how many of you

im still worried about this whole thing with u/s, and not being able to tell babies apart. i figure i'll go to the current doc 1 more time and if theyre not going to cooperate or give me a lil piece of mind i'll try to find another 1. i just figure, having to start ALL over with a new doc...will i have to go through their "orientation" and all that bs? i think theres a total of 6 docs with the practice..some may be nicer than others and more willing to give me a quick u/s to just check. problem is the docs dont do it, i have to go to the tech and she does it. and past 2x i went she was difficult and wanted to know why the doc was sending me for another 1. she's so rude. grrr, i dont think it would take that friggin long to check babies. measure, check hbs, and be done with it. blah.

 

So fary I have had two dr appts. The first was 8 weeks and it was then they found the twins. I had another at 12 weeks and no u/s. I have another at 16 weeks and, like you, I will be very unnerved if he does not do one. However, he is sending me to a perinatologist starting at 18 weeks and I am hoping maybe the peri will be doing them.

 

Well, I guess that's one of the "positives" of me being AMA (advanced maternal age) with twins... I get to go every 4 weeks to see my babies. But I have lots of friends even with twins that aren't getting to get sonograms except for the 20 wk one.

 

i had an u/s at 9 weeks.... then not again until 18 weeks to determine the sex... and then one every month for growth... and starting at 28 weeks i had 2 a week for AFI.... this is basically the norm

 

that makes me feel a lil better. i keep reading about all these mama's who get an u/s every appt. to check hb's and it really worries me. glad to know im not the only 1

 

I have had 15 u/s so far.....obviously because I have MOMO twins...and they are keeping a close eye on them....I see them every time I go into the doctor....which varys from week to week. Sometimes I go in 3x a week and sometimes I go once a week....whenever I go to the peri..that is the first thing she checks....I have had 2 level II u/s as well...not fun

 

As long as you are getting an ultrasound every 4 weeks to check for growth then don't worry about it...
And yes they take a long time...over an hour, everytime.

I couldn't really understand in your post how often you get an ultrasound but it should be once a month and then when you start having NST they should do an u/s following the NST to measure fluid (really quick- only like 5 minutes).

Hope this put you to ease!

 

I got my first one at 11 weeks, that is when we found out it is twins At 18 weeks another one, found out it is two boys :itwins_boys: Next one was 24 weeks. Now from here on out I get one every other appointment, so every four weeks, because I now go see my doc every two weeks. As I get closer to my due date not sure what happens. I do know starting at week 30something I do have two NST a week, don't know if a quick u/s is done with that.

Dianna

 

For me - it was an ultrasound once a month (not during my regular appointment - I would go back just for the u/s) until I hit 26 weeks. Now I have an u/s every 3 weeks. Again - I don't get one the same day as my regular OB appointment. Actually, my u/s are done in a completely different part of the hospital.

The u/s I have aren't done just to check heartbeats. It is a true medical procedure. There is a ton of measuring and checking for all the important organs, etc. All of mine last at least an hour. The u/s aren't just done for "piece of mind". They are only done when medically necessary.

 

I'm one of those girls that gets a lot. I have gotten an U/S every appt and I go weekly right now- twice a week starting next week. We do growth scans every 2-3 weeks and the other times we are basically checking position, heartbeats, and my cervical length. It's nice for reassurance.

 

I get a u/s every appointment, but I only had one appointment a month till 26 weeks.

 

Let's see, 9 weeks to diagnosis the twins, then at 13 when I changed docs and then at 19 at the Peri's office.
I will get another at 24 or 26 and then maybe one or 2 more for position and growth checks. I do have boy/girl though and I am just a baby at 30 years old right?
I am however as of the 7th starting weekly visits. I think I will sono at the next to kill time while I do my glucose test since they do it all in the office!!

 

Well, I am almost 12w and I had my first OB appt. the day before Thanksgiving, just over 6w PG. That was an U/S to establish pregnancy, which is standard for her practice. That is when we found out about the twins. I had another appt. on 12/19 which was my second OB and it is standard for my doc to do an unofficial U/S with their old machine just to check heartbeats. She said "it is impossible for me to check their heart rates with a doppler because I don't know if I am hearing one heartbeat twice rather than each baby's heart beat." and that I will also have the same U/S until about 20 weeks and she will NOT charge me for them.

Insurance usually only pays for 2 ultrasounds where I am from (Alabama) and if I had a singleton pregnancy, I would get another ultrasound at 20 weeks and that would be it for the most part. However, my doc is *wonderful* and exceptional in my opinion - and she will do anything for her patients~!

 

I have had 5 so far,but that's not the norm with my doctors office. I wasn't scheduled for regular ultrasounds until after my 20 week ultrasound. Now I get one every 4 weeks until I get further along or they start seeing any differences in growth or my cervix starts to thin.

 

i guess i will talk to the doc when i go on wed. according to the nurse when i called they wont do anymore than a normal pregnancy (1 more at 20wks and thats it). which really pisses me the $&*@ off. i got my insurance book today listing all the participating doctors. ha there are NO MORE docs within an hour from me. im gonna scream. i feel like they should be giving me just a LIL bit more attention. im having 2 and this is my first pregnancy. im scared, uncertain, and i read way too much and i know all the bad things that can happen. grrr

 

I had an u/s at every appnt., but not with the regular tech. At all of my visits my doc would just do a quick little u/s to check the heartbeats, and to make sure that they looked fine.(lasted just about 5 minutes) I had just the regular 2 ultrasounds with the actual tech. up until about 20-22 weeks, then my doc sent us to the perinatologist, with him I saw him every two weeks, and an u/s and blood work was done at the appnts. I really thought that it was a nice reassurance and I loved getting a peek at the babies.

 

QUOTE(cottoncandysky @ Dec 26 2007, 08:08 PM) [snapback]546949[/snapback]
im still worried about this whole thing with u/s, and not being able to tell babies apart. i figure i'll go to the current doc 1 more time and if theyre not going to cooperate or give me a lil piece of mind i'll try to find another 1. i just figure, having to start ALL over with a new doc...will i have to go through their "orientation" and all that bs? i think theres a total of 6 docs with the practice..some may be nicer than others and more willing to give me a quick u/s to just check. problem is the docs dont do it, i have to go to the tech and she does it. and past 2x i went she was difficult and wanted to know why the doc was sending me for another 1. she's so rude. grrr, i dont think it would take that friggin long to check babies. measure, check hbs, and be done with it. blah.

Hey there. Are you going to a perinatologist? I go to a peri and OB. I get a US on every visit to the Peri. And it's
great because it's more advanced equipment. I hate it when a nurse is rude! They should be more compassionate ya
know, it's there job! Us pregnant gals are emotional and we're having twins!!

 

I have been very lucky so far. I had my initial u/s at 8 weeks, another one at 12 week (couldn't see the doc bc she was delivering another baby) so I had one at 13 weeks just to check heartbeats, did not have one at 16 weeks, but had one at 19 weeks. the 19 week one was the biggie where they measured all bones, made sure all parts were there and working, and 99% told us we were having b/g twins!!! I am scheduled for one also at 23 weeks to check again and make sure the boy's kidneys are alright. It amazes me how much they can tell from the u/s.

My doc did tell me early on that she probably wouldn't have done so many on me. However I am a bigger girl and she was having a hard time hearing both heartbeats since they have always been just about the same. Good luck, I am sure that everythign is alright and that you will get to see your babies on the screen soon.

 

I had a sonogram at
6weeks-found out it was twins-only had one hb so I had another one at
8weeks-to find both hb
15 weeks again to check hb
21 weeks for growth/anatomy scan
25 weeks for growth
29 weeks for growth
31 weeks for growth and to check cervix
I had a bpp at the hospital at 31w 3 days
32 weeks 4 days for growth
I may have another one at 35 weeks to check position-if I make it that far.
That is about 10 in all and I think this is pretty normal.
For a singleton they usually only do one sono but with twins they have to monitor growth more closely.

 

I had my first u/s at 20 weeks. Then I had another one around 36 weeks. Those 2 were done by a specialist....all of the other ones I had (maybe every other appt.) were done by my doc in her office.

 

If you don't have any risk factors, you wouldn't need many ultrasounds that early in pregnancy. If the babies looked like they could be possible monochorionic, then I would be pushing for more u/s to keep a watch for TTTS. After 16-18 weeks, twins who could possibly be identical should be monitored every 2 weeks at minimum. Fraternal twins with no maternal risk factors or visible risks on the babies can be monitored much more infrequently because they aren't very high risk at all.

 

I had an u/s at 14 weeks, just to check cervical length (I have had 2 LEEPs before) ... SURPRISE! 2 babies cooking! I had no clue ... had only a net gain of 1 pound. As far as I know, we have 2 sacs, 1 placenta. I did sneak and have an u/s at work (I'm an ER nurse), at 15 weeks. The tech was SO excited, since she doesn't get to see twins very often!

Just had another visit, at 18 weeks, no u/s. I'm going to the peri next week for my level II u/s, at 20 weeks, then I'll be back to my OB at 22 weeks. As far as I know, I won't have another u/s then, unless something is going on.

I think she told me we will start doing growth scans at 28 weeks, and I'll start seeing her every 2 weeks. I'll clarify that the next time I go in at 22 weeks.

 

so your doc seems to be a bit more like mine...hmm...i guess im not alone!

 

I go to my obgyn every four weeks and do get that peace of mind seeing the babies each time as she always performs an u/s. My first peri appointment is tomorrow. I am hoping I can see the babies there too. I always feel more at ease when I get to see the babies. Seeing them at each visit should be standard for everyone.

 

I would say at the beginning an average of one every 4 weeks is normal, unless you have momo twins OR they find something abnormal OR they're not able to see an organ very well because one baby did not "cooperate". For example you may have more if they find something unusual with the amniotic fluids levels or difference in growth between the 2 babies and want to monitor that for some time.

Towards the end, you may have U/S for fetal growth assessment every other week, it depends also on the situation (if things look OK, or if there is any worrying factor, etc.).

My take home message(s):
- discuss openly with your OB/peri, decide if it seems reasonnable to you considering what people have been telling you in this forum, make a decision, and then stop worrying. I think you're gonna drive yourself crazy with home monitoring devices. For some people they provide reassurance but they can also make you stress out unnecessarily. Your will of peace of mind may turn into an obsession. And stress is not good for you, it promotes preterm contractions.
- one way do overcome this tendency is to focus on the things YOU can do to make this pregnancy optimal: follow your doctor's guidelines, eat well, drink water, don't overdo it (rest as much as your personal situation allows you), be attentive to your body and keep the communication with your doctor open (you should always call him to let him know your symptoms/worries etc.)

I know it is your first pregnancy and one worries a lot, but through my experience (this is my 2nd pregnancy), we tend to worry wayyyy too much! This is not our fault, the more we know, the more tests we do, the more reasons for worrying. My family leaves in Europe, and I've realized that they have less stressful pregnancies over there! They (doctors and patients) don't want to control everything, and their babies are just fine. So unless you do have a reason to worry- and then you will clearly benefit from the experience of the other girls in this forum- try and just let Nature do their works better said than done, I know!

Hope this will send you the right vibes: try and relax!

 

I had an u/s at 7 weeks and found out we were having twins. After that we had one at 14 weeks...ONLY b/c I was bleeding (turned out to be a low-lying placenta issue). Then the next one was at 20 weeks. After 20 weeks I now have one every 4 weeks. They explained that there isn't a ton they can tell or determine or really do before 20 weeks. It was tough waiting sooooo long, but before you know it it will be here!! Hang in there!