Sunday, July 31, 2011

18 Weeks

18 Weeks! That means we are officially halfway there.
Our perinatologist said 50% of twins are born before 34 weeks and recommends all identical twins sharing a placenta be born at or before 36 weeks. Apparently, the risks of stillbirth increases after the 36 week marker. So yes, only 18 weeks (or so) to go!

At 18 weeks, the babies look perfect. There are no abnormalities and they are relatively the same size, which means there are no signs of twin to twin transfusion. The ultrasound lasted nearly an hour and every bone, organ, and sac of fluid was measured. It was incredible how much can be seen this early! Here is a profile shot of Baby A:
And here is a profile shot of Baby B:
Please note the part labeled "A Bum." Yes, this is Baby A's bum...right in Baby B's face. The ultrasound technician couldn't stop laughing. She had difficulty seeing Baby B's face and then realized what was blocking the image; they are definitely sharing a very tight space.

Back to our perinatologist, Dr. Halvorsen was definitely interesting. He was very knowledgeable and gave us the facts. The biggest disappointment was that again, we waited for hours to be seen (literally). I thought scheduling the first appointment of the day would avoid that problem. Not so. Knowing Dr. Halvorsen is the only high risk doctor for a 3 hour radius, Nathan and I couldn't just walk out of the office. I realize now how much I took for granted all the healthcare options in Provo.

Every two weeks, we'll have one of these hour long ultrasounds and make sure the babies are still the same size. I know there is a long road ahead of us, but I am so excited everything looks great so far. Additionally, I must say that the entire "twin" thing hasn't really sunk in yet. Every time we see two babies on the ultrasound, it's amazing and wonderful, but also somewhat unreal. I'm sure reality will sink in once I am hugely pregnant and feeling two little ones kick and move around. Hopefully.

4 comments:

  1. sorry about all the waiting! that stinks! I always have to wait for my OB but i love and trust him so much i would not ever go anywhere else! :) I am so glad you are not as sick!!!!

    And good luck on the bottle! Really wait until she is ready and wants to do it but you know help her get there ;) haha we had some horrid nights where i gave up too! Me and another friend decided babies born around that time are super stubborn :)

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  2. Oh man, I'm so glad you're halfway there! We can't wait to see you in a few weeks! Aaaack! It's been too long!!! P.S. There are two babies inside you! That's craaaazy!!

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  3. You look beautiful! That blue is great for bringing out your eyes. I can't believe you are 18 weeks already. How did that time go by so fast? I'm glad everything is looking so well with the babies. Oh and I was thinking, if you end up having to wait an extremely long amount of time and your are already in the neighborhood, you should just hang out with me! :) I'm much better company than waiting room nurses and receptionists.

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  4. Yay! Lillian's bum was in Sophie's face during the majority of our ultrasounds. Sophie is continually gets her back for it...

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