Week 39...

Week 39 - Monday, January 30th

ONE MORE WEEK!

Last week at our doctor's appointment we were informed that the baby has dropped. I personally can't tell. Right now it's just a waiting game to see when this baby wants to make it's appearance into the world. I feel like my belly is running out of room...but as of right now the baby is comfy, cozy, and cooking.

I'm prepared at work, at home, and we now have a clean house. So whenever the baby is ready...so are we! :)

Master Bathroom - COMPLETE!

I'm so happy to say that the last minute bathroom renovation is complete. We started construction on Saturday, January 7th and it was completed on Tuesday, January 24th. We have a friend that did everything from start to finish during his free time on the weekends and after work at night. He did an amazing job and we are so incredibly happy with the results. We even have time to enjoy it before the baby arrives...and the vanity is no longer in the middle of the baby room :)

New shower with spotlight...

Closeup picture of the niches to hide our shampoo bottles...
Closeup picture of the tile work in the shower...

The floor in the shower...

Completed project...

We are still in the process of finding a new vanity top. The one we purchased was the wrong size. We will have to custom order the correct size and have it installed in 4-6 weeks. Regardless, we are in love with our new master bathroom! :)

Thanks Ryan!! :)

An Overdue Mike O'Malley Update...

Most of you have been keeping up on the daily updates on my Dad's Care Page website. On Thursday, January 19th my Dad was moved to the Inpatient Rehab at UW Hospital. A week and a half has passed since he has moved and his progress is incredible. Everday he continues to improve. He started out with just a whisper and by Friday January 27th he was speaking full sentences in his normal voice. He went to rehab and he had not walked in over 5-6 weeks and the same day he was moved he insisted on getting out of his bed to go to the bathroom. Since his first day in rehab he has walked up and down the hallways and continues to gain strength with every Physical Therapy session. He has a busy schedule everyday. He has Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Therapy. He usually has 30-45 minute sessions and meets with each therapist twice a day (6 sessions total). Last Thursday, January 26th they had therapy dogs come up to his floor. There was a yellow lab that looked a lot like his puppy - Bailey. They say therapy dogs help inspire the patients to get better faster and go home to see their own pets. Someday soon when he is off his medications and fluids we will be allowed to take him home for a day pass. If he goes home we will observe how he handles the stairs and being in his own environment. He is eager to go home but we have to remind him everyday that we still need to get him healthy and strong enough to be ready to go home. Right now he has a tenative discharge date for February 10th. They will re-evaluate his progress as the days pass and determine if he will be ready on February 10th. He has come so far since December 11th. We are so incredibly proud of him. He continues to amaze us everyday. We love you Dad!

Baby O'Hinrichs Nursery...

Luckily we had the majority of the nursery completed prior to my Dad getting sick. We just had to hang a few things on the wall. Here is our finished project...

I decided against materntiy photos partially because I didn't want to spend the money...but also because our lives have been turned upside down the past 8 weeks and we never had a chance to book a photographer. So, these were the pictures that we took of my belly to showcase as our materntiy photos instead.

My friend Katie Buell helped to design, print, and frame these prints that are hung above the crib in the nursery. I love how they turned out...

This is a cross-stitch framed poem that hung in my room as a baby. Bridget and I had it on our room as we grew up. It was stitched by my Grandma Mary Ellen O'Malley and framed at her family frame shop. I'm so glad we can incorporate it into our little ones room...

A snapshot of the closet. So far just some unisex clothes until we find out if it's a boy or girl :) As you can see, our hospital bags are packed and ready to go...

A view from the door - the changing table, crib, dresser, and book shelf (library)...

The rocking chair my parents used for us in our baby rooms. Just a new pillow and cushion to make it a comfy place to rock our baby to sleep...

Window with book shelf (library of books)...

Crib with bedding, mobile, and prints...
The changing table with mirror :)

We are ready for this baby to arrive so we can start to spend lots of time in this fun and exciting room!

T-minus ONE week until the due date!

Week 38...

Week 38 - Monday, January 23rd

Good News - Mike O'Malley Update

As of Monday, January 16th my Dad was moved from the Neuro ICU to the Neuro General Care Floor. It was over 5 weeks in the making. His progress in the past few days has been incredible to see. He has been much more alert and awake. His personality is starting to shine through. He is busy during the day with occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, and eating his minced food. By the time I get to see him after work he is pretty tired. The next step is to be moved to inpatient rehab but as of right now we don't know when that will happen. He is so incredibly strong and we are so proud of him. We have a long road ahead but he is progressing everyday! We can't wait for the day that Baby O'Hinrichs arrives and my Dad can hold his Grandbaby. Oh, and as of yesterday he told us that he thinks it's a BOY!

We love you Dad!

Week 37...

3 more weeks. Wow, I can't believe we only have 3 more weeks. For the most part I think we are prepared but we are still juggling work, spending time in the hospital, and life. The nursery has been completed for a few weeks but the bathroom vanity is still in the middle of the room. Once that gets moved out I will post some final nursery pictures.

Week 37 - Belly Bump

Push Present...

I'm a very lucky girl. Scott gave me my "push present" a little early. I love to take pictures and have always wanted to learn to take more professional pictures. He got me a Nikon professional camera. I have only played around a little so far, but this cute puppy was my first subject :) I can't wait to learn more about the camera and take pictures of our little one in a few short weeks.

Hi Kirby!

Bathroom Renovation - WHY NOT?!?!?

As if we didn't have enough on our plates right now we just added one more thing. For a long time we have discussed renovating our master bathroom. We unfortunately couldn't find someone to do it for us until December. After tile hunting we finally started the demolition on Saturday, January 7th...here are some before pictures...

Vanity...

Tub/Shower and Toilet...

Right now our vanity is in the middle of the baby's room and the toilet is down in the basement. We are living in a construction zone, working, spending all our time at the hospital with my Dad, and we are less than 4 weeks away from Baby O'Hinrichs' debut...we're not crazy at all ;)

I can't wait to share the updated and finished project... :)

Mike O'Malley - Update

Since my last update a lot has happened. On Monday, January 2nd my Dad was supposed to be moved from the Neuro ICU to a general care room. Unfortunately the morning of January 2nd he became unresponsive so they decided to reinsert the ventricular drain back into his brain. They did this as a precaution because they thought he had bleeding in his brain again. They quickly found out that he was unresponsive due to an infection in his brain. Over the course of the past few weeks he contracted a bacterial infection due to the fact that his brain was open to air 3 times. To a normal person this may or may not effect them...but in my Dad's case it changed his neuro status immediately. He was placed on an antibiotic to kill whatever was growing in his brain. After a few days of infectious disease reviewing the cultures it was determined that he has bacterial meningitis. In the days ahead we started to see him become more responsive. On Saturday, January 7th he had an amazing day. He was more alert and participated in Physical Therapy. Unfortunately the days to follow he was tired again and was awake and alert much less. The doctors have decided to take a new approach to the antibiotic, they are now inserting it directly through his ventricular drain to treat the bacterial infection faster. I'm happy to say that today was one of his best days yet. He did physical therapy and stood up 4 times, he was alert, and he laughed a few times. It was incredible to see him act more like himself today. We still have a long road ahead. He is still on a feeding tube and needs to pass a swallow test. He will continue physical therapy and we hope to see him walking the halls in the days/weeks to come.

He can't leave the ICU until the drain is removed and they are keeping it in right now to monitor the infection. The doctors would like to see him go 7 days without any evidence of the infection. At that point he would be strong enough to be moved to a general care room. For now we continue to sit at his bedside and watch his progress each day. He is a fighter and can get through this.

We love you Dad!

My Mom started a UW Care Page...feel free to read more about my Dad and follow his progress...

http://www.carepages.com/visit

To view my Dad's page enter - MPOmalley

Updated Bump Pictures

Only 4 more weeks until D-Day. Here are some updated bump pictures...

Week 36...

Week 35...