how to handle the news?

Hello, I just found out today that I am 6 weeks along ....so still really early....but that I am having twins. The doctor told me that he heart beat is a little slower than he would like at 89 beats and the second heart beat wasn't heard at my ultrasound. He said it could be because it's still really early and the ultrasound was done when I was only 5 1/2 weeks along. Does anyone have any advice? I'm worrying. Thanks

 

:hug:'s woman. I think it's still really early for you to worry about anything. I'm surprised your doctor did an u/s so early on. I will keep you and your babies in my thoughts and please update us after your next u/s. Have they told you when it will be?


Welcome to Twinstuff! :hug:

 

Congrats on your pregnancy! I think there can be a huge difference between 5.5 weeks and 6 weeks in terms of seeing the heartbeats on u/s. I wasn't sure from your post exactly when the doctor measured the 89 bpm -- at 5.5 or 6? Sometimes they can't even find one twin at 6 weeks, especially if you have a retroverted uterus, so it's too early to worry. Unfortunately the only thing you can do is wait. :hug:

 

I know exactly how you're feeling! When I went for my first u/s at 5w5d, we only saw one sac and no heartbeat, but they said that wasn't unusual. When I went back at 6w5d, there were two sacs and two hearbeats but the RE said that the second one was much smaller and the heartrate was much slower (below 90). He told me that there was a good possibility I would lose it. When I went back 10 days later, she had caught right up and they both measured the same and had the same heartrates. As you can see from my siggy, I ended up being blessed with two healthy, beautiful little girls. It is SO hard to tell anything for certain that early on and there's so much to worry about. Try to take it a day at a time until your next appt. I'll be praying that everything turns out well for you!

 

thank you both! the first ultrasound was done at 5.5 weeks b/c of cysts that I had two months ago which are now gone. He's trying to get me in to have another u/s next week to see how they are doing.

 

Congratulations and welcome!! I don't know if your asking about advice about the heartbeats or just about having twins but I think you should wait to freak out until your next appointment about the heartbeats. You are still so early and a lot of the time its hard for them to find the heartbeat that early. If your asking about advice on how to take the news that you're having twins well I recently found out the same news and let me tell you.. at first I FREAKED OUT! And it didn't help that everyone I told was negative about it but then I decided that it is a blessing and if you think of something from the beginning to be a negative thing then that will be your attitude from that point on so now everytime someone says something negative about having twins I just say that we are very happy and are blessed because we get to have two babies and there are a lot of people out there that will never get to experience even having one. Keep your head up and remember that God know's what hes doing and has a plan for you.

 

thank you both! the first ultrasound was done at 5.5 weeks b/c of cysts that I had two months ago which are now gone. He's trying to get me in to have another u/s next week to see how they are doing.

 

Congratulations and :welcome: !

I had my first u/s at 6 weeks and they couldn't even tell it was two embryos, let alone two heartbeats! In fact, we didn't hear the heartbeats until 7 weeks and my doctor was only humoring me when he tried to listen for them. We could see a flicker in each sack but he thought it too early to hear...but we could hear it. And at that point one hearbeat was much more faint than the other. Even at 9 weeks, my doctor did not measure the rate, just told me that they both sounded strong and fast but that it was too early to get caught up in the beats per minute. I know you can't necessarily go by my doctor (who is an RE - we did IVF), but I just wanted to show you that it is really early and "results can vary!" Keep us posted and hang in there!

 

Welcome to Twinstuff! :welcome: It is still pretty early on and that very well could be the reasoning behind it. None-the-less, I am sorry, I know it's hard to wait until the next u/s. :hug:

 

Congrats on your pregnancy and welcome! As everyone said, I know it's hard, but you just have to wait to the next ultrasound. My situation was similar to yours. When I found out I was pregnant I was having spotting and cramping so we were checking to see if it was viable. Twins wasn't even a thought at that time. My first u/s was like, well that little tiny dot is probably the baby. She thought she could get a heartbeat the following week when I went back, we couldn't find a heartbeat. I had to go back a third time and thats when we saw the heartbeats...twins was a complete suprise. Hang in there and let us know as soon as you do!

 

It is really early! Normally the heartbeat isn't even visible until the 6th week so don't worry. Also, the heartbeat increases in frequency as the weeks go on at the beginning and at the beginning it is similar to your heartbeat so if you have a typically lower heartbeat than your baby may have a lower one at 5-6 weeks as well. Here is a website that has info:

http://www.fetalsure.com/fetal-heart.html

Here is a recap and some other info from the Dr. Spock website as well:

The heart's early development (Dr. Spock website)
The fetal heart undergoes a considerable amount of growth very early in pregnancy. The most critical period of its development is between three and seven weeks after fertilization, when a simple heart tube assumes the shape of a four-chambered heart. In fact, the heart actually begins beating by the 22nd day of life (or the fifth week of a 40-week pregnancy).

Excerpt from (http://www.fetalsure.com/fetal-heart.html)
The fetal heart begins to beat at approximately the same rate as the mothers, which is 80 to 85 bpm. Below illustrates the approximate fetal heart rate for weeks 5 to 9, assuming a starting rate of 80

* Week 5 starts at 80 and ends at 103 bpm
* Week 6 starts at 103 and ends at 126 bpm
* Week 7 starts at 126 and ends at 149 bpm
* Week 8 starts at 149 and ends at 172 bpm

At week 9 the fetal heartbeat tends to beat within a range of 155 to 195 bpm.

The fetal heart rate will begin to decrease and generally will fall within the range of 120 to 160 bpm by week 12.

 

Congrats on the pregnancy! My U/S at 6 weeks showed both heart beats in the 80's, I wasnt aware thats low for being so early so keep you thoughts positive. Also at four and a half weeks my U/S showed nothing but a thick cervix so alot happens in a short amount of time at 5 1/2 weeks there could be no heart beat and at 6 weeks it could be beating away its really early. Have faith and your in my prayers. Keep us updated when you have your next U/S

 

at 5w6d I had u/s because of bleeding and we saw only 1 sac and no hb at all
at 6w2d we had the u.s and saw one sac with hb 110 and another empty sac.
only at 7w2d they were able to see both hb

 

Like everyone said, it's so very early right now. I know it's hard, but hang in there a few more days until your next u/s. I had my first u/s at my RE's office two days shy of 6 wks when we saw two sacs and only one heartbeat. A week later, lo and behold, two sacs and two heartbeats! He didn't provide a heartbeat count until a later appointment, but to see tiny flickers on the screen was all I needed! Good luck!

 

Welcome- Do not worry it is way too early to get hb at 5.5 my dr does not even want to see any of her patients until 8 weeks. I am so pleased for you!