We are [finally] home! We were cleared for takeoff at our last meeting Monday afternoon with our surgeon Dr. Lim - yeah! On Monday we had another echo on each of the babies as well as a Doppler with an ultrasound tech before meeting with the doctor for the summary report. The tests were shorter than last week - maybe the babies were cooperating a bit more? One can hope - I personally think they are quite sick of being bugged, especially baby A! Travis has gotten to feel the babies move around! It was exciting to share the experience with him! If we stare at my belly for any length of time we can also see ripples in different parts of the belly - kind of crazy creepy, but also cool. Travis and I had a bit of a panic attack on Friday evening... the babies were on the move so I had Trav come over and feel them and watch my belly - that's when I noticed (what I thought was) swelling in my lower right abdomen. I was concerned since the twins are on the right side - but I didn't remember the doctor's saying anything about swelling. So we of course pulled out the paperwork they gave us and went through it to see what it said about swelling - which was nothing. It was accompanied by any pain or soreness so we thought we'd take a wait and see approach instead of rushing down to the hospital right then. Then lo and behold, I went to brush my teeth and the swelling was gone... that's when we realized the "swelling" was actually a baby! Needless to say, we've seen some other swells in my belly since then! I'm just thankful we didn't rush down to the hospital - how stupid would we have looked?! The girls must be getting bigger and stronger since the kicks and rolls are getting stronger each day - both reassuring and then nerve-wracking when I don't feel anything for a bit! Who knew how much time I'd spend staring at my ever-growing belly!
Anyway, below I've summarized what the doctor's told us, as well as the 22 week progress. Our next doctor's appointment is on Friday - with our own specialist. So much has happened since we saw him that I'm kind of nervous. However, we know that he's been in close contact with our doctor's in Cincinnati so that's reassuring!
The good news first - we heard all three babies heartbeats! While they were especially pleased that Baby B was still fighting 5 days after surgery, the road to recovery is especially long for her and the surgeon was particularly quite honest/blunt about her prognosis. Baby A's echo showed that she was a little stressed out, but well within normal limits. It's my feeling that she's still a little pissed about being disturbed last week! Though she laid out for the cardiologist, by the time we got to the ultrasound she was curled back into her little ball! The amusing thing is that she actually still has plenty of room, she just prefers to curl up, making it difficult for the techs to get all her measurements! She might be a handful - both independent and stubborn! Baby C had more fluid around her and her kidneys and bladder were quite apparent! For those of you who read up on the twin-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) literature, she is the 'donor' baby, so those three things are the main problems areas. The blood pumping to her brain is still not as strong (another secondary issue caused by the TTTS), but there was some improvement. Since the doctors were looking for either stabilization or any improvement since surgery - this was good news. Now for Baby B - where is where much of the focus was. Her heart is still severely sick... however, there were some minor improvements. For example, last week when they measured the flow from the left side of the heart they told us 0.4 is normal - her flow was at 3.2 (and bigger is definitely not better in this case). On Monday it was at 1.6! Our surgeon told us that while this is still way far from normal, it was good to see the improvement. The right side is still leaking and almost no blood is going to the lungs right now - which isn't a problem at the moment, but would be a huge problem should it not correct itself before she's born. There were some additional findings, but that sums it up best. The overall consensus was that she needs at least 8 weeks more of gestation to give her the best chance of complete reversal. Unfortunately, they're very worried about pre-term labor - hence the bed rest-, especially if B's condition doesn't improve (she could trigger labor). For now we're going to stay positive and be happy that there are still three little girls moving around! We understand how this still might change, but we're going to do everything in our power to keep these babies in my belly for as long as possible!
So, to move on to our 22-week report... Here's what Baby Center has to say: How your baby's growing: At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily. See what your baby looks like this week.
We'll give another report after our appointment Friday - maybe even with some pictures! Hopefully there won't be as much to report this time.... hard to believe how much we've grown to love these little girls already! As I've told a number of people - I suppose the biggest lesson we've learned is that no matter how much planning we do, kids really do tend to throw a wrinkle into things... even BEFORE they get here!
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