The three of us

This week has been another crazy one. I went in for a doctor's appointment on Wednesday and was very surprised when I ended back up in the hospital. Apparently those contractions I had been having weren't quite as routine as I thought as they were progressing things slightly in the way of actual labor. My doctor was less than thrilled that I was dilating and felt my appearance on the non-stress test warranted an overnight monitoring stay in the hospital. Blah.

The problem with all of this is timing. I was barely 36 weeks, so the doctor couldn't justify helping labor along at all. On the other hand, the abruption is making her really nervous. She hates the idea that I am laboring at home unmonitored. Apparently there is still some concern that going into full labor could cause complications with the abruption. It's all so confusing and quite frankly extremely draining. I mean, I have been having contractions for nearly 16 weeks now and sort of just sitting around waiting for the other shoe to drop. I feel so blessed that we have made it this far, and I cannot take for granted how God has simply provided for our family throughout it all. Still in some ways, the closer we get to the end the harder the waiting and what-ifs seem to get. I go back in on Monday for a follow up and then if not before, we'll be planning to meet our little Abbott around the 26th of September!

Speaking of the 26th, that is a little more than a week away! Having a sort of timeline makes the reality of this major change in our lives seem so imminent. Matt will likely be out of town next weekend celebrating my cousins wedding in SC, which means this could be our last weekend as a family of three. That is hard to wrap my mind around. We have spent the better part of the last three years focusing completely on Laurelei and our little family, it makes it hard to believe there will be one more of us so soon. When I first got pregnant this time around my mom told me about how much things changed when she had me (I am the second child.) She told me that the night before she went in to be induced she stopped by the bed my sister was sleeping in and just watched her sleep. She told me her heart was heavy thinking how Lindsey's life was about to changer forever, and yet Lindsey had no idea.

{Laurelei, 12/16/08}

It breaks my heart just a little to think that Laurelei won't be the center of our universe anymore. She probably wasn't ever supposed to be, but she was. Does she know that life is about to change? I know she will do just fine, I only hope I will too.

So this weekend we are going to spend a little time just the three of us. Matt doesn't know it yet, but we are going to do all of our favorite things. Eat breakfast at Alfalfa's, take Laurelei to the park. Watch movies on a palette in the living room, bake cookies, go for ice-cream.

We are going to let Laurelei be the center of our universe for just a few more days and soak in all the memories of just the three of us.