3D! It's not just for Avatar anymore!

Oh...hello blog....I didn't see you there. What's that? Where have I been? Well...I've...been busy! Huh? No, nothing's more important than my forthcoming baby! Please don't yell at me blog. I know I've neglected you, but.....OK, I'll quite making excuses and get right to it...

Second trimester is almost done and several things have happened since I last updated. That being said, progress has not been made on a couple major issues: no name yet and no nursery theme - hence no paint on the walls in the nursery. I keep telling myself we have plenty of time, but I have a feeling I'll be saying that when the doctors says "We're at 8 cm now!"

On to the cool stuff that's happened. Anyone ever do one of those 3D/4D Ultrasounds? I thought these were pretty common these days, but several people I've talked to had no idea what they were. In case you don't know, doctors use alien technology that was passed down from Area 51 to enhance the 2D Ultrasound technology that already exists to create a 3D image of your baby while he or she is still hanging in the womb. If it doesn't become self-aware, it will show you incredible detail of your baby: facial features, expressions, etc.

I must admit, the first time I seen a picture of one of these, I thought it was creepy and slightly disgusting to look at. However, as Will Smith put it, my baby "made this look good!" Seriously, it's a much different experience when it's your baby and you're in the room watching them do it live. Seeing the baby moving around in 3D was such a cool experience. The only thing that made it even better, was having both of our Moms in the room for it.

And, because my mom was keeping two of my nieces at the time, we were able to share the experience with them as well. It really warmed my heart to see the wonder and joy on their faces when they seen our baby for the first time on the big screen. I know it's something they will never forget (nor let my nephew live down) and I will always cherish as well.

As for the baby currently known as Peanut? Well, he was all over the place! He moved around the entire time. We decided to buy a stuffed bear that plays the baby's heartbeat. To do that, the lady has to isolate the baby's heartbeat with her gadget and record it onto a little device. She worked for about 30 minutes trying to get a good one. Every time she thought she had him, he would move. I believe she tore up about two of those recording devices pushing it on and off so much. She even told Cristy "I feel sorry for you when he gets bigger! I've never had a baby move around that much."

I like to let people know about businesses that I think do a great job and give excellent service. Go to Precious View in BG if you are in the market for a 3D/4D ultrasound...and by in the market, I mean pregnant.

Here Comes The Son...

There are certain decisions or events in your life, where you know disagreements and debates are inevitable. Like when you decide to get married, you know you're going to debate where to have the wedding, how many people to invite or what kind of tux she'll let you wear.

Same with getting pregnant. Having a child commits you to a lifetime of debates on everything from what the nursery theme should be, to what foods you should let them have, to how old they should be before taking over lawn mower duty. On that last one, I say the earlier the better, 8 years old sounds good.

Within a few days of confirming our pregnancy, Cristy asked me "Do you want to find out the sex of the baby?" Of course I did! If you know me, you know I can be pretty impatient when I want something, so there was no way I could wait until August to find out. So, without tipping my hand, because let's be honest, we were going to do whatever Cristy wanted to do, I shyly said, "Well, kind of, what about you?" "I kind of do to!", she said almost immediately.

First debate cleared without any bloodshed. It was probably the easiest thing we've ever agreed on. I can only assume the anticipation is getting to us both.

So on March 12th, 2010, I found out I was having a son (I assume Cristy heard about it as well, since she was in the room with us). I think we were both a little surprised, because up until that point, everyone around us was calling the baby a "she" or "her". I can honestly say, I didn't care either way and I don't believe Cristy did either. But it is a little satisfying to know we were able to carry on the Elrod name on the first try... so take that Henry VIII!

As for the appointment, this was my first time around an Ultrasound machine and I have to say, I was totally amazed by what they could do with it. This guy was measuring his legs, the size of his head, etc. I believe he even got his vertical leap and 40 time. And before you ask...yes, I have submitted all measurements to the NFL Combine for the 2031 draft.

Once we got in with the actual doctor and she looked over all the results, she told us everything was going really well. Although, according to the measurements, the due date shifted slightly to August 7th, though they typically go with the first date if it's within a week or so. The next morning we were up and at 'em and heading to Nashville to begin looking at cribs, crib sets, nursery ideas, etc. Clearly, the next battlefield has been prepared, not to mention the Battle of Baby Names!

Any suggestions...

Breaking News.....

Our baby is going to be a boy.

More info to come...

What...Me Worry?

Anytime you go through a pregnancy, you're going to have a certain level of worry and paranoia throughout the process. You worry about eating the right things, laying a certain way, making sure the temperature of the water is not to hot when you take a bath, etc. That last one created a nice little panic one day when Cristy called me hysterical at work because she read you shouldn't take hot baths. She was convinced she had melted poor little peanut, right there in his/her home. Subsequent checkups have showed a strong heartbeat, though we're afraid he/she will want to make out with Snooki/The Situation in a hot tub when it grows up.

Once we made it through the first trimester and heard a heartbeat, I was feeling pretty good. Our last check-up went great. Healthy heartbeat, weight is good, etc. Then the doctor asks if we want to do these blood tests. One that checks for Cystic Fibrosis and one that checks for Downs Syndrome. I was kind of caught off guard. Here I thought worry had taken a nice long vacation, only to find out it forgot it's wallet and decided to stick around for the party.

Turns out, they ASK if you want to do the tests, so you have the option to abort the pregnancy if one of the tests is positive. Let me digress for a second and tell you that my brother recently had a beautiful little daughter with Downs. Her name is Bella and I couldn't imagine not having her in our lives. She is so adorable and an absolute joy to spoil!

We made the decision to do the tests. Not because it would change our decision on having the baby, but so we could prepare in either case. We had to wait a couple weeks to do the tests, then wait a week or so for the results. In the meantime, I called my brother to get a feel for the process they went through, just to know what to look for. I like to have as much info as possible when I'm unsure of a situation. It definitely eased my mind, though there's really nothing we can do or would do based on the results.

The good news came late last week, when both tests came back negative. Obviously, the worry is not over. Shoot, we're not even half way through this thing! But, it was nice to get over one more hurdle and continue on this strange and wonderful journey.

We are now 19 weeks and on Friday, we'll go back to the doctor to find out the sex. We'll also find out if there is just one peanut in there or a reality show worth of peanuts. Regardless, let's home their shells are strong, so I don't have to worry about breaking them all the time.

Be sure to answer the poll question at the top of this blog. I left an option for "Other", just to see how many smart-asses read this.

Until next time...

I Hope You Like Jammin' to...

As of today, we are 16 weeks. So far, all 16 weeks have went pretty well, as noted in previous posts. However, one particular week was better than all of them...the week we spent in Jamaica! Ok, it was only 5 days, but it was a great 5 days.

The planning of our trip to the Sandals Royal Caribbean resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica (sorry, had to say it again), began about 10 months ago. As the days, weeks and months rolled closer to our departure time, the more excited Cristy and I got. Relaxing days on the beach, fruity alcoholic beverages and delicious exotic food. I mean, I guess Jerk Chicken is exotic, right? At the very least, there would be tons of great seafood.

Enter Peanut...now Cristy can't drink any alcohol, shouldn't get to hot in the sun and has to watch the amount of seafood she takes in so her mercury levels don't turn peanut into a thermometer! What a huge buzzkill.......for her!!!

I still drank all I wanted, got a horrible sunburn on my legs and ate more Jerk Chicken than one man should be allowed. It was fantastic!

It was the best time we've ever had doing nothing. For 5 days we essentially did enough to sustain life, that was it. Cristy did lots of reading and I waded around in any form of water I could come in contact with....ocean, pool, shower, etc. We got to watch the Super Bowl and celebrate Bob Marley's Birthday in his home country. It doesn't get better than that.

The trip was not without the "Misadventures of Brian and Cristy". On the way back, we were checking our bag at the airport. We were only checking one bag, but I had repacked everything from the trip down. 10 pounds overweight! The only things we added to our luggage for the trip back were two bottles of wine and two towels! So, I had to fling open all our bags and try to determine just how many pairs of dirty underwear equals 10 pounds, so I can stuff it in the other bags...in the middle of the Jamaican airport.

In the end, we made it back without an international incident and we had a Doctor's appointment the following Friday. The heartbeat was still going strong, but it had a strange rhythm. The more I listened the more I realized what it was and began singing along...."One Love...One Heart...Let's get together and feel alright....."

Follow Mea Culpa...

Ladies and Gentlemen...I need followers. Not the kind of followers that David Koresh was looking for, just some people who will sign up to read my blog from time to time, so I know someone is "listening". Don't wanna follow? How about a comment at the bottom? Just a little something to let me know you're there. I'll even give you a phrase. In honor of the season 6 premiere of LOST, if you read a post and find it interesting...just drop a "Push The Button!" in the comments section.

Now, on to our show...

Wow, my worst nightmare came true. No...the baby is fine! Actually, it's that my procrastination set in. I intentionally waited until I had a couple posts on here before I told anyone about this, to make sure I could keep up with it on a regular basis. Well, several weeks later and I'm just now dropping my 4th post of knowledge on ya. Sorry, four followers!

We are at 14 weeks now and very relieved to be past the first trimester. The good news is, Cristy had very little morning sickness. The bad news is, she's had a hard time sleeping and her back has been hurting. What does that mean? Welcome to the bedroom Boppy! I'm sure you guys are familiar with this amazing, curved, stuffed, cuddle invention. It's designed so that the pregnant female (that sounds like something from National Geographic) can put it between her legs and it relieves the stress on her back, allowing her to rest more comfortably. What it does for me, is take up more of the bed and allow my wife to steal more covers....Yeah!

It's helped a little, as well as a couple stints sleeping on the couch (her....not me!). I can only imagine this will get worse as we move on and the belly gets bigger and bigger. Speaking of belly, I'm amazed at how fast she got a baby bump. It seems like she was showing at about 7 weeks. It's got me a little worried that we might be looking at Cristy and Brian Plus 9. If that happens, don't look for any more blog updates...any more facebook posts....any more life for me...