Kidney News

Today we had yet another ultra sound. Waiting for this scan has been the hardest so far. I trust that the Lord is knitting my little babies together and I know He has a plan for their lives, I just have a hard time being in the dark when it comes to their health. It really is amazing how much I love these two little ones and I have never even met them.
Today we were very blessed to have a very nice ultrasound tech (we haven't really had a bad one yet). This time we knew that we were looking for the cysts on the right kidney so as soon as we got there she was very good about answering our questions.
This is his left kidney. It looks good and free of cysts.

This is his right kidney. All the black circles are the cysts that are taking over his kidneys.

Bad news is he has what is known as a multi-cystic kidney. This means the kidney is unable to function like it should.
The good news is his left kidney has NO cysts which means it is functioning just fine and it working doubly as hard to make sure he has fluid. And his fluid is measuring great as well as his weight. He is 2lb 9oz.
So whats the plan?? We are now going to meet with a pediatric urologist to see what steps will need to be taken once he is born. According to what we have been reading he could have it surgically removed, or we can have it monitored it with ultra sounds to see if it shrinks away into nothingness (since it doesn't function) and to make sure that it doesn't develop tumors. My plan is to make some calls tomorrow to see how we will be seeing.
Some other high points- The are both in the 45% in terms of weight. I love that they are growing well but it makes me more uncomfortable. 4 weeks ago I was measuring 27 and this time I am measuring 32 so needless to say I HAVE POPPED! I just posted some belly pictures so I will spare you of having to look at more. But I do have some pictures of the kids.
Baby Boy face

Baby boy profile (he has his arm up over his head)

Baby girl face

Baby girl profile (she also has her arm over her head)

After the high risk we drove over to our regular OB. After waiting an hour, we had 5 minutes to talk to the doctor. Because both babies are still breech he made it very clear that it is going to be a c-section. I have slowly been coming to that realization but to hear him say it made it all very real. It honestly scares me. I have never had a c-section, neither of my sisters have had one, and I don't know very many women who have had a c-section. Since it seems to be inevitable that I am going to have to have a c-section, I might as well deliver closer to home then driving to no mans land PA. More doctors, more waiting, more ultrasounds.... Such is life being pregnant with twins.

tracking the twins thus far

Seeing that I am now 28 weeks, I should probably fill you all in on what has happen so far.
August- One day I fell asleep at 6pm so I thought to be safe I should take a pregnancy test. SURPRISE!!! I'm pregnant.

September- Go to the shore with my family and tell them by making shirts with a 1 for joshua, a 2 for Finn, and a 3 for me.
September 21st- We have our ultra sound and....Surprise it's twins.

October- another ultra sound. Both babies look good and have strong heart beats.

Me at 14 weeks

November- We switch to a new OB practice in Montgomery county PA. It's a little bit of a drive but they have two doctors who are trained to deliver breech and two untrained... so we have a 50/50 chance at being able to deliver naturally like we want.
Me at 20 weeks

December we find out "it's a boy and it's a girl"!!!!! For the first time I was right. I had been thinking it was one of each. It's nice to think about having a little girl who will (hopefully) be loved and protected by her three brothers. After letting the good news sink in, the high risk doctor comes in and tells us that the little boy has a two-vessel cord. What that means is that he is not getting as much blood flow as the little girl which can result in slower growth of organs (heart, lungs, kidney's) which can cause low birth weight or other medical complications. So they sent us to CHOP to have a fetal echo cardiogram just to get everything checked out. That experience is a different story for another day, but we did find out that everything looks good. His organs are growing fine and they didn't see any issues with the heart. They will double check his heart when he is born but other then that there is no other follow up needed. PTL!
The end of December- We go back to the high risk (because of having twins I get ultra sounds every four weeks) get to hear the good news again that the two- vessel cord has not effected him. Now comes something else. When they were looking at his Right Kidney they saw that he had developed some cysts which could mean- absolutely nothing because they will go away or on the flip side it could effect the function of his kidney and we would have to see a pediatric urologist to see what steps need to be taken when he is born. At this point there is nothing I can do but wait and see. We have another ultra sound on Thursday and we will get to see if they have gone away or gotten bigger. Since getting this news, I have had to come to a lot of hard realizations. I have been so overcome by the thought of having two little ones in my home, I never really focused on what could really happen. Will they both be ok? Will I come home with one, two, any babies or will they have to be in a NICU? What kind of special medical attention are they going to need after they are born? ect. I am sad to say that my worries have gotten the best of me. I find myself becoming over whelmed with the "what if's" of it all.
January- me at 25 weeks

And now on Thursday we go back to the high risk to find out about how his kidney is doing. I am thankful that we have an early appointment and we get the results right then and there. We might have to wait in the room for an hour for the doctor (again another story for a different day) but at least we (should) have some answers.
Now that you are all caught up, I will hopefully be able to post updates more often so you all can see my humongous belly. I also want to check with Josh and make sure it's cool if we tell everyone the names.