The Results Are In!!

My cousin Kristi, who is almost at 20 weeks, had her ultrasound today to determine the winners of the boy vs girl wagers. If you've been reading the blog, you know that on the Russell side of things (starting with our grandparents) there has been ONE girl--her. So she was kinda hoping for a girl, so that our grandmother would think she was a savior. Then again, Kristi has an older brother, so part of her wants her first born to be a boy. So who won out--Joe's X or Y chromosome??

I can't tell you yet!!! I've been sworn to secrecy until all parties have been notified.

Some other cool stuff about today's events: Kristi's father (my uncle Mike), died on this day in 1996 after a heart attack and two weeks in the hospital. He was 45. Although we miss him daily, we know that he is smiling upon his daughter, anxious to help God and the angels along in the delivery of his 3rd grandchild. His little girl is having a baby. From the moment she came into the world on July 25, 1978, he probably dreamed about that moment, and now he has the best seat in the house. Although he won't be physically at the hospital, I know he'll be there.

Today, the doctor's also revised Kristi's due date to August 21. You know who's birthday that is? I'll give you 3 guesses--the first 2 don't count. I know that due dates are essentially an incredible educated guess, but won't it be something if Uncle Mike shares his birthday with his grandchild? Knowing him, he'll probably pull it off.

All Systems Go

Well, the results from the progesterone level test are in. First, let's recap:

* when the problem was diagnosed, Leah's level was .4
* last month, after 1st round of (50 mg) Clomid, her level was 9.3
* this month, after 2nd round of (100 mg) Clomid, her level was 24.4.

Basically, any level > 10 means that the body can conceive and support the pregnancy (it supports the implantation of the egg) until such time that the placenta takes over the production of it. Bottom line--you need it to get and stay pregnant. If at any time the levels begin dropping during pregnancy, this probaby indicates a problem.

For more info on progesterone and conception, click here

Now all that's left is the science. We'll keep our fingers crossed. We've certainly come a long way from January's "Right now you have a 1% chance of getting pregnant."

Good Friday, Bad Leah

Last week Leah was scheduled for a Thursday appointment with the bloodwork lab, to determine hormone levels and such from Round #2 of fertility medicine. Then it was discovered/remembered that the office would be unavailable on Friday because they were closed (which is an interesting concept, because I'm guessing they're open on Jewish and Muslim holidays, but I digress). Thus, in the odd chance that results WERE available in 1-day, it would be a moot point and we'd have to wait til Monday (i.e., today) anyway.

So she got squeezed in on Wednesday afternoon. Cool. Call back on Thursday afternoon and we might have your results. Then we don't have to wait all weekend. But alas, the most important aspect of calling them on Thursday was forgotten--you know, the part about remembering to call. It seems that "Call Drs. Office" on the daily calendar wasn't enough. In her defense, her co-worker was off on Thursday and thus Leah was a bit busier than normal. But she kicked herself all weekend for forcing herself to wait. Which brings us to today. We're awaiting a return call (the suspense is killing you, I know).

Keep in mind that this isn't a pregnancy/non-pregnancy result--this is simply to determine if the hormone levels are at the necessary levels to conceive. If they are, then we're at the medication level we need to be at, and the rest involves X and Y chromosomes and the miracle of the entire process. For the record, I do believe in miracles (my religion celebrated one yesterday, as a matter of fact).

This One's For the Girls

We had a humorous conversation Monday night over at Kristi and Joe's, and decided that whoever will produce a girl will be deemed the golden grandchild. Kinda funny, but there might be an element of truth in it. Apparently the Russell Y chromosome takes a few laps around the pool and spends some time lifting weights before being called to action. Here's why:

For those unfamiliar with Eric's family tree, we'll review it (for those who are, just amuse yourselves by reading other intellectually stimulating material): My paternal grandparents, Louis and Dorothy, had two boys--Tommy (my dad) and Michael (my late Uncle Mike). Mom and Dad had, yep, you guessed it--two boys. Uncle Mike had a boy and a girl. Uncle Mike's son, Steve, has had 2 kids, and you wanna know what they are? Yep--2 boys!! So out of my grandparents' 2 children, 4 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren, there is exactly ONE girl (Kristi). Of course, this will be Joe's determining chromosome, so he'll probably mess it up for the rest of us. : )

Currently Kristi is on deck. Hopefully we will be soon. I'm not even gonna get into the "Do you want a boy or a girl?" question just yet. Kristi and Joe will be finding out in a 2 or 3 weeks what they're having. I guess I'll know then if all the pressure will be on Leah and me!!!

Scratch That One Off the List

It seems the U.S. Consumer Product Safety board/commission/club/formal entity slapped a nice little fine on Graco over failure to report some injury reports and such stemming from use of their product. Now, perhaps I'll feel differently about this when a baby comes along, but these type of things have always intriuged me a little bit--Is there ANY responsibility to be had here on the part of say, parents, grandparents, and/or babysitters? Was the child supervised at all? How about assembly of the bed--was it done correctly?? Now, if the brackets were faulty or the wood was splitting or the plastic widget was breaking, then fine. But we live in a litagation-happy society where anybody that can be traced back to the situation is deemed responsible. Is it really the crib manufacturerss fault if your 2-year old threw his bedsheet over the ceiling fan and did a trapeeze act over the edge, or if he smuggled a screwdriver into his Pampers Cruisers and loosened one bolt of the side rail?? Obviously I'm being a bit facetious, but I'm just saying that companies, while bearing a lot of responsibility in making products for this market, probably settle a lot of this crap to avoid dragging their name into court and getting bad publicity. The term "catch 22" comes to mind.

Maybe I'm spouting off at the mouth at something I know NOTHING about. I'm not totally writing Graco off of our baby shopping list--but I'll make myself a more informed consumer.

Care to Comment?

Well, when I first started blogging back in January, nobody knew about it (including Leah)--so the "Comment" switch was "OFF". Now that the word is out, and all of 3 (maybe 4 on high traffic days) people are surfing here, I've now turned it on. Who am I to deny your right to free speech? Just remember.....comments detrimental to the site owner will be punished by dirty diaper bombs at some indefinite point in the future!!

Comment away!!

Furniture Shopping, Round 1

After a nice, relaxing lunch today at a Cordova eatery (Fox Ridge Pizza, if you must know), Leah wasn't really in the mood to go home. After all, it was absolutely beautiful outside, so the idea wan't a hard sell. We paid a visit to the Tennessee Sports Zone, and then--sitting at the intersection, pointed westward (toward home)-- came a "where did that come from?!" suggestion.

"Let's go to that Kids Furniture place and look at baby furniture." No prob. How bad could it be? After all, this would be a great information-gathering session. Boy, was it ever.

Shortly after Leah and I got married, we bought a 5-piece bedroom set. I suppose that at the time, I probably thought that it was the last major furniture investment that I would be be making. Time for a reality check, dude. Obviously there are a TON of furniture manufacturers (our book Baby Bargains, for example, says that there are over 100 companies in the U.S. that make or import cribs), and it's probably like anything else--How much do you wanna spend? But I quickly realized that for a solid wood crib and dresser (the most popular of which can be used as a changing table), we're probably looking at $600-$1000. And Leah want's a glider-rocker (which, I must admit, I'm pretty fond of--ask her grandmother). People who don't know any better might say, "Just go to yard sales", but that's a big no-no (especially with cribs) given current safety regulations and the like. Obviously quality furniture for Junior (or Junior-ette) will last a long time (it better!), but it was definitely an eye-opening experience.

My boss recently joked that the child tax deduction isn't nearly as much as it should be. I think I'm starting to see why. It'll be fun, no doubt about it. But expensive nonetheless (and we haven't even bought diapers or formula yet).

I'm sure there is more to come on this subject, so stay tuned....

I Can Only Imagine

I stumbled across this story online today, and just wanted to "think out loud" about it. I don't know why, really, except that maybe God is reminding me that if people in a situation like this can be steadfast in their faith, so can I.

A 9-year old boy from the Nashville area, Tyler Doughtie, died Monday after a 2 year battle with cancer. Here's the story from Nashville's Tennessean newspaper. Tyler seemed to be like any other kid his age--enjoyed basketball, soccer, Cub Scouts, and AWANA at his church. He was diagnosed in Jan '03 and at one point, was considered to be "loosely in remission." But it wasn't to be. What I find incredible is that this kid, in his dad's words, "NOT ONCE . . . ever shed a tear or [complained] about what he had to experience to be able to receive his reward in heaven." (his emphasis)

Today his parents are planning his funeral. 9 or 10 years ago, they were experiencing what I hope to experience in the next few months--a pregnancy and all the excitement, planning, and anticipation that it brings. The first birthday. Dropping him off for his first day of school. Riding a bike for the first time. All those are memories that are literally all they have left. But it seems that their faith in God assures them that Tyler simply made it to heaven before they did.

You always here those classic words when someone is pregnant: "I just want a healthy baby." Yes, that would be nice, but the reality of it is, however scary, that not 100% of babies are. From autism to Down's syndrome to a child who dies at age 9 from cancer, my faith tells me that God has a reason. Hard for our earthly minds to comprehend, but there's a reason. Who am I to question the wisdom of an all-knowing Lord?

I'm sure that I'll will desire a healthy child that will outlive Leah and me by many years--who doesn't? But in reality, that wish is selfish. I can't imagine the pain of losing a 9-year old, like the Doughties are at this very moment, but if I ever have to endure something that's even remotely as painful, it will be faith alone that gets us through.

Take a minute to read the sweet, sweet account of a grieving dad. And pray for the Doughties and the dozens of families like them. Tyler Doughtie website

I can only imagine what it will be like
When I walk by Your side
I can only imagine what my eyes will see
When Your face is before me.
- Mercyme

The Ultimate Fundraiser

Ever heard of the Upromise program? Basically, it's a partnership between lots of companies to give a small portion of your purchase of their goods or service to a particular child's education. Contributions go straight into a savings account managed by them, to be used for college education. The beauty of it is that you, loyal RussellBaby readers, can assist Leah and me in this endeavor. Don't worry, you don't have to buy $100/oz perfume from France, or shop at snootypeople.com for elaborate home decor items. Things that you buy almost every day can help little Eric or Erica go to a real university instead of North Memphis Cosmetology school (of course, if little Eric wanted to go to cosmetology school, we'd have bigger issues to deal with).

Currently we have almost $200 saved, which doesn't sound like a lot, but anything that ole Mom and Dad don't have to spend is fine with me. So, allow me to pose these questions:

• Ever buy gas at Exxon?
• Ever buy groceries at Kroger using your Kroger Plus card?
• Have you ever bought anything at Bed, Bath, and Beyond?

These are just a few examples of how you can help us save. Let's take Exxon as an example: They give $.01 for every gallon of gas that you buy. Let's say you have a 15-gallon tank, and fill up once a week. Assuming a 40-week pregnancy, and 18 years before starting college, you would donate $146.20 over that time from just from buying gasoline!! Next time you're at Kroger look for the "Upromise" sticker on the shelf, close to the price tag. Then think to yourself, "I could be helping Eric and Leah's child."

If you're interested, or want more info, email me (I send you a referral email, which you use to sign up!). If you wanna sign up and instead help your own child or grandchild, that's fine and perfectly understandable. It's just that this program doesn't require you to buy anything other than what you'd be buying anyway, and the partner companies do the rest. Much better than handing me a 100-spot and saying, "Save this for your kid" and then finding out that I spent it on a radar detector on QVC.

Upromise - How It Works

Double Down, and Increase Your Odds

(I've been watching the World Series of Blackjack, or whatever it's called, and it's interesting to see how these people play a hand versus how I would play it. I guess it's some sort of gratification of how knowledgeable a player I am, even if I am only betting 5 bucks per hand.) But I digress.....

As previously reported, Leah finished the first dose of her fertility medicine in February. No pregnancy means that 2nd dose comes in March. Dr. Bannister prescribed the 50 mg dosage at first, but now she wants to bump it up to 100 mg. At first, I was thinking, "Whoa! Wait a sec, doc......What are you trying to do to me here?! One kid is all I want--not 7!" (although the media coverage and free diapers would probably be cool). Of course, Leah didn't really question the doctor about it, playing the "She's the doctor, not me" card when I asked. But at my request, the question was posed and the explanation followed. The lower dose would only maintain the previous hormone level, and Dr. B. said that she really wants it above 10.0 to be effective. Yes, it made a tremendous jump the first month (< 1 to 9.3), but we've still got a bit more to go. So I'm OK with that.

Of course, this drug isn't covered by insurance companies, so twice the dose means twice the expense! Ugh! This kid is costing me money, and it ain't even been conceived yet! I know, I know.....all you parents out there are now saying, "Buddy, get used to it. If you only knew!!".