20 Week Update

Phew, I finally have time to talk about the appointment we had almost two weeks ago! Between teaching after school and parent-teacher conferences, life had been crazy busy.

At 18w5d (February 5), we found out that we are going to have TWO BOYS! I must admit I was a bit sad that the girl wasn't in this transfer. She will come next time, along with another boy, as long as they both survive the thaw and transfer. How do we know the gender of our embryos, you ask? We had genetic testing done and at that time they were able to tell us the gender of each of the four embryos.

Our ultrasound was scheduled for 8:45am and we got in right away. We got to see all of the parts of both babies (including the gender revealing parts!). Both boys are growing well and were on track for measuring at 18w5d. By 10:15am we were told by the sonographer that Baby B might have a heart defect. Not the words any parent wants to hear! She said that she couldn't see that the outflow tracks were crossing and that there was VSD (ventricular septal defect), otherwise known as a hole in the heart. She had a doctor come into look at the ultra sound images to see if the doctor could see the outflow tracks crossing and to view the wall that wasn't closed between the chambers. The doctor came in and couldn't see anything that the sonographer couldn't see. They were going to refer us to echocardiology to get a fetal echocardiogram (where they focus more on the heart). We were supposed to have a doctor appointment following our ultrasound at 10:00. It had to be be pushed back to 11:00am as the ultrasound went longer than expected.

We met with the doctor at 11:00 for our mid-pregnancy appointment. She gave us some info about pregnancy (much of what we already knew). It was a pretty quick appointment compared to the two hours for the ultrasound!

We were able to get a 1:45 pm appointment in echocardiology. With all the extra time between appointments, Adam and I ventured the subway (beneath all the Mayo buildings). We stopped at a few stores and grabbed some lunch. We ended up in echocardiology around 12:40 and checked in at the desk in case they could get us in early. Thank goodness we did because we were called in at 12:45pm! I am glad we got in early because that ultrasound also lasted two hours!

After the ultrasound, the echocardiologist was able to tell us that he did see the outflow tracks on Baby B's heart (phew!) but he did see the VSD. Here is Mayo's definition of VSD:

A ventricular septal defect (VSD), also called a hole in the heart, is a common heart defect that's present at birth (congenital). The defect involves an opening (hole) in the heart forming between the heart's lower chambers, allowing oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood to mix.

A baby with a small ventricular septal defect may have no problems. A baby with a larger ventricular septal defect or associated heart defects may have a telltale bluish tint to the skin (cyanosis) — due to oxygen-poor blood — often most visible in the lips and fingernails. Ventricular septal defects are sometimes not diagnosed until adulthood.

Fortunately, ventricular septal defect is treatable. Many small ventricular septal defects often close on their own or don't cause problems. Larger ventricular septal defects need surgical repair early in life to prevent complications. Some smaller ventricular septal defects are closed to prevent complications related to their location, such as damage to heart valves. Many people with small ventricular septal defects have normal, productive lives with few related problems.

We are hoping that because they caught this early, Baby B's heart may still grow closed prior to birth. I don't remember if the cardiologist said the hole was large or small. I'm hoping it's small so that it has a better chance of growing closed prior to birth. With this news, we are a a bit worried, but since there is nothing we can do about it at this point, we aren't going to stress out over it. It does not complicate the pregnancy. The babies are both growing well. I will still have to go in every four weeks for an appointment/ultrasound because I'm still considered "high risk" due to carrying twins. They want to make sure both babies keeping growing. We will have another echocardiogram at 32 weeks (early May) to see the status of Baby B's VSD. 

Now that we know both babies are boys, I can get started on my baby quilts for them! We aren't setting up the boys' room until the first week of April (around 27 weeks) during my spring break from teaching. There are already two dressers (one in the closet) and a couple book shelves with bins that have already been in the room for quite some time. All we really need to do is set up the cribs and changing table, and add a few decorations. The theme is simple: green room (painted years ago when we first started trying to get pregnant) with blues and browns. 

With all this being said, not much else is new! :)