Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Ouch! Anything for my babies.

When we got to the specialists, they said that the one baby had the same amount of fluid as a 9 month single baby. Sadly, this meant that the other baby was being squashed like a pancake and had no bladder. They admitted me into the hospital and started me on steriods. They did a procedure where they pulled out the access amniotic fluid. The doctors pulled out 3 liters fluid to be able to get the level to normal. This morning they did another ultrasound and everything is looking normal. The bigger baby still has an enlarged bladder, but his brother now has a bladder. The docter is going to do another ultrasound in the morning and we are going to be coming up with a game plan from there, but it looks like I will be released tomorrow. I will have to stay in Billings though for the near future since they will want to see me a couple times a week and the drive from home is 2 hours.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Mommy wants to keep you!

Goodness, it has been awhile since I posted. So much has happened! We found out in December that we are having two little boys, Marcus and Alexander. They are in two different sacs, which is a huge relief! They are sharing a placenta though. We have been seeing a doctor every two weeks since, flip-flopping between the main doctor and the specialist. On Monday, we went to see the specialist, and the boys are showing signs of twin-to-twin transfusion (TTTS). TTTS only happens when multiples are sharing a placenta. One baby starts sending all of his nutrients to the other one. The first signs are fluid differences in the sacs. Then bladder size differences, since the majority of the fluid is urine. If it gets bad, one baby will be really small and underdeveloped and the other one with have an enlarged heart from all the extra blood it has to pump. On Monday, one baby had tons of water to swim in, while the other had this little space with very little fluid. The ultrasound tech and the doctor couldn't find the amnion (the membrane from where the sacs come together). Otherwise, they are the same size and bladders are the same size, so...we go back up on Monday and hope that either they have worked it out between themselves or there hasn't been any change. Right now, I need to keep them as long as possible. They are both just under 2 pounds. If this past week has made a dramatic enough change, they will start me on steriods to help my boys' lungs develop and put on weight. If it has been a horrible week, they might pull them. We are crossing our fingers that we just end up having to go up every week. My husband is going nuts from trying to see how we will work it if I'm admitted to the hospital. With the doctor's and the NICU being 2 hours away, he doesn't want to have to go back to work and leave me up there alone, but we might not have a choice. I'll do my best to post next week after the doctor's visit about any changes. Any prayers we are extremely thankful for!