Can you imagine life raising quadruplets?!?! Prior to 2012, I couldn’t imagine it myself. Yet, here I am, mother of quadruplets. While I always dreamed of having a family, I never fathomed the incredible journey family building would entail. My husband, George, and I are high school sweethearts. Though many people told us it was “puppy love”, we knew we were soulmates. After finishing college, we got married then went on to buy our first home in the suburbs. After a few years of wedded bliss we hoped to begin our family, but things didn’t work quite as easily as we anticipated. Our experience with infertility was a painful, frustrating one to say the least.
After years of failure, we finally sought the help of a Reproductive Endocrinologist and attempted a procedure called Intrauterine Insemination (IUI). The third round of IUI resulted in our first ever positive pregnancy test, but we were quickly devastated by a miscarriage. I was diagnosed with a blood clotting disorder called MTHFR, which essential deprives the fetus of folic acid. After grieving the loss, we attempted our final round of IUI, which unexpectedly resulted in quadruplets. Immediately after our initial ultrasound, we were warned about the many risks involved in a quadruplet pregnancy: the babies would likely be delivered very prematurely, inevitable NICU stays, potential short and long-term disabilities, and risk of death to me and the babies. It was frightening, but we accepted the challenge and relied on our faith to persevere.
I originally started this blog as a means to keep our family and friends informed about the pregnancy. However, I soon discovered a passion for writing and a desire to help the next generation of parents with high order multiples. I also felt a calling to share our story to give hope to others especially couples experiencing infertility, parents of premature infants, and parents of multiples. Raising quadruplets is our greatest joy and our greatest challenge.
Hugs!
Amber (and George)
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I love hearing from readers as well! Please feel free to leave me a comment, or drop me an email at Amber.Shawver@gmail.com
Posts of Interest:
Tips for Managing a High Risk Pregnancy
What to Say to Families with Multiples
In the Media:
MSN – Meet our family shortly following delivery
Four to Adore 
I Love you guys. Can hardly wait.
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You’re such a sweet couple. Love, love, love this pic & bio. The two of you will make these babies such great “rents”, as Cam & Stu say! LOL! Ah, the joys of being parents are immeasurable. The memories will rock your world. Get ready….. Love, Cindy
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Hi! I tagged you in a post so I can learn more about you 🙂 http://lovelytransitions.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/taggin-along-before-zzzz/
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Aw, thanks!
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Just found your blog through Texas Tales- I also have MTHFR (and lovingly call it the same thing! lol) and we did IVF to get our little man! 🙂 Congrats, they are beautiful!
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Glad you found us and you have a sense of humor about mother f’er! Congratulations on finally having your little guy! I know he is the light of your life!
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Hi! My sister sent me a link to this blog. I have been going thru fertility problems and seeing a RE in the dallas area. Was just wondering what Dr you saw? Your story gives me hope. Its a hard thing to go through.
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I sent you a private email, but in case it goes to spam…I saw Dr. Kaufmann. He is wonderful and I absolutely recommend him!
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I sent you a private email, but in case it goes to spam…I saw Dr. Kaufmann. He is wonderful and I absolutely recommend him!
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Hi Amber,
I am trying to contact you to invite your to a conference call. If you get the chance, please shoot me an email at info[at]voicesforvaccines[dot]org
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Holy moly! I couldn’t even imagine quadruplets. Just found out through My Life and Kids and can’t wait to read your stories.
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Thanks for popping in!
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Congrats on your beautiful babies. I am a mother of twin boys. They were born at 28 weeks. They are 16 months now. Kids are such a blessing.
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Thank you! Congratulations on your twin boys, and surviving the first year! Agreed, they are such blessings. It is not any easy task to raise multiples, but infinitely rewarding and incredible.
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[…] Meet the Parents […]
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I came to your blog yesterday through a link at twiniversity.com and I love it 🙂 I read through from the start of your blog through to about a month after your four came home from the NICU (as well as some more recent posts). I love the way you are so positive about everything from bed rest to midnight feedings! I have 3 kiddos who are almost-9, 7 and 2 1/2 and we just welcomed twin girls 3 1/2 weeks ago. Life is crazy and chaotic but reading your posts gives me assurance that we WILL survive this newborn stage and can enjoy it despite its hard moments (like the twin currently screaming inconsolably in my arms….2 infants is definitely harder than 1, I can’t imagine 4!) Blessings to you!
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I am so happy you stumbled upon us! One of my goals in maintaining our blog is to give hope to the next generation of families with multiples, and to share what we’ve learned. Some days will be extremely difficult, but don’t let those days overshadow all of the joys you will experience daily. I”m always amazed at what the quads learn and do on a daily basis. All the best!
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Thank you for the encouragement! By the way, forgot to share – our girls’ names are Rylan and Sadie. Yours are so similar! 🙂
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That’s so funny! Great name choices =)
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A definite smile on my visage; I loved the read and am so very happy for you and the people around you who care. Take good care of yourselves and always remember that blessings are unlimited. They just knock on our door when the time is right.
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Amazing story! What a beautiful family and how great to be blessed with four!
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Thank you for stopping by 🙂 they are such a blessing!
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I just found out I am pregnant with Quads! Thanks for sharing your story and lots of needed advice!
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Congratulations!! It’s quite a journey. How many weeks are you?
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Well I am 7 weeks with three and 8 weeks with the other one! I had an IUI after losing two precious babies. We found out my body doesn’t absorb folic acid as well. I am now on lovenox to thin my blood and extra folic acid, which I decided to switch to folate. What treatment did you recieve for MTHFR?
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Oh wow, I know it happens periodically, but I can’t imagine finding more babies in a later u/s. At our first u/s, the RE thought we had three plus an empty sac, but a 4th heartbeat was soon detected. We knew it was quads just before seven weeks. I felt very reassured by reading blogs, which is one of the reasons I started writing too.
I am so sorry for your losses, but am glad you know the cause of them. With the quads, I was on Folgard Rx and baby aspirin. I know several others who were on Lovenox though.
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