Fetal Echocardiogram results

Tim and I went in to the OB's office today for the girls' fetal echocardiogram with Dr. Rajan, who did Thomas' echos. It started out pretty much as before, but the big difference was that everything was normal, so the pediatric cardiologist did not scan me himself, he just relied on the tapes the ultrasound technician had made during her scan. And the OB did not come in to do further scanning, either.

Dr. Rajan showed us the normal heart diagram and as we went through the tapes, he'd point out how nice and perfect each part of the heart was. So now we have that over with, and it confirms what the anatomy scans have shown so far. This has all been great news. He didn't remember Thomas, of course, as we never did talk with him after Thomas was born.

There were moments during the scan that Tim and I felt sad. For Tim, it was during the talk of Thomas, as I described the different heart defects he had been born with. For me, it was seeing the perfect hearts and wishing it had been that way with Thomas.

So after Dr. Rajan left, I requested that the technician scan my cervix to make sure it wasn't changing after all the Braxton Hicks I've been having this week. She confirmed it with Dr. Lu, and checked it for me, to reassure me. It was still a nice long 6.09 cm long, or a half mile long as my nurse practioner Lynne put it! That was great news!

They also measured both girls to see how they were growing. Baby A is measuring two weeks ahead, at 26 weeks and 3 days. She has very long limbs, compared to her sister. Baby B is measuring 25 weeks and 1 day, which is one week ahead. Since they are fraternal twins, this is normal. Baby A weighs 1 lb. 14 oz., and Baby B weighs 1 lb. 10 oz. Their heart rates were 147 and 153 beats per minute. When the scan began, Baby A was breech, or sitting down on my cervix, facing to my right, with her head resting on her placenta like a pillow. Baby B was vertex, facing left. We could see B kicking A in the head every so often. But after the echo was completed, while no one was looking at the belly, B flipped over, so that she was breech, too, and spooning with her sister! It was pretty funny seeing them sitting like that, one sitting between the other's legs! They both have large pockets of fluid around them, and still plenty of room to move around.

I asked Lynne to measure my fundus for me, which is the distance from your pelvic bone to the top of your uterus, which she located right up and under my ribs. It measured 33cm, which translates to 33 weeks along, or about two weeks into the eighth month, if I was pregnant with a singleton! That goes to show you how big I am!

Dr. Lu, the OB, did talk to me about the excessive BHs. He said that it can simple be an "irritable uterus". He suggested I take 600 mg of ibuprofin to help relax my uterus next time I have a series of many contractions in an hour. I can take ibuprofin now until my 32nd week. After that, it can impair blood flow in the fetus. I asked him why they say pregnant women can't take it during pregnancy, and he said for that reason. It is just easier to say "not at all" then to explain the specific conditions allowing for its use. There also exists a prescription drug called "vistaril" which is also used to calm the uterus. It can also help with anxiety and be a sleep aid during pregnancy. It is an "old time" drug, as Lynne described it.

Dr. Lu thinks it is just the extra weight I have in there, now, plus it being my second pregnancy, that is causing these BHs. Lynne says that if I get another 4-6 in an hour, I need to make sure I hydrate (drink two glasses of water) then lay on my left side for an hour. If after that, I still get them at that rate of frequency, I need to call so I can be reevaluated. She said that perhaps I'm one of those women whose threshold per hour really should be 6-8. But that would have to be decided after an evaluation that the BHs are not causing any changes to me physically.

I go back in three weeks for my next scan and doctor's visit. I will also be doing the glucose screen, which is a test for gestational diabetes. I hope I pass the test.

Here are some pics from the scan, a pic of me taken Monday at 24w0d, and a diagram showing how vertex twins look at 24 weeks. Please click to enlarge:

Update to PTL Post

The nurse finally called around 5:30pm. About the same time as our financial planner arrived for a meeting, the mailman rang the bell to drop off a package, me in the bathroom and Tim running around the house like a madman trying to take care of everything!!!

So I described what was happening and she asked when I was expected back in for my next visit. I told her this Wednesday afternoon. (That is to be our fetal echocardiogram with Dr. Rajan and an office visit.) So she said to make sure I keep drinking plenty of liquids, do not do any housework or anything at all, basically stay off my feet until Wednesday. If anything changes drastically, I am to call immediately to be reevaluated.

After my last post, I had six in an hour, then four, then three, then none for an hour and a half. That was twenty minutes ago. So hopefully the storm has passed and all will be well.

Next post will be after the fetal echo. I should get some more ultrasound pics! And a new belly pic for tonight.

Pre-term Labor (PTL) at 24 weeks

According to the March of Dimes web site, preterm labor happens in 1 out of 8 births. Women who are carrying multiples are at higher risk for PTL than other women. Symptoms include contractions less than ten minutes apart (or 6-7 in an hour), low back pain, cramping, among other things.

Today I am experiencing some symptoms of PTL. This is not a good feeling. This is the background:

Sunday morning, I noticed I had three Braxton Hicks (BH) contractions (Cx) in an hour, and I was just sitting at the table enjoying some banana bread, decaf coffee and the newspaper. I maybe had one an hour, at most, the rest of the day. Probably less.

This morning, I had about five in an hour. Then I sat at the desk and didn't get any for over an hour. Then I got two in quick succession, and my low back started aching a little. Since I was tired I went back to bed. I had drunk about 32 ounces of water by this point, so I wasn't dehydrated and wasn't working hard on something.

After my 2-1/2 hour nap, I got up. While I was standing in the closet getting dressed, I got a BH. When I squatted to get something out of a bottom drawer, I felt a twinge in the area of my cervix. When I went to make lunch, I noticed I got them nearly every time I stood up. And when I went to the bathroom, (sorry, TMI) it went from at first very hard to soft. So I was worried that maybe I was heading into the diarrhea range later... which would be a third symptom of PTL. But I did make black beans and rice for dinner last night which could also account for that, lol.

So I am on my own enforced couch rest. Which sucks because I had a few things I really wanted to do today. But I am worried, and monitoring my Cx on the PC. They've gone from 17 mins, to 23 mins and now 35 mins apart. I called and left a message for the OB nurse. Just to talk it over with someone. I wonder why they are hitting me so hard today?

Although Tim and I try to remain positive about this pregnancy, we HAVE lost our innocence. We know that just because you are pregnant, does not mean you get to take home a baby (or two). If I go into full blown early labor, the babies today, at 24 weeks, have a 50% chance or so for survival. But they will definitely have developmental issues and physical issues like possible hearing loss or blindness to contend with.

Not one woman I know who has suffered a loss feels full blown excitement about being pregnant again. Not one. I am related to two other women who are also currently expecting (we are all due within months of each other) after a loss. I can guess that they, too, are not 100% sure they will have a baby to bring home, no matter how far along they get. This is our reality; we don't expect you to understand it, but we do hope you will respect our feelings in this regard.

So now my Cx are 16 minutes apart again...

I will update the blog later to keep you all posted. When I was worried, I took a peak outside the front window and saw some light flurries falling, which was not in the forecast today. And I knew it was Thomas reassuring me that all would be well. He is such a good boy.

Oh, here is my belly picture I took last week at 23 weeks:

5th Ultrasound - 21w1d

I am finally getting around to posting pics from the 5th ultrasound I had which was on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving when I was 21 weeks and 1 day (21w1d). They double checked the full anatomy of each baby during the ultrasound scan. I also had the tech confirm they were girls, and there was no doubt! The babies had doubled in size from the previous scan, four weeks earlier. Baby A weighed 1 lb. 1 oz. and Baby B weighed 1 lb. 0 oz. which are both very good. Usually Baby B is larger than Baby A because Baby A is getting squashed and B has more room! Their heart rates were 141 and 147 beats per minute, respectively.

I also had a doctor's visit. My blood pressure is still nice and low, and I am finally starting to gain weight. My cervix was long and tight, which is always good news in a twin pregnancy.

I'm hoping you can click on this to enlarge it, but I'm not sure. Here is my latest collection of ultrasound pics and belly shot. Plus a neat diagram showing how babies look in the uterus at 20 weeks.