With the baby due in just a few short months, we’ve been trying more and more to prepare the quads for their new roles as Big Brothers and Big Sisters. They understand there is a baby in my tummy and that “Dr. Leno” will take him out one of these day, but I’m not sure they grasp the fact that there will be a baby here…in their house…their territory…for good. Heck, I’m not sure I have completely grasped the concept of bringing another (single) baby home to add to our mix of everyday fun!
The hospital offers a “Teddy Bear Camp” for the little kids preparing to become siblings. I was excited about the idea and registered the quads several months ago. At the time I thought “gosh I’ll be 28 weeks at that time, seems so far away”. Well, here we are already. Bret and I loaded them up and we headed to the hospital on Saturday for their class! With baby dolls in tow, Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korbin were excited to go on their adventure!
Their little one hour class was held in the same conference room where Bret and I spent many hours during our NICU stay. The hospital offers “TLC” classes (Together Lets Cope) for NICU parents where they can come learn more about NICU, meet other NICU parents and share their current struggles of NICU life all while being supported by others. I remember sitting in that room sometimes happy, sometimes fearful and in tears and having my heart break for other parents dealing with struggles of their own. Never EVER would I have imagined, 3 and half years ago, that I would one day be in that same room with ALL FOUR of the quads and preparing for another precious baby! God is so good.
During their class they enjoyed a story about being a big brother and/or sister and learned ways they can help and be a part in taking care of the baby when it arrives. They had snacks (a favorite among the quads) and got to make door signs for the new baby too! They each took home a little bag filled with goodies as well as new t-shirts that say Big Brother/Big Sister!
After the classroom time, the nurses took us on a tour of the hospital. They let the kids look through the nursery windows at the new born babies and visit the L&D and Antepartum suites – which have been completely renovated since the quads were born… few years late on that people – it would have been nice spending my long hospital days in complete luxury ;)
As fun as the class was, the whole time we were there, BBK&K were anxious to roam the halls, see the fish in the NICU waiting room and visit my doctor’s office. Needless to say we let them do just that once the class was over. Here they are looking at the cool fish in the NICU where we also got to catch up with several of the nurses who took care of them. I love seeing the quads interact with the people who once had a hand in keeping their little bodies fighting, completely oblivious to just how special it really is for Bret and I to see. They enjoyed playing with their nametags, looking at their fingernail polish and sweet talking one into sending them home with a boat load of “much needed” band-aids ;)
Of course, we can never visit the hospital without running the skywalk…
Back home showing off their door signs they made for their new lil’ bro!
Not sure just how prepped the actually got after their one hour of fun but they had a great time!
They are looking so much more alike now!! And they all looked at the camera at the same time. So...who gets to hold the new baby first? :-)
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