Big Girl!

Mackenzie had her 2 week doctor's appt on Wednesday and weighed in at 8 lbs 12.5 ounces. She is about 21.5 inches long now and still growing like a weed....given how much she eats from her mommy:) She is doing great, we still can't stare at her enough. She is starting to focus more on our faces and I think beginning to recognize who mommy and daddy are. I am pretty sure she calls me the milk lady and might even think of Phil as the milk man (she is always trying to peck at his chest looking for milk:)

Phil went back to work this week which was sad for all of us, but we are adjusting well. Mackenzie is letting mommy sleep for at least a few hours at a time at night:) Grandma came up to hang out with us one day and we had some other visitors as well. We also have some great friends who are taking turns bringing us meals, and that has been a huge blessing for us. I can hardly shower and get dressed during the day, let alone think of making meals!

Here are a few pictures of our little Mackenzie, enjoy!

(You can see she is very talented, already working on holding up her head! And Sadie is starting to warm up to her:) As always there are many more photos at http://mcgrane.smugmug.com.

Wow - It's been almost 2 weeks

What an amazing two weeks is been. While Angella and I have been learning to be parents (and there's a lot of learning to be had) Mackenzie has been a very active bundle of joy. By day two she had gone to her first BBQ Festival and her first softball game, matching jersy and all.

She really has been an amazing addition to our lives. I never really looked foward to the baby phaze of things, but now I can't even imagine her growing at all. I always thought that babies pooped, slept, cried, and never opened their eyes. Mackenzie has done her fair share of pooping, but other than that she has been an active little girl. She makes lots of little noises, but almost never cries and never for more than a few seconds. (Let's hope that never changes) Also, she opens her eyes and looks around kicking and punching more than I ever could have imagined. I swear she was trying to copy me last night when I was playing Punch Out on the Wii.

I just want to thank everyone for all the warm wishes we have recieved. It has been a huge blessing to have so many wonderful people take a loving interest in our little girl. As she grows and experiences the world we will continue to try and share it with you all. We're constantly adding pictures to her page on our smugmug site: http://mcgrane.smugmug.com. As we work our way through parenthood we will also try to update the blog with fun stories as they happen. Thank you again for all your support.

The McGranes

and in the pink corner....

weighing in at 8 lbs. 4 oz. standing 1 ft 8 inches tall....

MACKENZIE MARIE McGRANE!!!!!!!!!

more pictures at http://mcgrane.smugmug.com

Week 40 + 3 days!

No baby yet and no news to share. I am having lots of contractions, but nothing to get excited about just yet. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers! We will keep you all updated when there is any news, but for now we are just laying low and trying to rest. Phil took the day off to be with me, which I have appreciated:)

Happy Birthday Angella

Well it turns out that I will not be sharing a birthday with this little one! I guess that is okay, although we are ready for Tater Tot to join us anytime now:) We had a good day hanging out with my family and keeping me distracted. We will keep you posted with any news, don't worry!

No Tater Tot Yet!

Still no Tater Tot. We're waiting very anxiously. Everyone cross your fingers that Tater Tot will join us this weekend. I'm ready.

The Bassinet

Here is the long awaited bassinet.....it turned out so cute! Putting the bassinet in our bedroom has really made this a reality for Phil and I. We are getting very excited! Didn't he do a great job?

Week 39

Only 6 days to go! We are ready whenever Tater Tot is ready. We are looking forward to being able to hold our little one and start our new journey together as parents. I won't list all my complaints here, but just know that I am ready:) Only 3 days left of 12 hour shifts....I am hoping to take one of those off, as it is just a little much for this body right now. Otherwise, the bassinet is ready and now we wait!

Week 39

Picture to come soon.....there is still no baby and no news of when Tater Tot will make his/her entrance into this world. We will keep you all posted if we know anything. The midwives did not have anything new at our appt, just to keep hanging in there:)

Week 38 plus! Only 10 days left....

We made to week 38, what an accomplishment if I do say so myself:) I can't say that I am truly "ready" for childbirth, because who really is??? It's all the unknown and unexpected that is hard to prepare for, but I think Phil and I are pretty much ready. I think I dropped a few days ago, what do you think? 

Tater tot is still kicking and squirming around, hiccupping and pushing that cute butt out! Now we just wait. Phil is just about finished with the bassinet and we are working on organizing the closet in the baby's room by adding some shelving for all that baby stuff! I only have 5 days of work left, of which I am dreading, but thinking positively that maybe one of those days will put me into labor:) 

We'll keep you updated....

Week 37

It's getting closer. Tater Tot is still moving around alot and I'm tired all the time. This weekend I'm working all three days for the holiday. So far its going okay, but I'll be happy to be done on Monday. Phil's finally getting to the projects he needs to do before the baby gets here. 

Phil's latest venture...

Week 36

Well we've made it to week 36 and through finals! We are just about ready for the baby to come, just a few finishing touches to things and a little more prep for the birth. We had a tour of the hospital rooms last week and that made it feel very real! Tater tot has been moving a lot lately, tossing and turning, moving that butt all around:) I am tired a lot more often and still breathing like I have a "growth" in my lungs....but over all, doing great. I am excited to have my last two night shifts this weekend and get back to a somewhat normal sleeping schedule. I am going to try to post weekly until Tater tot comes (just for Lynda:), so stay tuned!

Week 34.5

Only 5 1/2 weeks left until the arrival of Tater tot! It is approaching quickly, so we are just trying to get all the last minute things around the house finished and enjoy each other for a few weeks (once Phil finishes finals!). The pregnancy is still going great, no big problems....just some swelling, backaches, and sleepless nights. But they say pregnancy prepares you for becoming a parent, and I truly believe it! Tater tot's newest routine is to get the hiccups a couple times a day, lasting up to an hour (usually when I am working or trying to sleep:). Phil tried to scare them away...but that didn't work. I just love to feel Tater tot moving, even if it is the hiccups, it is very reassuring that s/he is doing well in there! Work is getting harder and harder, but I am just focusing on those 3 months I will have off soon enough! Phil only has 1 1/2 weeks left of finals...yea! Then he starts his summer internship and we start really preparing for child birth. That's all for now!

Oh one more thing...check out the new poll on how to spell our girl's name!

Week 33....

The baby room painting is complete and we finally posted pictures! You can go to http://mcgrane.smugmug.com and click on family pictures to see all the pictures. Enjoy! 

We had our 33 week check up today and everything looks good. The heartbeat is nice and strong, staying in the 140's mainly. My uterus is measuring right on target and now it is just up to Tater tot to keep growing and getting chubby! Well I guess it is my job to keep eating for that to happen too:) The crib is set up and ready to go, now we just need to set up the rest of the furniture. We'll post some more photos once it is all set up and baby ready!

Week 32

No big updates this week, aside from a big belly and a big baby! Phil has been putting the finishing touches on the baby room, so those pictures should be ready soon. The goal is to have it complete this weekend, before finals start! Otherwise, we are doing well. We had our birthing classes this past week and feel much more prepared for the process that lies ahead...or atleast as prepared as you can be! So what is your guess, boy or girl? And what date do you think tater tot is coming? The polling has started off to the left of this page, cast your vote now!

Here is a comparison of Week 18 to Week 30...

Week 30

Only 9 weeks or as the blog says....67 days left! Unbelievable really how fast this time has gone by. I am sure I wouldn't agree with this statement all the time:) but I still can't believe that we are going to have a little Andrew or Makenzie in about 2 months. 

Things are going really well. I feel good, just tired most of the time. It is hard sleeping with an active little tater tot growing inside of me. The baby is active all of the time, even in the middle of running around at work, s/he likes to let me know that they are there still! But I tell the baby that I don't mind, I would rather be reminded continually that they are there, then have a non-active baby that I would worry about. 

The baby room is coming along, not too much more painting left for Phil to finish up. We had a great day last weekend with the help of my parents and law school friend Emily, we were able to knock out a bunch of painting in one day. That was a relief! Now when we are done painting, we just have to set up all the furniture and Phil is going to make the bassinet! He is a busy guy trying to do all these things and finish up his semester as well. Tater tot loves him though and knows he can do it:)

Week 29 Ultrasound

The first photo of Tater Tot is a view of the face looking at us. The eyelids were opening and closing when we watched the screen, so precious! The last two photos our of Tater Tot's facial profile with the infamous fist to the mouth. We could see the baby sucking on his/her fingers and smacking his/her lips during this view. It is amazing how active the baby is, Phil especially noticed this during the ultrasound (as I notice it all day long:) We cannot wait to meet this little person with such character already! 

As for statistics, Tater tot is in the 80th percentile for growth, meaning s/he is a big baby, and growing like a weed. The ultrasound shows the baby weighing about 3 1/2 pounds, which is about 1/2-3/4lbs above average. I think what we are beginning to understand is that we are not having a small baby! AKA, we do not have any use for newborn size clothing:) We are happy that the baby is a big healthy baby....because as I always say to the babies at the hospital, this is the only time in your life when "fat is in" so live it up!

Kim & Kevin's Wedding....

Here are some wedding photos with a good belly shot and of course the beautiful bride!

28 Weeks on Friday!

Only 12 weeks to go...amazing! Time is flying and this little one just keeps getting bigger and bigger, no joke! At our last appt at 26 weeks, my uterus was measuring at 30cm  (about 30 weeks)! This might be because the baby is large, the position of the baby is stretching my uterus, or who knows! The midwives and I do not think that the due date is wrong, so we will see. We have a 2nd ultrasound scheduled for next week to check on the growth, as well as follow-up with a few things they couldn't see clearly on the first ultrasound. We will let you know how tater tot is measuring then! 

Phil is on spring break this week, so he is working hard on tater tot's room. It is looking amazing so far....we will post pictures once it is complete. My dad came up after all the wedding craziness was over and helped Phil for a day. As you can see, Phil thinks he is pregnant too, and so we took his profile to update everyone:) 

Tater tot is very active and moving around all the time. During my blood glucose testing last week, we could actually see tater tot kicking all around just looking at my stomach. I think s/he likes sugar! Well I think that is all for now. I am going to try to post some wedding pics up here too. 

Week 24: Viable baby in there!

We've made it to week 24 and tater tot just keeps growing. S/he is an active little squirt, always letting his/her momma know that they are in there....no matter what time of day:) We are getting excited, starting to think this is the real thing. My cravings for sweets are working in overdrive these days, not that I haven't always had a sweet tooth, but I feel like I have no self control when I am around chocolate. I'd like to blame tater tot, but I don't think that would be fair:) 

I am excited to fly to Indianapolis next week for my friend Kate's wedding and to spend time with my little "nephew" Will. Then Kimberly is getting married 2 weeks after that! I have been busy trying to find things that look semi-decent to wear for all these events...shopping for maternity clothes is not as fun as one would think! I am not complaining though:) 

My last appointment, my uterus measured at 23 weeks, when I was 20 weeks and 5 days...it will be interesting to see how things have changed at the next appt. I need to keep with my goal of having a SMALL baby!!!

Week 20

This is last weeks picture....just now being posted. I am still amazed with the ultrasound pictures and the fact that there is a real baby in my belly! The baby weighed approximately 13 ounces and was about 17 cm from head to rump. He or she is in the 68% for growth.

I am definitely starting to feel better and feel slightly more like myself. I have more energy, like for instance, I can last for a few hours of shopping and not need to lay on the couch for the rest of the day recovering. I am starting to eat vegetables again:), and started swimming this week too! I think Phil is thrilled that I can now contribute to household chores again, so he is not all on his own. The baby is still moving around lots and I am still excited about it....I hear this excitement will change at some point, but for now its good to know the baby is healthy and alive! Until next time....

Kick

I felt my first kick, punch, elbow, or whatever it was today. The first one was a big one right into the palm of my hand. I got to feel a few other smaller ones after that. It was really cool. This is starting to seem pretty real. Ang says she's being kicked like crazy. I think she swallowed a soccer team.

Phil

Ultrasound Pictures!!!

We had our first ultrasound today. It was really cool. Don't worry, Tater Tot has all his/her parts. You can click on the pictures to see a full size view!

Phil

Profile

Profile

Full Side View (Tater Tot is facing down)


Foot

Face - As we were watching it the baby opened its mouth for this picture

Face - I think Tater Tot looks like Skeletor from Heman.

Profile

Profile

Week 18.5

I can't believe 18 weeks have already gone by. So fast, and yet so slow! The bump is starting to show a little more, and I think this is just the beginning of popping, so be prepared:) On 1/12, 2 days ago, I began feeling little tater tot move. What an amazing feeling, to know that the baby is alive, healthy, and listening to everything I say and do. Phil and I are both so excited for our ultrasound in a litte over a week. We will hopefully get a picture posted afterwards for everyone to enjoy. It will be so awesome to see this little one finally, even if only in a picture!

We have started the process of getting our house in order for a new member. We have lots more organizing and rearranging to go, before we can begin even working on the baby room. But it is fun to think in less than 5 months we will have a baby to share our home with! Phil bought some name books as well, as we have no ideas for girls' names. Any suggestions?? Thanks for staying posted! More to come in a week or so.