Waitin' on Abby: Week 33

It's getting awfully cramped in there! The doctor on Friday told us Abby probably weighs about 4 pounds now. Her little 17-inch long body is still head down, but was curled up with her spine on the left and her appendages kicking and punching the right side of Christina's body. As she gets even bigger, she'll start running out of room to change position so frequently, but for now she still finds ways to roll around quite often! Her skeleton is hardening and her much firmer heels and knees are putting a lot of pressure on Christina's skin and lungs as she works on stretching them out. The bones in her skull are hardening as well, but won't fuse together until early adulthood. This will allow them to move and slightly overlap to fit better through the birth canal when she's born, and to grow and expand as her brain and other tissue expands as she gets older.

Since last week's assertion of how we knew time would fly in these last few weeks, we've come to realize how untrue that statement really is. Time, instead, has slowed to a crawl in the Fisher household and it seems as if Abby can't come soon enough. Everything at the doctor's visit checked out great, and we're told Christina's right on track for a delivery in the last week in August. What she would have liked to have heard was that it looks like Abby might come a few weeks early, but it seems our little girl is taking her time. Christina complained of some ligament pain at the doctor's office and was reminded that there's a baby sitting on top of those ligaments and that it's time for them to start stretching in preparation for delivery. Par for the course, it seems. So her ordinarily unhindered style of walking is slowly evolving into a third trimester pregnancy waddle, and flat shoes seem to be the safest mode of travel at this point.

She was warned it would happen, but Christina didn't actually believe she would outgrow the maternity pants she bought in the first trimester. There's no use fighting it. So this week, we were back in the maternity section at Old Navy, purchasing the same pair of adorable stretchy waistbanded capri pants--only this time, one size bigger.

Please pray that Christina would be able to get some rest during these last few weeks (we hear those opportunities become even more scarce once the baby actually arrives!). Abby's doing a good job of consistently waking her mom up at the wee hours for morning calisthenics, and the abridged night's sleep every night is starting to take its toll. Pray also for Justin as he gets ready to welcome another female into his family. Pray that God would prepare him for how to love and discipline this little girl as she grows, but most importantly, how to model Christ's love for her and point her to Him as he does so.

Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement throughout this pregnancy...we can't wait for you to meet our little girl!

Counting down the days,
Justin, Christina and Abby :)