My name is Jennifer I live in Lakeland, FL I have been married a little over 3 years and I have a wonderful little girl who will be 2 in 9 days named Ava. I found out I was pregnant at the end of January...totally unexpected. It was actually the one month I was cramping so much I was sure the mother of all periods was coming...so just for fun I took a test and was shocked with all 4 or 5 positive results lol.
I was a little over 6 weeks and could not take the cramping and burning anymore when I called my OB and told them I think something is wrong...they had already treated me for a UTI that I have decided I did not have and was still a week 1/2 off from my first official appointment. They scheduled me for an ultrasound the day I called at 6 1/2 weeks just to make sure everything was okay and to rule out an ectopic pregnancy because I also having really bad left lower sided pain which turned out to be a HUGE ovarian cyst....
So she ultrasounds me and we see ONE baby and all looks well good heartbeat and I feel relief, so just as the sonographer goes to check the ovaries my husband says "I want 2 find another one." So both the sonographer and I both go oh now that would not be good. 1 is more than enough. (BTW there is no history of twins in any part of my family) So just as my husband says this she turns the wonderful vaginal wand and says, "Oh no, there is a 2nd sac" by now my heart is racing and I am think tell me it is empty. Then she types on the screen TWINS! AHHHHH I am so shocked at this new knowledge that I can not even focus on the rest of the exam. So we are sent out the door with lovely pictures of Twins and I call my friends and family and tell them the shocking news.
A week and a half later I go to my first prenatal visit. First the ultrasound then the doctor. The sonographer does a rather quick ultrasound (4 or 5 minutes tops) find 2 heartbeats, prints us a few more twin pictures, and sends us back out to the lobby. We see the OB get the talk about a twin pregnancy and the complications etc and risks because I am overweight and have pre-existing hypertension. Next appointment 12 weeks.
So the very next week in the ER (BTW I am an ER nurse and got connections hehe) I get one of our sonographers to do an ultrasound on me just for fun. He is looking and all looks well. the one he labels A looks great...then he goes to B...he tells me there is something at the bottom of the sac of this baby...by this point I am hoping for a tumor. So a few minutes later he tells me my tumor has a heartbeat!...and he now labels A, B, and C So now I have determined I am having a set of identical twins sharing a sac and a placenta and 1 by itself....all why I should be working. He saves the pics and they are uploaded to there radiology system so they can be pulled up on the big monitors...after a phone call to the hubby who does not believe me I show the ultrasound to pretty much all the ER docs and nurses working.
That Monday I call my OB's nurse and tell her of my discovery...they of course think I am crazy and that I seen the same baby twice and that there songrapher could not have missed a 3rd baby 2x...and go well we will ultrasound you again at your 12 week appointment. 12 week appointment roles around and sure enough 20 seconds into the ultrasound she sees 2 babies 3 heartbeats. Then I get called back to the OB's office where I get the congrats there are 3 and by the way we can not see you anymore...so the referral is made to high risk OB. The following day I get a call from the OB's nurse for an appointment with Dr. Barrett the following week.
12 1/2 weeks at work have some very light colored bleeding...learn that I have kidney stones YEA! Babies are okay B's heart rate is rather high in 170's...this concerns me. :-(
13 week ultrasound and first visit with Dr. Barrett. I learn that indeed there are identical twins they share 1 placenta and 1 sac, but there is a membrane separating the 2 babies. I also learn that there is an unequal sharing of the placenta and baby B's heart rate is 179 and the fluid level is low. This is how they are labeled by the way A and B are identical C is the one that has its own sac and placenta. So Dr. Barrett says well come back in 3 weeks and we will see if baby B is still alive. What a lovely thought to leave on. :-(
16 weeks another ultrasound...takes her about 40 minutes The sonographer in a polite way tells me not to ask questions until she is done. Finally about 35 minutes into the ultrasound she turns to look at me.."Do you want to know the sexes?" Well YEAH! So this is when I get the news 3 BOYS. So when I ask the concerning questions about fluid levels, measurements, and heart rates she tells me "I can't remember everything let me go get Dr. Barrett to see if he needs to re-ultrasound you." So he walks in the room and says well they are looking okay I'll see you at 20 weeks. (My daughter is restless and screaming so I never get to drill him for my above mentioned questions) :-(
20 weeks I HAVE DATES NOW 5/20/09 Dr. Barrett comes into the room uses the new ultrasound machine he just got and had not used on a patient before lol he could not figure it out. Looks real quick to find 3 heart beats and tries to confirm C sex which he tells me it look like a boy but its legs are closed....you will find out for sure at your next appointment. Once again tells me B is still smaller but they all look like they are growing. Big relief but I still leave concerned. I suppose all is okay he first told me to come back at 22 weeks and now says 23 weeks so...
Long story short after all of that I go back at 23 weeks on June 11th for long 1 1/2 hrs ultrasound slot when they do the detailed ultrasound. I WILL find out what there exact growths are, hopefully know if they really are ALL BOYS, and if all is okay with B.
I have my own doppler and listen to the heart beats every few days..but I have no idea if I am hearing 2 or 3...the heart rates I do hear range from the 130's to the 150's. I have recently in the last week felt more than just tiny flutters every few days. I feel movement up high which I know is C and real low right at my bladder. I do not know how A and B are positioned so I am not sure if I feel both move or just A. I think it would be A because they usually label them closest to the cervix to farthest away. Anyways I thinks this is a conclusion to my extremely long blog. I will keep you posted.
