March for Babies 2016

We had a very successful 2016 March For Babies walk this past weekend!!! First and foremost - THANK YOU for sharing our page and for donating! Together, so far, we have raised just under $700!! If you didn't donate and want to, it's not too late! Click the "March for Babies, March of Dimes" icon you see on the right of the screen and then on the orange "Donate" button.

This was one of our smallest teams to walk but we still had a blast! I felt like we had a lot working against us this year but we prevailed! First of all, I was super worried about our ability to complete the 5 mile walk. The quads, now 7 and all just a tad shy of 50lbs are getting too big and heavy for the infamous choo-choo wagon. I knew they wouldn't be able to walk the 5 miles all on foot and I knew we wouldn't be able to pull them the entire way either! Keeping with tradition, we committed to doing it one way or another!  My anxiety about completeing the walk with all of the kids intensified when Bret called from work on Friday afternoon and told me he had been hit with the stomach bug that has plagued so many in our area. I could not believe it. After discussing the situation over with Bethany and our other team members, we decided we would still march on without Bret, again, making it happen one way or another! Lastly, North Texas had some very damaging hail storms last week and the weather radar showed possibilities of more storms on Saturday for the Dallas area, because of this, just over half of our walkers opted to play it safe and stay home.

The 18 of us who walked were armed with a couple dozen umbrellas, panchos and ziplock bags and we were prepared to get wet. Despite the dark clouds that filled the sky, not a drop of rain fell during the walk!

Our little Quadlings... Kylee, Korbin, Baxlyn and Brody

I absolutely loved our shirts this year! Special thanks to Amy Horton for bringing my idea to life and to Prosper Marketing for graciously donating our shirts so that we can walk in style!

7 of the 12 kiddos who walked/rode!

Broman. Ugh, this sweet, talkative guy!

 

Alright yall, if you know Kylee, you know this is HUGE! She's made big progress with characters over the past few months! Mention the name "Chuck E Cheese" and she'll run for the hills, but she's making progress ;)

Luke, bless his heart. I think he had the best set up in his cute little wagon!

The Pemberton Family, seriously one of the sweetest families I know! We are so happy they're committed to walk with us each year in honor of our quads and their 5 year old triplet girls born at 30 weeks...

Not having any other option, we brought our 5 car choo-choo along so that the kids would have the ability to ride as they needed. At any given time we would have 2-4 kiddos loaded down in it and it actually wasn't that bad. Don't get me wrong there were plenty times I could be seen covered in sweat panting like a dog, bit it wasn't AS BAD as I had imagined! I was reallllllly hoping all the pulling would pay off and I'd wake up with buns of steel the morning after, but nope!

  The kids did PHENOMENAL! Thankfully, they all walked (and ran!) a lot more than I had imagined they would. We didn't have any tears or complaining from any of them. Brody & Kylee, who struggle a bit physically, had to have walked a good 2+ miles. Kylee was limping towards the end but she didn't complain one time and did a great job at keeping up. Seriously, I couldn't be more proud! We walked along side a grandpa at one point and he told me "you know, I've been watching you guys at the walk since you started when they were babies, it's just amazing to see them and how far they've come each year."

The littles lined up during one of our snack breaks...

Baxlyn holding the quads' Path of Hope sign...

Reagan and Cyndi - Thanks for participating, pretty ladies!

I love seeing all of the Path of Hope signs that are displayed throughout the 5 mile walk. Seeing signs in honor of babies like my own and other survivors as well as signs that are in memory of angel babies is a great reminder of why we walk each year. 

This sign in particular, stopped me in my tracks...

I stopped and showed the kids I had with me at that point during the walk and explained to them that THIS is why we walk. It's hard to tell the size of premature babies in pictures but when an infant is lying in the palm of his mother's hand, there's no question as to just how tiny they're born sometimes. My own babies may have a handful of challenges, they may be weaker than many, they may walk slow...but they're here to walk. For that I am so thankful.

It was right about noon that our team crossed the finish line together. We were very close, if not last to finish but we finished! Thank you to all who walked. Thank you for all who were unable to walk but supported our team in other ways. Thank you to all who read my daily status updates on facebook asking for support and didn't unfriend me! Thank you to all who shared our fundraising page and to those of you who donated to this cause that is so close to my heart. Together, we all had a hand in making a difference and helped get one step closer to being able to give all babies a healthy start at life!

 

Suds & Salvation

It all started with a melted crayon in the dryer. Some of you who are Facebook friends with me may remember a few weeks ago me desperately seeking advice on how to save a load full of (brand new) clothes that had been stained bright orange thanks to a crayon getting stuck in the dryer vent.

It was an unusual evening in several ways. It was a Sunday evening, Bret wasn't home, the quads who are typically in bed around 6:30pm on a school night were up late...etc. After tucking them away in their beds I proceeded back to my mom-duties and went to finish up the laundry only to find an entire load ruined. Long story short, Kylee's favorite garage-sale-find lovey was a part of the catastrophe and she was NOT about to go to bed without knowing it was going to survive.

Before I knew it, it was hours past their bedtime and the girls and I sat on the laundry room floor talking while I scrubbed, soaked and scrubbed some more. Baxlyn, who I could tell has reallllly been paying attention in Kids Church lately and beginning to truly understand what Jesus did for us all on the cross, brought up salvation. After some lengthy discussion she told me "Mommy, I'm ready to ask Jesus into my heart!" She and I prayed and she did just that! Immediately afterwards she exclaimed "I'll get bath-eh-tized TOMORROW!" We held off for a few weeks and this morning, she finally got baptized with some of our closest friends and family there to witness!

For those of you who know Miss B personally, you know she is generally a shy, quiet little girl who doesn't like to draw attention to herself. In crowded, busy situations, you can usually find her tucked away under my arm or fighting for my lap. To my surprise, she never, not once, was anxious about being baptized in a room full of people. This little girl knew what she wanted and the idea of everyone watching her didn't phase her a bit. I was also seven years old when I was baptized in the same church, in the same baptismal that she was!

My Sweet Baxlyn,

It's been obvious from day one that God has a special and unique plan for your life. Your daddy and I are beyond thrilled that you made the decision to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and we pray that you will continue to seek His will for your life as you grow! We love you and are so so proud of you!

Love, Mom

"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

"If you declare with your mouth "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." Romans 10:9-10

It's Time For.......

I'm a little late to say the very least but here goes! We have just over ONE WEEK before our March for Babies 2016 Dallas walk!

For those of you who may not know, the March of Dimes has led the way to discover the genetic causes of birth defects, to promote newborn screening, and to educate medical professionals and the public about best practices for healthy pregnancy.

After decades of increases, the rate of premature birth in the United States has now been on a steady decline for the last several years thanks to the research funded by the March of Dimes. This decline – to 9.6 percent today – has saved thousands of babies from being born too soon. Despite this progress, about 380,000 babies are born prematurely each year... four of those babies belong to us which is why we are so passionate about helping make a difference!

Here is the question. How can YOU help? I've got THREE ways that each and every one of you can help us make a difference...

1) Donate. Yup, we are asking for your money. Plain and simple, without funding, these studies can't be done and we can't continue to help save babies like our very own. Please don't think that because you cannot give a large donation you shouldn't at all. Even $5 can help this great cause!

2) Walk with us! If you are local and are interested in joining us, let me know!

3) SHARE! Now this one everyone can do! Share this page on Facebook with your friends and family to help raise awareness. Prematurity, birth defects and infant mortality affect so many people and often changes lives forever.

Here is the link to our 2016 Team Page. Here you can register to walk, learn more about the mission of the March of Dimes and donate safely & securely.

https://www.marchforbabies.org/Fundraising/Team?teamId=408318&teamEventId=2337734&personId=408318

Stay tuned! Lots coming your way including my first Guest Blogger - eeek!

All That Medical Stuff....

Ahh, where do I start? It's been a relatively low key year as far as medical concerns go. Thankfully nothing major like last winter (seen here and here) has been thrown our way. All but Baxlyn still see their developmental pediatrician, who we depend greatly on for guidance  with overall development, on a regular basis. Thanks to Dr. Roberts, our awesome pediatrician, Dr. Reyes, and the team of specialists we have, our fantastic four are thriving as they grow despite obstacles along the way!

Celiac Disease

Many of you know that Baxlyn was diagnosed with Celiac Disease last March after several years of tummy discomfort. Shortly after her diagnosis, Dr. Russo wanted to have all four of the quads tested as they were all at risk for having it. After simple bloodwork at our pediatrician's office, we were told that Kylee had Celiac Disease as well. We immediately started Kylee on the gluten free diet along with her sister. In November I took both girls back to Dr. Russo to discuss our progress and get results on follow up bloodwork for Baxlyn. Good news we learned that we're doing something right with her diet! Her "number" went from over 100 down to a 9. Ideally we would like it under a 4, but a nine is phenomenal considering where we were less than a year ago. Not so great news is we are STILL dealing with tummy discomfort. Baxlyn went from complaining of her tummy hurting DOZENS of times everyday to only 3-5 times a day, 5 days out of the week. Huge progress but still indicates something is still going on in that little body of hers. I know cross contamination is inevitable sometimes but there are times I am 99.9% sure her meal is free of gluten and she still has issues afterwards. So frustrating! We plan to do another follow up with the GI in a few weeks to discuss further options. We also learned in November that Kylee was MISdiagnosed Celiac months before. He said while one number that is often elevated with Celiac was a bit high, other results from the bloodwork along with the fact that she has zero symptoms, leads him to believe she doed NOT have Celiac. She and the others are all at risk for developing it at any point, but right now, they're all clear. B and Kylee celebrating Kylee's misdiagnosis at Blue Goose with flour tortillas for Kylee!

Baxlyn continues to amaze me with her great attitude while dealing with Celiac. While I've learned a ton over the past 10 months, I still have a long ways to go in helping her learn to cope and learn to live on the special diet. I try to keep a stock of special treats she can have when the other kids are treated to things such as cupcakes, cookies and pizza. Occasionally we find ourselves in situations where she just misses out altogether, and she NEVER (ever) complains. Seriously, yall, she is one special girl with a heart of gold and I'm so glad she is mine!

Eyes, Patches and Glasses - Oh My!

Last update I left you on this subject was that Brody was getting glasses and Miss B was instructed to be patched for three months after being diagnosed with Strabismus (him) and Astigmatism (her). Other than taking a hard fall down the stairs on day one with glasses, he's done great and his eyes are slowwwly looking better as time goes on.

Baxlyn happily did her daily patching for three months, went back and had made no progress so earned herself a pair of glasses herself. She wasn't too bummed and enjoyed picking out both a pink and purple pair. If it were up to her, she would have a pair to match each and every outfit she had!

Several months into glasses, Dr. Chen is still concerned with Baxlyn's left eye. While she's making progress, it's not at the expected rate. Baxlyn is currently back to patching after school each day, for four months this time, in addition to wearing her glasses.

CP/Botox/Physical Therapy

If you've followed us, you know Brody and Kylee have had routine Botox injections for several years now in an attempt to help with their tone issues linked to Cerebral Palsy. I have a love/hate relationship with Botox and always have. We've had times, in the beginning where we didn't see much difference and on the flip side, we've seen it work.... almost too well which tends to cause more harm than good. While Kylee has been allowed a break over the past year thanks to her SPOTT surgery, Brody was scheduled for another round in October. Long story short, after discussing history, concerns and seeing how utterly terrified Brody was to go through it yet again, Dr. Acosta decided to let Brody have a break from Botox and suggested we try an alternative treatment for his CP, an oral medication called Baclofen.

After doing some research, talking with some of our other docs and our fabulous physical therapist, Bret and I opted against the new medication. For that and other reasons, we decided to get a second opinion from Dr. Delgado, a highly recommended neurologist at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. We had seen Dr. Delgado when they were toddlers, but it had been a while. Here Brody is before the doctor came in "I'm gonna go ahead and stretch so the doctor doesn't say I have to have surgery." Break my heart :(

I was blown away with the initial visit we had with Dr. Delgado regarding Brody in November. They spent hours evaluating him (sure that sounds like a huge hassle, but believe me, it's so reassuring to me) and everything was checked from his balance, his tone, his reflexes, flexibility, strength, response to vibration stimulation...etc. They took multiple videos of him as well, walking, running...etc. Dr. Delgado wanted to hold off for a few months and then bring Brody back to reevaluate and repeat everything we did in November to see how he changed and if he weakend at all with the extended amount of time between  botox injections.  Brody is scheduled to go back the first week of February where we will decide the next plan of action. If the neurologist feels like Botox may be beneficial, we will have the injections the following week. *I'll explain more on that if we decide to move forward with injections.*

Meanwhile, we are working hard at home with Mrs. Ashley, our physical therapist. I CAN'T say enough about this sweet lady and the love she has for my kids. My heart will shatter into bits and pieces if she ever leaves us, no doubt. We've had a lot of great therapists in our years but none that have ever connected with my kids like Ashley does.  There's something to be said when your child asks EVERY day after school if Mrs. Ashley is coming.... hate the therapy, love the therapist! Currently, Brody and Kylee have (in home) PT twice a week. Love this picture of her and Kylee after she drove out to watch Kylee cheer at one of her football games!

Kylee and Dr, Mayfield, her orthopedic surgeon.

Kylee has her follow up with Dr. Mayfield at Cooks in July, her little left foot is looking GREAT! Since her surgery, we can see a big difference in her strength, her speed and ability to run, jump...etc. Her surgery (linked at the top of this post) has been nothing but successful and we are SO glad we made the decision to go through with it, even though some believed she was too little and young for such a big surgery. For now, and hopefully forever, she is doing good without Botox and is cleared until July when she goes back for a follow up. Dr. Mayfield wants to keep a close eye on her as kids with CP often face new challenges as they grow and develop. Regardless of what happens, I know this girl is in the best of hands with Dr. Mayfield!

Neuropsychology

Both Kylee and Brody had another neuropsychological evaluation before first grade started. They had evaluations last year before kindergarten and it gave us great insight as to where they were and potential challenges that could come with school as well as some great tools we can take moving forward into the classroom setting to help them succeed. Something I've yet to mention "publicly" is that our little Brodster was officially diagnosed with ADHD last year. Our sweet guy isn't an overactive, hyper kid like many associate with ADD/ADHD kids, but he struggles... a lot... with focusing. He struggled quite a bit during the first semester of kinder and we ended up trying a medication last December. It took some tweaking and a change of medicines but ultimately we have seen some very positive changes in his ability to focus and complete tasks that are given to him at home and at school. Since starting the medicine, our only struggle is appetite. Unfortunately when he's had his meds, he loses his appetite altogether so we're keeping a close eye on his weight gain. Below, a picture of giggly Kylee and Brody before a long day of testing...

Several local news reporters interviewed us in November in honor of Prematurity Awareness Month. You can read two online articles here and here. I love being able to share our journey and to hopefully inspire families who find themselves walking a similar road all while raising awareness about prematurity!

First Grade... Then & Now

Like I mentioned on the previous post, I had every intention of getting back to blogging once the quads' started school. Here's the post I wrote the morning I dropped them off for their first day of first grade!


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"Seriously. Where does the time go? I JUST dropped them off for Kindergarten yesterday!

I’m happy to report there were NO tears out of the quads or myself during the drop off this morning. Mr. Blade had a harder time. “I big nuff” he told me over and over, he insisted he would stay and color like the rest of them. Luckily the dude can be easily lured by food and I got him to walk out of the school at his own will with a promise of a trip to the donut shop on the way home. 

Many have asked if they’re all in the same class again this year and what our reasoning is behind the decision we’ve made. Yes, they are. For all you non-Texans, it’s a law here that it’s the parent’s decision to split their multiples or not. Like mentioned before, they were all together in PreK (there at the same school). They did well so the teachers all agreed they would do fine in kinder together. Towards the end of their kinder year I discussed the option of splitting them with several of the teachers and other staff and was assured once again that they did fine together (they didn’t cling or depend on each other…etc.) and nobody saw any reason to split them up if I didn’t want to. Although it’s legally my decision, I’m so thankful for a supportive school that doesn’t “ strongly urge” me one way or another. After much consideration, Bret and I decided to put all four in the same class again. The way I see it, they will have the rest of their lives to be apart. As they get older, they’ll naturally go in their different directions, but I’m not looking to rush it! Keeping them together makes things MUCH easier on me when it comes to school schedules, volunteering in the classroom and communication with the teacher.

Here’s Mr. Brody, a little nervous, but ready for his big day!

 

Miss B. This girl was born to learn and having a coloring page there waiting at her desk made her all the more ready for the new adventure!

 

Kylee Mae. Slightly annoyed at my picture taking and need to squeeze and kiss all their cheeks before leaving. This girl is growing up too quickly. 6 going on 16, I’m afraid :/

Korbin, my handsome dude, was luckily enough to be seated next to two of his friends from his kinder class!

Korbin, Kylee, Mrs. Lane (their new teacher) Baxlyn and  Brody at this year’s Meet The Teacher!

 
Good Luck, my sweet first graders!

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank him for his answers. If you do this you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

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Fast forward about 5 months and they're all LOVING school, as am I! We were so blessed with an awesome teacher last year, I was afraid nobody could measure up. I was wrong. Mrs. Lane is not only a fantastic teacher, but she truly cares about these kids in every way. Nothing puts a mama's mind at ease like knowing her kids are cared for when they're away from her!

I watch a couple of other sweet boys a couple days a week but Friday's are just Blade and I. When we have nothing else going on, we like to go up and volunteer at the school. I go from classroom to classroom helping teachers with sorting, making copies and filing papers while Blade tags along or hangs out with his favorite librarian, Mrs. B.

Here's Brody who was named Top Cardinal last week! My sweet boy was recognized for his leadership and for setting a good example!

 

So hard to believe this school year is already more than half way over. I'm trying so hard not to blink. Before you know it, Blade will be off for kinder! 

Happy Monday!

Hello....Hello... Anyone Out There?!

Hello out there! It's been a (long) while, I know. First I have to say is WOW, you guys sure do keep me in check on the whole blog thing. Over the past few months, I have received your comments, emails and voiced concerns to Bret and other friends at work. We are all fine and doing well, busy as most people are these days. You'd think life would free up when four of your five kids go off to school, but in reality, I think you get busier. Crazy to think I haven't blogged since MOTHER'S DAY. I had every intention of getting back to blogging when Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee and Korbin went to first grade (what?!). I came home after dropping them off on day one, wrote a post, went to publish and Blogger threw me for a loop with some techy stuff. Ugh. That post, along with an added school update, will be up next!

I'll play rewind for the next week or so to share (and document!) some of the things that went down over summer and fall in our house! 

Dr. Reyes, our beloved pediatrician, spoiled us once again and sent Bret and I to the Kenny Chesney/Jason Aldean/Brantley Gilbert concert. Talk about a fun, kid-free date night!

Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee and Korbin had their first field trip AND first trip on a school bus to the Dallas Zoo to finish up their kindergarten year. I was able to attend as a chaperone and enjoy the day with them!

L-R Brody, Baxlyn, Korbin and Kylee at their Kindergarten end of year celebration!

Our small town offers sport camps during the summer. We let each of them pick one camp. Brody chose basketball. He had fun, bless his heart, but it was a challenge to say the least. Kylee chose softball, another challenge but an accepted one! Korbin & Baxlyn were brave enough to endure the Texas heat during a week of outdoor soccer. I'm not too sure any of our little quadlings will be an all-star athlete, and that's ok :) Here's a pic of Kylee, who was awarded "Best Attitude and Hardest Worker" for the week! (Yup, they spelled her name wrong, she didn't notice.)

Fourth of July fun!

One BIG deal this summer was (finally) transitioning out of their toddler beds. Yep, our kids were in their cribs/toddler beds until just before first grade. We bought the convertible beds that would go from crib, to toddler to full sized beds but decided we didn't want to take up that much of their floor space in their rooms with two full beds in each. I wanted something that didn't take up all of their floor room, that would grow with them and offer them some personal space as well. After debating for a longg time as to what type of beds to invest in and getting input from other moms of multiples, we finally found what we were looking for at Nebraska Furniture Mart. Each quad now has their own twin bed that has a dresser and shelving built right in! Having the dresser drawers under the beds allow us to eliminate the need for a dresser (or two) and the shelves are perfect places for "THEIR" stuff.

 One of my favorite parts of the bed is the extra storage space beneath them! There are doors on either side of the bed that allows kids to crawl straight through. As you can see, ours are pushed against walls but the kids love going under there and having yet another space to put their own things. I added one of those battery operated push-to-activate night lights under each one which makes it that much more fun. They love to hide out under there, color...etc. I swear after the beds were delivered, I didn't see a kid for like 3 days ;)

We, of course, spent many days of our summer swimming. We put in a pool last summer and goodness do we love it. So many people told us a pool at home isn't worth the maintenance, SO not the case at our house!

 Although they're getting close, they're not quite swimming yet in the deep end with no puddle jumpers. This past summer was the first summer I've felt comfortable taking them all into the pool by myself. Baxlyn can jump into the deep end and swim across but it still scares the crap out of me. Slowly but surely, they'll all get there!

Kylee Mae and those sweeeet freckles!

 

Baxlyn, oh dear Baxlyn. I went into her room one day and my mouth about dropped when she turned to ask me a question. She could NOT understand why I didn't believe her when she said she didn't cut her hair. LOL!

Another exciting adventure this summer/fall was CHEERLEADING! Kylee mentioned last year that she wanted to be a cheerleader. Having been a cheerleader myself through Jr. High & High School I was TOTALLY onboard with the idea! Not only did I sign her up, I somehow got roped into coaching the squad of 32 girls ranging in age from 3 years old through 2nd grade, along with a few other amazing moms. Miss B ultimately decided she wanted nothing to do with being a cheerleader. If you know Baxlyn, you know she would rather stay low, color, organize and clean. Although very strong and independent, she wants nothing to do with performing or being in the spotlight. This whole being a quadruplet thing has brought her more than enough attention as far as she is concerned. Here's a picture of the adorable cheer buckets the other cheer moms and I made. While they're gear included embroidered bags, these buckets worked well for carrying their needed items AND we added a padded seat/lid which allowed the girls to sit without burning their little rears on the hot Texas ground.

The girls had one practice a week and cheered each Saturday for the tackle football team of little boys their age. It was SUCH a fun season cheering on our boys and watching our girls grow! I'm excited to say that Baxlyn had a change of heart once the cheer season began. Once she realized many of her friends were cheerleaders and that she was great at doing the cheers herself, she decided she wants to join next year!

For now I'll leave you with that! Over the next few days I'll catch you up on school, all the updated medical stuff and more details on our sweet number 5!