Yesterday started off as a normal day at the maternal fetal specialist. The ultrasound tech was doing her thing, and then asked, “Are you sure Baby A (Gabriel) is on your left and B (Zeke) is on your right?” Having had about 100 ultrasounds at this point, I replied, “If there’s one thing I am sure of it is that A’s on the left and B’s on the right.” So, she studied her paperwork more closely and then notified me that the twins had swapped sides. If it hadn’t been for Zeke’s CCAM – the only distinguishing feature between Gabriel and Zeke — we would have been none the wiser to the twins repositioning. I mean, I knew my wild boys had been moving a lot, but I never expected a complete reversal. 

Mommy @ 28 weeks. (The red dot on my belly is the tiny scar from the laser surgery.)

The ultrasound and biophysical profiles went fine. However, the differences in the boys’ weights are of growing concern. Zeke is currently 3 pounds, 3 ounces, which puts him in the 34 percentile for a typical 31-week gestation. But Gabriel is only 2 pounds, 10 ounces, putting him in the 11 percentile. Dr. Joy decided to do a non-stress test (NST), which monitors the babies’ heart beats and my uterus. The findings can help determine if all is still going well in the placental environment. Gabriel and Zeke were pretty uncooperative, bouncing around like crazy monkeys. But what the test did show was that I was having minor contractions toward the top of my uterus every 3-4 minutes — minor, yes, but consistent, patterned contractions nonetheless. And here I thought these pangs were just more cool karate kicks.

Therefore, Dr. Joy and company sent me over to maternity admissions, so that Dr. Stringer — my OB who just so happened to working at the hospital that day — could give me an internal exam to check out my cervix and an RN could continue my NST. Thankfully, my cervix hadn’t either dilated and effaced (thinned) — two telltale signs of labor. Dr. Stringer also opted to give me a fetal fibronectin test. The exam tests for a hormone that is only present in a woman’s body during labor. Kim, the wonderful midwife who brought Houston into the world, notified me that my test results were negative, explaining that this means there is a 97% chance I will NOT go into pre-term labor in the next two weeks. Kim passed along the good NST readings and fibronectin results to Dr. Stringer, who finally gave the okay to discharge me around 8:30 p.m., nearly seven hours after my arrival at the hospital for my weekly ultrasound.

 

Mommy at 31 weeks.

As it stands now, I will have ultrasounds, biophysical profiles and an NST every Monday and another NST every Thursday, and the babies’ weights will be measured in another two weeks. If at that time their weight discrepancy has increased, that will be evidence that my placenta is indeed pooping out and the twins will need to be taken by c-section. I’m 31 weeks now, so gestation then would be 33 weeks … not too shabby for my atypical pregnancy, but still premature.

You know how some weirdos have been rumored to have eaten the placenta (a.k.a. the afterbirth) once their child is born? Well, being that my bum placenta has caused Gabriel and Zeke a bunch of problems during this roller coaster of a pregnancy, Stephen and I are toying with the idea of stomping on my afterbirth, taking it to the shooting range and riddling it with bullets, and then letting a pack of wild dogs devour it. Like I said, it’s just an idea.

Just wanted to let y’all know that Friday’s ultrasound showed that all is well with both twins. Dr. Joy says that the “slight change” found in Zeke’s Doppler readings are back to normal. He explained that the reading earlier in the week could have been something as simple as him lying on his own cord. We’re just fortunate that all of my healthcare providers are so vigilant in making sure that these babies have the healthiest and longest gestation as possible. And the fact that they’d all rather be safe than sorry makes for a happy Clan Dillingham.

One more tidbit is that Zeke (the baby who was once “stuck”) has a bit more amniotic fluid than does Gabriel. The minimal discrepancy is totally normal for a twin pregnancy, the docs say, but isn’t that interesting how things change? Gabriel has plenty of room to move, though, ’cause both boys are kicking and karate-chopping up a storm! 

Tuesday began with a visit to the pediatric cardiologist for an echocardiogram on the twins. (Zeke’s heart rate was 141 and Gabriel’s was 154.) The doc says everything looks great, stable and healthy! The walls of Gabriel’s heart are no longer showing signs of thickening, as they had been previously, and heart pumps, heart flow, aorta, septum and other heart parts and activities all measure perfect for the gestational age of both twins. I have another echo scheduled for a month out, but it is just as a precaution. 

 Gabriel

It was a busy day because I also had my weekly ultrasound on 9/2. There was welcome news on every front, except that the Doppler readings showed a “slight change” in the blood flow in Zeke’s umbilical cord. So, Dr. Smith decided to give Zeke a biophysical profile (the test we were supposed to start at 30 weeks).

 Zeke

Through a special ultrasound method, a BPP measures five physical attributes: 

1. heart rate;
2. muscle tone;
3. movement;
4. breathing;
5. and the amount amniotic fluid around a baby.

Zeke had a perfect score on all five items, so Dr. Smith said we shouldn’t be too concerned about the Doppler as of yet. However, since “slight” things can very quickly morph into “dramatic” things during a high-risk twin pregnancy such as mine, she asked that we come back in tomorrow for another round of Doppler readings, as well as to go ahead and get started on our weekly BPPs for both babies.

 Zeke

Please keep up the prayers for me and the boys. We have come so far already, but your continued thoughts and goodwill are greatly appreciated with each new challenge we face. Thanks!