Pre-Baby Blog Profile

It was just another day...until it wasn't. On January 18, 2010, Amy took a test that would forever change her life - and all it took was a little pee! Join her - and her husband, Mark, on occasion - as she slowly gets over the amazement at being able to conceive so quickly, grows happily fat, and prepares for life to change (on September 22, 2010 or sooner!!) in the most uproariously awesome way. Please don't be afraid to chime in, because here's a secret: SHE HAS NO IDEA WHAT SHE'S DOING.

Bump Watch: 37, 38, 39 & 40 Weeks

This is the LAST 'Bump Watch' post you're going to get from me.  For some reason, that makes me a little sad!  Not sad enough to cry, though I do a lot of happy crying lately...  It's just that I LOVED being pregnant with my little TaterMan and am already looking forward to carrying a little sister or brother for him someday.  Yes, you read that right: I also LOVE being a mom!  I'm going to guess I have a very, very well-behaved newborn (hint: I totally DO) because it hasn't scared me off at all from doing this all over again.  Tate is amazing and I'm having such an incredible time getting to know him and developing a routine that works for us all.  And while I hesitate to say this out loud, I'm also getting enough sleep.  So...yeah.  I know it's early and I've only been at this gig for two weeks, but I'm just going to appreciate every blessing now and not worry about what routine-busting surprises might be yet ahead.  That being said, I'm going to hurry on to the belly pics before the Karma God reads this and decides to turn Tate into a cute little hellion! ;o)


Week 37: 

I was really getting puffy by this point!

And YES, I was excited to finally be considered 'full term' and at the safe & ready point, can you tell?

Week 38: 

Mark probably won't like that I'm putting a picture up of him that was taken as he was getting changed after his work day, but I thought it was important to include the ever-important daddy and 'Bump Watch' photographer in ONE of these posts!  I love him so...

Hello, double chin.  I don't miss you one bit (OR the 24 of the 30 total pounds I've lost since Tate was born - woo hoooo!!)!

Large and in charge!

Week 39:

These pictures were taken in the middle of the night on the day Tate was born...I'll share my birth story eventually, but it started when my water broke at 2:30am on 9/15/10 on the 1st day of my 39th week.   

You can bet your hiney I made Mark stop rushing about to capture my last TRUE belly pics. I was SO EXCITED, you guys.  

Just a little contraction; nothing to see here, folks! The contractions started around 3:30am - it was a pretty fast progression!

Here's one without the belly numbers for posterity.  I already miss that belly a little!  

Week 40:  

These are by far my favorite of all the belly pictures...because Tate was finally here!!

I cannot get enough of this little guy...

He looks hungry here, huh?  NOM NOM.

Sneak peek of the nursery!  I'll upload more nursery pics soon, but thought you deserved to see SOMETHING since I totally meant to show you some before I had the baby. 

I'll be back soon and will attempt posting a few photos a week until I can sit down and properly post again.  In the meantime, I hope life is treating you well - I certainly can say this is true for me...  :o)

I Picked You Up and Everything Changed...

Today is my due date - the day I waited patiently and excitedly to come for almost ten months. I say almost because it turns out I didn't have to wait that long.  A week ago, on September 15, 2010 at 2:30am, my water broke in my sleep and what followed was the most amazing, emotionally and physically-enduring day of my life.  And at 10:45pm, my life changed forever when my beautiful boy took his first breath and took my breath away.  I'm so exceedingly proud to introduce you to him now!

~Tate Doty Burton~

Born Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2010 at 10:45pm

7lbs 2.4oz, 18.5 inches

and PERFECT

Tate is a very happy, content baby and Mark and I are having such an incredible time getting to know this little person we made with love.  We're not sure what we did to deserve him, but we sure are glad we did.  It's hard to imagine life without him; thank God we don't have to now.

This proud mama will be back with the birth story, the last belly pics, and photos of the nursery.  In the meantime, though, I'll be off enjoying every minute with my little man.  He makes me happier than I've ever been in my very happy life, and I don't want to miss a thing.  

Little Visitor

After going months and months at full speed, I told myself that this weekend was officially the beginning of my do-nothing phase of pregnancy.  Isn't that nice, giving myself 10 whole days before my due date to just BE?  Well. Turns out we had a little excitement this weekend that changed that "non-plan" a bit!

If you follow me on FaceBook, you'll know we had an adorable little visitor come to our house on Saturday morning...and it WASN'T the one we've been planning and hoping for!

Name one thing an allergic couple on the verge of  becoming first-time parents needs 10 days before their due date.  GO!

I'm gonna guess you didn't think "kitten,' right?  Well, that's what we got!   

Could you just faint from the cuteness?  Believe me, Mark and I are not typically "cat people" (although we certainly don't have anything against them), but I'm pretty sure he'd be staying if we didn't have a baby coming into our lives in just a matter of single-digit days.  He has been a blast and I already know I'm going to cry when we have to give him away.  We're working hard to find a good home for him right now, so if you know of anyone, PLEASE let me know!  To add to this story, our neighbors came to our house last night with another surprise - two more matching orange kitties in a cage.  Turns out this little guy wasn't alone when he found us!  They are going to keep one, so now it looks as though we have more than one home to find for these sweet fellas.  Keep your fingers crossed that we don't need to resort to bringing them to the (NO KILL) shelter.  Sniff.

As an aside, I keep meaning to Google "Is it a sign when you are 38.5 weeks pregnant and a kitten shows up at your house?"  I mean, really...what are the chances?

On the pregnancy front, we had another doctor's appointment this morning.  When my midwife went to listen for the baby's heartbeat, she said, "Oh, you're having a contraction right now!'  She called them "rehearsal contractions" and said it's a good - but not ALARMING - sign that my uterus is getting its act together for the real thing.  Funny thing is that I've been feeling plenty of them lately, but this one I couldn't feel at all.  It's good to know I'm getting that practice even when I don't know it - Lord knows I'm going to feel them on a much more....OUCHIE level soon enough.  We opted out of an exam to see how far along I'm dilated because that wouldn't change anything and might just cause anxiety or anticipation we don't need. 

So that's about it.  A surprise kitty and a surprise contraction.  Just nine days and counting...we cannot WAIT to meet our precious little person and finally get to know him/her!

My 'Mark' in the World

Today is the day, 32 years ago, that fate was born and began to make its slow but eventual way to me.  Does that sound weird or selfish, to call the birth of my husband a day of fate for me?  Ah well...I can see it no other way, really.  The truth is, it wasn't until I met Mark that I completely came into my own as the person I am today.  In essence, his birth turned into my own renewal, one I am blessed to relive every day I am lucky enough to wake up by his safe, kind, loving side.

It's nearly impossible to explain how I truly feel about Mark (although I've tried) and I find it absolutely impossible to celebrate this day the way he deserves it to be celebrated.  Every year I feel at a loss as to how to show him my appreciation for all he does and is to me.  I'll ask him, "What do you want for your birthday?" and he always says, "Nothing!"  He means it, too.  Of course I never oblige - that would be wrong.  This year, however, I asked him again: "What do you want for your birthday, babe?" and he - not skipping a beat - said, "A BABY!"  I laughed and asked him if it was o.k. if I opened the gift for him this time.  He didn't think that was going to be a problem.

And so, for the first time in all the years we've known each other, I finally feel like I'm prepared to give Mark something (someone!) that encompasses all that our love is and means to me.  In a matter of days, a little person created solely by our admiration and dedication to one another will arrive into the world, giving us one more reason to redefine our love for each other with every day that passes.  I imagine our love will only grow, get stronger, and have more meaning than it ever did before.  My heart stands ready to stretch and beat to the rhythmic drum of this new awakening - a new fate, if you will.  I see this as the best day of the year; it brought to me the person who has made my life infinitely greater in ways I never expected but also vow to never take for granted.

Happy birthday, baby.  I love you...so much*.

*We both have '...so much' engraved into our wedding rings; thinking of the reason why always makes me smile.  

Bump Watch: 35 & 36 Weeks (with "bonus" story!)

Before I post the latest belly pictures, I thought I'd remind you what I looked like during Week 16 when we first started documenting "the bump":

It's crazy what 21 weeks can do to a body (and baby), huh?  Admittedly, I posted this as much for my benefit as yours.  As you will see - and read - in a second, I've grown quite a bit in the past couple weeks.  And some people just can't help but tell me so...

WEEK 35:

Picture this:  I'm walking downtown with my friend/coworker, Tiffany, to grab lunch while wearing this outfit:

...when we cross paths with a young hippie dude who stops in his tracks and says to me, in his best Staples Commercial Dude voice (really, I kid you not), "WOW!  You're HUGE!  You look like you're going to POP!"

I'll give you a second to re-read that.

OK, got that? 

So my response was to somewhat sarcastically say, "WOW, thanks - you're awesome!"

And then HE asks, "But really...when are you due?" to which I reply, "In about 5 weeks."  And he, not realizing he's already said more than enough, opens his pie hole again and says, "Well it looks like they are going to have to induce you in TWO weeks!"

~BLINK~

After picking my jaw off the ground, I said, "Hmm...yeah, that won't be happening."  He then maybe realizes he went too far with the pregnant lady and says cheerily, "Well, you go and have a healthy baby now!" before scurrying away.

It took everything in me not to yell after him, "Well, you go and get some duct tape for your BIG FAT MOUTH now!"

Tiffany then looks at me and says, "Omigod, what is wrong with some people?"  The only answer I have to give is, "I don't have enough TIME to tell you what's wrong with some people, Tiff!"

That night I went home and asked Mark to take a picture of me in the outfit I was wearing in my 35th week when some random dude stuck both of his feet in his mouth and almost got smacked kindly by a pregnant lady.

Hello, my name is Amy and I'm all bark & no bite.  

WEEK 36:

This week's pictures were taken right before we attended our infant/child CPR class I mentioned here.  After a long day at work, no one wants to go to a 4-hour class during which time you are asked to get on the floor and do chest compressions on a plastic doll, right?  WELL.  Try that while sportin' THIS, ya'll:

Now THAT'S a belleh!

Does it look smaller in a black shirt?  Yeah...didn't think so.

I joke about my stomach - and it's OK FOR ME TO DO THAT (not you, hippie boy!) - but really?  I love it so.  I mean, just look; it's a hotel for my baby!

You Know You're a Million Years Pregnant If...

I'm 37-weeks along today!  In pregnancy news, that means the baby is full-term and can come out anytime with little-to-no complications.  WOOT!  Given that this past week has been hot, muggy and very uncomfortable for me, I think it's time to revisit and add to my "You Know You're Pregnant If..." list to include third trimester or, in my case, late pregnancy, symptoms.  Get ready to feel sorry for pregnant women everywhere!

You know you're REALLY pregnant if...

• You suddenly become a spectacle that people can't help but either stare at or smile kindly toward.  Sometimes, if you're lucky, strangers will also find it necessary to tell you how HUGE you are or shoot a "Good luck with that!" your way.
• You find yourself a bit tired of giving random (yet well-meaning) people the lowdown about your baby status and contemplate making a t-shirt that says, "NO, I don't know what I'm having; YES, I know I'm giant; and NO, I have no idea when it's going to get here but I think you're safe and won't need to learn how to boil water anytime soon."
• Your baby wages a painful ribcage-match against you at least a few times a day and all you can do is yell "Uncle!" because, really?  You're never gonna win that one.
• It becomes necessary to employ a Sumo Stance in order to pick something up off the floor or dry your legs after a shower.
• You feel like yelling "Yabba Dabba DOOOOO!" every time you look down at your giant, swollen feet. Fred Flintstone, anyone?! 
• Your already-hated nose grows wider, but you barely care.  I mean, have you seen these FEET?!
• You are so, so tired due to the 4-6 (sometimes you see every hour on the clock - fun!) bathroom breaks and tossing & turning you do at night, yet you feel stupid complaining about it because pretty soon you'll have a little person yelling at you waaaaay more often than that.
• Back spasms become the new thing, but your cumbersome belly makes it awfully difficult to stretch the way you used to, leading you to use the wall and office chair in excitingly new ways.
• Speaking of difficult, it becomes nearly impossible to wipe your behind properly for some insane reason...this hardly seems fair, given the fact that "productive bathroom breaks" are few and far between these days as it IS... (hey - just being honest!).
• You begin referring to your stomach as The Crumb Catcher, because that's exactly what it is.  On the bright side, at least you have a snack for later! 
•  Despite being exhausted times a trillion, you can't sit still to save your life because in your little pea brain, all you can irrationally think is "THERE IS STILL SO MUCH I COULD BE DOING, OHMYGOD!"
• Your favorite past time (when you finally allow yourself to sit down and relax) becomes watching your baby perform Gumby-like feats in your stretched-to-the-limit belly.  That never gets old. Never.
• You stop reading the baby books and iPhone pregnancy applications as religiously as you once did because it seems so 'Old Hat' by now.
• You take an infant/child CPR class and suddenly consider yourself an expert on the subject due to that nifty little certification card they handed out following the 4-hour class and test that you SO TOTALLY ACED (and just so you know - the 30 compressions flanked by two light puffs/breaths should go to the beat of 'one and two and three and four'...See? EXPERT.).
• While putting your rings on in the morning, you say a little prayer; While taking them off at night, you swear and use half a thing of soap trying to pry them off your sausage fingers (mmm, sausage!).
• You begin to seriously wonder what exactly it's going to take to get the baby out of you - you've taken the birthing classes, read the books, asked for the brutally-honest war stories, and tried to visualize labor, but realistically you know that none of that truly prepares you for what is ahead.
• Daydreaming about what (and who) the baby will look like becomes somewhat of an obsession.
• You still maintain that all of this is SO WORTH IT because you are thisclose to meeting your new, little person.  How exciting is that?!