Worried about vanishing twin

Hello everyone. I'm fairly new here. I just found out that we are having twins on Monday from an u/s. Baby A measured 7w3d and Baby B measured 7w1d, which is right on with where I thought I was. They both had great heartbeats in the 145-160 range. But Baby A showed a smaller yoke sak. The tech told us that the baby had less of a chance of making it and that I might be closely monitored, but when I met with the NP she did not seem worried. My next appointment is 4 weeks later and I just know that I'm going to worry this whole time. Since I know that vanishing twin syndrome can happen without any spotting or cramping I just feel completely lost.

How did you cope with this kind of stress?

Anyone have success stories of a small yoke sack? I would think that maybe Baby A was just measuring smaller but that was the baby who measured at 7w3d.

I need some reassurance please!!

 

What a horrible thing to tell you! They are measuring really close and that's an awesome sign. My girls were a little off from each other and one of their yolks was smaller for a bit in the beginning. From my understanding the u/s tech isn't supposed to discuss those things with you, but the doctor has to. I wouldn't worry too much right now, just take it easy and eat, eat, eat. lol

 

I'm not a success story here, but what differed in my situation was both of your heartrates are awesome! Mine wasn't. There is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it from happening, if it is going to happen. You are right, I didn't have any indication that I had lost one.. no cramping or bleeding. I only had to wait 2 weeks to find out. Four is difficult. Try not to think about it. Like I said, there is nothing you can do to change the outcome.
:welcome: to Twinstuff & congratulations on your twns!

 

ITA!

I had a vanishing twin with my first pregnancy but we did not see a heartbeat. I was told that as soon as you see 2 heartbeats your risk of miscarriage and vanishing twin goes way down! :hug:

Congrats on your twins!! :welcome: to TS!!

 

Exactly! You have two very strong heartbeats!!! That's an awesome sign! YAY for having twins!

 

Thanks ladies! I try to focus on the fact that we did see two strong heartbeats but I can't get the tech's comments out of my head. I agree that she was way out of line for saying that, but I also did not fully trust the NP. That was my first time meeting her. I guess it is standard to have the first consult with the NP before being turned over to my regular dr for care. I've thought about calling him and getting his opinion, but I also know that there is nothing we can do but wait and watch.

 

In my experience, you're supposed to see a doctor directly after having an ultrasound for this exact reason.

 

That is how it was for us too. Dont focus on the tech's comments. :hug:

 

So I just called the dr and left a message, and he called me back a few minutes later! (Did I mention that I love this dr?)
I explained my concerns and he agreed with both the tech and the NP. He said that the main reason for concern is b/c of how they compare. Baby B looks great which means that Baby A is either unhealthy or just a few days younger. I think if Baby B weren't there then Baby A would just be considered younger. He said it really could go either way and there just is no way of knowing for a few more weeks. He agreed with the NP that another u/s in 4 weeks is fine, that there really isn't much of a point in being monitored more closely than that. Oh well. All I can do is wait and pray and try to be hopeful. I guess this baby has a 50/50 chance of being healthy. It could either just be a few days younger or it can be reabsorbed. I wish the odds were better. I actually wish that I hadn't had that early u/s at all. Ignorance is bliss.

 

Was baby A not measuring bigger tho?

I agree that all you can do is pray that all is okay with that little one. I didn't find out about our twins til 21wks and a part of me is ever grateful for that. A few months less worrying...

HUGS hugs and more hugs!

 

That's the thing!! Baby A was measuring right on with Baby B, actually 2 days ahead. That's why I'm worried. I don't understand how it can measure ahead but have a small sac.

 

I'm sorry you're so worried. U/S measuring is NOT an exact science, so I wouldn't worry so much about the small difference in days between the two. Mine have always measured slightly different (and we know they fertilized at the exact same time since I had IVF). I had an u/s tech misdiagnose one of my twin's heartbeats as 81bpm and tell me....we were heartbroken we were losing a twin!!!! Instead, the dumb tech got MY heartbeat mixed up with my twins'. In the online friends that I know who had vanishing twins, one heartbeat was always a lot lower than the other one. I think your healthy heartbeats are a good sign!

 

I agree - those heartrates sound great! We found out at 7w too and the next few weeks were hard because we were so worried about vanishing twins. But they do usually happen before you see heartbeats. Once you see those little hearts beating, the chances of something happening goes way down. My dr did another u/s at 9.5 weeks to check on everything since we found out so early - might your dr be open to doing another u/s earlier? It sounds like they are pretty set on the 4 weeks, but that is a long time.

 

He does seem pretty set on waiting 4 weeks but I think that if I called and said, "No, really. I'm worried." Then he would give me another one.

I'm soooooo hoping that the heartbeats are good sign!!!

 

I'm not a success story either, but I check back here once in a while and I thought I'd share my experience with vanishing twin. When I had my first ultrasound at just over six weeks, Baby B measured a few days behind Baby A. The big problem was that Baby B only had a heartbeat of 81 bpm, while Baby A was at a good and healthy 125 bpm. My doctor said what yours did, which is that there's really nothing that anyone can do, so you just have to wait. By the next week they saw that Baby B had stopped developing.

I think it's great that you're at this stage and that both your babies have such strong heartbeats--that's such a good sign. There are a lot of women here who have had the growth disparity, so hopefully yours will just be another story that will reassure some other nervous twin mom.

Good luck!

 

When I had an ultrasound at 7w3d and found out it was twins, my baby B's sac was about 1/3 less than my baby A's. The pregnancy progressed just fine and when they were born (at exactly 29 weeks due to unknown reasons that caused preterm labor) my baby A weigh 2 pounds 10 ounces and my baby B weighed 2 pounds 15 ounces. Now at 3 months, 3 weeks old (granted they were 11 weeks early) baby A weighs 8 pounds, 2 ounces and baby B weighs 8 pounds, 11 ounces.

So my B's sac was always quite a bit smaller (I was never told it was a concern), he's always been my little chunky monkey

 

Not that I am an expert, but I had a vanishing twin and it happened with in the very first couple of weeks of pregnancy (with in 3 weeks). i think if you have made it to seven you really don't have anything to worry about!!!!

 

Everyone's stories have been so encouraging!!! For a while I was focusing on the rates of vanishing twin but once I flipped it around I realized the baby has a higher chance of survival. I also take comfort in knowing that I have not had any cramping or bleeding (I know that doesn't always mean anything), the heartbeats were both great, and I was 7 and half weeks at the u/s. I've just made up my mind that all I can do right now is be excited until I have reason to think otherwise. It's not always easy but DH has also been a rock. Someway, somehow we are going to get through this pregnancy and enjoy it!!

 

I understand exactly how you feel. At my first u/s the ob saw only 1 baby. A week later the second one came out of hiding. I have a special case since my twins are mono-mono and are very risky in any case. But the ob did mention that one of them could vanish. Because of the risky situation I was lucky to have a 3rd u/s only a week later. On my way to the appt and in the days prior I kept thinking how we would get there and there would only be one baby. I knew there was nothing I could do about it, or about any of the other complications with the babies, but it was still worrisome. At the 3rd u/s both babies were still there and all seemed ok. I think my ob was even surprised because I think she figured that with this situation one of them would have vanished. We were lucky though and hopefully you will be too!! I'm now 14 weeks and the babies are still doing great. Though it is hard sometimes, I recommend you try to focus on positive thoughts and not the negative ones. The last thing your babies need is for you to feel stressed! Good luck.

 

Yes...focus on yourself, resting, eating, etc., just like the others say. The last thing you need to do is stress, much less stress over something a tech said. It's easier said than done, I know, but there is nothing you can do except ensure you are healthy.

I have found stressing over things you have no control of just makes things worse, or can make things worse.

If I listened, or stressed about all the things, "what ifs", during our ordeal, my hair would have been bleach white.

Keeping a strong mind is paramount