Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween 2010!
I was secretly hoping that Itty would make his appearance this weekend so I could dress him up but no luck! We woke up to a pumpkin tragedy-someone had smashed Miles' pumpkin. I was so mad. Some stupid neighborhood kids with nothing better to do is my guess. Vince was an excellent pumpkin carver this year! He dedicated his to Itty since Itty gave his pumpkin up for Miles! We figured Itty wouldn't mind since he wasn't here yet. We have had a good number of Trick or Treaters and poor Vince has had to manage making dinner and answering the front door tonight. He is very eager to run out of candy so he can sit down and relax!

Baby Rupp Update

Well in less than a week we were sent to labor & delivery 3 times by our doctors and left empty handed each time. My blood pressure is still being an issue and so the bed/couch rest continues. As it stands now if my blood pressure stays where it is we will probably be induced in about a week. The doctors do not want to take him before 39 weeks unless they have a very good reason. And as of now my blood pressure is a problem but not it is not high enough to take him now. The good news is that all my blood work keeps coming back as good as it can be. The bad news is that my cervix is still closed up nice and tight. The doctors said they would love for me to go into labor on my own right now so that is what we are praying for. Hopefully Itty will decided to make him debut very soon! We go back to the doctor Monday afternoon and fingers crossed that my blood pressure hasn't gone up any higher.

First Trip To L & D

Well today was my first trip to Labor & Delivery. My blood pressure seems to be on the high side and my doctor sent me over for testing and for a non-stress test for Itty. While it was scary and a bit boring it was kind of neat to watch my contractions on the monitor and hear Itty's heartbeat for a few hours! Out of the 3 options the doctor told me about (emergency c-section, 23 hour hospital stay or bed rest) I was lucky enough to get option number 3. So I am now on bed rest until my next doctors appointment on Thursday afternoon. Hopefully we can control this problem and Itty will be able to make his debut on his own time.

37 Weeks = Full Term

We have finally reached the finish line-well almost! Today Itty is considered to be full term and can come at anytime. And we are ready! All the baby gear is put together, all his laundry is done, the house is clean and the fridge & freezer are stocked.
This past Wednesday was our first weekly doctors appointment and I got checked to see if I was making any progress. I was really hopeful because Itty had dropped the Monday before but I was sadly disappointed because I have not made any progress. But the doctor said that some people can walk around dilated for weeks and others can go from 0-10 very quickly. We go back this Wednesday so hopefully a little progress has been made. But I really can't complain. Since Itty has dropped I have been very comfortable and sleeping pretty well (except for the constant trips to the bathroom)!
I woke up with a horrible cold yesterday morning and we went to the walk-in clinic this morning to make sure it wasn't something worse. Luckily it is just a bad cold but there isn't much I can do or meds I can take so I am pretty miserable right now. The doctor said she hoped I didn't go into labor for the next 5 days or so because it would suck to be sick and in labor. I am really hoping these past 2 days have been the worst of it and tomorrow will be the start of the end!

Here are the 37 weeks pictures...

35/35

Today marks 35 weeks and only 35 days to go. Holy Cow!

 

Vince wanted to spice up the picture today and take it in the front of the house. And Miles decided that he wanted to be in the picture too!

This weekend we continued to tackle the list of baby projects. Our Friday nights sure have changed in the past few months! Instead of dinner and drinks it was putting together baby gear. Vince installed one of the baby gates to make sure they will work in the doorways between the living room and the hearth and entry. That way we can separate Miles and Itty was need be. Then it was on to the baby swing assembly. Boy oh boy there were a lot of pieces. But the swing and bouncy seat are ready to go now!

 

Saturday morning we headed out to breakfast and then to one of the local police stations to have Itty’s carseat installed. We learned in our baby basics class that 90% of carseats are installed wrong in this country. So we thought it would be best to have a professional show us how its done. After we got home Vince installed the extra base  in his car. I sure am glad we had a  mini-install course because it helped us learn how tight the base needs to be and even though the middle seat is the safest place to have the carseat depending on the car it is not always the best/safest place to install it.

The Newest Rupp

Meet Tumaren...


We adopted her this week! I watched a story on tv about this elephant orphanage in Kenya and couldn't stop thinking about it. These poor babies are mostly orphaned because their parents fall victim to poachers. The goal is to raise them and release them back into the wild.

When the are rescued they meet their foster parent who live with them 24/7 (like their biological parents would). Once they are released back into the wild they do not forget their family at the orphanage. They come back when/if they get hurt or sick to see the doctors, they come back to greet new babies and sometimes they stop by to just say hi to their foster parents! They are such amazing animals!

Here is Tumarens Story...
Name: Tumaren
Gender: Female
Date Born:September 26, 2008
Found: Alone, Standing by her dying mother
Location: Tumaren Ranch-Laikipia
Age on Arrival: 10 Months
Reason for being Orphaned: Poaching



7/22/2009 - The rescue of Tumaren

5pm on the 20th of July brought a call for Kerry Glen of Tumaren Ranch in Laikipia that a baby elephant had been seen by a dying mother, with no other elephants around. The mother elephant appeared paralyzed, possibly poisoned but the reason was uncertain.

The decision was made to capture the calf, since the mother was obviously beyond recovery. Kerry Glen and Jamie, along with the ranch workers captured the calf, fearing that it would not survive the death of its mother, since predators were prevalent on the ranch, and her mother was later euthanased by KWS. She was taken to their home, where Jamie remained near the calf in an adjoining room all night. It was a sleepless and very disturbed ordeal, because the distraught baby, cried all night for her mother, and even tried desperately to climb through a window.

The calf was flown to the Nairobi Nursery on the 21st July 2009 arriving at noon. She was still strong and aggressive (a good sign denoting the will to live and the reserves to make an effort), but she soon calmed down once the other Nursery elephants were brought in to impart hope and encouragement. The other orphans gave her a warm welcome, and immediately she responded, turning into a very affectionate member of the herd, calm and friendly to both her elephant orphan peers and their human family.

We named the new arrival “Tumaren” to denote her origin. She is about 10 months old and becomes the 22nd member of our Nursery herd of mini orphans ever partaking of the mudbath along with the others. An enchanting addition to the group, popular with the other elephants as well as her human admirers.


The Foster Parents send out updates monthly about how and what the orphans have been up to.
Here is the latest on Tumaren...

9/21/2010 - he orphans browsed peacefully in the forest, Sities sandwiched between Suguta and Olare enjoying the loving of both older girls. Sities then saw Chemi Chemi and Kibo playing a pushing game and decided to join them, running to come between the two boys and got pushed down by Kibo, who was targeting Chemi Chemi but got Sities instead. She screamed and within a second Suguta, Tumaren and Olare were there. Suguta went for Kibo who was standing over Sities as she was getting up, probably wanting to say “sorry”, but Suguta knocked him to his knees. Chemi Chemi wisely took off at speed to avoid being punished.

During the mudbath hour, a lion came to the nearby rocks adjoining the forest, eyeing the warthogs who were near the elephants t the mudbath. The warthogs disappeared post- haste!