Twins

[ivy]

You guys, I went in for an ultrasound this morning at 7 weeks. The embryo split, and I'm pregnant with identical twins. This is a shock of a lifetime, I don't even know how to process it! 

[lagom]

I am here to hold your hand. My RE informed me I am carrying twins, also at my 7 week confirmation. I am now 12+2 and absolutely still in shock about it!

Double the fun, right?

Do they each have their own sack then, or are they sharing? It is my understanding that it impacts risk and how long they'll let you carry.

Congratulations!!! I wish you a happy and healthy process.

[ivy]

Oh lagom, thank you so much for responding! Congrats to you! I'm glad to know someone in the same boat!

I believe they have separate sacs based on the ultrasound pictures, but it wasn't something we discussed. Something to ask for next time, I guess! I think I need to start compiling questions. The more this sinks in, the more I think about!

[cactuscookie]

Oh my gosh. That's...shocking. I can't even imagine. Congratulations? I guess? Haha.

[ivy]

Jul 20, 2018 11:08:31 GMT -5 cactuscookie said:

Oh my gosh. That's...shocking. I can't even imagine. Congratulations? I guess? Haha.

Right? This is way more than we bargained for! The odds are so low, I didn't even consider it a possibility. My mindset is slowly adjusting though - we'll make the most of it!

[pooh8402]

Wow, congratulations!

I'm also looking forward/dreading my ultrasound next Tuesday for the same reason, since my HCG was high.

Someone else who is a grad had identical twins after a single embryo transfer, pretty recently too.

[Mushe]

Wow, congratulations! We have two other mamas here who recently had identicals from one embryo after IVF. What a surprise! One of the NICU nurses and I were talking about it, and she said she’s seeing identicals after IVF more than before. Did you do testing like PGD/PGS?

[ivy]

Jul 20, 2018 11:19:55 GMT -5 pooh8402 said:

Wow, congratulations!

I'm also looking forward/dreading my ultrasound next Tuesday for the same reason, since my HCG was high.

Someone else who is a grad had identical twins after a single embryo transfer, pretty recently too.

What were your levels? My initial draw was just under 300 compared to 90 for my first pregnancy. 

[ivy]

Jul 20, 2018 11:53:26 GMT -5 Mushe said:

Wow, congratulations! We have two other mamas here who recently had identicals from one embryo after IVF. What a surprise! One of the NICU nurses and I were talking about it, and she said she’s seeing identicals after IVF more than before. Did you do testing like PGD/PGS?

We didn't do any testing on this embryo. Kind of a long story, but our dr recommended PGS testing if we had more than 4 embryos. Based on previous cycles, we didn't think there was a chance we would get that many. So we moved forward with this transfer knowing that if on the off chance we got 4 or more, we'd test those but not the one we transferred. In the end we had 6 (huge shock!) including the one we transferred. Of the 5 we tested, 4 came back euploid.  

So happy you're back home, Mushe <3

[Mushe]

Jul 20, 2018 12:25:36 GMT -5 ivy said:

Jul 20, 2018 11:53:26 GMT -5 Mushe said:

Wow, congratulations! We have two other mamas here who recently had identicals from one embryo after IVF. What a surprise! One of the NICU nurses and I were talking about it, and she said she’s seeing identicals after IVF more than before. Did you do testing like PGD/PGS?

We didn't do any testing on this embryo. Kind of a long story, but our dr recommended PGS testing if we had more than 4 embryos. Based on previous cycles, we didn't think there was a chance we would get that many. So we moved forward with this transfer knowing that if on the off chance we got 4 or more, we'd test those but not the one we transferred. In the end we had 6 (huge shock!) including the one we transferred. Of the 5 we tested, 4 came back euploid.  

So happy you're back home, Mushe <3

Thanks, Ivy!

The nurse and I had been wondering if testing made embryos more susceptible to a split. What a blessing! Wishing you a smooth and easy pregnancy.

[ivy]

Jul 20, 2018 12:33:56 GMT -5 Mushe said:

Jul 20, 2018 12:25:36 GMT -5 ivy said:

We didn't do any testing on this embryo. Kind of a long story, but our dr recommended PGS testing if we had more than 4 embryos. Based on previous cycles, we didn't think there was a chance we would get that many. So we moved forward with this transfer knowing that if on the off chance we got 4 or more, we'd test those but not the one we transferred. In the end we had 6 (huge shock!) including the one we transferred. Of the 5 we tested, 4 came back euploid.  

So happy you're back home, Mushe <3

Thanks, Ivy!

The nurse and I had been wondering if testing made embryos more susceptible to a split. What a blessing! Wishing you a smooth and easy pregnancy.

Interesting! I've read some theories (lol, all I've done today is google!) that could attribute it to the growing medium or even just due to the embryos being handled more. 

[cherryvalance]

Wow, congratulations!! How exciting (and I'm sure totally shocking!)!

[icedcoffee]

Oh my gosh! Congrats ivy and lagom! Wishing you a smooth 9 months!

[pooh8402]

Jul 20, 2018 12:21:19 GMT -5 ivy said:

Jul 20, 2018 11:19:55 GMT -5 pooh8402 said:

Wow, congratulations!

I'm also looking forward/dreading my ultrasound next Tuesday for the same reason, since my HCG was high.

Someone else who is a grad had identical twins after a single embryo transfer, pretty recently too.

What were your levels? My initial draw was just under 300 compared to 90 for my first pregnancy. 

First draw was 264 at 9dp5dt, and second draw was 4100 at 13dp5dt. 24 hour doubling time.

First pregnancy was 79 at 7dp5dt and 174 at 9dp5dt.

We didn't do any testing on this embryo. No assisted hatching, either; the embryologist said it didn't need it as it was hatching on its own.

[shoeless]

ivy Oh my gosh, what a shock!!! I hope your pregnancy is smooth!

pooh8402 I don't know if it will help or not but my betas have always been close to or over the twin average and its only ever been a singleton.

[shoeless]

Jul 20, 2018 13:37:32 GMT -5 pooh8402 said:

Jul 20, 2018 12:21:19 GMT -5 ivy said:

What were your levels? My initial draw was just under 300 compared to 90 for my first pregnancy. 

First draw was 264 at 9dp5dt, and second draw was 4100 at 13dp5dt. 24 hour doubling time.

First pregnancy was 79 at 7dp5dt and 174 at 9dp5dt.

We didn't do any testing on this embryo. No assisted hatching, either; the embryologist said it didn't need it as it was hatching on its own.

Well that's one heck of a doubling time!!!!  Tuesday must seem so far away

[pooh8402]

Jul 20, 2018 13:40:56 GMT -5 shoeless said:

Jul 20, 2018 13:37:32 GMT -5 pooh8402 said:

First draw was 264 at 9dp5dt, and second draw was 4100 at 13dp5dt. 24 hour doubling time.

First pregnancy was 79 at 7dp5dt and 174 at 9dp5dt.

We didn't do any testing on this embryo. No assisted hatching, either; the embryologist said it didn't need it as it was hatching on its own.

Well that's one heck of a doubling time!!!!  Tuesday must seem so far away

I'm not really all that nervous, but my H is scared to death. He is TERRIFIED of twins.

[ivy]

Jul 20, 2018 13:42:08 GMT -5 pooh8402 said:

Jul 20, 2018 13:40:56 GMT -5 shoeless said:

Well that's one heck of a doubling time!!!!  Tuesday must seem so far away

I'm not really all that nervous, but my H is scared to death. He is TERRIFIED of twins.

I had a 24 hour doubling time too! Who knows, the odds are so low it probably doesn't mean much  

[cherryvalance]

pooh8402, congrats on your twins

lagom, congrats to you as well!

[pooh8402]

cherryvalance ha!

[loira]

Oh my goodness, congratulations!

[luv2rn4fun]

Congratulations! Wishing you a very smooth pregnancy!

pooh8402- can’t wait to see your update on Tuesday! Wishing you guys all the best! That sure is one heck of a doubling time!

[konapoppy]

Congrats!!!!!

I am the recent mom who had this happen I remember that first ultrasound so vividly. I tried to go to work afterwards but everyone kept asking me if I was okay because I looked like I had seen a ghost 😂 I went home and googled everything I could find on twins.

When you are ready, I loved Kendra Atkin’s pregnancy vlogs. I also belong to a few great Facebook groups if you are into that.

Feel free to pm me of you want to chat - happy to talk about anything and everything. We are 9 months in and it truly is such a joy.

[starburst604]

Wow congrats times two! My friend recently had triplet girls that were the result of a 2 embryo transfer, so she had a set of identicals and a bonus girl. I cannot imagine but they sure are adorable!

[cherryvalance]

Jul 21, 2018 6:02:43 GMT -5 starburst604 said:

Wow congrats times two! My friend recently had triplet girls that were the result of a 2 embryo transfer, so she had a set of identicals and a bonus girl. I cannot imagine but they sure are adorable!

When we went for our last transfer, the doctor was double checking we were transferring one and I was like, hell yes. Spontaneous twins are a big enough chance.  He told me one of his patients transferred two and had one split. OMG, so crazy.  They were pissed at him, too. 

[ivy]

Thanks so much konapoppy! I will definitely take you up on your offer and look into the vlogs! At this point I’m less concerned about raising twins as I am about carrying them as long as possible and getting them here healthy and safely. The high risk nature of the pregnancy is what’s freaking me out right now. It’s so early and the lack of information I have is making me nervous.

[pooh8402]

Jul 21, 2018 6:45:13 GMT -5 cherryvalance said:

Jul 21, 2018 6:02:43 GMT -5 starburst604 said:

Wow congrats times two! My friend recently had triplet girls that were the result of a 2 embryo transfer, so she had a set of identicals and a bonus girl. I cannot imagine but they sure are adorable!

When we went for our last transfer, the doctor was double checking we were transferring one and I was like, hell yes. Spontaneous twins are a big enough chance.  He told me one of his patients transferred two and had one split. OMG, so crazy.  They were pissed at him, too. 

That happened to a family of triplets I cared for a few years ago. Transferred 2, 1 embryo split. She had identical girls and a boy. She was also pissed at her doctor.

[konapoppy]

Jul 21, 2018 7:20:21 GMT -5 ivy said:

Thanks so much konapoppy! I will definitely take you up on your offer and look into the vlogs! At this point I’m less concerned about raising twins as I am about carrying them as long as possible and getting them here healthy and safely. The high risk nature of the pregnancy is what’s freaking me out right now. It’s so early and the lack of information I have is making me nervous.

The good news is they monitor closely (I probably had 20 ultrasounds total). Don’t worry too much about momo pregnancies (sharing a sac) - they are extremely rare. You may not see the dividing membrane until about 11 weeks on a high res ultrasounds.

It is not an easy pregnancy. But know that there are smooth ones - I delivered at 36+6 and one baby had no nicu time and the other only had only 20 hours is the nicu.

ETA: Kendra vlogged her whole pregnancy. I loved her updates and honestly.

[cherryvalance]

Jul 21, 2018 8:12:03 GMT -5 pooh8402 said:

Jul 21, 2018 6:45:13 GMT -5 cherryvalance said:

When we went for our last transfer, the doctor was double checking we were transferring one and I was like, hell yes. Spontaneous twins are a big enough chance.  He told me one of his patients transferred two and had one split. OMG, so crazy.  They were pissed at him, too. 

That happened to a family of triplets I cared for a few years ago. Transferred 2, 1 embryo split. She had identical girls and a boy. She was also pissed at her doctor.

It seems crazy to be mad at the doctor, right?

ivy, a girl I know also went to my clinic and just had twins. One baby came home right away and one came home the next day. Just in case that anecdote gives you a little peace.

[pooh8402]

Jul 21, 2018 8:40:47 GMT -5 cherryvalance said:

Jul 21, 2018 8:12:03 GMT -5 pooh8402 said:

That happened to a family of triplets I cared for a few years ago. Transferred 2, 1 embryo split. She had identical girls and a boy. She was also pissed at her doctor.

It seems crazy to be mad at the doctor, right?

ivy, a girl I know also went to my clinic and just had twins. One baby came home right away and one came home the next day. Just in case that anecdote gives you a little peace.

Well, in the case of the family that I cared for, the mom actually wanted a single transfer and the doctor talked her into a double. So yea, I'd be mad too.