They have arrived!

Well, I know Ellen and Kevin are super busy right now so I decided I'd write my version. I'm sure Kevin's will be much more comical. But here goes........
The boys were born Thursday, May 6th at 9:18pm and 9:20pm via c-section. I started having contractions Thursday morning pretty regularly from like 5am until 7am and then they stopped. So I drank my water and stayed on the couch as ordered by Dr. D on tues. Around noon they started up again so I timed them for about two hrs before calling my hubby and the doctor. They were about every 8-10min. I arrived at the doctor's office a little after 3 and of course my doctor was not in. She was in meetings all day, but I was fortunate that her nurse was actually working with the doctor I was scheduled to see. I sat in the waiting room for what seemed like forever and then in the exam room for what seemed like even longer. Finally at about 4 I got to see a doctor. She examined me and I was completely effaced and 3-4cm. Tuesday I had only been 2cm and 50% so they decided to send me over to L&D to be monitered, but they were pretty sure they were going to deliver me because they didn't want to take the chance of my water breaking and having a prolapsed cord. I guess because both boys were breech and it was twins we had a much higher chance of that happening. So as soon as I got to L&D I gave Ellen a call and of course I couldn't reach her. I called Kevin next and told him what was going on and they immediately went into "hurry get packed and in the car" mode. My nurse called Dr. D and told her what was going on and she said she would be right over to the hospital as soon as she could. I really wanted her to deliver me.
So around 5:30ish she came and decided the boys would be safer out than in and so now we just had to figure out the best plan so Ellen and Kevin could be there for the big event. After much planning and unfortuantely due to DC rush hour traffic Ellen and Kevin weren't anticipating arriving until after 8pm. I got my epidural around 6pm and waited patiently for what we had all been waiting for. We were very fortunate that Dr. D came back for the delivery. Her practice now uses a hospitalist after hours so usually he/she would do the delivery. I was so relieved that it would be Dr. D and not a strange doctor!
About 8:30 Ellen and Kevin arrived. Unfortunately because we were preterm and there were going to have to be so many people in the OR for the babies only Ellen was able to come in, along with Danny. I was scared and excited all at the same time. I had never had a c-section before and had no idea what to expect. So Ellen and Danny suited up and walked with me down the hall where they had to wait until I was all prepped. I was ready to go at 8:45, but there was some miscommunication somewhere and Dr. D wasn't there yet. I laid on the operating table for about 15mins. waiting on her. When she finally arrived they let Danny and Ellen in and the big event began. Colby was born first weighing in at 6lbs.6oz. and screaming. Chase came 2min. later with much pushing and pulling by the doctors. He weighed in at 5lbs.6oz. He had a little respiratory distress in the beginning.

Fast fwd to today.... Chase went home yesterday. He is doing well and is the quiet one. Colby is still in the hospital but doing well. He is still on oxygen and some tube feedings. He has to be off both before he can come home. I am anticipating he will be home by the end of this week.

Kevin here....

Wow. The countdown has officially begun (unless Brooke has an accelerated schedule). Two weeks from today.... I tell you, the "Cervix of Steel" is just amazing. The perinatologist just thought everything was doing great. Brooke is hanging in there, looks great, and as usual remains incredibly upbeat and energetic. How she can carry around two incredibly active aliens in her belly, I do not know (and they are very active).

We went through the U/S and the monitoring on Friday. Awkward positions for the twins, one of them was hiding below the other (or, one of them was blocking out the other), so made things a bit difficult (also appears one is punching the other in the head again -- signs of future problems???). Dr. Christmas (no, really, that is his name) is amazing. Even more amazing is the RN, Jennifer, who does the monitoring and engages us in conversation through the whole process. It would be great if either/both of them could be part of the birthing process, but the odds (and work schedule) are unfortunately against it. Still, I am very appreciative of their efforts and how comfortable they make us feel and how well they answer our questions.

During the monitoring (20-40 minutes of baby heartbeat tracking, depending on the cooperation of said twins) we have had many a conversation about names, and I have learned some truly amazing/terrible names for twins. Needless to say, I am quite sure that whatever names we come up with will not enter future conversations with the nurses and doctors.

These two little guys seem to be moving all the time. I can't imagine (although will soon know) that each operates on his own schedule and decides to kick, roll over, and even suck a thumb whenever he wants (Brooke's FB posting, that was an amazing 3-D U/S shot of one of the little rascals actually sucking his thumb).

Ugh... We are still trying to finish painting Gavin's room, yard work, house work, and, of course, baby work. I am very thankful that Brooke is the world's best surrogate and is letting these little guys "bake" as long as they need. We need all the time we can gather. Hang in there, in two weeks we may be ready....

Actually, we have been ready in our hearts for quite a long time. This is truly an amazing moment coming our way. There may be house preparation still to be done, gates to be put up, baby-proofing to take place for when they are mobile, but we are very, very excited and eagerly awaiting the "date". The number of hours that Ellen has put in for preparation is amazing.

I am very lucky in that I will be able to take two weeks of vacation time when they are born, work for a few weeks from home, then take a four week paternity leave. My co-workers have joked with me that after a week I will be looking forward to getting back to work. While I know that tiring times are ahead, I really can't believe that a good day at work would ever trump a bad day with having my little guys with me.

Thank you Brooke and Danny.

- Kevin

Crossed the magical 32nd week

Kevin here. Just a quick update, feeling pretty wiped out after a weekend of working on the yard.

We had a double doctor's appointment on Friday. In an amazing feat, we only had to wait about 10 minutes before being called to have the ultra sound. All looked good. Our primary peri was on vacation, and the u/s tech told us the doctor covering was a man of few words, and would only really say anything if there was a problem. She was certainly right, he hardly said anything, so that was great news.

So, from that appointment we took an elevator down two flights to the next appointment, where we met up with Danny. Again, record waiting time, as we hardly had time to start a conversation in the waiting room. That appointment only lasted about 10 minutes. Again, all was well.

Off to lunch we went (Kenny's/Jason's deli, our usual place, my usual mis-remembering of the name of the place). All in all, a great visit.

Oh, and the little ones gained quite a bit of weight, weighing in at 4 lbs and 8 and 9 ounces. Believe it or not, they are actually in the 60th percentile, and that is for singletons. So, pretty amazing, Brooke is certainly growing them well.

30wks!

Not a whole lot new. Just wanted to post a more recent pic. This one was taken at 30wks.3days. Definitely growing!

Coming Soon...

Ellen here to finally write a long overdue post.

We had our appointment last Friday and it is already Thursday of the following week! Time flies when you are in a panic about getting everything ready! The 3D u/s is amazing and I'm so happy Dr. Christmas flipped the switch on the machine to scan in 3D. I have been dying to see a picture of their little faces and he happily obliged.

I can't believe we are entering the home stretch. I find myself getting more and more excited each day - which is somewhat funny because everyone keeps telling me... how hard it is going to be...we will get no sleep...and all I can say is "bring it on"!! I should also say that yes, we will accept any and all offers of assistance.

Kevin set one of the cribs up last night. I was going to describe it as -finally- but in fairness to him, there was an issue with the first crib he attempted to assemble so that threw everything off track since we have been trying to contact the assembly help line. I still have lots of things on my To Do list, but at least, I think all of the big things have been accomplished.

Brooke looks amazing and her body definitely has done well even with a twin pregnancy. We hope she can hold on for a few more weeks but we know it will get tougher the larger her tummy gets!!!

28wks. today!

Another milestone reached! Yea! We had an appt. Friday with the peri and both boys are looking great! I can't believe how much they have grown. Baby A is weighing in at 2lbs. 10oz. and Baby B is 2lbs. 14oz. Hard to believe that not too long ago they were under a pound! Ellen and Kevin have the latest pics so hopefully they will be posting soon, but I just wanted to post a quick note that the appt. went well and "the boys" are growing! I can't wait to meet these little guys! It won't be long now. 9wks. or less. I hope your "To Do" list is getting smaller Kevin! :-)

Getting Closer....

Kevin here... Wow, another ultrasound. I have missed the last two due to work and the fact my company doesn't have all these nice cute little "Monday Holidays" that everyone else seems to have. The babies certainly are getting bigger, I can tell you that.

One of the really cool parts of this visit was the doctor pulled up some line charts that showed where they were in relation to otherss at this point in time. Both of them were exactly in the middle of all the data for each measurement he pulled up, so I think that is good to know they are exactly where they should be (or, as the peri says, the goal is "normal nine-year-olds in fourth grade").

It definitely is a busy time for Ellen and myself right now around the house. The clock is ticking for sorting out the disaster zone otherwise known as our: living room, dining room, stairwell, and upstairs hallway. Due to holidays and business trips (I am heading to Argentina at the end of March), we have limited time to finish decorating and repair items around the house. To make matters more urgent, our "contractors" (also known as my in-laws) are going away on a trip, so won't be able to help us out as much. They have done so much work: painting, decorating (there is a difference), hauling, shopping for supplies, and even building a closet! Not sure how we ever could have handled the tasks without their help -- so a big thank you to them.

Speaking of thanks.... Once again, I just can't thank Brooke enough. She looks great and her attitude is so positive and healthy, it is just great. She always has a smile on her face and no complaints about lugging around the two aliens inside her drawing from her lifeforce. It is just great to see her and know the two little ones are being cared for so well. Thank you.

So, on that note, I am off to bed to store away sleep that I know I won't have in a few months....

almost 25wks now!

Well it's been awhile since I posted so thought I better do a quick post at least. We had an appt. on Tues. of this week with the peri. Things are looking good. They were able to see all of Baby A's heart and everything looks good. Last time they couldn't see it so well so she had a little concern there may be a small hole in the muscle that divides the heart in half, but this time they could see it and everything looks intact. The babies are growing like weeds! Both are weighing in at 1lb.9oz. so they are right on track. We weren't able to see their faces this time so we didn't get any u/s pics to take home. They both were being bashful I guess. On another good note they are both head down right now. Let's pray they stay that way!

Not much else new. I am definitely growing. I feel huge! I am about the same size at 24wks. with these guys as I was when I delivered my middle son at 38wks. It's unbelievable how active they are. I can feel them moving around all the time now. I imagine before too long it will be too cramped in there for much movement, although I am sure they'll find a way. I've attached a belly pic which I took today at 24wks. 5days. The peri said if all is well we will induce around 37 and a half weeks. So a lil less than 13wks to go! Ellen and Kevin you better get ready! :-)

22wks.....Hopefully 16 to go!

Not a whole lot new. Babies are growing and so am I. Been feeling pretty good. Can't complain. Just wanted to post a quick belly shot since it's been awhile. We have a regular OB appt tomorrow. Those are kinda boring compared to the peri where we get to have an u/s every time. Time seems to be flying by now!

20 Is My New Favorite Number!

Ellen posting and I'm elated to report that we reached the 20 week mark this past Sunday. It was an exciting milestone (normally the halfway mark with a singleton pregnancy) and while we know the twins will be making an appearance before 40 weeks, it was still worth celebrating.

We had an appointment on Monday with the peri (ob specialist). Kevin had to work so I went to Richmond solo. We had a full house in the exam room with Brooke, Dan and myself and a special appearance from Brooke's son Benji (age 5). Everything went well and, as always, the u/s was completely amazing. Baby A is in the breech position (apparently Brooke hasn't been doing the proper "visualization exercises") and Baby B was laying lengthwise across her stomach. Baby A weighs about 13 ounces and Baby B was 12 ounces. Baby B was very active and moving all about and we actually witnessed him kicking his brother in the head. I know...I should be very worried!

Brooke, Benji and I had a nice lunch and then headed over to Brooke's house to relieve Grandpa of his babysitting duties with Brooke's other two boys. I was given a grand tour of the Collawn house and we then were able to hang out, relax and enjoy the day.

I am attempting to post a 3D u/s picture that Brooke was able to talk the u/s technician into giving us. It might take a minute to figure out that you are looking at their faces, but it is absolutely amazing what you can see! They still look a little alien (those were the u/s tech's words, not mine) but that will change as they start to fatten up a bit.

And before I end this entry, I would like to nominate Benji to be our birthing coach. Apparently, he has watched enough episodes of "The Baby Story" on The Discovery Channel to know that someone is going to have to yell "Push", "Push" for Brooke to be able to get these babies out.

Pretty much half way there!

18wks.

Well, not a whole lot new going on here. I've been feeling pretty good. This is the so called "honeymoon" stage of the pregnancy I know. Before too long I'll be getting uncomfortable I'm sure with two little guys in there. I'm definitely growing more quickly than I did with any of my own. A little worried they won't make maternity clothes big enough for me by the time I reach 30something weeks. We're at 18wks. now and my goal is to make it to 38, although I'd settle for 37wks. 36wks. puts us at Mother's Day weekend and also my oldest son's birthday weekend so I'm hoping to at least make it past there. I keep thinking positively because there's no reason not too. It's been an exciting ride so far and I'm sure it will continue to be!

Cat(s) are out of the bag

Ellen here posting.

Well, Christmas finally arrived and Kevin and I had waited to share the news with my family until we were all together. Side note to post: M & D knew but were sworn to secrecy and I had talked to my family this summer to give them a general idea of our plans for surrogacy.

We were all gathered at Scott & Karen's house to celebrate the holiday and we prepared a little surprise. Kevin brought a box into the room and said we had an announcement. He said we needed to add two new stockings to the mantel for next year. Then, he opened the box and we had two Christmas stockings, each with a bottle of champagne in it, with baby hats on the bottle (picture attached). So, obviously the biggest reaction was due to the fact that there were TWO stockings and both of the bottles were wearing BLUE hats!

We had a great Christmas and we heard many suggestions for names that we would like to note will NOT be under consideration...Calvin & Hobbs, Ogilvie & Starship (Kevin's brother) and many others.

Now, we will officially begin the panic that time is ticking away and we have lots of things we need to do to start preparing. We need to move our focus from wallpaper removal to nursery preparation very soon. As Brooke and I discussed on the phone, we are about at the halfway mark and agreed that in some ways, it has gone by fairly quickly (I know you wouldn't think that by reading our earlier posts). The various doctor appointments have kept things moving along and all of us have been a bit surprised that we already have appointments every two weeks! Brooke is about due for another belly shot picture.

Happy New Year and cheers to an exciting 2010!

Here is a picture from our last appointment. The babies are too big to shown full body together. I decided not to post the pictures that gave us a hint on the gender!

Merry Christmas!

Ellen

Wooo Whoooo

Hi there, KEVIN POSTING,

So, this was a MAJOR week for us. Huge snow storm, really, record breaking in the area. Other than that, we have some "minor" news about having twins they are...... BOYS!!!

I was able to take my reconstructed knee down to Richmond and witness the 16 week u/s (ultra sound for all the new people I have just invited to the site), and well, I am a proud father of two boys. Oooopssss. Did I give away the color scheme of the bedroom????

So, all of you reading this blog, you are "in the loop". I have already announced to my immediate family due to learning a few things.... Imagine my surprise, I am going to steal a phrase from Danny -- Apparently, my father is a "leaky bucket", and my siblings were not surprised a few weeks ago at my announcement about Ellen and I having a baby/babies. I told my brother last week about the pregnancy, and he said "oh, yes, Dad told me." So, I then called my sister, gave her the news, and she said "Congratulations, I heard from Dad about it." So.....

Well, I made sure that they all heard from me first hand that we had twin boys on the way. Of course, as I type this, I can't help but feel some apprehension about the whole twin thing and the potential complications. This is just something that Ellen and I have learned to deal with over our past experiences. We are thrilled, excited, can't believe where we are, but have gone through so much that we can't help but be cautious (well, I think we have already thrown caution to the wind, I was so excited I couldn't wait to tell my already informed siblings about what was happening, as I already mentioned). According to our current "peri", he is "bored" after we make it past week 32, so that is my goal to be literally jumping up and down.

Ellen is waiting to spill the beans to her whole family when we are all together over Christmas. We have already planned the event, hopefully it is big news, but we are competing against Ellen's brother/sister-in-law as they just adopted a puppy. I think we will win over on the adults (hopefully), but the kids will be excited about the puppy. Any good ideas on how to make a dramatic announcement? I have my plan, but I am always looking for some different angle.

As for our visit to Richmond to see the doctor and the u/s (ultra sound to my very slow friends), it was great, but the tech was so fast, I couldn't follow a thing she was showing.... well, except, for the still photos of the "proof" of boys. I scanned them in and everything, so will work on uploading them.

But, after the appointment, Brooke, Danny, Ellen, and myself had a great meal at my new favorite deli (Kenny's or Jason's, one of those two....). They make a great sandwich and excellent chili, not to mention the free corn bread and garlic bread (please note, I receive $0.000000001 each time you Google "Kenny's/Jason's Deli".

We are just totally excited about where we are right now, and as each week passes we are more excited. Brooke and Danny continue to be so positive and great. Time just seems to be crawling along, however, as Ellen and I are ready to take on the twin challenge we are facing (although, technically, we have wallpaper and rooms to decorate, so, we really are not ready yet....). Working on it, and it will be done.

Phew..... Another long post from me, but I love writing and am incredibly excited about the news.

- Kevin

Two healthy babies!

Just wanted to post that today's u/s went well. We have two healthy babies in there! Baby A measured in at 6oz. and had a heartbeat of 151 and Baby B measured in at 6oz. as well with a heartbeat of 145. Both babies look great and healthy. We had a chance to finally meet Dr. Christmas, the peri. He was very informative and I really liked him. I'm glad because I'll be seeing him about as much as my regular OB. We'll have appts. every two weeks pretty much the rest of the way through. Not a whole lot more exciting news except Ellen and Kevin did get to find out what color(s) they will be buying for these little ones, but I'll let them share that news since it's their news to share! Thanks Ellen and Kevin for a great lunch today! I always enjoy my time with you two! We're almost half way there so that still leaves us many more enjoyable times!

Not much new.....

14 weeks

Not a whole lot new here. We're officially past the 12wk. mark though! Yesterday made us 14wks! I have been feeling a little under the weather lately, cold, stuffy nose and headache but feeling better today. It's much more difficult dealing with the common cold when you're pregnant than when you're not. I am defiintely feeling more pregnant lately, but that's not a bad thing. I like it when I get past the "I'm not just fat, I'm pregnant" stage. LOL. That should be coming soon. Had an appt. last week with Dr. D. Ellen and Kevin weren't able to make that one. Poor Kevin is still trapped in the spare bedroom with his recovering knee and Ellen had training at work and a broken fridge to deal with. I think I had the easier task for the day. It was just a regular OB check-up and Dan and I got to hear the heartbeats via the doppler for the first time. I do wish Ellen and Kevin could have been there for that because it's still the most amazing sound I've ever heard! They will hopefully make it to the next appt. and get to hear the heartbeats then. Well we do have another u/s scheduled with the peri for Dec.21st. We'll be a little over 16wks then so it should be an exciting one! Hoping they'll get to find out whether they'll need to buy pink or blue or maybe both! What a Christmas present! Until next time...... I suppose it's time to bless you with the oh so dreaded "baby bump" picture. Here goes.........

Lots of Pics

Kevin here, using Ellen's account since I can't figure out my own contributor account (and, don't ask how long it took to scan these photos on to the computer... no, really, I do understand computers (somewhat)).

Due to recent ACL reconstructive surgery, I was not able to go to the last doctor's visit, which was to the "peri". I kept asking Ellen if they can record the U/S to a DVD or CD (I understand this is something they do), but apparently I had to settle for the "old fashioned" method of pictures. They were just as impressive as a video. The little "guys" are growing like, well, uh, weeds. There was some great definition of their various body parts (no, not able to tell that part, although, that would be impressive....).

It really is hard to believe that we are about to have a mega-instant-family coming our way in the next few months. One child, sure, can handle that. Two? Wow, changes the whole situation quite a bit, but we always wanted multiple children (reality hits you like a sledge hammer). Right now both Ellen and I are concerned that our garbage pickup just recently changed to once a week. Can you imagine what the diaper situation will be like with twins during the summer months? In our family we have a code word for smell (from the dogs) and it is "pongo". I think we are going to encounter quadruple pongo this summer, every week.

Brooke has been such a trooper. I was pretty much out of it last week, but we had a great conversation (well, at least I think we did), and it was a nice distraction from having my knee on fire. Also, I just have to give a shout out and congratulations to Danny, who is officially off the medication part of this trip -- I know how you feel, but some times isn't it gratifying to stab your significant other with a needle? Uh, I mean, how great is it that you don't have to do that any more....

I completely agree with one of Ellen's last posts that time just seems to be crawling along. The widget on this site is fantastic, and at times seems to completely resemble the upside down and right side up situation of our two little kickers (or, shooters if they play basketball).

It will be one crazy summer, that is all I can say. Thanks so much, Brooke and Danny, we are looking forward to our continued friendship and bonding.

- Kevin

Just Awesome!

Ellen here - still excited from our day yesterday! As Brooke said, we had a great appointment and u/s. To be this far along is fantastic and Baby A & Baby B are really looking like babies! Our tech did a great job explaining the details of what she was doing and what we are seeing. We watched everything on the TV monitor and of course both Dan and Kevin felt it should have been a large flat screen for us to view everything. The second half of the appointment was with a new doctor for Brooke. Dr. D isn't new to the practice and actually delivered (or tried to get there in time) to deliver baby #2 for Brooke, but she normally saw another physician. We really liked her and think that we are in good hands. She asked if we were going to find out the sexes and said she would if she were us...she doesn't like surprises! She speaks the truth as far as I'm concerned!
Our next step is an u/s with the perinatologist in a few weeks and we also get on a regular schedule with Dr. D. She told us we would be getting a lot of u/s with twins and we certainly like that part. I can't wait to complete the first trimester. We are starting to breathe a little easier but at this point, I imagine we will be a little bit anxious for this entire journey.

Another great appt.!

Well yesterday was our first appt. with the OB. I was officially 10wks.2days yesterday. We had an u/s scheduled first at 11 and it was very exciting to see how much the babies have grown! They are doing beautifully. Baby A was measuring in at 10wk.5d and Baby B measured in at 10wk4d so he is catching up to A! He was measuring about 4 days smaller than A, but now he seems to be right along with A! It was absolutely amazing to see them moving around and see the little flicker which was their heartbeats. I forget which was which but one was around 180bpm and the other was about 171bpm. Both very strong heartbeats. The u/s tech took a good amt. of time measuring and showing us different things. Baby B is an overachiever and already head down so they are basically laying feet to head and head to feet if you can picture that. The u/s tech switched the settings so it was almost like a thermal image and we could actually see the blood flow through the umbilical cord. That was really neat to see. It was all just so surreal. We really got to see a lot of things. Baby B decided to be very active and was moving all over the place. The have little arm buds now and we could see their spines. They have redone my OB office so the u/s room was a little different than it has been with my own pregnancies. They now have a screen in on the wall so that I can see the u/s too without having to turn my head and look at the moniter on the actual machine. It was much nicer. I was just mesmorized watching everything. It truly is amazing!

Ellen posting -
I'm not going to start my post discussing how I can't stand waiting and how there isn't much going on....silence....crickets chirping...
Okay, all kidding aside, I realize that by watching the baby ticker, there is a lot really going on inside Brooke - we just think it is slow! I was thinking that I would like to watch the baby ticker on my screen all day at work but that might not be a good idea since we haven't told anyone yet.
We have less than a week until our first o/b appointment (with u/s). It will be over 10 weeks for us and that's a big milestone. Brooke only has another week of shots and then will be on her weaning protocol and I know Danny will be very happy about that. He has been our junior nurse through this adventure and I know he will be happy to give up his night job! That's about it for me. Let's just let time march on...