IVF: Nine Week Ultrasound, From 2 to 3

We got back from our trip and had a couple days until our next ultrasound. I was always worried that maybe one of the babies stopped growing because I had been fine the whole trip. Besides being hungry all the time and needing to use the bathroom frequently, I hadn't felt too bad. I definitely didn't mind not having nausea, but it did nothing to reassure me that babies could be thriving.

But when we went into our appointment, this time with our regular doctor who we love, we immediately saw heartbeats. She measured Baby A and we heard the heartbeat and then she moved to Baby B.

As she moved over, up popped something close to Baby B that, to me, looked like what the other sacs looked like. She quickly moved away back to Baby A as I was about to ask, "Is that...?" But then she scanned back over and I could see it again as she said, "Guys, I'm seeing a third." On the video, you can see a flash in my eyes as I turn quickly to her as she started saying, "Guys..." because I had seen it, too.

And all of a sudden we went from two babies to three.

They say there are few true surprises in life, and let me tell you, this was the ultimate surprise. One minute we were having twins, and then bam, triplets. SUCH a curveball. Such a crazy thing to wrap your brain around after going around for a few weeks thinking ("knowing") there were only two. I was so stunned because I hadn't been sick enough for one, let alone three! (I certainly had enough acne for three, though, but I will take it over nausea ANY day.)

Obviously, one of the embryos split because we definitely only transferred two embryos! We could immediately see that they each had their own sac but were sharing a placenta, which means that they split within a day or two of being put back in me. If they had split any later they would be sharing a placenta and the sac, which is incredibly risky. Sharing even just the placenta is pretty risky though, so not only is this a high risk pregnancy because of three babies, it makes it extra risky because of the shared nutrient supply for the identical set.

I know this sounds silly, but I was secretly so thrilled/pleased/proud that the embryo split because identical twins are just so cool. Besides the fact that they are completely spontaneous so there's nothing a person can do to make it happen, I just think it's crazy that two people can exist who look exactly like one another since they came from the same genetic makeup. Twins are cool and everything, but identical twins are amazing.

Though we are very aware of the risks and complications, we are thrilled that we have this opportunity to maybe have three babies. We've waited a while for this, and while we're not out of the woods yet, we are hopeful!