31 Weeks!

Quick updates from week 29- had a growth ultrasound on September 10th and found out that the babies weights are Baby A: 3lbs 2oz and Baby B: 2lbs 14oz. Also, they took her off of a medication that she had been taking all along for contractions because the babies fluid in the amniotic sack was getting way too low-a side affect of that med. We learned this week that the fluid had increased since being off that med and it was such good news!
We also had a cervix ultrasound and we found out that her cervix has lengthened to 2 cm from 0.7cm when Megan arrived at 23 weeks. Anything above 3 cm is what its supposed to be but we'll take 2! Progress is progress! Also Megan had a Fetal Fibronectin test that week (the test we took our first week here that came back neg.) Megan says it's very painful so she doesn't look fwd to them. That test came back skewed and they had to throw the test away... Isn't God funny... we were praying it wouldn't be positive...and it wasnt. It wasn't negative but it wasn't positive either :)

Week 31-
Yesterday we had another Fetal Fibronectin test yesterday and it came back positive (not the desired result of this test). That means last night Megan had to have the first steroid shot and tonight was her second and final. The steroids are to help develop the babies lungs to develop a bit quicker in case of pre-term delivery.
Also starting about 4 days ago Megan started complaining about lower back aches that persisted pretty much all day. The Dr.'s and nurses said it was pretty common and unless it came WITH stronger contractions it was pretty much nothing to worry about. As each day passed it got worse, messages, heat packs didn't work. 2 nights ago and yesterday she was in so much pain she didn't sleep for more that about 4 hours. I have never seen her in so much pain, it was excruciating. She was drained from the lack of sleep. Finally yesterday they gave her a concoction of meds that really did the trick. A muscle relaxer, Motrin and vicodin. Thank God she was finally out of pain and finally slept last night. Also, she woke up this morning to no more pain! The pain was most likely caused from a pinched nerve, the growing babies therefor a growing stomach and or just the result of being bed ridden for 2 months now. We are just so grateful the pain is gone.
I tell you, there is never a dull day here. She goes through so much! Weather it be tests, shots, new things happening to her body that can cause a scare, tons of contraction...everyday there is something new. But, we are getting closer and closer to the end and the important thing is that the babies have stayed put! That's all we can ask for.

Oh, some great news for Megan is she was granted bathroom privileges (now she can use a real toilet like the rest of us! AND she gets to take a shower (sitting down of course) twice a week! Things we for sure take for granted.

My Babies

They're entering a growth spurt. For the next eight weeks, they'll gain weight faster than he increases in length, at the rate of about half a pound a week. The bigger they get, the harder it will be to "see" them on ultrasound and get a good estimate of his size--the margin of error increases to 15 percent by the end of the third trimester. But they're definitely growing fast, and you'll notice that his kicks will start to feel more like squirming as they runs out of room to roam.

APROX WEIGHT: 3.5 LBS

APPROX LENGTH: 17.5

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Thank you for your continued prayers. Here is a pic of her belly at 31 weeks (fresh out of the shower :)

We are in our 30's!!!

PRAISE GOD. We have now made it into the 30's! I am 30 weeks exactly, today. All I can do is thank God. We are praying for 5-7 more before we meet these miracles but would even be grateful for 2-4 more.
We have quite a bit to update (and will do so in the next few days) but I usually leave the blogging to Randy as it's very hard and awkward for me to type laying down and on my side. To all of you I haven't written back to via email, myspace etc please know it's not bc I don't care or don't want to...it's just very hard. Anyways, here are a few pics of my belly at 30 weeks. I got a few minutes today with my monitor off so we seized the moment.Also, my awesome Dr. was SO thoughtful and brought me cupcakes to celebrate.Not just any cupcakes but Sprinkles! AND my two favorites, carrot cake and coconut :)She is so great. THANK YOU as always for your prayers, just look how they are being answered. Our God is amazing.
Love, The Crafts

Week 29

Week 29

Baby's Length: 15.75-16.25 in.

Baby's Weight: 2.5-2.75 lbs.

Baby's Size: Basketball


This past friday we hit 29 weeks and as a treat, Megan got to go outside for the first time in 5 1/2 weeks. On top of that she got to see her favorite kitty Riley! It definitely was a process as Megan had to be switched from her bed to a gurney and then was wheeled outside. On my end, i went home, grabbed a kitty carrier and tried to put Riley in it. He willingly went in the half open box, but when it was time to put the lid on i had a reality check... we have a BIG cat. So big that he no longer fits in the cat carrier... So i did what any person would do; strapped a leash and harness on him and put him in the car. I didnt realize that in his nervous car ride he would shed everywhere! Despite the meowing and hair clean up, it was worth it to see Megan outside and enjoying the sun with Riley!!! Here are a few pics from that day!

Love,
Randy Megan +2

Week 28!

Friday was "the big day." It was the first milestone that we had been aiming for- 4 and a half weeks. It's the goal I kept in mind from day one. Randy and I talked about it every day. Whenever I got discouraged about how much longer we had here, he would help bring the focus back and help me remember short term goals are what we need to think about and week 28 was the first one.
I knew we would make it, there was never any doubt.
The Dr.'s would come in everyday and just explain how much better things would get once we hit 28 and also how the survival of the babies increases tremendously as well as long term disabilities etc decreasing. I also had hopes of things changing a bit as the Dr.'s had said for 2 weeks that at 28 weeks they planned to take my IV out which meant no more magnesium among other changes.

The day before I turned 28 weeks (8/28) I was very anxious, good and bad anxious. I was extremely excited that we had made it that far, that we could actually realize an accomplished goal, and all the possible privileges that may come along with reaching the milestone. I was also anxious about being taken off Mag as the first go around was NOT successful. Due to all the anxiety I was feeling I did have to get a shot of turbutaline that afternoon.

Along came the "big day" and they took my IV out bright and early at 7:00Am. That IV had in for 9 days which is twice as long as any of my other ones and they normally leave it in for 7 at the most but my doctor was trying to eek out a few more days because she knew it was coming out and she didn't want to have poke me again to get a new IV for just a day or two. They started me on a new oral medicine to help with contractions, which at first didn't seem to have any effect so about an hour later I had to have another one of those shots. Off and on all day I was contracting more than usual but for the most part each hour was under the allotted "maximum" number of contractions I could have (8).

One of the privileges of getting off mag was that I no longer had a fluid restriction, so as soon as the IV came out my nurse asked if I wanted to have my water jug filled up (previously I was only allowed to have a 1/4 of the mug each hour). Of course I said yes and I have been able to drink as much as I want, when I want since.

Later that afternoon, Randy (who stayed with me all day because it was our special milestone) gave me a sponge bath and for the first time my nurse let me take off my TOCO (contraction monitor) and for the first time in 4 1/2/ weeks I was COMPLETELY free of any wires or tubes!!! Immediately after my bath we seized the moment with no monitor on my belly to take a quick picture of 28 weeks. Because I lay in bed so much I didn’t really know what my belly looked like or how big it had gotten.

That night to celebrate our milestone my mother-in-law brought my favorite food to the hospital for dinner. King Crab Legs (which I hadn't had my whole pregnancy) and Filet Mignon along with my favorite green beans and a loaded bake potato! Yum!

I don't know if it was the excitement of the dinner, or if it was because it was the first day off Mag but soon after dinner I had to have another shot...

... It has now been almost 4 full days and I am still off the mag which has been amazing! Although I have had 4 shots in these 4 days, it has sort of been a whole new world for a couple of reasons:
1. Bedside Commode privileges- no bed pan!
2. No fluid restriction
3. I can wear whatever I want because no IV, blood draws, way less assements... Which means I had Randy go home and get my favorite shirt of his to wear.
4. And the best perk of 28 weeks was that they let me take a sit-down shower!!!!!!! While it was a non-luxurious shower, I sat on a special bench in the shower and I could only take about 5 minutes. Just in and out. This meant I got to walk to the bathroom (which I haven't done for 5 weeks) and while its only 10 feet away it felt SO good to be able to get out of bed and walk! I will never again take for granted the little things like taking a shower. The hot water and being able to wash my hair and body at the same time was awesome.

Finally, since we have reached 28 weeks, they are now monitoring the babies heart beats for 20 minutes at a time and today after our monitoring our nurse made a comment that our babies hearts looked/sounded great and that they were very mature. When we asked what that meant she said that their heart rhythms were monitoring more like a baby that was 32 weeks than 28. That was just good to hear because we want any advantage possible for our little bundles of joy!

All of the little privileges that we have been able to enjoy recently have been such a blessing and we continue to praise God for each day and we continue to place or focus on him.

As always we thank you and continue to ask for your prayers, they are obviously being heard!

Love,
Megan and Randy + 2

Randy feeding me breakfast bc I was too out of it. Also, sunglasses bc the light hurt my eyes so much (this is from our first week)













The first time I was allowed to drink that much













My mom, keeping me company













Randy, washing my hair













Me at 28 weeks






































Week 28 Celebratory Dinner













Calendar we have up in our room to count the days.

Latest Update 8-28-2008

So... where do i begin. I guess I will start off with the concept that all good things must come to an end. While Megan has enjoyed the past two weeks of shot freedom, tonight she had to have one. With a multitude of events one after another, her contractions were a bit high so they had to give her the shot of turbutaline. It has been two weeks since the last shot but we know it does the trick!

Now for the lighter side of sports. Three days ago Megan's doctor gave her the privileged to stop using a bed pan! What that means is she can now use her "bedside commode" for ALL bathroom uses. This is great because that means she can get out of bed more regularly, and while it is only for a few short steps to the potty, it is still a great freedom to use a "toilet".

Yesterday Megan had to have a gestational diabetes test which is standard among pregnant ladies. The test consists of: Megan having 5 minutes to drink 10 oz. of an orange soda-like substance. This substance went into her body and for the next hour she could not eat or drink anything. The test runs an hour to see how the body distributes the sugar. After an hour exactly, the lab comes in and draws her blood for testing. If the report comes back under 140 the consider her Gestational Diabetes free. Well, yesterday she took the test and the lab person showed up 20 minutes early to draw her blood. The test results came back at 145 which would have put her at risk for G. Diabetes. That meant she would have to take another test, this time 3 hours long and consisting of 4 total blood draws. When we told the doctor they came early, she breathed a sigh of relief because the early draw can skew the results. They rescheduled the test for today and while we were praying that the test would come back under 130, we got the results. 129! How amazing and humorous is God. We read in the bible to pray specifically for what you need and God was right on point with this one! So today she is clear of Gestational Diabetes and we are excited that Megan can still eat whatever she wants!

Tomorrow is week 28! A huge milestone for us in the hospital. As we have said in the past this is the first real milestone that the doctors wanted us to reach. What that means is at this gestational period the baby is basically fully developed and if the babies were to come early their chance of survival are now much higher than even a week ago. Tomorrow is a time to rejoice and since we did hit the 28 week mark doctors are at 7:00AM going to try and take Megan off of her Magnesium medicine. What that means to us/her is that Megan will no longer need an IV for her medicine. Also that means no blood draws and the freedom to drink whatever she wants, whenever she wants. A freedom that she has not had since she was admitted.

Please continue to pray for Megan and the babies that they will stay put and keep growing inside mommy. Also please pray that when they take her off the medicine tomorrow her body reacts well and does not start contracting too much again. Thank you all for your continued support and prayer. We love you all!

Love,
Megan and Randy + 2

No explanation needed

Week 27

Today Megan is officially 27 weeks. Only one more week to go till the first big milestone of 28 weeks that the doctors have been wanting us to get to. We cant believe it has almost been a month that we have been stationed here. Also!!! Today is the 8th day in a row that Megan has not had to have a shot of turbutaline!!! That means her contractions have been behaving themselves for 8 whole days. Prior to this run of days, the most she had gone in a row was two and most of the time she would get one almost every day. So that has been huge for us!!! Thanks for checking in!

Baby's Length: 9.25-9.50 in.

Baby's Weight: 2-2.25 lbs.

Baby's Size: Sock Monkey

Love to all,
Randy and Megan +2