Twins on the way!

Tuesday August 12th, 2008 we found out that we were having not one but two babies! Fraternal twin girls shocked us on the ultrasound screen. Tanner still asks me at times why I cried when we were at the doctors and each visit I go to now he asks if I will cry again. As of now I am up and about, hoping not to be put on bed rest. Not working right now has really been a blessing and the best thing for me. I am able to rest as needed to take the pressure off of my belly and back. This has truly been double the pregnancy symptoms with two babies.

Baby A & B are already keeping us on our toes and they aren't even here yet. We have complications with both babies, each one seperate from the other. At the original ultrasound we discovered that Baby A has a Sacrococcoygeal Teratoma (a tumor growing off of her backside). After hours of ultrasounds at my doctor, Duke Perinatal and UNC Hospital the tumor appears to be mostly cystic with small amounts of mass components. From what we can see on the ultrasounds the tumor is most if not all exterior and there is very little blood flow into it so her heart is not overworking to supply the tumor with blood. Surgery has been done before on a fetus with this condition by the doctors that we see at UNC but with twins it's not worth the risk and the tumor isn't hurting Baby A as of now. If that changes we will evaluate the situation based on how far along I am. So for now we just wait and monitor the growth of the tumor. The plan is to remove the tumor after delivery once she is stable enough for a surgery.

Baby B we thought was just fine until we had our 2nd visit at UNC and we noticed that she was not growing at the rate she should. We found out that her umbilical cord is attached to her sac limiting the flow of nutrients and blood to her. Her placenta will not last the 9 months that is should and will most likely cause the girls to be born earlier than their Jan 6th, 2009 due date. Our 3rd visit last week at UNC showed that she was still behind in growth but she was growing and I know she is because she is a mover and a kicker! We will closely monitor her growth and if we notice a sharp decline we will then look at her amniotic fluid and umbilical cord doppler's to see if those readings are ok. As long as she continues to grow we will carry on and pray that we won't have to face the idea of delivering too early. Twins typically come early, 36 weeks and that is our goal!

I look forward to each Tuesday because I am another week along in this pregnancy. The goal is to keep these girls in me for as long as we can to give them the best chance. Thank you to all of our friends and family for the wonderful love, support and prayers. God has blessed us with the girls are we are excited to meet them, not just yet though. I will update as often as there is news.

We have an appointment on Tuesday Sept 30th, my 26th week. Right now we go to UNC every 2 weeks for check-ups and will probably move to weekly visits after my 28th week. We are praying for good news and hope to be sent home with appointments for two weeks later. Check back then.


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