Hiccups

This tiny little girl in my tummy, that I've yet to lay eyes on, except through some grainy ultrasound pictures, learned a new trick this week and has been performing it after dinner.

She hiccups.

Having been pregnant 6 times and carried 2 babies full term I have come to love the bouncing of a wiggly baby with hiccups in my belly. It is a sweet, comforting feeling. Something both foreign and familiar all rolled into one. It is one of the things I will miss when I cross the finish line of child bearing.

I've never felt any of my babies hiccup this early in any pregnancy, in fact I've never felt any of my babies move as early as I've felt Eden. I thought it was odd that the flutters of early pregnancy happened so soon, but just chalked it up to the fact that I know what I'm feeling because I've been pregnant so many times in recent years.

And then last week I had my ultrasound. I found answers. Mostly good ones. A few that I'm trusting God to take care of.

The ultrasound revealed several things:

1) I am having a sweet baby girl. She's already very lady-like. She kept her legs crossed almost the entire time. I got scared thinking she was never going to shows us her tiny baby parts. But alas, she did, and she is a she.

2) The ultrasound tech estimated that Eden is 2 ounces heavier than the average at this stage in development. This thrills me because I have always wanted a chubby, rolly poly baby. I love my two little string beans but Eden may be the child that gives me the chub I've always dreamed of. Stay chunky, baby girl.

3) My placenta is low and in the back. Therefore I am able to feel everything (like freakishly early hiccups) due to less cushion between my body and the baby. This also earned me a bonus ultrasound. The placenta can grow and move as pregnancy progresses, but if it doesn't then I could be at risk for placenta previa, which could or could not cause complications like (bed rest or c-section) at the end of my pregnancy. The same thing happened with Hope, and it moved. I am praying for the same thing this time.

4) EIF- Echogenic Intracardiac Focus- what the crap is that? It is basically a bright spot that shows up in the heart during ultrasound. It is very common, happening in an estimated 1 in 30 second trimester ultrasounds. When it is an isolated issue like mine, meaning no other abnormalities are present, there is usually no cause for concern. Most doctors don't do any follow up testing. It is considered a variation of normal. My doctor said that in his practice, he's never seen an isolated case of EIF result in a baby with any kind of issue. He said that on a freak out scale of 1 to 10 that this is maybe a 1. There is some debate among researchers that in a worst case scenario situation that EIF could be a risk factor for Down's Syndrome. I hope I've made a good case for why this will all be ok, but it is scary when your tiny baby's heart looks weird. There's a good chance that the EIF will not go away until delivery, so it may still be present at the next ultrasound, but again, I am choosing to literally leave Eden's heart in God's hands. He is her creator and maker, her form isn't hidden from Him, He loves her and sees her, and as I feel her little bouncy hiccups on the outside, he fully knows every cell and mechanism. I pray that it is nothing, but if it is something, I pray that God will prepare me to handle it. I will love Eden regardless, I already do.

So I praise Him. For the chance to feel Eden in my womb. For the potentially chubby little body He gave her. For the placenta that will keep her safe and fed until the day we meet. And for her little heart that I already pray will be filled with love for her Savior.

And for the hiccups. The reassurance that she's ok. That something normal is happening. And that for this season and this moment that I get to share it with her, just the two of us. Thank you Jesus. Thank you for the hiccups that help us to trust you even more.

It's A............

It's A........

Girl! A sweet little baby sister girl!

I had many, many dreams about a baby girl, and Isaac and Hope predicted a baby sister about 95% of the time. Naturally, we are thrilled. So bring on 2 prom dress wearers, 2 dancers, 2 weddings, 2 sweet little girls in matching dresses and bows. As much as I love my brother, I always wanted a sister and it thrills me that my girls will have each other. And they already have the best big brother in the world looking out for them. 

And her name.....

We have a kind of formula that we like in baby names. 

We choose the first name based on an attribute of our faith. Isaac was named for the biblical Isaac, who was born to parents who couldn't conceive a baby, and whose faith took some hard hits. Hope was named for the Hope that we have in Christ, that even when things are scary and uncertain, that hope can carry you through, knowing that God is for you. 

Our middle names are family names: Isaac's middle name, Wade, is after Ryland and his father Freddy Wayne, who modernized the "Wayne" to "Wade" when Ryland was born. And Hope's middle name is Angeline (An-juh-leen) after my (Grand) Pa's mother, Mahalia Angeline (An-juh-line) Cobb Harmon, who was a woman of faith who touched lives even after she left this earth. 

So this sweet little girl will be: 

Eden Kenlie Russell

We chose Eden for several reasons: 1) Eden means "delight" and since our plan is for this to be our last baby we want to remember to delight in her and not rush the time. It also reminds us of how God delights in us, and to live a life worthy of that delight. 2) Eden was also named for the biblical Garden of Eden, where creation happened, and where God walked with man. People call it paradise. We want Eden to walk with her creator. And after the loss of three babies, getting to be the parents of three children is our own version of paradise. 3) I don't like names that are trendy, super popular, or spelled weird. (Note: I love lots of kids who have trendy names, have lots of kids in their class with the same name, or names that are spelled weird. And I love the parents who named those kids! Just a preference thing!) Eden is neither trendy, overused (I don't even know an Eden), or spelled weird. I didn't break any of my rules. 

The middle name, Kenlie, is in honor of two people that we love very much, Ryland's late Grandfather, Kenneth Bush, and his grandmother Rosalie. It's a mash-up of their names. Together they created an amazing legacy of serving God and others, generosity, and a love for family that we hope will be part of our little girl's legacy. 

Through the coming months we are excited to pray for our girl by name. We are so in love already and I can't wait to start decorating her peacock nursery. 

Eden, our baby, we can't wait to hold you, and welcome you into this crazy family.