34 Weeks

Well, I am just one day shy of the 34 week mark and can't believe miss Melody will be here in about six more weeks! Each day as she grows a little bit more I find myself in awe that we created this little baby that is about to be apart of our lives. Reality sets in as a few of my friends have had their babies and I realize that I'm not too far behind. I've been watching all sorts of Baby shows on TLC which has helped me get into the mindset that I too will be delivering and taking home our little baby girl. This past weekend Ryan and I took a tour of the hospital and were really impressed with the rooms. I'm delivering at St. Davids North off of Parmer/Mopac and feel like we will have a nice comfortable set-up. However, as we toured the entire women's center and various delivery rooms I still had a hard time believing that I would be lying on one of those beds giving birth myself! I guess it's not gonna feel real until the time comes and we are actually at the hospital surrounded my doctors and nurses telling us "it's time".

So until Melody arrives, Ryan and I plan on really making the most of our "free" time because I know things will be very different come the end of December. I have gradually cut down my work load and plan on being completely done seeing clients and hosting at the Melting Pot by the end of this month. I will continue to nanny into the first week or so of December assuming things are still on track in my pregnancy. So far things have been progressing well, so we'll just take each week as it comes. We still have a lot of work to do around the house to get ready for Melody's arrival, but I'm sure we'll be able to finish setting the nursery up this next month. I actually have one more shower to look forward to this weekend in Houston and then we will have a good feel for whatever else we may need to purchase. Ryan and I have been so thankful for all the gifts and thoughtfulness of friends and family to make preparation much easier on us! We are constantly amazed that we have so many people surrounding us in love and support.

The pictures are from over the past few weeks of maternity shots that my mom was able to take for us as well as a few from my Austin shower!

30 Weeks

Well I hit 30 weeks today and so far everything is right on track! Melody should be about 3 lbs. now and 17 inches long. According to my doctor she is developing right on schedule with a nice steady heartbeat. She is definitely moving around and kicking all the time, making me not want to remove my hand from on top of my tummy! Ryan enjoys teasing me about how often I "obsess" about her movement, but it is quite the experience and i love getting to feel her move. I can't believe that I'll be able to really touch and hold her in just 10 more weeks. I try to imagine what she might look like and how big she'll be. It will be interesting to see how I hold up physically because it seems like there's no way I could possibly get any bigger! But she's growing about a lb./week so she's gotta have room to grow somehow. These next 2 1/2months are definitely gonna be a little stressful trying to figure out the nursery, registry items, finances, etc, but Ryan and I continue to trust in God's direction and provision for this next phase of our lives. We don't have all the answers but hope to savor this time together as we prepare for Melody's arrival. I think it is easy to get caught up and overwhelmed with all the details and the "right" things to buy or to add to my registry. Yes we need to be prepared and still have plenty of things to do, but in a few short months she'll be here and we can only hope to show and give her as much love and care as we know how. We appreciate all the love and support we've received from family and friends and are thankful for all the encouragement along the way :)