The 54 Day Doctor's Appointment

At my 22 week appointment, they began to see a larger contrast in size between the two girls. At that point, they were 24% different as far as their growth. This can be common and both girls had good fluid with active bladders, so my doctors were able to rule out the number one culprit of size discordance, Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS). TTTS is very scary as it can completely deprive one twin of any nutrients while giving all of them to the other twin, causing great trauma to both. Four weeks later, at my 26 week appointment, the size discordance had greatly increased. Aurora was measuring 1lb 4oz while Bettye Katheryne was 2lb 4oz. This came out to be a 45% difference on the growth chart. Fortunately, Bettye Katheryne was right on track and not way above the growth curve. This let us know that it was not TTTS, but rather something that was solely affecting Aurora. I was admitted to the hospital immediately and did not return home until after the girls were born.

My belly strapped down with two fetal heart monitors and the toco for contractions (this is the NST mentioned below)

This machine prints out the two heart rates and measures any contractions and fetal movement. These are great heart rates!

It was a very long 8 weeks, but we managed to get by. I was undergoing Non-Stress Tests on the girls 3 times each day and 3 ultrasounds a week checking their fluid levels, size discordanence, practicing to breath, etc. We had a few scares where our medical team had to weigh the pros and cons of delivery, but we eventually made it to our ultimate goal of 34 weeks gestation (well, 33weeks 6days, but close enough!). Aurora was determined to suffer from unexplained Inner Uteran Growth Restriction (IUGR). Basically, the cord from my placenta was what regulated her heartbeat while she was in the womb. My cord was not pumping blood to her correctly and they believed that stemed from an infection that went undetected early on during my pregnancy. She was getting blood pumped through her body about half or 3/4 as much as she should have been.