advise.
The truth is every women is shaped differently, every uterus is slightly different and sitting in a unique position inside of us and every gestating human has a different favorite position so of course pregnant women come in every shape and size. Hollywood only shows you enormous bellies on glowing women, but there's 3 trimesters in pregnancy why only celebrate the last weeks?
I continue to get slowly, happily (most of the time) fat at my own pace.