Target(s) Acquired

The perinatology appointment went great. I am 21 weeks already. The babies are growing right on target. Baby A weighs 13 oz. and Baby B weighs 14 oz. The 50th percentile for twins at 21 weeks is 14 oz. so the doc said they are nice and healthy! No sign of the Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS) yet, so let's keep it that way! He said that if TTTS does present itself (which it can, at any time)they have several ways to treat it: laser treatment to separate blood vessels, amniotic fluid reduction, and if they are older - delivery.

The appointment took two hours! Same as last time. They had told me at my last appointment that all these subsequent appointments would only be one hour. Well apparently they needed some pictures that they weren't able to get last time - because the babies were moving around a lot. Well, they didn't cooperate very well this time either. Baby cage match indeed! At least they finally got all the shots they needed. So now my appointments moving forward are to measure growth and amnoitic fluid and should only be an hour long... we'll see.

It was a bit convenient that the babies are movers - they had to use the 3-D (or 4-D?) ultrasound to get detailed pics of the spine. When she was done getting her shots she put it in the contour mode so I could see some cute faces. So it was kind of cool to "see" them. The contouring is not very accurate - but at least the babies look more like cute little cheetos than skeletor-aliens. hahaha. Anywho I put some of the pics below...

Case in point of baby cage match - the picture below was supposed to be of Baby B's face, but Baby A decided to kick box her cheeto legs into Baby B's face. It was so funny watching it, the technician and I were laughing so hard. Those babies are all over the place!

Below is a picture of Baby A's face:

Here's a regular ultrasound pic of Baby B's profile:

And, here's a pic of Baby A's bum and legs (top of the picture, the baby is facing down) - can you tell?

Next appointment is in 3 weeks (a day after my OB checkup). These babies are already keeping me busy!

Lucky Number 20

Time seems to be flying by. I had my 20-week check up yesterday with my OB. I'm officially 20 weeks today -- 5 months down!

Everything is fine. My blood pressure is excellent. I've gained 17 pounds so far. So I've definitely made up for the weight loss in the first trimester. I'm right in the top end of my range for twin pregnancy weight gain at 20-weeks (they base it on your pre-pregnancy weight and your height). The bigger the better! So I'm feeling good about that :-) She listened to the heartbeats: one was 145 bpm and the other was 160 bpm. She said it's normal for them to be different and that they are both in the normal range. She also measured my belly. At 16-weeks, I was measuring the same size as a 20-week singleton. Now, at 20-weeks, I'm measuring the size of a 26-week singleton pregnancy! Whew. So I'm up 6 cm in one month and still growing... hahaha.

I've become an expert on managing my nausea. It's still there, but I have learned how to not trigger it, along with keeping up on my nausea medicine. Heartburn is getting worse of course. The edema in my legs, ankles and feet is worse. I occasionally notice it in my hands and face, but it fluctuates. Since the edema will only get worse, the nurse recommended support stockings (look out Maudie!). I don't feel the fluttering of the babies as much as before, probably because my uterus has moved up more. My nerves are still healing from my fibroid surgery last year, so I'm full of weird -- sometimes dull, sometimes painful -- sensations. All par for the course. I pulled a groin muscle during a particulary bad throw-up session about a month ago and it keeps reaggravating itself. I think the extra weight I'm carrying is the culprit. It hurts to walk, to lift my left leg, to stand up, etc. The nurse recommended one of those belly contraptions that help support your belly -- to ease some of the weight off my pelvic muscles. So we'll see if that helps.

Anywho - my next perinatology appointment is next Tuesday! Time really is flying by. I'll be able to see the girls again and see if they are growing on target. I'll also be able to ask the doctor more about the risks of the Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome. So I'm eagerly awaiting that appointment. On a side note: we picked up two FREE Graco swings from one of our neighbors today. Woohoo!