1st Pants On Ultrasound!

Today we had our perinatologist appointment. We were told by both our RE and 2 friends to expect the worst in regards to bedside manner. Apparently she has a reputation for driving home the "worst case scenario" speeches with little to no tact. Having the personality of an angry headgehog is the trade off for being an amazing peri who specializes in multiple pregnancies. I'm REALLY glad we had the heads up, but she ended up not being nearly as scary as we anticipated. She opened by rattling off a "grocery list" of her worries for our triplet pregnancy including everything from pre-eclampsia to gestational diabetes to cervical incompetence. She even made a comment about our choice to use my eggs due to the higher pre-eclampsia risk involved in "donor eggs". I'd never heard this, so I guess I have some more research to do. She's definitely a "no nonsense" kind of gal but we can appreciate that. We don't need someone to hold our hands, we need someone to help us grow 3 healthy babies and deliver them into this world safe and sound. Her nurse was her polar opposite in that she was really personable and talkative. I think we'll get along fine at this clinic, but I reserve the right to complain or change my mind later. :)

As for the babies, they're all doing great. Just to make things confusing, the babies are now labeled differently so it may take me a while to keep them straight. Babies A&C are the identicals and Baby B is our fraternal. If I'm not mistaken, and there's a good chance I am, Baby C is "Sneaky Pete". Babies B&C are both measuring 8w6d and Baby A is 3mm bigger measuring 9w1d. Trina had her first pants on ultrasound so that was a treat AND we got to hear the heartbeats for the first time. Until now, we've only "seen" them on screen. Today we could see Babies B&C so much more clearly. We could easily make out tiny little arms and legs. Baby B even waved at us...twice! It was SO cool. Baby A was laying sideways and appeared to be squished by the sac above so we didn't get a very good visual. No worries though, because we were assured the sac was the same size and not squished, just in a bad position for viewing.

Now for the "less than good" news. There are, in fact, only 2 placentas. This means that either our RE was wrong, or that the identicals' placentas grew and fused together. This is not uncommon. Furthermore, the identicals' placenta is lying low and partially covering her cervix. The doc said she's not overly worried yet because Trina's cervix is closed tight and there is a good possibility that it will "self correct" as her uterus grows and expands. I'm doing research on placenta previa but trying not to obsess. I figure if Dr Doomsday isn't overly concerned, then I shouldn't be either.

Here are our latest family photos. They're really starting to look like babies now!

This is "squished" Baby A. That oval area to the left with the plus sign on it is the head. You can see both little legs in the air at the right. See it? No? Squint your eyes and tilt your head. See it now? Good. :)

This is Baby B, the waver. This one's easier, head to the right, butt to the left. You can see both feet and even make out the most precious tiny little toes. I LOVE baby toes! :)

This is Baby C or "Sneaky Pete". Once again, head to the right, butt to the left. If you look close you can make out an arm.