Names

My hubby and I are in a quandry about what to name our twins. In Jewish (Ashkenaz) custom, we only name after people who have passed away, and although some people choose not to name after anyone, this is not what we would like to do. Our twins will have Hebrew names--possibly translating into English depending on the name. For example, my name is Elana in both Hebrew and English--there's no translation. But my husband's name is Shmuel in Hebrew, which translates to be Samuel in English. It all depends on the name picked. Anyhoo, both of our father's passed away in 2005, and we would like to name after both of them, but one of our babies is female and it wouldn't look nice naming her Isaac/Yitzchok or Daniel. Isaac doesn't have a female equivalent and I don't really like the names Danielle or Daniella. Thus, we are in a situation. We're trying to come up with possibilities, but if we want to keep the first letters the same, there aren't lots of choices. I came up with two female names beginning with the letter D and five that begin with Y...not all of them are great either lol. So this is what we're going to spend the next 4 months figuring out... :-) Maybe I should take my best friend's advice and name someone Baruch after our next president. HAHAHA Actually, I would use Baruch or Bracha as a name but only because it means blessed--and these babies are so much of a blessing for us that it is definitely in consideration, but only for that reason!!!

In other news, my doctor says I do not have UTI! YAY!

100th Post!

I crammed a whole bunch of posts in the last few days so I could have my 100th post be really awesome. I had my BIG ultrasound today, so I'm posting pictures from that and we'll finally get to see actual genders. I also updated my belly pic, so you can check that out on the side bar as well.

The ultrasound went great--both babies have all necessary body parts (brain, nose, 2 arms, 2 legs, 2 hands, 2 feet, stomach, kidneys, etc.) and they're all looking good. Baby A's heartrate was 150bpm and Baby B's heartrate was 161bpm. Now for the pictures!!

First is Baby A's profile


Next is Baby B's profile


This is a cute picture of Baby B with his arms covering his face


This is a really neat photo of Baby B's right hand


And...what you've all been waiting for..."the goods"...

Baby A is
A GIRL!!!!

Baby B is
A BOY!!!!

So there you have it. I was right all along--it's one of each! :-D

Found It!

Thanks to some l33t google searching, I found a mathematical equation that gives twin premature survival rates. P(m) = (375 x P(s)) / (275 + P(s)) with P(m) being the survival rate for multiples and P(s) being the survival rate for a singleton pregnancy. As you will see, the rate of survival for multiples is very slightly higher than for singletons even though they may have a smaller birth weight. I will do the math for you and make a chart!

21 weeks or less: 0% single & multiple
22 weeks: 0-10% single / 0-13% multiple
23 weeks: 10-35% single / 13%-42% multiple
24 weeks: 40-70% single / 47%-76% multiple
25 weeks: 50-80% single / 57%-84% multiple
26 weeks: 80-90% single / 84%-92% multiple
27 weeks: > 90% single / > 92% multiple

These are all rounded down to the nearest percent. It is true that there have been babies born at 21 weeks and earlier that have survived, but the rate is so very low that it's not really measurable. This is why I have kept it at 0%. These rates also depend a lot on weight of the baby/babies at birth. A lower weight baby is going to have a far smaller chance of survival than a higher weight baby born at the same gestational age. They've also shown that female babies have a higher rate of survival than male babies born at the same gestational age. How far has science come!

Chart

As Nancy so aptly pointed out, the previous post is a chart for singleton births. I'm still searching for a twin chart and will post it when I find it. Btw, Nancy, did you know that if you google search "gestational age survival rate", your blog post is on the first page? :-)

Survival Rate by Gestational Age

My blogger friend Nancy posted this chart a while back, and I want to have it for my own records. It's a great chart and I encourage everyone to make a copy for themselves.

There are more detailed charts out there, but this one is nice and basic.

Advances in medical care have made it possible for many premature infants to survive and develop normally. However, whether or not a premature infant will survive is still intimately tied to his or her gestational age:

21 weeks or less: 0% survival rate
22 weeks: 0-10% survival rate
23 weeks: 10-35% survival rate
24 weeks: 40-70% survival rate
25 weeks: 50-80% survival rate
26 weeks: 80-90% survival rate
27 weeks: greater than 90% survival rate

(note: many charts simply list the first number. This one gives a better range.)

I am the AWESOMEST

I do matchmaking for a website called SawYouAtSinai. For those of you who are not Jewish, let me explain. For many Orthodox Jews, people are still matched by parents, matchmakers and friends before going on dates. There are lots of Jewish dating websites out there, but this is the only one where a matchmaker has to set you up before you can see the other person's profile. There's no searching on your part--it's all 3rd party. I know that when most people hear "matchmaking" they're thinking Fiddler on the Roof and not meeting your spouse until the wedding day. That just doesn't happen in Judaism any more. People are set up, they go on dates, and if they're not compatible, they end it--if they are compatible, then they go on more dates. Some people date for a month and get engaged, some for three months, some for longer (generally, the more Orthodox you are, the less time you spend dating the person before getting engaged and the less time there is between engagement and the wedding). In any case, I just made my first official shidduch (match) on the website!! Oh, I've had many people go on dates since I first started matching with them 2 years ago, but no engagements--until now!! The man is a 40-year-old who has never been married before and the woman is a 30-year-old widow. I'm soooo happy for them and wish I could make it to the wedding. Unfortunately it's on a Tuesday night in December, and I don't have any more vacation days. Nor do I want to drive to NYC all by myself... Anyways, this makes me the awesomest!

No news back from the doctor on my possible UTI--but I will be calling them on Monday to get results and see what has to be done.

ER

I went to the ER last night (sorry I didn't tell you when we were on the phone, Mom, but I didn't want you worrying needlessly on your birthday...) :-) Anyhoo, I'm fine, babies are fine. I went because I was having the most bizarre cervical pain. Like someone was pinching it. So I called the doc on call and he said that since it's twins that I should come in. So I did! My cervix was beautiful and so are the babies, but they checked my urine and think I have a UTI! We're still waiting for the cultures to come back with a definite "you are sick and need antibiotics" or "you're not sick and will be just fine". But in the mean time, I'm not in any danger nor do I have any awful UTI symptoms (THANK G-D!). I also want to give a big A+ to the doctors at St. Elizabeth's (where I plan to deliver). I was in and out of there in 2 1/2 hours, was treated with respect and the best bed-side manner I've ever seen.

While at the ER, though, I heard THE FUNNIEST LINE EVER!! So if you're pregnant and pee when you laugh (or sneeze...or breathe), please get a Depends pad ready. Right, so the guy in the room next to mine was having some problem with his foot and the nurse was asking him all sorts of questions. Finally, she asked him "has it been x-rayed"? And he replies "I've had so many x-rays, I'm surprised I don't glow in the dark!" Tee hee. I could just picture him glowing in the dark!!!

If I wasn't convinced that I was pregnant before, I'm definitely convinced now. I generally don't eat chicken. Not because I feel bad for them or anything, but because I just don't like the taste. I've been craving chicken for days. Unfortunately, kosher chicken is rediculously expensive so I can't possibly have it all the time. I bought some chicken to make Tuesday dinner (and give some to my friend who just had a baby) and ate a whole piece on Tuesday night and another whole piece on Wednesday night. For me this is huge...I almost NEVER eat a whole piece of chicken!! LOL Well, if all the ultrasounds and feeling baby movements wasn't convincing enough, this surely is. :-D