36 Weeks In All Its Glory

Hello Many....or special few lol...Readers!

I know that I said time would fly in my 32 weeks update and guess what - I was RIGHT. I love it when I am right!!! :) Here we are four weeks later and only four weeks to go. Crazy!

You know God? He's smart. Four weeks ago I would not have said that I was ready for Liam to come. But now - yesssss I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and I am imagining delicious treats such as: laying on my stomach, easily turning over from one side to the other in bed, ankles that resemble days of old, wearing a wedding ring, and seeing my facial space diminish to its previous plot of real estate instead of its current expanded state :).

Here we go.... Mr. Liam in all his glory at 36 weeks!

Yes....that's a face that says "WOW." I mean what else can you say???





Needless to say, I am just not expecting a petite baby boy. And I am good with that! I have known many a petite woman who have delivered big babies - and let's just say - I have always been average v. small so I am confident these hips can handle it. LOL. My guess is that Liam will weigh in at 8lbs and 3oz. And I don't think he's going to be early. Or at least very early. Just a gut instinct...but the doctor did confirm that at 36 weeks we are dilated at a big fat zero so I think I am pretty right on!

I can't believe how quickly it has gone and on the other hand - finding out I was pregnant on November 17, 2010, seems like an eternity ago.

Oh SO much has happened since our last update! Beautiful and very special showers have been enjoyed, Liam's room has really started to take form, and Caleb and Chloe have arrived back in Tulsa. It really feels like a season of blessing.

I know I mentioned a room update picture for Liam's room - but I am thinking that will have to come next week. :) But in the meantime, here's a shot of the glider that I ordered and the blanket and pillow that goes with the bedding. I am so happy with the way it's all coming together!



So, in case you were wondering, I am still relishing food. LOL! Listen people, I have four weeks left of this excuse and I have zero intention of squandering the enjoyment. Soon enough - I will be back at my Friday noon Weight Watchers meetings with Dana (did you know they have a nursing mom's program???) and starting up my running and working on strengthening my core. Until then - bring on yummy stuff that comes with July 4! Bring on dates with the husband and late night Braums stops. Bring on frozen anything - coffee, icees, ice cream - yes and amen.

I cannot believe how crazy and miraculous pregnancy is. I cannot believe that the first time I saw Liam on the ultrasound he was a little white blip and now he is so developed that we can't get good pictures of his face anymore because he's down in the nether regions preparing for his big debut.

God is so creative. To be pregnant is to watch God do His thing - all on His own. I mean, the only cooperation needed is to make the decision to give an unborn child the right to life. Other than that - God has an intricate plan of preparation for creating each unique life and weaving us together with extreme detail. I cannot wait to get that little boy in my arms and study every single inch of him. I cannot wait to try to see which part is me and which part is Zion and which part is any other family member. My brother actually has distinct attributes of my grandfather and I have a few specific features from both of my grandmothers - so the possibilities are just endless and that is so amazing! Isn't it crazy when you look at some siblings and they look just alike and then other sets of siblings who get such different gene mixes? God is beyond my comprehension and that's such a good thing.

So four weeks till the due date means that in approximately four weeks I will be giving birth. Hmmmmmmmmm. How do I feel about that I ask myself. Well - hmmmmmmmmmmmmm........... lol! At this point, I am not nervous. I feel strangely confident - which can only be attributed to God's grace and Holy Spirit. We went to a birth class at our hospital and got some good strategies for handling the experience and we are really excited that we are going to have a doula walking us through labor. Bernadette is a great friend and momma of seven beautiful children. She's done natural birth with almost all of them and so that gives me a big shot of confidence that she'll be able to walk me through. I think my desire to do a natural birth came when I started running in 2009. I was NEVER a fitness buff and when I say never....I mean I never worked out. Seriously! And then, all of the sudden I started training for a 5K. Before I knew it - I was crossing that finish line with a decent time and wondering who this new girl was. By the time longer distance running started - I realized how much I was capable of physically that I had absolutely no clue about until I tried. And with that realization came the urge to want to, at the least, pursue delivering a baby without an epidural. My mom did it. My mother-in-law did it. I have know many women who have done it. So - I am committed to giving it my best. I am not putting a ton of pressure on myself - but at the same time - I really believe I can do it. There will be a wonderful team of people around me and a God who overcame death right there with me. So those are my thoughts today at least. :) We'll see how it goes right?!

I hope you've had a good week so far and are gearing up for a great July 4 weekend! It's one of my favorite holidays because I met Mr. Spencer for the first real time on July 4, 2000. That's right ELEVEN years ago!!!!!!!!!! Still love watching fireworks with him and feeling the spark.

I am thinking there will be a few more than normal baby-related blogs coming up in the next few weeks since we're now in the homestretch. I don't post every blog update to Facebook because I don't like to over-do it. So if you're that nosy person (like ME!) feel free to check back in on the blog periodically and see how the progress is coming.

Love y'all....
Abi