Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Reflecting back on 2009

2009 has been an eventful year for us! It brought us many challenges but also much joy I thought for my last post of 2009 I would look back on all the milestones of the year.

January 2009- Ben and I made the decision to give one last attempt at having a family. We decided to put all we had into this attempt and prayed it would work.

February 2009- After countless injections, many trips to Montreal and days of feeling crappy the time had come where there was nothing left to do but wait and see if our dreams would come true.

March 2009- We're pregnant! I think I took 10 home pregnancy tests before getting blood work ordered from my doctor. When he called with the results he said to prepare for multiples. We were so excited thinking we would be having twins. On March 21st we made the trip to Montreal and were speechless to see FOUR sacs! We were cautioned that it was likely that all four would not make it.

April 2009- We said goodbye to Dr. Mahutte and his staff, grateful for all they did for us during the past 21 months we had been patients there. We traded our weekly ultrasound trips 3 hours north for weekly trips 3 hours south when we became patients of Dr. Acker at Brigham and Women's Hospital. We were given all the info and statistics of multiple gestation pregnancies and made the decision to attempt to carry all four babies.

May 2009- Ben had not been feeling well for sometime and finally one day he stayed home from work and I convinced him to go to the doctors. After a day of testing and a transfer to Dartmouth he was scheduled to have lymph nodes removed to test for lymphoma. Days later we got the news that he had stage 4 Hodgkins lymphoma and began chemotherapy treatments that day. He was sick and drained but we prayed it would work and he would be able to enjoy his four little miracles that were on their way.

June 2009- At my 17 week u/s we found out we were having 3 boys and a girl...Let the naming fun begin! Ben was very weak from his treatments so we were quite a pair me wobbling and him limping around.

July 2009- We reached viability day and I began to worry bed rest was just around the corner. My baby shower was awesome! We got so many things the babies have put to good use.

August 2009- We made the trip to Boston for the last time before delivery. We became fixtures at my aunt and uncles so we were close to the hospital in case of an emergency.

September 2009- Ben went home for chemo and I went to the doctors for my weekly appointment only to be admitted with pre eclampsia. 15 days later on September 17th I called Ben, who was home recovering from another round of chemo, at 3 am and told him to get down to Boston because I was certain today would be the day. Sure enough our miracles were born that day and our lives were forever changed!

October 2009- After 26 days in the NICU Matthew and Brady were coming home, Aubrey followed at day 29. Cameron was released on day 35 and we all came home to surprise Ben.

November 2009- Ben had his final chemo treatment and we celebrated Thanksgiving with so much to be thankful for. The babies were growing so much and we were enjoying everyday with them.

December 2009- We recieved the news Ben was cancer free! Merry Christmas to us! The babies enjoyed their first Christmas and so did Ben and I. They are getting so big.. Matthew 11lbs 14oz, Brady 13 lbs 13oz, Cameron 10 lbs 14 oz and Aubrey 9 lbs 14 oz. Tomorrow will mark our 10th anniversary and the begining of what is bound to be a fantastic year!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Picture Post

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Our boys
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The princess
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Matthew & Cameron
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Aubrey & Matthew
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Matthew
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Brady
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Cameron
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Aubrey
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Saturday, December 26, 2009

Babies 1st Christmas!

Christmas is so different with babies! It was so much fun even though they were not big enough to even know what was going on. They got a lot of clothes that they will be growing into soon, a few toys and some money for their bank accounts. Next year it will be fun to watch them tear into the wrapping paper.

We got a surprise from a secret Santa. A bag was delivered here with pajamas, diapers, wipes, burp clothes, rattles and socks for the babies, a bath set for me and long johns for Ben as well as a Shaw's gift card for the family. The kindness of people in our area still amazes me.

We had Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve with Ben's family. The babies were so fussy while we were there so we ended up leaving early to give everyone else a peaceful night. Kyle, Evan and my Dad spent the night so they would be here for Christmas morning. Evan read his cousins some bedtime stories and I read them all Twas the Night Before Christmas then off to bed we went.

Christmas day we went to my mom's for lunch. The babies were so good there talking and laughing at everyone. When we got home Kennedy and Bailee came over for a sleepover with the babies, they even got up for their feeding. Matthew fell in love with them watching every move they made, it was so cute!

We can't wait for Monday when their visiting nurse comes to weigh them. It will be interesting to see how much they have grown in two weeks.
Aubrey
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Brady
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Matthew
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Cameron
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The quads with their cousins Evan and Zachary
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Sleepover party with Kennedy and Bailee
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All tired out after a day of Christmas fun!
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Thursday, December 17, 2009

3 months already!

Today marks three months since the babies birth...where did the time go? Sometimes I sit on the couch and look at the digital pictures in the frame and am amazed how much they have grown.

Three months ago I could fit each of their heads in the palm of my hand now we have big babies who are holding thier heads up cooing at us and smiling. We never imagined that they would be as healthy and big as they are already.

We love seeing them grow but I wish they could stay small forever!

Matthew
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Brady
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Aubrey
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Cameron
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Saturday, December 12, 2009

What a week!

The week started out with Matthew deciding to cry all day long for three days! The only thing that made him happy was Daddy holding him. You can imagine how difficult that is with four other babies. Aubrey is normally our fussy one, demanding attention all the time while the others take turns being cranky but never like Matthew did for those few days.

Our pictures came back that Samantha McMann took and they are BEAUTIFUL! I can't wait to give them out for Christmas gifts to our friends and family. We like them so much we asked her to take pictures of their baptism next month.

I was able to get all my Christmas wrapping done thanks to Ben's mom, step dad and aunts coming to play with the babies for a few hours and letting me have uninterrupted time. That doesn't happen very often!

I forgot to include in last week's post that Aubrey is officially recovered from her ROP so there will be no eye surgery for the little princess. She does still have to be checked again in 6 months because a lot of time babies who had ROP later develop lazy eyes. Matthew has learned to smack his lips when you make kissing noises at him and he will smile at you when you talk to him now. Brady is becoming more vocal and will smile once in awhile too. This morning I was showing him his refelction in the mirror and he kept looking at himself like "who is that baby?" Cameron is still wide awake most of the time and loves to look at our digital picture frame.

Yesterday my new nephew was born and he sure is a cutie! The babies are lucky to have a cousin so close in age.

Tomorrow we are going to attempt to bring the babies to church. Hopefully they will be well behaved and not disrupt the service too much.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Babies met Santa

We took the babies to meet Santa yesterday and we were very happy that none of them were scared of him. Even though they didn't know anything that was going on it was fun for Ben and I.

All four of them have been sleeping so much better at night. Last night they went 7 hours between bottles, unfortunately they ate at 7pm and Ben and I didn't get to bed until 10 because if they would have eaten at 9ish like usual we could have had great nights sleep. Most of the time they are going 5-6 hour stretches at night though and we are grateful for that! Gone are the days of 3 hour night time feedings. It is great to get more sleep but sad because it means they are getting so big.

Speaking of big...
Matthew 10 lbs
Brady 11 lbs 12 oz
Aubrey 8 lbs 8 oz
Cameron 9 lbs 1 oz

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Matthew & Santa
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Brady & Santa
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Aubrey & Santa
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Cameron & Santa
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Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Early Christmas present!

Ben had an appointment this morning to get the results of his testing and he was officially told he is in remission. He will have to go for CAT scans every 3 months for the next year to make sure that it doesn't come back but we got the best Christmas present ever today. Now they just need to figure out how to get his feet working again so he can go back to work. I am grateful that he is home to help with the babies for now though.

The babies are all doing great. Matthew is babbling up a storm and being great about going to bed all by himself. Brady is starting to talk a bit too and is very interested in his surroundings lately. He goes to bed well on his own too and is finally not the first one up to eat everytime! Cameron is going through a fussy period. He used to never fuss or anything now he is the one who is the crabbiest but he still is wide awake the most during the day and very nosy. Aubrey rolled over twice now! She gets mad then thrashes around like a madwoman until she goes over. She is the worst one about going to bed at night, she will cry until she gets one of her brothers crying then stop. She is going to be our problem child!

We are excited to get our Christmas tree up this week so the babies can look at the lights. I am sure they will be mezmerized by them.

Monday, November 23, 2009

A lot to be thankful for...

This past year has been the best but the worst at the same time through it all we have so much to be thankful for. I thought Thanksgiving week was the perfect time to list all we are thankful for.

We are thankful for our four beautiful, amazing babies. They are so much work but bring us so much joy at the same time. It is amazing how someone so little can take up so much room in your heart. Never in a million years did we imagine we would be parents to four perfect children but we are so grateful we have been chosen to be their parents.

We are thankful for the terrific doctors we have had through this whole time. Dr. Mahutte for making our dreams of parenthood come true, never have we met such a caring, down to earth doctor. Dr. Acker for getting us safely to the finish line, even checking in with me while he was on vacation with his family. Drs. Palmeri and Gautier for getting Ben through his chemo and hopefully into remission(we will know in two weeks).

The fabulous nurses of the NICU, especially Corinne, Doreen, Mindy, Julie and Karen for taking such wonderful care of our little miracles. As much as we would have rather had them home in our arms they were in such great care.

We are thankful for my mom who has spent countless nights with us both while I was in the hospital and since the babies have been born. We are so glad she was there to witness the birth of our four little miracles.

We are thankful for Tom and Kate who are hear almost everyday helping feed the babies and get them ready for bed. For all the work in getting the nursery together and ready for the babies. Kate has spent many nights with us and drove us home to surprise Ben when the final of the four was released. The babies will have a special bond with them forever!

We are thankful for my dad who spends one night a week here with us to help give Ben and I a little more sleep at night. A rested mom and dad make happier babies!

We are thankful for our friends who brought meals, cleaned our home, redecorated our bedroom, made donations and anything else I am forgetting!

The St. Cyrs who help out often, helping make the nursery perfect for the babies, taking all four of them next weekend for us to do our Christmas shopping and organizing meals for us to come home to.

The Styles for their help with the babies while I had appointments and when I needed a morning to sleep.

The Cantons for all their fundraising efforts and everything that was done to prepare for our homecoming.

Jackie for helping with the morning feedings so Ben can sleep in and get healthier. As well as helping with them all day long.

I am sure that we are forgetting someone, there have been so many people that have made an impact on us this year but know we appreciate everything everyone has done! I hope you all take sometime to reflect on all you are thankful for this year. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Sick babies!

I have to start by saying we have the most amazing babies! Since Monday they have been under the weather first with diarrhea and vomiting then with stuffy nose, runny eyes and horrible coughs. Through it all they have still been easy babies, a little extra cuddly and a bit fussy but no where near what I would have expected. Lucky for us they have still been sleeping well considering they are so stuffy. They even went 5 hours between bottles last night, it felt like we got a full nights sleep!

Despite it all they are growing well too Matthew weighed in at 9 lbs 2 oz, Brady 10 lbs 9 oz, Aubrey 7 lbs 5 oz and Cameron 8 lbs 2 oz. We had to fully stock the dresser and closet with 0-3 month stuff for Brady and Matthew! It is sad how quickly they are growing!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Cameron the big boy

We brought Cameron home in a car bed because he was unable to make it more than 6 minutes in his car seat without a dip in his heart rate that he wasn't able to self resolve so he has been riding in a car bed for the past 3 weeks. Today he had his repeat test and passed with flying colors so now he is in a regular infant seat! YAY!

This is going to make going everywhere so much easier we had been loading him into a stroller then back into the car bed all the time but now we can use both the snap and go's. Let me tell you those are the best inventions! Anyone with an infant should have one.

In other news we had made friends with another couple from NH while at the OB's this summer and they delivered their quads last Friday! CONGRATS GUYS! Keeping their little ones in your prayers while they are in the NICU growing stronger would be appreciated. I just know they are going to be little stars there too! :)

Friday, November 13, 2009

Christmas Photo Shoot

Today we brought the kids out to Santa's Village to have Charnee Buckley take some pictures for our Christmas card. I think she got several good shots of them even though they refused to wake up for any of our family pictures. Thank you Charnee for your patience and the great pictures! They looked so cute in their outfits that I have to share it with you all!
Matthew
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Brady
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Cameron
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Aubrey
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Thursday, November 12, 2009

What a week

This week has been so busy for us! I started back to work and it went much better than I imagined it would. I missed the kids so much and it is amazing how much they have changed in the past 3 months.

Monday Aubrey had an eye exam at Dartmouth so her and I made the trip while Ben stayed at my mom's with the boys. It is easier to get one baby in and out of the car and stores than it is to get all four of them.

Wednesday Ben took the two big boys to his mom's for the afternoon while I went and got a pedicure and Tonya took the two little ones. It was nice to get out and have a little me time but I was ready to see my babies when I got home. Last night my mom and I took the four of them to Walmart to get some props for our photo shoot tomorrow. I hope they cooperate and we get a good picture for our Christmas cards.

Today was a big day for them we had the visiting nurse come this morning and then the neonatalogist came and gave them their Synergist shot. They all whimpered for a few seconds and then cuddles from Mom and Dad made it all better. They are getting so big! 8 weeks today and now that they made it to their due date they are proving that they have the eating and growing down pat...

Matthew 8 lbs 10 oz 20.25 inches long 14.5 inch head circumference

Brady 9 lbs 15 oz 20.5 inches long 15 inch head circumference

Aubrey 7 lbs 19 inches long 14.25 inch head circumference

Cameron 7 lbs 7 oz 19.5 inches long 14.25 inch head circumference

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Picture Time

The four of them in the shirts Uncle Tom bought
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The two little peanuts Cameron & Aubrey
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Cameron & Brady striking the same pose
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Matthew chilling out
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Brady wide awake
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Friday, November 6, 2009

All done!

Ben had his last chemo treatment on Wednesday and we will know December 2nd if he is cancer free. We are all keeping our fingers crossed that this will be it for him. He is having a really hard time recovering this time so thankfully we have had some good friends and family staying with me and the babies while Ben stays at his moms getting some rest. When he is feeling better then we will be putting him on baby duty and I get to pick which ones he has that night! LOL!

All the babies are growing well and doing a great job following items with their eyes and turning towards voices that they recognize. They have been eating ever 3.5-4 hours during the day and going 4 hours at a time during the night. It is amazing what a difference an extra hour of sleep makes! Brady and Cameron are the easiest to put to bed, Brady falls right to sleep and Cameron looks around until he gets sleepy but doesn't usually make a peep. Matthew is getting better about bedtime now that his bassinet is right next to my bed. He fusses a little but not as bad as before. Aubrey hates going to bed. She whines and tries to let out some cries every night for about on hour before giving in.

They are all still growing well and Brady and Matthew went down to 20 calorie formula instead of the 24 so I decided to put their initial on their bottles because they are having different amounts and mixtures. Brady is up to 9 lbs 1 oz, Matthew 7 lbs 13 oz, Cameron 6 lbs 9 oz and Aubrey 6 lbs 3 oz.

Aubrey goes Monday for her eye exam, which with any luck will be her last one. It is not fun for her and I hate hearing her cry like that and not be able to help her.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday was the babies' first Halloween and we dressed them up in their Halloween onesies but we didn't go trick or treating with them. Ben was too worried about all the people and germs so we went to Tom and Kate's and got to see all the kids trick or treating from the warmth of their home. We can't wait for next year so they can dress up and join in on the fun.

We have been taking the babies out for a walk when it is warm enough to get them fresh air. The first day was a chore getting them all bundled up and loaded in the van but each time is getting a little easier. It will be a ton easier when Cameron is out of his car bed and into a regular seat so we can use the two snap and go strollers instead of having to take Aubrey and Cameron out of their seats and put them into the jogger and then back into their car seats after we are done.

Ben has his last chemo treatment this week so the babies and I will be having overnight guests staying to help out while Ben is recovering. I think they enjoy all the extra attention they get when someone new is here. Ben and I are able to tune out all of their grunts and groans all night long but other people have a harder time since they are not used to hearing it all night long so the babies are getting checked on constantly when someone else is here.

Happy Halloween!
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Cameron and Aubrey
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Matthew and Brady
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Matthew and Aubrey
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Cameron and Matthew
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The four of them hanging out with Brady being a grump!
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We've been FLOCKED!

Nine years ago this summer there was so much uncertainty, would Ben make it through his treatments?  Would I be able to carry all four babi...