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: