Ultrasounds and Appointments

After my 8 week ultrasound I got a phone call that I would be having an ultrasound with every OB appointment. I get to see my babies every month! Yea! They also told me that I would go to a maternal and fetal medicine specialist. 


12 weeks-Back at the OB's office, waiting for the ultrasound. Since I'm a little foolish, I read all sorts of things about twins online. Some of them good and some of them not so good. I had to stop myself and remember that my pregnancy will be unique and it doesn't have to be like all of those horror stories that I read about. 
I was most concerned about something called a disappearing twin. It's when a twin is detected early in the pregnancy and then it is miscarried. It is either absorbed back into the mother or into the other twin. But, once again the ultrasound screen came on and there they both were....hearts beating like crazy and wiggling around. Everything looked normal. 
13 weeks-This was our appointment at Maternal and Fetal Medicine. We met with a nutritionist who weighed me and figured my BMI. She then explained that I need to be eating a high calorie diet (around 3500 calories per day). The theory is that the more weight that I gain by 28 weeks the larger my twins will be at birth. Usually by 28 weeks, your stomach is so squished by your large uterus that you need to have extra fat stored in your body to fuel yourself and to make sure your twins are getting all they need. She suggested to go ahead and have a milkshake and a cheeseburger every now and then :) Yea for me! Bring on the chow! I've gained 2lbs less than what she wants me to have gained at this point so I have a little bit to make up!!! 
We then met with a genetic counselor. She went over some of the things that they would be looking for in the ultrasound. They wanted to test a fluid level at the back of each twin's neck. This indicates if they are growing at the proper speed or if their growth slowed down by something such as a chromosome abnormality. 
Also, this genetic counselor worked on Violet's case too. She showed us exactly what was wrong with her chromosomes. Usually you have 2 of each chromosome-one from mom and one from dad. Sometimes people have what is called a trisomy.
trisomy is a type of polysomy in which there are three copies, instead of the normal two, of a particular           chromosome.[1] A trisomy is a type of aneuploidy(an abnormal number of chromosomes). 
That is straight from Wikipedia because they can explain it much better than I ever could. Violet had a partial trisomy. On her 4th pair of chromosomes she had part of her 9th pair. I know it's all confusing and it's hard to explain, so I'm sorry if you don't get it. I didn't really get it until I saw it on paper. And someone with that partial trisomy, could not have survived outside the womb. It is also something that is just a fluke thing. It was just a bad sperm or a bad egg. I'm not sure why Violet held on as long as she did, it seems like something like this would have been miscarried in the first 12 weeks. I suppose we will never know the answer to that question. 
After all of that it was time to see our babies again. We had another ultrasound, again, we saw those little beating hearts and those little dancing bodies. The tech took those measurements and then we met with the specialist. We were told that all of the measurements looked normal. She did make sure to tell us, "I know that you've been told before that everything looks normal, but there is only so much that an ultrasound can tell us." We just have to trust that everything looks good and that everything will stay normal. 
I had some blood work done that day as well. The genetic counselor gave us some odds of having a baby with Down Syndrome. This was based on my age. Since I wasn't in the dangerous zone, I wasn't too concerned about that. This blood work would give us more accurate results of our chances of having a child with Down Syndrome. (we got those results and our chances are 1/3000, so it's highly unlikely that either of the twins will have Downs)
14 weeks-Well, not only do I get to have an ultra sound every month, but I get to have 2 ultrasounds every month (until June when I start going every week). The specialist suggested this so that my cervix could be checked. I was told that this is standard with a multiple pregnancy because the chances of preterm labor are so great. So, while it's kind of a pain to go into my OB's office every other week, its great to see my babies and hear their heartbeats. Also, it gives us piece of mind that our babies are doing well. So, I will happily drive 20 minutes to see my babies, it's no big deal. 
We got to take a look at everything and babies look great and no signs of preterm labor. 
16 weeks-Time for another ultrasound and appointment. We were hoping to find out the gender at this ultrasound, but Baby A had the cord in between his/her legs and Baby B showed no signs of boy parts, but the ultrasound tech was not ready to say that Baby B is a girl. She said that there have been times when at 16 weeks it looks like a girl and then at the next ultrasound, you see boy parts. Maybe next time. 


On Monday March 26 we go for another appointment at Maternal and Fetal Medicine. We will have another ultrasound done and hopefully we will continue to have good news about the growth of our twins. And we are really hoping to find out the genders!! Fingers crossed! Nolan refuses to talk about names with me until we know the genders. He says that it's pointless right now. 

Comments

  1. Nancy I've been reading all of your posts, thank you so much for sharing your story. I cried reading most of them, but it makes me so happy to hear how well your pregnancy is going now. I'm 19 weeks pregnant, so just a bit ahead of you. I cannot imagine going through what you and your family have experienced; I am so happy that you have something joyful to focus on. I am looking forward to reading more of your updates!
    -Laura Spillman

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  2. Aaron was the same way about waiting to talk about names! Can't wait to hear how things go on Monday!! :)

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  3. Laura, congrats on your pregnancy. I wondered if you were pregnant with some of the things that you have been posting on Pinterest. I didn't want to say anything. Thank you for your well wishes. While I knew that not everyone was going to come out and ask about Violet's story, I wanted to share it. I felt like as her mother, that is my duty. I hope that things continue to go well for you and I hope to hear updates on your pregnancy as well! I can't believe that you are still running! I'm so tired all the time....I do have two babies and it is different than one, but I didn't feel like running with Violet either. You're super woman!

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  4. Edith, why is it that we can't even bring up an idea with them before they know the gender? I think its fun and he thinks it a waste of time. What a stick in the mud :)

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  5. Nancy,

    I've read all of your posts and they made me cry too...to listen to what you went through is heart-wrenching. On the other hand, I'm so happy for you and your family at the news of your twins. I've been praying for you guys too. Sometimes, God has a funny way of working things. Just like you said, one day you were mourning Violet and the next you were looking forward to two more little angels. Every time I look at Kaylin, I'm reminded of how she was born exactly one year after my Dad died...and she has his eyes. Life is full of surprises.

    On another note, If you ever have any questions about handling three little ones, just let me know. I know my situation is not the same as yours, but I do have 3 under 3. It's chaotic at times, but every day is a blessing. Good luck with everything and I look forward to hearing about your rainbow babies!

    Smiles,
    Leah :)

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