I continued my regular appointments, which meant ultrasounds every 2 weeks with the MFM and OB monthly, everything went relatively smooth for 3 whole weeks! At 27+1wks Baby A weighed in at 1lb 13oz and Baby B at 1lb 15oz slightly small, but the specialist assured us they were still within normal range for a twin pregnancy but diagnosed me with IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction). What did spark reason for concern was the cervical shortening over the previous weeks, 1.9cm meant that I would have a fFn test done in the next 14 days. Fetal Fibronectin tests can accurately predict with a “negative” result that you will not go into labor within the next 14 days. I later learned that the test was not as accurate for multiples pregnancies…. Well…6 days later at 28wks I went into labor. Scott an I waited almost a full day, but, when the mild contractions turned regular at 10pm, we went in to L&D. The on call doctor seemed to be misinformed because he chose not to stop labor. I spent the next 6 hours with active and regular contractions, until my OB came in at 7am and was consulted. By that time I had dilated to 2cm and was fully effaced, with Baby A breech and Baby B transverse. She ordered IV fluids, Magnesium Sulfate drip and the fFn test….by that evening I was being released under strict bed rest orders(kind of impossible if you know me).
A few day later my test results came back negative, but it didn’t win me freedom from bed rest… I was, however, granted freedom for my baby shower which was planned for the following weekend and my 30wk 4D ultrasound at Babys Debut.
And Ill admit the images were not as good as our 25 week images. Baby B, with the orange juice the tech recommended to get the boys moving, was moving like mad but Baby A apparently didn’t get the memo. But they were right picture quality had greatly decreased and I was glad to have gotten some from 25 weeks.
Labor at 28 weeks made me realize a few things, I needed a labor plan, I needed to explain my leave at work and from college, and I needed to get baby things! Buying things was easy, telling my boss was a little harder(because I love my dog training job!) and finding a labor plan was HARD! Baby A was breech and Baby B changed all the time; it kind of eliminated the option of natural delivery. So, after talking with my MFM and OB they agreed that anytime after 32 weeks they would not stop labor, and once it started, if Baby A was still breech, a c-section would be done. I added; Scott was the only one to be with me for delivery, I was highly allergic to…well everything…and, NO ONE was allowed to go see the babies before me.
My twin pregnancy tip for today… get a planner! I was able to write down all of my appointments, daily feelings, what happened and now I have it all in one place and its kind of funny to re-read it and remember now:)
Tag: twin pregnancy
Throwback Thursday #3
17 weeks; it was finally my next appointment! I went in with a lists of questions and ended with a handful of answers. I quickly found that the nurses and doctor were more interested in clamoring around the pictures of twins “holding hands” on the mini-ultrasound machine, than addressing my concerns. Of my questions I was told that our boys were probably “momo,” and that I didn’t need to see a specialist until at the earliest 24 weeks. While google had not been my friend in the start, it did at least provide me with some good information. Namely how WRONG this doctor was.
I talked with Scott, we re-read some of the studies on identical twins “momo” as well as “modi” (monochorionic diamniotic) and decided it was time to find a new OB. I was now in panic mode…I again went to work trying to find an OB I liked but this time I was also trying to find a Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist “MFM”. 3 weeks of research and I found a specialist, downside, he was in Milwaukee(almost 2hours away), only worked M-W-F and was booked for 4 weeks! Not wanting to waste any more time, I called OB’s that I knew worked with him and took first available appointment.
At 20 weeks I went in and met with the new OB; she only had a chance to scan my file and I filled her in on what they had said to me. She asked who the MFM I was seeing was to get the rest of my files…silence, I was so angry… I think she could tell because she cringed with the next statement. I needed to have a few more tests done…for what you might ask…?? cervical cancer. YUUUP. My first OB had failed to tell me she’d done the test, let alone that it came back abnormal. I sat in the chair for a moment, it must be a mistake, I said lets just redo the test and moved on. 
I told her I wanted Wigton as my MFM; that I realized the long wait time to see him but he was who I wanted. With the understanding that I would be admitted at 24 weeks as per hospital policy to have constant monitoring for “momo” twins, she filled out a form, told me to take it two suites to the left and make my next appointments. I scheduled an appointment with the OB for retesting in 3 days and a recheck “the day after the soonest available appointment with Wigton.” Her form ended up being a “special request” to get me in sooner, so I was scheduled to see the MFM at 22 weeks and the OB 4 days later.
At this point Scott and I were forced to announce even though we were still really unsure of what any of this meant for us. After asking all of our coworkers, friends and family if they wanted to meet their new nephew, cousin, grandbaby etc. We would pause, when they stopped with their excitement, then we would ask if they wanted to meet his brother. Most-excited-to-get-the-news went to Scotts Uncle Mike, Scott said he was surprised he didn’t drop the phone!
This was probably one of the more stressful waiting times for me during pregnancy, I had to wait 2 weeks to find out if I had one of the most risky twin pregnancies and if I would be on hospitalized bed rest at 24 weeks and if I would deliver at 32 weeks!
Here are some links to studies and sites I found helpful at this point in my twin pregnancy
*not all are informative but sometimes its nice to read other peoples experiences
http://www.twin-pregnancy-and-beyond.com, http://monoamniotic.org/public/welcome.html, http://www.ajog.org/article/S0002-9378(97)70012-7/abstract, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-0528.2001.00216.x/full, http://www.acog.org/
and the best book by far was What to expect when you’re expecting twins triplets or quads! It had proper nutrition, tips, stories and links for even more info! find it here http://www.drbarbaraluke.com/books/Expecting.aspx
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Throwback Thursday #2
We left off at our 13 week ultrasound, after finding out it was Identical twin boys. On our drive home we told a few close family members but decided not to “announce” until I had passed 20 ish weeks. I was so glad to have waited so Scott could be with me plus at that point he had to drive home;) Of course when I got home I frantically googled everything the tech said to me. Identical twins, mono amniotic mono chlorionic(momo), facts/statistics….WORST.CHOICE.EVER… I wasnt prepared to see the risks associated with twin pregnancy, let alone “momo”. This partially spurred our decision to wait to make an official announcement. I went back to my regular OB who was less than enthusiastic about my demanding to see her before my next scheduled appointment(it wasn’t for another month). But I got in 4 days after my “unveiling ultrasound” only to find a doc whos nonchalance bordered on disinterested. It seemed to me that I was the only one concerned that I would be on hospitalized bed rest at 24 weeks, that I would deliver at 32 weeks, and that this is one of the most dangerous types of twin pregnancy?! I voiced my concerns but felt silly for even asking after how she scoffed them off “a specialist?!…why would you need to see one now!?” Etc etc….I went home and told Scott what had happened, we agreed to give her another chance, after all, I wasn’t a doctor. What did I know?
In the mean time our name search was on… we slowly realized we had to pick not one or two names….but 4!
top on our list
*Connor
*Declan
*Finnegan(Finn)
*Callen(with different spelling)
*Waylon
*Adeon(no not a typo)
*Cuinn
*Deagan
16weeks pregnant with ID twin boys
We also scheduled a 3D ultrasound at baby’s debut to get extra pictures(looking back though,its not like we needed it)
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Throwback Thursday
So I thought I’d do throwback Thursdays to catch people up on our twin journey! We will start from the beginning and every Thursday I will add more to the story. So, starting from the moment we found out we were having TWO!!
I had been putting off going into have my first ultrasound done, I really wanted to push it back, mainly because the closer it was to 16 weeks the better I thought our chances were to find out gender… plus it had to be a time that Scott was available. We were sent to a hospital in Janesville and by the time we went I was 13 weeks and 1 day (the nurses at the hospital said I couldn’t wait anymore). After filling out the tedious insurance paperwork and what now seems like a very surreal moment to me; sitting in the waiting area of the radiology department, oblivious to the bombshell that would be dropped in 5 minutes. The Tech called our name, we followed her down the tan corridor, my bladder bursting she took one look at my stance and said wait until after it, is easier to get a good view. I settled in on the exam table and glanced up at the screen as she placed the wand on my stomach. A Blur of white and she pulled the wand back, I looked at Scott, taken aback by the amount of white on that screen.
I thought most ultrasound images were black….
She put the wand back angling it a little differently and showing perfectly clear two white blobs.
Turning back to look at us with the announcement of “TWINS!” she didn’t even get the word out of her mouth when I said “OHHH SHITTT” my eyes locking onto Scotts. My dreams had literally come true, more than 2 months earlier I had asked Scott what he thought of having twins. His abrupt “No” ended that conversation before it even began, but that never stopped my twin dreams.
The tech scanned and scanned calling on another doctor to make sure they didn’t need more images; she asked if we wanted to know gender guesses (of COURSE we did!! I was really hoping for B/G) well…next shocker… she guessed they were MoMo Boys.
13 weeks
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