Babies at 18 weeks..... (plus more!)

Well, this is sure to be a long post, as so much has happened since yesterday.... a FANTASTIC day!


First, I will post the usual picture showing what size the babies are estimated to be at.  But, then I will post what their actual sizes were estimated to be at yesterday's growth ultrasound...

Babies are now the size of bell peppers-

This is what babycenter.com has to say:

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

So according to our growth u/s from yesterday (more details on that in a minute), the babies are actually a bit heavier than estimated by babycenter.com.  Baby A weighs approximately 7 oz and Baby B weighs approximately 9 oz.  Both babies measured great in size too.  Baby A was closer to 17w6d and Baby B measured about 18w4d.  Baby B is a little larger than Baby A, but both are well within the "normal" range! 

Now, for some fun stuff!

Yesterday was an absolute B.L.A.S.T.!  I have not seen Mark and Misty since the day their precious embryos were transferred into my uterus (sounds weird, huh?).  So, I was, of course, excited to see them again... and for them to get to see my growing belly that is housing their two growing babies.  The anticipation for the last 6 weeks or so was almost too much!  Not only was I going to be getting together with M&M, but it was also going to be a family affair.  The plan was for us all to first meet up in Tyler for lunch, then to head over to Stork Vision for the family ultrasound to find out the babies' genders, then for M&M and I to go to my OB appointment for the growth ultrasound and my 18 week check-up and for them to get to meet the doctor who will be delivering their precious bundles.

It was a delightful day to say the least.  Included in our merriment was: Mark, Misty, Mark's parents, Misty's parents, Misty's aunt and uncle, me, Tony, our 2 kiddos, my mom, and my sister.  So, 14 of us met up and had a yummy lunch at Jason's Deli.  After that, we all (except for my sister...she had to head to her first day at a new job) headed just up the road to Stork Vision.  Let me just say... this place was so cute and so much fun!  (http://storkvision.com/)

We all piled into the ultrasound room anxiously anticipating finding out- 2 boys? 2 girls? one of each???

The tech started with Baby A.  We all watched with so much excitement.  I could see it right away, but the tech was trying to get the perfect angle to show everyone.  As she is looking around, I whispered to her "is it a _____?"  and she quietly nods.  Just then, she freezes the picture and I think immediately most of us could see that Baby A is OFFICIALLY, WITHOUT A DOUBT......

a GIRL!!! 

Misty (along with Mark's mom, for sure!) was shocked!  I know Misty was thinking it was 2 boys, but alas, she is going to have a tutu wearing, purse toting, sweet-as-candy, Baby Girl!  Yay!

After just a couple of minutes we moved on to Baby B.  Let me just say... no freeze frame was needed for this little one.  Baby B proudly and quickly displayed that it is OFFICIALLY, WITHOUT A DOUBT......




a BOY!!!

This is the very moment that M&M saw the Baby Boy on the screen.  What priceless expressions...

Mark and Misty are truly getting the best of both worlds!  What an amazing discovery to find out that you are being blessed with a GIRL and a BOY!  This is what is looks like when you discover that blessing...





Baby Girl's face



Baby Boy's face


After having a lot of fun at the ultrasound (I mean A LOT of fun!) it was time to go.  My family really had a great time getting to meet M&Ms' families and it seemed like it was totally worth it for everyone to make the long trek to east Texas for the occasion.  I wish we could do it every month!  So many lifetime memories were made yesterday!

After the families all said their goodbyes, they all parted ways to head back home.  The only ones left were me, Mark, and Misty.  It was time to head out to my doctor appointment... and the growth ultrasound which would hopefully verify the GIRL/BOY findings at our first ultrasound.  So, we then headed just up the road to Dr. Carl's office.  We first had the growth ultrasound and, sure enough, we were told again that A is a girl and B is a boy... Phew!  The tech then did all the official measurements of the babies and the checking of the babies' anatomies and organs.  She checked many things such as: brain cortexes,  heart chambers, heart valves, kidneys, stomachs, femur length, humerous length, head circumference,  abdomen circumference... just to name a few.  It was a pretty medically detailed ultrasound and, thankfully..... both babies looked perfect!  Here are a few stats...

Baby Girl- HR 152, measures appx. 17w6d, weighs appx 7 oz.

Baby Boy- HR 152, measures appx 18w4d, weighs appx 9 oz.


It looks like M&M are going to have a sweet, petite baby girl with a tough, protective older brother!  :)

Oh, something else we learned by watching the babies on the ultrasound screens.... they are still moving and flipping constantly!!!  At one point, one baby would be down in my hip bone and then the next minute, that same baby would then be up behind my bellybutton.  Also, at the first u/s, both babies were presenting as "breech" (head-up).  By the time we got to the second u/s, baby girl was "transverse" (sideways), and baby boy was "vertex" (head down).  Boy oh boy... I hope they get all those gymnastics moves out of their systems now because pretty soon they are going to be all snuggled in and not able to move as much.  Let's just hope and pray that they both settle in head-down so that hopefully I can avoid a c-section.  :)

After that u/s, we then went in to see Dr. Carl.  My weight was good (4 lb gain), my blood pressure was "gorgeous" (said Dr. C), and my fundal height was 24 cm.  For those of you who aren't familiar with fundal height....

When pregnant, your doctor will usually measure your uterus size (fundal height) using a tape measure.  She will start at the bottom of your tummy at the pubic bone and measure up to the top of your uterus, towards your chest (this is not a measurement around your abdomen).  In a singleton pregnancy, the measurements usually correlate with the number of weeks pregnant you are.  For example:  If you are 13 weeks pregnant, your fundal height will be 13 cm.  If you are 29 weeks, pregnant, your fundal height will be 29 cm, and so on.  Well, as expected, with a twin pregnancy, that is a little different.  At 18 weeks pregnant (instead of measuring 18 cm) I measured 24 cm.  So, my fundal height is compatible with that of a woman who is 24 weeks pregnant with a single baby- 6 weeks farther ahead!

After seeing Dr Carl for one of the good "boring" check-ups (boring check-ups are always the best...it means everything is moving along smoothly), and after a quick blood draw, it was time for me to say goodbye to Mark and Misty and for them to head back to Georgia.  It was such an amazing day and I hated to see them go.  I am hoping to get to see them again next month- fingers crossed!

Next appointment/ultrasound is Nov 7.  From now on, all appoinments will include an ultrasound to check both babies' growth.  This is routine for twin pregnancies.  Also, starting a 30 weeks, I will be going in weekly for NSTs (non-stress tests) to monitor babies' heartrates and contractions.  These are also routine for twin pregnancies and are non-invasive and pose no risk to myself or the babies.  They just use 2 belts around my abdomen to check the babies (just like the ones worn in the hospital during labor).

So that's it.  I will update again next week.  :)