To Admit or Not to Admit

We're still looking for our easy button with this adventure...

Yesterday's visit to the doctor started smooth as silk. Everything looked status quo with the girls' heart rate and cardiac function. Measurements were taken and they are both growing...and the first reason for pause arises.

While they are both growing, the smaller baby has slipped a bit further behind again (dropping from the 13th %ile to just below the 10th). The larger baby is now weighing in at 3 lbs 13 oz, with her smaller sister weighing 2 lbs 8 oz. Knowing that these measurements are estimates with inherent error the doctor didn't appear overly concerned. The roughly 30% differential has been relatively consistent since we began tracking their measurements. It did spark a conversation as to when we will need to pull the smaller baby from the womb to increase its chances of survival. Growth restriction of this type in the womb often poses greater risk to the fetus in utero than a prolonged stay in the NICU; especially considering the health of the larger baby. We must remember that with this type of twin all of their blood supply is connected and what happens to one directly (even if sometimes inversely) effects the other.

Long story short, the conversation ended with an understanding that the decision to deliver is more strongly a day to day decision and that 34 weeks may be as long as we can let them gestate...though the jury is still out...many conversations between the perinatologist and the neonatologist to come.

After all of this we still had to do our fetal non-stress test. Heart rates look good; uteris monitor shows steady, gentle contractions. We're not too concerned as Gwynne's fetal fibronectin test came back negative and her uteris was still long and closed. The doctor had some concern. He wanted to manually check her uteris before he decided what he let us do next (i.e. leave for home or admit to the hospital).

Going to the new exam room, our third of this visit now nearly 3 hours old, I hear him on the phone with the neonatologist discussing our case. After a short wait he performs the test. After a brief pause that felt like forever, he lets us go home because Gwynne's uteris, is indeed, still long and closed. Those girls could be dropping hand grenades and they aren't coming out through the uteris at this point.

Thursday, and each subsiquent visit thereafter, will be a constant watch for hospital bed rest and/or C-section delivery. We will just never know when it is our day. Let the fun continue!

P.S. if anyone has that easy button, we'll take it.