Identical twins measuring different sizes

I saw my peri when I was about 13 weeks pregnant with Identical twins. He told me one baby was measuring 6 days smaller then the other, but that they both were very active with good strong heart beats. He said he will keep a close eye on it and hope they will both keep growing with the other always remaining slightly behind. He said he was cautiously optomistic for me but said it was to early to tell if it was something to worry about. He didn't seem real concerned about it, he just told me he would see me back at 16 weeks and check to see how they are growing. My appointment is in the next four days and I am totally freaking out because I did some reading on the internet (knew I should have stayed off it) and alot of topics about twin to twin transfusion syndome came up. I am so nervous now. I mean my peri didnt mention any of those things but it still scares me something is wrong. Has this happened to anyone else?

 

We found out at 15W we're having mono/di boys and there was an immediate concern that they COULD develop TTTS. And yes, i was really freaking out about it. Up until 22W they were measuring almost the same, but at 23W the peri found that baby B has an arterial cord bloodflow restriction and his abdomen is measuring a few weeks behind baby A. So even though they were only .3 ounces different in weight, B was already behind. They ruled out TTTS and said it's a growth restriction Both of thier hearts are structurally sound, they both have good flow to thier brains, and the fluid is measuring equal; baby B is just not growing as fast as his brother, so the peri will be keeping an eye on them.


24W0D mono/di boys

 

I had fraternal twins so Im not in the same boat but being pregnant with twins (no matter the type) as with any pregnancy theres always a host of "what-ifs" and "things" that you could worry about. In the end though you have to ask yourself, is worrying going to help anything?? Absolutely not! Try and relax as best you can because in the end, a relaxed calmed mama along with good nutrition is the best thing you can give to them right now!
Keep your blood pressure down, your feet up, your tummy full and your thirst quenched!
Hang in there mama

 

Roxygirl,

I have been there and I know it is a stressful time! My ID twins had a similar discrepancy early on, but have not developed TTTS. Baby A is growing normally but baby B is currently about 4 weeks behind (I am at 27 weeks now). The gap has pretty steadily widened, but they are both still doing well. It's called selective IUGR (sIUGR) and means that the smaller baby has an unequal share of the placenta. While it is dangerous, with regular monitoring it can be handled and the doctors just need to know when the right time to deliver is.

Your peri just needs to keep monitoring the situation. It's true, it is too early to tell, and I know that is frustrating to hear... we had the same three week wait! There is often some size discrepancy between twins. It doesn't mean that they will develop TTTS, but your doctors need to keep an eye out for it in the coming months. You should have regular ultrasounds where they check amniotic fluid levels, bladder function, and estimate fetal weight. If it does turn out to be TTTS there are treatments, and a lot of success stories! You can get through this!

Feel free to PM me or ask here if you have questions!

 

My girls are two weeks old, and were a pound and four oz apart when they were born. I'd been fretting about t he size difference since 30 weeks, cause we thought they were mono/di and I was terrified of TTTS. Come to find out they weren't, it was just two fused placentas, so there can be substantial size difference even with non-mono/di babies. Try not to worry, even though I know it's impossible. Caroline, who is the smaller of the two actually was the better feeder, got off the bili bed quicker and of the two is much able to stay awake longer, so smaller doesn't neccesarily mean weaker, either!
Good luck! (Now my worry is RSV-if we Mom's don't have something to worry about, we'll find something, won't we? )

 

Thanks for the encouragment. I am TRYING not to worry but it is so hard, because as mothers we ALL want to see our babies do well and our worst fear is never being able to meet them. Please keep me in your prayers and I will likewise. God Bless.

 

QUOTE(Neumsy @ Jan 11 2009, 05:01 AM) [snapback]1141823[/snapback]
My girls are two weeks old, and were a pound and four oz apart when they were born. I'd been fretting about t he size difference since 30 weeks, cause we thought they were mono/di and I was terrified of TTTS. Come to find out they weren't, it was just two fused placentas, so there can be substantial size difference even with non-mono/di babies. Try not to worry, even though I know it's impossible. Caroline, who is the smaller of the two actually was the better feeder, got off the bili bed quicker and of the two is much able to stay awake longer, so smaller doesn't neccesarily mean weaker, either!
Good luck! (Now my worry is RSV-if we Mom's don't have something to worry about, we'll find something, won't we? )

Amen to that! When I was pregnant I felt like I was doing twin education every time I spoke with friends, now it's RSV education. LOL

 

I too am in the sIUGR club. At 15 weeks, my mono/dis were 9 days apart, by 20 weeks, 18 days apart. It has meant weekly ultrasounds since 20 weeks. I am now at 23 weeks, and can finally start to breathe a little easier as the cord blow flow is not getting any worse - if anything, a little better. You are probably in for a stressful next little while until they figure out what is going on and you and your babies will be in my thoughts. But you can deifnitely get through this with 2 healthy babies!