The TTTS Rollercoaster: A smoother patch

We reach 25 weeks tomorrow. The slow grind towards meaningful dates has quickly been replaced by weeks of incredible momentum. 25 weeks, whilst being far too early is the start of a golden passage in which the chances of survival start low dramatically increase whilst the chances of complications/disabilities start high and dramatically decrease. So if our boys are born any time soon they'll be fine, right? No, I'm not kidding myself, if our boys were born tomorrow or even in the next fortnight things will be bleak. But for the moment, every day is gold, every week is even better.

We had another scan on Friday. It started with the usual pee check and weight check. My wife had lost weight and in my mind I positively thought "that's because the boys have been stealing all the goods". She then said "I hope my weight loss hasn't impacted their growth" and I immediately followed her down the negative road. Until the scan revealed that the boys had grown according to the normal growth curve and and their amniotic fluid had not increased, very positive signs indeed. All my wife has to do is gain some weight so we've got some anti-diet foods to supplement the healthy array of diet foods. Cream and cheese are going on a lot of meals.

At the baby-saving surgery my wife had at 18 and a half weeks the specialist informed us that after having the surgery, pregnancies do not normally last more than 10 weeks. That is just 3 and a half weeks away now but for some reason I am optimistic that we'll be in the small percentage that goes beyond 10 weeks. I'm hoping for a slightly late birthday present which means my boys will arrive in late April which is around the 32 week mark. It's unlikely but that's what the optimist in me sees. Heck, even the pessimist is sure we're reaching 28 weeks.

So with that sort of optimism what are my problems at the moment? Well, I feel somewhat detached from my wife at times. In between looking after girls, commuting to work, working a 40 hour week and doing housework there is little time to relax with her. And when we do there is little she can do with me and our conversation always gravitates to the pregnancy and its uncertainty. I live with my wife, I see her every day and yet I miss her. In my mind, things will be better once the twins arrive even though I know we will be even busier. It's a temporary pain though and one that I'd like to endure for as long as possible as it means my boys are getting a better and better chance of leading normal lives.