Sad News

Alison and I are very sad to inform you all that at our ultrasound yesterday our baby did not have a heartbeat. We are extremely saddened that this story had to end this way. We also realize that there is a bigger plan at work. It does not seem fair but we take comfort in the fact that our journey has been a blessing and we will continue to seek answers and solutions.
It is now 8 a.m. and we are currently in a birthing room at Toledo Hospital. It will be very tough emotionally, but Alison will be induced shortly. Today Alison would be 18 weeks along in this pregnancy. For this reason, the doctors are hopeful that tests can be run to figure out what has been happening. Of course there are no guarantees, but we may have a bit more insight after this process.
Alison and I have some renewed hope. The doctors are very active in finding out what is happening and how to proceed. They are looking in many directions and we feel as though progress is occuring. It may not seem that way, since we had a negative outcome, but we are learning with each appointment. We must stay positive because miracles can and will happpen.
At this point we are planning on taking a pause from this blog. However, we are very hopeful that the pause will be short and we can resume in some way in the very near future. Thank you all very much for your prayers. They have been a comfort to us. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we work through the emotional and physical challenges that lie ahead.

-Kevin and Alison

Appointment Today - April 1

We had a good visit to the doctor today. After talking with the doctor last week, we all decided it would be better if we did fetal heart tone checks the next couple of weeks and when Alison is nearing the 20 week mark to do a full scan with measurements. This would help alleviate some of the anxiety of so many details each week which we have no control over.
So we met with the ultra sound tech and got a very healthy 152 bpm heart rate.
As you can imagine we have very strong emotions walking into any doctors' office and it was nice to have a simple scan with positive news. We both know there is a long way to go and we have no idea how this will turn out, but we have faith it will continue in a positive way.
We can not stress enough the importance of all the prayers we have heard and felt, but thank you!

-Kevin and Alison

Appointment Today

Alison and I made the trip to Toledo today in the rain. It may have been a bit of a good thing that we had to focus on safe driving and not the hour long trip that sometimes seems like an eternity. We had a new utlra sound tech who seemed about as nervous as we were because she had just read our chart for the first time. The good news is that there was a strong 162 bpm heart rate. After some measuring the baby had grown a very good amount from the last ultrasound the previous week. We can celebrate that part for sure.
The caution this week was with the amount of fluid, or lack thereof, surrounding the baby. The doctor was very honest and straight forward about his concern with this situation. He also let us know that it is hard to measure the fluid when there are multiple sacks, so we will be monitoring that closely. The doctor is recommending that we not take measurements for the next couple of weeks and only heartbeat scans. It is difficult to get great scans, especially with different technitions and machines. He doesn't want us to worry or get hung up on measurements from week to week. I happen to agree since there is little anyone can do at this point.
These next three weeks are very critical. If more fluid is produced and growth keeps on pace, there is a very good chance the baby will make it. On the other side if growth slows and the baby is not surrounded by more fluid, the outcome will most likely be a negative one.
Please keep praying for us and we appreciate all of you who are already doing so, we definitely feel those prayers.
-Kevin and Alison

update

This past week we made another trip to Toledo. Again we were very apprehensive about what we would find. After getting a heartbeat very quickly we felt much better. The heartbeat was good and we could start seeing some development. The pictures showed good development in regards to physical features. We saw the baby open its mouth, water in its stomach, rib development as well as spinal development. Many great signs.
The baby is a little small so we will be monitoring that development. It may be that there were three to begin with, or other factors. We are unsure at this point but will keep you all updated on progress as we will head up there again this week.
Thanks once again for the thoughts and prayers!
-Kevin and Alison

Doctor Visit

We made a very apprehensive trip to the Doctor today. After losing the second baby yesterday and leaving the office with so many emotions and questions, we did not know what to expect. To be completely honest we both felt like the visit today was going to be one more disappointment in our journey. We went very prepared for bad news, no answers and no options. We have tried to stay positive but is has been very difficult.

We made it to the office and we met with our doctor. With many questions to ask, a very positive conversation ensued. He got us right into the ultrasound room and we saw one very healthy baby moving around with a strong heartbeat. We both felt a giant weight lifted off our backs. It was quite amazing! The doctor put Alison on some blood thinning medication as a precautionary measure. We understand that there are no definitive answers but having the option of something different really makes us optimistic. We are not even close to being out of the woods but with all of your prayers and thoughts surrounding us, we feel a little more at peace.

Thank you all

-Kevin and Alison

Heavy Hearts

It is with a heavy heart that I make this post. Alison and I went to visit the doctor for the first time since our news of losing one of the babies. Unfortunately they did not have any answers to why the baby did not make it. All tests are not showing anything abnormal but something was not right. Today at the doctor we realized that the heart had stopped in another baby. Again we have no idea what went wrong and are extremely saddened and disappointed.

We are going to meet with the doctor tomorrow. We are not anticipating an answer but some insight on where to go from here. There is still one baby and we are going to do everything we can to bring him/her into this world. We know that there is a plan for us, just not sure we understand its path. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

-Kevin and Alison

and then there were two

At our twelve week ultrasound we had some bad news. One of the babies did not have a heartbeat. This only a week after a very good ultrasound. This is a very scary time for us and we know all of you are praying very hard. We do not always understand why things happen, or even how, but hope that there is a greater plan underway for us and our family. On the good side, the ultrasounds of the other babies were very positive. Each were measuring properly for thier age with strong heartbeats.
We will continue to pray and ask for your thoughts and prayers.
Thanks
-Kevin