Random acts of kindness

I know I have written on here before about how fortunate we are to live in such a great community and how we have received so much kindness and support from everyone, today we received a package given to us anonymously filled with clothing and many embroidered items. We loved it and hope that whoever made all this is reading this blog so they can see that we are grateful for their generosity and hard work that went into this gift. We want to share a few pictures of some of the beautiful gifts.







Also today when we went in to see the babies we found that volunteers made them each pumpkin hats and the night nurses took pictures of them with the hats on...so adorable!




Also I have to share a graphic that one of my friends made welcoming the new babies!

Busy weekend!

The babies had lots of visitors this weekend. Friday Marissa, Travis and Peyton came from Maryland and I don't think Marissa wanted to leave them! Yesterday Uncle Tom and Auntie Kate came to spend the day and got to see how much they all changed in the past week. Today they got to meet Ben's grandmother and aunts and Karla came up from Connecticut to meet them too. I wish they had their own room so more than one person could come in to see them at once.

The lactation consultant came by on Friday and spoke with us about trying to breastfeed them all before they introduce a bottle to them so we gave it a shot with the 3 boys so far and Aubrey is going to try tomorrow. This is one step closer to bringing them home!

Cameron was having a hard time digesting his formula so they moved him onto all breast milk to see if that helped and it did so hopefully he will start gaining some weight this week. He looks like a little runt next to his brothers!

Matthew is already learning how to work his mommy. If he can see me and I am not paying attention to him he will cry and as soon as I open his little port holes and talk to him and hold his hand he is magically fine. Today every time I would start to move he would grip my finger harder.

Brady is still the big sleeper of the crew. That kid is interested in nothing but eating and sleeping! If you are cuddling with him while he is eating he is out before he finishes his feed. He hasn't gained from his birth weight but his cheeks are getting chubby!

Aubrey is definitely Daddy's girl. She hears his voice and tries so hard to wake up and get both eyes open. She finally gave me some eye contact today while I was holding her she usually saves that for Ben. She is getting the highest calorie feedings of them all so hopefully it will plump her up some, she is soooo tiny!

Ben had to leave this afternoon to go home and get his chemo treatment. Only 3 to go! It was so hard for him to say good bye to the babies and get in the car to go home. I can't imagine how he much he will miss them while he is gone, I am sure that all of us will be missing him just as much!

Here are just a few pictures that I love!

Matthew is thinking "Mom, STOP taking my picture!"


Aubrey sleeping like a princess!

One week old already!

To celebrate their big day they all graduated into the intermediate section of the NICU where they go when they are not in critical category and they are just feeding and growing so they can go home as soon as they are spell free and eating fully on a bottle or breast. We don't want to get our hopes up too much but it doesn't look like it will be 6-8 weeks before we are home.

Today Ben and I did kangaroo care with all of them and learned who gets along and who doesn't...LOL! It was my day with Brady and Matthew, both of them love to cuddle! They snuggled in and napped most of the two hours I held them.


Ben had Cameron and Aubrey, those two are going to be trouble! Aubrey is a daddy's girl, whenever he holds her she stares up at him as long as she can. Cameron is not happy to share his snuggle time and was doing all he could to move as far away from his sister as possible. The nurses kept moving them into the center of Ben's chest and Cameron kept kicking Aubrey and scootching himself over as far as he could into Ben's armpit. Aubrey kept grabbing hold of Cameron's cords that keep track of his heart rate and breathing.


Finally they fell asleep, all 3 of them!

Picture Day

MATTHEW


BRADY


AUBREY


CAMERON

big milestones

Yesterday we went to see the babies at the NICU at they were doing so well still. Sometimes I wonder if there is going to be a time when any of them have a set back because we were warned many times that there is usually a honeymoon period the first few days then things start popping up.

Matthew went off his IV last night and now only has a feeding tube in place. He sure can cry though. I was holding him and Brady and all of a sudden he decided he was hungry and the nurses weren't moving fast enough for him so he threw a little fit. It didn't bother Brady, he stayed right asleep! Hopefully that will happen when they are at home too. He is off the bili lights and will be able to wear his clothes from home today.

Brady is the pig of the bunch! He is eating a full 2x as much as his sister per feed and is also off his IV and bili lights. He loved snuggle time yesterday didn't move an inch once he cuddled in and was very content the whole 2 hours.

Aubrey also went off her IV and bili lights and was trying to get some alone time with Daddy but when Cameron heard Ben talking and kept looking over at him and crying so the nurse gave Cameron to Ben too. There is no doubt she is a daddy's girl already. I can't wait to start dressing her in all the pink we have!

Cameron is the only one still of IV. They are hoping he will be tolerating full feeds by Friday and be off his IV then. The lights are off and he is doing great. He was so alert yesterday he stared at Ben for 20 minutes while he held him and the nurses made comments about how alert he was and how well he was picking his head up to get a better view.

In the NICU there are 2 rooms for critical care babies then 2 rooms for feeding and growing as they call them. It is when they are stable and can be without any support other than the feeding tube. They are already talking about moving the babies into these rooms! When they are in there we can do their baths, take them out unassisted and generally just care for them with as little help as we want. I am so excited about that!

I get to go get my staples removed today and I am NOT looking forward to that! I have 20 of them holding me together and I already am cringing at the idea of the pain it will cause.

Worst day so far...

not for the babies but for Ben and I. Leaving them behind at the hospital today was the hardest thing we have had to do so far. I know they are in good hands and that they are taking the best care of them but not being a 2 minute walk away from they is hard. We are very greatful to have great family that is letting us stay with them as long as we need so we don't have to worry about being to far but after carrying them everywhere for 32 weeks it is so hard to let go.

As for the babies all are doing great! They are off everything other than IV's and feeding tubes, the bili lights are off for now but that can change day to day. Once they are off it for three days then they can start wearing clothes from home. We are so excited about that! We have so much clothes that we want them to get use out of them all. Cameron's heart murmur went away so they believe his duct closed on it's own which is fabulous!

Ben got to do kangaroo care with Brady and Matthew today and it was sooooo cute! They looked like they were cuddling each other. I on the other hand was supposed to do Cameron and Aubrey together but little Cameron had plans of his own. They put him on me and he moved right into the center. They tried moving him over several times to make room for his sister but he was having none of that and started to cry so I told them I would take her later then he was content as could be for the next hour. I guess he wanted some alone time, LOL!

Big Day!

The babies have only been here 2 days and it seems like we have known them forever! We are already getting to know their attitudes and what calms them down. Cameron has been the only one on any breathing assistance today, he still has his CPAP in and the doctors did an EKG and are planning an echocardiogram on him because of a murmur he has delveloped. They think it may just be a duct that did not close when he was born that they can fix with medication but time will tell. I got to do kangaroo care with him this morning for almost an hour and a half, that just made my day! He was all jittery and crying and the nurse placed him on my chest and he calmed right down.

After that we got to go hold Aubrey, she is so tiny compared to her brothers. For someone who wanted a boy when we thought we would have just one Ben is awfully fond of the little princess.

All of the babies except for Matthew have begun to have phototherapy to get rid of the tint of jaundice they have. They think Matthew might need to start that tomorrow though.

Tonight Ben was brave and changed Brady and Aubrey's diapers for the first time. I wish I had the camera for that sight! He was nervous about doing that but was fortunate that they only peed!

Tonight they moved Brady into the room with Matthew and Aubrey and tomorrow Cameron is getting moved over there too. I am so glad that we will be able to spend time with each of them while seeing all of their siblings too so we are not running back and forth between rooms anymore.

So in love!

I don't think Ben or I have stopped smiling since the first baby was born yesterday. I know I am their mom so I am biased but they are all soooooo cute! I cannot wait to go see them today and hopefully hold at least one of them. I have been up since 5 am waiting to go but Ben is still sleeping. He had a long day yesterday too so I want him to sleep.

It all started Tuesday night around 10:30, I became very uncomfortable and couldn't move around with out lots of pain then contractions started. I waited until 3 am and called Ben and my dad to get down here, I was afraid if they left at 7 as planned Ben would miss it all. I went to ultrasound at 8am and Ben walked in about 15 minutes later, I was so relieved that he was there all I could do was cry. Within then next hour we learned Aubrey's flow was still absent and we would be delivering. I was so scared! Even though I wanted them born I wanted to hold them in as long as possible.

The got us to labor and delivery and prepped me for the c section. Time moved soooo slow! When they took Matthew out he began to cry immediately and so did mommy and daddy. We have never heard a better noise! All of them had their turn crying then Ben and my mom got to go over and see the babies and take a couple pics while I laid there and the nurses brought them to me.

After recovery Ben and I got to go see the babies for about 15 minutes each then he took turns bringing all the grandparents, aunts and uncles up to meet them. He was beat from all the running around but when the nurse said I could take a quick trip down to see them he never even hesitated about naking the loop one more time.

I began pumping last night and was surprised that I was able to express a little each time. The NICU nurses call that liquid gold and said even enough to give them on a qtip will help. I am so happy to be able to give them a better start by pumping for them!

They all scored 7's on the first apgar and 8 on the second which we were told is awesome for preemies and multiples! All four are doing well! As of last night two of the babies were on CPAP and the other 2 were being given surfactant through their tubes in their throat. Now for the moment you are all waiting for...PICTURES!

Matthew 11:31 am 4 lbs 3 oz 16.5"


Brady 11:34 am 4 lbs 10 oz 17.5"


Aubrey 11:35 am 3lbs 1 oz 15.25"


Cameron 11:37 am 3 lbs 11 oz 16.5"

Babies are here!!!

The babies arrived between 11:31 and 11:37 am

Baby Boy #1 weighs in at 4 lbs 3 oz

Baby Boy #2 weighs in at 4 lbs 10 oz

Baby Boy #3 weighs in at 3 lbs 11 oz

Aubrey weighs in at 3 lbs 1 oz

Sorry no lengths yet!

An end in sight!

They finally made a decision today that we would deliver the end of next week! They understood my wanting Ben to be here for their birth and the fact that I was nervous holding out until he returned from his next round of chemo as they would probably not make it. So unless one of them decides they cannot hang on that long we will be delivering in 8-10 days! YAY!!!

UPDATE:

Looks like we could deliver as soon as tomorrow. They decided to check Aubrey today only by u/s because of the diminished flow and it was actually absent today. This means her heart is working twice as hard to push the blood around so if she is still showing an absent flow tomorrow then they will be delivering Friday and if it goes reverse tomorrow then we will deliver immediately. If by chance it goes back to diminished and stays that way delivery is set for next Friday.

Two down... two to go!

The babies have behaved themselves so far and are staying put until their daddy gets back. We only have 2 more nights to get through before he will be back. The ultrasound today was great they all scored 8/8 and were moving like crazy! We saw some good shots on screen of all of them but only one came out so good on the paper.



Here's some pics for those wanting the latest belly shots!

What a day...

The attending doctor on the floor and the resident gave me great hope this morning that we would be setting a date for the delivery but after speaking to my regular doctor I realized this isn't the case. Anytime between the 17th and the 27th would be perfect so I hope that these babies decide that they are ready to take matters into their own hands sometime in that time frame. Today's ultrasound went good, Brady wasn't practicing his breathing but he was moving around plenty and his heart was beating away and the cord flow was perfect so they are not concerned at all. They have decided to make my ultrasounds every other day instead of daily because they are monitoring everything ever 4 hours through the dopplers anyways.

Ben had his chemo treatment today and he has 3 left after today's. Things are looking good for the cancer to be gone permanently. As for the neuropathy in his feet, the neurologist believes after all the testing that when the chemo killed the cancer it also killed the nerve endings and they do not believe he will be able to recover any of what is lost. His braces are helping him walk but he cannot walk far and he does not have the balance that he would need to go back to his job or to carry the babies aound. Of course he is very upset about this news and is worried about how everything will work out but I reminded him he needs to be greatful at this point that the cancer will be gone and he will be here to raise these babies.

Woo Hoo!

All the babies score 8/8 today on their bpp so we are doing well! Aubrey is still showing a diminished flow but no worse than it has been so she is doing well too. She has been the most active lately which reassures me some also.

I think we have named all the babies in position but we will still take a look when they come out. The nurse told me the doctors will be able to tell us which one was which (A,B and D) if we request it prior to delivery so I asked them to do that today. So as of right now Baby A is Matthew, B is Brady and D is Cameron. It feels better to call them by name when talking about them rather than by a letter assigned to them.

Ben headed home this afternoon and I miss him already. These are going to be 4 very long days! Thankfully my mom is coming to stay with me in case anything happens so I am not in delivery alone. They told us in an emergency case they could have a team together and the babies delivered in a half hour and we live 3-3.5 hours away so there is no way someone would get here in time.

Ben and I had a little chat with the babies though and they understand that they are to wait until at least Thursday to be born! Let's see how well they listen to their mommy and daddy! :)

2 ultrasounds in one day

This morning I did not want to get out of bed! Doing nothing is so tiring! I finally got up at 8:30, called for room service and took a shower. I just barely finished breakfast when transport was here to bring us for our ultrasound at 9:15. Normally they are at 1'ish and the weekends are usually later so we were surprised.

Baby B, C, and D scored 8/8 on their bpp but Baby A only got a 6/8 because they did not see him practicing his breathing in the hour and a half we were in there. We were assured that just because it wasn't witnessed that did not mean that he wasn't breathing so we are going to repeat the ultrasound and if he still doesn't score well we will discuss delivery.

Aubrey still has diminished blood flow but it hasn't gotten any worse so that is promising so far.

UPDATE: They decided to wait until morning to repeat the ultrasound so it can't be too worrisome at this point. I am still feeling plenty of movement from him and his heartrate is holding steady so that is all reassuring.

Ready for the weekend!

I am so ready for the weekend because that means more company! YIPPEE!!! It gets so boring in this little room all day. Ben got out today with my Uncle Dave and went to the Aquarium and learned the T system so he can get around if he needs too. It was good for him to get out because he is going stir crazy too.

The ultrasound today showed no change in any of the babies or the flow going to them. Ben asked the doctor how quickly they could get a team together if something were to happen and we were told under 30 minutes! I was amazed that it could be done so quickly and now I am really worried that if something happens while Ben is home he will miss the big event. So I am on the count down, these babies and I have to hold out at least 6 days then after that Ben is here for 11. By the end of that time they better be here! LOL! My mom is going to come stay with me the whole time Ben is gone so that is a big relief to me. I definitely don't want to be alone when the time comes.

This weekend I was supposed to do the Boston Liver Walk to raise money for the Liver Foundation but being in here and pregnant with quads that is out. One of the little girls I used to watch was given a liver transplant from her aunt last September at 10 months, she is doing fabulous and will be walking with her mom and the rest of the team on Sunday. If anyone is interested in sponsoring the walk visit her page at http://go.liverfoundation.org/site/TR/LiverLifeWalk2009/LiverLifeWalkSpring09?pg=team&fr_id=1430&team_id=6420

The NICU class we were going to attend tonight was cancelled so it will be another boring night for us I guess. Tomorrow will be another ultrasound and hopefully the results will be the same as today's!

Follow up u/s

Today's follow up showed the same thing, diminished blood flow into Aubrey's placenta. At this point they are still going to just keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't get worse or have the blood flow start reversing. Either of these things will call for an immediate delivery.

Tonya was here spending the day with us so she was able to see them all for the first time. I think she was pained more than me by all the pushing and grinding they have to do to get a good view of them all!

For some reason these kids like to change positions and keep the techs on their toes! Aubrey is now breech as well as Baby B, Baby D is all the way over on the right head down and Baby A is transverse across my cervix. I am calling him my little gate keeper...he is making sure none of them come sliding out!

31 week appointment

It is such a great relief having my own doctor back. He is confident that the babies will hold on for at least a week until Ben is back here from his latest round of chemo and recovery. He said the only thing that would change that is something drastic happening to the babies or my water breaking. He also said that I have the right to say enough is enough and be done with this. As much as I want it to be done and have them here I want to give them the best start at life more so I am going to hold on the best I can.

The ultrasound today showed the babies all gaining weight but that they aren't in as high of a percentile as they were 2 weeks ago. He assured me this is normal and that they are all doing fabulous weight wise.

Baby A was unable to get all the measurements due to him being so far down in my pelvis already but by the measurements they did get it is showing him to be the largest one we have(2 weeks ago he was 3lbs 4oz).
Baby B is measuring in at 3 lbs 7 oz (up 6 oz from 2 weeks ago).
Baby C is 2 lbs 15oz (up 7oz).
Baby D is 3lbs 1oz (up 5 oz).

My blood pressure has it's high moments so they are going to start me on some meds for that today and try to keep it leveled off and buy more baking time. The ultrasound did show a diminished diastolic flow through Aubrey's placenta so they will be keeping a close eye on that and making sure she is getting enough supply to her. As long as that doesn't get any worse she will be fine in utero for awhile longer. The nurses check the babies heart rates 8 times a day so they monitor for any variation in the heart rate that would indicate that an extra ultrasound would be in need but as of right now I am getting them every other day anyways.

The nurses around here are picking their favorite babies already. One of them even calls herself Aunt Joan and decided that Matthew MUST be baby A because he is so naughty and moves as far away from the Doppler as possible each time. Another nurse named baby D Cameron because he is the most active and that is her favorite boy name. So if all else fails and they don't look like a certain name then we can go with the nurses! LOL!

Ben is so impressed with himself for "hitting the jackpot" as he calls it. He went out for a short walk today and found a food court with a ton of fast food places in it. I am NEVER going to see him! He will be down there eating all the time. At least he is feeling well and getting out some. I think it helps him to move around, he feels better when he does. I would love to be out of this bed walking around with him! Bed rest is not a fun thing to do when you have a hard time sitting still normally.

Anymore guesses?

I put this game up awhile ago but wanted to see if anyone else was interested in making a guess.

Happy Labor Day!

I wish it were labor day for us! LOL! Actually things are going well and I am feeling pretty good. My blood pressure has been back down and my swelling is mostly gone so who knows how long these babies are going to hang out for. The longer they are in the less time they are in the NICU and the healthier they will be. I have a bpp ultrasound today to see how the babies are doing and Wednesday we are doing weight checks again. I can't wait to see how much these little ones have grown!

The NICU is still overflowing today, they have 70 babies in there with room for 64 so there is another reason to hold them in another couple of days! My OB will be back to work Wednesday and we are VERY happy about that.

Ben has been adventurous walking around and finding some stuff close to the hospital, his favorite hang out? 7-11! I think it is because of all the non neutrapenic food they serve and if he eats it while he is out I can't yell at him for it. He says people from Boston aren't very friendly, he tries talking to them all and and no one talks back. I told him they probably think he is a crazy person! LOL! I am surprised that he hasn't walked the other direction to the food court because there are like 10 fast food places there, maybe he is getting his strength up to do that.

My mom thought it would be a better shot to show just how big my belly actually has gotten by taking a picture as I was getting out of the pool the other day so here it is...


Update: They all passed with 8/8 again! We couldn't ask for any more perfect babies!

Hanging out...

We found out this morning that not only is the NICU here at the Brigham full so is Mass General's and Beth Isreal's so it is really important that I hang on to these guys for at least a couple more days or we chance being transfered to god knows where! Luckily I am feeling 10x better today and feel like I can hang on to them a bit longer.

When the doctors make their rounds later I am going to speak with them about scheduling me so it fits in with Ben's chemo. Our luck is that if we just wait it out I will go in while he is gone and neither of us wants him to miss out on the big event.

Other than that no real news here, my protein is still showing in the urine but my blood pressure is more controlled thanks to laying down all day long. Ben is feeling not so great, I think it is just hospitals in general that make him feel crappy. Well, I hope to be able to update everyone with a c section date later today!

UPDATE:
We are looking at the end of the week for delivery unless an emergency c section is required. They wouldn't commit on a day at this point but at least it should happen before Ben has to head north. At this point if we HAVE to deliver the babies would go to Children's which is attached to this hospital but it makes it harder for me to see them all the time so we are hoping that the NICU will begin to clear out before we need the space.

Some pics!

29 weeks


30 weeks


Our flocking the night before we left for our home away from home!

Just rest?!?!

Yeah right! How can you when they are waking you up constantly and taking vitals, listening to heartbeats, etc? I think I am more tired now than I was before I ended up in here.

Tis morning I woke up very crampy and have been having more intense contractions in my stomach more so than my back. The nurse who did the babies heartbeats felt 2 within 10 minutes so we will be in testing today then who knows, maybe babies this afternoon!

Ben is here today and not feeling so well, we are hoping he can handle being n there for the whole delivery but just being in the hospital makes him sick now. The delivery team agreed I could have 2 in with me given the circumstance so that was great news!!!

UPDATE:

We are headed for another bpp ultrasound and as long as the babies are ok then we will be holding off on delivery. Pretty much the dr said suck it up I am having quads and will be extremely uncomfortable and to expect lots of contractions and unless I feel like the babies are coming out I will be ok.

BPP shows 8/8 for all babies. Looks like we are settling in for the weekend at least unless my water breaks or I end up in active labor.

Not so great 30 week appt.

The ultrasound went great, all the babies got 8/8 bpp scores again! They are doing so well!!! My appointment wasn't so good. There was protein in my urine and my blood pressure was 160/97 as well as some swelling so they admitted me with pre-eclampsia. I got the steroid shot for the babies lung development and depending on how things go we can deliver as early as Friday afternoon. We are hoping to hold out until next Wednesday when Dr. Acker is back from vacation.

Ben got down here today so at least I have company for sometime!