36 Weeks!

Less than a month to go!!! We're ready, the house is ready...just waiting for little miss Aberdeen to be ready!  This has been an interesting week: I started having acid reflux for the first time this pregnancy (pretty glad it held off this long!) and the Braxton-Hicks contractions have started picking up again.  They feel pretty weird these days with her taking up so much space in there.  We've also started getting some pretty classic "Alien" action with my stomach visibly jumping around.  Whenever I try to show Jameson or get a video though, she immediately stops.  This kid likes freeze tag apparently.

Late last week we met with one of the neonatologists who will be overseeing Abby's care immediately after birth. He was very kind and gave us an idea of what we can expect during our stay.  So far we know that they will definitely be doing an echocardiogram to take a better look at her heart, a kidney ultrasound (since they prefer for pyelectasis to have resolved itself by this point), the neurosurgeon will be coming over from Dayton Children's Hospital to do his assessment of her head and decide what additional imaging they'll need to do before any surgeries take place, and we'll schedule a meeting with the Dayton Children's geneticist in order to carry out the tests they'll need to do to make an official diagnosis. That being said, as long as she's eating and breathing well, she should room-in with me and we should be able to take her home 48-72 hours after delivery (like most babies).  If not, she'll spend some time in the NICU.

It seems like so much for such a little person. I'm admittedly overwhelmed and pretty emotional about all of it. My poor little bird.  However, I am incredibly grateful at how well organized and informed all of our care-givers have been along the way. This is where I've most been able to recognize God at work. I've questioned God a lot throughout the last few months, but not on this front. It has really helped me to trust that we're in the absolute best hands.

In other news, we were thrown another shower by the lovely ladies at Fairhaven Church. I was (again) completely blown away by the thoughtfulness and generosity of all of the people surrounding us. The shower was themed, "Once Upon a Time," and we were gifted with an array of wonderful children's books and toys. I also loved that some of the ladies brought their daughters along! They were so sweet and genuinely helpful. Thanks to all!!!

Me and Amanda

One of the themed games

Introducing the children's book theme!

My helpers :)

Last, but not least, it was my mama's birthday on Sunday!  Happy Birthday to my wonderful mom!  It may sound cliche, but these last 8+ months have made me feel so much closer to her and appreciative of all the sacrifices she made for me and my sisters throughout our lives.  I could not be more blessed to have her.