Yeah, I haven't fixed the stereo problem. Unless it's really annoying, it's not one of my priorities. It connects via a USB port, so I may not be able to fix it.

You know what Mz, I'll double check, but I think you can set cool edit up for a cheap workaround.

It should be easy to set it to record two copies of the right channel and then when you do the mixdown it will appear to be in stereo.

Once it was set it should always be ready that way.  I'll play around with it tonight and see what it would take.

OH, could you PLEASE, ONE LAST TIME, PM me the address to your blog and I WILL update the homepage with a link to it.  I'm SO sorry, but the confusion with these computers has been immense and I lost the link AGAIN!  This time I'll take care of it the minute you send it.

Thanks

woah nice work on the buttons and links today!

Here's one for you Mz!!


I was 9 months pregnant and I didnt know!
Amanda Brisendine went to the hospital with stomach pains. She left with a baby boy






Richard Brown

It was Oct. 28, 2006, a Saturday, and for days 26-year-old Amanda Brisendine had been plagued by stabbing pains in her lower abdomen. She finally decided she couldnt put it off any longer. She was worried the pain signaled a repeat of a problem shed had five years ago, when the discovery of a golf ball-size cyst led to the removal of one of her ovaries, so she headed for the urgent care clinic near her home in Renton, Wash. Amandas grandmother, Joan, thought Amanda might be battling stomach flu. Lately, shed seemed exhausted. But it wasnt easy to get much rest with her 14-month-old daughter, Melodie, to chase after.

At the clinic, doctors ran a battery of tests. Amanda sat for hours as the pain came and went. Fears nagged at her. What if it was another cyst? Would she lose her other ovary? The doctor came in.

Youre pregnant, she said. Pregnant! Amandas mind whirled. How far along am I? Two or three weeks? she asked. Youre a little bit further along than that, a technician said. As a matter of fact, youre 37 weeks. Youre having a baby, Amanda!

The ultrasound revealed that Amanda was carrying a boy. I said, How is that possible?? Amanda recalls. It didnt seem real.


The One-Day Pregnancy
Still reeling, Amanda immediately felt different. I was 37 weeks pregnant, instantly, she says. I felt huge. She called her boyfriend, Jason Britt, to share the news that they would soon make that very soon be presenting Melodie with a brother. He thought I was joking, says Amanda. It was the quickest pregnancy Id ever seen, Jason, 33, says.

But what Amanda and the doctors were concerned with now was her babys health. I obviously hadnt had any prenatal care, she says. I wasnt taking vitamins. I wasnt eating properly or resting. She worked long hours in an Albertsons grocery near Seattle, lifting heavy packages and taking out the garbage. Three months
earlier, shed even been in a car accident but, with only bumps and bruises, hadnt gone to the hospital.

Most alarmingly, she hadnt felt her son move at all. It was nothing like my first pregnancy, Amanda says. With my daughter, she would kick me and the person next to me would feel it. The doctors did more tests, which showed that her level of amniotic fluid (which allows the baby to move and develop properly in the womb) was low.

From our assessment, the baby wasnt doing well in utero, says Amandas doctor, Danica Bloomquist of Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue, Wash. He needed to come out. The decision was made to perform an emergency Cesarean section. Right before her surgery, Amanda and Jason decided to name their son Alexander Joseph A.J. for short. Jason thought it was a good football name, Amanda says, laughing.

On Oct. 29, just 36 hours after learning that she was pregnant, Amanda delivered a healthy 7 lb., 5 oz. boy. We were very, very lucky, says Amanda. He was my miracle baby!


Missed Signs
So how could Amanda carry a baby to term without realizing it? When I first found out, I felt really dumb, she admits. But the phenomenon is more common than she realized (see Unexpectedly Expecting, at right). Id never really had normal periods because of my ovary, she explains. Her doctors believe she mistook light bleeding or spotting, which around 20 to 30 percent of pregnant women experience, for menstrual bleeding.

And what about the obvious question her bump? Amanda gained 40 lbs., but she attributed her expanding middle to the fact that shed given up smoking. Ive never been skinny, she explains, and she hadnt lost all of the nearly 100 lbs. shed put on during her first pregnancy. My jeans started to feel a little tight, so I wore sweatpants, says Amanda. I tried to ignore the weight gain because I didnt want it to put me off quitting smoking.

While carrying her first baby, Amanda had mood swings and cravings for pickles and pears. Neither happened this time, and there was no repeat of the morning sickness shed endured with Melodie. She lives with me and I had no clue! says Joan. I knew she had stomach pains. I told her to take hot baths and drink detoxifying tea.


Immediate Family
After giving birth, the instant mom was an instant celebrity. All the reporters had the same question: How could this happen? Some people said she must have been hiding her pregnancy. Im 26 years old, Amanda says firmly. I dont have to answer to anybody. I had no reason to hide it.

Since then, Amanda has struggled to adapt to suddenly being a mother of two. Most times, you have months to get used to the idea that youre having a baby and you bond, says Joan. She didnt have that. She wasnt ready.

There had been no time for the rituals Amanda enjoyed with her first pregnancy: a shower, a keepsake book, shopping for outfits and toys. I went straight to the baby, Amanda says. I was incredibly happy with my son, just not with the situation. The first few weeks, I was still in shock. The new addition brought unexpected expenses and Amanda had no money saved. Shed gotten rid of most of her daughters baby things. A local store donated a stroller, clothes and other necessities. Amanda took two months off work.

Today, the family is adjusting. Jason is still in his job as a forklift operator; Joan babysits for Amanda, whos back at work. Melodie loves helping to care for her little brother, whos growing fast. Amanda says shell definitely tell A.J. about his birth when hes older. Im going to tell him he was my surprise present from God, she says. But even she still has flashes of disbelief. Sometimes, she confesses, I wake up in the night to check if A.J. is there or if I dreamed the whole thing.