Christmas

Christmas

Monday, November 15, 2010

Doctor Appointment and Amniotic fluid

So we had our monthly appointment on Friday. I also had to drink that lovely orange soda (glucose test). I passed the glucose test at 114 (need to be under 140). The doctor said that Leyna is measuring a little big, being at 3 pounds already. He also said that my amniotic fluid level is at 33. Apparently 25 is the high end of normal. So now that has me a bit concerned after reading up on it on the internet. I just got off the phone with my doctor's office a few minutes ago and the nurse said yes, my fluid level is high but to not be concerned about it. She said the doctor is not worried, so I also should not be worried.  Well I'll tell you something.....I'm worried!!! How can I not be? We lost our first daughter, I really don't want anything to happen to this one either. I'm already always checking to make sure she's moving and worrying about her, and now I have this to add on top of all the worry. Just great.
We have another appointment on the 30th, so I am going to try and not make a big deal of it and find out where the fluid level is at our next appt. Hopefully it went down. If you're at all into praying, please pray for this!! And if you have experienced this of have any info, please let me know!

On another note, we did get some great pictures of Leyna!


A great profile shot

Look at those chubby cheeks!




I think she looks a lot like Hailey in this picture.





Tuesday, October 19, 2010

25 week update and Blanket drive

Josh and I went to another ultrasound appointment on the 15th, and everything is still looking as perfect as ever! We got a great view of her heart and I can't believe how beautiful it looks. I never knew what a 4 chamber heart looks like on ultrasound, but now I do and it's amazing to see. She is growing like she is supposed to and is even up to 1 pound 10oz already! Only a week and a half left in this 2nd trimester and we're on to the 3rd!!! It's so exciting! We also tried to get a 3D picture of Leyna but she was not wanting to cooperate at all. She kept her hands in front of her face the whole time. So we're hoping at our next appt we will get a good look at that beautiful face of hers!


I also wanted to mention that we are currently doing a blanket drive in honor of Hailey's life. We plan on collecting new and unused blankets between now and December 1st. We will be bringing them to Doernbecher Children's Hospital on December 2nd (Hailey's 1st Angelversary). This will be a great way to help us get through an emotional day for us. Click Here to see the facebook event we created for our blanket drive. If you need more information and would like to donate, please respond via facebook or e-mail me labradorgirl1981@msn.com. 




Monday, September 20, 2010

Appt went great!

I know I am a little late updating my blog. But our appointment on the 16th went great! We had our Fetal Echo and everything is looking just like it's supposed to. They also did another anatomy scan and everything there looks perfect as well. All her organs are in the correct place and working like they should be. Other than that, there really isn't much to update about. Our next ultrasound will be on October 14th where we will be getting more pictures like these:

Isn't she just so cute?!













Look at that face!












Yup, still a girl!












4 chamber heart












Profile shot












We are at 21 weeks as of yesterday, only 19 to go!!! Hoping these months go by fast!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Lost and Found Connections Abound

I just wanted to introduce you all to a great blog I came across while reading a fellow heart mom's blog. They offer a list of blogs for everyone needing help and support at the moment. The blog is Lost and Found Connections Abound. You can submit your own blog as well.
One of their links is all about pregnancy and infant loss, I haven't read much on it yet but I do plan on it. Here is the link to the pregnancy and infant loss support page. This page contains a list of blogs on people going through the same thing as many of my followers.

On other news, everything here is still going great! I have been feeling Leyna move more and more. It's only once or twice a day, but the movements are getting stronger! We will be going in for our fetal echo next Thursday, the 16th. We will also be getting another ultrasound to check out how she's growing. I can't wait to see more pictures of her!

Here is the link to the blog I was reading when I came across LFCA. She is a new "heart mom to be" and could use lots of support.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Dear Leyna

People notice there's a special glow around you.
You grow Surrounded by love.
Never doubting you are wanted;
Only look at the pride and joy in your mother and father's eyes.
And if sometimes between the smiles
There's a trace of tears,
One day You'll understand.
You'll understand
There was once another child
A different child
Who was in their hopes and dreams.
That child will never outgrow the baby clothes
That child will never keep them up at night
In fact, that child will never be any trouble at all.
Except sometimes, in a silent moment,
When mother and father miss so much
That different child.
May hope and love wrap you warmly
And may you learn the lesson forever
How infinitely precious
How infinitely fragile is this life on earth.
One day, as a young woman
You may see another mother's tears
Another father's silent grief
Then you, and you alone
Will understand and offer the greatest comfort.
When all hope seems lost,
You will tell them
With great compassion,
"I know how you feel,
I'm only here
Because my mother tried again."

by Pandora MacMillian

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Leyna Faye McCrow

As you know, we will be having a heart healthy baby girl this January! It feels so good to say "heart healthy". We are so excited that we will be able to have a "normal" pregnancy from here on out. It's something I have never gotten to experience. I don't have to worry about what's going to happen after she's born. I don't have to ask myself questions like "Will we ever get to bring her home?" "Will she survive open heart surgery?" and "What's will the future with a heart baby be like?" I wish more than anything that Hailey was here and we knew what it felt like to live life with our heart baby, but it's also so wonderful to know we won't have to worry about these things with our new little girl. I can't even describe how it feels, we're just so relieved to be having a healthy baby.
During the ultrasound as the technician was looking at her heart, she was very quiet and didn't say much. She knew our past and so we were getting really worried. My heart was about to come out of my chest it was racing so fast. But finally she typed "4 CH" on the screen! What a relief that was! She really had us worried for a minute! After she was all done with the scanning, the doctor came in and told us that everything looked perfect! She's growing just like she's supposed to, along with that 4 chamber heart of hers!
We decided on the name Leyna (pronounced lay na) it means "Little Angel" and "Bright and Shinning Light" because she really is!
We have the actual fetal echo on September 16th to confirm the 4 chambers and to take a detailed look at her heart. But we at least know for sure that there are 4 chambers! Anything else would be a piece of cake compared to HLHS!
I will update as we hear more after our appointment. (Sooner as well).

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Who's ready to hear about our day!?

We are having a HEART HEALTHY baby GIRL!! She has a beautiful 4 chamber heart!!








A beautiful 4 chamber heart!!










It's a girl!!!!!













Her cute little profile!






I'll post more later, right now we just wanted to celebrate!!

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Tomorrow is the BIG day!

Tomorrow morning we will be going in for our 16 week ultrasound and they are going to take a look at the baby's heart to make sure there are 4 chambers and that the aorta is the correct size. We won't be going for our fetal echo until around 20-22 weeks. But for now, at least we will know of any major defects (even though there will not be any!!) We will also be finding out the gender at this appointment! So exciting! So nervous about the whole thing as well. We know we have only a very small chance of it happening again, but you just never know with these things. We're staying very positive though. If anything happens to be wrong, we are on the next flight to Boston to have a fetal intervention where they are able to to an in utero surgery to try and correct any abnormalities. Even after all we've been through, I still feel an abortion is not something we could handle if something was wrong. But there won't be anything wrong, so nothing to worry about!

So who wants to take any guesses as to what we are having? I'm guessing a heart healthy little GIRL!

I will update tomorrow as soon as I can, we plan on going shopping for baby clothes after our appointment, so it may be a while, but if you're on my facebook I will post an update on my phone as soon as we are done at the appt!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Josh Wilson - Before the Morning

I just wanted to share a song that was actually written for a little boy with HLHS. I have this CD and just love it. It's very hard to find in store, so if you want a copy you may have to order it online. His name is Josh Wilson and the title of the CD is "Life is Not a Snapshot".

Josh Wilson "Before the Morning" 


Do you wonder why you have to 
Feel the things that hurt you? 
If there's a God who loves you, 
Where is He now? 

Maybe, there are things you cant see, 
And all those things are happening 
To bring a better ending. 
Some day, some how, you'll see, you'll see. 

Would you dare, would you dare to believe 
That you still have a reason to sing? 
Cause the pain that you've been feeling, 
It cant compare to the joy that's coming. 

So hold on, you gotta wait for the light. 
Press on, and just fight the good fight. 
Cause the pain that you've been feeling, 
It's just the dark before the morning. 

My friend, you know how this all ends. 
You know where you're going. 
You just don't know how you'll get there. 
So say a prayer and hold on. 
Cause there's good for those who love God. 
But life is not a snapshot. 
It might take a little time, 
but you'll see the bigger picture. 

Would you dare, would you dare to believe 
That you still have a reason to sing? 
Cause the pain that you've been feeling, 
It cant compare to the joy that's coming. 

So hold on, you gotta wait for the light. 
Press on, and just fight the good fight. 
Cause the pain that you've been feeling, 
It's just the dark before the morning. 

Yeah, yeah. Before the morning. Yeah, yeah. 
Once you feel the weight of glory 
All your pain will fade to memory. 

Once you feel the weight of glory 
All your pain will fade to memory, Yeah. 

Would you dare, would you dare to believe 
That you still have a reason to sing? 
Cause the pain that you've been feeling, 
It cant compare to the joy that's coming. 

Would you dare, would you dare to believe 
That you still have a reason to sing? 
Cause the pain that you've been feeling, 
It cant compare to the joy that's coming. 

So hold on, you gotta wait for the light. 
Press on, and just fight the good fight. 
Cause the pain that you've been feeling, 
It's just the hurt before the morning. 

All the pain that you've been feeling 
Its just the dark before the morning. 

Before the morning, Yeah yeah. 
Before the morning.



I believe that our "joy that's coming" is our new little baby. We've already been through the dark, now we are just waiting for our morning. I love you so much Hailey! 


Click here to watch the videos.  One video is the music video to the song, and they also have a video documentary with the father telling the story behind the song. 




Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Our baby is growing!

We sure had a busy last few weeks. Hailey's first birthday party went well, not as many people showed up as I had hoped but I can understand why someone would not want to attend. It's not your typical "Happy" Birthday party. But we still had a great time. We released balloons at exactly 4:09pm, the time she came into this world. We also got lots of donations that we brought up to Doernbecher Children's Hospital a week later. We still have one more surprise gift that we will be bringing them sometime this month. I will post that when the day comes! 

We just got back on Saturday from a week long vacation in Wisconsin visiting family. We rented a house on the lake with my parents and my brother with his family. I got to meet my niece, Taylor for the first time last week. She is only 2 months older than Hailey is. It was so great to meet her but as the days went on, it was getting harder to put on that happy face. By Wednesday I was so stressed out I just needed to go cry for a while. My amazing husband was right there with me to hold me and support me, he's so wonderful. I just wish it wasn't so hard to be around little girls Hailey's age. Taylor is adorable and a sweet little girl but I couldn't get my mind off the fact that Hailey should be here with us on vacation. She should be getting spoiled by grandparents and playing with her cousins. It was really a wonderful vacation in all, but just a but much with missing Hailey. 

Our last ultrasound went really well. We got lots of good pictures and the Doctor says that so far everything looks great. We had the test where they measure the fluid behind the neck that tests for Down Syndrome (a possible connection to heart defects) and that test was negative. So far so good. Our next appointment will be on August 19th where we will be looking for all 4 chambers of the heart and checking out the Aorta. We will also be finding out the gender on that day! I can't wait to find out how everything is looking. We won't be having a fetal echo until week 22 or so. But at least we will be able to see the 4 chambers in 2 weeks!! 

I also wanted to put a note in about an upcoming NASCAR race. Kenny Wallace will be racing a CHD car, and Hailey's name is on the hood along with many other CHD children. The race will be on August 20th. You can learn more about this car and fundraising site by clicking here.

And here are our newest ultrasound pictures! These are 12 weeks 4 days. 



Here's a profile shot. Do you see the heart above the baby??














Here is another profile shot. 













Our baby's brain.












Here's a shot between the legs. What do you think? Boy? Girl?









Week and day: 14 weeks and 2 days

Belly Button in or out: Still in. :)  Never came out while I was pregnant with Hailey, so I think it may stay in!

Wedding rings on or off: Still on of course!

Food cravings:  Fruit

Food aversions: Everything!

Nausea: Has pretty much gone away!

Energy level: Getting back to normal again

Weight gain:  Still no weight gain yet. 

Mood: Pretty good, getting very excited and anxious for the 19th!

Maternity clothes: They are a must now!

Size of baby: Crown to rump is 3 1/2 to 4 inches (8 to 9.3cm) The size of a lemon and weighs 1 ounce!

Baby's changes:  This week the baby's ears have moved from the neck to the sides of the head. Eyes have been moving gradually from the side of the head to the front of the face. The neck continues to get longer, and the chin no longer rests on the chest. 
Sexual development continues. It is becoming easier to determine male from female by looking at external, genitalia, which are more developed. 

Next appointment: The BIG appt!! It's on August 19th!

What I've been up to: Nothing new, just working after a great vacation with my family!