Baby Steps...

That's what were taking! Things are looking a little better each day. Here's a short update.

We got the results back from Kylee and Brody's brain scans. Kylee's ventricle is still at a 4, but starting to absorb! Her other is still normal. The doctors are confident she will continue to get better. Brody's levels have remained the same (3 and 4) however, he does have fluid/blood between the two ventricles. The doctors will continue to measure his head and continue taking ultrasounds to monitor the swelling of his brain. If it continues to swell they may perform one (or more) spinal taps to try to relieve the pressure. We are not at that point just yet, but if we get there it's a pretty safe procedure. If for some reason he does have spinal taps and the fluid build up continues, we will explore the possibility of putting in a shunt. Brody's chest tube was removed on Friday and since then he is a little less swollen. He started eating Friday night and has done well at digesting his milk! YAY BRODY!

Mr. Korbin is off his CPAP and he is loving it! He is now eating 8cc's every feeding. Kylee and Baxlyn are on continuous feeds to help them digest a little better. Baxlyn is dealing with a little bit of reflux but nothing too concerning to the doctors. Kylee is no longer a glow worm, she has given that role to her sister now, as Baxlyn's jaundice has slightly come back.

Our prayer pager is constantly going off, thank you all for the prayers! We apologize for not being able to answer every call and respond to every text and voicemail. We appreciate the calls greatly, but are very busy trying to rest and be there with our babies as much as possible. We will update and post more pics again soon!

Bret and Heather

Small Update

Thank you everyone for your prayers. Brody and Kylee had another brain scan this morning and we should know the results sometime this afternoon. When they told us they had levels 3 and 4 they said there's a good chance they could have cerebral palsy and/or developmental or learning disorders... however, it could mean God can completely heal their little bodies and they can live a "normal" healthy life. We will leave that up to him. Whatever the outcome, Bret and I know we will not be given more than we can handle and we are ready for whatever God has planned for us and our babies and we will love them each unconditionally no matter what their state.

Kylee had another type of brain scan yesterday because she has been having a lot of bradycardias (she forgets to breathe and her heart rate drops). When she bradys the machines start beeping like crazy and the nurses watch her closely. Sometimes she will catch back up on her own and get a few good deep breaths in to get back on track, other times they have to go in and physically stimulate her. Although it's very common among preemies she was having more than usual. She has been given little shots of caffeine to help her stay a little more alert, but she's still having lots of bradys. The brain scan they did checked for signs of seizures. Thank goodness the results were normal and everything looks fine... she's just taking her time getting this whole breathing thing down... oh it's tough being a preemie!

Brody's little chest tube (used to vent the air from his lungs) was clamped for a day or so to see how his body would handle it, it did well but they had to unclamp it again because of more air build up. Please continue to pray that his lungs get stronger. He is still under his photo therapy light due to his jaundice and still has to wear his stylin' sunglasses. Every once in a while he gets a little break and can take them off to peek around (as seen in the picture below with his baby). When Bret and I talk to him, even though he's heavily sedated, he can open his little eyes and try to find us. When we hold his little hand he grasps our finger, and when we gently push on the bottom of his feet his will stretch them out and push against us as if doing a little workout. It's these simple things that gives us hope for him and his little sick body :)

Baxlyn and Korbin are doing well. Korbin should be off his dreaded CPAP anytime now and on a nasal canula like his big sisters. He got to start eating yesterday... YAY! Kylee and Baxlyn have been eating for several days now, they're up to a whoppin' 5cc's! The three of them were off their photo therapy lights and then Miss Kylee's jaundice started coming back. Rather than making her lay in a diaper under the light, they swaddled her in a photo therapy blanket so she's much more comfortable. She looks like a little glow worm in her bed!

Here are a few pics of the quads with their first babies! My sister gave me my first baby when I was born and now she has done the same for my babies. I know they will love them forever Sis, thank you!

Korbin chillin' with his baby!

(sorry don't know why the boy's pics are sideways)


Brody Love and his baby!


Sweet Baxlyn and her baby!

And Miss Kylee snuggled with her baby!

That's the update for now! Bret and I currently have the prayer pager from our church, we keep it with us so people can page us to let us know they have just prayed. You can put in any random number you choose, we do not look at the phone numbers, call back, or try to figure out who it was. It is just a good reminder every time we hear it or feel it vibrate that someone just prayed. 972.209.1704

Thanks a million,

Bret and Heather

Prayer List

Hey everyone Bethany,

Thank to all who have been praying for the Cox Quads! Keep it up they still need it!

I wanted to let you know that I am creating a Prayer List that we will have at the end of each babies bed from now until they get to go home!
If you are interested in being on the list all you need to do is email me at pray4coxquads@yahoo.com
and give me your name and the city and state you live in.

There is no need to sign up for a specific time I just ask that you agree to pray for the babies and their mom and dad at least once a day!

Thank you so much!
Feel free to tell your friend, the more prayers the better!
Please email me by Friday Feb. 27th if you are interested!

As for updates on the babies:
All I really know right now is that we just have to wait and PRAY!

PRAY as hard as you can!

Hey everyone it's Aunt Bethany again.

They checked all the babies for brain bleeds today and Brody and Kylee need our prayers!

Brody has a level 3 and a level 4(the worst) brain bleed and the last thing I was told is that he will not be able handle surgery because his little body is so weak.

They also found a level 4 brain bleed on one side of Kylee's brain. They have not yet said if she can handle the surgery.

Bret and Heather are on their way to the hospital to talk to the doctors.

PLEASE PRAY!! Thank you to those who are and have been praying!

Baxlyn and Korbin are doing great! Praise God!

We're getting to hold and cuddle!

We have only gotten to hold the girls so far, Korbin will be anyday now. Brody has a little catching up to do before we get to hold him. They are all getting their little brains checked out tomorrow, so we should know more on Brody's ventrical and wheather or not is has gotten better. Please keep them all in your prayers!

Daddy doing his first kangaroo care (skin to skin bonding) with

Miss Kylee.

Kylee and one big yawn.

Our first time to change Brody's diaper!

Mommy holding Kylee for the first time.

Sweet Brody and his sunglasses.


Daddy holding Baxlyn for the first time.


Daddy's first time holding Kylee.

Korbin hanging out with his CPAP.

Mommy Daddy & Baxlyn with her Bow Hat

Mommy and Baxlyn for the first time.

Mommy, Daddy, & Kylee for the first time.

Thanks and we will write soon!

Bret and Heather

5 Days Old and Truckin' Along!

We figured we would write a little while waiting for the NICU to open. Last night was hard on both of us when we went home. Although I had been at the hospital for 3.5 weeks, I felt I was leaving too soon. I wish I could have made it farther, but as we know it's all in God's timing. When we got home it was bittersweet looking at their car seats and cribs - empty. On the other hand we now can picture the 4 little beautiful faces that will be in them one day. When we opened the front door we saw several dozen pink and red roses on our sofa table displayed nicely with "Welcome Home Heather" signs, thanks Mom and Sis, that was so sweet! After lots of praying and a few dozen tears, we were able to get a good nights rest.

Now for updates on the babies! It's been a good day. We called first thing this morning and talked to Brody's nurse. He is doing well. The doctors found air around his lungs and had to insert a tube directly into his chest to help retract it and it is working well. The nurses are able to position him just right to where the air is pressed up to to the tube and out. His lungs still look a little cloudy and have a ways to go, but they are definitely looking better. YAY Brody!

I got to hold Baxlyn last night for an hour and a half! She was snuggled up in a blanket and we just sat there and talked... and talked... and talked! She would open her eyes and try her best to look around and make little bitty noises every once in a while as she stretched and breathed, it was so sweet. I got to kiss her little head and touch her little bitty tiny cheeks! The nurse put a BIG O' "Bow Hat" on her... the little NICU hat with a bow bigger than her head! I took pics and will post them soon :) Bret got to hold her today, he did very well... a little nervous to move her around, but he did well!

Kylee Mae, goodness she has decided to step it up in the past 24 hours. Last night when we were here she went from her ventilator to CPAP, yay Kylee! This morning we called and she had already moved up to the nasal canula, yipee Kylee! This also means, no more horror movie on mute, we are going to hear her screaming!

Korbin is doing about the same. He is still on his CPAP, but forgets to breath a little more often than he should. He and Kylee were very content while we were in today so we didn't mess with them too much!

That's all the news for now. Thank you for the prayers and please keep them coming, we can never have too many. Thank you NICU nurses for being so great and loving our babies, we know they are in the best hands possible :)

Bret and Heather

More Pictures!

I apologize, no idea why this is being underlined. There is no "take away the underline" button at the top, so please ignore it!

Here is a random line up of pics from the last 2 days!

Baxlyn showing us she can scream and breath on her very own!

Korbin: "I pledge allegiance, to my Dad"

Korbin and Daddy's calming hands.

Bret taking Korbin's temp.

Miss Kylee hangin out.

Kylee with Mommy & Daddy's bling.

Look out boys, she will not settle for just anything!

Our Brody Love and his sweet blonde hair :)

Our swollen Brody, hanging on hour by hour.

Baxlyn LOVES her lavender passy!

Baxlyn with Daddy's ring on getting her diaper changed for the first time by him!

Again, diaper change... with the famous passy.

Almost done...

Ahhh... fresh and clean!

The NICU nurses made this for us the night they were born :)

Thank you ladies, it will be framed and cherished forever and ever!

Prayers Are Being Answered...

... PLEASE keep them coming!

Things are looking much better for the babies, even little Brody!

When we walked to our little "quad pod" in the NICU yesterday, it was lit up like one huge tanning bed, I said "Well, I guess we all have jaundice now!". They said yes they did, but it's expected and they are all fine. Brody's is the worst.

I know we didn't go into much detail on the last blog about Brody and his condition, we are still trying to learn ourselves. I still hesitate to try to explain for fear I will be giving the wrong info. For a while the doctors were very worried and were running out of options as to how to treat him. One thing they would do would affect another thing going on with him, this number would go up but cause this one to go down... and so on. The neonatologist said "he had them backed into a corner". While we were in the NICU Wednesday afternoon, the doctors asked us to leave and that they needed to work on Brody. We were told they tried another gas to help him and that the next 12 hours were very very crucial and things didn't look good. I broke down into tears and headed back to our room. Within 10 minutes our phone rang and it was his nurse, she said what they tried worked a tiny bit and his numbers went up slightly. Things were still bad, but they were possibly headed in the right direction. Tears of joy fell as we had a little bitty sign of hope. An hour later the neonatologist came to our room with a BIG smile on his face. He said they had checked his "blood gas" levels 3 times since that gas and his numbers were increasing tremendously! The gas they gave him usually doesn't work, especially on preemies, especially multiples. "For some reason", he said, "... it worked for him". I told him leave it to us and our babies to hit those less than possible percentages... that seems to be how things work out for us! They had to completely paralyze him so he couldn't move or try to breath on his own and the machines could do everything for him. Brody's levels have continued to be better over the last few days and he has been taken off several of the meds... YAY! He had a very large PDA in his heart that has COMPLETELY CLOSED! There is a chance it could open again, but it's good that is closed on it's own. We just got back from the NICU and found out they did a brain scan and one ventricle is at a level one (no bleeding) and the other is at a level 2 (with a small amount of bleeding). They will watch and recheck him on Monday, if it gets too much worse, they may have to look at brain surgery. Please continue to pray.

They have been talking for a few days now about Kylee, Korbin, and Baxlyn getting to eat. It was been pushed back due to the PDAs in their hearts, like Brody's (was) they are large. All three are on meds right now to try to help it, they will get 3 doses of it, one every 12 hours. The doctors will check tomorrow to see if they have gotten better.

We went in this morning and the nurses immediately told us that Baxlyn had good news for us, we rushed to her bed and ends up, she is on a nasal canula (a step up from the CPAP) and we *might get to hold her tonight :) ... YAY BAXLYN! Wednesday night Robert and Judy and I were in the NICU and standing in the middle of their beds I heard crying. It took a minute but I thought "Oh my gosh.... is that my baby... is one of my babies crying... well it has to be all of these babies are mine...!" I ran to Baxlyn's bed and sure enough she was letting us know she was ticked off at something!!! I knew she was on the CPAP at that time, but didn't realize that meant when she cried I could hear it. It was an awesome sound, but at the same time, it kinda breaks my heart a little because I know she isn't happy. Kylee is also a screamer, however she's still on the ventilator so we can't hear anything. It's like were watching a horror film on mute. Oh she can get mad! The nurses say both girls are very feisty!

Bret changed his first diaper (ever) yesterday on Baxlyn and while he did, she wore his wedding ring around her arm. Oh it was so sweet, I got some really good pics and will post them as soon as I can. They took Baxlyn's CPAP off for a bit and we got to see her with no wires on her face breathing and crying on her own completely.

Today we went and got pictures of Kylee wearing Bret's ring on her arm and she held mine in her hand :) again, pictures will be here when we get time.

Korbin is doing well and still on his ventilator. He's a calm little guy and handles his pricks and pokes well. They are always having to stuck his legs back into his little pouch, he likes to stretch out and "chill out".

We will let you go now, Channel 8 News will be here shortly. Not sure when they will be airing... you may want to watch or set your recorders. Bret and I will be going home tonight, not sure what time. Thank you again for all of your prayers, we cannot get enough. Things look ok now, but they change within minutes. Again, thank you and we will update you and post pictures soon!

Baby Update!

Sorry we were not able to post anything sooner, we know you are all going crazy to hear details and of course see pics! Sunday afternoon I felt a few contractions and did not think anything of it, after noticing they were constantly coming I informed the nurse. It wasn't long after that I was having mild cramping, and the doctor immediately put me on Terbutaline shots. Everything had calmed down by midnight but by Monday afternoon the symptoms had started up again. Doctor Leveno evaluated me and my cervix was dilated to a surprising 3.5 cm, and his exact word were "I think we are going to have some birthday parties today!" The babies were fine, I was just in active labor that couldn't be stopped. After he left the room I broke down into tears of worry and shock and we started to contact family and friends.

Proud Daddy! Look closely, you can see their 40 toes :)

Some of the staff scrubbing up.

Getting started....

Dr. Leveno handing off Baxlyn to one of her favorite nurses, Meredith!

The nurses came in and started their normal procedures to get me ready for the big event. We were scheduled to go into the OR between 5:00 and 5:30pm, after the epidural was in place I was ready to go. As I was wheeled down to the OR Bret and I were able to see the countless number of people, with cameras in hand and tears of joy and fear rolling, cheering us on. The team of 28 Doctors, Neonatologists, Nurses, Respiratory Therapists, NICU nurses, and other incredible hospital staff successfully helped bring our babies into the world between 6:14pm-6:16pm. Bret and I were very calm during the whole procedure, I was surprised at how Bret wanted to stand up and actually see what was going on as Dr. Leveno pulled each baby out. Tears of joy and relief streamed down my face as I heard each baby give a little cry as they came out. After a quick clean up and evaluation they brought each baby over to me for a look and a kiss. I remember thinking "This baby looks exactly like the last baby I kissed.... uh oh!"

We will be adding a video, hopefully tomorrow, of their first moments :)

Korbin - 6:16pm - 2lbs 11oz - 14"


Kylee Mae - 6:15pm - 2lbs 7oz - 14.5"

Baxlyn Hope - 6:15pm - 2lbs 10oz - 15"

Brody Coleman - 6:14pm - 3lbs - 15"

The surgery went very very well, I literally felt myself getting smaller as each one was born! When they let down the curtain, keeping me from seeing the procedure, I remember NOT seeing my baby belly and being able to feel my ribs again, it was great! My doctor and I both were a little concerned about excess bleeding during my surgery, but all went well - no blood transfusions! Bret went with the babies straight to the NICU after delivery, on their way they got to stroll by our friends and family who were anxiously waiting and hoping to get a glimpse. I was put into a recovery room for 2 hours to be watched closely by one of my favorite nurses, Betty Jo. At about 9:15 they took me to the NICU to see my babies. I think the second I hit the doorway my meds kicked in. I felt extremely tired and drained I could hardly keep my eyes open (literally) to greet them. When I woke up this morning, I couldn't picture their faces or remember who was in what bed in the NICU. After a few hours I was able to take a shower and go see them. Brody had a little bit of a rough time this morning. He was put on 100% oxygen for a brief period of time until they could get some testing done, so I wasn't able to touch him or let him be exposed to too much light. As I peeked carefully into his bed he slowly opened his eyes and just barely tilted his head enough to look me in the eye and tried really hard to cry. I will never forget that moment, I had to wipe my own tears off of his little "giraffe" bed as I stared back at him.

Currently Brody is stuggling and is not doing as well as expected. We will give deatils on his condition as we find out more. The girls are doing ok, Baxlyn is off the ventilator and on a CPAP, and she's dealing with a little bit of jaundice. Kylee had an uneventful night, which is good, the nurses said. Korbin is doing the best out of all of them and is off oxygen completey, however the give him a little bitty shot of it when he needs it. Bret and I went last night to be with them during "touch time" we went from baby to baby checking their temps (that was Daddy's job) and changing their little full wet diapers (that was mine!). Bret had gone last night by himself during touch time (because I was out of it) and held their little hands as the nurses showed him the temperature taking and diaper changing. It was fun, we did the work and it was good feeling like a little family as we took care of our babies together. One nurse mentioned it could be within just a few more days we can do "kangaroo care" with at least one or two of them! After taking her temp and changing her diaper, we got to spend a great deal of time with Baxlyn. I got to hold her tiny little hands, look into her eyes, rub her dark (YES DARK!) head of hair and kiss her little knee- which just hours ago was pressing against the inside of my tummy... oh I love her so! They are all soo beautiful, I must say! I have a hard time telling who is who between Baxlyn and Kylee. They both look just like Bret to me. Korbin looks similar but has a little bit lighter hair and what seems like, for now anyways, a lighter complexion. Brody is a little me :) he has a round face and his hair is a dirty blondish color. If you were to line them up, I could pick out Brody and Korbin, but I'm not too sure about the girls... give me a few more days!

Some of the crowd getting a glance as Daddy shows of Brody and Baxlyn!

Our Kylee holding my finger at about 3 hours old.

Bret and I in recovery.

Please Please contuinue to pray for the babies, especially our little Brody Love. We will keep you updated as we find out more. Thanks so much! Love you all!

FORTY fingers and FORTY toes are HERE!

Hey everyone, this is Bethany.

We just saw them wheel the babies by and the nurses said they are doing great!

From what we know right now Mom and Dad are doing great, and dad didn't pass out, yeah!

As of right now we dont have all the weights and lengths but they are coming soon!

Here are some pictures for now!

Here is Brody and Baxlyn!!!

Here is Korbin!

Here is Kylee!

We can't wait to tell you more! They are BEAUTIFUL!

A Special Visit!

Wednesday night I got a special visit from some the kids at church! I was allowed to meet the kids in the waiting room for just a few minutes. Those of you who know me know I love kids and this is the longest I have gone without any interaction with them. The younger ones were a little confused thinking they were coming to the hospital to see and hold the babies. We had to try to explain that when the babies are born they won't get to see them right away because they would be very little and will probably have to live at the hospital for a little while. Others knew exactly what to expect, knowing I would be even bigger than when they had last seen me. "Daaannnggg Mrs. Heather your tummy looks like there's lot of bouncy balls in it!" was one comment.... thanks Mickey : )

Although it was stressed that no kids were to come if they were sick or had the slightest symptoms of starting to get sick, just to be safe we had them all sanitize their hands and wear special "Dr. Masks" which they got to take home!

Here is the BIG card they greeted me with that they all had signed!

These are a few cards they had made this past weekend. The ones at the bottom are of Bret and I. The second is one of my favorites, Miss Taylor (age 4) drew me and the babies in my tummy "I know there's four in there but I could only fit two..." she explained!

(Notice their legs hanging down with mine... love it!)

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They also brought this blanket for our babies made by the Challengers (5th and 6th graders) at church. Around the entire blanket are tied knots and at each and every knot there was a prayer said for Bret and I and the babies. Thank you guys so so so much,

we love it and know the babies will too!

Kimmie, YaYa, Me, & Bethany

This is Mr. Ken and I doing the classic pose he's been doing for years now. Throughout my pregnancy we have been comparing tummies, congrats Ken I did finally outgrow you!

Thank you Ken, Kim, Bethany, & YaYa for bringing the kids up and thanks to the parents for letting them come!