35 Weeks Pregnant Update - Mixed Bag

Hi All,
Once again, I'm a little late at posting results from yesterday's appointments. This is mostly because I spent some time with my mom continuing baby preparations and also needed to gather my thoughts on the day's events. In my mind, we received a mixed bag of results.
We started the day with getting our 35 Week ultrasound and seeing the doctor for a pelvic exam afterwards.

Key Measurements from our ultrasound/doctor appointment:

Baby A (girl) Weight Estimate = 4 lbs 11 oz. (8th percentile)

Baby B (boy) Weight Estimate = 5 lbs 5 oz. (27th percentile)

Baby B Heart rate = 130

My Belly Measurement = 39 centimeters

My Pregnancy Weight Gain = 43.5 pounds

We were unable to measure my cervix length during this ultrasound.

The doctor did not detect any further cervix dilation during my pelvic exam.

I was caught off guard when the doctor delivered the news that he wants to move up our c section to next week, instead of 3 weeks from now. While the babies are still growing, they slipped significantly in their percentile rankings. Our daughter fell below the 10th percentile, and he previously warned us that this may warrant further attention. While the doctor thinks the babies could do okay and post good growth rates over the next three weeks, he does not want to take that chance if we do not need to. Basically, what I believe he is saying is that if the babies are far enough along in their development, we can care for them better and with more predictability outside the womb at this point, instead of "hoping" they do okay inside for the next three weeks.

Because of this, we will be performing an amniocentesis on both babies next Tuesday, which will tell us if their lungs are fully developed. If so, we are fine to move forward with a c section at any point after that. The doctor indicated we would look to schedule the c section on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday, pending good amniocentesis results. If the amnio happens to show the lungs are not ready, we will wait another week and retest. The other thing we need to be prepared for is the possibility that the amniocentesis could start the labor process. So it's looking quite likely that our babies are coming next week!

I spent yesterday with mixed emotions about this. I was pretty intent on getting our babies to the 38 week mark, or at least 37 weeks, when they would not be considered premature. I've been focused on their birth weights being a key indicator of their health. And I've always thought getting them as close to term as possible was one of the best ways to increase their birth weight. But, I know the doctor is doing what is best for us and the twins. After receiving pep talks from my husband, parents and fellow twin mom, Tracy, I'm starting to feel better about the change in plans.

On the good side, the ultrasound did not detect any stress to either baby. The non-stress test following the doctor visit also ended just fine. So, I think the change in c section date is mostly precautionary.

For now, it is out of our control. We will put our trust and confidence in our doctor and God to safely deliver our precious little ones to us.

On a lighter note - here are more pictures!

We made a 34 Weeks belly cast to commemorate our twins pregnancy. We will look for a local artist to help us paint it.

Valentines flowers for Mom from Dad and the kids.

35 Weeks Pregnant Belly Profile Shots

35 Weeks Frontal Shot - I find it funny that my belly button is no longer in the center of my belly!

29 Weeks Pregnant Update

We had an eventful day of appointments on Monday. We started out getting an ultrasound, then on to see the doctor, and finally over to the hospital for a NST test. At 29 weeks, here are some of the key statistics that were measured:

Baby A (girl) Weight Estimate = 2 lbs 13 oz.

Baby B (boy) Weight Estimate = 3 lbs 3 oz.

Baby A Heartbeat = 143

Baby B Heartbeat = 143

My Belly Measurement = 34 centimeters

My Pregnancy Weight Gain = 31 pounds

We also had a check of my cervix length via ultrasound. We did not get the exact measurement but were told it is fine at this time.

And some pictures from the 29 week ultrasound....

This is our girl's profile

A 3D shot of our girl's face

Our boy's face















And last, a shot of both babies' heads














It becomes more challenging to capture good ultrasound pics as the babies grow and only parts can be seen on the screen. I thought these turned out really nicely, and thanks to the babies for their cooperation!
Baby boy is in the 64th percentile for growth at this point, and baby girl is in the 29th percentile. (Apparently she will be our delicate one! :) These percentile markers are for singletons, and multiples are expected to lag a bit while in utero. We asked if we should be concerned about our girl's percentile. The doctor said not at all at this point. The point where there would be concern would be at the 5th or 10th percentile.

Another issue we will continue to monitor is the relative size of each baby. Again, with our boy being 6 ounces bigger, we need not be concerned. However, the last ultrasound 5 weeks ago showed the boy was 3 ounces heavier. If the discrepancy were to continue to widen and by too wide a margin, there could be some question as to whether the boy was getting more than his fair share of the nutrition delivered to the babies. That could also mean potential distress to the girl. For now, we will assume our girl is content to be our petite little princess.

As for my belly measurement, I am measuring 5 weeks ahead of my due date. Again, the measurement standard is for a singleton birth, so this is completely normal for us.

Another ultrasound finding was that the babies have completely changed positions. I know this is common and actually expected at this stage. But the babies have literally been transverse (sideways) the entire time we have received ultrasounds, and now they have both maneuvered into the head down position. We laughed, as I had told Liz, the ultrasound technician, that I felt the boy kicking me a lot, but hardly ever felt the girl. (This is because last we knew, the boy was sideways on top of the girl, and his kicks were all very high.) Then Liz delivered the news that both babies are now kicking high from their current head-down positions. Sorry little man, for blaming you for some of your sister's handiwork!

All in all, the ultrasound was a fun one. My dad was able to attend this one, and he got to feel the babies' rumps through my belly as the technician pointed them out.

We were on to see the doctor then. I was glad to hear a pelvic exam was not needed today. These are not my favorite. We basically discussed the aforementioned growth issues and also discussed vaginal vs. c-section birth, given the babies are now both head down. I have been anticipating a c-section with the previous positioning of the babies (transverse babies need to be c-section) and asked the doctor if I should be reconsidering. He said it is certainly my option if both continue to be head down, but still recommended a c-section if I am at all on the fence on the subject. This is because there is still a possibility of complications with vaginal delivery, such as the second baby flipping once the first comes out going the vaginal route, which would require a c-section following one vaginal delivery - ugh! So, I am content with the idea of a c-section at this point.

I will return for weekly doctor visits from here on out.

Next, I was on to the hospital for my first NST (non-stress test). In layman's terms, this is a test of the babies' heart activity over a 20 minute period. It is called "non stress", because it is completely non-invasive. Fetal heart monitors are strapped to my belly over the location of the babies hearts. Basically, they track for changes in the heartbeat and want to see a jump in the heartbeat when movement takes place. I also had a contraction monitor attached to my belly.

The nurses had a difficult time placing the monitor in the location of the boy's heartbeat; he may have been moving too much. An hour, three nurses, and an ultrasound (to pinpoint exact location of the heart) later, we had all monitors securely in place. I was already quite uncomfortable at this point, as I had been flat on my back for the hour. Luckily, the 20 minutes of monitoring went well, and we got the activity and responses the nurses wanted from the babies. I watched the monitor for a few minutes to see if I could recognize the jumps in the heartbeats. But, that also meant I was watching the time tick away all too slowly. So, I decided to read a magazine for the remainder of the test. The nurse informed me that I had a contraction during the 20 minute monitoring and asked if I had felt it. I did not feel a thing. As a precaution, the nurse took a urine sample to ensure I did not have any infections that would be causing contractions. The urine test came back negative, and I was instructed to drink more water and rest for the afternoon.

I have been fearing for a while that I will not recognize what a contraction feels like, even after all the reading and advice I have received from other moms. I will return to the hospital twice per week now for NSTs, and I plan to watch the contraction monitor and pay attention to what I'm feeling if and when the machine says I'm having another one.

Other than that, I'm taking the "plenty of water and rest" advice more seriously. One of my books suggests I should be drinking eight 16 ounce glasses of water per day to keep the contractions in check. I have never been great at getting the recommended daily intake of water, but this is good motivation. Drinking as much water and milk as recommended leaves little room for my pop vice (I had been enjoying a Sprite or caffeine free Diet Coke a day in my early pregnancy days). But the days of being a Diet Coke junkie are over, at least for now!

More to follow!

PS - My good friend Tracy is taking her 3 1/2 month old twins to the doctor today for another repeat of their hearing tests, which they have both now failed multiple times, despite the fact that she is certain they hear her and other sounds around the home. If you know Tracy, please send good thoughts her way!