My sweet friends, Melissa, Terra, and Nekedria hosted this shower for me over the weekend. I haven’t had a chance to upload pictures and tell about it, but Melissa posted it on her blog at Blessingsinchaos@wordpress.com so you can get a glimpse. Hugs! Amber
Quadruplets
We’ve Got a Pillow Situation
As the babies and I grow larger, sleeping is becoming increasingly interesting. I have this fantastic set of pillows that make it all work, at least as well as you could expect. You see, I have one maternity noodle-shaped pillow called a Snoogle that goes under my head, runs the length of my body and curls back up to go between my knees. It’s enormous, but it’s not all I need. I have a regular pillow to put at the top of the Snoogle for my head plus a down pillow to hug. Plus, I have this nice little wedge pillow that fits in the space between the mattress and my stomach. Without that wonderful little wedge, the weight of my stomach pulls downwards and just plain hurts. I get it all “just right” and sleep for a bit when of course….nature calls. It’s not terribly easy since I can’t just sit up or roll over. I have to use my arms to heave myself up, move all the pillows over and eventually slither out of bed. When I return, about half the time a dog has snuggled herself into my pillows so I have to move her, re situate everything and it all begins again. George and I joke that I’m just practicing getting up in the night and back to sleep for when the babies arrive. I can only imagine how much more “fun” this will become in the approaching weeks!
hugs!
Amber
- This is how my pillows begin when I get into bed.
This is what happens in the night.
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Emotional much?
It is official, my hormones are in overdrive and I am an emotional roller coaster these days. Here’s how the past two days have gone for me:
Yesterday we had our 20 week check up and it was GREAT!!! Again, the babies are all the right size with good fluids. Of course Rylin has not yet decided to head further north, but it’s okay. I’m thinking she got a bit of the stubborn gene. My vitals were also good. I managed to hold off on another week of bed rest. I left feeling very confident.
About 9:30 last night, less than four hours from my appointment, I started having Braxton Hicks contractions. They weren’t painful, but my stomach was absolutely tightening. This of course made me feel anxious and not so great. I phoned a few friends and then decided to call the on-call doctor. She said to drink water/ lay on my left side and if the continued for 30 more minutes to head to the hospital. UGH! She also thought my anxiety might be making them worse so I opted for a warm bath. It helped, the contractions stopped and I was able to get to bed. Okay, disaster averted.
This morning started off as usual with the rush hour nightmare that is my commute, but there was also a wreck where two highways merge so it was completely gridlocked. I knew better than to get on the highway when I saw the sea of red taillights so I opted to stay on the service road and take some back roads. The only problem was I wasn’t the only one with this brilliant idea. The stop and go of the commute made me queasy so I felt rotten by the time I got into the building (I possibly had a green tinge to my face too). What should have taken about 25 minutes took well over an hour. I immediately headed to the school nurse (she was a high-risk OB nurse before coming to the school system) to ask her about how to correctly monitor contractions and what to look for. She immediately noticed I felt bad and naturally inquired. Of course, this set me off into a crying spell for no apparent reason. Sweet Nurse Patty sent me to my office with a blanket and literally made me rest on my side eating ice chips to calm me and settle my stomach. However, throughout the day when certain people would stop in or I would start talking about something (not sad), tears would start flowing for no reason. But, the good news is that I did survive the day and managed to finish a report!
This picture really doesn’t fully capture the gridlock fun I experienced, but it’s an idea. ARGH!!!!
This evening when I got home, George was very thoughtful and made Chex mix for me. That was the perfect way to wrap up an overly emotional day for me! However, as he was making the Chex mix, I decided to catch up with my emails and blog reading. Of course, someone posted a You Tube video about a man who was a disabled veteran who was told he could never walk again. As I watched videos of him learning to walk again and then practice yoga, tears streamed down my cheeks! However, as I bawled, I simultaneously laughed at myself! I knew it was silly, but could not stop either. It is like a lucid dream, so weird. I managed to get it together and enjoy watching some Big Bang Theory with George as I stuffed my face with Chex Mix.
He has the keys to my heart!
George is so smart…he suggested that I head to work extra early to beat rush hour and leave early to get home before rush hour hits again. Why didn’t I think of that??? So, here’s to a better day tomorrow perhaps with less gridlock. Just maybe…I’ll be able to control my emotions.
hugs!
Amber
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Adventures in a Mini Van
This week we had another good visit with Dr. Tabor for our 19 week check up. My appointment was at 4:45 and I arrived at 4:45 sharp. However, when I came in the office, the receptionist exclaimed, “There she is!” I checked the clock twice and replied, “It’s 4:45. That’s my appointment time right? Is everyone trying to get home since it’s almost 5:00?” The receptionist said, “Oh yes it is 4:45, but Dr. Tabor was worried about you. I was about to call your cell to see if you were okay.” I thought that was so sweet that he cared about me enough to worry! Anyways, my vitals were all good, the babies were the right size and had good fluid levels so no bed rest! I keep expecting for my appointment to be the one where I lose my freedom, but continue to be surprised. Rylin is still situated a little bit low, but it’s still not a huge concern right now, he says there is still time for her to migrate upwards. Dr. Tabor pointed out the silver lining about her position: if I were to dilate, I would bleed and know I dilated so I’d come in right away. Otherwise, I might not know if I dilated and keep up with business as usual. Dr. Tabor had me book appointments every week through the month of May, which I thought was funny, but also really convenient.
If only Saturday had gone as smoothly as my appointment. George and I woke up relatively early, ate breakfast and decided to peruse the community garage sales for baby containers (that is what I call things like swings, bouncers, and seats, which I think we need lots of). We didn’t want anyone scooping up anything we would want so we didn’t bother getting ready. We basically got dressed and brushed our teeth. (We were looking good! Ha!) George thought it would be best to take the van in case we stumbled across something large, but pointed out that we didn’t have much gas. He said it would be okay if we stayed close though, after all there was probably a 1/8 of a tank. Mind you, I like to fill up when my gas gauge is at 1/4 of a tank just to be safe. We stopped by a few sales but found nothing. Then we saw one that seemed to have several baby containers so we stopped. George didn’t bother to park very well since we were just stopping by. He was sort of far from the curb and halfway parked in front of a driveway. As it turned out, there was a fantastic swing with all sorts of nifty sound and swing settings. It could chirp like birds, sound like the rolling ocean waves, or play lullabies- very cool. We scooped up that treasure then loaded it in the van. There was a problem, however. The van we bought two weeks ago didn’t start. The radio played and the instrument panel worked, but it didn’t start. I leaned over to check the gas gauge and it was registering below zero. On the van, there is a label for a full tank and 1/2 tank with tick marks in between. Then, there is a thick red line labeled zero. That is where the needle fell- below the zero. Of course, I gave George the speech about filling up the tank at 1/4 to be safe and how emptying the tank can cause fuel injector problems. He begrudgingly walked back to the house to pick up our lawnmower gas. It wasn’t much, but should have been enough to start the van, but it didn’t! The neighbor hosting this particular garage sale kindly shared her lawnmower gas, but to no avail. George had to walk back home again to pick up the Accord so we could drive to the closest Quick Trip to fill up as many gas tanks as possible. I just knew it was out of gas. George filled up the tank, but it still didn’t start! ARGH!!!! George hotly called the Volkswagen Roadside Assist number and they determined it would need to be towed to the nearest dealership. Okay, this was getting embarrassing. 45 minutes later, George hopped up into the tow truck for a ride to the dealership. I felt bad to make him take care of it all, but I had a hair cut appointment because we were reading scriptures in a wedding that evening. The dealership ran diagnostics and determined the battery was low. They jumped it and George drove it home. Why didn’t we think of that? Oh yeah because it is our new van! I had a huge helping of crow to eat… However, when it was time to go to the wedding, the van wasn’t starting quite right, which meant we would need to take the Accord. Except, George noticed there was a nice nail in the front right tire. We had a gamble to make: take the van with a questionable battery or the Accord with a nail that could result in a flat tire. George made an executive decision to take the car, and thankfully there were no more hitches in transportation. This morning we spent a good chunk of time at National Tire and Battery taking care of the two sick cars. Turns out the van’s battery was totally dead so we replaced it and now it’s good. They plugged the tire and it’s good. So, we had our first adventure in the van and we weren’t even on a road trip! I hope we’ll make better memories with the van in time.
hugs,
Amber
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Let’s Runabout!
Some of the best advice I have gotten from Dr. Tabor was to check out the blog of a former patient of his who delivered quads, Suz Steece. Reading her blog helped me in so many ways, especially by proving to me that this CAN be done, and also a little bit about what to expect. I mean, there is no “What to Expect When You’re Expecting Quads” book. After reading Suz’s blog for a while, I figured out how to connect with her and a few other local quad moms via blogs, email, and even Facebook. They have been AMAZING with advice and support.
One huge question we had for the quad moms was what type of car seats and strollers to get. I mean is it best to use convertible car seats so they last longer? Do you need carriers? Should we get twin strollers? Invest in a quad stroller? No one else knew what to tell us, but the quad moms did. Based on all the sage advice, we decided we needed Graco Snugride car seats that would accommodate preemies (the NICU nurse also told us that). To go with the car seats, we need two twin Snap and Go strollers, which are basically frames that you snap the car seat carrier onto. But, since I like freedom, we would need a quad stroller. Quad strollers are a bit tricky and ultimately the moms mostly preferred a Runabout stroller because it is lightweight, easy to steer, and fits through doorways. It is actually the same model the Gosselin’s had for their sextuplets. Without a stroller like that we’d be confined to our house unless there was more than one adult around. Believe it or not, the quad moms said ‘”may think you’re not brave enough to go out alone, but you will want out, and you will need a quad stroller to do it”. This is totally true too, because I know I’d get cabin fever. When we had a snow storm last year, I went stir crazy after about 2 days! The problem with this particular quad stroller is that it is quite expensive. I don’t think there’s a huge market for them so I’m sure it’s a supply and demand thing.
So, here’s the cool thing about my online connections. Casey Gerwer, a local quad mom, sent me a message asking if we’d like to buy their Runabout for a fraction of the original price (her quads are now four and just outgrew it). YES!!!! Of course we wanted it! The day after I got Casey’s message, Suz sent me a similar one since her quads are also four, but Casey beat her to the punch. So tonight, we headed to the Gerwer’s house to pick up the Runabout and meet everyone. Finally meeting Casey in person was fantastic! She is so sweet and welcoming. She shared some of her experiences and answered our questions. Her husband had some great advice for George too, “get an egg crate mattress pad for when you crash at the hospital because the beds are awful”. It was also nice to meet the quads. I mean, we’ve never actually seen any before. They were all very well behaved as they finished eating their dinner. There was lots of chatter of course, but everyone stayed at the table and obeyed their parents. Not to mention..they are adorable!!!!
Here is George with the Runabout. It is a pretty cool contraption actually. It has a cool hitch for the back of the van so it’s easy to take traveling, the seats tilt for comfort, there is a handy little sun shade, and basket for storage. If we decide to become serious runners, we can also go up to 10 mph with it (can you imagine that???)
The quad moms warned that while this is the best stroller for quads, it will attract attention. I figure, we will attract a lot of attention anyways! We might as well be practical about it.
In addition to raising four year old quadruplets, Casey has a web-based business called Designed for Babies that makes t-shirts and other stuff for families with multiples. They say cute things like “Be nice, I’m expecting quads” (too bad I didn’t have that one today when I was shopping in a motorized cart), “Quadruplets zone defense”, and “Got Quads?” She was sweet and hooked us up with some of her favorite designs, including onsies for the babies. Her line is sold at http://designedforbabies.com/home.htm
She is one amazing quad mama!
Here are the onsies from Casey for the quads. So cute!!!!
Hugs!
Amber
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I never thought I would say this…
But, we bought a van today! George had a 2004 Jeep Liberty and we’ve loved that thing. It is an amazing little SUV. We have hauled more stuff in that Jeep than anyone could imagine. Numerous times we have made large purchases (e.g. desk, chaise lounge, antique Hunt cabinet, 15 bags of concrete, ect). Every time we’d pull up in the Jeep who ever was loading our purchase would shake their head and say, “It won’t fit.” We would always insist that said large item would fit, and it always did. Just last weekend, we picked up the girls’ cribs and once again the person loading them said, “Oh these won’t fit”. It was a tight fit, but guess what, both cribs fit! Here’s how George looked crammed into the Jeep with two cribs in the back.
But, today we had to let go of the good ‘ole Jeep Liberty. I always said I would never drive a van, but honestly it’s the best thing you can have for quad babies. We bought a Volkswagon Routan and despite it being a van “mom mobile”, it is pretty cool. It has all sorts of features I never knew existed and they are going to be great for the babies! The doors have automatic slide, the seats heat (awesome for my achy back), there are these cool little sun shades on the passenger windows for the babies, and the seats stow and go so we can haul stuff (probably not like the Jeep, but a close second). I think we are going to really like this van! So who gets to drive it now???
hugs!
Amber
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Learning What Lies Ahead
One of the risky things about quads is that they always deliver prematurely, somewhere around 30 weeks plus or minus a few. That means a NICU stay is inevitable. Of course the NICU can be a scary place. The positive side of having quads that will go to the NICU is knowing they will go there. Many parents whose babies are in the NICU did not expect it, but we have some time to prepare for what lies ahead. We have also learned that parents can choose what NICU their babies are admitted to. We are fortunate that Cook Children’s Hospital is nearby and just opened a new level III NICU wing this past September. We toured it this Saturday to learn more about it. The NICU nurse warned us that we would have to act like “pit bulls” to insist that they go to Cook Children’s rather than our delivery hospital (as they have their own NICU), but we will do what we need to do to make that happen. George was blunt about it and basically got the nurse to tell us it was about hospital revenue. I don’t care about the hospital’s bottom line, this is our babies!
Cook Children’s is unique in their approach, which I appreciate. They highly regard parent involvement and want us to be there providing care to the babies as much as we can. In fact, the babies will be together in the quad suite and there are parent beds so we can stay too. In other NICUs they could be in separate nurseries and would be with other infants. If my babies are in a NICU, I want to be with them as much as I can and they will really make this possible. We also felt better seeing how despite all the medical equipment housed there, it was not terribly clinical. Everything is warm and personalized so we will feel comfortable. George thought a tour wasn’t necessary since we’ll have plenty of time to get acquainted with the NICU, but he was really impressed with the facility. We were so happy we took this tour, because the NICU is one less thing to worry over. We know they will get the best care, which will mean the best possible outcome, and that makes me rest better!
hugs!
Amber
https://www.cookchildrens.org/SpecialtyServices/NICU/Pages/default.aspx#3
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Drum Roll Please……
Today was a very special appointment with Dr. Tabor. He did an examination of anatomy and gender reveal! It is absolutely amazing what you can see on the ultrasound. We saw the hemispheres of the brain, four chambers of the heart, stomachs with intestines, liver, lungs, rib cages, femurs, arms/ legs/ feet/ hands/ fingers/ toes, eyes, and ears for each baby. They all were growing according to schedule, had good fluid levels, and no anatomical anomalies. That is what every parent wants to see and hear! I can sleep well tonight.
On to the really fun part! Babies B and D were very easy to determine as they had their legs all over the place. Babies A and C thought they would be modest and cross their legs, which made determining gender a little more difficult. However, Dr. Tabor and his sonographer were not going to let these little darlings get away with that. They prodded and poked until we determined everyone’s gender. Here it goes…..
Baby A- GIRL, Baby B- BOY, Baby C- GIRL, and Baby D- BOY!!!!!!!! This certainly makes our room sharing much easier, and I can’t wait to choose bedding and fun decorative touches for their nurseries.
hugs!
Amber
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Tut, tut it looks like rain!
I have been assigned to Bonnie Brae Elementary for five years now, and I’ve come to know the staff there over the years. I’ve always known the staff was special and sort of like an extended family, I never expected the wonderful shower they planned for the quads. The original date was set for this past Tuesday, but the weather turned quite tumultuous that day. Severe storms and about 13 tornadoes ravished the metroplex. By the time school dismissed, most of the teachers only wanted to get to their families and homes, so we postponed the shower. This was perhaps one of the worst series of storms in the area in a long time. In fact several towns are considered “disaster areas”. There were homes and building that were completely flattened. 18 wheeler trucks were tossed like toys and dropped on homes. However, despite the destruction, there were very few injuries and everyone survived. It was quite miraculous!
Postponing the shower did not make one bit of a difference for our Bonnie Brae shower though, the staff touched me with their love and support for George, me, and the quads. They did a lovely job decorating and making it special. Our art teacher, Jen, custom made each of the babies a turtle picture frame and onsies labeled “Baby 1”, “Baby 2”, “Baby 3” and “Baby 4”, which hung on a clothesline. Another teacher, Danielle, and her daughter, Abby, made an amazing diaper cake! It was three tiers of diapers (that we will use later) adorned with spoons, bottle brushes, tiny socks, and pacifiers. I was taken aback by all of the thoughtful gifts each person gave brought, and was amazed that even very new staff members were there too.
When I came home in the evening, George was completely amazed at what the staff of Bonnie Brae had done, and was so appreciative of their generosity. We spent several hours going through each gift and talking about who brought it. Then we sorted everything and stored it on the new shelves George built in the nursery closets. A week that started out with a terrible storm ended in a beautiful shower of love!
hugs!
Amber
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Mission Organization!
When we bought our house six years ago, we thought we’d grow into it, but we had NO idea how much. In six years time, we’ve done a lot of stuff collecting. That means both spare bedrooms and their closets were filled to capacity. That does not make for good nurseries, especially not shared nurseries. George was willing to part with his exercise equipment and sold all of it on Craigslist, but the closets were still full of photos, gift wrap, miscellaneous junk, camping gear, and the list goes on. We cleaned out as much as we could, but the stuff still had to go somewhere. It migrated to our upstairs room where it sat for weeks. While no one that visited our house saw the enormous pile, we both knew it was there and we had lots of stuff that needed a home. It caused that annoying nagging feeling within us. So, we went on a mission to tackle it this weekend! Thankfully, George is a good fantastic carpenter. He expanded the shelving in all of the closets in our house, including the pantry and laundry room. These expansions helped us to store more stuff than before, but it would not contain everything. We then found cabinet kits at Lowe’s for our upstairs room. By the time we headed to bed last night, all of the stuff had found a new home (besides the nurseries) and it no longer consumed our home. It gave us both a sense of preparedness and control over things that we can actually control, which felt great! Now we can focus on important stuff like outfitting the nurseries! If we only knew what colors to choose….
hugs!
Amber
Four to Adore 