What a busy past couple of days we have had!!! I have been much busier than I had expected to be since I safely delivered our babies on July 17, 2012 around 2:15 PM. My husband and family have been doing an excellent job trying to keep people updated, but now I finally have my laptop and some time to update this blog with some cute pics!!
We had a very successful and "normal" c-section delivery on Tuesday afternoon. As uneventful as it could be, I guess, for a person delivering quadruplets! There were 26 workers in our room with us and we had an adjourning room that took 2 more babies, so we literally had a huge team of doctors, nurses, L & D and NICU staff helping out! The staff was awesome. Once all babies were out of me, they were quickly whisked to the NICU, and all were able to go with only CPAP breathing support (no vents!). I was stitched up and when recovering Andy went to be with the babies in the NICU while my mom and sister took turns recovering with me. Here is the order of arrivals with stats (the babies get re-numbered ABCD based on who gets pulled out first, second, etc. sort of confusing!)
(Baby A) Lauren Faith was 2 lbs, 5 oz and 13 3/4" long
(Baby B) Tyler Allen was 1 lb, 14 oz and 12 1/2" long
(Baby C) Tanner Andrew was 2 lb, 4 oz and 14" long
(Baby D) Hannah Grace was 2 lb, 12 oz and 15" long
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| Our "First Born", Lauren! They wrapped the babies in plastic to keep them warm |
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| Our Little Guy Tyler. Little, but feisty! |
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| Pretty sure this is our Tanner Andrew. Strong man! |
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| Our sweet little Hannah getting checked out |
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| Some of the army of doctors and nurses working on our crew that morning |
That night, although all kids started off on cpap machines, Tanner was having a harder time breathing and went on a ventilator. He also developed fluid around his heart in the night which they drained but it was our first of (probably hundreds to come) NICU roller-coaster rides. One thing we have been told & are learning: having children in the NICU is often like taking 2 steps forward, 3 steps back. Our babies are in a neonatal intensive care setting for a reason: they are very tiny and sick!
But prayers have been wonderful. Later on yesterday Tanner was doing better again, and went back on cpap. Praise Jesus! However, now today & tonight he continues to demonstrate little respiratory and distressed symptoms again. It will be an up & down battle for all.
Tyler, our smallest, is actually doing fairly well and is getting more oxygen than he probably has been for a while. While teeny, he is a fighter. He receives light therapy often for liver development and is starting to be fed milk along with all the others. Hannah, our biggest, is also doing fairly well. She is a feisty, verbal girl. I actually have been able to "kangaroo hold" her twice so far, skin to skin, and it has been awesome.
Lauren was showing resparatory distress last night and went on a ventillator, and she is still on one now. She is doing fairly well with this. She developed some air around her lungs last night too and while they have taken care of the problem, she is very tired today from all the hard tolls on her body.
And now I just got a call from the doctor an hour ago saying that the babies were accidentally exposed to a person who developed the Shingles Virus, which is like Chicken Pox. While very uncommon for babies to develop this, both Tanner and Hannah are showing marks that could be it. Thus, all babies are now in isolation and are taking an anti-viral medication as a prevenative step in case they have indeed been exposed. This means that whenever Andy or I go to see them for the next 10 days or so, we will need to gown up, wear masks & gloves, and change the gown/gloves/masks for each baby to discourage cross-contamination. Any additional visitors at this point are not allowed until further notice. See what I mean? It's a NICU roller coaster!!!
I am going to go and check on the babies-- doubtful I will touch any of them tonight :-( ! But this too seems to be part of Our Multiples Journey. One thing I just need to say is a huge THANK YOU to everyone for the hundreds of prayers and well-wishes. Andy and I have truly been riding on the wings of prayers and KNOW that God is in control and He knows what He is doing. Nothing shocks or surprises Him, and He has a PLAN! We take great comfort in that and are so humbled by all the messages we have received and prayers and people asking others to pray for us who we don't even know! A million gracious thank you's to you all!!! We feel so rich with support, and it is helping our attitudes immensely. I know for myself I have a supernatural peace and calm that is indeed nothing of my own strength. It is God giving me what I need when I need it, and it is truly a faith-building and humbling experience as I get to rely on my God and Savior in this way.
I will end with some pics I took earlier on when I was visiting the babies, including my chance to cuddle my sweet little Hannah! Oh, and I can't forget-- yesterday was our sweet little Jenna's 4th birthday!!! To celebrate, we went to a NICU siblings pizza party last night and she had a blast with mommy, daddy & other kids! Happy 4th birthday to the best daughter and big sister ever!!!
Thank you all so much... Thank you for the continued prayers.
Tired but Big Hugs!
Becky
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| Big 4-year-old Sister Jenna pretending to be a doctor! |
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| Sweet Little Lauren Faith with her eyes open! |
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| Our feisty and lovable Hannah |
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| Saying Hello to my little man Tyler, who is geting some light therapy! |
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| Our sweet, sweet Tanner. Had a VERY rough first night and thought we had lost you... Praise Jesus He has other plans for you, sweet boy. |
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| Cuddling earlier today with my sweet Hannah Grace! |
Becky, your babies are beautiful! Congratulations to you and Andy! Thank you so much for the update, and especially, the photos.
ReplyDeleteBut how are you feeling? We continue to pray for all of you, including your big 4-year-old and exhausted husband!
Love from your neighbors. :)
This is my first time commenting but I have been following along for a while. Congratulations!! The babies are so adorable and Happy Belated Birthday to Jenna! Becky you look great.
ReplyDeletePraying for the babies and your whole family.
Oh, Becky, I know this is an incredible up and down journey, but you are doing just great! You are right about the prayers, that is how I find peace about the chaos of it all.
ReplyDeleteThe ups and downs will all be worth it when the rollercoaster continues at home. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteHi Becky. I am a friend of your sister Kat. Your story reminds me of my own fun in the NICU roller coaster. As a matter of fact my fun started this day nine years ago.
ReplyDeleteI am sending you prayers and good thoughts. I know the ups and downs, the highs and lows. Keep your faith strong as God will see you through this. But do not be afraid to take a few minutes to yourself each day to process everything either.
You are doing an amazing job. Your babies are beautiful and their sister is a princess for sure. Thanks for sharing your journey. =D
Good grief, what an event for you to go through so soon! I'm terribly sorry about the isolation treatment and hope it ends up being non-eventful. But these are the things that come with our "territory," it's crazy. You look FANTASTIC, hope you are able to rest! I am praying for you all every day!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting, your babies are beautiful. Just remember, it is usually 3 steps forward, two back. Each day, those babies will be getting bigger and stronger. Enjoy each little victory and remember, you CAN'T jinx a baby (it took me weeks to finally come to that realization!). You are all in our prayers.
ReplyDeleteI saw Wendy and Anna yesterday in the neighborhood and they told me you had the babies. Congratulations! They are so precious and beautiful! We will continue to pray for all of you as you continue on your journey! =)
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Beth Obermeyer
Hey. I realize I am commenting on a post that is super old, but here goes. I have been following your blog and really enjoying it since before the babies were born, though I haven't very often left comments.
ReplyDeleteIn the summer of 2014, I found out that the baby I was expecting (my 4th) was not growing well and would be born early and very small. I remembered that one of your babies had had growth failure as well, so I came to your blog and reread the events surrounding the birth of your babies. I read this post in particular, and started crying when I saw the pictures of your babies because I realized that this was what my baby would probably look like when he was born too. Walter was born at 32w6d, weighing 2lb11oz with a length of 15 inches. I had seen pictures of preemies before (clearly), but pictures don't give you a really good context for just how stinking tiny those babies are! It was a shock. Anyway, Walter is now 20 months and weighs 19lb and is 30 inches tall. He is just just barely on the charts for his corrected age, and is nowhere near for his actual. I was just wondering what your experience with Tyler has been. Has he caught up in height and weight? Is he on the charts now? How long did it take?
Hi Heidi, first let me say CONGRATULATIONS on how well Walter seems to be doing! I bet you have a beautiful family. And thank you so much for being a reader. Tyler continues to be my smallest, both in stature and weight. It is very interesting because he and Tanner are identical, but Tanner is about 2" taller, 3-4# heavier, and his feet are about 1-2 sizes bigger. I always wonder if/when he will catch up to Tanner. Many people assure me he will, but we will see! Only God knows, and I guess that is ok. That being said, for what Tyler might lack in stature he makes up for in other areas. He is very smart and hands down my most agile, fast, limber, and adaptive kid of the crew. He can be big Trouble sometimes (with a capital T!) but only because he can problem solve his way out of and into any situation. I fully believe that left to his own devices, Tyler could already live independently (in a "Lord of the Flies" kind-of way!).
DeleteKeep checking in with the blog and see with me if he catches up. :-)
Walter is such a miracle child. Even if he is on the small and mighty side his whole life, he has an important role as the #4 of your family. Blessings to you, Heidi!
Becky
Thanks for replying to my comment! Walter is definitely a fireball too, little and fierce, but also such a snuggler! He loves to climb as well, and can even get up the ladder into his big brother's bunk bed. Most people when they hear that, are like, "He must give you heart attacks all the time." And I nod my head, but to myself I'm thinking that I'm just pretty much used to it, and also a little proud that he can do it, lol!! He's definitely a miracle. He has had none of the health issues, not even reflux, that are super common with preemies and especially IUGR babies. His fine and gross motor skills are right on par, and while his speech is lagging a little, his receptive language skills are great. He's just small.
ReplyDeleteIf Tyler is still not on the charts for height or weight, a great resource that I've come across for growth issues, if you're at all concerned, is magicfoundation.org. Statistically speaking, if he has not caught up in size by his age, it's unlikely that he will at all. Anyway, not trying to give you medical advice, just thought I'd pass on something that's helped me. :)
I will definitely keep on reading your blog!
Thanks, Heidi! Definitely a good resource to keep in mind and ask the doctors about for our next well child visit. Glad to hear Walter is doing so well!
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