31 weeks!

Hello Everyone,

Thank you all for dropping back by the baby blog. We really appreciate you following our pregnancy and sharing in our joy that is our parent-to-be-hood. So, here we are...the BIG 31 weeks of pregnancy. Our little boy is growing extremely fast now. On average, babies tend to put on approximately 1/2 pound per week from here on out. As of approximately 4 weeks ago our little boy was 3.1 pounds. On Thursday of this week we will find out how much weight he has gained since then. I am guessing he weighs 4.5 pounds. At our last biophysical profile ultrasound we found out that our little one already has hair on his head. The ultrasound tech said it wasn't much (just like Dad), but he has hair nonetheless. Also, we have caught him numerous times sucking his thumb during the ultrasounds. He seems to suck the thumb on his right hand (maybe he is right handed). Oh and here is the best part, at the last BPP ultrasound Beth saw our little man sticking out his tongue (we have a picture to prove it). All in all he is doing so well.

Last week the little Lacny received another present in preparation for his arrival. Below is a picture of his new ride. Beth and I picked out this stroller because it has an exceptionally smooth ride and it is quite durable. A great big thank you to Grandpa John for buying our baby his travel system! Slowly but surely the nursery is coming together. The baby shower is in a month. After which we should be able to complete the nursery and relax until the "man" arrives.


Lastly, here are just a few things going on with our baby this week. Enjoy!

• His growing brain can process information from all five senses
• He is still working at developing those lungs in preparation for life outside the womb. The lungs are the only system that is not fully developed yet...just a little more time in the oven
• Due to tight quarters, he is now permanently stuck in the fetal position with his arms and legs pulled close to his body. He should also be stable in the head down position meaning his head is pointed towards Beth's feet and his butt up towards her chest. This is the proper position for birth

That is all for now. Have a great week and a wonderful holiday!

The Lacnys

The first portrait...

Let The 3rd Trimester Begin!

Hello Everyone,

Here we are, week 28 or "The Third Trimester". Things are going really well. As you can see in the picture above, Beth is rounding out beautifully. She looks absolutely stunning pregnant. And our little boy is doing so well. He is definitely a mover and a shaker. Sometimes we'll feel him bounce around for what seems like an hour straight. This past weekend we had a fetal NST (Non-Stress Test) and the nurse said his results were "picture perfect". It seems as if we have a very healthy and active little boy in the oven. We had to go to Labor and Delivery at the hospital for the fetal NST. After the test Beth and I were free to tour the "Birth Center". We walked around and looked at the nursery, the birthing rooms, the postpartum rooms, etc... During our adventure we saw some new parents and it got us all excited. Most of the new Dads had full beards which got me thinking...is the "beard" a right of passage into fatherhood. Who knows, maybe I'll have to grow a nice thick beard for the birth of our son :o) We also had a biophysical profile ultrasound this week and we were told that our little boy weighs 3.1 lbs (give or take an ounce). It sounds like he might be a big boy come Birthday.

We already started receiving furniture for our little one. The picture above shows the dresser that matches the rest of the nursery furniture. It was purchased by Grandma and Grandpa Lacny...Thank You! It was in a million pieces, but big poppa got it put together. The crib might be arriving on Sunday complements of Great-Grandma Kay Trump...Thank You Gram! Our little man's nursery is slowly coming together. Beth and I even did a load of baby clothes (which we received from a bunch of people already...Thank You All!!!) to fill some of the drawers.

Sunday, Beth and I have an appointment at Goldenview Ultrasound for a 3D/4D non-diagnostic scan. They had a special going on for only $50. This will provide us with some nice keepsakes to put into our first baby book. Hopefully he smiles :o)

That is all for right now. Thank you all for stopping by.

The Lacnys

24 weeks...

Greetings Everyone,

Welcome to our 24^th week of pregnancy. Beth and baby are doing great. Dad is another story. I am always nervous and anxious. I find myself asking Beth, a few times a day, if he is moving and ok…I know this is starting to drive Beth nuts (sorry babe). I am trying really hard to quell this anxiety. I know deep down that everything is going to be just fine and we are going to give birth to a healthy baby boy. Now, I just have to bring that to the front of my thought processes.

Alright, enough with the psychoses…

It seems that our little man is on the move a lot during the day. Every time he kicks or moves, Beth can see her belly move. It is truly amazing. We are anxiously awaiting the hiccups. Apparently, fetal hiccups are a really cool thing to see. On average, they begin sometime after 20 weeks. They don’t start until the baby’s nervous system is well developed to allow the reflex of hiccupping to occur. The hiccups are thought to result from the baby drinking/breathing amniotic fluid. So what happens is this: when the baby experiences a bout of hiccups, you can see the woman’s belly bounce and shake in a very regular rhythmic fashion. It is suppose to look and feel different than kicks or moves. We are really excited for this to happen.

Here are a few things going on with the boy this week:

He is working hard learning how to breath and putting on weight/baby fat. This week alone, he will gain ½ pound.

His ears and auditory system are fully developed now (we have to keep the books and the music coming). This also means the baby’s inner ear is fully developed meaning he has balance and can sense spatial orientation (“…am I upside down or right-side up?”).

He is about the length of a foot-long Chicago-style hotdog (…mmmmmmm) and weighs about 1 1/3 pounds.

That’s all for now folks. Have a good one!

The Lacnys

Sliding Right Into Week 22...

Good Day Everyone,

Welcome back to the baby Lacny Blog. So here we are, 22 weeks and counting and what a beautiful pregnancy it has been thus far. Beth has been feeling wonderful. The baby is doing great (baby boy). Life is good.

Fetal movements are off the charts. Beth feels our little boy all the time, which is quite reassuring by the way. She even feels him now while standing...something she wasn't able to feel before. I have even felt him kick a few times...and it blows my mind every time. I love it! Every time Beth eats and gives him a little food energy, it is off to the races. We can even hear the whooshing and thumping when he is moving with a stethoscope.

The baby should be right around a pound in weight and 10-11 inches long. In the following weeks he will be putting on his baby fat...if he is anything like his dad, it will concentrate all in his ass :o) He now has nerve endings in his fingers and is developing his sense of touch. Our baby boy is also sprouting many taste buds allowing him to taste when drinking the amniotic fluid.



Beth and I took the time to paint the nursery this weekend. We pulled colors out of the bedding for the walls. The picture above is the final product. All in all, not too bad for a couple of amateurs. We are really happy with the way it turned out. It is definitely a boys room.

Well, that is all I have for now. Thanks again for dropping by.

The Lacnys

WE ARE HAVING A BOY!!!!!!

Greetings everyone. The results are in...we are having a boy, and Beth and I couldn't be more excited. Even though a girl would have been just as exciting, a little son is where Beth and I have been leaning since the beginning. Ironically, we had the boys name figured out first...the girls name came second. The rest of the ultrasound went great. Our little boy is doing well. Everything looked perfect. He was given a clean bill of health on his anatomy scan. His heart rate is holding steady at 150 bpm. We are right on target with our original due date.

Beth and I are going to try and pick the colors for the nursery this weekend and hopefully start painting before November. The room is cleared out and ready to go. We just need to tape things off and start rolling. We are also going to register for the baby shower soon. This excites me to no end. I get to rock the scan gun (just like when we registered for our wedding shower). What guy doesn't like that?

All in all things are great. Our little one is doing very well (sigh) and the pregnancy is going smoothly. We have exactly what every parent-to-be wants at this point and time. 20 weeks down, ~20 weeks to go! Here we come.

Thanks again for tuning in...have a great day everyone.

The Lacnys

Hello week 19!

We are at about 19 weeks as of yesterday and things are progressing beautifully. Beth and I will find out the baby's gender one week from today. We are so excited to find out, we can barely contain ourselves. Monday, October 5th is going to be a very emotional day.

Last night, while we were watching the season premier of Flash Forward, Beth felt major baby movement for the first time. Now Beth has been feeling the baby move since week 12, but this was much different. At week 12 Beth was feeling a fluttering or tickling sensation in her lower abdomen which was confirmed by our OB to be fetal movements. What she felt last night was much different...like gas bubbles but way more pronounced. After she told me, I pressed my hand on her belly and felt something move immediately. As soon as that happened Beth said she felt the same sort of sensation. So we are pretty confident that what she was feeling was the baby moving around (kicking, stretching, etc...)

We are just very happy things are going well. We can't wait to meet our little bundle of joy. Thanks for tuning in...

The Lacnys

Here is Beth at 17 weeks. It is amazing how much she is showing. It still blows my mind. Hopefully this is indicative of a healthy growing baby. Like any parent, that is all we can hope for...then maybe for them to cure cancer when they are older. We are counting down the days until our next ultrasound (October 5th). This is where we will find out the sex of the baby. We have had consistent heart rates over 140bpm since the first time the HR was detected. Therefore, I am going to go against the old wives tale and say we are having a BOY! That's right people, you heard it here first. We are having a boy. After we have confirmation, I will reveal his name. WRONG! You will all only know the name after he or she is born. Sorry.

OK, I know 50/50 right. We can just as easily have a darling little girl. We'll all just have to wait and see. Exciting isn't it? Anyway, have a good one.

The Lacnys

P.S. (whisper) I am still saying boy :o)

Beth at 16 weeks...

We had our second OB appointment today. Everything is going great! The baby's heart rate was at 150bpm. Could this mean a girl? We still can't believe Beth is showing this much at 16 weeks. She looks amazing. Have a great day everyone!

The Lacnys

The first bedtime story...

Hello 16 weeks. In the 16th week the baby's inner ear bones are finally in place and functioning. Therefore, Beth and I have started our baby's first bedtime story. The story we have selected is "The Tale of Despereaux". Every night Beth and I read the baby two chapters from the book aloud. Beth will read one chapter then I will read the next. Funny enough, we are really getting into the story, so much so, that we want to watch the movie as soon as we finish the book. After we finish Despereaux, Beth and I were thinking about moving the baby onto something a bit more difficult..."War and Peace" maybe :o)

That is all for now. Have a great day!

The Lacnys

15 weeks baby!

Hello,

I apologize for the delay in posting. This will be a short but sweet post. We are in our 15th week of pregnancy...yeah! Things are going quite well. Beth is starting to show a little and she has been feeling the baby on a regular basis. Although the "regular" part has us a tiny bit worried...allow me to explain. Beth has been feeling the baby a lot at night. She'll feel him or her right when she lays her head down and a few times throughout the night. We can only hope this is not foreshadowing for our little one's sleep schedule after they are born :o)

We are actually accumulating baby stuff already and our shower won't even be for another 4 or 5 months. We have some fun unisex onesies and an extra car seat. I received the best birthday present ever from my mother...a manly diaper bag! I looks like a small backpack. It has an insulated bottle compartment and a changing pad. Plus my mom stuffed it full of baby clothes that say rockstar on them. So, it looks like we are well on our way to babyville. We are ready to meet our little one. We'll have our second ultrasound within the next month where we'll be able to find out the sex of the baby. Anyway, here are a few things that are going on with the babes this week...

• He or she is beginning to grow eyebrows and eyelashes this week
• Even though the baby's eyes are sealed shut, they are now able to detect light
• They are practicing sucking and swallowing in preparation for their debut outside the womb
• The baby's movements are a lot more graceful, but they are doing a lot of "uterine acrobatics" to strengthen their newly formed muscles
• The baby is approximately 4-5 inches and weighs about 2-3 ounces
  

Thank you everyone. Talk to you soon.

The Lacnys

12 weeks

Hello Everyone,

Well, here we are...12 weeks. Yesterday, August 10th, we had our first complete ultrasound following our first OB visit. It was absolutely amazing. It, by far, exceeded all of our expectations. The clarity of the ultrasound was awesome. We were able to see our little munchkin in action. I know I stated in the previous post how given the proper ultrasound equipment you can see the baby moving, but I had no idea what was actually in store for us. It really takes things to a new level when you see your baby move for the first time. Our little bundle of joy was really bouncing around in there. At one point it even looked as if he or she was sucking on their thumb.

The baby measured at about 2 1/2 inches which puts the baby right at 12 weeks (right on target with our original due date). His or her heart rate measured at 156 bpm...now if the old wives tale holds true, 167 bpm at the fertility clinic and 156 bpm yesterday is indicative of a girl (heart rate consistently over 140 bpm). Beth and I still have a feeling it will be a boy though. Whether boy or girl that baby will be loved to no extent.

So all in all, yesterday was a big day for the Lacny household. Our little one is doing well. He or she is continuing to grow and develop. We have another OB appointment scheduled for this Friday where we will meet our actual OB for the first time. I will continue to update the blog as much as possible, so keep checking back for more news. Thanks again for following.

The Lacnys

OB Visit #1 and Week 11

So, our first OB appointment was this past Friday. We are well on our way to babyville! It wasn't quite what Beth and I had envisioned for our first appointment, but it was solid nonetheless. We already knew about everything that the nurse practitioner discussed. They only did a "quick-peak" ultrasound there at the office to just confirm the pregnancy. We have a more complete ultrasound scheduled for Monday, August 10th. Monday the 3rd began our 11th week of pregnancy. As you can see by the 3D baby countdown, our little one is starting to look more like a baby and less like a reptile. Here are a few things going on with our baby this week:

• All of the baby's vital organs are now formed and functioning, so the risk of defects decreases this week as the baby becomes less susceptible to outside influences
• His or her testes or ovaries are completely formed now
• The babies skeletal muscles are well developed and allowing the baby to really move around in the womb...these movements can be seen via ultrasound
• In the following nine weeks, the baby will increase 30 times in weight and triple in length
• The baby is currently about 2 inches long and weighs about a third of an ounce

We will make sure to post ultrasound pictures after this upcoming Monday. Have a great day everyone!

Pregnancy Joke (07/29/2009)

Q. My childbirth instructor says it's not pain I'll feel during labor, but pressure. Is she right?

A. Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air current.

9 weeks :o)

Greetings Everyone,

So, we do not have an ultrasound this week, but I still wanted to give you all a list of week 9 little Lacny milestones. We'll have a lot more to post after our ultrasound on Friday, July 31st. Anyway, here you go:

• Our little one is now approximately 1 inch or the size of a medium size green olive
• Their little muscles are developing at a rapid rate and they can move quite well now even though Mom can't feel them yet
• His or her pancreas, gallbladder, bile ducts and anus are all in place, ready to poop and pee a dozen times a day when they're born
• Their male or female genitalia will begin to develop this week...basically they are getting their hoo-ha (girl) or wee-wee (boy)
• The baby's head is approximately half the size of their body
  

8 weeks 3 days...and counting

Hey Everyone,

Beth was just scanned again. We were unable to capture the heartbeat for all of you to hear, but his (or her) little heart was beating at a whopping 167 bpm! The baby measured out to be at 8 weeks and 3 days. The umbilical cord was visible. Apparently Beth has a "posterior placenta" which basically means she is going to feel the baby kicking and moving all the time. Also, the baby is much larger than it was when we had our "official" ultrasound last Thursday. So, all in all things are great. We can't wait until the 31st.

• The babies eyelids, ears, upper lip, and tip of his nose are forming
• Baby Lacny will sprout webbed fingers and toes this week
  
• The heart has now separated into four distinct chambers and is really pumping (at approximately 150 bpm)
• Our baby is a little more than 1/2 inch long...about the size of a small grape or normal sized blueberry
  

7 weeks and 2 days

Hello Everyone,

Beth and I have officially graduated from the fertility clinic! We are now free to go on to our OB. Today was our second ultrasound with the fertility clinic. The primary goals today were to measure the embryo and attempt to audibly pick-up the heartbeat. Our embryo (baby-to-be) measured at 0.92 cm which is about the size of a grain of rice. This puts our little one at 7 weeks and 2 days. With regards to the heartbeat...(drum roll please) WE HEARD THEIR LITTLE HEARTBEAT FOR THE FIRST TIME! It was amazing. Their little heart was beating at 140 bpm (this is good, strong, and right on target). All in all, things look great so far. We are having a picture perfect pregnancy. Beth and I would like to thank Dr. Kim and all the wonderful people at the University of Chicago Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility group. They are the true magic makers here. They have given us the greatest gift we could ever ask for. Lastly, what kind of host would I be if I didn't leave you all with a list of exciting things going on with our baby-to-be right now. Here you go.

• This week your baby's brain is growing at a mind-boggling 100 cells per minute within a see-through skull.
• Your baby's face is becoming more defined this week.
• A tiny mouth hole (which will be ready to wail before you know it!), tongue, nostrils and ear indentations are visible.
• His or her eyes are wide open, but he doesn't have irises (the colored part) yet.
• Baby's arm buds are growing. At this point they look more like microscopic ping-pong paddles than arms.
• Baby's leg buds are also forming and will look like tiny paddles by the end of the week.
• The umbilical cord—the connection between your baby and the placenta—is now visible.
• Your baby is now between 1/3 and 1/4 inch long—about the length of a Tic Tac and about as heavy as an eyelash. While that sounds tiny, he or she is approximately 10,000 times bigger than at conception.

Thanks everyone. Keep checking back for more updates.
The Lacnys

6 weeks now...

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday, June 31st, was our first viability scan (ultrasound). Things looked excellent! Erica (our lovely ultrasound tech) was able to pick up the heartbeat visually, but not by sound yet. We have our next and most likely last viability scan with the fertility clinic next Thursday. They should be able to pick-up the heartbeat audibly at that appointment. After that scan we will be released to go on to our regular OB. Here are a few things going on with our little one right now:

• The embryo has reached a size of about 8 mm (1/4 inch) in length.
• The spinal cord, which until now has been open, is beginning to close.
• The first blood cells and blood vessels are developing.
• Blood moves through these primitive vessels connected to the yolk sac.
• A pipe-shaped heart is formed and begins to beat.
• The brain begins to divide into 5 parts.
• Optic pits form the start of the developing eye.
• The cells destined to be the arms and legs are in place.

Thanks,
The Lacnys