Twin pregnancies, more so than singletons, are measured in milestones. You know how in every pregnancy (twin or not) everyone anxiously awaits that magical 12 week/first trimester-is-over time? Well, with twins, 12 weeks is great, but there are several other milestones we must reach before we can breathe easy.
Milestone #1: 20 weeks-
While the 12 week mark, the end of the first trimester (and hopefully morning sickness!), for a singleton decreases the odds of miscarrying by a whole heck of a lot, for twins it's different. The risk of miscarrying (also called Vanishing Twin Syndrome) doesn't truly decrease until about 20 weeks. And while the odds of one twin vanishing decrease, surprisingly enough, the odds of having a still birth with one, or both, twins never truly decrease. (Scary thought, huh?) I have yet to find a concrete answer on why this is, but the general thought is that there is much more stress on the mothers body and on the babies during a twin pregnancy, increasing the risk of complications. Although there is a very happy part of this milestone! If you have not yet found out the genders of your little peas, now is the perfect time to do it. There is still enough womb (hehe I made a joke!) in there for, uh, things, to be accessible to the ultrasound technician, and everything is fully developed, so there is less of a chance of your tech getting it wrong.
While the 12 week mark, the end of the first trimester (and hopefully morning sickness!), for a singleton decreases the odds of miscarrying by a whole heck of a lot, for twins it's different. The risk of miscarrying (also called Vanishing Twin Syndrome) doesn't truly decrease until about 20 weeks. And while the odds of one twin vanishing decrease, surprisingly enough, the odds of having a still birth with one, or both, twins never truly decrease. (Scary thought, huh?) I have yet to find a concrete answer on why this is, but the general thought is that there is much more stress on the mothers body and on the babies during a twin pregnancy, increasing the risk of complications. Although there is a very happy part of this milestone! If you have not yet found out the genders of your little peas, now is the perfect time to do it. There is still enough womb (hehe I made a joke!) in there for, uh, things, to be accessible to the ultrasound technician, and everything is fully developed, so there is less of a chance of your tech getting it wrong.
Milestone #2: 24 weeks-
No one wants you to deliver as early as 24 weeks, but the reality is that at 24 weeks, your babies have an 80% chance of survival if they were to be born now, barring infections or other complications. It's called the "threshold of viability." Would they have extensive NICU time? Definitely. Typically, premature babies live in the NICU until their due date…so in this case, 3 months of NICU time, or more depending on any complications. Would there be lifelong mental/physical issues? Probably. But, they would more than likely live…even if they weighed only about 1.5 pounds a piece at birth.
No one wants you to deliver as early as 24 weeks, but the reality is that at 24 weeks, your babies have an 80% chance of survival if they were to be born now, barring infections or other complications. It's called the "threshold of viability." Would they have extensive NICU time? Definitely. Typically, premature babies live in the NICU until their due date…so in this case, 3 months of NICU time, or more depending on any complications. Would there be lifelong mental/physical issues? Probably. But, they would more than likely live…even if they weighed only about 1.5 pounds a piece at birth.
Milestone #3: 28 weeks-
Again, no one wants you to have a baby that soon, but your chances of survival jump to 95% at that point. Lasting mental and physical abnormalities due to prematurity also drop in probability. They may have learning disabilities, but maybe not. Most twins, regardless of when they are born, are generally late in developmental things, in all areas, but they usually catch up by their second birthday. Even with this rough start, the babies will spend a month or two in the NICU, but if they are breathing well unassisted, eating and growing, they may go home with you sooner than expected.
Again, no one wants you to have a baby that soon, but your chances of survival jump to 95% at that point. Lasting mental and physical abnormalities due to prematurity also drop in probability. They may have learning disabilities, but maybe not. Most twins, regardless of when they are born, are generally late in developmental things, in all areas, but they usually catch up by their second birthday. Even with this rough start, the babies will spend a month or two in the NICU, but if they are breathing well unassisted, eating and growing, they may go home with you sooner than expected.
Milestone #4: 34 weeks-
If you make it to 34 weeks, your entire medical team, and there are LOTS of people behind you in your pregnancy, breaths a sigh of relief, while remaining cautiously optimistic. At this point, your babies could be delivered and may spend only a week or even a few days, in the NICU (again, depending on their breathing and eating abilities). Just as an aside, sometimes one twin is discharged while the other is not. This is not uncommon, since more often than not, one twin weighs more than the other and has a better grasp on breathing and eating on their own.
If you make it to 34 weeks, your entire medical team, and there are LOTS of people behind you in your pregnancy, breaths a sigh of relief, while remaining cautiously optimistic. At this point, your babies could be delivered and may spend only a week or even a few days, in the NICU (again, depending on their breathing and eating abilities). Just as an aside, sometimes one twin is discharged while the other is not. This is not uncommon, since more often than not, one twin weighs more than the other and has a better grasp on breathing and eating on their own.
Milestone #5: 37 weeks-
37 weeks is considered full term for twins, unlike the 40 weeks for a singleton baby. That's because twins develop, on average, two weeks ahead of their singleton counter parts until about 34 weeks gestation, and by that point, their growth slows down. So at full term, 37 weeks, twins weigh between 4 and 5 pounds each. (Although I have read about twins weighing 7 pounds a piece! That's the average size of a singleton newborn!) If you are lucky enough to deliver now, your twins will probably only receive basic NICU time, and more than likely be discharged at the same time as you are from the hospital.
37 weeks is considered full term for twins, unlike the 40 weeks for a singleton baby. That's because twins develop, on average, two weeks ahead of their singleton counter parts until about 34 weeks gestation, and by that point, their growth slows down. So at full term, 37 weeks, twins weigh between 4 and 5 pounds each. (Although I have read about twins weighing 7 pounds a piece! That's the average size of a singleton newborn!) If you are lucky enough to deliver now, your twins will probably only receive basic NICU time, and more than likely be discharged at the same time as you are from the hospital.
So far, I haven't hit any of these milestones, since I'm only 16 weeks along, but every day I get a little closer to that first milestone. Every day I get a little closer to holding my sweet babies in my arms. Every little kick they give me sends me soaring up to cloud nine, and I know that they are there and one day I will meet them.
I have 6 days, (next Wednesday) until my next ultrasound appointment with my Dr., and hopefully we will able to determine what sexes they are! Hopefully they hold still long enough :) The last ultrasound we had, Twin B wouldn't hold still and made it very difficult for her to get a lock on his heartbeat.
And yes, I said his. While we don't have proof yet of what they are, my mothers intuition (and I'll admit it, my hope) says Twin A is a girl and Twin B is a boy. I don't know why I think that, I just do. I unconsciously refer to each of them as a boy or girl, and while I may be proved wrong in just under a week, I do hope I'm right.
Because really, if I don't give Chris a son, I think he'd go nuts having to deal with FOUR girls ^^ Well, that may actually be entertaining... :D
1 comments:
thank you
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