28 weeks pregnant! A Milestone.

When I first discovered I was pregnant with twins back at 13 weeks, I had a long chat with my Dr about the risks involved. At that point the first goal of 28 weeks was set. Although some babies do survive when born before 28 weeks, the risks are really high. Once you cross the 28 week mark the risks drop significantly and the rates of survival quoted range from 85 to 95 %. Those are pretty good odds. Also preemies (also refered to as micro preemies) born before 28 weeks have a much higher risk of permanent health issues. At 28 weeks, although those risks are still high, they drop considerably. I am very happy to cross this milestone this weekend. I feel like I can now really start to prepare for the arrival of these two babies with confidence. Things can still go wrong, any pregnancy has its risks, but now the chances of a good outcome are in my favour instead of the other way around.

Now on to the next goal... 30 weeks or making it until June. Only 2 weeks to go....




I thought this was a cute picture of 28 week old twins. My 2 are not in this position! (Yet) They are both breech using my bladder as a trampoline to jump on. I asked the Drs if there was still time for them to turn, and everyone said yes. I will keep hoping that in the next month or so they decide to kick me in the ribs instead of the bladder.


Here is part of what some of the websites/e-mails have to say:

Twin Pregnancy Week 28
Congratulations. You are about to start your third trimester.
Your babies weigh around 2 pounds. (Mine were both 2 pounds 2 weeks ago) Their eyebrows and eye lashes are visible now. Mind you, some are born without eyebrows or very faint ones!! Of course they will have them sooner or later. The amount of brain tissue is increasing at the time as well.
From this week, your babies will try to put on more fat. They have also started to store iron, calcium and other essential nutrients.
If you babies are born now, chances of survival is very high. However, it is much better if they arrive later. Try to get plenty of rest and elevate your legs as much as possible

And another:

At 28 weeks your twins will have grown to about 15 inches/ 38cm from top to toe (10 inches/ 25.5 centimetres from crown to rump) and will weigh nearly 2 lb /875g each. Their eyes open and close, they sleep and wake at regular intervals and they may suck a finger or thumb. Your twins' brain growth is very rapid this month. The characteristic grooves on the brain's surface start to appear and more brain tissue develops. Nearly all fetuses react to sound by the end of the seventh month. At about this time, your twins can open their eyes and turn their heads in utero if they notice a continuous, bright light shining from the outside. Their fat layers are forming. In boys, testicles descend from near the kidneys through the groin en route to the scrotum. In girls, the clitoris is relatively prominent because it's not yet covered by the still-small labia. These will grow to cover it in the last few weeks before birth. Their skeletons are hardening even more. While your twins may soon slow down growing in length, they will continue to gain weight until they are born. A pint and a half/around a litre of amniotic fluid now surrounds each of your twins.

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I am starting to feel uncomfortably large, which isn't surprising since by about 30 weeks with twins your uterus is the size it is during a full term singleton pregnancy. I think it is funny to imagine the weights I am carrying as food. The babies together weigh close to 5 pounds. A sugar bag is often 5 pounds. Each placenta weighs over a pound, so I imagined 2 blocks of 1lbs of butter. And for each baby there is a litre of fluid, so I imagine 2 litres of milk. When I picure all that in my belly, I understand why I feel like I do...