twins!

Well, most of you have probably heard our news by now, but even if you have, stay tuned, because with a bit more research, I have some more hopeful news to convey.

For those of you who haven't heard, we're having twins!

More info is:
-it looks like they're identical girls
-we're naming them Jane and Ekaterin
-they may be sharing an amniotic sac (monoamniotic twins), which makes them very high-risk

How high risk? Well, the first statistics I found said that there was a 50-60% chance that they wouldn't make it. Since they don't have a membrane separating them (that the ultrasound techs could see), there's a high possibility their cords could get tangled and compressed, killing them in utero. Okay, that's the bad news.

Good news:
-we made it to 19 weeks (halfway through pregnancy) without even KNOWING we were having twins, i.e., this has been an uncomplicated pregnancy thus far.
-Both of the girls are measuring 19 weeks old, i.e. they're growing just fine
-with very good treatment and monitoring, monoamniotic twins can have a 90% survival rate
-It's possible they aren't monoamniotic; the ultrasound we had was a routine ultrasound, and a more high-resolution scan may be able to detect a membrane separating them. This does happen.

Bad news:
-if they are monoamniotic, there is not cure but delivery. There is a treatment, but it involves me checking into the hospital at about 28 weeks (i.e., as soon as the girls are viable, before they're viable there isn't a point), and staying there till they are born. The idea is that with 24/7 monitoring, the doctors would be alerted the minute that one of their cords is compressed, and they could deliver them immediately via c-section, before any damage is done.
-if they are monoamniotic, they will automatically be preemies. Mono twins aren't allowed to stay in the womb past 32 or 34 weeks, because at that point the dangers of cord compression (because of their rapid weight gain the last few weeks of pregnancy) is worse than the dangers of prematurity.
-obviously, if I'm in the hopsital for a month or two, it'll be a great hardship on Brie and Sam, and on Adam, who will basically be a single dad for awhile.


So . . . that's what we know so far. We won't know for sure whether they're monoamniotic till I've had a chance to be examined by a perinatologist (maternal-fetal medicine specialist), who can have that high-resolution ultrasound done. So, we are praying that this is a misdiagnosis, and that there is actually a membrane between them. That would downgrade this from a very high-risk twin pregnancy to just a normally high-risk twin pregnancy (all twin pregnancies are at least a little high-risk). Please pray that there is a membrane between them, or that the Lord would put one there (He split the Red Sea after all, He can surely split an amniotic sac, if it is His will), and that the doctor would be able to see that membrane when he looks for it.


Other good news:
-two little girls! And awfully cute to boot. Very squirmy too: Kate kicks me low and Jane kicks me high, and between the two of them there's quite a lot of movement!

Please pray for our little ones, now that we know that they're there, we dearly want to get them here, healthy and hearty and whole.

love,
Jessica

p.s. Since they're identical (probably) this is not the kind of twins that runs in families. This is the kind that just happens, and no one knows why.

p.p.s. Please continue to pray for Adam, that he'd be healed of melanoma. We need him more than ever now.