Anxiously Awaiting RJ!

Click here to view this photo book larger

MY HEAD!

Mommy & Daddy Had Them Measure MY HEAD!

RJ's Nursery

Pictures of RJ

OMG! "IT'S A BOY!!!"

OMG! "IT'S A BOY!!!"

Baby Bump! 18w

So my friend Trinket requested a picture of "The Baby Bump"...I thought I'd post for all to see ;)

Just Saying Hi! 17w

Hands & Feet! 15w

Hello World! Here are my Hands & Feet for you to SEE!

Baby Ray @ 14 Weeks

Baby Ray's Heartbeat

Berkeley @ 11 Weeks

 
 
 
 

Ray's New Book Purchase

Who said "Pregnancy is not an illness?"

Who said “Pregnancy is not an illness?”
They were WRONG! It sure as heck feels like it. I am sure this is not the case for all, maybe even most women, but for this chic…it is! Trying to explain my unexplainable drop off the face off the earth, suddenly introverted personality, anti-social tendencies, being subjected to the couch…the bed…the bed…the couch, and my feelings of absolute worthiness, I’M ILL!
“The worst of it is that the really sick period (5 weeks to 14 weeks for me) is when you aren’t supposed to tell anyone. So you can’t explain to anyone why you’re turning green at the sight of a cup of coffee, or you have a sudden insane desire for Pink Lady apples all the time. (Mmm, that yummy pink crunch!)” –TheLegal Soapbox
Let’s take a look at illness defined…
ill•ness
–noun
1.
unhealthy condition; poor health; indisposition; sickness.

We are very thankful and excited about this pregnancy; however, we’re definitely looking forward to the 2nd Trimester “Honeymoon Phase” of pregnancy! Any words of encouragement from a wise one out there?
Ray & Cynthia

Keep Your Plans Secret For Now

The subject heading of this post was inspired by my fortune cookie reading from my Chinese food. We are getting ever so anxious and excited as the weeks approach for our BIG REVEAL! But...until then we will "Keep our plans secret for now".

Thus far this has been a textbook pregnancy for us and Baby Ray. Week by week, we read it, it happens. The past couple of days have been magnificent! I've felt great! (relatively speaking) So great I felt the need to check on our little Berkeley (9 Week U/S Pic). Sure enough, she's progressing quite well and although my ultrasound skills are that of an amateur, I must say I did darn good to self scan!

Among other things, Dr. Rebecca Brewer has officially told me to go elsewhere to continue with my prenatal care. (Remember she now only practices GYNE and no longer has OB privileges). Our 8 week Prenatal Visit with her went well besides 2 little issues...ANEMIA and LEUKOPENIA. My Hgb was 10.4, Hct 31.5, and WBCs were 4. Iron pills, supplements, etc. ARE NOT MY FRIEND. Any advice from a wise one out there? We want Baby Ray to be healthy and I would like to spare the potential blood transfusion if this situation worsens...

Ray & Cynthia

6wk 6d

6wk 6d

Whew! HEARTBEAT!

Whew! Today we saw our baby's heartbeat for the very 1st time! So amazing! We went to Bloomington Hospital for our 2nd transvaginal ultrasound! Baby Ray is about 2/3 of an INCH with a heartbeat of 151bpm! The ultrasound actually dated us at 7wk 6d, which is ONE WHOLE WEEK ahead of my 6wk 6d! By LMP, Baby Ray's Birthday will be 10/2/10; by 1st OB U/S Baby Ray's Birthday will be 9/27/10; by 2nd OB U/S Baby Ray's Birthday will be 9/25/10...so who knows! BUT, Did you know that only 5% of mommies deliver on their actual due date?! Enjoy the "gummy bear" pics!

Ray & Cynthia

"Nobody Told Me, That The Road Would Be Easy"

SIX WEEKS TODAY! Our day to day for the past 2 weeks has consisted of nausea, nausea, AND MORE nausea! A very pitiful situation it is. With the exhaustion, emotional, and physical changes, I feel like I just can’t quite get it together and stay on top of it all. I made history for “me” when I called in sick to work the weekend  Not to mention on Friday, February 5th I FELL DOWN THE STAIRS while carrying laundry! At least Penelope checked on me as Achilles remained focused and undisturbed on his ball. Didn’t tell Ray until he got home…bruised my tailbone pretty bad. The next morning I felt as if I had been in a car wreck! For those of you who know me well, falls are NOT THAT UNUSUAL…just got to try and be a little more careful over the next 8 1/2 months! Oh yea, & with the fall accompanied the most severe nausea yet! So it was time for the prescription of Zofran (anti-nausea/vomiting medication).
Ray & Cynthia

Expecting Baby Ray

We’ve since purchased the following books from Barnes & Noble:

You know, even though I am a Registered Nurse in Labor & Delivery and Emergency, and graduating to be a Family Nurse Practitioner NEXT YEAR! All the nursing/medical knowledge goes out the door when it’s you! So please bear with us on this “journey”. My first appointment with my GYN only practitioner, Dr. Rebecca Brewer went extremely well as she was very reassuring. I will stay with her until I am about 12 weeks…then I’ll have to transfer my care, only to again be a 3rd trimester transfer due to our BIG MOVE! “Whew!” So as I continue to be anxious, nervous, and scared out of my mind, Rashawn says that I am "risk averse", yea...sure, whatever that means.
Ray & Cynthia

Ultrasound - 4w3d

IMPRESSION: 1. Findings consistent with an early intrauterine pregnancy. A gestational/yolk sac was visualized!

HCG: “To Be Or Not To Be” - Convinced It's A Girl

As the days went by, my hypochondriasis worsened. Due to the persistent lower left abdominal “twinge” and low left intermittent back discomfort, by Monday I was convinced that we were dealing with an “ectopic” pregnancy. After some convincing, I contacted my GYN immediately. They were wonderful, sent me to the lab the same night for a confirmatory pregnancy test by checking my Quantitative HCG Levels AND scheduled me for an OB Ultrasound the next morning! It turns out my Quant HCG levels were right AHEAD of target at 5,446 mIU/ml which would date me at about 5-6 week PREGGO! However, I know that I am 4weeks and 3days  And I would be lying if I did not disclose to you that I was then concerned about a potential “molar” pregnancy due to what I considered to be inappropriately high HCG levels for my mere 4 weeks and 3 days  Anywho, the OB Ultrasound took about an hour. Although the ultrasound sonographer would not disclose EVERYTHING, I did see the gestational sac (Ray was out-of-town), and my “little” problem, turned out to be a 3.5cm CORPUS LUTEUM CYST ON MY LEFT OVARY! http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,5335,00.html
Which is not all that uncommon…”Whew”! And will probably disappear by the end of the 1st Trimester…”Whew”! I’m really not CRAZY! Well, that’s debatable…
So in short, due to my early onset of symptoms, aggressive changes, and whirlwind of events, Ray & I are CONVINCED “IT’S A GIRL” We would love to know what your thoughts are on the sex…cast your vote on the poll on the page!
Ray & Cynthia

Psychosomatic or Positive Pregnancy Signs

One week after conception, sure enough I was having a lower left abdominal “twinge”, excessive hunger/eating, weight gain, dreams, urinary frequency, low left intermittent back discomfort, AND light waves of nausea. SOON, I know! That’s why I wasn’t entirely convinced that these symptoms weren’t deriving from my precious “psyche”. So as the days went by we became more anxious, slightly overwhelmed, and reluctantly excited, until one night@ work @ the Emergency Department, I could wait NO MORE! It was 11:57PM on Friday, January 22nd, I took my 1st Pregnancy Test…IT WAS POSITIVE! Ray was excited and wanted me to take another one as soon as I got home…IT WAS POSITIVE! Confirming me at a mere 4 weeks PREGGO!

Ray & Cynthia

"It Really Works": Conception

Many of you know that Ray & I planned to start trying to conceive on JANUARY 1ST, 2010! And indeed, we did! There are times like these when it pays to be in tune with your body spiritually & physically. It also helps that I am one of those "lucky" women who definitely feel the pain of ovulation "mittelschermz". So to our hopefulennes, persistence, and delight, I know without a doubt that CONCEPTION DAY was JANUARY 9th, 2010! I am also very sure that IMPLANTATION followed approximately 5-7 days afterwards. Thanks to all the online forums and bloggers, I guess the pelvic tilt, suspension of legs in the air, and propping with a small pillow to aid the "little soldiers" in their journey didn't really hurt (despite Rashawn's skepticism & side-eye), IT REALLY WORKED!
Ray & Cynthia