I was able to get my CVS test scheduled quickly. It was yesterday afternoon.
The doctor I saw that was willing to do the test on a twin pregnancy happened to be the husband of the perinatologist that did my NT scan Wednesday.
Before proceeding with the CVS the doctor did a very thorough ultrasound.
He looked over baby A in a great detail. He said baby A is 'perfect!' It was nice to have that confirmation. This baby is also measuring right on track for 13 weeks. During the vaginal ultrasound the tech thought this baby was a girl but then during the abdominal ultrasound the tech though the baby was a boy. So the baby is a girl...or a boy!
Now, baby B...first off, "he" is actually a "she." Baby B is our precious daughter.
The doctor said that her omphalocele is extreme. The diameter of the omphalocele is nearly the same as the diameter of her body. Also, the swelling around the baby's head, which actually looks like a halo, is very severe. These two things alone are a strong indication of a chromosomal abnormality.
As the ultrasound progressed he recognized that she has a very under-developed jaw, cleft lip/palate, a club foot, six fingers on her tiny right hand, she is possibly missing one or both kidneys and she only has two chambers in her heart. The center membrane separating her heart in halves vertically just isn't there. The heart is beating but it's not adequately pumping blood.
At this point, he asked me why I wanted to do the CVS. He said that this baby was "very clearly, very unhealthy." In his mind, there was no doubt that this baby is suffering from a chromosomal abnormality. All of the ultrasound findings strongly point us in the direction of this tiny baby having Trisomy 13 or 18. We won't know since I opted out of the CVS.
He said that the CVS has a 1 in 100 chance for miscarriage. Would having a Trisomy diagnosis on paper be worth the risk (of both of our babies) based on all of the markers we saw in the ultrasound?
No.
He is confident this baby won't see life outside of the womb. I agree.
Now, we wait.
We wait to see if our daughter's heart will stop beating its own.
I can't believe that in this sick and twisted situation, I'm praying for God to stop my baby's heart. Just five months ago, when I was miscarrying, I was praying that God would give my baby a heartbeat.
The younger baby B is when she dies, the less risk she poses for baby A. I hate to think of this all so logically/scientifically but this is the reality.
As of now, we are praying that God would take our special angel home. Regardless of her physical handicaps, she is just as perfect as her brother/sister. She already wears her halo.
This is by far, leaps and bounds, the hardest thing we've had to do. I know that saying goodbye to our daughter gives her brother/sister the best chance of being a full-term, healthy newborn but that doesn't make it any easier.
Thank you all for your continued support and prayers.
