Baby Countdown: Week 37

Woah, Mama. Someone's getting big:

It feels like the baby could be here any day now; his head is in position and very low at this point. I have a lot of pressure in my lower abdomen/pelvis/back, and it can be hard to walk sometimes, especially when I first get up from sitting. I wouldn't mind if he came a couple of weeks early and beat the Christmas rush, but we'll see. We should probably finish the nursery first, anyway!

Kevin's been plugging away on the room. This week, he and his uncle finished putting up the moldings around the window and on the floor of the new wall. It looks great. He is priming/painting the moldings tonight and once that is done, he will just need to wax and buff the floors. We may be able to put furniture in this weekend if all goes well.

I had another doctor appointment today, and all is well. Last week, I had to have some testing done because my blood pressure has risen in the past month or so. They wanted to make sure I don't have preeclampsia, because I also have some swelling in my hands and feet (although, I've had that all along). But all my results came back fine, and I feel very relieved. I also met with a doctor from the anesthesia department at the hospital to discuss when and why I might need medication, and to give him some of the information they will need if I do need their services. I've had some back issues in the past, so I wanted to make sure that there will be no problems if I need an epidural or medication for a C-section. The doctor didn't seem to have any concerns, so I should be good to go. It was good to get that reassurance.

Kevin finished painting, and we have some more photos to share:

Hopefully, the next photos will include furniture and baby gear. :)

Getting Cozy

Kevin and I welcomed two new additions to the house on Saturday -- a couch and a loveseat. Our living room has never felt cozier. I'm sure we'll be sitting on these super-comfortable seats a lot with the baby. We did some Christmas decorating last night, as well. There will be more once we pick up our tree on the 13th (we've already tagged it).

Things are coming along well with the nursery, too. Kevin finished painting tonight -- he did the trim and painted in the closet. He finished painting the walls earlier in the week and yesterday, his mom and aunt were kind enough to come down during the day to put up the wallpaper border. (Thanks to both of you! It looks great!) Kevin and his uncle are planning to add the moldings around the window and floor of the new wall this weekend, and his aunt has offered to come back over on Friday to clean and buff the floor. After that is done, we can move in the furniture. Then, I can start doing the baby's laundry and putting all of his stuff away. I'm looking forward to being able to do that... I'm getting a bit anxious as the due date approaches!

I'll post more pictures after this weekend.

Baby Countdown: Week 35

With less than five weeks to go, it feels like my belly is getting bigger everyday. Carrying this baby is getting less comfortable, but it won't be much longer until this journey is done and we're on to our next adventure -- raising the child! Kevin is making some good progress on the nursery and it looks like he should almost be done by the end of the weekend with the painting, moldings, etc. Next week should be full of setting up furniture, and washing and organizing baby clothes. I'm looking forward to that, as my nesting instinct is in full gear. I have a lot of energy this week, although I have been advised (by email newsletters and friends who have been there) to save up as much of this energy as I can! We went for another check-up last week. I gained a lot of weight in two weeks and my blood pressure is a little high, so the doctor was a little bit concerned. But other than that, I seem to be in good health. I felt pretty bloated last week, so I have been trying to cut down on sodium and drink more water this week, and feel somewhat better. Hopefully, that is all I needed. There was some good news, too -- the baby is no longer breech. This explains why my bladder feels like it's the size of a pea! We had a really quick ultrasound done to confirm this. We didn't get any pictures, but did get to see the baby's head for a couple of minutes. He is looking much less alien these days. We traveled to North Smithfield and North Kingstown to visit family yesterday on Thanksgiving. We had some really good eats, but I did a good job of controlling the amount I ate. There's not much room for my stomach to expand anymore. I also have to avoid dairy as much as possible, as it's been giving me some pretty bad stomachaches. I can drink skim milk, but that's about it. We enjoyed some good company and then came home and did some work around the house. There's so much to do right now! Hopefully, we will get the majority of it done before the baby arrives.

Kevin's sister was kind enough to take this photo for us yesterday. Man, do I look huge! I'll post some nursery photos as the work progresses.

Baby Countdown: Week 32

I can't believe that there are only 8 more weeks left until the baby is due. It seems like just yesterday we found out I was pregnant. Time is flying! Sorry to be slacking with the updates. There hasn't been anything too exciting to report, and I have been really tired since going into my third trimester. Every once in a while, I get a boost of energy (like yesterday, when I did some major cleaning) but most days, I have been pretty sleepy. My doctor appointments have been going well; the only issue at the moment is that the baby is breech, but the doctor assured us that this was very likely to change, as babies move around a lot. My yoga instructor passed along a couple of poses to try in case junior decides to be stubborn! My goal is natural childbirth with minimal medication, but we'll see what happens. Today was the baby shower. It was at one of my favorite places -- Chelo's on the Waterfront in Warwick. There was a rubber duck theme (so cute!) and the featured game was "Create a baby with Play-doh."

It was fun, and the baby will be very well dressed, and well equipped! Kevin and I worked on organizing the gifts tonight, but the amount of "stuff" is still somewhat overwhelming! It's amazing how much a little person needs.

That big blue bin is filled with clothes and blankets!

While the girls were having fun at the shower, Kevin and his friend Mike were hard at work on the nursery upstairs. They had to replace the outside-facing wall because of a leak in the window. Now we have a leak-free and insulated wall. They need to do a few more things before we can clean up and paint, but it's getting there. Also, the insulation work we had done to the upstairs was completed on Thursday, and we can feel the difference already.

There's a lot going on in the Sweeney household these days. I'll try to keep you updated more often as the baby's arrival date gets closer!

Baby Countdown: Week 26

Things have been busy in our household these days, preparing for the baby's arrival.  We've been trying to get things more organized, and to throw out all of the extra junk we don't need, to make room for baby supplies.  I can't believe we only have about three months left to go.  The pressure is on!  We are getting some insulation put into the attic soon, after which we can start painting and setting up the nursery.  We're hoping it will help us regulate the temperature upstairs (which is where we want to put the baby's and our rooms) as well as reduce our heating and cooling bills.  We also have plans to replace our downstairs refrigerator and our water heater with newer, more energy efficient models.

We haven't had another ultrasound, but we did go to a doctor appointment last Thursday.  Everything was fine.  I had my glucose screening (to test for gestational diabetes) done, and am awaiting the results.  The baby has been moving a lot, especially while I am at work or at Kevin's hockey games.  I haven't really felt him moving at night.  I hope he continues to stay awake during the day and sleep during the night after he's born!  Not likely, but I can hope!

We have spent a lot of time in Babies R Us and Target over the past month, trying to complete our registries.  We've read countless reviews about all kinds of products.  It's very overwhelming; it's just amazing how many items you need to take care of a baby -- and how many different kinds of those items there are.  I still have a ton of questions, and am keeping an eye on the reviews, especially for safety issues.  I guess we will just learn as we go.  I do have to say that at least it's been fun looking at all of these products.  It has definitely made me even more excited about the baby.  I guess it's becoming more "real" now.

Finally, I also wanted to share that Kevin's hockey team won their summer league championship the other night.  He was a very happy man, to say the least.  Congratulations, Inferno!

Baby Countdown: Week 21

Kevin and I went for another ultrasound on Thursday (August 21). The baby was much more cooperative this time -- wide awake and moving the legs as well as the arms. Perhaps it was Kara's suggestion that I drink orange juice before I went for the exam? Or maybe the baby wanted to give his father a belated birthday gift. At any rate, we were able to find out the gender... it's a boy! We were both very excited to find out. Choosing a name and registering for baby items should be a little easier now. And Kevin is happy to be able to carry on the family name through his little hockey player.

We received some more pictures, but they only show his head. Well, except for the last one -- the proof that we have a little boy! Click on the thumbnails to view a larger image on Flickr:

I can't wait to see what he really looks like!

As for me, I am getting big and having some inflammation in my ankles, feet and hands. I need to make sure I keep getting up to move when I am seated for a long time; I have to keep the circulation going. I feel best after yoga class, so I am thinking about getting a DVD to use in between classes (which are only once a week). For the last week or two, I have been feeling the baby move, which is pretty cool. He especially liked the Josh Gracin concert we attended at the Washington County Fair this weekend; he was moving the entire time! Hopefully, he was dancing, and not trying to get away. :)

Kevin took a belly picture this week (just for you, Dawn):

Yikes! And I'm only going to get bigger.

Baby Countdown: Week 17

On Wednesday, July 23, we went for another ultrasound.  We were hoping to be able to find out the gender, but the baby did not want to cooperate.  Instead, he/she decided to sleep, even after some prodding by the nurse!  There's no doubt this child belongs to me and Kevin. :)  Because the baby was so curled up, we will need to go for another ultrasound next month (there is still some measuring and organ observation to be done).  No complaints here!  We just hope the baby is more cooperative at the next appointment.

Here are some pictures from last week's ultrasound:



You can see the baby's head in the first picture, and the head and an arm in the second and third (the only parts the baby moved while we were watching).  The last is a good picture of the baby's head and spine.  That one is my favorite, because you can see the baby all curled up, sleeping.  Awww.

Baby Countdown: Week 15

It's hard to believe, but I have already been pregnant for 15 weeks. There's not too much to report -- "Junior" has been quiet so far -- but I thought I would share some of baby's first photos:

Week 7

Week 9

And my super-flattering belly pic from week 14:

I am glad to finally be over my morning sickness and getting some of my energy back. I haven't had any really weird cravings so far; I mainly want a lot of fruit, sometimes vegetables, and I can't get enough lemonade to drink (my favorite: Del's). The foods that don't agree with me are anything greasy, dairy products (going to have to take calcium supplements!), Chinese food (but I still like the Japanese food from Seven Moons), and anything spicy. So far, I have gained 3 pounds. I've been trying to eat healthy foods as much as possible, and get some exercise everyday. We've been doing a walking program at work, so I am participating in that. In addition, I am taking a prenatal yoga class once a week. It's a lot harder than I was expecting, but I absolutely love the workout, and it's nice to meet other moms-to-be in the class. We haven't decided on any names yet; that's on the "to do" list, along with getting the house ready for our new arrival (we'll have to decide where to put the nursery, and get that set up). So much to do, so little time! We will try to keep you updated on the progress as much as possible. Thanks for visiting!

Baby's First Outfit

Nana LaBelle is making sure we have the proper sports apparel for the baby: