March 10, 2008

Well, we had our first OB visit today! So much for just talking....hahahahaha. It was an eventful visit! We went in for OB education and talked for the first 15 minutes or so with our new doctor, Doctor Faustich. He is amazing! He answered my 230843209357 questions with ease! So, here's the rundown of the quesitons and answers:

SVT (heart) Questions
*What to do during an episode of fast heart rhythm/how long to wait until going to the doctor???
10 minutes. He tells me it will not hurt the baby if I had an episode, that mostly it would hurt me. He said that he would not be worried about the baby unless my blood pressure dropped. So...that definately made me feel better! So...10 precious minutes is the answer.
*Meds-I'm on propranolol which can cause smaller sized babes...so will he monitor closer?
Yes he will, and would have if there were 1 or 2, but because there are two, we'll have lots of monitoring.

Olivia's Placental Deterioration
*When we went in for our 39 week check with Olivia, I talked with our OB, Dr. Kercher, about the fact that I felt less movement, so she did a NonStress Test which showed her heartrate as nonvariable. When she delivered, the doc told me that indeed her placenta was deteriorating. I wanted to know if he'd do more NSTs at the end to monitor for similar conditions.
With twin pregnancies, they monitor with NSTs starting at 30/32 weeks. He said that the reason for that is because it becomes more difficult for a woman to monitor movement of both babies, to know for certain which baby moved and to be sure both are moving and doing well, so more NSTs for us!

Twin Questions
*We saw 2 heartbeats at 7 weeks, when do risk of miscarriages go down?
12/14 weeks. Right now, I'm probably at 5%, and by 12/14 weeks it goes down to 1%.
I told him that I was nervous, and wasn't sure if it was "normal" and all women go through it, or if I was OVERLY nervous b/c of all we'd gone through to get these babies, but I just wished that I knew that both were doing well. So...he told me that he had a portable ultrasound machine and would take a peek today! Yip yip! I'll tell you more about it below!
*How are twin pregnancies monitored? How is it different than a singleton pregnancy?
In the beginning things are monitored about the same. I will have another ultrasound on Friday still, then one at about 12 weeks to measure the babies' nuchal folds in their neck, which can be a marker for Down's Syndrome. This scan is normal for all pregnancies. It can't be combined with the Quad screen though, because the Quad screen is designed for singleton pregnancies, so my numbers would be very abnormal and not worth the screen. He said we could do it if we wanted, but knowing me, even KNOWING that it isn't made for twins, I'd still be freaked no matter what the result. If it was off, it'd be off and scary abnormal, and if it were normal, I'd wonder how it could be normal with twins and maybe something isn't going well, so we're skipping it! We'll have our next OB visit at that time as well, at 12 weeks, then another at 16 weeks, and a 135 minute ultrasound on May 21 for the anatomy check. Then we start every two weeks.

So the breakdown will look like this:
8 weeks OB visit (today)
12 weeks nuchal fold ultrasound and OB visit
16 weeks OB check
18.5 weeks- 135 minute ultrasound to check the anatomy of each twin
22 weeks OB check
24 weeks OB check

*Can I deliver vaginally or are twins always delivered via C-section?
It depends upon the position of Baby A. Baby A is always the baby closest to the cervix. If Baby A is head down, then we can do a vaginal birth. Dr. Faustich explained that it does not matter what the position of Baby B is, because after Baby A is delivered, the uterus "gets floppy" because it's just gone from two babies to one, so the doctors can reach up into the uterus to physically flip Baby B if it is not head down at that point. So...come ON BabyA....HEAD DOWN!!! You can do it!

Med Questions
*Metformin- when can I stop it?
End of first trimester

*Baby Asprin- when can I stop it?
End of first trimester

Restrictions
*You put me on restrictions at the last ultrasound b/c of my extra super large ovaries. How long will I be on that restriciton (no lifting, no sex, weighing self daily, etc.)?
At least through the ultrasound on Friday. He needs to see the ovaries size before he can determine how long. **NOTE**that when he did the internal exam, he guessed that my ovaries are still quite enlarged...maybe a TAD better, but still large.

Sleep Positions
*I like to tummy sleep...how long can I keep tummy sleeping?
As long as you are comfortable!
*Back sleeping?
Until 20 weeks b/c it can eventually press on an important blood source, so I should prop up on a pillow slightly to the left.



So yes, first we talked for 15 minutes, then I got to have a complete physical. Isn't that so darn great? Hahahahahaha. Completely nakie, and internal exam to boot. Fun times. All looked good...I got a pap so I'll get the results of the pap in a couple weeks.

THEN...right at the end, he wheeled in this porbable ultrasound machine. It was maybe an 8" screen, and was so so so so so so great. At our last OB, they didn't have this, so it was so great to see it! It has the capability to do either vaginal (which is most accurate in the 1st trimester) or abdominal. So, he scanned the babies, and explained that the picture we were about to see was not going to be as good as the larger ultrasound machine, and that basically they use that machine just for quick peeks like this. BELIEVE me...I didn't care if I could make out every inch of this baby, but you know what I DID see???? TWO babies, growing great, hearts BOTH beating away. What an amazing sight....such an amazing relief...gosh.... It's so hard for me to explain the feeling of complete awww and amazement I have when I look at my two precious gifts. I feel so blessed...I almost get teary. I am so not a teary person, and when I see those babies, my heart melts.

Two babies
Two heartbeats
Two miracles

Baby A 176 Beats per minute
Baby B 181 Beats per minute

The heartrates are right on for this age. Heartrates start and need to be above 100 to start, then peak around 8 to 12 weeks, then slow back down after that, so no guessing about those old wives tales just yet ;) You have to wait till their heart rates settle in after this "peak" time to guess ;) But he tells us that they're pefect rates for this stage of fetal development. WHAT a relief.

I feel like $1,000,000 bucks. Yay. Ultrasound on Friday. Yayayayayayay.

And on an unrelated note...on a WORK note...I took my first kiddo into custody at work today. This means that I removed him from his mother (he's 8), and placed him at his father's. It was crazy adrenaline feeling...so scary. I have court for him tomorrow....nervous butterflies about that....eeeeek. Wish me luck! I guess I have Friday to look forward to at least ;) :0 ;)