37 weeks with 3 weeks to go

I had my weekly doctor's appointment on Tuesday, May 12th. It was another check up on my weight, which I've gained a couple of pounds this past week, my blood pressure (110/82) and the baby's heartbeat (from 135 bpm to 138 bpm)......as usual, all good numbers. My doctor also checked to see if I'm getting any closer to labor and I'm not.......things are still closed down there. I think our son is going to be very obedient because I've been telling him over the last couple of months that he can't come early and so far so good! Is it possible he can hear us and understand us? Probably, he's our son and will be a smart child, right? He he he.

Other news this week, Mike and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary on Wednesday, May 13th. We couldn't be happier at this point. Three wonderful years of marriage, a new home and a baby on the way, life is perfect!!

I have some pictures to post of my belly at 36 weeks and some pictures of Mike and I. When I get a chance, I will post them.

Otherwise, my next update will be May 19th after my next weekly appointment.

As always, thanks for following!! It's been a long journey so we appreciate all of your love and support!

36 Weeks and counting

I'm 36 weeks with 4 weeks to go. We had another doctor's appointment today, which went well. The baby's heartbeat was ranging from 145 bpm to 153 bpm. I actually lost a pound, which is good. I have been more conscious about what I'm eating (staying away from sodium) because at the last appointment I had gained several pounds from all the fluid I've been consuming. And my blood pressure was 120/68, which is normal.

We also found out that the baby's not coming anytime soon. My cervix is closed, which is good considering we're still surrounded by boxes from our move last week. At least I know I have some time before he decides to come..........no need to pack my hospital bag yet!

I also was tested for the Group B Strep Test. I'll find out the results next week, but this test is normal for all pregnant women at 36 weeks.

Another piece of good news is that my doctor has decided not to go on vacation the week of my due date. Yeah!

Well, we're still getting settled in our new house. We got the baby's furniture delivered yesterday and the baby's room is painted (thanks to Mike and his dad) so we're happy about that. We'll post pictures of it once it's done.

Thanks again for being here and following our blog. I have started my weekly appointments so the next one will be next Tuesday (5/12) at 10 am again and I'll provide an update after that one. At that point, I'll be 37 weeks and considered full-term! Yeah!

Pictures of the Parents-to-Be

Here are some pictures of Mike and I.

Two pictures are on moving day - April 29th - one is in our condo right before we left for the last time; another one is in front of our new house the day we moved in.

And the other one is outside the Church where our nephew Griffen had his 1st Communion (May 2nd).

Baby Byrne Names

Everyone keeps asking if we have any names picked out for Baby Byrne. We have 3 names picked out so far and have decided that we'll choose his name when we see him. Since both of our families are Irish, we've decided to go with an Irish name.

Here are our top 3 choices:
1) Cormac Michael Byrne

2) Michael Anthony Byrne

3) Eamon Michael Byrne

We clearly want to use Michael's name (both after him and his father). With the 2nd name, we chose it after Mike's dad and my dad. Cormac and Eamon are Irish names that we really liked.

Well, that's all for now.......only a few more days before our move. And Mike's parents are coming back into town on April 30th so it will be an exciting week for us.

We'll keep you posted on any updates, otherwise, my next post will be after the May 5th appointment.

34th Week Update

Today, we had another appointment. It was an ultrasound to check the fetal growth of our baby. It was an exciting appointment. We had to be there at 8 am and needed to leave by 7 am to make sure we were there on time. When I woke up Mike, he said to me with a big yawn, "the baby is already making us get up early!"........too funny.

Anyway, I've attached some profile pictures of him and attaching a video of our son. We took a few more videos, but only loaded a short one. During the video, the technician is showing us where the baby is located in my stomach. So you'll see his spine, his head, etc.

The ultrasound went great. We found out that the baby is measuring/weighing at 5 lbs 3 oz. There is about a 12%-15% +/- variance in that weight, which means Baby Byrne's current weight could be more or less than that by about 12%-15% so not that much. He is between the 50th-75th percentile for his femur and abdomen, but his head is in the 75th-95th percentile. In other words, he's got a big head. If the baby stays around the 50th percentile and comes when he's due, then he will be around 8 lbs.

During the ultrasound, they checked to make sure the amniotic fluid is normal, which it is. They also checked to make sure Baby Byrne is getting enough blood and oxygen through the umbilical cord and he is.......so again, everything looks great and he seems to be a healthy little boy!! Oh and we did double check that our baby is a boy and he definitely is. We didn't want any surprises so we thought we'd ask again! The technician did show us where his back, head, feet, hands are all positioned. We figured where everything was but we love knowing for sure so when I feel a jab or we see a movement across my stomach then we can tell what body part it is.

I had my blood pressure checked and it was 106/62, which is good. We also heard Baby Byrne's heartbeat which was around 137 bpm......strong little heartbeat. Mike had a heart murmur when he was a baby and he asked if they can hear if our baby has one. My doctor said she does listen for it and didn't hear one in Baby Byrne.......more good news!

As for me, I gained some more weight which my doctor said is a lot of fluid. She also said that the fluid gain has a lot to do with why my hands and feet have been so swollen and achy. She said to cut back on sodium and that should help with the fluid intake. I've definitely have been more achy lately (everywhere) so the effects of the 3rd trimester are hitting me........only 6 more weeks! However, I'm still exercising at least 2-3 times a week - prenatal yoga and prenatal water aerobics.

My doctor also confirmed that our decision not to breastfeed is a wise one especially if the baby could be at risk so that was good to hear! We also told her that we've decided to donate the baby's cord blood. I've already requested a kit from LifeSource and just need to bring it to the hospital when we deliver......hopefully it will save another baby's life!

We are taking a few baby classes and have 2 of them this week. We're looking forward to them!

Our next appointment is scheduled for May 5th, which starts the weekly appointments. We move next Wednesday, April 29th so wish us luck. I keep telling Baby Byrne he needs to stay inside until June 2nd, although he's getting plenty big already. And my doctor is going to be on vacation as of May 29th through June 7th.......so I'd be ok if he came before she goes on vacation.

In any case, we'll keep all of you posted. As always, thanks for following our blog and for caring about our little Baby Byrne! I'll update the blog again after our next appointment if not before then.

32 Week / 8 Months Update

Mike and I had another doctor's appointment today. It was another general checkup but another great appointment. My blood pressure was 110/62 (excellent), my weight gain was 4 pounds in 2 weeks (yikes, but my doctor said that's good because I haven't gained a lot during the pregnancy), and our baby's heartbeat was between 136-141 beats per minute........so it's slowing down from where it's been, but my doctor said that's normal as you get closer to the due date. Anyway, everything was positive which we like to hear.

I did find out that I won't be able to breastfeed due to my Crohn's Disease medication that I have to take. There would be side effects to our baby that Mike and I didn't want to risk. I was disappointed to hear that I wouldn't be able to experience that, but I know that I need to be healthy and clearly want our baby to be healthy so in the end it's the right decision. Mike's response though was "That one call from your doctor just cost me a lot of nights sleep!".......aaahhh, my CFS husband!!

Other than that, I'm having trouble sleeping at night......I wake up during the night and stay awake for 1-3 hours at a time. My doctor suggested I take Tylenol PM, which has been helpful, but I've only taken that a couple of times when I'm really exhausted and need my sleep.

Lil' Baby Byrne gets the hiccups a lot, which are so cute. He gets them at least 2-3 times a day on average......poor little guy!

Our next appointment is April 21st, which is the 34th week ultrasound. We are really excited for this because we haven't seen our baby since the 20 week ultrasound. If he's anything like his father, he'll probably sleep through the whole thing. Ha!

Thanks for staying close to our blog. I've been bad about posts lately because we're moving soon (April 29th), but will definitely update it after our appointment on the 21st.

Baby Shower - April 4, 2009

My family and Mike's family put on a wonderful shower for me. Here are some pictures from my shower. If you want to see some additional pictures, please click on the link below.
http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=u0twltd.2bv4auth&x=0&y=-y2uyri&localeid=en_US

My shower was on April 4th from 12 to 4 at Osteria Via Stato Restaurant in downtown Chicago. It was beautiful. It was in this gorgeous room with different rustic tables. My sister, Erin (with the help of my niece, Shannon) put together several beautiful flower arrangements for the tables. My family also organized a fun game of "Guess the Baby Food". Shannon also was a huge help with this along with my cousin's daughter, Maeve (see the last picture above)! Those that won the game got to bring home an arrangement (lucky them, they were amazing!). Finally, the food was excellent. It's an Italian restaurant so of course I enjoyed every last crumb!

After the meal, we played the game and opened the presents. Wow did we receive a lot....thank you to everyone that came and contributed to Baby Byrne's new wardrobe, nursery or playtime. He will be very grateful to all of you!

I think two of the best parts of my shower were 1) my sister, Holly surprised me by coming in town all the way from London for it; and 2) Mike's parents drove up from Atlanta to be at that shower, which is so thoughtful considering that was their first of 3 trips to Chicago in 3 months! I'm so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful, loving and caring family members!

So I need to tell you a little about the pictures:
1) Baby Byrne's parents after my shower!
2) Everyone's generosity....wow!! Thank you to all of you!
3) This picture is of all the ladies at my shower who were pregnant. Mary Beth, Andrea and I are days apart, then Courtney is due in August and Lauren is due in October. So exciting!
4) In this picture, I'm holding the "personalized" onesies from Keelin, Ed, Ryan and Carter. They were a big hit and will be when Baby Byrne finally wears them.
5) A picture of all the Barrett women!
6) Catherine (my mother-in-law), myself and Triona (my sister-in-law)
7) We were the last to leave and thought we'd take a picture since my dad and Mike were there. My mom pointed out that there are actually 4 generations in this picture. Mary Jane (my grandmother's sister), my mom, me and Baby Byrne.
8) My niece, Shannon and my cousin's daughter, Maeve monitoring the "Guess the Baby Food" Game.

Thank you to my family and Mike's family for everything you did to make my shower so special and perfect. I really loved it and can't tell you how much that day meant to me!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!