2 months old

Cooper and Isabella are now 2 months old and are growing so fast! They are both smiling and cooing now and are much more interactive than before, which makes the sleepless nights much easier. They are actually sleeping 5-6 hrs at night now, which is wonderful! I imagine they both weigh 9.5 to 10 lbs now and are just about to outgrow their newborn clothes.  I still can't believe that they are ours and that we created such perfect little beings.  I feel so lucky to finally be a Mom!  I'm not sure whether or not we will ever try to have another baby, but for now my heart is so full of love for these two little ones! Here are some recent pictures of the cuties.

Change of Plans

I was planning on password protecting the blog in order to post pictures of the babies, but blogger makes it really difficult to do this, as you  must invite each person to view the blog and they must have a gmail account to sign in. So, I have decided to take the password protection off and let everyone view the blog.  I am planning on posting pictures in the coming weeks and hope everyone enjoys them!

Still here!

We are still here! We are so happy and everything is going well, but we are totally exhausted! My brother is here helping out, but even with 3 of us, it is difficult to find time to do anything.  I haven't had the opportunity to update the blog, or even take many pictures, but I'm going to try to be better in the coming weeks.  I am planning on password protecting this site after this entry because I am going to be posting pictures soon. Just e-mail me if you want the password.

THEY ARE HERE!!!

Our two little miracles arrived yesterday via c-section at 1:11 p.m. and 1:12 p.m. Cooper Bradley Creech was 5 lbs 15 oz and 18 1/2 inches long and Isabella Grace Creech was 5 lb 12 oz and 17 1/2 inches long. Both babies and Trisha are doing wonderfully! Since I am not comfortable posting actual pictures of the babies on the internet, I am choosing to password protect this website. If you are a family member or friend and wish to continue to follow this blog, please email me at alnewton75@hotmail.com for the password.  Thanks so much to everyone for your continued encouragement and support over these past 4 years!

HOUSTON...WE HAVE A PROBLEM!!

This is a guest post written by Nate

This morning I awoke before 4 am, eager in anticipation of the events that would unfold today.  The room was dark, Amanda lay silent, engulfed in an Ambien induced slumber.  The night before we spent the entire evening packing and preparing for the arrival of Cooper and Isabella.  Amanda and I could not believe that we were at the end of a long and bumpy road to parenthood.   The emotions ebbed between excitement and fear.  Mostly fear from my side of the discussion.  As the night rolled on, it became apparent that neither one of us were going to get much sleep.  Amanda and I approached this dilemma in vastly different ways.  I used my tried and true technique of letting my head hit the pillow.  I am told it took longer than normal and I was asleep in 2 minutes.  Amanda apparently tossed and turned, playing out every potential catastrophe that could happen today. At some point after midnight, she succombed to the desire to get at least one last night of sleep...Ambien enter stage left.

Fast forward a brief four hours.  I lay in bed wide awake, contemplating how today would  unfold.  It is hard to comprehend the fact that by the time the sun sets today I will be a father.  Until now, the countless IVF's and the majority of the surrogate pregnancy has been mostly theoretical for me.  I have not had the constant reminder of a pregnant wife or the endless doctors appointments.  Now that the day is upon us, the reality that our life will never be the same is sinking in.

By 6:30 this morning, we were up and in the car with Trisha on the way to the hospital.  Our plan was to arrive by 7:30 to start the induction and have the twins early this afternoon.  Like all well laid plans, our changed by about 7:45.  It seems Isabella had a different plan. Sometime during the night she managed to flip around again to the breech position.  This, of course, ruled out our plan for a natural birth and reversed our course back to a c-section birth.  After a moment of disappointment by everyone, we regrouped and are now planning on going to the operating room at 1:00 PM CST.  Until then, we are enjoying the fine hospitality of the St. Lukes Hospital.

Here are some pics of us waiting patiently...

HOUSTON.....WE HAVE LIFT OFF!! (Well, sort of!)

We had our weekly doctor's appointment today and had decided to attempt to proceed with a natural delivery, since both babies are head down.  We expected to have to beg for an induction for Friday, instead of waiting until Monday. However, our wonderful nurse practitioner checked Trisha and said that she is 3 cm dilated and ~75% effaced. So, she said, "Let me talk to Dr. Gibbs" and a few minutes later came back and told us we are scheduled for induction tomorrow! WHAT? TOMORROW YOU SAY??? YAY!!!! So, we are to report to L&D at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning for induction. Nate and I both left excited and I was feeling a bit nauseous! After all this time, I can't believe we are going to meet our babies tomorrow! Amazing! The hospital has WiFi, so I will try to update the blog as the day goes on and hopefully we will have an uneventful natural birth without any surprises! I just ask if you know us in real life, please don't post anything about our babies birth or surrogate on facebook.  There are some things we would like to keep private.  Well, now I'm off to bed so I can lie there and obsess about all the things that could go wrong tomorrow. I know, I have issues! : )

SHOCKER!!

Today we had our non-stress test and ultrasound and guess what, just guess... you'll never guess... BOTH BABIES ARE HEAD DOWN!!! WHAAATTT??? I am shocked!! Okay, so this changes everything. Per the doc, IF they remain head down (because clearly, they can flip at any time!) Trisha will be induced on the 9th, unless she decides she wants a c-section. So, now we have a lot to discuss because it would be much easier on Trisha if she doesn't need to have a c-section, and as I said before, there are some benefits of labor for the twins.  We obviously don't need to decide right this minute, but it looks like we may be heading for a natural delivery after all! The babies looked good, so we are still just in waiting mode.  Trisha is about 2 cm dilated and 75% effaced, which is unchanged from earlier this week. She is still having some contractions, but clearly they are not causing any cervical changes.  Ugh!!  Waiting, I HATE WAITING!!!

36 4/7 weeks

We're still here! Not much to report. Trisha's kids were sick last week and now I am sick too! : ( Trisha had some contractions on Tuesday and we were hopeful that labor was starting, but they stopped after a few hours. Nathan came in on Tuesday evening just to be sure he was here for the big event, but alas, we are still waiting! We have an appointment tomorrow afternoon for our non-stress test and a limited ultrasound to check amniotic fluid levels and cord dopplers.  It's funny, even now, I can't relax. I am so scared something bad is going to happen and now I just want them to come out, so I can hold them in my arms and see that they are okay. I hate being this way, I just know too much! It's true that ignorance is bliss and right now I just wish I was NOT a neonatal nurse practitioner who has seen so much tragedy! I am so ready to see their sweet little faces, but unfortunately I have to wait until they are ready. I just keep telling myself only 11 more days max! At least Nathan is here now, that has eased some of my anxiety about him missing the delivery, but OMG, I could really use some xanax!
: ) Anyway, here is last Sunday's belly pic.

35 3/7 weeks

I can't believe we have made it this far and are still going strong!! We had our doctor's appointment yesterday and all is well. The babies' non-stress test looked "textbook" according to the L&D nurse, which makes me extremely happy! Trisha has gained 40 lbs and was measuring 42 weeks. The babies are very active and also both remain breech. : ( We scheduled a c-section for Monday, November 9th, but don't think we will make it until then. Trisha is definitely ready for them to be born and anything we get past now is just cake! If they were born today, most likely they would not require any NICU time. Not much else to report. We will continue to have bi-weekly non-stress tests and will start having doctor's appointments weekly from now on. Our next appointment is Tuesday and then we will have an ultrasound the following Friday. Nate is coming back to Kansas City on Friday, October 30th and will stay until the babies are born or we have the c-section.  So, I told Trisha she has to keep the babies in at least 9 more days and then she is free to deliver anytime after that! Needless to say, I think she gave me a dirty look! : ) No, just kidding!  Here is the belly on Sunday at 35 weeks.

34 5/7 Weeks

Today we are 34 5/7 weeks! I can't believe that on Sunday we will have made it to 35 weeks!!! I couldn't be more thrilled with our progress! We had our growth scan today and everything looked good. The estimated weights were 5 lbs 8 oz for Cooper and 5 lbs 4 oz for Isabella, which are wonderful! Nate was able to come into town last night and come to the ultrasound today, which was great since he hasn't seen them since our 26 week 3D/4D ultrasound. He couldn't believe how big they have gotten! At this appointment, both babies were breech and that means Trisha is heading toward a C-section. : ( We didn't have doctor's appointment today, but we did see Dr. Lu and he is looking into scheduling C-section on Nov. 9th, although he didn't seem to think she would last that long before delivering since the majority of twins deliver by 37 weeks. So, we are still just waiting for these babies to decide they are ready to come out and meet everyone.  In the meantime, I am enjoying that Nathan is here visiting. I miss him and the dogs so much, but it's definitely a worthy cause! Anyway, here is a photo of Trisha last weekend on Sunday at 34 weeks, they are definitely growing!

33 weeks

So, here we are at 33 3/7 weeks and we are thrilled that everything continues to go smoothly. We had a doctor's appointment yesterday and everything looked good. The non-stress test looked great, as well as both babies' amniotic fluid levels, heart rates, and umbilical cord dopplers.  Trisha has gained 37 lbs so far and was measuring 41 weeks this week (Dr. Lu thinks she will measure around 52 weeks when she delivers!), which is up 3 weeks from our last appointment 2 weeks ago. It's a good sign that the babies are growing well and we will have our next growth scan next Friday.  I am guessing they weigh around 4 1/2 to 5 lbs now, so they are definitely getting big! This week Cooper was lying transverse and Isabella is now breech. So, they are still flipping around in there and that gives us hope that Cooper may eventually turn head down so that Trisha can avoid a C-section, we'll just have to wait and see.  We are so thankful to have another week under our belt and it is hard to believe that we have only 4 1/2 weeks or less to go!  So, that means I'm going to bed now, because I need all the sleep I can get in these next few weeks! : )

First Babies' Photos and Nursery Photos

As we are getting closer to the twins arrival, I find myself wondering how our first babies are going to respond to the new babies. If you haven't already figured this out, our first babies are our fur babies Little Bit and Bailey. Little Bit is 12 1/2 years old and Bailey is 6 years old and I have had them both since they were 6 weeks old. I definitely love them as if they were my children and have found much comfort in their presence, especially in the past few difficult years. They are always there to greet me when I get home and Bailey sleeps right beside me in bed every night. The great thing about fur babies is that they always love you no matter what!

I think Little Bit will have very little interest in the two newbies, as he is mostly interested in sleeping or eating these days. Bailey, on the other hand, is a much bigger momma's baby and does not like to share the attention at all!  I imagine he will behave much like a toddler who now has to share their parent's attention with a new baby.  It will interesting to see how he reacts.  At any rate, here are some photos of our fur babies, who we could not live without!! Here are also some photos of the finished nursery.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Now it's off to Kansas City on Monday. Wish us good luck!!

32 weeks!

One more week down, only 6 more (max) to go!

31 Weeks

Yesterday I came to Kansas City for our doctor's appointment. Everything looks good and both babies are growing well. Our growth scan estimated Cooper's weight at 4 lbs 1 oz and Isabella's weight at 3 lbs and 14 oz. So she is still a little smaller, but both are around the 50th% for weight. I can't believe how much they have grown!! It's getting super crowded in there and harder to get good ultrasound photos so we didn't really get any cute shots this week. : ( I can't complain though, I am lucky to get to see them so often! Cooper is still breech so it is unlikely that he will turn at this point. If not, we are looking at a c-section the week of Nov 9th if she doesn't go into labor before that. Trisha continues to have some contractions, but as of yesterday, no cervical changes. YAY!! Her blood sugars continue to look good and they said she can cut back to checking them 2 days a week, which I am sure she is happy about. She is measuring 38 weeks and has gained about 32 lbs so far. She looks great and is feeling good. Next week she starts bi-weekly non-stress tests and our next doctor's appointment is in 2 weeks. So, another great appointment and another week under our belt. We are thrilled!

Today, Trisha and I drove to St. Louis because she has a training class for work and I told her I wasn't going to let her drive 4 hrs by herself, so she allowed me to come with her. : ) She is so good to me! We will be heading back to Kansas City tomorrow afternoon and then I am heading back to Cleveland early Friday morning. Next week my Mom is visiting and then Nate's Mom and step-dad are coming for the weekend. The following week, I am heading back to Kansas City (via car) to start my vacation at my home away from home. Trisha is excited, she is ready to have a full-time housewife! : )

I have so much left to do before I come here to stay, time is flying by. We had a second baby shower this past weekend in Indiana with Nate's family and received so many wonderful gifts for the babies. I am still trying to get all of the adorable outfits washed and put away, it's amazing how many outfits these two little babies have! I will post some pics as soon as I get them from Nate's Aunt Donna (she is the most wonderful photographer!). We had such a great time and it was so good to see everyone! Nate even got to practice being a Dad. Nate's cousin Melissa was there with her 3 week old ADORABLE baby girl, Emily, and he held her for a while. Now he just needs to learn how to feed a baby and change a diaper! I told him not to worry, he will get plenty of practice in a few weeks!! : )

Repost of Belly Shots and New Blog Template

Since I am continually updating the belly shots slideshow, I am reposting it. Also, I got a new blogger template since I didn't like the last one. What do you think, do you like it?

WE ARE IN THE 30's PEOPLE!!

On Sunday, we turned 30 weeks. Knowing the outcomes for preterm infants, I am elated to be out of the 20's!! We had our doctor's appointment last Friday and everything went well.  We only had a brief scan to check heart rates and cord dopplers, both looked good. As of now, Cooper is breech and Isabella is vertex (head down).  Dr. Lu thinks that if Cooper doesn't turn head down in the next 2 weeks that it is unlikely that he will be able to turn before birth since it's getting really tight in there. If Cooper doesn't turn, Trisha will need to have a c-section. We were hoping to avoid this, mostly because it would be a major surgery for Trisha, but also because there are some benefits of laboring for the twins.  Dr. Lu said if Trisha doesn't go into labor before 38 weeks he would induce her or perform a c-section that week, which would be the week of November 9th. So, we have 8 weeks, AT THE MAXIMUM, left to go before these little ones make their grand entrance.  In the meantime, while Trisha is having some contractions, she is controlling them with rest and things are looking good. She was measuring 37 weeks at our appointment and has gained about 32 lbs so far.  Also, on the diabetes front, with the exception of a few elevated blood sugars, her numbers have been within normal range. The doctor wants her to continue to check her sugars 4 times daily for now and once they are stable, she can cut back to 2 times a day.  Our next appointment is a week from tomorrow on the 22nd.  At that time, we will have another full growth scan which will tell us estimated weights.  The following week (at 32 weeks) Trisha will begin bi-weekly non-stress tests to evaluate the babies heart rates for signs of distress since things are starting to really get squished in there.  So, that's the plan for now, we'll see how it goes!

This weekend we are headed to Indiana for a baby shower with Nathan's family which should be fun.  Then next week I'm off to Kansas City on Tues through Friday for our appointment. The week after that my Mom is coming to visit and then the first week of October I am driving to Kansas City to take up temporary residence until the little ones are born. I can't believe how fast the weeks are flying by and that soon our babies will finally be home with us! 

House photos, Furniture photos, and Nursery Photos

Since moving, I have to admit that I have been a bit bored. It's strange not having a job and I have been struggling to find things to keep me busy. So, my first project was shopping for new dining room furniture for us. I went to Thomasville and found a table and chairs that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE!! So after much convincing (that would be me convincing Nate) with my "it's not just furniture, it's an investment" argument, I was able to order the table and 6 chairs. I still want to get the matching buffet and 2 more chairs, but those will have to wait for now. The table was delivered this past Friday and we were able to use it this weekend when Jeanette, Jeremy, and Ethan visited and it was wonderful!! It's going to be so great for holiday dinners! So here are some photos of our new dining room table. Also, we got a new chandelier for the living room that Nathan and his Dad installed a few weekends ago. It looks great, here is a photo.

My second project was to weed the front flower beds and rip out the ugly marigolds that the builder put in. It took about 4 days to get all of this done and then Nate put down new mulch. It's amazing how much better it looks!  I wish I would have taken before photos, but here are some after photos.  We are also finally starting to get the lawn in shape, but we still have lots to do!

Finally, after about 10 weeks of waiting, the nursery furniture was delivered today. I put the linens on the cribs (even though I have to take it back off to wash it before the babies use it) to see how everything is going to look.  It all looks really cute!! I still have to order the wall art that I want. I am putting a tree on the wall between the cribs and maybe the babies names over their cribs.  I think seeing everything in the room makes it feel even more real for me and is making me realize that we don't have much longer to go before we will be parents.  Our lives will never be the same. That's a bit of a scary thought, but I'm anxious to start the next chapter of our lives. Here are some photos of the nursery, though it's hard to get good photos because the room is large and I can't get a very good angle.

Tomorrow I'm off to Kansas City for our doctor's appointment.  We will also be meeting with the dietician to discuss Trisha's blood sugars and hopefully we won't need any further intervention.  I'll update on Friday after the appointment.  Unfortunately, we will only be getting a limited scan this week and won't get another growth scan for 2 more weeks, but at least we will get a glimpse of the little cuties. As usual, I can't wait!!

Bump in the Road

Well, we have our first bump in the road. Trisha failed her 1 hr and 3 hr glucose tolerance test and has officially been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes that women get during pregnancy that is caused by the hormones that are produced by the placenta. Since our twins are fraternal and there are 2 placentas, the risk is higher for having GD. So, today Trisha is meeting with a dietician and will start testing her blood sugars four times a day for the next week and log them. Then next week, we will meet with her again and she will review the data and make a plan for us. Hopefully, it can be diet controlled and we will not need insulin injections because then things become more complicated. Trisha is a healthy eater so hopefully won't need to go down that road. Otherwise, all is well and we are celebrating another week on the inside! YEA!

Third Trimester Here We Come!!

On Sunday, we turned 27 weeks!! Yea!! We are now starting our third trimester and everything is going wonderfully! We had our doctor's appointment today and both babies are growing well. Cooper is now 2 lbs 3 oz and Isabella is 2 lbs. I can't believe how fast they are growing! Trisha is measuring 33 weeks and besides being a little tired (hmm.. I wonder why :), is feeling great. We will have appointments every 2 weeks now for the rest of the pregnancy just to check up on the little cuties. We also had our 4D ultrasound on Friday and finally got to see their sweet faces (well, mostly Cooper's). Isabella wasn't cooperating (as usual) and was turned away from us most of the time so the quality of her photos weren't nearly as good as Cooper's. The pictures are really cute though and clearly it is starting to get a little squished in there. Isabella's butt was in front of Cooper's face half of the time and they kept kicking each other. Technology is so amazing, I can't believe how clear some of the photos are, but some of them look like there is just a head and no body, which is kind of creepy!! The last picture of the slide show is from today's visit. The U/S tech got a 4D shot of her yawning and spreading out her little fingers, it is so cute. I can't wait to meet them in person (okay, I can wait at least 9 more weeks ... 36 weeks (that's our goal), here we come!!