33 Week Update

Well…in the past two weeks, since the last pregnancy update, I’ve managed to see the doctor twice! I made an impromptu appointment at 31 weeks pregnant (the day after the last update) because I wasn’t feeling like my normal self and then a week later Phil and I had the 32 week ultrasound the doctor mandated. (I even have to go back again this week due to potentially low fluid levels found during the ultrasound…but I’ll get to that shortly.)

I called the doctor to get a same-day appointment at 31 weeks because I was having low abdominal pain, I felt exhausted, and there were a few other symptoms that could all be explained away, but I decided to be safe and let the doctor determine if any of the symptoms meant pre-term labor when put all together. After listening to the baby’s heartbeat and checking all of my vitals, the nurse checked to make sure there wasn’t any softening of my cervix or dilation. Everything was totally normal with the baby and my body, except a finger-prick and simple blood test showed me to be slightly anemic. So now I’m taking an iron supplement daily (in addition to my prenatal vitamin) for the remainder of my pregnancy. Prayerfully, all was good with Elle and I felt much better receiving that confirmation from the doctor.

At 32 weeks, while baby was the size of a squash (with all of the same 7^th month measurements), we had our 32 week “doctor ordered” ultrasound. The ultrasound was precautionary after my uterus measured 3 cm small at my 30 week appointment. Phil and I met with the nurse to have my vitals taken, listen to Elle’s heartbeat, and review labor and delivery information (yikes!). That was definitely a reality check reminding me that Elle will be here sooner than I realize!!!

Next we had the ultrasound. Elle was measuring a few days small for her due date, which isn’t an issue, but the ultrasound tech was only able to calculate a fluid level of 9.4 AFI (which is slightly below normal and MUCH less than the 19 AFI measured at my 28 week ultrasound). Elle was beautiful with a strong heartbeat of 140 bpm and an estimated size of 4 lbs 3 ounces (34^th percentile). She had her hands up near her face, just like her older brother always did when we saw him in the ultrasounds. The ultrasound tech said everything looked good, including my fluid level, but the doctor was a little more concerned. When he followed-up after my appointment, he let me know I needed to make another ultrasound appointment in one week to double check my fluid levels. Therefore, I will be back on the ultrasound table this week to see my baby and will be praying for higher fluid levels between now and then.

 

Now that I’m 33 weeks pregnant, I must be in the 8^th month of pregnancy because the measurements in my weekly email finally changed for the first time in weeks! Elle is now the size of a durian fruit (I had to Google that!) and will range in length from 17.2 to 18.7 inches and weigh in the range of 4.2 to 5.8 pounds for the next month!

My weekly emails have done a great job reminding me about different pregnancy symptoms I’ve been experiencing and telling me what our daughter’s development is focused on right now. The weekly emails mentioned overheating is normal because my metabolic rate has increased by 20 percent throughout my pregnancy…which I really noticed for the first time this weekend at the park with Rock. I could barely catch my breath out in the hot sun and it took me hours to cool off once we got home! The emails also mentioned mom’s nipples will get larger and darker throughout pregnancy so the baby has a better defined target for nursing. And “baby brain” may be setting in, but I’m not sure I ever recovered from that after Rock was born! But the most important reminder for me was to get our infant car seat installed and inspected by a professional! Elle could come anytime…and she’s considered full-term at 37 weeks, which is only one month from now!!!

The emails have also informed me about Elle’s development with information like:

·         she is now keeping her eyes open when she’s awake

·         her bones are hardening and her brain is continuing to develop

·         she’s starting to coordinate breathing with sucking and swallowing

·         she may grow up to a full inch this week alone!

What an amazing time!

Lastly, this past weekend marked the end of summer for our local outdoor pools. The outdoor pools are open from Memorial Day through Labor Day, so we made sure to celebrate the final days with a trip to the pool after church...a routine we’ve enjoyed all summer. The highlight for me was Rock sitting on my lap requesting to see “Baby Elle” while we dried off. Then he proceeded to tell me “baby Elle is crying”, to which I explained that she won’t cry until she “gets out” and he said “get Baby Elle out now.” Then, out of nowhere, he hugged and kissed his little sister (without any prompting) which completely melted my heart. I don’t know how Jesus puts that kind of love in our hearts…but it was amazing to see Rock and his sweet behavior toward his little sister. Thank you Lord for the blessing of our children!

 

Elle My Belle

More specifically, Elle Marie Rupprecht!

Phil and I have always known what our girl name would be if the Lord blessed us with a daughter.  We love the name Elle Marie, which just happens to be our own take on a family name.

ELLE
The name Ella Marie is prominent in my paternal grandmother’s family tree. It is my grandmother’s name and my great grandmother’s name. Having lived at our family farm in Milliken, Colorado, with all of the old photo albums, Bibles and antiques, has made me appreciate our family history. My grandmother is definitely the matriarch of our family, who I consider to be my stability growing up. She and my grandpa have always been a great example of a Godly couple, devoted to their faith and their marriage. They have been a positive example for me, and I am so thankful for that. I am proud to name my daughter after my grandmother (even though their names differ by one letterJ).

Also, the name Elle is somewhat of a combination between my grandma’s name and my own: Ella and Michele…makes Elle. Plus, saying “Phil, Michele, Rock and Elle” just flows so nicely off the tongue.

The meaning of Elle is "God's promise, ray of sun, shining light." After the flood, God made a promise that He would never flood the earth again. When a “ray of sun” or “shining light” breaks through the clouds, a rainbow is formed, as a reminder of God’s promise. To us, God’s promise means more than just not flooding the earth. God promises to never leave us or forsake us. He promises that nothing can separate us from His love, and nothing can take us from His hand. Even when we are faithless, God is faithful to those who belong to Him!

We pray that, as Elle’s parents, we would be faithful to our love for her and our love for the Lord. We hope to instill God’s love in her and be a rainbow of light in her life that she can always count on. And we pray that Elle will grow to be a shining light for others in her life.

If (or when) we fail, we know God will be there for her; to love her, guide her, forgive her, and offer her a seat beside Him in the kingdom of heaven.

E- Embrace the

L- Lord and

L- Love

E- Everlasting.

MARIE
My cousin Sarah and I both have the middle name Marie, after my grandmother. And since there is a long tradition of the women in my family carrying on the female names, we are going to do just that with our daughter’s middle name of Marie.

RUPPRECHT
Elle’s last name will be one of family honor too, because she is the first girl to carry the name, just like her brother was the first Rupprecht boy in the great-grandchild generation to carry on the name. All of Elle’s cousins have their daddy’s last names (their moms were Rupprechts). Elle can carry our name with pride until she…well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves (and stress out Daddy) by talking about boys and her wedding day.

Brains & Braun

Over the past two weeks, our little girl has been going through major brain development. She’s been adding surface area to her brain through wrinkles, groves, and indentations and she can now react to light! Evidently sight is the last sense to develop because my email this week said all five senses are now in working order (although she won’t smell for the first time until after birth when she can breathe air and not amniotic fluid)!

Our daughter is the size of a pineapple at 31 weeks (an increase from cucumber last week). All measurements are now by month, so she’s still in the 7^th month range of 15.2-16.4 inches for length and 2.5-3.8 pounds for weight. She’s also strong enough to grasp a finger now and I can’t wait to test that reflex! I’ve definitely found myself lying awake at night lately with a smile on my face trying to imagine what she’ll be like and trying to remember all of the wonderful things (and tough things) about having a newborn. I’m sure it will be different with a toddler in the house this time around, but I’m so excited to hold my little girl, sing to her, teach her to smile, have skin-to-skin contact, snuggle…the list goes on and on. I’m sure we’ll be exhausted from lack of sleep and being parents to a newborn AND toddler, but I welcome that challenge for all the joy that accompanies it!

Last Friday, I had my 30 week ‘routine’ doctor appointment (after the previous 28 week ‘unique’ appointment with ultrasound and glucose test). Most everything was just right…my weight hadn’t increased (not even one pound), the baby’s heart rate was 135 bpm, and my blood pressure was 110/70. But when the doctor measured my tummy, it measured 27 cm at the 30 week appointment, so I was 3 cm smaller than my number of weeks pregnant. That is technically in the ‘normal’ range, but the doctor started to ask me if I was having any abnormal symptoms of pregnancy (she rattled of a long list, of which none were occurring). The doctor still seemed concerned, so she recommended another growth ultrasound at our next doctor appointment in 2 weeks. So next week we’ll get to see our daughter again and re-check all of her measurements and, I assume, my amniotic fluid level. It will be nice to have another ultrasound, but it was also a little disheartening for the appointment to take a less than ‘normal’ turn. As always, we’ll be praying for our daughter’s health and development, and my health and amniotic fluid levels. We’ll see what God has in store for us at our appointment next week!

On a different note, we spent the weekend up at Jim and Sandi’s mountain house and really enjoyed our time. Our kids got to go on their first Jeep ride (which was VERY bumpy for Rock and me…along with our daughter in my belly!) and Sandi and I painted some of the nursery decorations, which was fun too!

28-Week SUCCESS!

My 28-week doctor appointment last Thursday was a huge SUCCESS! All of our daughter’s measurements, along with mine, were perfect for this stage in my pregnancy!

When we arrived at the doctor’s office, I drank the glucose mixture (much like a potent Hawaiian Punch drink), received the timer set for one hour (which is when they draw your blood and test it) and then we went straight back for our ultrasound! As we passed the scale, I weighed in and had only gained one pound since my last appointment…SUCCESS! In our ultrasound, we got to see our baby girl again and got a ton of photos from the ultrasound tech! The baby’s heart rate was 133 bpm, she measured perfect for her due date (they estimated her to be 2 lbs 8 ounces), and she’s head down. She’s in the 39^th percentile based on the measurements taken. Everything with our baby girl was a SUCCESS!

As for my amniotic fluid level, the normal range is between 10 and 20 AFI and I was at 19 AFI!!! With my previous pregnancy, I was significantly below 10 AFI at this point, so we definitely considered that an answer to prayer and another huge SUCCESS! At 28 weeks pregnant, my belly was measuring 26 cm, which is in the normal range of +/- 3 cm from the number of weeks you are pregnant. My glucose results were perfect, meaning no gestational diabetes, and my iron levels were just right. Going forward, my doctor appointments will be every two weeks…and then once a week toward the end! The doctors didn’t see anything at this point that was a cause for concern or anything that should require an early induction, like Rock’s pregnancy. So we are praying the good news continues and I can carry this baby to her due date (rather than just full-term at 37 weeks). All in all, the entire appointment was a HUGE SUCCESS!!!

Thank you God for all of the answers to our prayers! I was (and still am) completely amazed and thrilled at your love and provision for my daughter and me.

Just a few days after my appointment, I entered the seventh month of my pregnancy (at 29-weeks along). During the seventh month, our baby will range in length from 15.2-16.4 inches and weigh in the range of 2.5-3.8 pounds. She’s now the size of an acorn squash and will triple in weight by her due date, so I have been feeling a lot stronger movements from her as she runs out of room in my tummy! I continue to walk indoors on a treadmill during my lunch break at work and have really enjoyed watching the Olympics to pass the time while on the machine! Hopefully it will pay off to keep me and our baby girl healthy, and keep the scale from increasing too much more.

Third trimester...here I come!

I can’t believe the third trimester milestone is already here! On one hand, I feel like I’ve been pregnant for a long time (probably because I started showing so early), but for the most part I’m shocked that I only have 12 weeks left…give or take a few weeks!

Our daughter is the size of an eggplant now and continues to practice her breathing techniques while she puts on weight. By medical standards, the 28^th week of a pregnancy marks another milestone, an important milestone, stating if a baby is born at this point, she has a high likelihood of surviving. That’s always a relief.

Evidently Braxton Hicks contractions might become more intense during the third trimester, but I never felt any with Rock, and haven’t felt any during this pregnancy yet either. We’ll see what develops in the coming weeks…

Baby Catch-Up!

Now for the fun stuff…the baby update! During the one day home between Florida and Steamboat, we managed to schedule my 24-week doctor appointment, which went great (other than the weigh-in)! Our daughter’s heart rate was 146 bpm and my blood pressure was just right (100/60). Rock and Phil enjoyed the appointment too by reading magazines in the room while we waited for the doctor to arrive. Rock now loves to flip through paper pages, something he didn’t get to do before because all of the books we read at home are cardboard, kid-proof pages!

Now for the un-fun part…the scale! The doctor’s scale measured me at a weight three pounds HIGHER than I was FULL-TERM with Rock! Oh my! To my defense (or maybe just my defense mechanism), my scale at home was less by 5 lbs, so I prefer that digit compared to the doctor’s office! Needless to say, I am exercising more deliberately now. I have been exercising all along…but now I’m doing it with more meaningful intentions of slowing additional weight gain.

The most exciting development lately has been the baby movements I’ve felt more and more frequent and more and more intense. An important note is the first time I was able to feel my daughter move on the outside when my hand was against my belly happened on Friday, June 15 ^th at 2:50am! I was so excited that I ended up lying there trying to feel her for an entire hour. It cracked me up when she moved again later that morning and Phil got to feel her move too…without having to lay awake in the middle of the night like me! Ever since then, she’s been moving a bunch and at fairly routine times throughout the day. I forgot how much I loved this part of being pregnant!

I pretty much missed writing about the entire fifth month of my pregnancy because of our busy schedule, so our baby officially crossed the one pound weight mark during the past month. She’s grown from the size of a pomegranate (at 21 weeks), to a papaya, then a grapefruit and finally a cantaloupe at the end of the fifth month. The stats during the fifth month state that our baby ranges from 10.5-11.8 inches and 12.7-20.8 ounces.

I am currently in the sixth month of my pregnancy with a baby girl the size of a rutabaga (she just grew passed cauliflower and lettuce in the past two weeks) and will range in length from 13.6-14.8 inches and weigh in the range of 1.5-2.5 pounds! I guess we’re finally at a point where the weekly emails will describe pounds instead of ounces…that’s a BIG deal!

My weekly emails said my belly button should have popped out over a month ago, but I still have an “innie” (for now)! My daughter can now hear sounds around her including mine and Phil’s voices…which makes it extra meaningful to us when we pray for her and talk to her each day. Her skin is becoming more opaque (rather than translucent) and she can tell up from down because of a newly developed sense of equilibrium. Perhaps the biggest new development for our baby is that her nostrils are no longer plugged and her lungs are developing enough that she can now practice breathing amniotic fluid. She is also starting to show brain activity!

We officially moved Rock into his new room right after returning from Steamboat, so I’ve been able to wash and hang all of our little girl clothes and will soon start decorating the nursery for our new arrival!

Next week marks the start of my third trimester AND we have my 28-week doctor appointment which will include a glucose test to check for gestational diabetes. We will get a new ultrasound screening during the appointment too, in order to check on my amniotic fluid levels since the fluid issues started at 28 weeks with my first pregnancy. Phil and I are both excited to see our little girl and hopefully get a new ultrasound picture next week! We will be praying for healthy news at my August 2^nd appointment!

Crazy Catch-Up!

I can’t believe it’s been over a month since my last entry! There have been MANY exciting new developments in my pregnancy (which I will get to in the next post) and MANY excuses for not writing sooner (mainly our busy schedule).

Over the last month we had a successful family garage sale, fabulous weekend at the Broadmoor Hotel, a quick trip to Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and a relaxing July 4^th holiday in Steamboat with family. It’s exhausting just thinking about it, but wonderful remembering all of it!

Our over-night stay at the Broadmoor Hotel turned into an entire weekend event since my work gave us gift cards to spend at the hotel. We used our gift cards toward a second night and still have a balance leftover! It was SO nice to sleep in a king size bed and get pampered with my first-ever prenatal massage (pretty much my first massage ever too!). Rock joined us the second night and we were able to play at the great pool together as a family on Sunday. It was a fabulous weekend!

Florida was a whirlwind trip, which meant it wasn’t exactly the relaxing babymoon we expected, but it was a perfect amount of time away from home and spent with GREAT friends. We got to experience all of the Austin-Cook wedding festivities including the rehearsal dinner (complete with karaoke) on Thursday, setting up the reception décor before the wedding, attending the beautiful wedding ceremony and reception on Friday, and enjoying a beach outing with the family and friends on Saturday! It was a full schedule but we loved every minute of it. We did manage to have one romantic dinner together Saturday night before flying home Sunday.

We weren’t home long (only one day) before we re-packed and headed to the mountains to join some of my family members at my Aunt and Uncle’s Huckleberry Hideaway in Steamboat for the July 4^th festivities. There were no fireworks due to the open-flame bans, but we enjoyed the 4^th of July parade, hikes, soaking in the hot tub, and a gondola ride up Mt Werner. I think Phil and I would agree that the highlight of the trip was getting to be around family for five days and seeing how well Rock behaved with all of the unusual events and schedules of the week. It was hard to leave and come home to an empty fridge and impending work week.

I did manage to find an adorable maternity bathing suit at Target before we left for all of these adventures, so we were able to enjoy water outings at each vacation spot. Thank you Lord for blessing us with the busy schedule we’ve had. And thank you for protecting our kids and our family through all of our travels and life’s adventures.