Results and a small sense of hope

Another busy day here. The amniocentesis results came in and are conclusive for Turners Syndrome for baby B. While there are varying degrees of Turners Syndrome, the most common is short stature (typically not past 5 feet in height at full maturity), which can be helped with growth hormones during childhood. There is a chance that she will be infertile as well. There are no mental or physical disabilities associated with this chromosomal defect. While about 98% of Turners Syndrome babies die within the first trimester, once they make it past that developmental stage then it's very likely they will make it to full term pregnancy and live normal lives. I'm now well into the second trimester so that's also a positive going in our direction. It's incredibly rare to have identical twins with one Turners, so there are really no statistics of how it pertains to our specific situation. "Normal" twins are still a high risk pregnancy, so the doctors don't know if this makes it more or less risky.

All signs have pointed to Turners during the ultrasound and even the echo of the heart. Baby B's femur measures shorter than average, her left ventricle of the heart is slightly smaller. There are no anatomical defects present in the heart or in any other part of the body structure, as the MRI concluded. These are all good things, because it points more towards the possibility that this cystic hygroma and the fluid around the heart and kidneys might start to resolve. As of the ultrasound findings today, the fluid levels have stayed the same since Monday.

It's still tricky and there still is no obvious course of action. All the risks are about the same, it's just trying to figure out the best bet to ensuring that both babies have equal chance of survival. There are a lot of factors and a lot of unknowns still, but we are more hopeful of today's findings.
We are coming home tomorrow morning. I'll have weekly ultrasounds to continue to monitor the fluid levels in baby B. What we do know is that the immediate future looks good for both babies. Into the next few weeks, we'll be able to see how the fluid levels are progressing or not and then see if we need another type of procedure that separates the veins both babies are sharing in the placenta. This would give more insurance that the babies have their own environment to develop, and make them independent of each other. The procedure has it's own risks, and typically is not performed before 18 weeks, so we aren't there yet. As of today, I'm hopeful for both of these babies, and continue to put all my energy into willing these babies to survive.