Second Heartbeat

You Will Be Safe...In My Arms

May 11 2007, 7 months pregnant

Today is Friday, May 11, 2007 and it is also the start of Mother's Day weekend. This weekend is going to be so busy; I don’t know how we are going to accomplish everything. Today, Matt and I are going to be in the studio for about 13 hours (from 10 A.M. to 11 P.M.).

Tomorrow, we are having a “date night since Matt and the boys have started this album, they have been in the studio for an average of 10 to 12 hours every night Monday through Friday and finally on Sunday, Matt and I are going to our church for the Mother’s day service, which will be my first Mother’s Day, even if Baby Deathbat isn’t here yet.

While this may seem like not a lot, believe me, being in the studio for 13 hours in no walk in the park. Plus, it is May in California and I am pregnant so I am going to be somewhat uncomfortable. Matt and I woke up at 7 A.M. and I showered and then we both got dressed for the day.

I put on maternity jean shorts and a t-shirt that Claire got me that said, “There is a happy feeling that nothing in the world can buy, when you have a tiny baby kicking inside.” Matt decided to wear jeans and a shirt he found online that said, “The Man Behind the Belly,” it was so funny and when I saw it, I swear I felt Baby Deathbat laugh too.

After getting dressed, we both went downstairs to find the dogs’ bowls already empty and waiting for us to come and hang out with them.

But first, I had to eat breakfast, even though before I got pregnant I could survive without eating breakfast, now, I had to eat breakfast or else I would start to feel nauseous. So, Matt and I made turkey sausage, grits and cheese casserole (but made 2 portions, so it would feed 12 people), but I told Matt to take out the eggs because I don’t like them.

I decided to bring the leftovers to the studio for everyone. After it was out of the oven an hour later, we took our portions and then put the rest in Tupperware. While it was baking, we decided we should play with the dogs because it would be a long time before we saw them again and by that time, we would be so tired, we might not get to even say hi.

Once we ate our food and then got ready to go to the studio. I grabbed my messenger bag and put in my purple RAZR©, my copy of “What to Expect When You Are Expecting”, Matt’s surprise, and finally put in the Tupperware of the breakfast casserole.

We got to the studio and I saw that the other boys weren’t there yet, but Fred, the engineer and Walter the guitar tech were there, so I heated up some of the breakfast casserole for them. They complimented me on my cooking skills and then the rest of the band showed up and they ate some too.

Zacky made a comment about how much he loved eating this compared to the egg whites he had to eat since during filming of “All Excess” he was a little bit heavier but right now, he was skinnier. We were still filming “All Excess” but also filming for the MVI of the new album, so it was difficult to remember that there were two sets of cameras on me at all times.

Once everyone was done with breakfast, Walter and Fred said that the boys had to decide which song they were going to work on today. While Matt had convinced the boys to do “Big Bear”, they were still in the “baby” stage of deciding what to do with it. The boys went off to discuss it and came back and told Fred they wanted to work on a song called “Scream”.

When I asked them what inspired it, they said, that each of them came together and discussed their girlfriends (or in Matt’s case, wife) and how much they loved to “scream” when they were alone. All I could say was,

“Awkward much guys?”

“Well,”

Brian said

“You asked what inspired it and we answered.”

I shook my head and washed the dishes and said,

“Before you guys start, can I give Matt the present you guys really liked?”

The boys really wanted to give Matt this surprise but, knew that it would be awkward keeping it at one of their houses and one of their girlfriends finding it.

“Sure,”

They said,

“Go right ahead.”

I waddled to my bag, told Matt to close his eyes and then I got it out. While it was strange revealing all of this stuff on camera, I knew I had no other choice, plus it would be good to have this on tape to show Baby Deathbat one day. I put the box in Matt’s hand and told him to open it up and see what it was.

He opened the box and saw an Itzbeen Baby Care Timer(c), which was a little timer that counts the amount of time since the last diaper change, nap, feeding and other alarms. It even had a nursing reminder, to remind mom’s which side she last nursed from. Matt seemed to love it and told us,

“This is so cool, I am sure we will be using this for a long time, thanks!”

Then we walked from the kitchen area to the studio area where I immediately sat down on the couch because being pregnant has made me very tired and I cannot stand up for too long.

skip to lunch time, 12:30

Val came in around 11 to scream for the song. Matt said that I would have been the one to scream but since I was pregnant and since he didn’t want to take a risk of Baby Deathbat coming too early (because he or she might have gotten scared by a loud voice), he asked Val to do it.

He did promise me I would do something on “Big Bear” but I would have to wait until they worked on it some more so I would know what to do. While Val was screaming, I decided to order lunch for the boys, because I didn’t want to hear her scream for about 30 minutes.

When she finally came out of the studio to join me in the kitchen, she commented on my shirt and asked me how I was doing.

“Well,”

I said,

“I feel like a whale, my husband is really busy, I am very impatient for this baby to get here and to top it all off, I am horny and really want to attack my sexy husband. Matt seems to be getting more fit while I expand. It’s not fair!”

I felt like I was on the verge of tears when Val said,

“It’s ok Ashlyn, you look beautiful for a woman who is seven months pregnant, Matt is only busy for only 8 more weeks, he will be finished before the baby gets here, don’t worry. I know you really want to meet Baby Deathbat and I know he or she really wants to meet you too because I can see and feel him or her kick every time they hear you or Matt’s voice. The horny thing, I understand but don’t worry, soon enough it will happen, and I assure you that Matt only seems to be getting more fit in your imagination. Don’t worry, you will lose the baby weight soon enough.”

I hugged Val and then we both decided on what to order for lunch. We finally decided on Pizza Factory and Val and I would pick it up since we felt the need to get out of the studio for at least a few minutes.

We discussed with the boys and we decided on a large vegetarian pizza, a large Pizza Factory Special, a Large Cheese and a large order of breadstix. Since the boys had drinks here, we would just order the pizza and breadstix.

We put our order in and then about 20 minutes later Val and I left and it only took us 3 minutes to get to the Pizza Factory. We picked it up and put it in the backseat, since I already had shorts on from being so hot and I did not need four hot boxes on my lap. Not only that but I think my belly wouldn’t let me hold them.

When we got back to the studio, we were almost mauled by the boys because they were so hungry. Before I opened the boxes I explained that we had to have the blessing and for everyone to hold hands. Some of the boys groaned but eventually held hands. I asked Val to say the blessing, so she said,

“Dear Lord, we thank you for this food you have prepared for us and we ask that you will bless it to the nourishment of our bodies and our bodies to Your service. We also ask that you continue to watch over Ashlyn, Matt and Baby Deathbat and that whenever you want BD to come that he or she will have a safe and healthy birth. Amen.”

“Amen,”

everyone repeated.

With that, everyone grabbed a plate and dug into the pizza and breadstix. The rest of the time in the studio passed very quickly and Matt and the boys actually finished earlier than they thought. They finished at 8:00 P.M. When Matt and I left, it was about 9 and by the time we got home it was almost 10:00 P.M.

When we walked in the door, I had to drag my feet to get up the stairs and into our bedroom. I washed my face and then changed into my Eeyore pajama top and flannel pants. Ironically, I feel like I am burning up during the day but at night, I am freezing cold, so I also have to wear fuzzy socks.

Matt on the other hand, wore his “Daddy to be” shirt with his flannel pajama pants, which surprised me because normally he is burning up at night and so he sleeps with his shirt off (not that I am complaining).

We climbed into bed and once Matt’s hand went over my stomach and Baby Deathbat gave one final kick, as though to say “good night Mommy and Daddy”, we all fell asleep.

Saturday, May 12, 2007, 3:00 P.M.

Well, today is the day Matt is taking me out for our first “date night” since Matt started the album. It has been difficult staying away from him in this way but at the same time, it has been great. It reminds me of when we were dating but at the end of the day I am not going back to my parent’s house, I am in his arms. Matt has told me that we are going to The Melting Pot© for dinner and I am so excited, that place is my second favourite restaurant.

Dinner starts at 4 but Matt was taking me at 5 so that it would be closer to dinner. He also promised me that after dinner we would go and take a swim in our pool, something we haven’t done since he started the album.

It will be relaxing for both of us and I cannot wait to show Matt my new maternity bikini. He already thinks my “baby belly” is sexy, so why not show it off just for him and see where it takes us ;).

So, right now I am getting ready, taking my time before Matt comes to get me at 5. He wants to make this an authentic date night, so he is picking me up from my parent’s house.

It feels odd getting ready in my old room, knowing that almost 3 years have passed since I was in it last but so much has changed in those three years. It also feels strange getting ready at my parents house while pregnant. Mama is so excited for me to be having her first grandbaby, she can hardly contain herself.

She has already picked out a guest room that will be Baby Deathbat’s room whenever she and Daddy babysit. She is just waiting for him/her to be born so that she can personalize it by painting the name on not only the door, but the walls.

She did the same thing for me when I was born, but painted the walls in a Noah’s Ark theme and after I was born, had some people come in and paint my name all over the room.

I put on my white maternity strapless bra and thong, my maternity belly ring and then put on my white linen and black lace maternity dress.

Mama came and did my makeup very simply and then helped me put on my flip flops because I can barely see my feet. Just as we were putting on the finishing touches, the doorbell rang.

Once Mama was finished, I walked out my door and walked to the edge of the stairs and saw Matt waiting for me at the bottom wearing a white dress shirt with a red tie and black dress pants and shoes.

As I got closer to the bottom of the stairs, Matt held out his hand for me and led me down the rest of the stairs.

“You are absolutely breath taking, Ashlyn,”

Matt said,

“you are positively radiant.”

Just then Baby Deathbat kicked as if to say,

“What about me Daddy?”

Then Matt, who had his hands on my belly, said,

“I am sure you look nice too baby.”

Matt led me to the Escalade and then we were off to The Melting Pot©. Once Matt told the hostess his name, she led us to a private booth. Our waitress for the evening, Brandi, came and took our drink orders, water for me and a Coke for Matt.

Then we looked over the menu and decided to get the “Cheddar Cheese Fondue”, the “Shrimp and Sirloin” and the “Chocolate Fondue Dessert”. I was a little nervous because the Cheddar Cheese Fondue included lager beer in it but Brandi assured me that since it was heated up, the alcohol would be cooked out.

After eating everything

After eating everything, I was so full but so excited to get back to the house. I had not been swimming in so long and now that it was May in California, it was the perfect time to go. We had so much fun in the pool, I was so happy to have this time with Matt. We splashed each other and we kissed and at one point, the dogs joined us for a little bit.

After our time in the pool, I told Matt I wanted to take a shower and I would meet him in our room afterwards. He told me that he would be waiting for me.

After my quick shower, I changed into some maternity lingerie and then walked back into the bedroom and saw many candles lighting the room. It was so beautiful. Matt was so romantic when he wanted to be, it was amazing. He walked up to me and said,

“Do you know how much I love you and our baby growing in your stomach?”

“I know how much I love you; I love you more than the sun in the sky.”

“Good, because tonight, I am going to show you how much I love you and Baby Deathbat.”

I almost started to cry because Matt was being so sweet. I was amazed at how romantic he was being. He spoke again,

“Ash, I know we haven’t had much time together in a while because of the album and my own worries about being together while you were pregnant. But, thanks to the album winding down and my own research, I hope tonight more than makes up for our lost time. For now, just get on the bed and let me show you my love.”

I sat down on the bed and then Matt came over and started to kiss me. First it was romantic and sweet then I felt his tongue trying to enter my mouth and I let him in. He put one of his hands on my hip while I put one of my hands on his neck trying to bring him closer to me.

When we couldn’t hold our breath any more, we pulled apart and Matt began to kiss my neck and suck every so often.

He pulled me to him and although my belly kept us from being really close, it still didn’t get too much in the way. Then he kissed down to my breasts and then he told me exactly how he felt about them,

“Ashlyn, your breasts are so beautiful, baby, I loved them before you got pregnant and they are even more beautiful because of our baby."

He then kissed down to my belly, kissed it and then said,

“Now BD, ignore what is going on around you ok…just pretend Mommy is listening to Metallica again, ok?”

Then he kissed his way back up to my lips, making sure to leave a mark on my neck along the way and then kissed me again. Then he gently pushed himself into me, slowly but surely he filled me completely. I cried out when he wouldn’t go “fast enough” but he said,

“Ashlyn, tonight is different, we are going to take our time tonight.”

His face was so beautiful when he was pushing inside me, you could truly see the love he had for me and the patience he had to do this. After a while, he began to speed up his thrusts, but only just enough so we both could enjoy it. It was slow and amazing. After a few more strokes, we both climaxed and he pulled out of me. He then kissed me and then said,

“You are an absolute goddess and should be worshipped like that more often by me. I am so sorry we haven’t had the time but I hope this made up for it.”

“Oh Matt, it more than made up for it, I don’t know how to thank you.”

“Don’t worry about that baby; Baby Deathbat is more than enough thanks. he reached down to talk to my stomach again BD,I just want you to know that Mommy and I cannot wait for you to get here in 2 months, or less, whenever you decide to come. Just don’t come into the world too early ok? I love you so much and I cannot wait to meet you.”

Then he kissed my stomach and then put his hand over it and then I felt it and Matt felt it too, Baby Deathbat kicked!

We both laughed and then decided to put on some clothes and go to bed because we had church in the morning. Once we put on our pajamas, we crawled into bed, said “I love you” and then went to sleep.

Sunday, May 13, 2007 aka Mother’s Day

Matt woke me up this morning at 7:00 because now that I am pregnant, I am so tired and have become a very deep sleeper that I barely hear the alarm going off in the morning. It is not fun, especially when you really want to be somewhere early and you cannot hear the alarm.

Anyway, Matt woke me up and then we both got ready for church. Matt wore black dress pants, a white shirt and a black and red tie, while I wore a burgundy maternity dress with black flats. Matt told me

“Happy 1st Mother’s Day”

as we were getting ready, which was sweet, considering our child isn’t even here yet.

He gave me a card and then after a quick breakfast of orange juice and Pop-Tarts©, we were on our way to Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, for the Contemporary Service, which starts at 8:45 A.M.

The service was amazing, since it was Mother’s Day, we sang “You Are My Sunshine”, “In My Arms” (which is a new song by Plumb) and then I was surprised to hear Pastor Wilson call Matt up right before the sermon to sing. Matt said,

“This is a song from one of my wife’s favourite movies and since we are expecting our own baby soon, the words finally hit home. Baby Sanders, this one is for you.”

I had no clue what in the world Matt was talking about, my head frantically tried to think of my favourite movies and songs from them and then songs from those movies that would be appropriate to not only sing to a baby but to a baby at church! Finally I heard Matt start singing,

“Come stop your crying, it’ll be alright, just take my hand, hold it tight…”

Aw, “You’ll Be In My Heart” from Tarzan, Matt was so clever.

I love this song and now I think Baby Deathbat does too, because he or she started to kick like nobody’s business once Matt started to sing. Once it was over, you could tell how many mother’s or mother’s to be were in the room because there was crying all over the sanctuary, I was one of them too. As Matt descended the stage, I started to wipe away the tears.

When Matt came back to our seat, he cleared away one of the lonely tears on my face with his thumb and then gently kissed me. Pastor Wilson said,

“Thank you Matt for your gift, all of us thank you. Now let us read from Isaiah 66:13 -13, which says,” As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem."

After the service, I told Matt about BD kicking while he was singing. He said,

“did it hurt?”

“no Matt, it never hurts, but I was wondering when it was going to stop, it seemed like Boyce or Ryleigh Gracen really loves you to sing to him or her. I never knew a baby could have so much energy.”

“Well, we know one thing…”

“What’s that baby?”

“Our child is definitely the son or daughter of a metal star. I have to have enough energy to perform through the night and our child has the energy to kick during a two to three minute song.”

I just had to laugh at that, but it was so true. Matt and I made our way to our Sunday School class which was for people who were recently married. We were asked to join because although we had been married for almost 3 years, we could still offer advice, because there was a couple in the class who had been married for 15 years.

They wanted older couples to try and give advice to those who were starting out in marriage and set up a support system for all, in case anyone in the group had a question, newly married or not.

After Sunday School, Matt and I went back home and ate lunch, which was just PB & J sandwiches and chips and some milk. After that, I was so tired, I went to change into sweats and went to take a nap. Matt joined me and softly sang me to sleep, thankfully, this time when he sang, Baby Deathbat went to sleep.

I think he or she knows the difference between a regular song and a lullaby, which is great. I dreamed that we had Baby Deathbat but I couldn’t tell what it was, boy or girl. I woke up and found Matt already awake, so I asked him,

“Matt, I just dreamed about the baby again, what do you want, a boy or a girl? I don’t care but
I am getting really anxious about waiting two whole months before we find out.”

“Well, Ashlyn, to tell you the truth, I really don’t care, as long as he or she is healthy, I am perfectly happy.”

♠ ♠ ♠

So sorry about the delay, but I hope this more than makes up for it. I have a question for all of you, you can answer it in your comment, what do you think Baby Deathbat is, a boy or a girl? I have already decided on this, but I want to know what you think. There will be 2 more chapters in this story and it will end with Baby Deathbat being born and then there is one final story left, which will pick up soon after the last chapter of Second Heartbeat. I cannot promise that the chapters will be updated in good time because of school but I will try my hardest. Here are the links for this chapter.
Links
Sausage and Cheese Grits Casserole
Matt’s present from the boys
Pizza Factory menu
the Melting Pot
Dog’s Morning
Going to the Studio
Long Day, early night in
Date Night
Pool and Sexy Times
Mother’s Day