The Belly Blog

22 Weeks and Counting

2009-01-19T09:48:00.003-05:00

A friend and neighbor from Richmond Hill has lost her precious baby. She carried him 30 weeks. I'm having a really hard time with this. I think that Satan is trying to use this and many other situations to bring worry into my mind. I'm already so in love with my baby boy that the thought of him ever being taken away is terrifying. I know this isn't a cheerful, light hearted post, but I think it is always important to be honest and transparent.

I go to the doctor tomorrow for my monthly checkup and I can't wait to hear his little heart beating. I know this isn't what I should be feeling but I feel a little anxious. I know what God's word says about not being anxious, but I'm having a bit of a hard time with that application in my own life right now. I'm sure everyone has times like this and every pregnant woman deals with these emotional ups and downs.

On a brighter note, I am feeling very good these days. I have more energy and no nausea. The baby is very active. He kicks and moves all the time. One of Richard's favorite pass times these days is talking to him with his head on my belly. When the baby kicked him in the face last night Richard had the biggest grin on his face. It was so sweet.

We registered the other day at Babies R Us. That was fun! It reminded me of when we were engaged and we did our wedding registry.

As far as names....no luck. We have not come across that perfect name just yet, but when we do, I think we will know instantly. At least I hope that is the case:)

Belly Laughs

2009-01-01T17:21:00.000-05:00

Count your blessings
• The penis of a rhinoceros is 2 feet long.
• The penis of a mosquito is a hundredth of an inch long.
• The praying mantis bites her mate's head off while he impregnates her.
• Elephants are pregnant for two years.
• Many animals give birth to a dozen or more babies at a time.
• Your baby won't be born with hooves.

I got this in one of the weekly emails that I receive. It cracked me up:) We are 20 weeks today! Half way there....can you believe that?? No major changes except an ever growing belly and a bigger appetite. I am finally back to the weight I was when I got pregnant (which is fine according to my OBGYN). Apparently, most pregnant women gain about a pound a week from here on out. WOW. I can't imagine how I will look in 20 more pounds/weeks.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T16:30:00.000-05:00

We will have a son in 2009. It's going to be an amazing year.

Last night Richard and I went to visit some of our best friends in Springfield to celebrate the new year and the guys birthdays. Richard turns 30 on Jan 5th and Shane's birthday is Jan 6th so we always try and celebrate together. It usually includes going to the Hockey Classic at the Savannah Civic Center. FUN! We had a very relaxing enjoyable night but a few things are worth mentioning:)

I almost cut my finger birdie finger off with Shane and Jessie's new Chef knife. I was trying to cut an onion and my clumsy, pregnant self slipped and gave myself a nice deep cut. I tried to milk this injury for all it was worth.
Richard brought two movies from the Movie Gallery...both were guy movies. I really didn't mind either. I can appreciate a little violence myself. We popped the first one in and turned it off due to the GRAPHIC nudity. It was aweful. So, don't take the kids to see The Bank Job with Jason Statham. Not only was it immoral, it was looked to be the quality of a Mexican soap opera. I like Statham in the Transporter, but this was ridiculous.
We watched the traitor with one of my favorite actors, Don Cheadle. This movie was excellent. I recommend it... it was intense and smart. It kept you guessing up until the very end.
For dessert, we had a cheesecake sampler. I chose to try the chocolate cheesecake. It was delicious and Little Baby Doty was doing cartwheels for an hour, so I guess he liked it too:)
If you know me very well, you know I have a thing about fireworks. I tried to talk my loving husband into going to River St to see the fireworks. I even tried to tell him that that what his SON wanted. Oh yes, I was laying it on thick. He was not going to be talked into "driving with all the drunks downtown". But, he redeemed himself by taking me out to the nature reserve right past the Hoolihan Bridge and we saw the fireworks from the warmth and safety of our Honda Accord all by ourselves. It was pretty special.
I was proud to be a Bulldawg fan today and enjoyed watching them beat Michigan State!
We had the traditional black eyed peas, greens, etc for lunch today. I think I'm about to take a nap and sleep off that yummy food!

Pink or Blue???

2008-12-22T14:30:00.001-05:00

We are going in about an hour to have our second ultrasound. This means that we will (hopefully) know by the end of the day if we should be buying bows and doll babies or tonka trucks and bb guns. The suspense is killing me. Richard and I both are having a very hard time thinking about anything else. Not only will we find out the sex of LBD, but we will also find out all the measurements and make sure everything is growing and functioning like it should be. I am NERVOUS. Everyone keeps asking what we want, but we can honestly say that we don't care one way or the other. The thought of a boy makes my heart leap, but the thought of a little girl makes me just as excited. Whatever the ultrasound reveals will be exactly what we've always wanted:) I'll keep you posted and hopefully get some pictures up later today!

Does this maternity shirt make me look fat?

2008-12-02T17:52:00.000-05:00

I'm at that awkward stage right now where I don't look pregnant. I simply look like I've been hitting the turkey and dressing a little hard. The sweater I wore today definitely accentuated the baby bump and I had more comments on the belly than ever before. Part of me loves hearing those comments and the other part of me just feels like they're saying I look fat:) I know this is not the case, but any woman who has ever been pregnant can probably identify with this dilemma.

I am so thankful that the nausea of the first trimester seems to gone for good. It was nice having an appetite for all of the yummy Thanksgiving food. I am SLIGHTLY emotional lately. I seem to cry at the drop of a hat and for no good reason....or, I just think of as many reasons to cry as I possibly can and then I can't stop. I'm still nodding off in my dinner plate most nights. I haven't seen a whole episode of CSI Miami so long that I'm not even sure if Horatio is one of the good guys anymore.

Another crazy thing with pregnancy has been the dreams. I've been having those vivid, so real they're scary dreams. Some are just plain weird and make no sense whatsoever. I've been dreaming a lot about being at my Mema and Poppy's house lately.

Check out Brin and I and our new MAC!!!

15 weeks and Feelin' Fine!

2008-11-26T08:29:00.000-05:00

Hello to all and Happy Thanksgiving! I am sitting at home right now enjoying a morning off. This is a much needed break for me and lots of my coworkers I am sure. School has been a little crazy lately. At ECHS so far this year we have had 7 bomb threats which resulted in evacuations and one incident where a gun was brought to school. The guy said he was going to hunt for squirrel behind the school. At this point I may actually believe him. I am so thankful that the Lord has protected us from harm and I know that He will continue to do so. As PKJ(Pastor Keith Joseph) preached about on Sunday...HE alone is our SOURCE!

Thankfully, my second trimester has been great so far. Nausea-free and relatively uneventful. I am still waiting on that BURST of energy everyone keeps talking about. I still fall asleep during CSI. I seriously need Tivo. Maybe Santa is reading this:) I'm detecting a little belly bump, but not much to speak of. I can still wear my pre-maternity clothes with the wonderful Bella Band that Richard bought me. With this contraption I can wear my pre-maternity pants unbuttoned or unzipped and it keeps them up and covers them. It kinda looks like I'm wearing an undershirt. It's so nice. I highly recommend one to all pregos like myself.

My students and I have taken to calling the baby "Little Baby Doty". They laugh at me because I blame anything and everything on LBD. If I forget something...LBD's sucking my brain. If I trip over something....LBD is making me clumsy. If I yawn out loud in class....LBD is draining my energy. You see, he/she is a very handy scape goat. Poor little one can't even defend itself. My students are very sweet about the baby and always want to hear which fruit we can compare it to that week (I get weekly emails that say...'this week your baby is the size of a lemon', etc).
Here's a pic of me and my VERY pregnant friend BekaRay. She is due on Dec 28th. Can't wait to meet Miss Lynlea Ruth. P.S. Richard and I celebrated our 2nd Wedding Anniversary last Tuesday! Time flies when you are in love:)

Farewell First Trimester

2008-11-08T20:39:00.000-05:00

It has been an exciting week for my family! Thursday marked the end of my first trimester. Little Baby Doty is doing great and growing quickly:) I have not yet had to wear maternity clothes, although I was given a super comfortable pair of maternity jeans that I wore just for fun the other day. Elastic waist bands are amazing.
In other news, my sister and her husband had their twin boys yesterday morning! Andrew was born at 9:00 am weighing in at 5 lb 12 oz and 19 in long. Chase came just two minutes later weighing 6 lb 4 oz and is also 19 in long. They are too precious for words. They look like two little old men with receding hair lines. My sister is a baby making machine. She only pushed 3 times and got two kids. What a woman. I am praying that our delivery will go that smoothly.
If you're wondering why I haven't updated my blog in weeks, it is because I have simply been too tired to do anything except eat and sleep after I get home. I haven't been really sick, a little nausea, but nothing too bad. My biggest problem is extreme fatigue. I haven't felt like eating much and I just seem to hit a wall at about 8:30 every night. My husband is usually left to clean up the kitchen and try and make sure I brush my teeth before I'm down for the count:)
Our house if for sale, so everything always has to be clean and straight before we leave to go anywhere, so that has kept us busy and been a little difficult. I never thought that being able to leave a cup in the sink when you are rushing out the door was a luxury. Pray for the Lord's timing on our house selling. We know that it will happen when God says go, but we are hoping that it's sooner rather than later. My friend, Meagan, is going to keep the baby in August when I go back to school, so we would really like to be able to move before the baby is born. God's timing is perfect and we will wait on Him, no matter how crazy it makes us:)
Here's a picture of my sister and I on Tuesday just to give you an idea of how big her belly got with the boys. I can't brag about my little bump next to her mountain!

Love At First Sight

2008-10-03T14:18:00.000-04:00

Richard and I went on Wednesday to our first ultrasound. It was such a miracle. You should have seen that little heart beating. Contrary to popular belief and expectations...there's only one baby in there:) As I suspected they would, they changed my due date to May 21st. That happens to be the day before school gets out! God's timing is so perfect. I love being in His will. Everything is so much better. I am already so in love with our baby. The only bad thing is that I have to wait until next May to meet him/her.

The Big Announcement

2008-10-01T21:27:00.000-04:00

After we went to the doctor last Thursday, I went to Walmart. I had an idea about how I wanted to share our good news with ECHS. I bought the materials and went home and made myself a little shirt. It said "Baby Rebel On Board". Mrs. Larson would be proud because I even used the Effingham "e" for both "e"s in Rebel. I had a really good time watching the reactions all day. I spent most of the day saying "Do you like my shirt?" and then I would wait for the realization that Baby Rebel On Board meant I was pregnant. Some got it a little faster than others. Some needed a little help 'understanding'. All in all, I was very happy about the way the annoucement turned out.

Friday started out really well. My first period class won the Spirit Award. They decorated the classroom with posters, streamers, and chalk (on the board:) ) and went all out in their Rebel attire. They were painted blue and looked like crazy people, but we had fun. I also made up a cheer like the Hillshire Farm commercial that we did when the administrators came in to judge. It was a hit. We ended up doing it for the whole school at the pep rally. With all the spirit and excitement that Fridays game brought, we still couldn't pull out the win. There's always next year I suppose.

First Pre Natal Visit

2008-09-25T22:17:00.000-04:00

We had our first doctors visit today. I had to leave school a little early to get there by 3. I have to admit that it was nice to walk away from school because of something to do with my real life. I have been slightly stressed out with work lately...going early, staying late, bringing stuff home. This is mostly due to my involvement with Homecoming. I have to do so much during the day that many of my normal duties (grading papers, etc) are piling up a little bit.
Richard met me there. He brought me food, which made the belly very happy. I am hungry by about 3 after eating lunch at 11:30! We were there for about an hour doing all of the fun first visit stuff. They told us that the due date in May 13th. This could change after my first ultrasound, which is next Wednesday! It felt good to have a medical professional tell me that everything looked good. Until this visit, all I had to go on was the pregnancy test I took at home and my own feelings. My favorite part of the doctors visit was the goody bag they gave us that was full of useful things. It was our first baby gift!
Until now, I have been so blessed to not have morning sickness. I have been a little nauseated when I get hungry, but other than that, the only symptoms that I'm dealing with are a mood swings, a little fatigue, and sore ta-ta's. I am thanking God while that lasts!
The baby center website said that our little one is the size of a lentil bean this week. I don't know what that is, but I bet it's cute:)
Richard is THE best husband in the world. Not only did he bring me food to my appointment today, but he had the house cleaned top to bottom (vacuumed and dusted, might I add) when I got home today. I love how excited he is about the baby. It makes me love him even more.
Stay tuned for pictures of how I announced my pregnancy to my students and co-workers!

It's a Doty!!!

2008-09-12T16:35:00.000-04:00

Party of 5 (taken on Sunday, September 21, 2008)

After 5 months, Richard and I got our prayers answered. I woke up earlier than usual on the morning of September 11th and crept into the bathroom. Over a month ago I bought one pregnancy test for this very moment. I had taken several in the months before, but I already knew that this result would be different. I was feeling very strange and I thought I knew the reason.
I thought about that commercial that said this was the most advanced technology you will ever pee on and I laughed. I read the direction and it said to take the test and then wait at least 2 minutes to see results. But, to my delight, after about 20 seconds I saw the most beautiful plus sign I have ever seen...and I've seen a lot of those in my days as a math teacher! I laughed out loud and instantly thought about how I could tell Richard. I had nothing clever in mind, so I just walked to the bedroom, gently woke him up, and gave him the news. We celebrated and laughed and cried and prayed. It was one of those moments in life that never leaves you. I will always remember that morning and that joyful feeling I had all day long.
I decided that I would start this new blog to keep everyone up-to-date and in the loop on all the latest belly news. I will also try and upload a belly pic each week:) Let the growing begin! Pray for us and the new little heart that is already beating inside me. What a wonder! We have our first appointment on Thursday, Sept 25. We should be due sometime around May 17. I'll know more after the first visit. Thanks for your prayers and encouragement!

In other news, my twin sister, Lyndsey (pictured above on the right) is only 28 weeks pregnant with twin boys and is already on bed rest, so pray for her and the little ones (Chase and Andrew) that the Lord would let them bake a little longer and grow to be strong and healthy at delivery. Also, pray that Lynz doesn't go insane with all the laying around and that her husband, Jonathan, doesn't go crazy building their new house.