Hello everyone! It is high time I filled all of you in on the latest news on the Mottlets! The week has been very busy and eventful. A soon as we found out we were expecting quads, friends and doctors began to mention a local support group for moms with multiple, Birminghan Area Mothers of Multiples (BAMOM). I reached out to them on facebook about a month ago and immediately heard back from several moms in the group, including a mom of quads. A couple weeks ago, I began texting with her and she encouraged me to join them for their Moms' Night Out to meet the other moms and get plugged in.  So, this past Thursday night I pushed my bedtime back (I'm not a night owl and growing four babies has put me in bed even earlier lately) and joined them for dinner from 7:00-9:00 at Cantina Lorado.  It is a little intimidating to insert yourself into a group where you don't know anyone, but nerves quickly vanished as I was quickly pulled into the middle of  a trio of best-friend-moms and immediately included in the conversation.

I had a wonderful time that evening.  The wealth of experience at that table and just knowing that they'd all been in the same place as me was fantastic. Thanks to that night, I already have arranged to buy a quad stroller second-hand from one of the moms for half the price I would have had to pay new and I have a group of ladies that I can call on for advice and support in this wonderful/terrifying journey as a quad-mom. They enthusiastically approved our choice to have the Mottlets at Brookwood.  Several of them had their babies at Brookwood and raved about the NICU, the neonatologists, and Dr. Gonzales.

I definitely plan on attending as many BAMOM meetings and events as possible. One of their upcoming events I'm really excited about is their consignment sale on February 27 - 28.  I'm hoping to grab some of our larger items like snap-n-go baby seat strollers and other essentials at the sale. I don't think we'll know baby genders yet so I'll most-likely wait on clothes. If you are interested in checking out the sale, there is more information at BAMOM.org

Friday morning was our first OB appointment with Dr. Straughn.  Our appointment was at 7:45 and they wanted us there 30 minutes early- so much for extra sleep on my half-day off.  I did quickly see the benefit of an early appointment though.  When we walked out at 9:15 the waiting room was full!
We started with an ultrasound, and this one was finally external! Yay! I held my breathe as I waited to  see the image come into focus, praying that there were still four healthy babies. One, two, three, four....whew! They were so much bigger and so much more defined.  Two weeks ago they were little peanuts- head, body, and tiny arms and legs.  This time they were head, clear neck, shoulders with longer thin arms, belly, hips and long slender legs. More amazingly, they were all very active. We watched them twist and turn, push with their legs against their sacks, stretch arms, and one even waved a little hand. Then, for the first time, we heard their heartbeats. One-by-one the tech focused in on each baby and found the heartbeat. What an incredible experience!

Then we were moved to a room and waited to speak with Dr. Straughn.  We just kept grinning at each other, basking in the glow of our growing babies! She came in, sat down, and talked with us a long time.  We were able to finally get filled in on the basic beginning-of-pregnancy info and ask questions. She did tell us up front that in 14 years of practice she has never delivered quads.  She has delivered lots of twins ands a couple sets of triplets.  She was willing to see us and would refer us to Dr. Gonzales, who would outline a plan for the pregnancy that they would follow together. She also said we were welcome to get another opinion at UAB if we wanted.  Donny and I discussed it and decided that we were most comfortable staying at Brookwood.  The NICU will be crucial for our Mottlets. I'm confident that together Dr. Straughn and Dr. Gonzales will be able to help me get the Mottlets here safely. Then it will be in the hands of the neonatologists and the NICU.

We wrapped up the appointment with blood work.  Thankfully, the nurse got my vein on the first stick. She wasn't very chatty, but if she's good at finding a vein, I have no complaints! I will be going in every two weeks to see Dr. Straughn so we went ahead and scheduled our next appointment for February 6th.  Some time this week I should also be hearing from Dr. Gonzales' office to set up an appointment to see him.

Donny and I celebrated the good visit with second breakfast at Over Easy.  It really seemed like a crime to not be able to eat that entire yummy plate of food. Food is still my frienemy.  I have to eat every couple of hours, but I can't eat a full meal in one sitting.  The rest if the weekend was a flurry of friends and family.  Saturday we had lunch with my sister, Faith, and went bargain shopping for diapers at Bargain Hunt. Yep, we have started diaper stocking. That evening we had a long overdue dinner with two families we love, the Lukers and the Sauniers. We haven't seen them since we got pregnant. There were lots of squeezy hugs, squeals, and tummy pats.

Today, my niece Piper was baptized at Shades Mountain Baptist Church, our former church. We were blessed to attend along with Donny's whole family.  Afterwards, we were able to see several friends from our Sunday school class at Shades. We were covered up in hugs, congratulations, offers to help, and offers of baby clothes/gear.

So now you are up-to-date! This week has been a wonderful time of encouragement. We are humbled by the amazing generosity and support of friends, family, and even complete strangers.  I have never felt so covered in prayer. Thank you all!

The Mottlets

Receiving the news that you are going to carry four babies is pretty overwhelming.  Of course I was happy.  We've wanted a family so long. Still four is a daunting prospect! I had a month to mull over the news. The two week break from school turned into self-imposed modified bed rest. I had no energy at all! Food became a tricky two-faced friend. I had to eat every couple of hours or I'd feel sick, but heaven forbid I eat a bite more than my stomach wanted or it promptly made an unpleasant reappearance! I just told myself it must mean the babies were growing.

Today we had our 10 week ultrasound. Donny and I didn't know what to expect. Would all four still be there? Maybe the pregnancy had reduced? Maybe none of them were growing. We waited nervously for Karen to come in and perform the ultrasound. I had to eat crackers as we waited- it had been three hours since lunch after all. When the screen revealed 1, 2, 3, 4 babies we finally felt like we could breathe!

What an amazing sight it was to see each of those tiny little people!  Their precious bobble heads, tiny arms, and little legs came in and out of focus as Karen skillfully maneuvered the probe around and snapped pictures of each baby.  One of them was awake and wiggling, waving tiny arms and legs.   As ultrasound continued another sweet pea woke up too and wiggled around. All four were measuring exactly as they should be and have been growing like little champs.

Afterward we met with Dr. Steinkampf for the final time. He had already called and spoken with my OB, Dr. Straughn, at Brookwood to inform her that here was releasing me to her care. I will call and make an appointment with her, then see Dr. Gonzales (a perinatal specialist) also. It was bitter sweet to tell the wonderful staff at Alabama Fertility Specialists goodbye. Hugs were exchanged.  Promises made to keep in touch and send baby pictures. Dr. Steinkampf even gave me a hug!  What a softie :)

So now the plan is rest whenever possible, eat and eat, and grow the biggest and healthiest quads the Brookwood Hospital has ever seen!