28 Weeks, We Made It!

That's right, today makes 28 weeks...whew! When I was admitted 2 weeks ago (at 26 weeks gestation), the neonatologist told us the chance of survival for the babies at that point was about 70% and that if we could get to 28 weeks they would have a 94% survival chance. Needless to say, Bret and I are super excited we finally hit this milestone!

This morning I made this sign to proudly display on my door :)

The hospital days are getting to be a little repetitive and I'm missing my dogs even more than ever, but I realize this is the best thing for me and my babies, so I’m happy to be here. Thanks to many giving friends I have books, magazines, games, puzzles, cards, crayons, coloring books, movies.... just about anything I could ask for... but it's still hard laying day after day. Thanks to everyone friends, family, and the many people we don't even know for the support and endless emails, comments, and letters of encouragement. It keeps me strong knowing so many people are cheering me and the babies on! I got to get out last night to go to my first PAMOM (Plano Area Mothers of Multiples) meeting. Luckily it's held here at the hospital and Dr. Leveno let me attend (THANK YOU!). I got to meet other expecting moms and hear tips on nannies, night shifts, feedings and more from moms who have already had multiples. Thanks again to Casey and Misty, my quad mom mentors, for wheeling me back and forth!



We had our sono yesterday, and yes, everything went well. The boys are now at 3lbs and the girls 2lbs 6oz and 2lbs 7oz! As far as any more dilating, my doctor hasn't checked. I have had very few contractions none that were painful, so he's not worried at this point and is confident we will make it a ways longer :) I took my glucose test yesterday, thank God it didn't make me sick like last time, however, I was totally prepared. With my "No Visitors Please" sign on my door and a bucket nearby I drank the nasty stuff as fast as I could and laid down immediately. The nurse from my doctor's office was nice enough to come up to my room to take my blood and give me my progesterone shot so I didn't have to get out. Just so happens, my doctor just came in and said I passed the test by a long shot, no gestational diabetes for me!



Bret and I visited the NICU again this week and the nurse showed us our own little section in the back away from everyone else just waiting for the arrival of our little quad squad. We stood there in awe just thinking that the 4 tiny little empty beds we were gazing at would soon be holding our precious babies. Again... breathtaking.



Below is a picture of one of the not so fun parts of being here, monitoring. The babies are monitored twice a day and although it's awesome to hear your babies' heartbeats and know that they are doing well, it's not too fun having what seems like a bagillion tight itchy straps on. Some ladies have to be on the monitors 24/7, I can't imagine what that might be like. Each baby has it's own monitor strapped on and then the nurses somehow find a little extra space to strap on a contraction monitor too. Sometimes the babies cooperate and stay still to be monitored and other times, one or two or three will decide that that's not what they want to do at the moment and will fight like heck to stay away from them and the nurses have to fight back to keep them on. The usual time they try to keep singleton babies on is about an hour, however, we are lucky to get a good 20-30 minutes on each baby.

Tisha and I at 27.5 weeks!

Hangin' On At 27 Weeks!

We had our 27 week appointment today. I was super excited to get out of my room longer than my usual 20 minutes, our appointment took a good hour and a half! First, an update on my iron level. Before it went up, it went down, BUT as of this afternoon it was at 8.2! The Dr. says I still need to be between a 12 and 15, but I have made progress thanks to my 3 iron pills a day and multiple hours of an IV pumping me with Dr. Pepper colored iron. They will take blood again tomorrow. Now for the information on the babies what you've all been waiting for and asking about... as usual they're HA-UGE! Kylee weighed the smallest at 2lbs 3oz (which is great, don't get me wrong). Baxlyn 2lbs 6oz. Korbin 2lbs 7oz. Brody....a whompin' 2lbs 11oz. Just to give you an idea on how that measures up to singletons at this point, Brody is in the 94th percentile and is measuring as if he's 28 weeks and 2 days. Judi, our talented photographer ;) couldn't believe it when she measured him. She insisted on remeasuring and measuring again to make sure she was reading it right. Kylee is the only one who actually measured their estimated due date of May 6th. Oh and remember all of the food I have eaten this past week and how i mentioned that I probably had gained like 30lbs in several days... yeah I weighed exactly what I did last week. CRAZY!


The nurses let Bret and I have a little extra time out yesterday too. He kinda wanted to see the
operating room... I hesitated at first thinking it might freak me out a bit, but agreed to stop by there. Our nurse hooked us up with scrubs and the appropriate gear to visit and we were on our way. It was pretty much what I expected to see bright lights and lots and lots of technical things and machines everywhere. They showed us where the babies would be transported immediately and explained how Bret would have to go back and forth between the two rooms to visit and take pics of all of the babies as they were being evaluated. Bret told me to just think about how the next time we're in that room our lives are going to change forever.... he's right... it kinda takes your breath away to think about and picture.

After our short visit to the O.R. we headed down to the N.I.C.U. to take another little tour and see the babies who were there. On our way we stopped at the nursery window to peek and there was a little new baby to admire, cute as can be. I think he (or she) might have been Hispanic or foreign... tan skin and dark dark thick hair, whatever his background he looked nothing like Bret or myself. As we stood staring in awe a group of people past behind us saying "Oh congratulations ya'll... aww....so sweet" (remember Bret and I were wearing scrubs at the time). After a second of confusion we explained our situation and that we were just trying to keep ours baking for a while longer and the nice people went on their way. We went back to looking at the baby in the window and here comes some more people, again seeing us in scrubs, "Congrats guys!". Bret and I laughed and rather than going through the explanation again and seeing more jaws drop to the floor we simply looked at each other, looked back at them and replied "Thhhannksss!!!". It was so funny :)

We finally made it down to the N.I.C.U. As Bret wheeled me in, the nurses all greeted us with smiles and said they were waiting for us and the babies... not wanting to see them just yet, of course, but anxiously waiting for their arrival. One nurse went behind the counter and pulled out 4 good sized note cards on which they had already preciously doodled each babies' name to go on their beds. It was so sweet, I started crying. It made being in there that much more real. I asked how they already knew their names, they said they had been following the blog. How they found out about it, I'm not sure, but it's pretty cool when the people who are going to help the babies through some of their toughest days are already taking the time to get to somewhat know them! We also got to see a little 2lb baby boy who was born at 28 weeks, although he was itty bitty he seemed too big to be in my tummy along with 3 others his size, just confirms how awesome God is and how amazingly designed our bodies are. Thanks again nurses for being so kind and already supportive!


Here are just a couple of pictures from the past few days. I apologize for not posting today's sono pics. I wish I could because we got some good ones today, but we don't have a scanner here, so it will be a few days before I can get them to someone who can scan them in for us.

Friends from High School: Tisha, Nikki, Myself, and Jamie.

Enjoying some Wendy's Sunday afternoon.

Another Day Another Blessing!

I finally got a laptop here at the hospital (thank you Dee!) it's nice to have a little connection to the outside world. Things are looking pretty good, baby-wise at least. Our main concern right now is my iron level, my body is having a hard time producing enough for all of the babies and me. Yesterday morning my iron level was at a 7.1, the doctors were very very concerned and immediately increased my iron supplements and put me on an IV. Although I felt fine, they explained how big of a deal it was and that it needed to go up asap or we would have to look at blood transfusions. This morning they took my blood again and it came back at 7.4! Seems like so little of a difference, but the doctors were pleased. I had another round of iv's today and they will check it again tomorrow.

My stay has been good so far, the nurses are wonderful and soo attentive and I get to see my doctor everyday. It's a little hard to sleep at night due to being in a different environment and constantly having to get up to take more meds, but it's getting better each night. The hardest part BY FAR... not seeing my dogs. I have their pictures hanging here in my room, but it's not the same as being with them everyday. Call me a pathetic nerd if you must, but they are a huge part of my world and it brings me to tears to think about them and not knowing when I'll get to see them again. I love you Rocky and Coco! One of the easiest parts of my "new home" the FOOD! OMG, yum! Seriously, I'm not joking. I think I have made every visitor check out the menu at this place... it's crazy! You always hear the dreaded phrase "hospital food", but I couldn't cook this well at home even if I wanted too! I haven't gained too much weight during my pregnancy, but am thinking I have already gained 32lbs since Tuesday... I'll get weighed in a few days, we will see!

Before I go, I must take a chance to brag on my wonderful husband. Most of you know Bret's crazy schedule and his endless responsibilities including school, work, our store, me... the list goes on. He is a real trooper and a blessing to me from God. Thank you "Beaude" for everything, i love you love you love you love you love you : )

There's much more I could write about, but it's about time for the nurses to come play "find the babies" on the fetal monitoring machine thingy. Nothing like hearing kicks, heartbeats, and hiccups all at the same time! I cannot say enough thank you for your prayers, we will keep you updated!

Heather

Luau in Labor and Delivery

Howdy Fellers,

After a rough night of being in our "new home" the doctors continued to run a lot of test that have all come back normal. The nurses have been awesome so far and the food is great too! We went down for a sonogram yesterday morning and the babies look great! Heathers cervix is back to a 3.5, which is great (Tuesday it was between 2.1 and 2.4) but there was a little funneling, nothing to be too concerned about. They will just contiune to keep a close eye on her cervix. Although it is a day to day situation our goal is the get to 28 weeks. The doctors are still very positive that we could possibly make it farther. Hold'em Brody!

Me and my Beautiful wife, who is going to be a

wonderful mother of 4!

The girls gave Uncle Mason and I the hard job of blowing up the 6 foot tall palm tree to decorate the room.

Aunt Banan and Aunt Bethany came to visit and added some decorations to our "new home" for the next few months, Hopefully. They are the Best!!

We appreciate everyone who has come to visit and the supportive phone calls we have already received. Visitors are welcome but the hospital does not allow children under 12.

Sonogram pictures coming soon!

-Bret

Admitted! 26 weeks

Tuesday at 2:15 Heather was scheduled for her routine checkup, when we arrived at the doctor's office he and his staff preformed their normal procedures and noticed that Heather was dilated to 1 centimeter. Heather had been having what she thought was contractions on Monday night, but they were not regular so she did not panic. During our doctor visit they gave Heather a Fetal Fibornectin (FFN) test; the test is used to determine if she will go into labor within two weeks, it came back positive but they are not sure how accurate the test is with quads. She arrived at her hospital room (new home) around 3:30 and immediately starting receiving Procardia to stop the contractions and steroid injections to strengthen the babies’ lungs, in case delivery was necessary. The nurses got every thing under control around 6:00. So we are taking it day by day and remain optimistic that every thing will go as planned. Heather was wearing four heart monitors and a contraction monitor last night and because of the discomfort she was not able to get much sleep. With that said, Heather and the babies are doing great and I will keep you fellers informed as things unfold in the coming weeks.

Bret

Pictures coming soon!

25 Weeks, 4 BIG Babies, & 1 Prayer Request...

First of all Bret and I would like to ask for prayers for the King family. Jenna delivered her quads at 25 weeks and her precious babies are having a rough time, especially baby Preston. You can view their blog listed on the right to read more details. Again, please keep their family in your thoughts and prayers, I can't imagine what they're going through.

We are taking it week by week (really day by day) now and thankful for each day we are still pregnant. As most of you know, our goal is 34 weeks which means the babies will be here within 9!!! It's very exciting and although it seems like it's right around the corner and things are going well now, there's a lot that can happen between now and then... so please continue praying. I wish you could all hear the nurses and doctors and some of the things they have said to us like "I don't know if it's your church, your Bible, or your faith... whatever it is, it's working keep it up!" "You guys are doing great you must have a lot of people praying for you...". The power of prayer is amazing and it's so awesome that the doctors can see it too!

We saw our specialist today and fortunately, things are still going well. My cervix looks great as do the babies and their hearts, brains, limbs, fluids etc. Bret and I were shocked when they told us their weights and how they are still slightly bigger than the average singleton baby:

Brody 1lb 15oz (he should hit 2lbs tomorrow they said)
Baxlyn 1lb 12oz (she's the little sandwiched one between Kylee and Brody)
Kylee 2lbs
Korbin 2lbs

It didn't take long for me to figure out that's stinkin' 8lbs of babies.... and were still hoping to make it another 2 months... ahhhh sometimes I don't think my body can stretch anymore :/
Which reminds me of something cute that happened today. Bret and I went to Chic Fil A - my special treat for the week on my outing - and when we walked in the man at the register said "Ohh... you having 2 babies or 1?" I thought that's what he had said but I thought I'd make sure before I knocked him off his feet.... "2 babies or just 1?" he said again. I looked at Bret and smiled, looked back at him and replied "4" "WHHHAAATT.... FOUR!... OMG! QUATRO MI D FID FAJEOI Y CELML HFK SJFOOE YO QUATRO.....!" Ok, obviously I don't know what he said since I'm a little rusty on my spanish, but he said "four" several times as he told all of his co-workers... haha! I will miss freaking people out when I'm not pregnant anymore :)

Many people have commented and asked about the babies' names and how we came up with them. I've known for a long time that I love the name Kylee so that was our "If it's a girl" name. We also quickly decided on Brody for our "If it's a boy" name. Soon after finding out there were four, Bret's brain went to work thinking of 2 more perfect names. He brought the name Baxlyn to me, which at first I thought "what... umm no... that's not even a name". For some reason I just couldn't get it out of my head and decided I really did like it! The last boy we originally were going to name Crayton. Bret for some reason had a change of mind and insisted on Korbin. As far as the middle names, Bret had another good idea. Why not give them our parents' middle names?! So there you have it Brody Coleman (after his dad) Baxlyn Hope (his mom) Kylee Mae (my mom) and Korbin Lee (my dad... happens to be my middle name too!).

Anna, Bethany, and Tisha came over Friday night for a "girls night in". We got the letters painted that will go over the girls' cribs. They turned out just perfect, light pink with a soft glitter gloss on top!

What's a girls night in with a big preggo girl without some belly art... fun fun!

By the way - the babies butterflies and footballs are somewhat drawn where they are located in my tummy!

Thanks girls!

24 Weeks!

We made it! Good news - yesterday's sono went really well and we have hit a major milestone YAY! Bad news - the nurse busted out the dreaded orange bottle of liquid... the glucose test. I have to drink it in 4 weeks to check again for gestational diabetes :( UGH! Again, just one of the not so enjoyable things that come along with bringing babies into this world!


My cervix is still holding on strong and the babies are all doing great too! There was one point where we saw 3 sets of feet tangled up together, but of course they all moved before we could get a picture. I was amazed at how the babies can still manage to stretch out almost completely at times. When they do, I swear their little legs look like they are 9 inches long and I have a feeling they are all going to tower over me by the time they turn 4.

I'm starting to feel even more movement from the babies, even little Brody all shoved down south. Bret wants to call him the "Linebacker" of the group because he's "constantly stopping his brothers and sisters form advancing down field"! Their movements have all gone from little nudges here and there to a combination of elbows, feet, hands, and knees pushing against my skin all at once. Thanks to not having much to do during the day, I have found myself awake some nights until 3am just feeling and watching them move, it's amazing!

Here are their profile pics from yesterday:

Brody Coleman

Baxlyn Hope

Kylee Mae

Korbin Lee

Bret and I went to the Build A Bear workshop the other night (yes I was in my wheelchair the whole time) and made the girls their very own teddy bear. It felt a little silly at first being the only adults in the store making teddy bears, but I'm so glad we did it and hope our girls will appreciate it too one day! After spending like 30 minutes picking out the right bear and going through a ton of outfits, we decided on cute little blue jean skirts with matching tops and hair bows. While going to the register to check out, Bret noticed a little row of kid computers with little seats 2 feet off the ground where you could stop and officially "adopt" your bear. Again feeling a little silly, we hesitated, but decided "What the heck, let's do it". So here we are 6 foot 2 inches tall guy and 5 foot 1 inch round girl sitting in these little bitty seats in front of little color keyed computers adopting our babies' bears! We named each bear after Kylee and Baxlyn and they received their very own birth certificates that say "Stuffed with love by Mommy & Daddy". Yes, we will go back and do the same for the boys soon! For now, here are the pictures of Baxlyn (left) and Kylee (right).