10 weeks with twins and I have to ask.

myheromyworld89

This has been driving me crazy for 2 weeks, since my last u/s at 8 weeks.  When the tech did the intravaginal u/s we saw both heartbeats beating away just fine.  She explained which one was Baby A and Baby B and then she began to measure Baby A.  I should have been 8wks 1day according to my LMP but I know that can vary. She measured A at 7 wks and 3 days, and then she measured again getting it at 7 wks and 5 days.  She clicked where the heart was beating (DH said she was a little off to the side of it) and while we could clearly see Baby A's heartbeating we had a hard time hearing it. The machine was picking it up a little, enough to measure it at 158 BPM.  She did it again later and we were able to hear it but it still wasn't as loud as Baby B's HB, which also measure 158. We could hear B's loud and clear and it measured 7 wks 6 days.  She said that it may be a technical error because Baby A was a little behind Baby B, which didn't make sense to me since she said Baby A is the one closer to the cervix. She showed everything to the OB and the OB wasn't concerned, so I probably shouldn't be either.

I have no idea how the u/s machine actually works so my question is...I know you can pick up an echo with the doppler, but is there anyway that she was picking up an echo from Baby B since their HR's were the same?  When she places that little box where the heartbeat is, does that mean the probe only picks up sound from that spot?  TIA, sorry if this is confusing.

emschott

I'll take a stab at this, since it's 4am and I can't sleep... First, baby A does not need to be bigger than baby B.  Just because it's closer to the cervix doesn't mean it measures ahead of B.  The only reason they call it A is because it's closer to the cervix- nothing to do with size.

Also, 7 or 8 weeks seems SUPER early to listen for heartbeats.  I don't think I heard mine til closer to 15 weeks. (We saw them on ultrasounds though). And even now, with my 3lb plus babies, sometimes it's trickier to listen to one than the other. At any point in the pregnancy, there's a range of acceptable heartrates.  For me, my bigger baby always has a faster heart rate.  But it's not that way for everyone.   I'd say that as long as you saw 2 beating hearts, you're fine for now. Try not to get too hung up on the measurements, especially if your OB isn't. They really depend on the person doing the ultrasound and the position of the babies.  I know it's hard not to worry, though!

cookiemonster03

I wouldn't worry about it. LMP can be a little off anyway, and our RE said as long as they measured within a week there was no concern (and that's w/ a known ovulation date). Ours had similar/same heartbeats often in the beginning. The transvag u/s is really precise at picking them up.

pea-kay

I think at that point (I may be wrong), the heartbeat is just simulated anyway. In any case, if you're doctor's not worried, you shouldn't be. (Yeah, yeah, easier said than done!)

flutepharm87

After having daily NSTs in the hospital while on bedrest, I can say that HRs will definitely vary, but there were plenty of time when their hearts were beating completely in sync at the same rate. And this was when I was pretty far along and I could definitely tell that the boys were in different spots, so it wasn't an echo. It's definitely possible for both of your babies to have the same HR. It doesn't mean it's always the same, just that at the moment when your tech measured each HR, it happened to be the same.

Also, when you're that early, it's hard to catch one hb, let alone 2. And having one baby in front of the other can make it harder to pick up the sound at this GA. Keep in mind that your ute is a 3D environment. Baby A can be closer to the cervix, but Baby B can be in the front and size has nothing to do with uterine placement. As you get farther along, the baby closer to your cervix can change, so baby A now might turn into Baby B. This happened to us, we could tell because the initial baby A was always smaller than the initial baby B.

And remember, no matter who's who in utero, baby A will always be delivered first. Our initial baby A came out second and is labeled as baby B in our paperwork. So I wouldn't stress about who's who. Just focus on 2 beating hearts and 2 babies who look healthy.

j&j508

Ditto PP about A and B.  I think my A might have measured a few days behind B at that point too.  It is hard to get a "perfect" measurement when they're that little too-- as you saw, if they click a little different it totally changes the measurement.  That is also early for a heartbeat, so I would try not to stress too much about it. 

Haven1

Everyone has answered the technical parts, but I'll had a (loving!) "Relax". Ask questions until you feel comfortable, but you'll make yourself nuts worrying about every tiny thing. Your job is to grow babies. Let the medical staff stress about the details. Good luck!

angelfire02

We were told at our 8 week u/s that one baby was measuring 3 days behind the other and specifically by the tech that "she couldn't guarantee that one would make it".  Put me over the edge until I talked to a high risk nurse that afternoon and she was like "who the hell says that to a newly pregnant mom with twins!!!!" She reassured me that as long as there are two heartbeats that they can SEE at 8 weeks that is all they can ask for.  Hearing heartbeats before that is very tricky and can make for a lot of unnecessary worry on your part!  Also with the measurements the nurse told me that at that size they are so tiny getting an accurate crown to rump measurement is nearly impossible.  She also said that almost all techs measure a tiny bit different but that can lead to the measurements being different every time.  My best advice would to be relax (I know, yeah right!)  but know that you are doing all that you can taking care of the babies now and you will get more and more reassurance as you go on!   That next ultrasound will make your world when you see them again, moving and having great heartbeats!  It will make your worry worth it!!!  Good luck girl!

myheromyworld89

Thanks everyone for the reassurance. My next u/s isn't until 13 weeks, so I still have about 2 1/2 weeks to go until I get to see them again. But all your responses did put me at ease.  Hope you all have a Mery Christmas!!