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He's Coming Soon!

2009-07-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

Beckie is nearing the end of her pregnancy. She is scheduled for a Cesarean Friday, July 31st. Before they go that route, they are going to try and turn him first. If he can be turned, she will go home and wait for labor to begin. If he can't be turned, they will go through with the c-section. Either way, we can hardly wait to meet that little guy. He's going to be cute like his brother I'm sure!

Pictures From Beckie's Baby Shower

2009-07-13T15:27:00.001-07:00

Week 32/33 - Ultrasound and Update

2009-06-17T15:30:00.000-07:00

Beckie had two appointments today so I had the day off. The first of her appointments was with her OB. He did an ultrasound today and are estimating he weighs 4lbs. 4 oz. right now. They feel he will double his weight over the next 6 to 8 weeks, so he is going to be around 8.5 to 9 lbs. AND right now, he is breech. We just had the ultrasound on Sunday and he was head down so he is still trying to decide. The nurse said he still has enough fluid and is small enough to turn so we'll see.

This afternoon she had an appointment with her gestational diabetes Dr. She continues to have "challenges" this week experiencing mostly lows during the days with a high fasting level. It's been so low at times that she has had to take glucose tablets. The Dr. recommends a higher dose of insulin at night which should help to bring her fasting numbers down. We hope she gets all that adjusted so she feels better. She has maintained her weight over the last couple of weeks. Beginning this Friday, she will go into her OB Dr. for stress tests once a week. In case you aren't familiar with what that is, she sits in a room and pushes a button each time the baby moves. The movements are then added up and I guess if they are too few, he may be in distress and they would have to deliver him early.

So how about some wonderful development news??? The big news this week is lung development—baby's respiratory system is almost completely mature. That means if baby was born this week, odds are he'd be a healthy bouncing baby with a just a little help from his friends. Baby can now detect light and tell the difference between night and day. His pupils will constrict and dilate in response to light. If you shine a flashlight on your belly, your baby may shy away from the light. The bones in baby's skull are soft and are not yet fused together. This pliability allows the bones to overlap, making that trip down the tight birth canal possible. Baby will continue to pack on the pounds gaining around ½ pound a week from here on out.
Right now, baby weighs about 4½ pounds, and is approximately 17.5 inches long.

I'm going to try and get some of the "still" ultrasound pictures up in the sidebar sometime in the next couple of days so check back.

June 11, 2009 - Week 32

2009-06-12T08:11:00.000-07:00

It's been a bit of an up and down week for Beckie. There is some stress associated with the gestational diabetes, being the solo employee while your co-worker is on vacation, replacing a non-working dryer and fixing up an entire room for your son so the baby can have the nursery. Even following the diet prescribed for her diabetes, her sugar numbers continue to be a problem. She is eating well and exercising and is getting such funny high numbers she was beginning to think her meter was off. She is going to continue writing everything down and working the plan and will see her Dr. next week for a review. She will also be having an appointment with her OB next week. I think at this point, she is most afraid of having a "giant" baby, having to be induced with the use of Pitocin and a Cesarean due to non-progression. Beckie is really following all the rules so I think she will have no problem having the delivery she envisions.

Now onto the baby's progress. At 32 weeks baby will settle into the head-down position in preparation for birth. Both mommy and baby are putting on some serious weight at this point. Mom will gain about a pound a week for the next few weeks, with half of that poundage going to baby. He'll likely double his weight in the next eight weeks. He's busy blinking, looking around, grabbing things, making faces, practicing his breathing, peeing and listening to everything around him. He may (or may not) have a full head of hair now. By the end of this week, baby will weigh about 4 pounds and measure over 17 inches long.

The joke this week is that his name will be Noname (no name), pronounced No-na-me. That is because, yes, they still haven't decided on just one name.

We are planning a trip to My First Peekaboo on Sunday for Rebecca and her sister, Tiffany. Beckie will be getting her 3D and 4D Ultrasound and Tiffany is hopefully going to find out the sex of her baby.

Week 28

2009-05-21T16:32:00.001-07:00

After a week of writing down everything Beckie ate and making finger sticks 4 times a day to test blood sugar, the New news is that she will be having to do 4 insulin shots a day. That will start Monday. Apparently, her values are more related to hormones than to what she was eating and that is the reason for her high sugar levels. She also had to have the Rh shot this week at her regular Dr. appt.

So what is up with baby...what's his name??? His eyes are partially open now and can blink and have rapid eye movement. The eyes have color now, too, although the color won't be final until nine months after he is born. He's also getting pretty chubby, weighing between 2 and 3 pounds. Not bad for a 15 incher right? Momma says he is having lots of hiccups and his movements are strong.

"Brother's" room, which is Scott's old room is going to stay the same and Scott will be getting a new "Big Brother" room. Matt and Beckie have begun clearing out their old office space and plan to paint it in greens and blues and with a transportation "theme". Scott is very excited about this. I had him tell me where he wants his bed, dresser, toys, clothes, etc. last week and he had a clear idea of where everything belonged. They plan to paint a mural of a road on the walls.

77 days until the due date, can you believe it?? The time will fly by with summer upon us.

Week 27 - Mother's Day

2009-05-10T21:19:00.001-07:00

Beckie and Mathew made breakfast on this lovely Mother's Day for our family. Yummy waffles with fresh strawberries, cinnamon rolls, bacon and eggs. Each of the kids brought something to the potluck and it was VERY nice! Thank you Beckie!

Since the last post there has been a new development. Beckie had to take a routine glucose tolerance test about a month ago and ended up with a higher than normal number. She had to take the test again, this time over a longer period of time, and again the numbers were high. Now she has to add a gestational diabetic nutritionist to her list of Drs. she must see. She goes for her first visit this upcoming Thursday. I think it is a good thing in general. It's always a good idea to eat well while you are pregnant and this is kind of a forced way of doing that. With gestational diabetes, when baby is born, the diabetes goes away.

What is happening with little baby Mckenzie this week? His lungs and immune system are maturing this week. He's done a lot of growing over the past few months more than doubling in the past 15 weeks. Baby weighs in at approximately 14 1/2 inches and just over 2 pounds.

Every week we bug Beckie and Mathew to come up with a name for this little sweetheart so we can start calling him by his name. Hopefully, they will finalize the name soon!

April 23, 2009 - Week 25

2009-04-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

Wow! Week 25 already! Beckie is growing with the new life inside her. He seems to be a happy, healthy baby boy. Today she had her glucose test and RH factor labs done. She said, "the baby was bouncing off the walls inside" with all that sugar in her system. If you are unfamiliar with the glucose test, the mom has to drink this really syrupy, sugary soda drink, wait an hour, and then have her blood sugar levels tested to see how her body handles the sugar rush. Unless there is a problem, she was told she would find out the results of both tests at her next appointment, 3 weeks away.

And what is that sweet little baby up to? Well, his hands are now fully developed and he is beginning to make grasping motions. Along with grasping, he can feel things he is touching now that his brain and nerve endings are developed enough. His arms and legs have grown to almost the proportions they will be at birth. His nostrils, which have been plugged up until now, clear out and he can practice breathing through the nose. The structures of baby's spine are now made up of 150 joints, 33 rings and some 1,000 ligaments. The capillaries are now forming in his body giving his formerly translucent skin a pink glow. Blood vessels in the lungs also develop this week. Baby weighs about a pound and a half and is about 13½ inches long.

Beckie and Matt are trying hard to come up with a name but so far haven't settled on anything. I hope they do soon because we are all waiting to call him by name. When we ask his big brother, Scott, what baby should be called, he announces proudly, "Mickey", mostly because he went to Disneyland in February and LOVES Mickey Mouse.

March 26, 2009 - Week 21

2009-03-26T15:20:00.000-07:00

Rebecca is 21 weeks pregnant now. She's growing large enough to begin wearing maternity clothes again and the baby is very active. She had an ultrasound last Thursday and yes, he is still a he! Everything looked good and baby is progressing just as he should. Big brother, Scott, is getting ready to start pre-school 3 days a week starting April 3. Big changes! This little baby is getting 2 new cousins this year too! Rebecca's sister-in-law, Brianne, is due any day with a baby girl and her sister, Melody, is due to have a baby boy in about 8 to 9 weeks.

This week Baby looks like a mini-version of what he'll look like when he's born. All his facial features are formed and hair is growing on his head. He's even acting like a baby and will occasionally suck his thumb or yawn.

His heartbeat is getting stronger and can be heard using a good old-fashioned stethoscope. By 21 weeks, fetal bone marrow starts making blood cells—previously done by the liver and spleen.

The amniotic fluid that has been cushioning the little baby now serves another purpose: Your baby uses it to "practice" chowing down. Baby has been swallowing amniotic fluid for a while, but now the intestines are finally developed enough that he's absorbing small amounts of sugars from it.

Baby now weighs between 10 and 11 ounces and is approximately 7 inches long.

19 Weeks

2009-03-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

Baby Boy Mckenzie is 19 weeks along and must look something like this picture. This week baby starts bulking up and packing on the grossly named "brown fat" he'll need to keep warm when he gets evicted from his comfortable uterine home. Other highlights this week:

Vernix, a milky white coating that protects your baby's skin, appears all over baby's body to keep his skin from getting pickled in the amniotic fluid. Under the vernix, a fuzzy layer of hair called lanugo now covers baby's body. Most of the fuzz will fall off before baby makes his grand entrance. He now weighs about 8½ ounces and measures 6 inches.

Beckie has been feeling pretty good and has been feeling lots of movement. She will be having another ultrasound at her Drs. appointment later this month. Then we will have some pictures of him to share too! I think we are going to begin taking pictures of her this week like we did for her sister, Melody. This may be the second time around, but it isn't any less special!

My First Peek-a-Boo Reveals......

2009-02-23T07:17:00.001-08:00

It's A Boy!!!

16 Weeks

2009-02-20T11:55:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay in updating. I've been really sick with a bad cold for nearly a week.

So this is going to be an exciting week. Beckie had labs done this week with 3 more Ultrasound pictures. I'll be posting those here within the next week. Baby looks great with a strong heartbeat. This upcoming Sunday is our big trip to My First Peek-a-Boo in Santa Barbara to find out what our little baby is.... Boy or Girl. Momma says it's probably a boy and I've poured over the pictures but can't really tell. There are plans for lunch and shopping and fiddling around down by the pier too. Should be a really fun day!

Baby's progress this week: Baby is about 4 1/2 inches long and weighs almost 3 oz. Baby is planning on a huge growth spurt in the upcoming weeks. The baby has grown strong enough to hold his head straighter. Eyes and ears are moving into their final position and energy is focused on the circulation system. Baby's heart is pumping nearly 25 quarts of blood each day! Fine hair is starting to grow.

Week 14

2009-02-05T08:29:00.000-08:00

The McKenzie baby is 14 weeks this week. It isn't known yet if baby is a boy or girl yet but we are making plans to find out. Rebecca's sister, Melody, had her first ultrasound done around 15 weeks to find out. So sometime in the next couple of weekends, we will be making the trip to My First Peek-a-Boo in Santa Barbara. We can't wait to find out!

Now on to baby's progress this week. Baby is 3 1/2 inches long and weighs 1 1/2 oz., about the size of a lemon. This week's big developments: Baby can squint, frown, grimace, pee and even suck it's thumb. Kidneys are producing urine. The baby's body is growing faster than his head. By the end of the week, arms will be in proportion to the rest of the body. Lenugo, or ultra fine body hair is developing all over it's body. Their liver is making bile and the tiny spleen is helping in the production of red blood cells. Though momma isn't able to detect movement yet, baby is busy kicking and punching. It's hands hands are more flexible and active too.

We'll keep you posted when we know the date for the ultrasound.

Week 13

2009-01-29T08:26:00.000-08:00

Rebecca is now entering the last week of the first trimester, week 13. Baby can suck it's thumb now. The eyelids are fused shut to protect them as they develop. Bones and skull are solidifying and tooth sockets are loaded. The vocal cords and larynx are also completed. Baby weighs about 20 grams and is nearly 3 inches long.

Rebecca, Matt and Scott enjoyed Disneyland and even stayed an extra day at California Adventure Park. It was fun seeing Disneyland through the eyes of Scott. His favorite ride was Dumbo and he fell asleep during the Nemo ride, right in the middle of the explosion. Kids!

Being pregnant with your second child is a little different from the first. You know what to expect as far as being tired and sick goes. Right now, Rebecca is experiencing "emotional" feelings and crying at the drop of a hat. Totally normal with all those hormones working. Maybe that means the baby is a girl huh? Other than that and being tired, she is doing great!

In addition to expecting, Matt and Rebecca are parenting a little guy that is doing the "Terrible Two" thing right now and is spending almost more time being naughty than nice. Lots of challenges, especially in the "going to sleep at night" area. We all hope this phase goes by quickly and our sweet little Scott returns very soon.

Week 12

2009-01-25T10:15:00.000-08:00

Here we are 12 weeks into Rebecca's pregnancy. This week the neck is present and the face is well formed. Eyelids are closed for right now and will reopen at about 24 weeks. Tooth buds appear and the arms and legs move, although they are not felt quite yet. All the body parts and organs are present. Definitive signs of male and female gender are present and the heartbeat can be detected with electronic devices. The baby is between 2 and 3 inches long.

Rebecca has been feeling pretty good. She says she gets "afternoon" sickness rather than morning sickness. Matt, Rebecca and Scotty were able to take a few days off this week to go down to Disneyland and California Adventure park, the first time for big brother Scotty. They had a great time! Rebecca had an appoint this week and was able to listen to the heartbeat again. Next appointment, which should be right around 16 weeks, she will have an ultrasound to determine sex. Then we will be able to really get going on this blog! It's so much fun when you can start finding names, decorating the nursery and making plans for the new little one to be.

Week 11

2009-01-08T09:23:00.000-08:00

Baby McKenzie continues to grow. This week the baby is just over 1 1/2 inches long, about the size of a fig, and is almost fully formed. Hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under baby's gums, and some of the bones are beginning to harden.

Baby is already busy kicking and stretching, and the tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as it's body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

Momma is doing great. She does feel tired quite a bit and foggy, you know, pregnancy brain. We were joking last night because she needed to supply me with more diapers for Scott. She told me to call the house and leave a reminder because she was certain she would forget. She's already looking into colors and crib sets that she might like to use this time around. They are hoping for a girl but would also be happy with a brother for Scott.

Week 10

2009-01-05T08:15:00.001-08:00

Though the baby is barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of its development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

Baby is swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside the womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Baby's limbs can bend now. The hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over it's heart, and the feet may be long enough to meet in front of it's body. The outline of the spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from the spinal cord. Baby's forehead temporarily bulges with it's developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, baby is about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, the baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

Beckie has been feeling a little tired and is beginning to have those internal "stretching" feelings. She's lucky though, not nearly as much nausea as her sister.

Week 7

2009-01-05T07:10:00.000-08:00

Beckie and Matt are expecting their 2nd baby August 6th of 2009. This is the first ultrasound pictures they surprised us with on Christmas Day. We are so excited and will be posting updates as her pregnancy progresses.