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?

Other People's Baby's are Amazing

So, I've always liked babies, who doesn't? In the beginning of my pregnancy I wasn't exactly repulsed by them or anything, but definitely apathetic. I think the turning point came when I started thinking of my baby less in terms of a stomach flu and more as a human being. Some time late in my 2nd trimester I suddenly couldn't get enough of other people's babies. I don't just visit with them and dote on them like I would have before I existed in a complete state of awe of them. They are amazing little miracles. I love them all in some small way that makes me wonder how overwhelming the flood of emotion will be when my own arrives.

Ivy, my cousin's daughters, and I a few years before my pregnancy


Mya, another cousin's daughter, and I a few months before I got pregnant

Corbin, my friends' son, and I at the beginning of my 7th month of pregnancy


Millianna and I, another friend's daughter. (7months pregnant)

Crib Bedding

     
So, I think that the crib looks great now that the bedding's finished. I love how happy and bright the fabric I picked for the bumpers is. Hurray! Too bad she won't sleep there for a while. Michael wants to go look at some flooring options tomorrow. We're so close to being able to fill in the nursery finished date in the baby book. It just keeps getting closer. I have a feeling she's more likely to be a virgo than a libra at this point, but we'll see.

It Was Like Christmas, Only Dustier

So, Mike had been telling me that he had saved some of Isaac's baby things and that he would check the attic to see what was up there. Judging by the destroyed stroller in the backyard and some of the cat pee stained baby clothes I had discovered in the laundry room I wasn't too hopeful about there being very much in good condition up there. The only thing he knew for sure he had was Isaac's white metal crib, which we'd already decided we’d send over to my dad's as a back up.  The rest was a mystery, but he thought he might have a baby swing.
A couple days ago he checked and there was the crib, a bouncer chair and a baby swing. The swing was by far the most exciting. For those of you who don't know they no longer make wind-up baby swings they're all battery operated now. All of my friends with babies complain about having to buy a pack of C batteries a week to keep the swings moving. So, aside from needing a cleaning and some new fabric we had our very own functional wind-up swing. Hurray! I was worried we wouldn't have one before the baby came. It had some blue teddy bear fabric and Michael used some great blue fabric with multicolored dragonflies I got from Joanne's to recover it. It looks really cute. I'll post pictures tonight.
The bouncer chair was pretty gross, but we were able to clean it and after some tweeking it was functional. Not long after we got a nicer hand-me-down bouncer chair so the one from the attic is destined for consignment, yay credit.
Michael also finished sewing the crib bumpers using this awesome yellow fabric with pink and purple dragonflies on it I found. They look amazing and we also got some crib sheets with our Target gift cards so the crib bedding is finished. I'll take pictures of that to post for you guys too. Now all that's left in the nursery is the floor and the only big item left is a highchair, but we’ve got time to for that.

Jail Break

I escaped twice this week. I went to the park and laid on a blanket for a bit just to be outside, which was amazing except for the bugs. My big exciting outing was on Saturday night I went for my maternity photo session. I was so excited.

I put an ad on Craigslist about a month ago looking for a photographer to take some maternity photos in exchange for being able to use the photos for their portfolio/advertising, etc. I had a lot of responses from male photographers whose entire portfolios were composed of half naked porn women. Why someone like that was interested in branching out into maternity photography is beyond me. Eventually I had a response from a woman in Largo who had up until that point been doing pet photography and wanted to start doing maternity and newborn photos. She was happy to take my photos in exchange for having the right to use them on her site and promotional material. After having shown Michael some of the portfolios with half naked girls in the jungle, etc I asked him at some point to mark the calendar for Saturday the 1st at 7pm. I told him to just write “Mat. Photos”. He misunderstood and asked “Are you sure you want some guy named Matt taking these?” I thought that was so funny! “No honey, mat as in short for maternity.”She wasn't what I expected, but I think she had the same feeling about me. I did send her my picture and describe my tiny build to her in an email so she'd know what she was getting herself into. One of her first comments was "Boy you are tiny. How can we make you look bigger?" She was a very petite blonde herself and at one point remarked "I've never seen anyone my size pregnant before." We met at a park and got some great last light of the day shots. Not to worry I took the wheelchair and didn't walk a single step. Michael played photographers’ assistant and held the reflector most of the time we were at the park, but he did join me in a couple shots too.

When we started really losing the light and the humidity was too much we headed to her nearby air conditioned studio. That part was really fun too. We did some lying on my side, some with a message on my belly and a couple with Mike holding my belly. She was good, but definitely new to working with people. Mike was watching and interjecting "move your hair out of your face" or "unfurrow your brow", etc which not only didn't seem to annoy her but actually emboldened her a bit.

She'll be editing for a few days, but I should be able to see them midweek. She's going to send me a cd of all the images and a postcard featuring my photo (one of the ones where I'm wearing a shirt I've been assured) to give to my pregnant friends. I'm so grateful I got to do it. I wanted something special to remember my one and only pregnancy and besides the bedrest limitations I was really nervous I wouldn't make it this far in my pregnancy or have the means to make it happen (those sessions range from $300-600). Hurray, resourcefulness! Hurray, having my picture taken! Hurray for my big old belly!

Also, I was just looking at one of my countdowns today and the baby will be here in 60 days at the most! Can you believe it? It's almost over. Talk about mixed emotions.

Rebecca Brittain Photography

Jamie Gress Photography

Going Home Outfit

My yet unnamed little pumpkin probably won't actually be an October baby, but it will still be fall so I wanted something festive to bring her home in. Here's what I picked, the ruffles are on the butt side I just turned it around so you could see them.


Isn't it cute?

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.

Grow Belly Grow

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

Baby Book

I got a very special gift yesterday. The baby book my mother had for me was very unique. It has a beautiful painting on the cover of a stork bringing a little bundle through starry space to the earth. The title is "Welcome to the Planet Earth." The pages are mostly titled and blank with suggestion for what to use them for in the margins. The corners of the pages are decorated with mother and baby animals. It has really interesting milestones to fill in, a diagram of the teeth to fill in the dates they come in, a beautiful family tree and so many other wonderful things. I'm thrilled beyond belief to have it. Especially because I was beginning to think I'd have to settle for some cheesy book with cartoon duckies on it. I think a child parented by Michael I deserves a unique book.
When I initially started searching for this baby book I knew it was a long shot. I mean it was published almost 30yrs ago now. Finding an unused copy of a baby book from 1981 didn't seem too likely. Well, I found it on an out of print book website, but it was way too expensive and I was crushed. So, thank you Ruthie for your persistence and thoughtfulness. It means a lot to me and it will mean alot to the baby one day.

Fairy Baby

When we first discussed the possibility of having a baby one day I started having dreams about my fairy baby.

Bed Resting it Up

Wanna know what pregnant women who are ordered to take it easy do?


(photo by Michael, that sneaky bugger) Notice my laptop to my left, plate of food to my right, pregnant belly hanging out of the pajamas and enormous pillow between my knees.