Hi everyone! Sorry I didn't post on Tuesday after my doctors' appointments. This week has been busy. Monday I had my very first baby shower. It was hosted by my fellow third grade teachers at CPES for the rest of the faculty and staff. It was so much fun to celebrate with my co-workers. I have been at Chelsea Park for six years now and the faculty and staff feel like family. They have been through this infertility journey with me. I was showered with gift cards, adorable baby gear, and even money to use on needs as they arise.
Tuesday morning w had our two doctors' appointments. At Dr. Gonzales' office they did ultrasounds to check the babies' heartbeats and measure my cervix. The heartbeats were all in normal range and my cervix is holding strong. While the babies were being scanned we saw a funny little sibling interaction. One baby struck out with a tiny fist and the neighboring little one punched back! All that was separating them was the walls of their sacks. I hope this is not an indication of things to come!
After Dr. Gonzales we saw Dr. Straughn. My biggest concern was my newest symptom, ITCHING! I have been itching for almost two weeks. I itch from the base of my scalp to the soles of my feet. At night I wake up three to four times because my feet itch so badly. I tried Aveno baths, Claratin . Benedryl cream, lotions, and finally ice. I now sleep with ice packs so that I can stick my feet under them when they begin to itch. I was concerned that I might be having liver issues because I'd read that could cause extreme itching in pregnancy. Dr. Straughn had blood work drawn to check and thankfully I heard back yesterday that everything came back normal.
Tuesday afternoon I went back to school for a shower thrown by my class and moms. That was fun. The kids loved the shower games, especially the candy bars diaper game. The students had to open a diaper to reveal a melted candy bar, then guess what kind of candy was in the diaper. The expressions and exclamations of disgust were hilarious! I came home with LOTS of diapers and wipers as well as some adorable onesies. By the times I got in my car at 5:00, the whole cab smelled like baby from the diapers and wipes sitting in the warm interior.
Wednesday was a rest day. I took the day to stay home in bed. The morning was slept away and the afternoon consisted of grading papers and writing thank you notes in bed. Ahhhh! So nice. I'm looking forward to more rest soon. I now have only one week of teaching left and that will only be four days because I'm taking next Wednesday as a mid-week break. I can hardly believe the end is in sight!
Friday, March 20, 2015
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Prayer and Praise
The past couple of weeks have really made me feel so much more like a mommy! One reason is my guest room. It is bursting with baby gear! Thanks to the BAMOM Twice As Nice Sale I am now the proud owner of nearly all my big baby items. My mom came up on Friday and I took a half day off so that we could go shopping. The pregnant BAMOM members get to shop early so we were let in at 2:00. The strollers were all lined up inside the doors. I knew that I needed two snap-n-go stroller bases for our infant car seats. It was like a feeding frenzy arounds the strollers. If Mom had not put her hand on two snap-n-goes we wouldn't have gotten them. That was the first three minutes. My second must have was a Chicco Keyfit 30 infant car seat. I had arranged to buy three of the same model from a triplet mom in our group. When I was sure we'd secured our strollers, I left them with Mom, walked around to the car seats, and BINGO! There was the car seat! It was not exactly the same color cover, but it coordinates. The other three are light grey, dark grey, and sage. The one I found was green and black. It also came with two bases. At that point Mom had to go and check out with those big items and I kept shopping. That led to four bouncy seats, a portable swing, and two over-the-door bouncers. Mom made another trip through the checkout. Next came a big baby gate/room divider for the space between our living and dining room, a whale-shaped baby tub, two bath seats, a few fitted crib sheets, and three mesh bumpers ( I already had one). By the time we left, the back of Mom's van was packed. She said it looked like we were setting up a daycare, and it did!
On Saturday some items went on half-price so we went back again, this time with my mom, my sweet mother-in-law, and Donny. This time we dove into baby girl clothes. Merril is pretty much covered with clothes because one of the moms from my class at school gave me seven big diaper boxes of boy clothes. I'd washed them, but Friday evening Mom folded and sorted the into huge ziplock bags by size. That made pink and frills the order of the day on Saturday. Oh my, I love pink and frills! We walked out with 109 pieces of baby girl clothes (mostly onesies and PJs) for $140! Wow. I feel like a Mommy.
Another reason I feel like a Mommy is the mommy concerns and boost to my prayer life. I'd gotten so used to feeling the babies, but the past week and a half I felt nothing. First I tried to push it away. I'd tell myself that they were growing and sleeping. Then I'd pray and go on. That sort of worked, but then I started waking up and thinking about it. Those wake times turned into hour-to-two-hour intense prayer sessions. I kept going to Jeremiah 29:11, God has plans for my babies, and Psalm 139, God knows what is going on inside me and is knitting them together. I was on pins and needles before our Wednesday appointments. Thankfully, at Dr. Gonzales office, when I told the ultrasound tech my concerns she immediately checked for heartbeats. They were all there! I will admit, a few tears slid down my cheek.
I was able to then soak in the images of my sweet, Merril, Molly, Dorothy, and Georgie. They are so close together. They can't move without bumping into each other. There is still growing room, but is amazing to see them little head by little head or head to little rump. Out of curiosity I asked show large my uterus is now. I was shocked as she pulled the ultrasound wand up to below my solar plexus and said "well, there's one up here." Then she pulled it down to just below my pelvis, "and one's down here". My entire belly is babies! I had no idea. It is amazing what that little muscular organ can do! She also checked my cervix and it is still strong and has shown no change. Oh, what a relief!
Next was Dr. Straughn. It was a quick in and out. My weight gain is good. My blood pressure was excellent. She talked with us a few minutes, smiling and nodding the whole time. We left feeling so encouraged and at peace.
Since our appointments were so early, we took the opportunity to visit the staff at Alabama Fertility Specialists. We hadn't seen them since we were released at the beginning of January. A quad pregnancy makes pretty huge changes in two months. They were all thrilled to see us and kept saying how great I looked, every pregnant girl needs to hear that. Karen gave us huge hugs and a smile that warmed me from head to toe. All the nurses circled up and cooed over the newest ultrasound pictures, exclaiming over "such big babies!" That made me giggle. They are used to tiny little peanut babies. After that point they have to hand over the care of those tiny lives to another physician. They help begin fulfilling dreams, but then have to unselfishly allow another to finish the work. That takes a unique, humble, wonderful person. I will be eternally grateful to all of them, and our babies will know the amazing people who helped them become part of the world.
I feel like a Mommy. I humbled, grateful, and blessed Mommy.
On Saturday some items went on half-price so we went back again, this time with my mom, my sweet mother-in-law, and Donny. This time we dove into baby girl clothes. Merril is pretty much covered with clothes because one of the moms from my class at school gave me seven big diaper boxes of boy clothes. I'd washed them, but Friday evening Mom folded and sorted the into huge ziplock bags by size. That made pink and frills the order of the day on Saturday. Oh my, I love pink and frills! We walked out with 109 pieces of baby girl clothes (mostly onesies and PJs) for $140! Wow. I feel like a Mommy.
Another reason I feel like a Mommy is the mommy concerns and boost to my prayer life. I'd gotten so used to feeling the babies, but the past week and a half I felt nothing. First I tried to push it away. I'd tell myself that they were growing and sleeping. Then I'd pray and go on. That sort of worked, but then I started waking up and thinking about it. Those wake times turned into hour-to-two-hour intense prayer sessions. I kept going to Jeremiah 29:11, God has plans for my babies, and Psalm 139, God knows what is going on inside me and is knitting them together. I was on pins and needles before our Wednesday appointments. Thankfully, at Dr. Gonzales office, when I told the ultrasound tech my concerns she immediately checked for heartbeats. They were all there! I will admit, a few tears slid down my cheek.
I was able to then soak in the images of my sweet, Merril, Molly, Dorothy, and Georgie. They are so close together. They can't move without bumping into each other. There is still growing room, but is amazing to see them little head by little head or head to little rump. Out of curiosity I asked show large my uterus is now. I was shocked as she pulled the ultrasound wand up to below my solar plexus and said "well, there's one up here." Then she pulled it down to just below my pelvis, "and one's down here". My entire belly is babies! I had no idea. It is amazing what that little muscular organ can do! She also checked my cervix and it is still strong and has shown no change. Oh, what a relief!
Next was Dr. Straughn. It was a quick in and out. My weight gain is good. My blood pressure was excellent. She talked with us a few minutes, smiling and nodding the whole time. We left feeling so encouraged and at peace.
Since our appointments were so early, we took the opportunity to visit the staff at Alabama Fertility Specialists. We hadn't seen them since we were released at the beginning of January. A quad pregnancy makes pretty huge changes in two months. They were all thrilled to see us and kept saying how great I looked, every pregnant girl needs to hear that. Karen gave us huge hugs and a smile that warmed me from head to toe. All the nurses circled up and cooed over the newest ultrasound pictures, exclaiming over "such big babies!" That made me giggle. They are used to tiny little peanut babies. After that point they have to hand over the care of those tiny lives to another physician. They help begin fulfilling dreams, but then have to unselfishly allow another to finish the work. That takes a unique, humble, wonderful person. I will be eternally grateful to all of them, and our babies will know the amazing people who helped them become part of the world.
I feel like a Mommy. I humbled, grateful, and blessed Mommy.
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
And the babies are...
Today was an important day, our first day of stacked doctors' appointments. We saw Dr. Gonzales at 1:30 and glory be, it was so much more pleasant. We had our ultrasound with the most adorably perky nurse. As she conducted the ultrasound, she cooed over and talked to the babies on the screen. She confirmed the three gender guesses and was able to also get Baby A to cooperate. Are you ready to know? Drum roll please!
The Mottlets are three girls and one boy!
After making fetal measurements, the nurse did my first cervical measurement. Then Dr. Gonzales came in, looked over the pictures, and spoke with us. The babies are measuring 5- 6 ounces, Baby A is the big 6 ounce girl. She is in the 92nd percentile! Their heartbeats ranged from 140-150 bpm. Dr. Gonzales was much more personable this time. He smiled as he spoke with us and confirmed that my cervix is doing well, holding strong.
Donny and I headed down to the second floor with smiles on our faces! In our appointment with Dr. Straughn I was able to run down my symptoms. All of them were expected pregnancy symptoms. Well, all but the rib muscle that I pulled today. I'm moving like an old lady. Man a pulled muscle hurts! Every move and cough hurts! I think it was a combination of coughing, throwing up the other night, and the pressure on my ribs as I grow bigger and bigger.
On a more positive note, our babies are movers! I feel them nearly every day now. This morning from 4 -7 they were practicing their ninja skills. It's hard to sleep when four babies are flipping and kicking around inside you! It's sleep I'd gladly miss, just to know our Mottlets are happy and healthy. Please continue praying that the babies grow, my cervix stays strong and tightly closed, an my BP stays regulated. All of your prayers and support are so incredibly appreciated!
The Mottlets are three girls and one boy!
After making fetal measurements, the nurse did my first cervical measurement. Then Dr. Gonzales came in, looked over the pictures, and spoke with us. The babies are measuring 5- 6 ounces, Baby A is the big 6 ounce girl. She is in the 92nd percentile! Their heartbeats ranged from 140-150 bpm. Dr. Gonzales was much more personable this time. He smiled as he spoke with us and confirmed that my cervix is doing well, holding strong.
Donny and I headed down to the second floor with smiles on our faces! In our appointment with Dr. Straughn I was able to run down my symptoms. All of them were expected pregnancy symptoms. Well, all but the rib muscle that I pulled today. I'm moving like an old lady. Man a pulled muscle hurts! Every move and cough hurts! I think it was a combination of coughing, throwing up the other night, and the pressure on my ribs as I grow bigger and bigger.
On a more positive note, our babies are movers! I feel them nearly every day now. This morning from 4 -7 they were practicing their ninja skills. It's hard to sleep when four babies are flipping and kicking around inside you! It's sleep I'd gladly miss, just to know our Mottlets are happy and healthy. Please continue praying that the babies grow, my cervix stays strong and tightly closed, an my BP stays regulated. All of your prayers and support are so incredibly appreciated!
Monday, February 9, 2015
Don't Rain On My Parade
So what does it mean when I'm updating my blog on a school day, during school hours? That's right, I'm sick! The little germ factories have struck again. I could tell on Thursday that my lingering cough - you know the one that likes to make me lose my meals- was getting worse. A bunch of the kids in my class had been hacking too. I knew I was getting a cold. So, ever after resting in bed or on the couch all weekend, I still had to take a sick day. That does mean I have to time to update you on the two most recent doctor visits as I sit hear cocooned in pillows.
We saw Dr. Gonzales for the first time on January 28th. He is the perinatologist at Brookwood. First they took us back to the nicest ultrasound room I've ever been in, huge! It had a nice long bed beside the screen, a row of chairs along the wall, and plenty of space for the equipment, a desk, and a few other pieces of furniture. The overhead lights were out, but a pretty table lamp shed a warm glow in the corner. The tech who called us back then set to work doing the most through ultrasound I've ever had. She'd checked organs - heart, diaphragm, stomach, and brain. She located key developing bones- growth plates in the skull, tibia and fibula, radius and ulna, and the little nasal bone. She measured them all from head to rump to confirm due date. Thankfully they all were measuring one to two days ahead of schedule and no one was lagging or small. She located and measured all the heartbeats. A few babies gave her a hard time and kept wiggling away as soon as she found the heartbeat. You'd hear the woosh-woosh-woosh of a heart for a second then it would turn to garbled white noise as the tiny patient squirmed away. We watched them practice swallowing, squirming, waving arms and legs. The imaging equipment was incredibly clear! Their tiny profiles were easy to see. It is amazing what bonding can take place just by watching your unborn children. We even got gender guesses for three babies. Baby A was not cooperating. I'm going to wait to share genders here on the blog until we have them confirmed sat my next appointment with Dr. Gonzales.
So, we were on cloud nine! Our babies were growing! They were moving! Then the tech said, "ok, I'm going to show these to Dr. Gonzales and then he will come in ands tell you everything that can go wrong." Thunderclouds overhead, he was going to rain on my parade. We knew it was coming. Of course he'd have to share all the possible nasty scenarios. I had to make a run for the bathroom before he came in - too much pushing on the bladder- and when I returned he was already in the room. The tech flipped through the images pretty quickly as he watched. I guess he found nothing to cause alarm, because he didn't refer back to the images during the rest of the consultation. Basically the biggest scary concerns he had were these: preterm delivery before viability, blood pressure issues, and distribution of nutrition as the babies grow. There were more, but these struck home.
Basically, he said preterm labor, once it begins, can only be delayed a few hours at best. 40% of quadruplet sets are born before 24 week, before they can survive outside the womb. There is no good information on why it happens. When the babies decide they are coming then they are coming. The hospital will take steps to medically intervene from 24 weeks on, but not before that.
I already have high blood pressure that is controlled on medication. He said that the blood volume increase needed to support four babies may be more than my circulatory system can handle. My blood vessels can on stretch so far and my heart can only pump so much. He said with my preexisting blood pressure issues, this could cause us to have problems. If my blood pressure goes too high they might have to deliver the babies early, possibly even too early.
Then final concern will show up more later as the babies grow. If one baby has a greater surface area attachment between the placenta ands uterine wall, it will get more nutrition than the others. This would cause uneven growth, crowding out the ones receiving less nutrition. Finally the smallest baby may just decide they are all coming early.
See, rain, a downpour really. Selective reduction also reared it's ugly head once again, and once again we said a kind, but firm "no".
As you can imagine we left that appointment with mixed emotions. Our babies were growing, beautiful, and strong but WHAT IF?
Donny and I talked and were reminded that God entrusted us with these babies and this journey. He hasn't just started all of it in motion and then washed his hands of us and our babies. He is knitting them, all four of them, together. His plan is perfect. Even if the plan is one of the "what ifs" it is perfect. My quad mom friend told me that all I can do it eat, rest, and leave it in God's hands. That's what I intend to do.
Our most recent appointment was this past Friday morning. This time with Dr. Straughn. It was so much less stress! The ultrasound showed four strong heartbeats, but the tech didn't try to tell us the sex if Baby A....darn! Dr. Straughn answered our questions about when I should try to stay home from work, how to handle my cold, and how Hawk would fit in the picture at the hospital when the babies arrive ( that one had really been bugging Donny). She said all my lab work from the last visit looked great. My blood pressure was even normal, I told her that was because I hadn't been to work yet that day ;) It was fantastic to leave an appointment feeling good instead of worried. There was rain on our parade, but the sun came shining through bringing a rainbow of hope.
So now you are all caught up on my life carrying four babies. In the course of the time it took me to type this I've had to make a bathroom run, a snack run, and a refill my water jug run. Just imagine what life will be like as they grow! For now, I'll cough, sniffle, eat, and sleep the rest of this sick day away.
We saw Dr. Gonzales for the first time on January 28th. He is the perinatologist at Brookwood. First they took us back to the nicest ultrasound room I've ever been in, huge! It had a nice long bed beside the screen, a row of chairs along the wall, and plenty of space for the equipment, a desk, and a few other pieces of furniture. The overhead lights were out, but a pretty table lamp shed a warm glow in the corner. The tech who called us back then set to work doing the most through ultrasound I've ever had. She'd checked organs - heart, diaphragm, stomach, and brain. She located key developing bones- growth plates in the skull, tibia and fibula, radius and ulna, and the little nasal bone. She measured them all from head to rump to confirm due date. Thankfully they all were measuring one to two days ahead of schedule and no one was lagging or small. She located and measured all the heartbeats. A few babies gave her a hard time and kept wiggling away as soon as she found the heartbeat. You'd hear the woosh-woosh-woosh of a heart for a second then it would turn to garbled white noise as the tiny patient squirmed away. We watched them practice swallowing, squirming, waving arms and legs. The imaging equipment was incredibly clear! Their tiny profiles were easy to see. It is amazing what bonding can take place just by watching your unborn children. We even got gender guesses for three babies. Baby A was not cooperating. I'm going to wait to share genders here on the blog until we have them confirmed sat my next appointment with Dr. Gonzales.
So, we were on cloud nine! Our babies were growing! They were moving! Then the tech said, "ok, I'm going to show these to Dr. Gonzales and then he will come in ands tell you everything that can go wrong." Thunderclouds overhead, he was going to rain on my parade. We knew it was coming. Of course he'd have to share all the possible nasty scenarios. I had to make a run for the bathroom before he came in - too much pushing on the bladder- and when I returned he was already in the room. The tech flipped through the images pretty quickly as he watched. I guess he found nothing to cause alarm, because he didn't refer back to the images during the rest of the consultation. Basically the biggest scary concerns he had were these: preterm delivery before viability, blood pressure issues, and distribution of nutrition as the babies grow. There were more, but these struck home.
Basically, he said preterm labor, once it begins, can only be delayed a few hours at best. 40% of quadruplet sets are born before 24 week, before they can survive outside the womb. There is no good information on why it happens. When the babies decide they are coming then they are coming. The hospital will take steps to medically intervene from 24 weeks on, but not before that.
I already have high blood pressure that is controlled on medication. He said that the blood volume increase needed to support four babies may be more than my circulatory system can handle. My blood vessels can on stretch so far and my heart can only pump so much. He said with my preexisting blood pressure issues, this could cause us to have problems. If my blood pressure goes too high they might have to deliver the babies early, possibly even too early.
Then final concern will show up more later as the babies grow. If one baby has a greater surface area attachment between the placenta ands uterine wall, it will get more nutrition than the others. This would cause uneven growth, crowding out the ones receiving less nutrition. Finally the smallest baby may just decide they are all coming early.
See, rain, a downpour really. Selective reduction also reared it's ugly head once again, and once again we said a kind, but firm "no".
As you can imagine we left that appointment with mixed emotions. Our babies were growing, beautiful, and strong but WHAT IF?
Donny and I talked and were reminded that God entrusted us with these babies and this journey. He hasn't just started all of it in motion and then washed his hands of us and our babies. He is knitting them, all four of them, together. His plan is perfect. Even if the plan is one of the "what ifs" it is perfect. My quad mom friend told me that all I can do it eat, rest, and leave it in God's hands. That's what I intend to do.
Our most recent appointment was this past Friday morning. This time with Dr. Straughn. It was so much less stress! The ultrasound showed four strong heartbeats, but the tech didn't try to tell us the sex if Baby A....darn! Dr. Straughn answered our questions about when I should try to stay home from work, how to handle my cold, and how Hawk would fit in the picture at the hospital when the babies arrive ( that one had really been bugging Donny). She said all my lab work from the last visit looked great. My blood pressure was even normal, I told her that was because I hadn't been to work yet that day ;) It was fantastic to leave an appointment feeling good instead of worried. There was rain on our parade, but the sun came shining through bringing a rainbow of hope.
So now you are all caught up on my life carrying four babies. In the course of the time it took me to type this I've had to make a bathroom run, a snack run, and a refill my water jug run. Just imagine what life will be like as they grow! For now, I'll cough, sniffle, eat, and sleep the rest of this sick day away.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
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!
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!
Monday, January 5, 2015
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!
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!
Saturday, December 13, 2014
I'm looking over a four-leaf clover...
Hello friends. If I've left some of you in suspense this past week, I'm sorry! You remember that we got our exciting BFP call from Karen. The follow up blood work was great. My HCG levels were rising quickly. We scheduled our first ultrasound for December 10th at 2:30. Donny and I couldn't wait to see our baby for the first time! Unfortunately, I picked up a cold from one of my little darlings at school that kept me in bed the weekend before the appointment and forced my to take a sick day on Tuesday. I went to my general practitioner and founded out my cold had turned into a secondary infection. Ick! Morning sickness and nausea also struck. It's no fun to lose your breakfast in the driveway as you are trying to leave for work.
When Wednesday finally arrived, I was excited, but still feeling sick. I got through my half-day at school and went to Donny's office. The plan was to grab lunch together, hang out, then head to our appointment. I really wanted to enjoy the afternoon, but it was a struggle to get the broccoli cheddar soup down and sit up as we ate at Panera. We decided to go walk around Babies-R-Us (finally a happy visit to that store). As we cruised up and down the aisles packed with the mysterious accoutrements of parenthood I couldn't help feeling a little better. The stroller and car seat section was a source of lots of conversation. Donny patted the handle of a double stroller with a joking grin and said, " We'll needed two of these. One for you and one for me!" I laughed and kept walking. Oh, if I'd only known...
We arrived a little early for our ultrasound and Karen took us right back. I think she was just as excited as we were. As she inserted the probe, I watched the screen eagerly, expecting to see one or two dark spots. Ask she moved the probe around, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There were several dark spots. "Well, this isn't exactly what I hoped to see," Karen began, "Can you tell how many we are looking at?"
I stared at the clear four-leaf clover on the screen, "four?"
"Yes, we are looking at four. That's more than I wanted to see. Let's get some measurements." She continued to reposition the probe, freeze images, and place little asterisks on the top, bottom, and sides of each little one. She paused over each tiny baby to point out a flickering dot, the heartbeat. All four babies had heartbeats and measured almost the same size - the correct size for 6 weeks and two days.
After the ultrasound I was given my first snapshot of my growing family and ushered into another exam room to talk with Dr. Steinkampf. Donny and I were grinning at each other as we waited and I couldn't stop giggling! It was a giddy high. When Dr. Steinkampf came in, he congratulated us with a cautious smile. He sat down and began to explain some of the concerns with multiples. Each extra baby subtracts an average of four weeks from the normal gestation. With quads - 3 extra babies - 12 weeks early is terrifying. Half of quadruplet pregnancy end in all four babies succumbing to prematurity.
Then he presented our "options":
1. Terminate the pregnancy and try again (NOT an option).
2. Attempt to carry a quad pregnancy (sounds about right, but "attempt" is a scary word).
3. Near the end of the first trimester, selectively reduce the pregnancy to twins (NOT AN OPTION).
He also said that sometimes one or more of the babies stop developing and re-absorb. He said we couldn't make any decisions now. We would return in a few weeks for another ultrasound and would then develop a plan if attack. I told him that Donny and I believed strongly in the sanctity of life and we would no reduce our pregnancy. Obviously we are not the first couple to tell him that. He didn't berate us, but he did say that you could make the case that reducing the pregnancy respects life by giving two babies a better chance at survival. This argument doesn't change our mind. God allowed four of six follicles to become babies. I will do everything in my power to carry all four of them as close to full term as possible.
I must admit, the prospect is very daunting. I am scared for my babies. I'm really not sure how we'll handle the day-to-day realities of caring for four, most likely premature, infants. Right now, I'm praying that all of the babies that are born will be healthy. I'm eating like a horse and sleeping every chance I get. I stay exhausted and get queasy and shakes, but thank goodness for nausea meds! Donny has been waiting on me hand-and-foot. He is my cheerleader and my hero. I have no idea what the future holds. We'll have more answers after of ultrasound on January 5th. Will we see 4 still? 3? 2? For now, I'll drink another glass of water, get a snack, and lie down! Mama is worn out!
When Wednesday finally arrived, I was excited, but still feeling sick. I got through my half-day at school and went to Donny's office. The plan was to grab lunch together, hang out, then head to our appointment. I really wanted to enjoy the afternoon, but it was a struggle to get the broccoli cheddar soup down and sit up as we ate at Panera. We decided to go walk around Babies-R-Us (finally a happy visit to that store). As we cruised up and down the aisles packed with the mysterious accoutrements of parenthood I couldn't help feeling a little better. The stroller and car seat section was a source of lots of conversation. Donny patted the handle of a double stroller with a joking grin and said, " We'll needed two of these. One for you and one for me!" I laughed and kept walking. Oh, if I'd only known...
We arrived a little early for our ultrasound and Karen took us right back. I think she was just as excited as we were. As she inserted the probe, I watched the screen eagerly, expecting to see one or two dark spots. Ask she moved the probe around, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There were several dark spots. "Well, this isn't exactly what I hoped to see," Karen began, "Can you tell how many we are looking at?"
I stared at the clear four-leaf clover on the screen, "four?"
"Yes, we are looking at four. That's more than I wanted to see. Let's get some measurements." She continued to reposition the probe, freeze images, and place little asterisks on the top, bottom, and sides of each little one. She paused over each tiny baby to point out a flickering dot, the heartbeat. All four babies had heartbeats and measured almost the same size - the correct size for 6 weeks and two days.
After the ultrasound I was given my first snapshot of my growing family and ushered into another exam room to talk with Dr. Steinkampf. Donny and I were grinning at each other as we waited and I couldn't stop giggling! It was a giddy high. When Dr. Steinkampf came in, he congratulated us with a cautious smile. He sat down and began to explain some of the concerns with multiples. Each extra baby subtracts an average of four weeks from the normal gestation. With quads - 3 extra babies - 12 weeks early is terrifying. Half of quadruplet pregnancy end in all four babies succumbing to prematurity.
Then he presented our "options":
1. Terminate the pregnancy and try again (NOT an option).
2. Attempt to carry a quad pregnancy (sounds about right, but "attempt" is a scary word).
3. Near the end of the first trimester, selectively reduce the pregnancy to twins (NOT AN OPTION).
He also said that sometimes one or more of the babies stop developing and re-absorb. He said we couldn't make any decisions now. We would return in a few weeks for another ultrasound and would then develop a plan if attack. I told him that Donny and I believed strongly in the sanctity of life and we would no reduce our pregnancy. Obviously we are not the first couple to tell him that. He didn't berate us, but he did say that you could make the case that reducing the pregnancy respects life by giving two babies a better chance at survival. This argument doesn't change our mind. God allowed four of six follicles to become babies. I will do everything in my power to carry all four of them as close to full term as possible.
I must admit, the prospect is very daunting. I am scared for my babies. I'm really not sure how we'll handle the day-to-day realities of caring for four, most likely premature, infants. Right now, I'm praying that all of the babies that are born will be healthy. I'm eating like a horse and sleeping every chance I get. I stay exhausted and get queasy and shakes, but thank goodness for nausea meds! Donny has been waiting on me hand-and-foot. He is my cheerleader and my hero. I have no idea what the future holds. We'll have more answers after of ultrasound on January 5th. Will we see 4 still? 3? 2? For now, I'll drink another glass of water, get a snack, and lie down! Mama is worn out!
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