First Week of Life

Introducing
Melody Amber McDaniel

I can't believe that today our daughter is exactly one week old! I have been meaning to send out details and post an update but being new parents have kept us busy. There is so much I want to write about, but I'm gonna try to keep things short and sweet for now. For those of you who haven't heard yet, we welcomed our baby girl Melody Amber McDaniel into the world Wednesday Dec 22nd at 2:47pm. She weighed 8 lbs 11oz and was 20 inches long. Delivery seemed to go pretty smoothly overall even with our scheduled induction. Ryan was incredible throughout the entire hospital stay and was a great encouragement and support for me. I couldn't have asked for a better delivery process...my doctor and nurses were wonderful as well. We had a full waiting room the day she was born since everyone couldn't wait to meet her. It was such a blessing to have family around to be apart of this special occasion for us! Since she was born Wednesday, I was able to leave the hospital Friday afternoon (Christmas Eve)...just in time to start settling in back home for the Christmas holiday. Although I was still in recovery from the whole labor process and not feeling 100%, we spent the day relaxing with our families and passing miss Melody around.

Melody has been an incredible sleeper and eater so far and we are still in amazement at this little miracle we created. We absolutely love everything about her...from her chubby cheeks to tiny fingers and toes to her adorable expressions and sounds. It seems like she has already changed in the few short days we've had her and we can't wait to for more defined features to come out. Her eyes are a soft greyish/blue color and her hair is already getting lighter from brown to dirty blonde. While most of her days are spent sleeping, nursing, and pooping...she has gradually become more alert in the past day or two. It has been exciting to see what expression or sound she might make next. We probably have a picture of every face she's made so far...between me, my mom, and mother-in-law we just can't help ourselves! I will probably start posting monthly pics through shutterfly so that people can stay up to date with her change and growth. We had her first pediatricians appointment on Monday and she checked out great! She’s in the 90^th percentile for weight and height…her first “A”! Now that family is gone Ryan and I have enjoyed spending time during the day just the three of us (well four counting Bentley)! We went on our first family walk today...Melody just slept the whole time of course and missed out taking in all the sights ;) I have really enjoyed having Ryan here during the day and will be sad to have him go back to work on Monday. But I'm thankful for the time we all have to hang out right now and know I will be able to establish a schedule with her soon enough. Since we have quite the photo collection, here are just a few favorites of her so far!

first few min outside the womb!

she is perfect!

how she likes to sleep after nursing! look at the size of those cheeks!

snuggle time with daddy :)

the best gift we could ever ask for

we love her so much!

So Close!!

Christmas party time

Ali is ready for Melody to be here too!Us with the Wallaces

Well despite the doctor's best guess, Melody has decided to wait to come into this world Christmas week!! I definitely had my hopes up of her coming early (especially now that I'm huge and uncomfortable) but she just won't budge. Even though there is always a possibility of going into labor in the next day or two, we have our induction set for this Tuesday night. Ryan and I will be checking into St. David's North Austin Medical Center at 6pm on the 21st (Melody's due date), hoping to be holding her in our arms by Wed Dec 22nd!! All this waiting and anticipation has been a bit overwhelming, so it's nice to know that there is finally an end in site. Assuming all goes well with labor and delivery, we can expect to be back home with our daughter by Christmas Eve...which means we will wake up Christmas morning with the most wonderful gift. I am so thrilled to have all our family in town to celebrate this birth with us. I have a feeling this will be our best Christmas yet!

Even though I've been feeling pretty uncomfortable lately, I've still been able to relax and spend some much needed time hanging out with friends. Here are a few last pregnancy pictures before Melody makes her debut :)

Amanda and Addi Reichle...i miss my nanny time!
It's a "Mommy and Me" Christmas

Laura Rugh's baby shower...
us showing off our baby girl bellies!

Me n Suz

Me w/Heather and baby Delaney...so thankful we're all back in Texas again!

Now we wait...

The McDaniel's are ready!

Now that i'm officially done working, we are anxiously awaiting baby Melody's soon arrival! My due date is the 21st of this month (#1 most frequently asked question) but I'm hoping she'll decide to grace us with her presence a little earlier than that! At my last doctors appointment my doctor said I was already dilated almost 2 inches and that if she had to bet I probably wouldn't make it another two weeks! However, I've learned from fellow moms that this could not necessarily mean much and I still have just a good of chance of going full all the way to 40 weeks. Either way I am thankful to know that Melody is measuring on track and is "in position" to deliver well. I will be going in Tuesday for my 38 Week check-up so hopefully she's made some progress since my last visit. Who knows, i might be going into labor this week...it's just a waiting game at this point!

Nursery in progress...

Ryan and I have enjoyed the holiday season so far and are looking forward to spending Christmas in Austin again this year with all our friends and family. We enjoyed a relaxing Thanksgiving day at my aunt's house w/my mom's side of the family. Ryan's parents also came into town and cooked up some wonderful Thanksgiving grub for Ryan and I to enjoy this past week. We haven't quite put up any decorations yet but should have a few things out in the next few days or so. I've been a little preoccupied with baby items and getting the nursery ready/organized :) There's a few more final touches that need to be made, but most of her things are washed and ready for use! I've included a few pictures in the last month. Is it just me or is my belly really started to pop out there?!!

Thanksgiving

Bentley's protective nature is already kicking in!

37 Week Belly