EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!!!!

March 27, 2012August 13, 2014Amber 5 Comments

While George and I have known we are expecting quads for over seven weeks, last week was the time we told all of our extended family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. It has been an amazing week sharing the news. I only wish I had a camera to capture all the facial expressions. Better yet, video footage. It would be a hysterical you tube montage! Reactions ranged from excitement, amazement, shock, and I think even some fear. My favorite reaction was when a co-worker hugged me because she could see I am expecting, but literally jumped back three feet when she heard it was four. It was almost as if having quads were contagious. One principal squealed in delight. It was priceless.

The funniest thing was what my boss did. I told him the day before we went on spring break, but waited until after spring break to tell everyone else. He asked if it was a secret and I said “no”. I was thinking he might mention it to our secretaries or other people in the administration office. However, I did not expect the “Welcome Back” email he sent to our department the Monday we returned. The memo read:

“Good Morning!

Hope everyone got in some good relaxation time last week. It’s been a busy spring break for some, however.

Amber told be Friday before the break that she is expecting and I’m sure she spent time getting ready.

Danny had a baby girl Friday. Her name is “Zoey Elizabeth.” Mom and baby are fine.

Amber is pregnant.

Claire emailed me Friday to say her doctor scheduled her delivery for today. No distress but thought it wise to do.

Amber is expecting.

So, I hope all is well with you. We’re very happy for Danny and Claire.

And I should mention Amber is expecting a fourth time, since they are quadruplets!”

When I read the memo, I literally wanted to crawl under my desk. I’m not a person who feels comfortable in the spotlight and this certainly was like putting a high-powered spotlight on me. I didn’t get much work done that day because my phone exploded with calls and texts, and my email kept pinging. Most people said when they read the memo they thought our boss had really lost it this time and forgot what he typed. Too funny! I also got quite a few office visitors that day, as my office mate kept sending people in saying I needed to meet with them. When our assistant principal came in he was panicked that something crazy happened with a student. He seemed relieved to find out it was just news that I am expecting quads (no big deal ya’ know).

It has been fun sharing this news with everyone, but I have really appreciated the warm, supportive response we have received. Everyone seems to share our joy and many people have offered to help in some way or another. I think I should start taking names of volunteers now….just in case they forget. So far I have baby rockers, feeders, launderers, cooks, and housekeepers- not bad!

One of my schools has already organized a shower as well. They are all so sweet and excited about being a school where there are quads on the way.

hugs!

Amber

Diapers, wipes, and formula, oh my!!!!

March 24, 2012Amber 9 Comments

Huggies (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Over spring break, my dear friend, Melissa insisted that I start a registry at Babies R Us (she is very worried about me going on bed rest before things like this are done). She came along with me and gave lots of great advice on what you really need. We ran out of steam to head to Target so that registry was left for another day. George decided he wanted input on the registry. So today we went to Target to get started. He was totally floored about the prices for formula and diapers. The poor guy did not have the foggiest idea about what baby stuff costs, much less for four babies. Since we found out we were expecting quads, I have been nagging him about where to cut back and such, but he hasn’t taken much stock into that….until today! After our little Target jaunt, we went to Costco to pick up a few things. Funny thing, George started really paying attention to price comparisons. For example, instead of choosing real maple syrup he decided Ms. Butterworth’s would be fine. It turned out to be a very good thing that he helped with setting up a registry! He may have never realized the cost for diapers, wipes and formula otherwise.

Fun quad fact #1

A set of quadruplets will go through approximately 40.000 diapers!!!!!

hugs!

Amber

Sometimes God whispers, but you have to pay attention

March 23, 2012August 13, 2014Amber 13 Comments

Let’s rewind a little more….there is a reason I can manage to stay calm about having quads (at least most of the time!)

November 22, 2011

Our miscarriage proved to be much more emotionally painful and difficult than I ever anticipated, and it happened right before the holiday season. George and I decided to take a trip to Mexico over Thanksgiving week as a means of reconnecting and leaving some of our pains behind. We wanted to find a “last minute deal” (by the way….I’m not sure if those actually exist) so we didn’t book until about a week prior to the trip. I thought I found a wonderful hotel on the beach, but it didn’t quite live up to our expectations. I’ll say it was a little more “authentic” than the other hotels we visited in Mexico before. We learned that the water in our room was “non-potable”, the food was comparable to a school cafeteria at best, our sheets were made of some sort of weird rubber that was not cozy, and the building was made of some sort of concrete that funneled noise from the stairs to our room. Needless to say night one was rough and we didn’t sleep much. That night I remember praying to get through the tumultuous journey of infertility and for health and happiness.

We awoke apprehension about traveling over the Thanksgiving holiday. Should we have stayed home? Had we made a mistake? Nonetheless, we slathered ourselves in spf 50, got dressed, and headed out to take on the day all by 7:30 am. We had been to Puerto Vallarta in the prior year with George’s company so we went on a mission to walk down the beach several miles to where we stayed before. As much as I tried to avoid it, thoughts of infertility crept into my head as we walked along the beautiful coastline nestled between the mountains.

Then something amazing unfolded right in front of us. A group of four baby sea turtles was making their journey from their safe dry sandy nest to the sea. I have been to the beach many times during my life, but never in November, which is the time when sea turtles make this journey. Mother sea turtles spend their days in the ocean until nesting season when they take a huge risk to come inland to nest. Going inland is difficult for them as their bodies are built for ocean living not land. The mothers generally return to their own birthplace where they take time to find the right spot to lay their precious clutch. Once the baby turtles hatch, they instinctively crawl towards the water where they will spend their lives until they return to nest. Baby sea turtles are about the size of a small orange and stand out with their dark bodies along the sand so they are easy prey particularly for birds and lizards. We watched these babies trek through the sand for about 15 minutes and all four made it!

At that moment, I got an overwhelming, unexplainable feeling of calm that everything in my infertility world would eventually be okay. It was as if God was whispering a message directly into my ear. If a mother sea turtle can take the risk to nest and eventually her babies could make that trip, I knew that someday I will have babies that would survive like that too. It was a beautiful experience and I am grateful for it. I will think of these little guys when life gets tough; they never give up, they keep surviving. Here is one of the four making it to the water-

PS- A friend of mine later told me that sea turtles are a symbol of motherhood and fertility. Coincidence? I think not. Also, at the time, I didn’t think much of there being FOUR sea turtles, but now I look back at that moment as a sign that we were meant to have four.

Interestingly, the morning of the IUI, George and I were the only ones in the RE’s waiting room since it was New Year’s Day. The TV was on, but there was no sound. George looked at the screen and nonchalantly pointed out that there was a special about sea turtles on the screen. It reduced my pre-IUI anxiety tremendously because I thought of those little sea turtles on the beach. On our way home from the IUI, George and I stopped by the video store to rent a movie. In the new releases section was a documentary on sea turtles. These sea turtles seem to be constantly there as a reminder that it will be okay. I never in my wildest dreams imagined having quads, but I do believe we are going to be okay.