Patrick Update

It's been a rough week for Patrick and I. I went to the doctor on Friday to get my blood pressure monitored and it was pretty high. The doctor asked the nurse to take my blood pressure every so often because I was right on the edge of being sent to the Hospital to be monitored. After the blood pressure checks she checked my lab work and it was all normal so she told me to take it easy over the weekend and sent me home. After being there for hours, I went home and wanted some peace and quiet so I gave my dogs a toy with some treats inside it. Turk immediately started choking on the treat. I looked in his mouth to see if I could pull it out, but I didn't see anything. It's a little difficult to give a 90 pound dog the heimlich maneuver while being 8 1/2 months pregnant, so I tried my best and just couldn't unlodge it. By now its been about 10 minutes and he is freaking out and barely breathing. I call Michael and tell him to rush home. I put a leash on Turk and try and take him outside to put him in the car, but Bailey runs out in front of me and I go flying over Bailey. Luckily I am able to catch myself on my hands and knees without landing on my stomach. Michael arrives soon after and is able to unlodge the treat from Turk. It was so stressful and I'm still pretty bruised, but I am just so thankful everything worked out ok!

I had another doctor's appointment today and my blood pressure was so high that they immediately sent me to Baptist to be monitored. I think I had every possible test done! In the end, they decided not to induce. I have to stay at home and monitor myself for 24 hours tomorrow and the doctor will re-evaluate inducing on Friday. We did get to see pictures of Patrick and he looks very healthy! They said he weighs 6 lbs and 6 ounces and has a full head of hair :) Michael and I were a little disappointed that we didn't get to meet him today! After all of the panic over my blood pressure and other signs of pre-eclampsia we thought this was going to be it! I guess we will just have to be patient a little longer!

Maybe he will be an April fools baby!

Pregnancy According to Michael

So Minje has been bugging me for about a month to do a blog post. So here is pregnancy from the man’s perspective.

About 36 weeks or so ago, I was informed that my life was about to change forever, again. About a week before that, a doctor told Minje it would take her 6 months to a year to get pregnant. Holy S*#t!

I then went through the 5 Stages of Male Emotion after finding out that his wife is pregnant: 1) Shock 2) Panic 3) More Shock 4) More Panic, and finally 5) Excitement coupled with Shock and Panic.

In all seriousness, I really did not know what to think for the first three to four months. Minje was sick constantly, and there was nothing I could really do to help her at all. I felt helpless, and wondered how someone could throw up so many times in one day. I’m not sure how the sickness got dubbed “morning sickness,” because with Minje it was an all day affair. Meanwhile, I was just getting my first taste of having a designated driver. She will tell you I was a pain, but in reality, I went for quality over quantity. I like to think I was somewhat sympathetic by not making her drive me all over the place every weekend. There was the “Christmas party stretch” that I know was tough on her. We had both of our work Christmas parties, as well as a few smaller ones. I took full advantage, and I think the edo Christmas party may have done her in. She was a trooper though and probably put up with more than she should have. I definitely owe her a DD night or two.

After the sickness in the beginning, we moved into the “growing” stage. Being a fat kid myself, I found it hard to sympathize with the growing belly. Especially since the only fat on the woman is because of Patrick. So I spent the next couple months trying to convince Minje that she is not fat, she is pregnant. No one sees Minje and is like wow she is just really packing on the lbs right there in the midsection. I mean come on. I will admit that I took the opportunity to toss a few jokes in there as she would complain about her weight. Pleasantly plump just sounds better than “I’m fat.” She laughed for a minute at least.

The past couple months it has really started to hit me. I think it’s hard for the guy to connect in the beginning because it seems so far away and you’re not actually carrying the baby. I’ve put together a crib, swing, baby monitor, and installed a car seat. We’ve gone to birthing class, infant CPR, and got breastfeeding for dummies in the queue. This is when it all started getting real for me.

All in all, Minje has been absolutely amazing throughout the pregnancy. I am so honored to call her my wife, and can’t wait to introduce P-Diddy (as she hates me to call him) to the world. Not to say that is has been the easiest nine months of my life, but it has definitely been a fun ride. I know it has not been easy at all for her with the demands of her job, Junior League, the RCIA, two of the craziest hound dogs in the world and myself. The fact that she has stuck with RCIA this whole time has just floored me. They have made it near impossible with their requirements and she just keeps on trucking through it. I probably haven’t expressed enough how much it means to me that she is doing this for me and Patrick. So here’s to my wonderful wife, and our exciting adventures ahead with our new family. I cant wait!

Daycare Donations can be sent to:

Patrick Gallagher Mulloy

5724 Stoneway Trail

Nashville, TN 37209

Patrick- 36 Weeks

I had my 36 week doctor appointment today and got some exciting news! The doctor said that I am progressing and she does not think I will make it all the way to my due date. I was kind of surprised since Michael and I didn’t even ask if she thought I would be early! So bottom line is that Patrick could be here any day now!!! I guess I need to finish packing my hospital bag! We weren’t really expecting that news, so I’m still trying to wrap my head around it! The only downside to the appointment was that my blood pressure was a little elevated. I had expected it to be high this time since I have been having migraines in the morning. So, she has asked me to come in between appointments to get it checked again. I’m going in on Friday to get it checked, so hopefully it’s back down to normal! I am going every week to the doctor now, so my next appointment is Wednesday, March 30^th. I can’t wait to see if I am even farther along!

I haven’t taken a pregnancy pic in a while, so below is a 36 week pregnancy pic. As you can see, my belly is getting enormous!!!

Patrick- 35 Weeks and Rite of Election

I can’t believe how fast time is flying! I am a little over 35 weeks, so only 33 more days until my due date! While Michael was out of town at a bachelor party, I made a list of everything I wanted to accomplish on Saturday for Patrick. However, after the big 3/15 deadline at work this week, I was so tired I barely made a dent in my to-do list on Saturday. There is so much left to be done in Patrick’s room!


My Rite of Election into the church was this Sunday and it’s a pretty big deal in the Catholic Church. During church, the priest invites each individual converting to come up to the altar and sign our names in a book that will eventually be sent to Rome. The signing represents a commitment to become a Catholic. Later in the afternoon there is a ceremony with the Bishop for all of the parishes in Nashville. The Bishop signs the books and accepts us each into the church. My sweet husband didn’t want to miss the ceremonies, so he drove to and from Florida separately from everyone else to make it back on time. He ended up getting in at 3:30am on Sunday morning, so I know the full day of events at church was the last thing he wanted to do! It really meant a lot to me that he came back early to see it all!

We also found out today that Michael has strep throat. Eeek! I have kind of been freaking out about it! We had our infant CPR class last night and although we had separate breathing pieces, they still touched the same place. We also shared a bottle of water, so I’m really hoping that I don’t get strep too!

Patrick- 34 Weeks

I'm 34 weeks, so only 6 more weeks to go! I had my 34 week appointment and everything looked great. My blood pressure was back down to normal, so all of the resting this weekend must have worked!

My sister is moving to Knoxville today and I just realized that Patrick's 2 aunts and 2 uncles [or 3 uncles after May 21st :)] will all be living in Knoxville next year. I guess that just means we will have to visit Knoxville more frequently!

Not much else to report on the baby front. Everyone had told me that it starts to go really quickly towards the end, but I quietly thought to myself, yeah right... pregnancy lasts forever! But, they were so right. I'm starting to feel overwhelmed about getting everything done before he arrives! With busy season, junior league, RCIA, two very needy dogs and other fun spring events, I just can't seem to find enough time in the day! I had heard that dogs can kind of sense things changing and I thought that it was kind of bogus, but Turk and Bailey have been so needy lately i'm starting to think otherwise. It might just be because they aren't getting as much attention as normal, but every time I move from one room to the other I turn around and see these two sweet faces staring back at me.

Michael and I have been referring to them as our two little shadows, because they have been attached at the hip with us!