Ultrasound and OB VIsit

We had another ultrasound on Monday to check on the hematoma, and it was pretty uneventful. I must say, I'm slightly jealous of you bloggers who get to see your babies every check-up.  Our hospital has a policy that after the 18-week growth scan, they don't have time to show you the babies at subsequent visits.  So, basically I had a one hour nap while they did their thing.  The babies were moving like crazy - again, Baby B much more than Baby A.  Also, Baby B had flipped and is head up.  I thought that was cool, only because a few days ago I said to DH that I thought I was feeling kicks down low and wondered if he/she had flipped.  I was right!

We had to wait till today to see our OB and hear about the results.  The news was not-so-good.  The u/s technicians couldn't get a good look at Baby A's placenta because it is still being blocked by the hematoma.  Despite the bleeding I had last Thursday, the hematoma has grown to 6x7cm (from 5x4 the week prior).  They are finding it hard to distinguish between the placenta and the extra blood clot, but are guessing that it is also possible placenta previa for Baby A.  There is nothing that can really be done, except wait to see what happens.  Hopefully the placenta will move up, the hematoma won't get in the way or cause problems.  It makes it more likely that I will need a c-section for birth.  And it puts me at even greater risk for Pprom, placental abruption, and pre-term labour.  Hooray....

My doctor talked about the kind of birth options we have (maybe I'll write about that separately), and the procedure in case of emergency.  We live in a small town with a community hospital, so options here are quite limited.  In case of pre-term birth, they actually helicopter over a team of neonatal doctors/nurses from Vancouver and fly you back there WITH the team.  Pretty crazy!  We are just praying and hoping that will not be necessary.  Since there is not much that can be done, we just have to wait and continue to take it easy.  I asked more about bed rest and what I can and can't do, and basically she told me that there is no actual evidence that bed rest helps stop pre-term labour or the complications I am facing.  It is just something you can do to make sure that you don't overdo it and give your body the best chance to carry the babies to term.  So, I will continue on as is... modified bed rest, able to work a bit at the office but resting and taking it easy whenever I can.  She did specify that we are to have no sex (duh!), no vacuuming, carrying laundry, etc.  I am able to do small walks (if up for it), swim (or float) in the ocean, lake or river, and putter around the house, as long as I don't find myself contracting too much, or in pain, or showing any signs of pre-term labour. 

And the babies - they are just great!  She listened to the heart beats and we all burst out laughing because there was such distinction between Baby A and Baby B, and Baby B was super fast (as always!).  She also said that Baby B was slightly bigger than Baby A, at 671g, as opposed to 634g, which isn't a problem at this point in time.  That puts them at 1lb, 7,6oz and 1lb, 6.3oz.  I think that is a great size for this far along, so I am pretty pleased.  Next up I have my glucose screening test, more bloodwork, and another visit in 2 weeks.

Tomorrow is a big day... viability!  I'll post a happy update then.