Developmental Check Up: Braces Round 2

Brody & Kylee had their 6 month check up with their developmental pediatrician a couple of weeks ago. Both are a bit behind in most areas but are making tremendous progress in getting where they need to be and “catching up” after their rough beginning. I always love these long appointments with our developmental ped. as we get a great, thorough examination and look at exactly where they fall developmentally and best of all, I always walk away with a renewed sense of pride knowing how far they’ve come! They both weighed in at about 31lbs and great news, Kylee’s head circumference is not only staying consistent with her own growth curve, but it’s on the charts!

This appointment Brody was “officially” diagnosed with Diplegia Cerebral Palsy, a form of CP affecting the legs. He’s always been a bit off when it comes to balance, coordination and such but lately he’s getting worse. His case is mild, thank goodness, but affects his daily life nonetheless. He has trouble with motor planning which makes little things like stepping up and down curbs or different surfaces, running & jumping hard to do. Despite stretching his legs on a regular basis he is becoming tighter and tends to tiptoe more than we’d like.

Sweet Kylee still battles her Hemiplegia CP as she continues to grow as well. Unlike Brody, she has started to jump and is able to get both feet off the ground – huge deal!! She’s started to run too! You can really see the way her CP affects her when she does her little run. The left side of her body gets pretty tense, her left arm comes in and fisted towards her side and her left foot turns in quite a bit, as she hops with her right foot over it. I’ll admit I think it’s adorable and I love watching her. The best part is she’s got a HUGE smile on her face any time she’s running and is clearly very proud of herself!

Brody & Kylee both are being fitted for leg braces to try to help them with their CP. This will be round 2 for Kylee and Brody’s first time in them. If you’re a long time follower you might remember Kylee wearing both an AFO & an SMO when she was 17 months old. Although she wasn’t walking at that point, she did well with the braces and they didn’t seem to bother her at all. She and Brody will both be getting AFO’s this time, Brody on both legs helping to hold his feet flat and giving him a good stretch and Kylee just on her left, guiding her foot to a natural position when she walks/runs. 

They were both fitted last week for their braces and did great during their appointment. Although painless, in order to make their braces, they have to have molds made of their little legs . Kylee was NOT A FAN during her last casting, so I was a bit nervous at how they’d do this time. It was nice this time around, being able to explain what would happen before we got there. I had showed Kylee and Brody pictures from when Kylee was little and told them “yay, you get to get braces!”…which of course led Korbin & Miss B wondering why they don’t get to have braces…ugh, can’t win! Anyways, I told them both that Mr. Spencer was going to put mud on their legs and it was going to be SO SILLY!

Once we got in the room, we asked who wanted to go first and Kylee was ready and willing. She plopped up on Daddy’s lap with a smile on her face and was excited about the “silly mud”!

Brody sat close by keeping an eye on everything that was happening and Kylee sat and stole the heart of Spencer as he casted her little leg. She carried on a sweet little conversation with him the entire time…

Here she’s helping him by holding the “noodle” in place…

My sweet girl and I!    Brody was up next and did great as well. He wasn’t stoked about the process but managed his way through it. We were cracking up the entire time over this look on his face…

Again, Kylee right in on the action, helping hold the noodle as Brody’s cast was cut off…

Once all was said and done he was all smiles and told Spencer “I fink I need a sticker now.” LOL!

 

I can only hope they do as well with the actual braces as they did with getting fitted for them. They should be receiving them in another week or so and of course, we’ll update you!

13 Weeks – Sweet #5!

A little update on the pregnancy (if you’re a little behind and your jaw is on your desktop right now, click here). I am 13 weeks along as of Tuesday which means helllllo 2nd trimester!! Thanks to all of you for your sweet comments when we revealed our big news. We’ve left a lot of people stunned, which is ok, but overall very supportive!

So far this pregnancy has been a WORLD of difference than the quads. I was stuck in bed for weeks upon weeks with them and couldn’t go an hour, much less a day, without getting sick. Even with prescription meds on board, the toilet and I were one in the same and when out of the house you can bet I had my puke bucket right by my side. Although I had a few sick days in the beginning of this pregnancy, now that I have my BFF Zofran as a part of my daily diet, I am good to go!  I’m tired, of course, but that could easily be chalked up to running 4 3 year olds around solo all day everyday. I’m super thankful things have gone so well so far!

Everyone has asked how Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korbin are handling the news. Are they happy? Excited? Do they want a boy or girl? Honestly, the whole baby thing is over their heads. We’ve told them and it hasn’t phased them a bit. We even took Brody and Kylee along to our 13w appointment to SEE the baby on the screen. Brody was more concerned whether or not my doctor was going to take his tubes out of his ears (only has this fear with this particular doc, by the way lol) as well as making sure he and Kylee got to go up to the NICU to see the fish.  We’ll continue to talk to them about it and I’m sure as time goes on (and I grow) they’ll start to understand!

We went this week for our 13 week scan/appointment and got to see our  healthy growing wiggly baby. We found out the quads’ genders during this week of my pregnancy with them so I had my fingers crossed we might get a glimpse of this lil’ one as well. Before we even mentioned it, one of the first things the sonographer said when waving the wand across my tummy was “Well….are you guys wanting to know what you’re having?”  UMM YES! Our little peanut was sitting indian style giving her a clear shot  of what looked like….drum roll please… man business! Of course it’s early (and we won’t be buying blue just yet) but she feels 80% sure we’re looking at having a baby boy! Although happy, my “gut feeling” was that it was a girl… so much for that mother’s instinct, ehh? I guess I always pictured another little one in dresses and bows! Bret’s reaction: “you just saved me a TON of money!”

I’ve had several people ask for belly pics. With nearly zero abdominal muscles left over from the quads I can feel things…umm… less than supported in my tummy area to say the least. Honestly, I’ve felt pretty huge the last few weeks. That is until I actually pulled out the pictures from the last pregnancy. Yeah, not feeling so huge anymore. Here are the comparison pics from 13w with quadruplets (left) and 13w with a singleton. Although I started out about 10lbs heavier with the quads, there’s a big difference!

A shot of the baby looking right at you… head on right, little knuckles under chin and belly!

 

We’ll keep you posted on what we pray stays our boring, easy going pregnancy!

March for Babies 2012

We had a great walk this year Marching for Babies! We have been talking for a couple of weeks about our “big walk” we had planned and the quads were super excited. After a long night of preparations, the 6am alarm sounded and we were up and ready to hit the road! It started off a bit chilly this morning, low 50s, but the Texas temps rose to a beautiful 70+ degrees – perfection! A (sunny) shot of the 6 of us after arriving at the walk… We had a great team join us this year. Some returning from previous years as well as several new friends proud to join our Family Team! Below Aunt Bethany with another seasoned walker, Mr. Levi!

The Tew triplets joined us!

Miss sweet Isabella taking it easy at the beginning of her very first March for Babies walk… look at that precious face!

We had some new friends join us too, who drove all the way from Oklahoma just to walk! A family of FIVE girls (can you imagine?!) Triplet sisters Hannah, Nikole & Isabella and their big sisters Lauren & Makenzie!

Our lil’ people. Brody, Kylee, Baxlyn & Korbin.  We had our first furry friend join us this year as well, meet Diamond!   

 

Just a few of our walkers, all smiles on this beautiful day!

Gotta love these Step 2 choo choo wagons. With quadruplets, a walk like this would be nearly impossible. Our train is getting heavy day after day as these babies grow but it truly is a lifesaver. Luckily we had several strong dads along who pulled the weight all day!

  Strong Dads and a strong Korbin, that is. Big Man wanted to pull when we gave them a chance to stretch their legs. 

Don’t know how many pics I have of these two tag teaming over their little lives. One pulling while the other pushes. My lil’ 2lb 10oz miracle pushing away! …and when the little ones we not riding, you can bet Diamond took advantage of the extra seats in the wagons!Collette & Leah :] 

Sweet little…. err… ummm… ok I can’t tell these girls apart. With two being  identical and one being right there close beside, I can’t tell who is who, but they’re all dolls! (Side Note. Identicals totally fascinate me as does their mother’s ability to tell them apart instantly!)

Below - Our Path of Hope sign this year. This particular picture was taken when Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korbin were 7 weeks old (about 36 weeks gestation). After dressing them in their cute matching outfits the nurses helped mobilize the boys over to the girls so they could I could get a picture of them all together. I will NEVER EVER forget the moment this picture was taken. Against the nurses wishes, I stood on a chair above Baxlyn’s crib where they all were laying to get a good shot of them from above. It was that second, while looking down, that I realized this was the first time I had seen them all side by side. Absolutely hit me like a ton of bricks. “Oh my gosh. Look at them. There are four of them…and they are all mine. Pinch me. Hard.” It will always be one of my favorite pictures for that reason. The sign tells everyone walking their gestational age at birth (28w5d) as well as their birth weights (3lbs, 2lb10oz, 2lb7oz, 2lb11oz).  Along the 5 mile walk the signs are there reminding people of why they’re walking. Many signs in Honor of babies  many in Memory of babies who lost their fight. I was covered in goosebumps time and time again after seeing some of the pictures and stats (some weighing just ounces at birth) of some of these tiny blessings. Miracles for sure. Bret and I are so thankful and so blessed that our sign reads “In Honor Of:” This time of year, for us, is a celebration. For many parents, it’s a reminder of their deepest loss but yet the come and walk year after year.  One thing in common is that we all walk in hopes to raise more awareness and support so that other families don’t have to go through what ours did. 

Our team gathered around our sign…

 

A rare shot of yours truly. I tend to stay behind the camera so I thought I’d show proof these babies do have a Mama ;) I felt great today and luckily this lil’ growing baby number 5 didn’t phase my energy level a bit! At 12 weeks with the quads, I couldn’t get out of bed without being sick, much less would I have been able to complete a 5 mile walk. It feels good to feel good!

I failed to get a close up of our awesome shirts at the walk but here’s a still shot from home. Our friend (and lil’ Levi’s Dad) Mason, who designed our last two year’s shirts, came up with something new this year and we all loved it! Another super special thanks to Prosper Marketing for donating our team shirts this year. Our first year walking we attempted to make our own shirts, they were cute but didn’t last many washes after the walk. Prosper Marketing has offered us GREAT quality shirts we are able to wear time and time again, allowing us to show our love to the March of Dimes year round! Last but not least we thank YOU! We set a high goal this year of $1000 and thanks to all of you, we surpassed it by hundreds. The donations you so graciously gave will help support research that will ultimately give more babies a better shot at life when the picture perfect birth doesn’t happen. I know I speak on behalf of MANY when I say THANK YOU!

My Broman on Ashley’s shoulders. Incredibly thankful this dude is here to walk today. I walked a small part of the path alone, reflecting on the rough start of this little boy’s life and trying to imagine how different things would be if we had lost him like they said we might. You can bet he (and they all) got and extra special squeeze from their Mama today.

We had a total of 14 kids ages 6 and under and all 14 did great. With a few legs stretches and lots of snacks they were smooth sailing! Makenzie hitchin’ a ride with the quads! …and her lil’ sis Lauren taking advantage of her Mommy’s shoulders!    Seriously….such a cool dog who enjoyed every minute of the day!

Love this one of Levi gettin’ his flirt on with one of the triplets!

  Sweet Kylee and her fake smile. I promise she has upper teeth ;)

This had to have been the best picture of the day. The sweet 18 month old trio couldn’t quite make it the last mile. They tried, bless their hearts, but after a long stretch of bobbling heads, they all gave up. You have got to love the little bit in the red wagon…. girl was wiped out! We kept trying to prop her like her sisters but this was clearly her way of sleeping! Hilarious!

  

Sweet Isabella, such a happy baby, who enjoyed her long walk!Like every year, after our first potty break for all of the littles, we quickly fell to the back of the line. We walked and strolled and rolled and wheeled ourselves across the finish line dead last, once again, but proud to have completed our walk!       We made it!   

Thanks again to all of you who supported us in different ways! We hope our team will continue to grow each year as we strive to raise awareness! Now… this Mama is off for some much needed Zzzzs!