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Thursday, June 7, 2012

23 week ultrasound

Hello!

Today we had our ultrasound where they again do measurements and check everything.  Because Andy was busy, my mom came with me and was so excited to see a "quad" ultrasound!  Overall, things look good but PRAYERS are definitely appreciated.

First, GOOD NEWS!  My cervix is measuring very good, and so are the amniotic fluid levels for all babies.  Because I am now about or slightly past full term size, I was worried that the cervix might be thinning or fluids leaking, but no worries!  My doc said it is totally normal to be feeling huge pressure on my cervix when I get up and walk around, thus my mostly horizontal status these days.  All babies looked great on the monitor and all had heartbeats around 150 BPM, which is great.

However, it does look like our baby "C" (one of our boys) is lagging behind a little in size.  The other 3 were 1lb 4 oz, 1lb 3 oz, 1lb 1 oz, but our "C" boy was only 14 oz.  Not a huge difference between 14 oz and 1.1 lbs, but still lower than what would be expected and lower than the others.  The doctor did not seem too concerned at this point, but did mention it is something we need to keep an eye on.

PLEASE PRAY THAT OUR BABY C THRIVES, ALONG WITH THE OTHERS!

Our boys C & D are identical and seem to share the same placenta, so I asked if this was perhaps twin-to-twin transfusion where one baby takes more nutrients than the other.  He said it does not seem so because the amniotic fluid levels don't show any evidence of this.  Even though the doc is not worried much, he still was realistic in what this might mean in the future weeks to come if the trend continued...  i.e. we may need to deliver them all earlier than expected, or not deliver earlier but risk C's health or safety, or... the worst-case scenario... that C could die if he does not grow and thrive like the others (although he stressed this is not likely).  The good news is that the babies are always bumping around in my belly, and I do feel C often (actually, right now he is having a bout of hiccups!!)  :-).  I will be ever more conscientious of that little one from now on, along with the other sweet babies!

SO please pray that he continues to grow along with the others, even if he is a tad bit smaller, but that he stays healthy and they all grow and stay in me for a long time!!!

Here is where the faith rubber hits the road--- GOD IS IN CONTROL!  HE KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING, AND HE HAS A PLAN.  Whatever that plan is, blessed be His name.  It is one thing to breathe these words, another to believe them.  And I Believe!  (but when I have doubts, I am like the father in Mark 9:24: "I do believe, LORD help me overcome my unbelief!")  Isn't it cool that we have a God who created the universe and knows everything, and yet honors our belief, even when it is peppered with bouts of unbelief?!?  This is such an emotional roller coaster and I have learned I can easily get sucked into self-doubts, self-pity & self-focus.  Please pray for me to keep my thoughts not on my "self", but God-focused and on what HE wants to accomplish through this!  I am way calmer and much less hysterical and emotional when I can do this!;-)

Besides that, I am doing well.  In the past few days I have definitely slowed down even more.  I am all done driving, as it is way too uncomfortable.  Even sitting up for periods of time is really exhausting.  Most of the days I am laying down, drinking lots of water and trying to busy myself with reading books, sedentary play with Jenna, surfing in my ipad, chatting with others, or TV.  This picture pretty much is my life right now:

Complete with my belly band, 2 glasses of ice water by my side, phone, book, ipad, remotes, and of course my favorite accessory, Jenna!  It is frustrating just laying around because even trips to the kitchen now to make a snack are getting really difficult.  I am an independent girl, and dependency on others is a rude awakening for me!  However, if it keeps the babies safe, it is definitely well worth it!  And, thankfully, we have a ton of family and friends' support.

In the past I mentioned I am setting up a care calendar link.  I think we are just about there but our needs are very minimal right now.  One or 2 meals a week, housecleaning here and there perhaps... I will post it soon.  Or just call me.

Thanks again for all your support, thoughts and prayers!  Friends tell me of friends and family of theirs who are praying for us- people who have never met us, and only know of our situation through someone-who-knows-someone-who-knows someone... it is crazy to think about, and I truly believe in the power of prayer... so thank you so much, strangers (and the not-so-strangers out there)!

Becky

3 comments:

  1. We are praying for all your sweet little ones and we will be praying a little harder for baby C kick more!! JK!! Maybe he is kicking too much burning too much energy off:) Just kidding again!! We will continue to pray as always and we need to stop over for a few next week and maybe bring you a meal!! What sounds good? I will call you!! Thought of you a lot this week sorry I didn't call but glad things are going well!! We will talk soon!!

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  2. Great to hear positive news from the ultrasounds, I'll bet its so fun to see them swimming around :) I'll definitely ramp up prayers for that sweet boy, but I have a feeling he'll be a fighter just like his mama!! Stay strong (and off your feet, hehe) you're doing great!! :) :)

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  3. You are doing awesome!!! I am SO glad to know you're off your feet. It's the only thing that relieves that cervical pressure, which I hate to tell you will just get worse toward the end. Ashley had told me about hers and sure enough, certain days during the last couple weeks I felt like my pelvis was going to split in half or my hoo ha was going to give out. It's amazing how much pressure we can withstand. And there's always a small baby. My smallest was a full pound less than the biggest at birth. Will def share prayers for Baby C and more prayers as you near your first point of viability, 24 weeks!!!

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