So today was our 1st regular OB appointment and we got to see the babies. They were wonderful! They grew as expected and are now 1 day ahead of schedule. They had heartbeats at 162 and 165. And the most fun…. they wiggled. They looked as though they were waving at their moms. I got all choked up and teary when I saw them. It is hard to imagine that our little grape-sized babies are already so active and…. alive. I am amazed.
Otherwise today was pretty uneventful. Our OB was very excited for us. He is on-board with helping me induce lactation so I am now taking BCPs. He is supportive of Joey doing a vaginal birth so long as things seem to be progressing well. One thing he said did surprise us: he is not a big supporter of Nuchal Translucency testing. Our doc did not see much good information we would gather through the test. We would not terminate if we got a Down’s-likely result but we would be open to doing something about conditions not compatible with life. Thoughts about testing vs not. Information other OBs have shared? I just feel as though we are getting a one-sided opinion about the testing right now.
BTW: thanks for all the great input on the last post. We have begun a multi-pronged approach to managing her nausea. Joey eats meals at about 2-2.5 hours. She drinks a variety of different teas, chews minty gum, sucks on popsicles, eats jello, waters down her juice, eats crackers, allows herself whatever sounds good- including milkshakes and has gotten a larger prescription for Zo.fran rather than just taking it as needed. She seems to get some relief on occasion…. very helpful! Also thanks for the advice not to get too upset about weight gain at this point.
A good day indeed!
Bang Head Here- annex 
They look great! We did the nuchal the first time b/c we wanted to see the baby, and learned of our missed miscarriage at that point. The second time, we did it, as we could not rule out that the first miscarriage was caused by one of those incompatible with life chromosomal issues, and though we wouldn’t have terminated for downs-likely or anything like that, it was important for me to be able to emotionally prepare if we were going to have another loss.
It’s a very personal decision.
Look at those peanuts!! They look snug as some bugs in a rug!!! I know you are anti picture – but I think you should post some progressive belly shots that all the moms do… I hear it is the cool thing … You want to be cool, don’t cha?? Lolol – if you do, I will.. Hardeeharhar
They look adorable!!! xxx
Would you be willing to share more about inducing lactation? What time frame one needs to prepare? (When will you be going on BCP?) Or any good websites/resources? I’d like to consider it in the context of adoption, but of course we won’t know our timeline too much in advance ….
OH, YEAH … AND DID I MENTION? Gorgeous pics!
Fantastic pics! So glad Joey is feeling better. I am interested in your testing decision– is there a down-side to NT testing other than expense? I am facing the options fairly soon and am interested in others’ experiences…
From what I recall the doc saying, he saw no real upside to NT testing (since we will not terminate related to a Down’s risk). The doc said that he thought we would catch any majoy defects in the detailed ultrasounds we will be getting every 3 weeks. His point is that donor eggs are pretty well screened and they make our age a null risk factor (for genetic defects). He said that a bad NT result might make us worry for no good reason.
To me his thoughts make sense, but I want to hear the other side of the coin too.
Glad that the anti-nausea routine is helping. I think we may have commented about the nuchal scan before, but we considered it mainly another ultrasound to see how the baby was doing. I don’t see a reason not to do it. It was pretty awesome seeing that level of detail and checking up on the little one at 13 weeks. Looked completely human and adorable at that point 😉
We’re not into blood tests and usually they do one (finger prick) at the nuchal. So we decided if the nuchal fold was under what they recommend, we’d skip further testing. They like to see it under 3mm, it was 2.1mm.
wow, what beautiful pictures!! congrats!! amazing how baby-like they look already!
we opted out of the nuchal scan after reading about the high risk for false-positive results; i just knew i couldn’t handle that stress/worry.
Such beautiful pictures of the twins! They look great!
We didn’t do a nuchal scan, nor did we do the triple-screen blood draw. We felt like we would learn plenty in our anatomy scan, and we did. I didn’t see the need for endless worry for tests that are often inaccurate, especially considering we knew we wouldn’t terminate.
I hope Joey’s nausea is a little more under control!
What great pics! So very excited for you two.
Well those were u/s pictures that were totally worth waiting for! Glad all the news is good so far.
They are beautiful!
I think one of the arguments for NTS, even if there is no likelihood of termination for downs is it might lead you to decide to have x, y, or z tests which will confirm or deny and then allow you to prepare/seek services, etc. We did it because it was free- we wouldn’t have terminated either- but at our house, we are preparers- we want to to have as much info as possible at all times so there is always a plan a, plan b, plan b version 3…
They look fantastic! Isn’t it amazing to see the jiggling around in there??? I’m so happy for you.
Well, you know my experience with the NT. WAY more stress than it was worth. I think if you will keep the baby regardless of any genetic abnormality, you should skip it. If there were a major condition not compatible with life, they would probably pick it up during one of your scans anyway. Keep in mind that a questionable result, that may or may not turn out to be something, forces hard decisions about whether or not to do an amnio or cvs on one or both of the babies. It snowballs if those numbers don’t turn out perfect and I don’t know that you need to worry about that if you plan to keep a baby either way.
The only reason I see for going ahead with it would just be for the sake of preperation both mentally and financially if your baby did have a genetic defect.
I hope Joey feels some relief soon.
I’m so happy to see those beautiful baby pics!
Wow! Great u/s pics. Your babies look amazing!
What sweet liitle baby u/s pics! Is it too early for me to guess “two girls”? Yeah, that’s what I think Joey’s got cooking in there.
I agree that the NT scan is a personal choice. Even if you wouldn’t do anything about a possible Down’s result, would you simply want to have the information? Maybe. Maybe not.
I LOVE that you are going to induce lactation! Awesome! Since I had to stop bf for a while, I realize how truly wonderful it is, and I’m happy you’ll get to enjoy that experience.
Hugs to you and Joey. I hope her nausea is abating.
What great pictures, congrats on those lovely babes! I loved the slide show, too, BTW.
Great pics! Glad to hear the babies are growing well and ahead of age. I loved referring to my twins by fruit/vegetable size, too.
I want to say that I did have the triple screen but not the nucal fold test, because either my OB didn’t schedule it in the right window or she told me that the results are not considered as accurate with multiple births. I didn’t really investigate this or press for it because I knew I would be getting many more ultrasounds than the average OB patient. (I was 31 yrs old.)
Sorry I have been scarce (!), but you all have been in my thoughts and with one eye on the reader, I’ve been so glad to see that all is going well. !!
The freak out from a couple of posts back… it’s not the same freak out in the details, of course, but I get that. I sent Ms. E your way to help with twin advice. Her blog is lovely. I think you would like it.
It’s great that you are going to breastfeed! I had a lot of issues with bfing the first time out and the person who ultimately helped me (I went through 3 useless LCs) was someone who had to “re-lactate” … she had to stop bfing for a while because of a serious medical complication. And she was so despondant at the loss of the opportunity to bf her last baby that she fought to get it back. (Who knew there was such a thing as re-lactation? 🙂
With BFing and — I’m sure — induced lacation, good help is key. I might shop around for a good LC early on … especially one with relevant experience. Because there are gaps in what even professional people know … even doctors. My experience is that not every OB or Ped is expert on the subject.
With LC’s … personality and BF politics can also play a big part in quality of personality fit.
If you haven’t looked already … I’m sure there is online support … MB’s? … for inducing lactation (try IVillage?). The more resources you line up, the better. Once the babies are here … and you are panicky about their weight gain and exhausted … that’s a rough time to try and identify the right support people. (Stating the obvious!! And yet, I wish someone had told me.)
BFing is one of those things where people have strong opinions … and everyone has different advice. And when you are in the middle of working it out and having issues … you can find yourself in a ****storm of conflicting advice and confusion that is totally unhelpful. Hopefully it’s all smooth sailing. Hope for the best, plan for the worst.
I ~think~ this blogger induced lactation (I haven’t followed for that long or that closely — I’d check her archives more carefully for you, but I have to fly in a minute, so I’ll just give you the link while I’m thinking of it). Not sure if you are already connected, but just in case:
http://evergreenbaby.blogspot.com/search/label/breastfeeding
As for the testing, I am … concerned … about the advice you got from the OB. It seems incomplete at best, like there is omission going on. Perhaps influenced by personal bias. I’ve been through genetic testing three times now … and it’s been a different experience each time.
This last time, the peri who did my consult mentioned that she thought the advice we were given with Two was biased. !! Fortunately, all turned out well. (I had phenomenal quad screen results, but still thought I wanted an amnio — for me, forewarned is forearmed — But I ended up being talked out of it. In retrospect, perhaps misguidedly.)
I wish I had time to write more a more focused and thoughtful comment for you … what was hammered home for me this time is that … no matter how well self-educated you are about the testing technology and this decision, you still are highly at the mercy of the quality of the advice you receive. And the approach/bias of the person dishing advice is not necessarily compatible with what is best for you. Again stating the obvious, I know.
“Our doc did not see much good information we would gather through the test. We would not terminate if we got a Down’s-likely result but we would be open to doing something about conditions not compatible with life. ”
This is probably MY bias talking, but that comment from your OB is setting off my paternalistic radar (man or woman, it makes no diff). So I might seek out more opinions. University centers usually have genetic counselors … and they specialize in educating and advising about these things. The thing is … time is of the essence because there is a short window for the NT. So you have to get clarity in a hurry about what you want.
Yes. In these screenings, they are trying to discern who might be worth having a closer (more invasive) look. If you get caught in the statistical net as having something that raises your ~risk~ for a certain issue, it’s going to stress you out. It doesn’t mean there is a problem, it’s not a diagnosis, it just means your odds are above the threshold for recommending more tests. And of course that raises your anxiety level — at least until you choose more testing or until you deliver. If you wouldn’t terminate for any reason, it might not be worthwhile going there.
I think it boils down to what would worry/stress you more, knowing or not knowing. Worry is not something you can eliminate … not from the testing choice, the testing process, pregnancy or parenting. It’s a question of what will minimize YOUR stress (not the doctor’s) and give you most peace of mind. That’s different for everyone.
For me, I wanted to avoid delivery room surprises. That is such an intense time and place. And everyone is waiting expectantly to hear from you, which makes it more intense.
This last time I was told there is a 20% fail rate for detecting issues with the blood work screens. And a 20% fail rate for the anatomy ultrasound screens. In other words, ultrasound will miss 20% of babies with Down’s. The peri told me that every year she gets calls from people who opted for US screening alone and were surprised at delivery. So if knowing ahead of time in order to prepare is something you would want, it’s a good idea to at least look into the other screening technology.
HTH! All the best.
We just had an ultrasound last week and today as well! We’re now 9w3d. I have not asked about testing or screening. My daughter is adopted and has Downs and if that’s what we’re dealt, that’s what we’re dealt. But I agree that I would like to know about other conditions that are not compatible with life.
They look lovely Cindy
http://www.mamabargains.com/
Check out Paige the Penguin- it made me think of you two.
Hi Cindy – those babies look great! Congratulations!!!!
I think PPs are right that it depends on the quality of advice that you get as to what the outcome of your decision is on the triple screen test.
I had opted not to do it with one midwife ( was shopping for midwives) but another made it seem much of an easier decision.
We were not going to terminate for Downs or anything unless it was absolutely incompatible with life, but I was told that the screen does show markers for the other two Trisomies so that convinced me to have it (they are not compatible with life).
Also in retrospect it was great to get a really good view of the baby – on video and also the heartbeat – and because we used donor eggs I was not too worried about the risks of my age affecting anything on the screen.
It turned out I have the risk of a twenty year old – which is the best age related news I’ve had this whole TTC and pregnancy!!!
So as you gals are in a similar position I think it’ s probably fairly safe. I was also scared off by all the stories of false positives and definitely did not want an amnio – with it’s increased risks – but in the end I am glad we did it -but we got the results we wanted to that’s kind of a no brainer!
Good luck in the decision making and I hope Joey is feeling better. I think it’s great that you are going to be breastfeed too! Those babies will really thank you!!!
So exciting to see pictures!
I am so excited that you are going to breastfeed. I think you will love it and with twins it will be such a blessing. Bf’ing in the beginning was about as much fun as labour, but I am so grateful that I persevered and that we made it through.
I love your little beans already 🙂
just catching up on your blog, and I’m a little late to the game, but I wanted to tell you that our OB is of the same school as yours, and we didn’t get a nuchal scan. What did you wind up deciding?
Those are some gorgeous babies, btw! Mazel tov again!