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These days, many people have prenatal ultrasound pictures of their children...but how many have actual photographs of them as embryos?
Here are the twins and their fellow embryo prior to transfer.
Three weeks later (or six weeks gestation as calculated by last menstrual period), an ultrasound discovered that we had TWINS!In these ultrasounds, you are looking at gestational sacs. No baby is visible, but on the live ultrasound, you could see a flickering within that was the beginning of the heart's beating.
At my first official OB visit, the doctor's ultrasound revealed two 8 week old fetuses growing concordantly.
I was fortunate to negotiate the services of a perinatalogist (a specialist for high risk pregnancies) with my insurance company. He had advanced equipment that measured both babies (half a week ahead of growth schedule, no less), and then tried to reconstruct an image that included flesh - not just bone structures, as does the typical ultrasound. Because I have an anterior placenta, the picture was interfered with. So, here is a "skulls only" shot. I also have miscellaneous body part shots - feet, arms, etc., but they aren't as interesting.
It was at this ultrasound that we discovered I have a balanced team - one each girl and boy! I have picture proof...but I'm sure you don't want to (or need to) see those!
As for me, I'm already huge - the picture below shows me just shy of 20 weeks. I'm not sure how I'll get through another 16 or 17!
As to arrival dates...Original date was calculated for November 22. However, the babies are bigger than that, and last calculation was November 19th. BUT...that is for a singleton, and twins come 3-4 weeks earlier to be considered full term...so I'm guessing late October. Time will tell!
Latest News: Per the peri's request two weeks ago, my OB performed a glucose tolerance test on me this week. The results were terrible. He isn't even sending me for the 3 hour test - I'm going straight to the local diabetes clinic. Since the test isn't usually performed for another 4-8 weeks after the time the peri suggested, I am very grateful, once again, to have this specialist keeping a closer eye on my babies.
Belly Shot - 22 Weeks!
8/1/03: Last night I was having frequent contractions (every three minutes). After about 4-5 hours, they subsided, but I notified my local OB the next day. I was "ordered" to L&D, even though they had stopped 12 hours previous. At L&D, I had a great nurse advocating for me, who told me this was because I was dehydrated. I explained to her that the gestational diabetes diet seemed to have exacerbated my acid reflux, to the point that I couldn't keep much food or fluid down, and was loosing weight. She talked the doctor into prescribing a new medication that helps the reflux much better. I can now drink fluids without immediate regrets.
8/10/03: I travelled once again to Medford, and saw both the peri and a potential OB I could switch to for the sake of delivering at a superior hospital with a Level III NICU nursery. The peri's technician performed the routine ultrasound, and found both babies to be head down, and growing concordantly, at 1 /34 pounds each. He also reviewed my diabetes journal of blood sugars, and was convinced that diet alone wasn't controlling it. Many of the blood sugar levels accepted locally were unacceptable to him. SO...he put me on a medication called Glyburide that should control things better. I reported my blood sugars to him yesterday via email, and he said they were perfect.
This is a new technology 3D ultrasound scan of my daughter. :)
I also connected on my trip with an OB that is willing to "share care" with the local OB, so that I can definitely deliver out of town. YAY!
