Week 12 - Perfect Plums

Yesterday K&S joined me at the hospital's Maternal Fetal Medicine Dept. (MFM) to get another look at the babies. We were there to have the first trimester Nuchal Translucency scan (NT scan). This is a test to assess the risk of either baby having Down syndrome, some other chromosomal abnormalities as well as major congenital heart problems. It's a non invasive test done by u/s and since there are very specific things they are looking for it's a pretty lengthy u/s. Both babies were very cooperative and the tech was able to get images of their NT spaces (fluid in the back of the neck) quite easily - both measured less than 2mm which is perfect (3mm or less is desirable) - Yay!!

She went on to look for the presence of a nasal bone, check heart rates, CRL (crown rump length) and umbilical insertion. Again all was great. Both heart rates were in the upper 160's and they were very active; kicking, stretching and jumping through the entire appointment.

The tech also explained to us how A&B are labeled. The baby who is lowest, closest to the "exit", is always labeled A. So in our case, Baby A is on my left and tucked down low in my pelvis and Baby B on my right slightly higher in the uterus. As the babies become bigger the uterus will expand and they will fill more of the space, and although baby's positions may change (transverse, breech, vertex) their locations will remain the same throughout the pregnancy.

After all the necessary measurements were taken we got to play around and got some 3D images. Very cool!! No gender guesses were made, it's still a little too early for that but K&S are anxious to find out so I'm sure it won't be long before we know.

We are nearing the end of the first trimester and I am doing great. I've been pleasantly surprised that the pregnancy symptoms have only been typical and not magnified by this being a twin pregnancy. I'm rarely ever queasy anymore and the other symptoms are all manageable. I will owe you all belly pic soon - the bump is undeniably there!! K&S have been cautious and slow to share the news but most of their close friends and family know now. The three of us hung out for an hour or so after the appointment and I just love listening to them as they begin to get excited and make plans for their new family.

Baby A

Baby B

2D both babies (12w3d)

3D image of both babies.
B on the left of pic and A tucked behind