Two gestational sacs at 6w 4d

Hi all,

This is my first post here!
I had an early u/s yesterday at 6w 4d because I had been spotting on and off for 4 weeks (the bleeding stopped last week).
The u/s revealed not one but TWO tiny gestational sacs. Twins don't run in our families, so you can imagine how surprised we were. I had been going through a very stressy time at work while we were ttc, and for all I knew, my cycle was completely messed up because of the stress. I even thought I hadn't ovulated at all! Turns out there were two eggs!!

I had hoped to see an embryo, and even a heartbeat, but the sacs were empty (though the size of the sac was ok). My obgyn did not seem worried about it, and even congratulated me, though she reminded me that we may still end up with only one baby.

I have always had the feeling that there was "something" different about this pregnancy, something bad even, and I am terribly worried now that my next u/s next week will reveal the loss of both babies.

Does anybody know whether it's normal to see no embryo(s) at 6w 4d? Do twin pregnancies tend to show smaller sacs?
My hCG doubled nicely, but the levels were rather low (2058 at 5w4d) and I'm not feeling sick at all, so a twin pregnancy was really the last thing we'd expected!

 

Congratulations!! I had my first u/s at 6w2d and they saw two sacs with "nothing" in them. I went back for another u/s at 7weeks to "confirm there is nothing there" and move on to plan B. I went in for the u/s alone (without dh) because since they were just checking for nothing, there was no reason for him to be there, right? WELLLLL...they saw TWO heartbeats at that u/s. My OB did state that she would recheck at 12 weeks to make sure they were both still there, and they were and now here we are at 10 months old. So, there is hope! I will be anxious to hear what happens. Will they do another u/s soon?

 

Congratulations!!! x

 

What a heartwarming story, Michelle, thank you for sharing it with me!
My next u/s is next wednesday.

Two weeks ago I came back early from work with cramps and bleeding, and I was sure I was about to miscarry my ONE baby.
Now it turns out that I may end up giving birth to TWO!
I just can't believe what is happening to me!

There's so much going through my head right now. We'll need a bigger car. And we were about to buy a house with three bedrooms - shouldn't we buy a bigger one, where each child can have its own room (I already have a wonderful 2,5-year-old son)?

I had a home birth with my son - I will have to go to the hospital if I'm definitely having twins.
Will I be able to breastfeed them both? I nursed my son for 18 months... Will I be able to do that again? I have a full time job which I would very much like to keep. But how will I manage with a toddler and twins??

So many questions!
But I'm sure most of you are familiar with them

 

You're welcome!! I hope you have a positive outcome like I did. This is the best place for you to be right now. I have found this website tremendously helpful!! You will get so many answers from other mom's to all of your questions. Personally, I tried breastfeeding but it didn't work for me. My milk still wasn't in after 2.5 weeks and my girls were NOT patient. So I went to bottles and gave up. In retrospect, I wish I would have stuck it out a little longer but I can't change what happened. There is a breastfeeding forum on here and I know of several mom's of twins who have had great success with breastfeeding! As far as working full time, I have no experience. I have a part time job from home. Financially, it didn't make sense for me to work outside of the home full time because of the cost of daycare. But like I said, I'm sure there are MANY others on this site that will help you with that.

And by the way, I LOVE your name! My niece is Marianne and I just adore her to pieces. Before I had my own children my family would refer to her as "my baby" because I was that close to her. :wub:

 

Congrats! I found out at 6w4d as well (measuring 6w1d). No family history, no meds. I had 2 h/b at 6w4d (117 and 130 bpm) and my hcg was 10,200 at 24DPO (5w3d) but that can vary soooooo much per person.

But like Michelle shared ... everybody is different ...

 

congrats!!! Sounds like since your cycle was so messed up you probablyl just aren't as far along as you think. Typically a hb would be seen by between 6-7 weeks but since your ob wasn't concerned then the size of the sac probably correlates more with an early pg.
Congrats and keep us updated!!!

 

I had my first u/s at 6 weeks 1 day and they saw 2 sacs but only one heartbeat. I went back a week later and they found both hb's, so it's a definite possibility that they'll see hb's at your next u/s too. Good luck and welcome to twin stuff. There are so many great people on this board with lots of information and support!!

 

Congratulations and Welcome to TS! We found out at about 6 weeks that there were two sacs. I too thought that I was miscarrying due to spotting,etc. We were shocked as well. I had no idea that age was a factor, too. (I was 38 when they were conceived). At 7 weeks, we had another u/s and we saw the hbs at that point. I know there are a lot of other moms who didn't see the hbs right away, too.

As Michelle mentioned there is a breastfeeding forum here as well. There are a lot of moms there that have been bf'ing for a year or more.

Good luck with your next u/s! Keep us updated.

 

Congrast and welcome!!

At my 6w4d u/s, there were 2 sacs but one of them was empty, the other had a beating heart. The doc said that the empty sac had very little chance. Well weren't we surprised 2 weeks later to see 2 healthy babies with heartbeats!!

 

This is the first time im having twins too! Imagine our surprise us when our doc told us we were having twins. My cycle is also very irregular. Initially thought I was going to have difficulty TTC (figured I dont ovulate monthly)! It doesnt run in both our families. We only saw the 2nd embryo at about week 9. Before this awesome discovery, we only saw one embryo. I started feeling nauseous after my 2nd month (around 8 weeks).

We were also very concerned about the development of the fetuses (esp since I havent had meat since I was 18 yrs old). Trust your doc! I know its hard! You are going to worry about EVERY LITTLE THING you can think of. I worried what each pain meant before my next visit to the doc.

Like you, we werent expecting twins at all! Its a miracle. Happens only once in every 250 births. Rest as much as you can. Think positive!
Congrats!
Janice Han
QUOTE(Marianne81 @ Jul 10 2007, 04:40 AM) [snapback]324046[/snapback]
Hi all,

This is my first post here!
I had an early u/s yesterday at 6w 4d because I had been spotting on and off for 4 weeks (the bleeding stopped last week).
The u/s revealed not one but TWO tiny gestational sacs. Twins don't run in our families, so you can imagine how surprised we were. I had been going through a very stressy time at work while we were ttc, and for all I knew, my cycle was completely messed up because of the stress. I even thought I hadn't ovulated at all! Turns out there were two eggs!!

I had hoped to see an embryo, and even a heartbeat, but the sacs were empty (though the size of the sac was ok). My obgyn did not seem worried about it, and even congratulated me, though she reminded me that we may still end up with only one baby.

I have always had the feeling that there was "something" different about this pregnancy, something bad even, and I am terribly worried now that my next u/s next week will reveal the loss of both babies.

Does anybody know whether it's normal to see no embryo(s) at 6w 4d? Do twin pregnancies tend to show smaller sacs?
My hCG doubled nicely, but the levels were rather low (2058 at 5w4d) and I'm not feeling sick at all, so a twin pregnancy was really the last thing we'd expected!

 

I went in for bleeding at 5 weeks and they found no fetal pole... went back at 7weeks and there was the baby and hb. It could be with those low hcg numbers that you are just a little behind where you think you are. It would be nice if they would run another blood test on you in a few days to see if the numbers keep doubling...it would be reassuring, rather than waiting a few more weeks for another u/s.

 

I had an u/s at 6w2d, and we saw 2 sacs, but a fetal pole and faint HB only in one - the other sac appeared empty. However, I went back at 8w2d for another u/s, and both babies were there with strong HBs, so there is definitely hope!!

My HCGs were 151 at 15 DPO (4w1d) and 4333 at 5w1d.

Good luck and sticky baby vibes!!

 

Hi all,

Thank you so much for all the support! It's good to talk to people who understand!
I'm going through a very confusing time right now. I'm sharing my office with a colleague and good friend who is about 12 pg with her first child. She's had a nuchal scan with a very bad outcome and has to consider terminating the pregnancy.
So while she is extremely sad, I still can't believe the fact that we may be having twins... It's difficult to talk to her, because I don't want to hurt her with my petty concerns. But being in the same room all day without conversation is not an option either.

I've got some more questions:

Does anyone know whether gestational sacs tend to be smaller or tend to show viable embryos later in twin pregnancies compared to singletons? Is it possible that I don't seem that far along because I'm carrying identical twins? I can imagine the splitting of the egg into two embryos takes some extra time...

Is spotting more common in twin pregnancies? I've been spotting on and off for more than four weeks now.

My next u/s is next wednesday... fingers crossed!!

 

QUOTE(Marianne81 @ Jul 12 2007, 12:12 PM) [snapback]327464[/snapback]
Does anyone know whether gestational sacs tend to be smaller or tend to show viable embryos later in twin pregnancies compared to singletons? No. I haven't heard that. I know that depending on location of the embies, they can appear to "hide" from u/s.

Is it possible that I don't seem that far along because I'm carrying identical twins? I can imagine the splitting of the egg into two embryos takes some extra time... I'd be very surprised at this point if they were certain you had identicals. I thought that the placenta was one of the key components to making that determination and that hasn't developed yet.

Is spotting more common in twin pregnancies? I've been spotting on and off for more than four weeks now. No, not necessarily. Spotting happens for many reasons.

You should probably do some research on early pregnancy development. It will help you understand the phases and body changes in the first trimester.

 

I'm sorry I can't really help with your questions, except to say that my ob told me that first-trimester bleeding/spotting, while not considered "normal," is common in twin pregnancies. I didn't experience it as early as you did, but I had it at 11 weeks and the babies were fine.

Best wishes to you, I hope there will be two hbs at your u/s next week. I know the waiting and not knowing must be so hard! I'm sorry about what your co-worker is going through, too.

 

Hi all,
Here's an update from me!
I had an u/s today (at 7w6d according to my own calculations), and the sacs had grown. One measured 11.5 mm, the other 11.2, which is still very, very small. One clearly had "something" inside, but it was too hazy and too small to measure, and there was no yolk sac or visible heartbeat.
I first thought the other sac was empty, but my obgyn could see a very small dot that, again, could be "something".

One thing we know for sure now: I can't be anywhere near 8 weeks. I am probably 6+. I don't know how that is possible, since I'm pretty sure about the days we tried for a baby, and I even thought I had an early ovulation!

My obgyn didn't want to pass any judgement yet. Ordering a d&c at this point would be foolish, so I guess we'll just have to wait another week. This is sooooooo stressful!!!!!
My next appointment is Friday, 07/27...

 

I am anxious to hear how things go at your next appointment! It looks like things are moving in the right direction. Try keeping upp with your positive attitude! That helps a lot! My thoughts are with you and I am keeping my fingers crossed for you.

 

It sounds promising that the sacs had grown! I'm sorry you have to go through so much stress with all of this waiting. Best wishes for further growth next week.

 

So far, so good! Keep us posted! :hug99:

 

I am so sorry this time is so stressful for you!!! I hope you get some good news soon.
Here is a page I found helpful with some info on gestational sac sizes and twins...
Good luck!!

 

So sorry things didn't turn out as well as you had hoped... Hopefully next week will look better...and hopefully you are just wrong about the dates. It's so hard waiting. As far as spotting goes.. I've had it in all three of my pgs in varying degrees... It can happen, and mean nothing...or it can happen and mean bad things...it's just impossible to draw a conclusion until there is definite evidence that things aren't working out...or that they are...

Hope you get two solid hbs next week!

 

Waw, thank you for all the replies, it's great to feel so much sympathy!

Jen, I checked the link you gave me, and it says somewhere:

"Failure to identify (with transvaginal ultrasound) a yolk sac when the gestational sac has grown to 12 mm is also usually indicative of a failed pregnancy."

I don't remember seeing a yolk sac... And the sacs measured 11.5 and 11.2 mm....
I didn't know the yolk sac should show before the embryo... But I do remember seeing one at 7w3d with my son (who was then, as an embryo already bigger than my gest sacs are now).

The site also says this about sac size: "For example, a gestational sac measuring 11 mm would be approximately 5 weeks and 4 days gestational age. (4 weeks plus 11 days = 5 weeks and 4 days)."
I can't be 5 weeks and 4 days (unless I had an immaculate conception)! I should be 8 weeks along by now!

Could someone help me do the maths? Here are my dates:

June 9-11-14: "baby dancing"
June 15: first sign of spotting (on and off ever since)
June 16-17: faint positive with Clearblue
June 19: hCG 22
June 25: hCG 183
July 2: hCG 2083
July 9: u/s - two small gest. sacs
July 18: u/s - two bigger gest. sacs with "something," but no yolk sac (11.5 and 11.2 mm)

Here's my FF chart: http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/3dcd2
Pity I didn't temp from the beginning!

Does someone know how far along I should be by know on the basis of these dates? Thanks!!

 

It sounds like you've done a pretty good job yourself of analyzing your dates... and there is no way possible at all that you and your dh were together later than that??... I know sperm can last for a few days... I've even heard up to 5 days...but I still don't think that would help your dates all that much. What I don't understand is how you got a + hpt prior to that hcg blood test which came in at 22... that means on June 16th -17th your hcg's would have had to be half of 22 (assuming things are normal) so at least 11. I didn't think hpt tests picked up that low of a level. The only thing I can think is that maybe your hpt wasn't really a positive..maybe it was an evaporation line.. and then your blood test just happened to pick up the earliest levels of a pg???... After that your levels do seem to be doubling somewhat appropriately..obviously not as far along as what you would think...but keep holding on...maybe something strange happened... Maybe those eggs took a super long time to travel down??.. Even at your latest dates for being together you would now be at 5 weeks past conception...add two weeks...that would put you at 7wks pg today, thursday the 19th.... So lets just guess that things were really messed up and the sperm survived for five days, and conception occurred five days later... so that would put you at 6wks 2days today, at the earliest.... It's still possible that you might get those hbs soon. Praying for the best!

 

P.S. With this pg I've had a lot of bleeding issues... I went in at 5 wks for an u/s b/c of bleeding... they saw only a sac... they didn't have me come back until 7wks b/c they said at 6 wks they still might not see anything else. And the tech told me that they never date the pg based on the size of the sac...it's too unreliable....so although those studies mentioned typical sac measurements, it could be that things vary so much...or perhaps their sample size for that study wasn't all that large...not that many women get frequent u/s so early on in pg. So don't stress too much over the sac sizes in comparison to your weeks... focus instead on waiting to see those hbs.

 

Thanks Susanna, you really helped me out here!

I had some blood tests done yesterday, and the hCG came in at 16 000; that's high, but shouldn't it be much higher compared to the 2058 (not 2083 as I wrote) on July 2nd? I don't think my obgyn had the other results with her when I phoned her, since she was at the hospital and not in her usual office.

And... my progesterone was rather low. She didn't give me exact numbers, but she said it was low. It is possible that I will start bleeding in the near future, and then we can be sure that the pregnancy is over.

You know, I have never had a really positive feeling about this pregnancy. But hCG numbers came in and kept rising; the ultrasound showed twins; and everybody told me that it was going to be ok and that my feeling was wrong.
But I think I was right...

 

Hi all,

I had my last u/s today, and the sacs had not grown at all. It must have gone wrong at +/- 5 weeks (I should have been 9 weeks by now).
I was expecting the worst, I've been preparing for it for weeks, but it still comes as a shock.

 

Oh my gosh, I am so sorry. The same exact thing just happened to a very good friend of mine. You are in my thoughts!! Big hugs to you!! :hug99:

 

I went in at 6 weeks 2 days (also due to bleeding), and all they saw were 2 sacs also. I went in about 10 days later, and we could see both hearts beating. I also thought I should have been a little further along, but so far everything is progressing well. Congratulations on your pregnancy!

 

I am so sorry.... :love0028:

 

so sorry things didn't work out. I hope your body recovers quickly...and that you are blessed with a baby or babies sometime soon in the future...

 

I remember when we found out it was twins that one sac was smaller than the other. Docs were worried and warned about what could happen to the smaller. But at 27 weeks both babies seem to be growing just fine now. Good luck to you!! Keep us posted!!

 

Goodluck at your next u/s!! Welcome to TS!!

My twins were a complete surprise too...none in the family and got pregnant on the first try! I know the shock! hehehe! It's great though! You are truly blessed!

I didn't have an u/s until I was 9-10 weeks with the twins (that's when we found out it was twins), so I don't have any advice on just the gestational sacs. But, I wanted to wish you the best of luck. Please keep us updated!

 

QUOTE(Marianne81 @ Jul 27 2007, 07:13 AM) [snapback]345959[/snapback]
Hi all,

I had my last u/s today, and the sacs had not grown at all. It must have gone wrong at +/- 5 weeks (I should have been 9 weeks by now).
I was expecting the worst, I've been preparing for it for weeks, but it still comes as a shock.


I am so sorry to hear this. We were all pulling for you. I wish you the best as you proceed and please know that you are in my thoughts.

 

I'm so sorry ((((HUGS))).
I wish you a very healthy pregnancy soon.