Yesterday morning I was a complete mess! I hardly slept and woke up worried, excited and anxious all at the same time. I was so excited to finally get some answers about what was going on with our boys.
I picked up my friend Jenn, my husband and off we were. It took just over an hour to get to the hospital. Once we got there I had a mountain of paperwork to fill out, then came the waiting. It felt like a year before they finally called my name.
We went into an ultrasound room where a tech started our scan. I was so nervous. I think she could tell because she was so nice and talked to me the whole time. I tend to ask questions when I'm nervous, but she was sweet and answered every one of them with a smile. An hour and 15 minutes later she had finished all the measurements she needed. (Meanwhile I was contracting the whole time) She told me that Baby A is weighing about 3 lbs 14 oz and Baby B is weighing about 3 lbs 15 oz. A little different than what we heard form Naval at our 32 week growth scan. She said there was nothing to worry about though that they are right on track with their weight for twins. She even gave us a few pictures to take home!
Then came in Dr. Steiger, our maternal fetal medicine specialist. He asked how I was and went through all the images and measurements. He told me that Baby A's femur was slightly short but nothing that is worrisome to him, same for Baby B. Thank God! I breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, soon after he brought up Baby B's belly and waist, and back to worrying I went. He said Baby B's abdominal circumference is small. Also, Baby B's growth in that area was about 3 weeks behind his gestational age. He said he had concerns about his umbilical artery on the doppler, and whether it was supplying enough for him to grow properly.
He decided to be safe and told us that he wants me to have bi-weekly NST's (non-stress tests) to monitor the babies heart rates and my contractions. These NST's can be used to indicate whether or not the babies are getting enough oxygen because of placenta or umbilical cord flow problems. They can also see if the babies are in distress or not.
Other than the NST's he wants to do an umbilical cord doppler appointment to check the arteries and make sure the babies are getting adequate blood flow. I also scheduled another growth scan in three weeks to make sure they are on track.
After leaving the ultrasound room they hooked me up to the monitors to watch my contractions and the babies heart rates. They were misbehaving and kept going off the monitors, it took two nurses to figure it out but finally they got the 20 minute strip they needed. They checked my cervix just to be safe and nothing has changed. Woo!
Overall, the visit was long but went pretty well! I felt so much better leaving his office than I usually do when I leave my OB. He gave us a game plan and answers and really reassured us that he will watch them closely. I'm so thankful to have been able to see him.
Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us and supported us through this uncertain and nerve-racking time. We really appreciate it! We are hoping these sweet little boys grow on track and are born healthy.
