Babies in a Playground

"They are talking to each other," said Jane during her doctor visit today. We were finally reunited after a long Christmas break. Since our last meeting in December, Jane has grown considerably larger. Her stomach is larger and more round and I noticed swelling in her hands. She was accompanied by her mother.

As she gets closer to her due date in March, she will have more routine visits to check the babies, monitor their heart rate and development, and asses her overall health and progress to delivery. In the third trimester, a mother's biophysical profile (BPP) is measured by examining the baby's heart rate, muscle tone, movement, breathing, and amniotic fluid levels.

With twin pregnancies, women have a higher risk of developing preeclampsia, a condition that impedes blood flow to the placenta. Elevated blood pressures, swelling, and protein in the urine are all signed of preelampsia. So, Jane will be closely monitored until she delivers.

Today, Jane was seen in the antenatal unit. Ultrasound was used again to visualize the babies, determine their position (how their heads were oriented), and to measure the black fluid patches that make up the amniotic fluid.

Jane was so excited when she could make out the little white joint that was the Baby's A knee.

Once the fetal heart monitor was fastened on her stomach, we could hear each babies racing heart, sometimes interrupted by a swooshing sound.

The babies have made their way up and their two heads could be seen right next to each other. Their faces are more defined and I could make out Baby A's, little ear and nose. It looked Baby A and Baby B were communicating with each other, whispering secrets into each other's ear.

Jane placed my hand on her stomach and I could feel their heads.

"They are playing in my stomach," she said.

It's hard to imagine what kind of playground the twins share and what it feels like for Jane when the babies move around in such a small space. They are growing and moving more frequently, swimming, and moving their hands and feet, as if to tell us "look at me."

All eyes were definitely on the babies as they played in a world all their own.

Image: "External Fetal Monitoring." http://www.fetalmonitorstrips.com/07024_02X.jpg