The Burlingames

Today was a good day. We meet with the cardiologist and yet again, another perinatal doctor. * For those of you who might be confused – my OB doctor has been the same the entire pregnancy, the cardiologist has been the same, but with each ultrasound we have meet with a different perinatal doctor.*

Anyway, we have a busy boy who still doesn’t like ultrasounds. He was head down and back out, so getting images of his heart were not exactly easy but they did see it. There wasn’t too much change in his heart size BUT the cardiologist said the valve on the left side of his heart was moving. He also said he doesn’t remember that moving at the last cardio visit 2 months ago. So, praise God!!! There is change happening and it’s good change. Baby Rupert still has 8 weeks to grow and develop. He also weighs 4 pounds and 4 ounces which puts him in the 65th percentile. Dave told me I’m on my way to having a 10 pound baby, then he laughed – such a wonderful husband! The doctors are very encouraged by the fact that he is growing and everything else is completely healthy and normal.

We were also informed that we will be able to deliver at United in St. Paul and if they need to do surgery they can also do that at Children’s in St. Paul (attached to United). We had been told before we probably wouldn’t be able to hold him once he was born, that he would be taken immediately to the NICU. Today we were told that we most likely would be able to hold him for a little while before he would need to be taken to the NICU. Praise God!!

All in all I was very encouraged by the visit today. I feel like we were able to get questions answered and some miscommunications cleared up. Thank you so much for your prayers, support, encouragement and love! We truly appreciate all it and we love all of you!! We still covet your prayers for the next 8 weeks and once he is born as well.

Also – today is Dave’s 28th birthday!! Yay for birthdays!!

I know it has been a long time since either one of us has posted so I am going to play catch-up with you.

First, an update on our last ultrasound…we didn’t learn anything new. We had a different doctor come talk to us, doctor number 3 – we haven’t had a consistent doctor for these ultrasounds and that frustrates me. This doctor informed us that we will need to meet with the pediatric cardiologist again and then have weekly ultrasounds called biophysical profiles. The purpose of the biophysical profiles are to measure five different areas – his heart rate, my fluids, his muscle tone, his movement and to see if he is practicing his breathing skills. So far none of these areas have been an issue so we don’t foresee any problems, but this is a precautionary thing they do. Please continue to pray for us and for our little man. We would love for him to be a true testimony of God’s healing powers.

Week 29…Baby Rupert had the hiccups for the first time this week. It was kinda cute and kinda painful! :) Here is my picture from week 29.

My wonderful friend Leah Hintgen threw me a baby shower for my church family and friends here in the twin cities. She did a wonderful job!! We played some fun games and ate yummy foods!! Here is a picture of all the diapers and wipes I received for this shower. We are so incredibly blessed by how generous and giving the ladies of our church and our friends are – we are set for a little while on diapers and wipes! THANK YOU!!!

Week 30…I’m not sure that Baby Rupert really likes my busy school schedule. He was protesting all day long today. He was not still for very long, constantly on the move. We’ll see how tomorrow goes, maybe he’ll be happier. Here is my week 30 picture. It’s hard to believe that I only have 10 weeks left of my pregnancy! I can’t believe how fast the time has flown by.

Baby Rupert had his first set of hiccups on Friday morning. I was laying in bed on my right side and I felt a rhythmic pulsing sensation, it reminded me a lot of hiccups. It was about 7:30am and I woke Dave up to feel him hiccuping. About 1-2 minutes after Baby Rupert started hiccuping he started freaking out. He was kicking, punching, moving, etc. so much, it was very clear he didn’t like what was happening to him. I could feel him freaking out on my left side. Dave had fallen back asleep, I moved his hand to the left side of my belly and he woke up right away, he feel Rupert freaking out from the hiccups. Rupert hiccuped and freaked out for about 10 minutes before he was finally able to get rid of the hiccups. It was fun, cute, strange and exciting all at the same time.

We purchased a dresser/changing table for Baby Rupert last night. We were just looking for a dresser, but this was a great deal. All I can say is hooray for Craigslist. A quick search of Target’s website showed me just how crazy-expensive these things can be.

Notice the cool little ducky piggy bank Megan painted for him. She and some friends went to a store where you can paint the pottery yourself, then they’ll glaze it for you. Pretty sweet.

Here is week 23.5. It’s hard to believe how fast this pregnancy has gone, I’m just a few days away from being 6 months pregnant. Wow! Baby Rupert is most active while I’m trying to rest and relax, his kicks and movements are becoming much stronger. Dave enjoys feeling him kick and move around. Each night we pray for Baby Rupert – his health, wisdom for us, etc. and he kicks and moves a lot during this time. It is almost like he can sense that we are talking about/praying for him. We love our little guy!!

Thank you to all of you who are praying for him and for us. We really truly appreciate all your prayers, well wishes, love, support and encouragement. We are so blessed to have so many people who love us and love Baby Rupert. Thanks again!!