Long Overdue Update!

We are getting settled into our crazy new life! We definitely have a routine down, and it generally keeps everyone happy and life managable...although Jim and I are getting precious little sleep these days. After all of the dust settles from Christmas spending, we are going to look into getting some help one or two nights a weeks, to allow us a little more sleep.


The babies are doing great. We had a home health nurse come out last week to give them the RSV shot, and she weighed them, and they were all up about a pound in 10 days!!! Their weights were (this information is now about a week old):

Audrey 6lbs 9oz

Melanie 6lbs 14oz

Oliver 6lbs 12oz

Teddy 7lbs even



SMILES!

Today I got a smile from Audrey, and Linda, one of the church volunteers, got a smile from Melanie! Oh how wonderful to be getting a little feedback! Sometimes, as the monotonous feeding schedule wears on, poor ol' mom, she feels like she's just got four mouths and bottoms to take care of.......I am DYING to get to that cute, smiley, playing with our feet stage! I promise to post a picture of a smile as soon as I'm able to capture one on camera!


In the meantime, here are just some fun pictures to enjoy!

Outing to the Pediatrician!

We took all four babies to the Pediatrician on Friday. The visit originally was for Audrey and Oliver's post-hospitalization follow-up visit, but we decided to take Melanie just to weigh her, and since we were taking three, opted to take all four with two parents rather than send one person out with three and leave one person home with one. We wanted Melly's weight because I was pretty sure she was over 5lbs, and that meant that we could ditch the clunky car seat that the hospital gave us and use the more narrow and user-friendly one that we purchased for the babies.


The visit went very well. No shots (always a plus). The doc said the babies look great, and everyone is over 5lbs (we stuck Teddy on the scale for a quick "unofficial" weight) and swiftly approaching 6lbs. Their weights, in descending order:

• Teddy - 5lbs, 15oz


• Melanie - 5lbs, 14oz


• Oliver - 5lbs, 9oz


• Audrey - 5lbs, 7oz

Teddy is still on top, but just by a smidge. Melanie put on a full pound in 10 days! If Teddy doesn't start eating as well as Melly does (she can down formula like a frat boy drinking Natty) she will outweigh him before the week is out! Audrey is also quite a good eater, and puts Ollie to shame. Both boys are at risk of being squashed by the girls!

It was a huge workout getting all four in and out of the van. Jim was huffing and puffing by the time he got all of the kiddos in. It will be a lot easier now that everyone is out of the hospital car seats, though, because the hospital car seats don't have an installed base that you can just lock them into, you have to thread the seat belt through them every time you take the kiddo out of the car, and since Jim is a safety zealot and works up a sweat making sure each car seat is TIGHTLY in place, getting them in and out with the hospital seats takes a lot of time and effort.

We also created quite a spectacle entering and leaving the office. Our pediatrician's office is located on the 5th floor of a medical building that is adjoining the hospital, so we saw lots of people coming and going. Since they are still fairly small, we just stacked them up two-by-two in our larger, single stroller. They fit quite nicely, and it was easier than trying to squeeze our honkin' quad stroller through small doorways. They were quite cute all bundled in there, and we got lots of smile and second takes. One lady saw the two kiddos in the front and said to me, "Oh, twins, boys? girls? or both?" I said, "Two of each." She paused, and then looked in the stroller..."OH! FOUR!" She grabbed me in a big hug and said, "GOD BLESS YOU!"

Yep, that's right, we are very blessed. We are so happy to have our for healthy little babies at home. They are definitely a challenge, and exhausting, but I'm so glad to have them!

If you barf on me, I'll pee on you!

Last night, I was feeding both boys at the same time. During feedings, I usually have 2-3 babies laying on my extra-large nursing pillow in my lap and I feed them all simultaneously. Last night, I had the two boys and about halfway through the feeding, Teddy turned toward his brother and barfed up what had to be most of what I had just fed him. Ollie was soaked from head to waist on his left side, and Teddy just had a wet sleeve.

I took both boys to the changing table to assess the damage and decide on the best course of action. I placed them perpendicular to one another on the changing table. Ollie was laying on his back with the top of his head against Teddy's side. I discovered that Ollie had a VERY messy diaper. He started fussing as I was getting him cleaned up (as he often does during diaper changes) and out of nowhere he starts peeing and it shoots up over his left shoulder and hits Teddy in the ear.

At this point, I was planning to give them both a bath anyway, so I just let him finish while I was working on the seriously nasty poop. Then, just before I was going to pick him up and take him to the bathroom he let out another wail, and another stream of urine shot over his head and hit Teddy's stomach. It also sprinkled on just about everything else in its path.

Sooo lovely. Today I asked some mom's of boys how to keep the golden showers under control, and they all suggested keeping a washcloth or extra diaper on the changing table to keep things covered when the diaper needs to be open for an extended period of time. Brilliant....why didn't I think of that?

Baby Pics!

Life with Four Babies and a Bon Bon

Needless to say, Jim and I aren't getting lots of sleep these days. I don't function well in a state of sleep deprivation, so we've had some interesting moments during our middle of the night feedings. Once, I awoke utterly confused about who Jim was...I knew he was important, but I wasn't quite sure how he was related....the night before last I fell asleep during a feeding, and snored for an hour before Jim woke me up to give me the two babies that hadn't been fed, yet. We are working out a routine, though, that is allowing us both to get a decent chunk of sleep each night, and it seems to be helping.

Bonnie (aka The Bon Bon) is adjusting to life as a big sister. She likes to kiss the babies, although it makes her mother's heart skip a beat every time she leans in to kiss with a river of snot running out of her nose. However, I do my best not to discourage kind touching, as I don't' want her to become resentful of these four new little intrusions into her life. After all, she was accustomed to being the center of the universe before the quads came home!

Bonnie also likes to help feed the babies. Sometimes she is a bit forceful. I've caught her grabbing a head and attempting to shove a bottle into the mouth of a sleeping baby on more than one occasion. She is also the official pacifier police. Anytime she finds a pacifier without a baby, or a baby without a pacifier, she takes control and ensures that everyone has all of the necessary equipment.

She also likes to "help" by tossing diapers and blankets into the crib on top of sleeping babies. While this is generally more amusing than dangerous, we've decided to keep a baby gate up in the nursery's door, to keep big sis from dropping more dangerous items in the crib, or accidentally suffocating a little nub. There is no doubt in my mind, however, that I'm going to end up on the floor at some point after either forgetting the baby gate is there and running into it, or falling down after attempting to step over it.

We have made a big dent in the formula samples that we got from the hospital and pediatrician, and we are still waiting on the "shipment" of formula that has been promised from the Enfamil folks.......here'e hoping the Enfamil fairy visits soon!

I'm off to prepare for the 5p feeding. Our first church volunteer is scheduled to arrive at five---thank goodness!!! We are VERY grateful for any help we can get!

P.S. I hope to post some new pictures later tonight!

FAST UPDATE!

I don't have much time because I'm currently taking care of THREE babies and by tonight, that number will be FOUR!!! That's right! The last baby is coming home today!!!

Audrey came home on Tuesday, and Ollie is coming home today. It was hard leaving him behind, all alone, when we took Audrey home.

We are working out a routine, and have a pretty good feeding schedule. The kiddos have to eat every three hours, even if we have to wake them to eat. They have to have the around-the-clock feedings to help them continue to gain weight. We are getting into the swing of having three to care for, so, what the heck, lets make it four!!!

I will try to post some pictures this weekend!

Teddy and Melly are home!

Just a very quick update before I go collapse. Teddy came home on Saturday, and Melly came home today. They are both doing very well. The doc says that Ollie is likely to come home in a few days, and Audrey shouldn't be too far behind...we will be a family of 7 by the weekend!!!

Short Melanie Update

Melanie passed her carseat test today, however the doc still hasn't written the order for discharge. So, I guess that means that she won't be coming home tomorrow. I will be sure to take advantage of my last few opportunities to sleep all night!

Here are their current weights:
Melanie is 4lbs 10oz
Ollie is 4lbs 8oz
Teddy is 5lbs
Audrey is 4lbs 5oz

Everyone is doing very well, and we are excited to bring them home, even if it is a scary prospect!

The Girls' New Crib

The girls have graduated to a crib!

What's missing in this picture?

Something is missing, what is it?????????




Melanie's feeding tube was removed yesterday! Dr. Ceaser even said that she may be home by the weekend!!! Aaaack! Mama has lots of organizing to do! Thank goodness aunt GiGi is coming down to help this weekend!!!

Boys Have a New Crib!

Today, when I got to the NICU, I discovered that the boys had graduated to a crib! The girls are currently "temperature stabilizing" which means they are being tested for cribworthiness! They did well all day today, so hopefully that means they will also be graduating on Wed. morning. There was talk of possibly putting all four in one crib, but I'm not sure if that is medically practical at this point. They still have heart monitors and such attached, and the wires might not be long enough for all four babies to be hooked up and in one place, but we will see! They are also increasing the frequency of their bottle feedings. Teddy and Melanie get to try with every feeding, and they are doing really well! They have both had a feeding where they ate their entire meal via bottle and did not need to get leftovers through the NG tube!


Here are the boys in their new "crib". The shots are a bit out of focus...sorry!

I also got to hold the entire foursome over the weekend.

That's about all that I can report for now, but I'm sure there will be some more news, soon. They are all progressing so well! It seems like they are making great strides every day.

Four At Once!!!

There isn't too much to report today, but everyone is doing great, and their weights are still going up little by little! Now we just need to get them eating well and they will be headed home!!

Jim had the distinct privilege of being the first to hold all four at once. I was a tad envious, but he's back to work now until the babies come home, so he doesn't get to spend as much time with them as I do. I was glad he got the honor of being the first to have all four piled on his chest! It was so sweet!

From left to right we have Teddy, Ollie, Audrey, and Melanie all snuggling with Daddy!

Jim also got to work on his multiple parenting skills as he held Melanie and Ollie while bottle feeding Ollie.
Finally, because I'm told that the world just can't get enough pictures....here are some cute ones I snapped today.

Trunk or Treat!

Tonight was "Trunk or Treat" at our church. This was a fun time for Bonnie, and gave her the opportunity to trick or treat for the first time in a safe, and distance-efficient manner.

Bonnie had two costumes from which to choose. Currently, her two favorite animals are puppies and frogs, and my mom happened to find the frog costume on the same day I bought a puppy costume off of ebay...so we first tried on her costumes at home and then took them both to the church, so that she could make up her mind when she got there....this way we avoided any last minute tantrums about not having the right costume available at the church........she trick or treated as a frog.

Bonnie caught on to this free candy gig pretty quickly, and her purse became a prized possession. After it was all said and done, she wouldn't let that purse out of her sight!

Quick Baby Update

All of the babies are doing great, and they are all now gaining weight! It is great to have them on the upslope!!!

They are also doing well at maintaining their body temps...they might be able to move to cribs soon!

Today I worked on mastering a new skill, holding two babies while giving one a bottle...here's a photo. The shot of me is not-so-flattering, but alas this is life.

I held three babies at once today!

Today was another great day in the NICU! All of the babies got to try out bottles today, and Ollie got to try out breastfeeding. They are doing so well! We are basically at the point that we just need to get them eating well and gaining weight. It is so exciting to think that they will be home in just 2-3 weeks! Above are some new shots, including one with me holding all three little nubs (Ollie, Audrey, and Teddy left to right) while I was doing skin on skin care with Teddy!