Mono Di Twins, symptoms of TTTS with monitoring? Curious...

I've read that feeling one baby kick but not the other can be a sign of TTTS, but starting when?

Is it due to increased amniotic fluid, or other reasons?

Just wondering because for the last 2 weeks I've felt Baby A kick but not Baby B, Baby B had pulse of 120, Baby A 140...

They told me it was too early for kick counts, so how would you determine this if you weren't 24 weeks yet?

See my docs approximately every other week- 1X a month for my OB, 1X a month perinatologist... BOTH do in-office ultrasounds to assess how things are going... 'growth' scans scheduled for every 4-6 weeks... saw OB on Monday at 20 weeks exactly, we saw the membrane, she said they look about the same size and fluid looks good.... Baby A still has his head lodged in my cervix and is punching it, Baby B is breach... it looked like he was kicking his brother on the U/S...

So just asking, to help alleviate my paranoia. I have a growth scan on Tuesday but perinatologist not until the 31st. He's going to hate me, I'm going to push to deliver no later than 36 weeks, and ask about cesarean because I'm nervous at the hospital it won't be him or my OB and I don't really trust strangers not to be dumb with my babies (I'm a Kaiser member)

Thanks!

 

Do you have a front lying placenta? I almost never felt baby A because the placenta blocked her. Rarely felt baby B either and I think that was because she had such little fluid she couldn't move much.

 

I often felt one baby and not the other. It depends on where the placenta is situated - mine was anterior, which is why I didn't feel kicks as hard as I could've.

I opted for a C-section too. I was terrified of the possiblity of a vaginal birth for Baby A followed by an emergency C with Baby B. Plus, Baby B was breech. In the end, my OB was happy with our decision, as Baby B was all feet and would've been difficult to either turn or suction out.

No experience with TTTS. We delivered at 35w4d due to my steadily increasing BP. No NICU time for either of my boys, and everyone came home together 3 days later.

Some unsolicited advice for you - use TS as your resource and NOT google. So many of us totally freaked ourselves out because of googling too much. This is a wonderful group of very experienced people! Hoping my advice doesn't sound too patronizing...if it does, my apologies!

 

my baby A was always (and even to this day) more laid back than her sister. at the peris office, they always had to use the buzzer to wake her up. Plus Ava babyB was always so busy (even now!) that even if Addison moved, I doubt I could have told for sure that it was her!!

 

Even now when I am 27 weeks I always think I know who is who and where the boys are positioned and then go in for my u/s and am so surprised to see that I really couldn't tell who was kicking me where. Maybe they are both kicking and you just can't tell who is who because they still can manuever around in there a great deal and splay their little limbs all over creation. My OB feels that kick counts aren't very accurate for twins for that exact reason and she told me if there was ever a time I was concerned about decreased fetal movement to come in and be evaluated instead of wondering (and stressing).

 

Baby B (Peyton) was crazy inside the womb and is still nuts outside of it!

 

I would have to echo those who ask if you have a front laying placenta. I hardly felt baby A (Sophia) because of where the placenta was. When I would go for the NST's, we always had to have a scan afterwards because Sophia's kicks barely registered. She was fine though and is plenty active now. I don't remember what their heart rates were, though.

 

I have a front placenta and I barely ever feel Baby A, but he is always moving on the u/s. I had the front placenta with my son also and the u/s tech was always commenting on how much he was moving and I never really felt him. It really depends on how the baby is positioned and where the placenta is.

 

With my TTTS boys, I was able to feel both of them. BUT I will say that my recipient guy in the larger amnio sac, I felt more. He had more room to move. My donor guy wasn't "stuck", but he didn't have as much space. His movements were more subtle.

I definitely would attibute this to how much amnio fluid was in each sac for my guys. But there are other reasons why you might feel them as much.

 

I never did kick counts. I did have TTTS. We were monitored weekly by u/s. One of my twins (donor) was stuck for a while, and is more laid back in general, and I had a hard time feeling her. The other one is more active in general, and I could feel her better. That said, I still couldn't tell who was who - I would be watching on the u/s as one of them kicked me and I thought it was the other one! So, you never can tell.

If you are worried about movement, call your dr. Especially if you have mo/di twins.

Oh, and btw, I delivered at 38w4d - not before 36. It can be done, if you are monitored closely and are stable!

Jenny

 

I usually felt one baby and not the other because of their positions. Sierra was very active and was positioned high up so I felt everything she did. Ainsley was really far down in the uterus and I usually only felt her when she had the hiccups.

I have never heard of kick counts being used as a monitor for TTTS. I'm assuming that the reason they say you wouldn't feel one twin is because their fluid is low or they are stuck? We had TTTS and Sierra was our donor twin with the low fluid levels and, like I said, I felt everything she did.

Are you getting your u/s at least every 2 weeks for monitoring? Another thing to do is weigh yourself first thing in the morning and chart your weight. If you have a big jump in weight over a few days, that can indicate an increase in fluid levels and you might want to be checked. Don't worry too much, but keep up the good work with your self-monitoring.