Well that was an exhausting day. We left for S.F. at 5:15am and got home about 8pm. Ugh!! No time to even enjoy the city. We did get to have a small excursion to Crepevine which was pretty nice. It is a crepe restaurant that was recommended. The owner and her twin sons run it. So funny huh? The owner was over the moon when she found out we were having twins. It was cute.
So, long story short we are still blessed and in the "stable" zone. We had our first appt for an ultrasound at 8:45 am. Since it was a Friday and a holiday weekend I was not able to eat since the night before. They wanted the surgical team on standby in case I needed surgery. This way they could get it done before everyone went on the holiday weekend because if I needed it (worst case) I wouldn't be able to wait the weekend for it. Normally, I go on a Wednesday or Thursday and if I need surgery it can be done on the next day. This week was different because they like for me to see a specific sonographer who is the best. She also is getting to know us quite well as you can imagine. This is helpful because she is very familiar with all my previous appts. She was only working Friday this week. The perinatologists have Fridays off from seeing patients. So, our Dr. would be called in from home if need be. Luckily for us and him we all got to go have the weekend to enjoy with the knowledge that things are ok for now.
As soon as I had my ultrasound the Dr. told me I could eat. Thank goodness. I slammed a nutra grain bar I had on standby because this momma and her babies were starving by 10:30am. I was then able to go to the fetal treatment center to go over the results with my perinatologist Dr. Larry Rand by conference call since he was at home. The "stand by" surgeons were called off and Im sure they were happy too.
This week we had the full ultrasound with measurements of each baby to determine growth between the two. We also has a 2 hour echocardiogram ultrasound at 1pm to make sure heart anatomy and function continue to be healthy. We learned that the DVP (deep vertical pocket) or fluid level for Baby A (bigger baby) is still polyhydramnios or excessive at 10.8 and Baby B (smaller baby) DVP is holding steady at 3.8cm. Both babies have bladders and they are normal. This is fantastic. If they could not find a bladder on Baby B we would have had to have the surgery. PHEW!!!! The polyhydrmanios is not an issue as I stated in my last post for Baby A but we need to keep an eye on it for preterm labor and or difficulty breathing for me. So far, my cervix is nice and thick (TMI I know) but this is good.
As far as growth is concerned they have moved slightly up from 25% 2 weeks ago to 28% this week. Although this seems disconcerning the doctors assure me that it is no cause for concern at this point because both babies are still growing. Baby A is 1lb 9oz and baby B is 1lb 2oz. 2 weeks ago baby B was 12 oz so a growth of 6 oz in 2 weeks. This is good. We must continue to see them both grow and when Baby B stops growing and or decreases in size she must be delivered. This is where she reaches the point that the placenta is no longer nourishing her. Our hope is this is later rather than sooner. GROW baby GROW!!! Im hoping I am doing my part.
I went to a nutrition class last week for pregnant moms with multiples and they say I should eat about 3700 calories a day. HOLYCRAP!! thats a lot. Im sure I'll manage!! LOL. They say you should gain 24 lbs by 24 weeks. WOW. Thats next friday and I have not hit that mark yet. Ill work on it this weekend. hehe.
Our Echos went well other than I wanted to shoot our sonographer. He was horrible. I told him before we started that I will pass out lying flat on my back for to long. So could I please move to my side unless he needs me on my back for certain measurements. He kept me on my back for about 30 min and I finally said Look, I need to lay on my side for awhile. I was sweaty, hot, nauseated and near syncopal!! He was pushing soooo freakin
Since it was Good Friday we got lucky enough to get stuck in the Holiday traffic heading out of the city. That was not fun. But we managed to make it home in time to snuggle with Cole before he fell asleep. My favorite part of any day.
So that is where we are now. I also saw my regular OB on Thursday and She and UCSF have very differing opinions on bed rest. My OB really wants me on strict bed rest and feels that if I cannot stick to it at home that she can admit me to the hospital and this way I have no choice. UCSF is very against this opinion and after long discussions on pros and cons I have decided that modified bed rest is what I will do for now. I am going to try not to take Cole to to many party's or functions as this wipes me out all by myself chasing after him. I will let some household duties go or Scott will be nice enough to help more than he already does, which is quite a lot. I just feel that the experts in field win out in their argument against bed rest. There may come a time when UCSF decides it would be beneficial but at this point they feel it will not help and could be detrimental in terms of blood clots/atrophy, and mentally and physically hard on me. My OB feels that although there are no studies that suggest it helps that it may. Since I am not in pre term labor there is no indication for it. I am obviously torn because I want what is best for the girls but I feel stuck between an rock and hard place. These opinions are not even close to similar. One says admit me and strap me down and the other says daily activity is fine??? What do you do? Well I'm just going to meet them in the middle and do hardly anything at all. Then we will hopefully keep trucking along to a safer and safer gestational age for the girls to be born healthy with little to no NICU time.
Next week we hit the 24 week mark which is termed "Viability." This is awesome to hear that if they are born they have a chance. Obviously 24 weeks is not ideal and each week increases our girls chances for a healthy birth. Weird when I think about where I was at 24 weeks pregnant with Cole. It was November and he was born in March!! Seems drastically different. Hopefully we can make it into weeks 30 and beyond. Hard to wish your baby can be born at 30 weeks but I'll be excited to see June come and still be pregnant. Thanks to all for the well wishes and for following our journey. This blog has been quite cathartic for me and it helps to keep all those who care in the loop. Hope everyone has a Happy Easter!!! Enjoy Spring break.
-Sarah
love you sarah! listen to the experts regarding bedrest... but also go with your gut :)
ReplyDelete