20 Weeks!

Hi!

According to ultrasound measurements I was 20 weeks along yesterday. Wow! Halfway already!!! Where has all of that time gone?!! At 17 weeks I started to feel baby kick. It is the most wonderful feeling in the world! I just pause what I am doing now when I begin to feel him or her. Nathan has even felt the kicks in the last week. We are just so excited!
I can't even begin to tell you all how much your prayers have meant to us! We have felt them for so long and know that this is not a journey that we are taking on our own. All of you are sharing it with us!
Today was my big ultrasound. The one where the tech and doctor look over the baby's complete anatomy to determine whether or not there are any developmental problems. We had it done in Winnipeg at Fetal Assessment (Health Science Centre). The tech was Marie; the same person who has done our other ultrasounds. I'm sure that she has many women that she encounters daily, but she remembers us and asks questions about personal things to make us feel important to her. We love that because the building just seems so impersonal. Anyway, Our ultrasound went extremely well! Everything on baby is developing perfectly. There is no omphalocele or diaphragmatic hernia. The lungs are developing well and the stomach is where it should be. Baby is moving a lot and Marie keeps saying that he/she definitely has momma's long legs! He/she also has lots to say so Nathan is convinced that it must be a girl and that he will have even more to listen to in the future! :) Once Marie was done with all of the measurements she had Dr. Reed come take a look just to make sure that she didn't miss anything. He was the doctor that did all of Mason's ultrasounds so we got to see another familiar face. He also didn't find anything wrong. After the ultrasound Marie said that there is no need for another ultrasound because of baby's development but offered to give us another one at 30 weeks just to continue reassurance. So we will be seeing baby again in 10 weeks!
God is so good and we are being so blessed! He is obviously listening to all of you!!! I guess we will be expecting a healthy bundle around January 19th!

God Is In Control

I have been feeling great!
This last Monday I was exactly 13 weeks along and I was feeling like having a baking day. I had the bun dough rising and was beginning to make banana muffins. I felt the need to go to the bathroom and realised that I was bleeding heavily. I panicked and cried out to God about how I could again be losing a baby. I decided to go to emergency and called Nathan to meet me there. Once I got there I was sent to the trauma room to wait for a blood test and ultrasound. I had a wonderful doctor who told me that my eight week ultrasound might be a positive thing to hold onto. Miscarriages happen way before the bleeding usually starts. She also said that heavy, bright red bleeding is not a good sign and that if a D & C is needed that I may have to wait until the next day. I was so distraught! I couldn't believe that this was really happening. I felt that this was probably God telling us that children are not in our future.
About 2 hours later I was scheduled for an ultrasound. I was wheeled into the room and came face to face with the same tech that I always have. She looked at me with the saddest expression ever and told me that it was too early to see me. I agreed. I lay down on the bed and she placed the paddle on my belly. Immediately she whispered, "I see a heartbeat!" I started crying and saying God is good. She also got teary eyed and continued to check the baby. It was measuring at exactly 13 weeks which is perfect and was bouncing around. There is a sack of blood beside the uterus that just bleeding out now. Apparently this is common and nothing to worry about. I was so relieved and excited that I smiled all the way back to the trauma room and said with excitement to Nathan that it is still alive.




Yesterday I had my first ultrasound and Fetal Assessment in Winnipeg. I was really nervous for this appointment because I knew that the doctor would probably be able to see if there are any major defects. As it turns out, everything seems to be developing perfectly! The heartbeat is great and baby is moving like crazy! He/she even waved to us. Little show off! :)
The tech showed me that the belly is forming beautifully and that there is no bump in the umbilical cord, which means that there is no omphalocele.



She also measured the heart from the head and it is exactly where is should be. If there was a diaphragmatic hernia then the heart would be pushed to the side because of the stomach being in the chest. We just keep having good ultrasounds!!! I just pray that this continues. Our next ultrasound is in 7 weeks where they will do a thorough check of everything to make sure that development is perfect. I continue to pray for a protective hand on this baby and for peace that God is in control. Nathan and I have felt all of your prays and thank-you for continuing to think of us. Please keep them coming! We can hardly wait until January!!!!!

Another Try?!!

Hello all!
This last year has been an incredibly stressful one! I've had some work challenges, a miscarriage, and we had to bury my niece. Sometimes you just wonder how God is able to allow so much pain in one's life. His plan is so hard to accept sometimes!
Nathan and I are still hoping to be able to raise children. We know that this may not be God's plan for us and we will accept that if and when we feel that He has given us that clear answer.
In April we decided to try taking fertility medication to see if I would ovulate properly. I have been having cycles that have ranged from 21-36 days and it has been very frustrating.
On May 17th I was on day 37 of my first month on Clomid. At 3:30am I just couldn't sleep so I took a test. It looked positive, but I knew that I had to take another to be sure. I lay awake for the rest of the night thinking about how our lives might change next year. Just before Nathan left for work that morning I took another test and it was also positive! I told him he was going to be a daddy again! His response was one of joy and excitement!!!
On June 9th (8 weeks) I had an ultrasound at Boundary Trails hospital to make sure that this baby has a heartbeat. I had so much anxiety about this ultrasound because we have never come out of an ultrasound room with smiles on our faces.
I asked if Nathan could be in the room with me at the start of the exam, but it is against their policy so he had to stay in the waiting area. The tech who did my ultrasound was the same one who did the one with my miscarriage and with Mason and she remembered me. In Winkler it always seems like an ultrasound exam is a big secret and the patient isn't supposed to know anything right away, but I think that she could tell that I needed her to tell me about this baby right away. As soon as she saw this little miracle she told me that there was a strong heartbeat. I was so relieved! She turned the monitor to me and showed me where the head was and the little, tiny heart that was pumping strong. Then she did a few measurements and confirmed that I am eight weeks along. She also told me that I have a tilted uterus. She didn't know if this could be the reason that we have a hard time conceiving, but some believe that this could be why. After this she called Nathan into the room and showed him this beautiful baby! We even got to see the spine and the little limbs that are developing! What an incredible miracle!!!

Reese LeeAnn

On Friday, November 19th I got a new niece. Her name is Reese LeeAnn and her parents are so proud of her! Her mommy lost her amniotic fluid early on in her prgnancy and so Reese was born at 28 1/2 weeks. This little girl was such a fighter! She had an extremely strong heart, but her lungs were just not developed enough to allow her to breathe on her own. Reese lived for about 5 1/2 hours as the doctors fought to save her. Her mommy and daddy got to hold her for the last 45 minutes of her life.
I am very proud to call Reese my niece and I love her so much! Please pray for her mommy and daddy as they will be grieving and experiencing the loss of all the firsts that Reese would be doing. The Lord is holding another angel!
Thanks,
Crystal

Answered Prayers

Hello,
I just want to let you all know that the D and C went extremely well today. I have hardly any bleeding and no cramping so far. I think the nurses were thinking that we weren't grieving because we seemed quite upbeat and composed. I guess we are just cried out for now and are trying to see the positive in all of this. I ask now that you continue to pray for Nathan and I, but please also pray for our parents and siblings as they are also really struggling with why this is all happening. All of your prayers were answered this morning and I thank you. I am not doubting God or his plans at all and know that none of this is our fault. We will try again and hope to see the "sun" again.
blessings,
-Crystal

What are His plans?

Today would have been Mason's first birthday. It is a tough day for us, but we are at peace with knowing that he is in a much better place. The song that keeps coming to mind is "Better is One Day" by Chris Tomlin. This afternoon we were supposed to hear our second child's heartbeat. I began lightly bleeding this morning and decided to head to the clinic early. When I got there my doctor could see me right away. She tried to find a heatbeat but failed at doing so. She immediately scheduled an ultrasound for this afternoon. At my ultrasound the tech found that there was just a blob of tissue (I don't know all the medical terms for this), and no heartbeat. It turns out that I have had a misscarriage and am scheduled for a D and C early tomorrow morning. Please pray that God will guide the doctor's hands as he is working in a very sensitive part of me. I also ask for your prayers in dealing with this emotionally. Nathan and I are having a really bad day and it just seems to get worse as the hours go on. We have gone to Mason's grave and have asked him to take good care of his little sister or brother since we are unable to do so once again. We are feeling so much pain and continue to wonder what God's plans are for us.

-Crystal

Another Struggle

Hello again,

I know it's been awhile since I have posted an entry, but life hasn't produced anything exciting. I hope that you are all doing well and I thank you once again for all of your continued prayers.
I do have a bit of news now that I would really appreciate your prayers for. Nathan and I have been trying to conceive another child since we lost Mason. It has been about eleven months since we lost him.
I had a blood test done at the beginning of July and the results showed that I wasn't ovulating, so I met with a fertility doctor in Winkler on July 29th. He perscribed me fertility pills but told me to wait until the beginning of my next cycle to take them. I began waiting impatiently for that to begin and by Monday, August 16 (day 41) I decided to take a pregnancy test just to prove to myself and Nathan that we were dreaming about something that wasn't there. To my complete surprise the dollarstore test showed two lines; positive. I thought the test must be wrong since it is a dollarstore test, so I took another more expensive test. I saw a plus sign on this test! I began crying and praising God!!! Then I thought maybe both of these tests were wrong so I went to the clinic to take another test. As I walked out of the bathroom the technician came up to me and said the result showed up immediately as positive! I almost couldn't believe it and kept whispering "THANK-YOU GOD" over and over again! He always seems to have perfect timing. I was ready to take the fertility pills with some apprehension about having twins and having other birth defects and here I am already nurturing a human being inside of me!!!
We are so incredibly excited that we can't find the words to describe it! We have decided to not worry about the what ifs because it is all in God's hands. As far as I know this baby is due on April 12th; 2 days before my birthday. This will be the best birthday present ever!!! I do have an ultrasound in Winnipeg at twelve weeks (September 30th) and then I will have another in eighteen to twenty weeks. These ultrasounds will show how the baby is developing. Please, please pray that we have a healthy child this time!
This is how we told our parents about our super exciting news: