Another update...

We had an ultrasound scan on Thursday and it seems that the growth of the smaller twin is still a little concerning to the doctor, so they are continuing to keep a close eye on things. One thing they do is a "doppler" check on the cord to that twin to make sure there is adequate blood passage through it. For a couple of reasons they were not able to get more than one decent doppler reading (the one they did get was OK, but one is not enough apparently). One reason for the difficutly is that the twin keeps hiding the cord with its leg, the other reason is that there is only a small amount of fluid surrounding that
twin (which is also a concern it seems).

Anyway, we will be going back to the hospital on Saturday to have the heartbeats monitored, again. Then we have another scan on Tuesday. If, on Tuesday, things have not changed (i.e. they still can't get satisfactory doppler readings) they will try to deliver the babies next week!

Obviously, at just over 35 weeks, it would be a little early so they would have to be looked after in the special baby unit. Marla has already had a shot of steroids to help the babies' lungs grow if they are delivered early. The doctor seems quite confident that all will be fine, hence so are we. Most likely mode of delivery would be C-section - also not a problem for us.

Things are still uncertain at the moment, but all the heartbeat monitorings we have had have been good and the babies are quite active, so they seem healthy apart from the size issue.

One more, non-baby-related thing. Given the terrible situation in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and the completely hopeless response from the authorities (not to be confused with the tremendous work that I'm sure is being done by the aid workers on the ground) I would like to point you in the direction of this open letter by Michael Moore to George W. Bush and this less scathing but no less insightful article on the BBC website.