oh, thank heavens!

Yesterday the hospital called to ask me to come in earlier, so the doctor and lab tech would have more time to do today's testing. Scared? You betcha'! But we made additional arrangements with our neighbor so we could take the boys over at 7:30 and she would take them to school at 8:15. Thank heavens for wonderful neighbors! Rowen went with us, as we had no one to take care of her. She was a very good girl during the long exam.

Before I go any further, I want to tip my hat to the truly wonderful ultrasound technicians and doctors at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam. This was our second lengthy ultrasound there, and if you can believe it, they remembered us from our last appointment - and the doctor who conducted the scan was truly saddened by our loss and conducted today's scan in an extremely considerate manner. She left nothing to chance, doing all measurements at least twice, and explaining everything in detail.

First off, the polyhydramnion, or excessive amniotic fluid, was indeed due to faulty measurements. No blame to attach to our usual ultrasound tech at IJsselland - the membrane separating the twins is extremely thin and difficult to see. She had been measuring the fluid for both babies. Arden's environment is spot-on for the correct amount of amniotic fluid so we don't need to worry about the complications associated with that condition. Phew!

Secondly, although Arden's head is large, it still falls very much within the realm of what's considered normal. Our regular ultrasound tech had said during the 'scary' measurement that there was a chance that she was measuring from an angle rather than straight-on, but it's hard to know for sure. That wee bit of an angle added on enough millimeters to cause his measurements to fall outside the norm ... but fortunately it was 'just' a case of a shadow or an angle being off. His head measures at slightly larger than 34 weeks (while we are 30 wks/6dys), but that is still considered to be within normal fluctuations. Yay!

They also checked for fluid build up in his head, neck, and spinal column - there was nothing unusual - and checked all visible organs for size, location, and functioning. Everything looks absolutely normal. Thank heavens!!!

Thank you very, very much to the friends and family who have contacted me. Your support has helped me through a very scary period. I can't say thank you enough. And to parents, family and friends of children who have problems - you are true heroes. I'm humbled by the strength and love you give of so generously.