Author: Amber

The Big Test

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Yesterday was a rough one so I’m posting about it now. We had our 27 week appointment with Dr. Tabor and the glucose tolerance re-test (yipee!). I was really worried about taking the three-hour glucose tolerance test for several reasons. First of all, I had to fast, including water the night before. Because I am carrying quads, I am on a 3000 plus calorie diet and we get HUNGRY! During this pregnancy, I never had morning sickness per se, but getting hungry has typically induced vomiting, which would not be good at 27 weeks. Also, I’ve learned that contractions are usually triggered by either too much activity, too much calcium, or dehydration. I also know that when dehydrated getting my veins for blood draws is a total nightmare. The thought of vomiting and contracting overwhelmed me, so I begged to get out of the test. I was hoping if I would go on a diet and check blood sugars regularly that would suffice, but nope. Dr. Tabor wasn’t keen on my idea. Arghhh. It was worth a shot though. He did give me some pity at least and let me do a two-hour instead of a three-hour test. Cutting that third hour out did wonders!

We started our appointment with a growth scan, which was nice. I had been wondering how they were all doing so I loved seeing them. Here are the current weight estimates based on body size:

Baby A, Rylin: 2 pounds, 4 ounces

Baby B, Harper: 2 pounds, 5 ounces

Baby C, Sydney: 1 pound, 11 ounces

Baby D, Mason: 2 pounds, 2 ounces

According to What to Expect, they should weigh about 2 pounds to 2 pounds, 8 ounces this week so Rylin, Harper, and Mason are on track. We weren’t surprised that Sydney is still so much smaller. I mean, we couldn’t expect her to just have an enormous growth spurt and catch up. The good news is that she IS growing. Also, Sydney’s fluids were still stable as was the pressure in her umbilical cord. At the end of the appointment, Dr. Tabor mentioned having to deliver early. I didn’t know what he meant by “early” so I clarified. He responded, “Oh, 32-34 weeks.” and he added something about triplets being full term at 36, but quads not really going past 34. This caught me off guard. Just a few weeks ago we had a scare that we might not make it to the big 28 week milestone and now he’s talking 32-34 weeks? Wow, how things can change! Of course, no one knows for certain when we’d need to deliver, but he seems to think going that long is possible. I hate to admit this, but the thought of going that much longer scares me a little bit too. My body does surprise me, but I am so big and uncomfortable already. I don’t know where on earth these babies will go as they grow and what my body can do to help them. At this point, I am carrying nearly 10 pounds of baby, not to mention their fluids, placentas, ect. It is stressful on my body no doubt. That being said, I know that every day and every week we can keep them in is a victory and less NICU time.

After the whole routine part of the visit, I had a fasting blood draw then got to drink a bottle of orange hummingbird food. It was drinking super flat Sunkist orange soda with extra hi fructose corn syrup, which caused an odd sort of burning sensation in my mouth. It was all I could do to finish the thing. After that it was time to wait an hour. I fought hard to keep it down (knowing if I yacked it up, I would have to start again) and to not pass out. I got all clammy and had to fan myself with a magazine to keep it together. George ended up taking me for a walk to the lobby to get fresh air, which helped tons.

After the second blood draw was done, we had another hour to kill. This time, George took me on a field trip to Cook Children’s Hospital, which is across the street from my doctor’s office and where the babies will be. We toured the NICU long ago, but never saw the rest of the hospital. Children’s hospitals are sooooo much better than adult ones! They are so bright and fresh with kitschy art every where. On the bottom floor they have this cheerful food court, a Build a Bear Workshop, Starbucks, a recording studio, a playground, and lounge with games and movies. Such fun! It looked like a place where kids would want to be. It really lifted my spirits to see it. We also strolled by the NICU and visited the nurse who took us on the tour. She told us that they have our quad suite ready and waiting, which is pretty cool!

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I snapped a few pictures of proof that children’s hospital are much better than adult ones:

Here is a Lego replica of the hospital-

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Here is the lounge/ game room-

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After my appointment, I was totally drained and uncomfortable so I slept most of the afternoon. I am now awaiting my glucose test results.

hugs,

;

Amber

27 weeks, 2 days

Bed rest? What bed rest? We’re having a baby shower!

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If  you’ve been paying attention, you probably noticed we had several showers, probably more than the average bear.  At first I felt a little gluttonous about it, but here’s the deal 1. we are soooooo blessed to have friends, family, and co workers (and even some acquaintances) who care about us and wanted to shower us 2. we are having FOUR babies!   Do you know how much stuff four babies need?  It is pretty insane!  I mean, George has had to seriously expand the storage in our house to make living in it with four babies even possible.    

Since we knew bed rest was inevitable, most of my showers, especially the school ones were held quite early to make sure I’d be around.   However, one of them just could not be moved up so we scheduled it knowing my location was TBA, but hoping it could go as planned.  Well, I was on strict bed rest by the time the last shower date arrived, but thankfully I was still home.  My sweet hostesses, Terri, Kaylie, Courtney, and Kelsey did an amazing job of relocating the entire shower at my house.  It looked as if they planned for it to be here all along.  They set up a “photo booth” in our study where they left props so guests could take silly pictures and leave messages for us.  (I don’t have all the photo booth pictures yet so those will be posted later.  I can’t wait to see them, actually).  Delicious food was spread out and complimented by “bubble bath punch”.  Rather than doing a diaper cake, they made these cool onsie trees for each baby.  I loved every special touch!  Thanks, girls! 

Having the shower at my house was actually pretty cool because everyone got to tour the now completed nurseries, gawk at our quad stroller and van, and see the playroom.   Plus no one had to deliver gifts from a hostess home to mine.   I stayed propped up on the couch dutifully drinking water the entire time, but my stamina faded pretty quickly.  I ended up enlisting the help of George’s cousin, Brandi, for gift opening because bending over just got to be too much.   By the end of the shower my energy reserves were gone, but since I was at home I just crawled into bed for a nice long nap. 

After showers, I LOVE to write thank you notes.  I know that sounds odd, but I do.  I like using fun stationary and I think getting snail mail is fun so I like sending it.  However, sitting up long enough to write them has become taxing.   It has gotten so bad I can only write 3-4 at a time before I have to lay on my side to rest.  So….I had a great idea.  The guests self-addressed envelopes and inserted sticky notes stating what they brought.  It made a HUGE difference for me.  It allowed me to write hand-written thank you notes, but minimized the sitting up part significantly.  Guess what?  My thank you notes have all been mailed!  =) 

hugs!

Amber

Re-Test

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blood glucose monitor

blood glucose monitor (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Well, the babies got a good report card on Wednesday, but I got the one hour glucose test results back today. I got a big fat “F”! Not only did I fail, but I apparently failed pretty badly. I can’t remember the last time I got an “F”. It was probably when I had to take Calculus II with engineering majors in college (I was a psychology major with no mathematical skills whatsoever!).

This means I have to re-take the glucose test, only next time it will be a longer, more difficult test. I will fast Monday night and go to Dr. Tabor’s office first thing on Tuesday morning. Lucky me, I get to drink another delicious fruit punch glucose concoction within 5-7 minutes. I bet that will be great on an empty stomach. After I finish chugging that lovely beverage, I will have a blood draw every hour for three hours. The blood draws will be extra fun after fasting (I can only take sips of water so I won’t be well hydrated and the blood draws will be a real treat). The last time I had a blood draw after not drinking water, they couldn’t get my vein and I ended up with bruises on my arm. If I thought keeping that red stuff down for one hour was dicey, three hours will be super fun!

From what I’ve read, gestational diabetes is twice as likely to occur with multiple gestation pregnancies due to the increased levels of hormones. Yippee! I can’t tell by reading the symptoms of GD whether I may have it or not. Primary symptoms include: unusual thirst, frequent urination, and fatigue. Well, I figure I’d have all of those due to carrying four babies anyways! The risks to the babies seem minimal. Babies of mothers with GD tend to be larger, which can force a c-section. Well, I want my babies to be as large as possible and we’re having a c-section anyways so that’s no biggie. Maybe GD would be a good thing if it would fatten the babies up! Unfortunately, exercise is one of the best ways to control GD and I can’t do that. I’m hoping that if I actually have GD that I won’t need insulin shots. I can manage dietary changes, but will miss some of my cravings. Goodbye cookies and ice cream! Oh, and peanut butter!

hugs,

Amber

26 days, 5 days

A Passing Grade

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Dr. Tabor was back this week for our weekly appointment for the 26 week mark. I was glad to see him because he teased about not returning from vacation despite my pleas that he return to deliver the quads. Prior to my appointment, I began a one hour glucose test. That meant I got to chug this delicious bright red dye #40 fruit punch flavored beverage within five minutes (can you sense the sarcasm here?) George told me to pretend it was a hurricane at Pat O’ Brien’s in New Orleans, which was cute. I tried my best to imagine this scarlet colored drink in a hurricane glass with a slice of pineapple and pink umbrella during a sing-a-long, but no avail. It wasn’t that bad, but it was no hurricane and I would prefer to never have another. The problem with the drink wasn’t so much the gross flavor, it was more the queasy fullness it caused afterwards….not pleasant. Plus, after finishing that thing I got to lay on my back for the ultrasound. I managed to keep it down, but it wasn’t easy!

I think all of the prayers have been working because we got a passing grade this week. I don’t think we got an “A”, but we are at least pulling a “C” if not a solid “B”. Of course, Sydney’s fluids are still lower than preferred, but they actually increased from 2.7 to 2.94. Dr. Tabor said she appeared visually smaller still, but it wasn’t “ominous”- that was good, I think. The pressure in her umbilical cord has remained stable as well, and she is still very active. They did another ultrasound to monitor fetal movements and reactivity. When it was her turn, Rylin decided it was time to take a snooze. When prodded by the ultrasound transducer she did give a few kicks and moved her arms, but pretty much slept the entire time. Harper followed suit and copied his sister, Rylin. The funny thing was that Sydney kept peeking into Harper’s ultrasound picture. We would see Harper’s profile as he slept then Sydney would poke her face into his territory and face forward as if saying, “Look at me! I’m here!”. Mason was better behaved this week, he moved about, but this time kept his hands and feet to himself. I guess he realized we didn’t want him beating up his siblings. My vitals were good, which means another week at home. Before we left Dr. Tabor said things were “great”. YEAH!!!

Before we could leave, we had to wait for my hour to be up for the glucose test. Since Dr. Tabor was on time this morning, that meant I had to wait for about half an hour to pass. UGH… After my blood draw, we were free to leave, but the nurse let me know that 1. no sugar for the rest of the day 2. upon getting home I should eat a high protein snack. When I thought about a high protein snack I immediately thought of peanut butter (YUM!), but realized that would be full of sugar. Ah, snap! Then I thought about a protein shake, which is also full of sugar. Darn! George ended up making me leftover chicken and mashed potatoes, but then what did I want? A popsicle! Seriously? Pretty much all day I wanted the very thing that was forbidden sugar in any form. Oh well.

Here’s to surpassing that next goal of 28 weeks!

hugs,

Amber

26 weeks, 3 days

Stable!

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Dr. Tabor was out of town this week so we got to see Dr. Bleich again. I really like her and as it turns out, she was a resident with our reproductive endocrinologist, which I thought was neat. Today, the babies movements and reactivity were recorded. Our tech started with Rylin then moved to Harper and Sydney and saved Mason for the end. Apparently Mason is an aspiring kick boxer….his feet or hands were poking all of his siblings at one time or another! By the time he was checked, he decided to take a nap. Gah! I guess all the kicking and punching tuckered him out. I mentioned the navel bruising and learned that Sydney and Harper have their little bums situated right under my navel. They have been booty bumping me!!! Maybe they are future disco aficionados…. Oh, and Mason is sitting right under my ribs, which explains my constant rib discomfort. I can imagine him kick boxing my ribs or doing chin ups on them. I will take the discomfort any day, they are always worth it!

Of course, Sydney’s fluids are still low, but they are stable. I will take that! Dr. Bleich said that she does have enough fluid, which made me feel a little better. The pressure on her umbilical cord is also stable. She just needs close monitoring. We weren’t scheduled for a growth scan, but sweet talked our ultrasound tech into measuring Sydney. She is still small, but has grown. Again, more relief for me. Thankfully, my vitals continue to be good. As long as Sydney is stable we can avoid delivery, and hospitalization. Rylin and Harper had average fluid levels and Mason had some extra. Here is to making it at least 28 weeks.

Hugs!

Amber

Ps…we have some updated pics in the photo gallery.

Here is Mason kicking Rylin!

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25 weeks, 3 days

Which britches???

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Harper and Mason are very lucky they have two sisters because I am really getting excited about dressing the girls in girly clothes! In fact, I already ordered preemie-sized headbands and hats with flowers for them. I literally spent two hours online picking and choosing things for them one day (I was on bed rest so there weren’t many pressing things to do anyways). However, I don’t think Harper or Mason would appreciate being dressed with flowers and bows, and George wouldn’t like it either.

My cousin, Lindsay, invented the coolest new girly things and I cannot wait for the girls to be big enough for them! I LOVE these things!!!! They are called “Whichbritches”. Lindsay started out by dressing up her daughter’s plain leggings and skinny pants with ruffles. Everywhere they went people stopped her to ask where she got the cute pants. They seriously look like something you’d buy from a high-end boutique, but they are actually just plain leggings dressed up. She probably only has a few pairs of leggings in neutral colors, but Whichbritches makes it look like she has TONS of them. It spawned a family business where everything is made locally and 10% of profits are given to local ministries (that is cool, right?).

If you have a little girl or want to give a unique gift to a little girl you know, you should absolutely check out www.whichbritches.com for ordering information. Also, they have a Facebook site at https://www.facebook.com/whichbritches, check it out and be sure to hit “like”.

They are having a Fourth of July Sale where you can get three pairs (red, white and blue) for $40. Also, there is a special promotion for readers of this blog. If you enter “QUADS” at checkout, you will receive 20% off your entire order if you order two or more pairs. That’s a sweet deal! Plus you’ll have the newest girls fashion item on the market. So which britches will be worn today?

hugs!

Amber

She is just wearing black leggings, but the Whichbritches make them so cute!

Frequent Flier

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After my first rendezvous in the hospital’s maternal observation ward, Dr. Tabor told me it wouldn’t be my last visit; there would be lots more. He was right. I went a week and a half ago and again today. I had irregular contractions yesterday evening, but never more than six in an hour. Sure I was uncomfortable, but not too worried. Last night got rough when the babies enjoyed ganging up on me by taking sides. When this happens, they all seem to ball up in their respective corners so it looks like someone turned my stomach into shrink-wrap around them and my belly becomes all misshapen. Plus, all of that baling up and kicking has caused a nice bruise around my navel. It looks totally disgusting and really hurts. My doctors have told me it’s just the babies baling up and not to worry, so I don’t.

This morning, the contractions continued. Of course I eventually had six in one hour. You know what that meant….another visit to the good old hospital! This time, I threw the “go bag” together in minutes and helped my parents navigate to the hospital since George was working. I felt like an old pro at the whole maternal observation stuff. As usual, once I got into the car, the contractions slowed down considerably and I may have had one or two before they put me on the Toco monitor. I was monitored for an hour and had only one mild contraction, which was really good news. My cervix was fine and my FFN from last week was negative so they discharged me. Yippee!!!

This week marks the beginning of week 25, which is only three weeks away from our first goal of 28 weeks (we are still hoping for 30 weeks). Three weeks seems totally manageable, but in some ways so far away still. I know there is plenty more discomfort to come. At the same time, three weeks is scary close. In just three weeks we could have four babies here. We have been preparing and planning for a long time, but I don’t think you can ever really prepare yourself for a baby, much less four of them!

hugs!

Amber

25 weeks

Pray, Pray, Pray!

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We had our weekly visit with Dr. Tabor today. That meant I fixed my hair, wore a “cute outfit”, and put on more make up than I have been. I have to admit, seeing the sunshine during the car ride was nice. Sometimes it is the simple things…

My vitals were all good and there were no signs of dilation. Also, my contractions have become fewer and further between, which is also good. George noticed that I always had contractions in the evening after taking my calcium supplement so I started taking it earlier in the day and spreading out the dosage. We mentioned this to Dr. Tabor who said we might be onto something since they use magnesium as a calcium blocker to stop premature contractions. Good observation, George!

After our last appointment, we knew we’d have to keep a close eye on tiny Sydney, but we didn’t know how much. Today she didn’t get the best report card. Her amniotic fluid levels are slightly low, which is causing some pressure on her umbilical cord and a lower heart rate than her siblings. What bothers me is that there isn’t really a treatment for this, just careful watching (and praying). I read that hydration can help so I will force some more fluids down even though I already drink a ton of water (George is excellent about keeping track of my water consumption and reprimanding me if I get behind). Extra fluids can’t hurt.

Dr. Tabor will continue to watch Sydney very closely to make sure conditions do not decline. If they do, all of the babies will have to be delivered much earlier than we would like. Of course with quads we have always known they would be premature, but ideally they would be delivered at 30-34 weeks. We are at 24 weeks now, which is the first point of viability. Babies born at 24 weeks have about a 50% chance of survival and the NICU could help their odds. While viability is a milestone, we do NOT want our babies arriving now. At 26 weeks, the survival rate jumps up to 80%, which is better but not great. However, babies born after 28 weeks have a 95% survival rate. Dr. Tabor said he would feel comfortable if we could make it to 28 weeks at least. This is all very scary still.

I am doing my best not to worry too much and remember the positives:

1. Rylin, Mason, and Harper are all doing well

2. my vitals continue to be good

3. while Sydney’s heart rate is lower than her siblings, it is still 140 bpm and that is within the normal range (the other three are at about 150 bpm)

4. Dr. Tabor said that Sydney is very active, which is a great sign

5. Dr. Tabor said he is not terribly concerned, he is just watching carefully. I know that if he were very concerned he would have admitted me today rather than making an appointment for next week. I trust him and know that he knows what is best for the babies.

Since prayer is one of the only treatments we have, please pray that Sydney’s conditions are stable and we do not need to deliver prior to 28 weeks. Also, pray that I stay calm! I do not need to work myself up about this. This may mean I will be taking LOTS more baths!

hugs,

Amber

http://www.marchofdimes.com/baby/premature_indepth.html

24 weeks, 2 days

Pollyanna

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It’s true, strict bed rest is no picnic.  It drives me batty to know I can’t go outside the walls of my bedroom and bathroom.  Sometimes I just want to get the mail.  However, it’s not as terrible as I imagined it would be either.  I went Pollyanna on it and  found a huge upside to it this first week of strict bed rest….I get to see my friends!!!  With busy work schedules and little time to take care of chores and such, we don’t see our friends nearly as often as we’d like.  With bed rest, my friends are so sweet they are coming to visit me =) 

My friend Judy brought us some yummy chicken salad sandwiches and salad earlier this week.  And the next day, our friends Billie and Bob brought over some more yummy chicken salad sandwiches for dinner!  It was hilarious that they all had the same meal idea.  We enjoyed it all anyways, and their company even more.      

On Wednesday before my doctor’s appointment, my cousin, Lindsay, came over with some Eatzi’s and took some amazing “bed rest” maternity pictures.  She did an amazing job of moving things around in our bedroom and fixing me up so it looks like I went to a studio or something.  Nope, all of the pictures were taken from my bed or chaise lounge!  Pretty cool!

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When Lindsay said, “treat” Sasha and Lily sat for a quick picture.  Notice, Sasha’s tongue is hanging out. 

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We didn’t have near enough baby blocks to spell out the babies’ names so we made a little Scrabble board on my tummy. 

 

Yesterday my Grandma and mom came over to help tidy up the house and fill out envelopes for promotions for multiples.  George was ecstatic to come home to a clean house.  Before their help, there were dust bunnies so large on my dresser that you could have made a life-sized bunny out of them. 

Today, our family friends, Terri and Kaylie, came over with some delicious Pei Wei.  They didn’t just keep me company, they also helped George hang things in the nurseries and walked the fur babies around the block.   You can’t have Pei Wei without a fortune cookie, look at what was inside mine: 

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  George always says you’re supposed to add, “in the bed” to whatever the fortune cookie says.  It is technically true for me, I am touching the lives of many (well four for sure) in the bed while on bed rest. 

 

We have game night and pizza night with friends coming up soon!  Now, I bet you’re wishing you were on strict bed rest. 

hugs!

Amber

Growing

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We finally had our growth scan today with Dr. Tabor. This is where they measure each of the babies major bones (e.g. skull, femur, thighs) as well as their fluids and estimate their weight. Everyone had great fluids and Rylin is apparently our “big girl”. She is on target or ahead of a singleton at this stage and weighs around 1 pound 5 ounces. The boys are within the average range (weighing just over a pound), but Sydney is our tiny one (right at a pound). Dr. Tabor gave us a scare when he started describing what he sees when there is something wrong with a baby or a baby that is starving. After giving me heart palpitations, he said that wasn’t the case with Sydney, but she is smaller than the others overall and smaller than a singleton at this age. He said that at this point, he’s not alarmed, but will be watching her very closely. I remember back to very early on our pregnancy that there was a tiny one and one that was much larger. At that point, Dr. Kaufman’s nurse said, “Oh this one is getting all the groceries!” (meaning the largest one). The difference between the smallest and largest baby early on (7-9 weeks) was about 5 days worth of growth. It makes me wonder if Rylin was the largest and Sydney was the smallest the whole time. Of course, I will never know for sure.

Since Dr. Tabor is not worried, I am not going to let myself get worried about it. I absolutely must stay calm to take care of these babies! Dr. Tabor is going to repeat the growth scan in three weeks to see how they are doing. George wants me to pack on the calories better to make sure there’s enough for everyone. I got really full while eating dinner, but George said, “You have to clean your plate!” So, I did, for Sydney. Please pray that Sydney gets whatever nourishment she needs to grow to a healthy size.

hugs,

Amber

23 weeks, 3 days