Pregnancy Report: BABY PICS, PART DEAUX!!!
We had a bit of a scare yesterday. Bridget had been doing very well the past couple of weeks. Morning sickness had started to drop off quite precipitously, and so she was feeling much better, though still very tired.
While at school yesterday, Bridget noticed some spotting. There can be many things that can cause this, including miscarriage, but in our case that didn't necessarily mean a problem. However, we were naturally very concerned. A quick call to the OB/GYN was made, and it was decided that it was OK for Bridget to go in for another internal ultrasound this morning, rather than her regular appointment that was actually scheduled later in the afternoon after school.
The good news is that the pregnancy is still viable! The ultrasound clearly demonstrated a strong, steady heartbeat. Doppler readings of the umbilical cord showed good blood flow. And finally, we got our first good "look" at our baby! Based on the measurements made to the various body parts (upper leg, head, crown-to-rump), it was determined that we are right at 13 weeks into the pregnancy, and that it appears that the baby is proceeding with normal development of the limbs, etc. The baby currently measures 84.49 mm from crown to rump! And the little guy/gal was quite squirmy during the exam! All of this was most reassuring to us! I have posted two new ultrasound pics for you to see. One shows the Doppler readings on the umbilical cord (the colors stand out on the black and white ultrasound image). The other clearly shows the baby's backside! You can easily see the back of the head (and maybe an ear), the spinal column (confirmed closed) and the right arm and leg.
Here are the thumbnails of the pics! Please click to view the full-sized pics! Beware that these ended up being very large (over 1MB apiece), so if you have dialup, it may take a bit to see!
These pics, of course, have been emailed to the appropriate parties, namely the grandparents-to-be!
OTHER NEWS...
An important music event recently occurred! ARIA (Art Rock In Atlanta) sponsored it's first showcase featuring local and original progressive rock bands! The inaugural event was held October 23rd at CJ's Landing in Buckhead in Atlanta! The bands that performed were Paine's Promise and Karma Lingo, in that order. This was something we have been working toward for a year, now...and it was a great success! The next installment will feature Solution Science Systems and Lord Only at CJ's on Thursday, November 13th beginning promptly at 8PM! Check the ARIA website for more information!
What was so cool about this night in particular, though, was that a couple of weeks before, Veronica Hughes of Paine's Promise emailed me and asked if I would like to join them on stage and sing a song with them! Naturally, I agreed! I sang on the last song of their set, a cover of the classic Rush song "Red Barchetta". Now, I can do a reasonable Geddy Lee vocal impression, but I basically tried to use as much of my upper-register voice as possible and not go falsetto! I chose to do the vocals in the manner James LaBrie of Dream Theater did on his record version of the song on the Working Man Rush tribute on Magna Carta a few years back. I think that it caught a lot of people off guard when I belted out those high notes! ;-) Many of the ARIA community still didn't know I could sing at all, much less a Rush song. And with so many of them being Rush fans, it was going to be a "tough room". My main problem was that I could not hear myself sing at all! The only vocal monitor on stage was in front of Veronica, and I didn't want to crowd her away from her part of the stage, but the end result was that I could not hear myself sing, and I really had no idea how I sounded to the audience. Even though many people complimented me later (thanks, everybody!), I still am skeptical about the results. It was very unlike the Paracelsus set at RogueFest2002, where the vocal mix on stage was perfect and we could all hear ourselves and as a result out vocal perfomances were top-notch, in my opinion.
Anyway, you can see a pic of me belting out one of those high notes in the pic below, courtesy of Matthew Trautwein. Just click to enlarge! Thanks, Matthew!
The time is fast approaching that marks a year after the passing of my father Chuck. My mother Peggy is coming up to Georgia that weekend to be with her kids. My sister Beth has arranged to have a Mass said at her local parish church in our Dad's name on the anniversary day of his death, which just happens to be a Sunday. It really saddens me that my Dad never had the chance to enjoy grandchildren...I really thought that at the time we were waiting for Royce to arrive, that my Dad would "mellow out" a bit once he had a grandchild or two to fuss over. I know that losing Royce was just as hard on him as it was on us, but it was also something that he never discussed afterward.
Adding to the irony of the day, incidentally, is that November 9th is Bridget's Mom and Dad's wedding anniversay. This year makes it thirty five years! Congrats to my in-laws, Gus and Carolyn Reinwald! |
