Summer 2011 Pregnancy Group - Welcome! Pg.1 Has Intros!

[Happy Bunny]

Woo-Hoo! I'm halfway!!!

[karin1]

Sonya.....you look great! Looks like a baby belly to me!

Amanda......6 wks between u/s? That sounds like alot. I would be so anxious. It probably means that you and your bean are doing so well that you don't need any extra.

Ryann....I think that I would talk to another OB. 8 wks is a really long time for twins. My OB said she wanted to see me every 3wks. I'm not sure if we'll be doing an u/s, but what else would we do when i see her? She said that we've had a long and difficult journey and she wanted to keep an eye on our babies and make us feel at ease. I haven't had any real issues with bleeding or anything. As for the energy level. I feel the same way. I am so exhausted sometimes. I hope you feel better soon.

Karen.....I hope you feel better! I'm sick too! Sucks!

Rio.....Can't wait to hear about your u/s!

Stephanie....Hope you get that pool!

Anna.....Such a sweet picture! Glad you're feeling better!


AFM........I'm sick and I feel like crap! Not sure what I have....runny nose and cough. My nose is so sore. I don't get it. I don't get sick that often. DH and DD are fine. I don't know where I could have gotten it. I don't leave the house that much. I go to the grocery store and target and I wash my hands constantly. I told them they are germ carriers. I have an OB appt next Tuesday. I will talk to her about whether we will keep her or have her refer us to another OB. I think that I want to keep her because I like her so much. As I said before, I am due on Aug 8 and she's going to be gone the last 2 wks of July. I think that I would probably deliver before then anyway. It's a tough decision.

I hope that everyone is having a great day!

[rypell1985]

Ok and the questions keep on coming...I just called to schedule my first trimester screening. They can see me Friday for my NT, which is exciting that I'll be able to see the babies finally! But, she said they can't do the blood draw with twins?? So does the NT even tell you anything without the blood??

[rypell1985]

Karin...my ob is seeing me every 4 weeks, just not ultrasounds.

[brit1612]

Rypell- Sorry to crash ya'lls thread, but I just read your last post and I thought I would share. At the NT they do a lot of measurments of the baby, and combine that with the blood results. Even though you will not get a full result, they should be able to see a lot by the measurements! Hope you have a great pregnancy!

I'm sorry to be crashing ya'lls thread, but I am trying to find IVF success stories. I am starting an infertility blog and would like to be able to share stories other than just mine. If you are interested would you please answer the following questions and send a pic if you would like. Thanks in advance! If you could send it via pm that would be great, if not, just reply to this post.

1. How long have you been ttc?
2. What procedures/ methods did you use to ttc?
3. Did you do anything to help increase your odds? (acupuncture, specific diet...etc)
4. Please share any details about your infertility journey. (miscarriages, cancelled cycles...etc.)
5. Do you have any advice for people going through infertility?

[zoegirl]

Ok and the questions keep on coming...I just called to schedule my first trimester screening. They can see me Friday for my NT, which is exciting that I'll be able to see the babies finally! But, she said they can't do the blood draw with twins?? So does the NT even tell you anything without the blood??

Are you telling me I did the blood draw for nothing? That the prenatal counselor at my OB's office knows so little about twins she didn't even know that?? That finger prick STILL hurts! I know that the Alfa fetoprotein test is no good for twins as it is elevated already with twins but I think they check more than the AFP right?

[FrecklesDC]

Hello ladies. I just wanted to give you a quick update on my situation with my 2nd trimester bloodwork. As you know the 1st screening was fine but my NT showed an echogenic foci on the heart. Also my 2nd trimester bloodwork came back with a higher risk for Down's. My OB said that the 1st trimester screening is much more accurate than the 2nd. (That at least put my mind at ease) Currently, I have a 1/132 chance of the baby having Down's. The only way I can get an accurate diagnosis is to have an amnio and we just do not want to take the risk. What do you ladies think? I'm so anxious about all of this. I go back to the high risk doctor next week for another u/s.

[Happy Bunny]

Freckles: My doctor warned me not to panic if my results for the second trimester screening were not perfect. She said that a lot of women have somewhat off test results but go on to have healthy babies.

[zoegirl]

Freckles - are you sure the 1st trimester screen is more accurate than the 1st? I read that the 2nd catches more cases accurately than the first does. Maybe there are different ways to assess the accuracy.

I have read on about.com that 90% of positives on the first trimester screen turn out to be truly negative and the babies are born totally fine. I think that Dr. Luke's book on multiple pregnancy also says that "most" women find out, by amnio or at birth that the baby is actually fine. I really can't figure out why it is considered ethical to offer a test with such a high false positive rate, of course the offiical false positive reported by the scientific community is only 5% (go figure!) I personally know a couple who was told their first child had elevated risk for down's and he is a normal child - advanced, even - was reading by age 4. I think I would want to avoid the amnio but I think my DH would want me to have it. I am really hoping I don't have to have that show down!

[karenthescorpio]

Ryan- When I was preggers with my twins I didn't do the blood test part of the first trimester screening either. Just the u/s part. There isn't any other option other than an amnio b/c the blood test results will be a cumulative number and multiples have a higher rate of false positives for this test (so my last MFM told me). I think you can feel confident about the u/s portion of the test. They do lots of detailed measurements....the tube that runs down the neck/spin, nose bone, etc. It's fun to watch b/c it takes awhile so you get lots of viewing time of your little ones!

Karen

[rypell1985]

Thanks everyone for chiming in! I read online that sometimes they will take a guess at the NT of the gender...anyone have the tech guess at theirs?

Karen...I spoke with my OB about wanting to keep a close eye on my cervix because I don't want to find out when it's too late that there's something wrong. He said that because we will be doing so many ultrasounds he will check it often and stitch it of need-be. However, my last ultrasound was at 8 weeks and my next (aside from the NT) is at 20...does this seem right or should I push to have it checked earlier??

[riogirl71]

OB was rushed today, no pics and no clues if we have a little one with outdoor or indoor plumbing! But good news is bean is growing, good amount of fluid and HB of 159! Now the 2.5 week wait for my level II US!

Ryann - in the NT test they measure the thinckness of the neck fold which is a good indicator of issues, they also masure bones, look for brain development, heart chambers, 5 fingers, 5 toes and things like that. I did not have the 1st trimester blood becuase of my vanishing twin. I love your cute bump! Hope you feel better soon, it does sound strange to me that your OB isn't doing more US with twins! yes our tech took a guess but it is so early and boys and girls look the same so early so I am not putting faith in it!

Zoe - I heard that 2nd trimester is more accurate also, my 1st trimester with our som came back high risk but second trimester very low risk and he is perfect.

Freckles - keep in mind that the chance of your baby having Down's is still 0.75 percent! Less than 1 percent! Looking at it this way it doesn't seem so scary! How old are you? That influences a ton! If you feel like you need peace of mind, get an amnio, I know lots of girls who did and they are fine. If you are ok without an amnio then try to relax and enjoy your pregnancy!

Karin - Sorry you are sick are you all moved in neighbor?

Happy Bunny - congrats on 1/2 mark!

Karen - hoe you feel better soon!

Amanda - yes the break is a killer, so cool you get to have your level II!!! I can't wait for mine!

[mellow4]

I will chime in on this too...

Ryann, I was told that they don't usually do cervix checks until 17 weeks...So maybe that is what you could shoot for in asking about. Your NT scan will give a good indication of downs risk, they measure the folds at the back of the neck. I would think you would be getting an ultrasound more often, especially since you had a SCH...it's good to monitor those, and it's good to monitor twins more often. 8 weeks is too long in my opinion and in my experience with pregnancy. Hang in there and enjoy your next ultrasound. My tech at my last u/s took a guess, I was just about 13 weeks, and he said both were girls. I have a level 2 ultrasound in 2 weeks, so we will likely find out then whether he was right or not.

Zoe, the blood tests will have elevated levels because of the twins. I opted not to get the blood test because I didn't want to worry needlessly over it.

Karin, so sorry you are sick! When we are pregnant, we have crappy immune systems. Get better!

I know I am missing some of you...but I am a mess right now. I just got home from the orthodontist, and I hurt like h*ll. This is the worst adjustment I have had yet, and I just want to cry. I can't eat, or touch my teeth together. I think I will try a tylenol. On a happier note, the babies are doing great. Baby A is showing off it's moves on my bladder as I type this, and I have been feeling kicks from Baby B that are quite strong. They looked good on Monday when I went in, and my next appointment is in a couple weeks to do all the level 2 measurements. Looking forward to that one. I haven't done any shopping for the kiddo's at all...I don't know when I will feel ready. Hopefully we find out the gender of these two, and that will help.

Hope you are all well.

[zoegirl]

Ugh. I wish I did not have the blood test done. DH will freak out if anything is elevated and I will have to repeat over and over that it isn't valid because of the multiple pregnancy. Argh. I hope that not everyone at my OB office is uninformed about multiple pregnancies. I should have let my RE handle it!

[FrecklesDC]

Freckles - are you sure the 1st trimester screen is more accurate than the 1st? I read that the 2nd catches more cases accurately than the first does. Maybe there are different ways to assess the accuracy.

I have read on about.com that 90% of positives on the first trimester screen turn out to be truly negative and the babies are born totally fine. I think that Dr. Luke's book on multiple pregnancy also says that "most" women find out, by amnio or at birth that the baby is actually fine. I really can't figure out why it is considered ethical to offer a test with such a high false positive rate, of course the offiical false positive reported by the scientific community is only 5% (go figure!) I personally know a couple who was told their first child had elevated risk for down's and he is a normal child - advanced, even - was reading by age 4. I think I would want to avoid the amnio but I think my DH would want me to have it. I am really hoping I don't have to have that show down!

Hey there. I actually just got back from my OB and she said the bloodwork that is done at the NT scan is more accurate than the AFP (2nd trimester screen.) She said that the 1st test with the nuchal scan is newer and has more accurate results. I agree that they should not offer a test with such high false positive rates. It really scared both of us but after speaking with her directly and the high risk doctor, I feel confident in NOT having an amnio. I sure hope this helps you. My 1st trimester screen with the nuchal scan came back fine except for the white spot that was discovered on the heart. (That was seen at the level II) it is a soft marker for downs but the high risk doctor said that he sees it 6-7 times a week in babies that are totally fine. I think you will be just fine!!!