36 Weeks and Counting...

Last week was a crazy week! Not only was work insane, but my doctor appointment on Tuesday was a complete shock (again)! For some reason, those two things wiped me out mentally and physically, so this post is definitely late!

I am currently 36 weeks pregnant and Elle is the size of a honeydew melon. Most of her body’s systems are in working order for her debut and she’s just putting on weight at this point. I am starting to get more uncomfortable with strange pain and pressure inside my body, but that might be because I’m starting to dilate!!! Yes, I was dilated to 1cm at my appointment last Tuesday! That feat took me two days in the hospital on induction meds to accomplish last time!

My entire appointment last Tuesday went really well and everything I found out that day made it sound like I may NOT have to be induced this pregnancy! Phil and I discovered Elle is estimated to be in the 22^nd percentile for her size right now (approximately 5lbs 7oz), so she’s not a large baby, but neither was Rock. My fluid levels were above 13 AFI (wow!), blood pressure was still low (102/70), my tummy measured 35.5 cm (at 36 weeks pregnant… right on where it should be), and Elle’s heart rate was 130 bpm.

When the doctor check my cervix, she said I was dilated 1cm and 40% effaced (which is the thinning of your cervix that has to happen before birth). The baby hasn’t “dropped” at all, so she’s at a negative 3 station still, but we’ll see if there are any changes at tomorrow’s appointment!

Maternity Photo Shoot

Phil and I took a drive to the mountains to see the fall colors and packed our camera and tripod to try to get some maternity photos. We put the camera on a 5-shot mode and quickly changed positions in between each shot...it was comical!

 

Sprinkled with Love

What a wonderful weekend! Not only did Phil and I get a ton done, with my mom’s help, around our house. But Phil even got his car seats inspected and mom and I got the entire house cleaned! That alone fulfilled my need for nesting more than I realized! But in addition to all that…my sister-in-law, Becki, and mother-in-law, Sandi, threw me and Elle a “Baby Sprinkle” (instead of a full-blown “shower”) on Saturday!

So many of the amazing women in my life were able to make it…even from up to 6 hours away! During the event I realized that all five of the women who stood with me before God, my family, and friends, six years ago when Phil and I got married, made it to the ‘sprinkle’! I was BEYOND thrilled! I even had to take a picture with all of these wonderful ladies!!!

Not only did I get that heartwarming picture, but we managed to get a giant group photo of everyone at the ‘sprinkle’! What a special memory…and what patient friends! Each person helped decorate letters for Elle’s nursery so we will have hand-crafted art for her room in the form of the entire alphabet on her walls! I can’t wait to get everything hung up! Each one turned out unique and beautiful!!!

The ‘sprinkle’ invite was so cute too and stated the intention of the ‘sprinkle’ perfectly…

 

 

Ribbons, booties, and diapers galore,

Phil and Michele are having one more!

Big brother Rock has plenty to share,

It’s only a ‘sprinkle’ to show that we care!

Butterflies, bubbles, blankets and bows!

Let’s sprinkle Elle from her head to her toes!

Thank you God for the blessing of our family and friends, who threw the party, who travelled short or long distances to attend, and who each made a lasting impression on my life this weekend and in years past. What a wonderful weekend!!! (Oh and Elle was spoiled rotten by all of these lovely ladies tooJ)

I'm in shock!

But I’m in shock for all good reasons! Both last week’s doctor appointment and this week’s doctor appointment left me completely shocked at one point or another. Last week I went in for my Tuesday appointment to have a non-stress test (NST), an ultrasound to measure my amniotic fluid level, and meet with the doctor, knowing that I’d be back on Friday for a second NST appointment. BUT my fluid level was in the normal range at 11.9 AFI! The doctor and I were both shocked! Since my fluid level was normal, the doctor allowed me to cancel the Friday NST appointment. Elle’s heartbeat was 135 bpm, she passed the NST with flying colors, and my tummy measured 32cm (at 34 weeks pregnant), so everything was within normal range!

This week’s appointment was also a shock because my fluid level was still relatively “normal” at 9.95 AFI (slightly low but nothing worrisome) and for the first time...here’s the shocker…my tummy measured right on where it should be (35cm at 35 weeks pregnant)!!! I have always been 2-3cm small but must have grown a bunch over the past week! (That might explain the low abdominal pain I’ve felt, as if I had done 50 sit-ups, which is not even possible!) Elle’s heartbeat was 124 bpm, my blood pressure was nice and low, so with all of the evidence, the doctor allowed me to cancel this week’s Friday NST appointment too! I didn’t even have to stay for an NST today! So now we just have a growth ultrasound and fluid check to prayerfully look forward to next Tuesday.

I did find out today that I’ve officially gained 30 lbs with this pregnancy so far, so hopefully I can keep myself in check and not gain too much more for the remaining weeks. I gained 28 lbs total with Rock, but delivered at 37 weeks pregnant, so we’ll see where I end up with this pregnancy!

As for baby development updates, since I’m still in the 8^th month of pregnancy Elle continues to range in length from 17.2 to 18.7 inches and in weight from 4.2 to 5.8 pounds. Last week, at 34 weeks along, she was the size of a butternut squash and this week she’s the size of a coconut. She can hear and recognize songs we sing frequently (probably “Jesus Loves Me” and “Jesus Loves the Little Children” because those are Rock’s favorites right now) and is peeing up to a pint a day. Elle might even grow up to a half-pound each week from now until delivery!

My body updates were interesting too because my weekly emails explained that my uterus has grown to 1,000 times its normal size…which is crazy to think about! And my blurry vision (in the evenings) and fatigue was explained in the emails too as being a result of a lack of sleep, along with hormones and fluid buildup. Nothing too eventful to report other than that (which is great)!

Here we go again...

Phil and I went in for my follow-up ultrasound today to re-check my amniotic fluid levels. It appears that I have low fluid again at the end of this pregnancy, just like I did at the end of my last pregnancy. The “quick” amniotic fluid check turned into a three-hour doctor appointment, mainly because:

·    My fluid levels were measured twice, ranging from 6.8 to 8.3 AFI, for an average of 7.6 AFI (the normal range is 10-20 AFI and at 33 weeks, they prefer to see closer to 12 AFI).

·    The doctor was running an hour behind schedule after doing a morning surgery.

·    The non-stress test (NST) machine that they hooked me up to, in order to watch the baby’s heartbeat for an extended period of time, decided to quit working today. So I had to go over to the labor and delivery floor at the hospital to use their machine.

After the ultrasound, the doctor came in to discuss the ultrasound results. She mentioned I will now need to have two doctor appointments every week (Tuesdays and Fridays) for NSTs, and every Tuesday will also include an ultrasound to check my fluid levels. At least Rock will get to enjoy hearing his little sister’s heartbeat at my Friday appointments…the one thing he LOVES about coming with me!

Other than that, Elle’s heartbeat was 138 bpm and my tummy measured 31 cm at 33 weeks along (within the normal range). After probing for a specific answer from the doctor about the possibility of an early induction, she simply said “I’d be surprised if you haven’t been induced by 39 weeks with your low fluid levels.”  She also said “the likelihood of you going into labor naturally is low” since they’ll probably induce me again if my fluid levels remain where they are (or decrease). If they induce me at 37 weeks, like they did with Rock, that’s less than one month away (October 2^nd to be exact)!

It’s all God’s plan. We’ll just keep doing what the doctors instruct and praying for a healthy little girl!

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.