23w, 4d Ultrasound

The last 4-5 days have been a little torturous for me.  I know I'm extremely fortunate to have so many doctor's appointments and ultrasounds.  I do realize that.  However, as each u/s approaches, I get more anxious as the days get closer.  I'm so afraid of going into the appointment and learning something is wrong.  I knew the babies were still alive at least, because I can feel them moving periodically.  That doesn't stop me from fearing something maybe isn't going right.  It's not an overwhelming fear or anything like that.  It's just such a relief to KNOW they are doing okay.

My fears were put to rest this morning.  We got to see both the babies again and everything appears to be doing good!  They are measuring right on target, but they do have big heads, especially Baby B.  The tech said it's because their heads are more round than oval.  Baby B's head is almost 3 weeks ahead of where we are at now!

I asked the doctor if this was an indication of anything we should be concerned about and she said absolutely not, because everything inside the head is right on target.  There is no swelling or any other markers to indicate concern.  She said that he's just going to be really smart!  I told her I could live with that.

The only thing they were still not able to get a look at today was Baby A's aortic arch.  We could see the four chambers of the heart and everything else they were looking for, but she was just not in a good position to get a look at the arch.  So that will be the focus of the next u/s.  They are not worried about this either, as everything else is looking right on target and really good, so the assumption is that the arch will be good too.

Baby A is weighing approximately 1 lb, 3 oz.  Baby B weighs approximately 1 lb, 8 oz.  Both heartbeats were in the 140's.  They had two arms and two legs.  They each have their little hearts, kidneys, and bladders in the right location.  Their little girl and little boy parts were confirmed and they are still a boy and a girl.

My cervix is still nice and long at 4.15.  It is shortened from the 5.0 it measured at previously, but that is not a concern since it is still a really, really good measurement.  They don't start to worry unless it gets down to about 2.5.  The placenta of Baby A that had been sitting on the cervix and was of mild concern at 16w, is now completely moved away and nothing to worry about.

Three more days and I will be 24 weeks and reach viability.  Anything beyond 24 weeks means that if the babies are born early, there is at least a chance of survival.  The doctor's will at least try to save them at that point.  Hopefully, they will be born much farther down the road, but our chances of having take home babies are increasing every day!

We were able to get a profile picture of each of the babies today:

Baby Girl

Baby Boy

Even though things are progressing so well, it still feels a little surreal that we might actually end up taking these babies home in a few months.  The babies look good, we are getting our house ready for them, we've registered and baby showers are being planned, but it still doesn't seem like reality.  It sort of feels like we are playing house.  I kind of like this pretend world, and I am so looking forward to the day we do, in reality, get to bring these babies home.