Question about Baby A and Baby B

eisenberg0814

I was always amazed when my friend who had triplets could tell baby a, b and c apart. But I saw that the also label them on U/S pictures early on. Why do they do this? I mean, there is no way to tell them apart anyway, right? Maybe later if they grow a little different or they are boy and girl... Just wondering. Thanks.

macchiatto

You definitely need to know which baby is which in utero so you can track their growth and any problems that may develop. "Baby A" refers to the baby closest to the cervix. With twins, the other twin is Baby B by default. In my case, Baby A was always on my right side and Baby B on my left so it wasn't too hard for an experienced u/s tech to keep track of who was who (or for me to tell with movement) With triplets/higher order multiples, Baby A is still the one closest to the cervix and then the others are dubbed B, C, etc., in either clockwise or counter-clockwise order; I forget which but maybe one of our triplet mamas can answer.

eisenberg0814

Thanks that is so interesting. I see the need for it but I just could not imagine how they tell. I thought they are moving around so much, but I guess that depends on what kind of twins you have. Awesome. Thanks.

browneyedgrl4282

I could always tell which baby was which and mine moved a lot! Baby A was a kicker and Baby B wasn't so much a kicker but she loved to dig her litlte elbow into me! You could see her elbow coming out of my belly button all the time

pea-kay

Each baby stayed in it's general "vicinity" but I wasn't always sure who was kicking where since I wasn't ever sure how they were positioned within their own "apartment". But generally, I could tell where each baby was.

PianoPlayingSarah

My girls stayed in the same general area.  Baby A was lowest, across my cervix and in my bladder.  Baby B was high on my right side, up under my ribs.  And Baby C was lower of my left side.

As PP already stated, they need to track growth, amongst other things so it is important for them to know who is who.  My Baby B has spina bifida so they could always tell who she was.   

meagamomma2be

My baby A and baby B switched between 20 & 24w.  The only reason I knew is because one baby had SUA.  They were always very close in position.  Even the day I delivered they were having a hard time figuring out who was going to come out first because both babies were "right there."

WaitingforGrace

At the first few ultrasounds, A was on my right and B on my left. At 13 weeks, the baby on the left (formerly moved closer to my cervix and was renamed baby A. So now they are in the same positions as before (side by side) but the A and B designations switched. I think it's weird and I've had to label my ultrasound pictures with left and right so that I can remember.

 

Haven1

And FYI, to further complicate matters, even if baby A is closest to the cervix and has been A the entire pregnancy, whoever comes out first is A.  Most of the time it's the same, but sometimes B comes out first and gets relabeled.