We had our level II u/s yesterday.
We arrived to the appointment about 15 minutes early and we were quickly given our pager with the instructions, "You know the drill." so Kara and I went out into the hallway to wait our turn. I was super nervous. So was Kara (I even got her to admit to it!). We did our best to carry on a conversation. Thankfully the pager went off only a few minutes later. I was crossing my fingers that we would get the same u/s tech as our NT scan at 12 weeks so let's just say I was thrilled to walk through the double-doors and see Janet waiting for us!
We got ushered back to the exam room and the u/s tech asked if I needed to pee before we started the exam, "Yes! Yes! Yes!." Unfortunately the bathroom was occupied so I had to wait ... and wait ... and wait ... until the u/s tech decided I had waited long enough and ushered me to another bathroom down the hall. I gave my customary urine sample and then headed back to the exam room.
We did the internal u/s first to measure the length of my cervix. This exam room was nice though because I actually got to lay on a real hospital bed and get a real sheet to use to cover-up. Three cheers for no paper sheet. The only problem ... we did the internal u/s first so then I got to lay naked under a sheet for 60 minutes. Fun! The u/s tech stuck in old wandy and you could immediately see Baby A's head hanging out near my cervix. I quickly internalized, "Don't you dare come any closer." before the u/s tech indicated that the length of my cervix looked good. I could see the measurement on the screen and it appeared to be 3.5 cm. I think this is decent. I will be certain to confer with my OB at my next appointment. The u/s tech indicated that the length of my cervix will continue to be checked at each u/s appointment and the measurement from today will serve as a baseline. I have turned to Google (I know. Bad.) and it appears the average cervix length at this stage of the game is between 3cm and 5cm. I think OBs only get nervous if you drop below 2.5cm. So I seem to be just about average.
We then moved onto the abdominal u/s for the anatomy scan. The entire u/s lasted about 60 minutes. The u/s tech got measurements of almost every part of the body (all the bones, the brain, the heart, the abdomen, the kidneys, the bladder, the diaphragm, the eyes, the hands, the feet, the umbilical cord, the placenta). However, Baby A was not being super cooperative and as a result the u/s tech was not able to get great visual on his heart. She said they will just take a closer look at the heart at my subsequent visits. The good news ... We still have two little boys (clear as day)! Both boys looked good overall. Our only concern comes with Baby B. Baby B has some Choroid Plexus Cysts on his brain. I was told by the MFM to not google "Choroid Plexus Cyst" so I have not done it. However, my pregnancy books gave some information about them (he never banned books). It appears these cysts appear in 1 out of every 100 babies. The cysts can be a marker for Trisomy 18. However, the genetic screenings I had done in the 1st trimester indicated that my risk for Trisomy 18 was extremely, extremely low (about 1 in greater than 10,000). Plus the cysts were the only marker found on the u/s yesterday. Therefore, the MFM believes these cysts will just disappear on their own. We will monitor Baby B at each subsequent u/s and hope that the cysts have disappeared by the third trimester. Otherwise both babies looked wonderful and were moving all around.
I started to get super uncomfortable near the end of the u/s exam. I was laying on my back for the entire u/s and I started to notice I was getting super uncomfortable. The muscles in my stomach were screaming at me. I then started to notice that I could literally feel my pulse speeding up. Soon my fingers became numb and I knew we were about to have a problem if the scan continued much longer. Thankfully just as I was getting ready to throw in the towel the u/s tech was all done. I quickly sat-up and tried to regain my bearings. I drank some water and took some deep breaths as the u/s tech was finishing all of her notes. It took a few minutes but I finally started to feel better. The u/s tech quickly told me, "Don't worry. You will never have another u/s that lasts that long." Thank goodness. As much as I love seeing our little ones I tend to max out at about 15 minutes!
I got dressed after the u/s was finished and then headed over to get my blood pressure and weight checked out. I was still feeling some effects from the u/s so I was not surprised when my initial blood pressure check was 139/82. The nurse had me sit for a few minutes before it was checked again. I tried to take some deep breaths and the second blood pressure came back at 120/72. Perfect (for me). My weight also appeared to be just fine.
I went back to the exam room and Kara and I waited to meet with the MFM. The MFM arrived to discuss the results of the u/s. He too indicated that the length of my cervix was just fine. We talked briefly about the results of Baby B's u/s (see above) and then discussed the results of my somewhat abnormal AFP b/w. Because the level II u/s did not show any indication of either baby having neural tube defects the MFM was not concerned about the elevated AFP results. Both of the babies are still measuring about a week ahead in size. The MFM believes that I ovulated before the IUI (which he believes is the reason it worked this time) and therefore my due date might be slightly off. He actually said that if both babies are still measuring a week ahead at the next u/s he might officially change my due date. The MFM indicated that big babies are always preferred over little babies. But because both babies are measuring a bit large the results of my AFP could be inaccurate. The MFM indicated that the b/w could be taken again to recheck the levels but both Kara and I believe that is unnecessary. Had there been additional markers on the level II u/s then Kara and I would have probably proceeded with additional testing. I also mentioned the significant number of braxton hicks contractions that I have been experiencing with these little ones. The MFM immediately told me not to worry that the braxton hicks contractions were completely normal. The contractions are not impacting my cervix. So I will continue to monitor the contractions and follow-up with my OB if I experience more than 5 or 6 contractions an hour.
We have scheduled our next appointment with the MFM for February 21st. We will get another u/s at this appointment to check on both of the little ones.
Can I just mention how incredibly sore I was after the u/s? Hence the title of my post. I felt as if every muscle in my abdomen had been pulled in the wrong direction. Needless to say I hobbled around like an old woman the remainder of the day. I do feel a bit better this morning.
I also learned something else at the u/s yesterday ... I think I have been feeling kicks from the babies! Both babies are head down (a very good thing) and as the u/s tech was taking the measurements I realized the babies legs are all the way up near my ribs. This is where I have been feeling occasional jabs. I just always assumed it was "gas" because I did not think both babies were up that high. Well ... I think my boys have been kicking me in the ribs! They both have anterior placentas so it will be some time before I feel regular movement but it was nice to think that maybe I actually have been feeling them for a couple of weeks.
Okay. My fingers are going to fall off.
Please keep growing little ones (and stay in my belly).
Mary
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