It is hard to believe that the quads made their grand appearance just over one week ago. It has been a busy week to say the least and we’ve seen them grow and change so much already. At birth, all four babies were put on a CPAP to ensure the constant flow of oxygen.  They were also found to have low levels of bilirubin (jaundice) and needed photo therapy.  Here are the updates on each baby-

Rylin and Harper began breathing room air and were taken off the CPAP on Tuesday morning. Their billi levels were also good so they was able to lose the psychedelic looking bilirubin lights on the same day! It was wonderful to finally see their beautiful faces and dark hair! Without all the garb we discovered that Harper is a furry little man. Of course it is just lanugo, which will fall out at some point. His just seems very dark and hairy in funny places like from his hairline to eyebrows! We will have to tease him about this when he is grown up. When we returned Wednesday, we were sad to see both Rylin and Harper sporting our old friend, Mr. CPAP.

In the meantime, both babies stayed on “room air” with the CPAP until Saturday when they were able to get rid if it again! Without the CPAP bonnet, Rylin’s nurse decided it was time for a mini make over with hair combing and a bow! Both babies had a head ultrasound to check for brain bleeds and were clear.

Mason has turned out to be not only our chill guy, but also a breathing champ. He was the first off CPAP on Monday and he’s never looked back. We were warned he could be a “wimpy white boy” who could go right back on, but he proved everyone wrong. He has also been off the bilirubin lights since Tuesday and showed a normal head ultrasound. Since Mason’s face has been clear of garb for several days, he has become quite alert. He enjoys keeping his eyes open to explore the world nearby and constantly makes faces at us. We especially love his little mile and brow furrows.

Sydney may be tiny, but she does her best to keep up with her siblings. Sunday after she was born, she was struggling to breathe. An x-ray completed bedside showed an air pocket outside her lungs. She had a pneumothorax (collapsed lung), which allowed air to leak around her left lung.  A chest tube was inserted to seal the leak. She then had x-rays every 12 hours until Tuesday when it was closed so the tube was removed. I could not watch the bedside tube removal, but George did. Her cries broke my heart, but I felt better when he told me she cried only when they removed her surgical tape. In sync with Rylin and Harper, Sydney also had her CPAP removed!  That meant a bow for tiny Sydney too.  We really worried hers might reappear and were so proud when we returned to zero CPAPs!

All four babies had their IV lines removed from their navel yesterday so we got to finally hold them!  Waiting over a week to hold your babies is absolutely excruciating!  We also were able to start Kangaroo care where we hold them skin to skin.  We are so proud of all of our babies and they amaze hospital staff daily.

We will do our best to keep the updates rolling in, but it is very difficult to drag us away from our precious babies.

hugs!

Amber and George