Darek + Stacie

Today we had a “long” sonogram – the kind where they measure everything. “Everything” as in: from the babies’ brains to my cervix.

The babies were super active this morning so they had some trouble getting all of the measurements, but in the end they got them all, and everything looks great.

Baby B’s fluid is normal. Baby A’s fluid is on the high side, but okay. The doctor said that the fluid is “really just baby pee” so we shouldn’t worry too much if they’re a little unbalanced. He said he wasn’t worried, we don’t have TTTS, everything looked great, and the fact that we’ve made it this far without problems is a good sign.

Both babies weigh exactly one pound each! They’re in the 46th & 47th percentile, which I don’t completely understand but it means they’re each the size a “regular” (singleton) baby should be at this point. It’s also wonderful that they’re the same size.

The babies kept moving around the whole time; Baby B completely changed positions during the scan, from head next to Baby A’s head to butt next to A’s head. Nice. When the tech switched over the the 3D view for a few minutes, we got to see B kick A in the head repeatedly. So sweet…

They measured my cervix, and in what I expect was an attempt to get me to laugh (ultrasounds are worrisome now) the doctor said mine was “a mile long” and “not even human.” He then said I might want to be a surrogate after this. Ha. Ha. Ha. Our doctor is a funny guy. In seriousness though, we really, really like him, and trust him completely.

So for now, everything is good! We’ll keep going in every 2 weeks for fluid checks to make sure the levels stay stable. The risks of TTTS will always be there, but to make it this far without it is a really good sign. So we’re very hopeful and positive right now.

22 weeks down, 14 to go??? 36 weeks is my goal.

It rained on picture day.

The babies’ fluid levels are “stable.” They’re pretty much in the same area they were last time, which is in the “okay” range. They haven’t gotten any worse, which is a really good sign. We’ll go back in one week to get them checked again and go from there.

I’ll be 21 weeks tomorrow. Every week that goes by is another week closer to the goal. Every week that something doesn’t go wrong is a success.

The doctor seemed really happy that the levels were still in the same range. She said it’s okay if they’re different, as long as they’re not too different. From my research and talking to people who have experienced TTTS, the real problems start when the levels are below 2cm and above 9cm. They took two measurements – one was 3 & 8 and the other was 4 & 7. So depending on how they measure and how the babies are hanging out, it can fluctuate a little. But either way, they’re doing ok.

I’ve been a mess this past week worrying. We’ll continue to get close monitoring and hope for the best, and I’ll try to worry a little less.

We had an ultrasound today – just a “quick scan” to check the amniotic fluid (although it took an hour). The babies each have their own supply of fluid, but because they’re in the same placenta, it’s possible for one to get more fluid than the other. Unfortunately, that’s what’s happening. Baby A has 6cm of fluid, while Baby B only has 3cm. They’re supposed to be within 2cm of each other.

The babies haven’t been affected at this point, but this means there’s a chance of either “abnormal placental share” or something called twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS), where one baby takes too much and the other doesn’t get enough. If it is TTTS, I would have to have laser surgery to try to help the situation. We don’t know for sure what this could mean for us, but we’re getting extra monitoring to keep an eye on it.

We go back to the doctor in a week (Monday) to get it checked again. If it’s still uneven, we’ll go to a cardiologist to have the babies’ hearts checked. As of now the babies are ok, the doctor just wants to make sure we don’t miss anything.

So that’s our update. We’ll know more next Monday and I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted here.

I’ve never been in a bluebonnet field. They were taller than I thought they would be. Just as pretty though. And we hit the sunset just right.