I am 24 weeks today!! I don't think I can fully express the gravity of this milestone. I was a person who went into active labor at 20 weeks, and was told that there was literally nothing that could be done for me or my babies. The medications used to stop labor were ineffective until 23 weeks, and babies born before 24 weeks can not be saved. But, hey, we will give you some IV fluids to hydrate you!! To be told that your body was failing your babies and there is literally nothing you can do, is the most helpless, gut wrenching feeling a human can experience. So, here we are today at 24 weeks. For me, this means that I CAN get the medicine to stop contractions if they start. The doctors will be able to stop labor and avoid disaster instead of looking me in the face with pity and saying "we can't do anything". And even if they can't stop labor with medication, the doctors will do everything in their power to save my babies if they were to arrive tomorrow. This milestone means Xander and Londyn have a fighting chance, no matter what happens. It's a deep breath I can take, and gives me a little more reassurance to just relax a little bit, because these babies are coming home!!
The first thing we did to celebrate this milestone was have an ultrasound! Little known fact, babies conceived via IVF are at higher risk for heart defects/abnormalities. Because of this, my high risk doctor recommended echocardiograms for the twins to make sure everything looks ok. This ended up being a 2 hour ultrasound because both babies were being crazy wiggleworms the entire time!! She said she was fighting both of them the whole time trying to get all the pictures, haha! The good news is both hearts are structurally perfect. The not so good news is that Londyn has a little skipping thing going on with her heart. Sometimes her heart will double beat. The doctor said this is a super common problem that she will most likely grow out of. He said he would be concerned if the skipping was consistent (ex: every 5 beats) or if she had an accelerated heart rate (upwards of 200). Her heart rate was 149 and the skip is inconsistent.. it actually didn't even skip at all when the doctor looked at it.. only when the ultrasound tech was listening! So, he said it's nothing to be concerned about. Hopefully it is gone by our next appointment.
The second thing we did to celebrate was finalize baby shower stuff!! Will's work is throwing us a baby shower on June 27th, and our baby shower will be July 22nd. We are doing a vintage winnie the pooh theme (their nursery theme) so we are in the process of getting the food ideas, cake and game ideas, finishing up the registry, and sending out the invites. I can't wait to collect baby things, and learn how to use them!
Our next appointment is on July 5th. We will do another growth scan on the munchkins and check on Londyn's heart. Our next milestone goal is Milestone 3: Week 28 very early preterm: odds of survival are good, but with long NICU stay. We will reach this goal on July 19th, and we will celebrate by having a maternity photo shoot and (of course) the baby shower!!
I'll post again with lots to report after our baby shower! Until then, enjoy this big belly, ha!
