But I digress.
Things are winding down. To say that this has been an emotional roller coaster would be a lie. Roller coasters have big ups to go along with the big downs.... This has been more of an emotional bungee jump. From the day Teri and I stood on the platform and decided Ryley deserved a sibling, to today as the cord started to snug up and keep us from smashing into the pavement below.
This whole experience has been terrifying for us. Barely a minute of any single day has gone by that we haven't worried of all the things can could go wrong. Its been much more difficult this time around than it had been when we were expecting Ryley. With twins the risks are compounded, the fears are multiplied, and the amount of time we have spent in doctor's offices has increased exponentially.
I envy the generation before us who had twins... but didn't know it until the day they were delivered. I equally envy the infinite generations of moms who gave birth before the internet was available. I know more about the female anatomy than any beer drinking, duck hunting, computer programmer should ever know. Google and WebMD has given me more unwarranted stress in the past 6 months than any human should ever have to endure in their entire life. If you are pregnant and reading this... turn off your computer now, and don't turn it back on until your child is 27.
So enough of the drama, lets get down to business. As I mentioned, things are great. The girls are progressing along exactly as they were the last time we had a check up. They have put on close to a pound measuring at 4lbs and 4lb 1oz.... They are still hovering along the growth curve against singletons in at about the 15th percentile.... Completely normal for mo-di twins.
With that said, there was one very INsignificant issue to point out. One of the measurements they take is the amount of fluid in the amniotic sacs. Baby A measured 7mm, Baby B measured 7mm.... which is perfect. They did remeasure, the second time Baby A measured 7mm, Baby B measured 9mm. Ideally, they like to see the number under 8mm. The doctor mentioned that the babies do move around and it could have (probably was) just a fluke that at the time the ultrasound tech clicked the button to take the measurement that Baby B squished some fluid around making the measurement high. It was stressed that it was nothing to worry about. But it does play into the following.
As mentioned in my previous post, we have a c-section scheduled for a few days past 36 weeks on November 7th. This is "best case" scenario. However, we did have a more detailed conversation with our doctor today about that plan. We have our next ultrasound scheduled two weeks from today. He stressed that "unless the next ultrasound comes back as absolutely perfect" he is going to recommend that we deliver sooner. He mentioned that the discrepancy I mentioned above, where one measurement was completely normal, but a second measurement was slightly high, would constitute as not being "perfect" In other words, if today's (close to perfect) ultrasound were to happen again in two weeks, we would be pushed toward delivering ASAP.
Teri and I had been pretty, "mmm okay?" with pretty much every thing the doctor has had to say up until this point, but this left us concerned. Without getting into all of the details of the discussion, it played out as such: At 34 weeks (we are at 32+6days now) with our type of twins, the mortality rate begins to increase. So unless there is absolutely NOTHING that could POSSIBLY indicate that something MIGHT be wrong, we will be delivering sooner that our scheduled date. The logic here is that at 34 weeks, the girls are much safer in an NICU being tended to 24-7 than they are in utero where something unexpected could suddenly turn up that could be fatal.
We did ask about the increased risk of long term health conditions that come from being delivered so premature. It was stressed by our doctor that those kind of health risks are typical in the babies born at around 24-30 weeks. Where we are at now, 33 weeks, we are well out of the risk of long term issues. He pointed out that some studies suggest that we should be delivering now. But the Dr is confident enough with our progress to let us go the next two weeks to see how things develop.
Well, I hope I didn't bore you and I appreciate that you read this much. I also have caught wind that there may be one or two of you who are sending a shit load of prayers our way.... you know who you are.... and you know they have been working, Teri, Ryley, and I thank you!!!! I will report back in in two weeks. Until then..... some baby pictures.
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