Not much to report

All the babies are so close to rolling over we wish they would just DO IT! They get so frustrated as they spin sideways and can't quite get over. Matthew is doing great on his Zantac, spitting up rarely and in a MUCH better mood. It is such a relief not listening to him cry for hours a day. Spitting raspberries is the cool thing in our home. They think they are soooo funny when they do it. Cameron has mastered the art of having his spit land on his forehead. Crazy kids!

One of my online friends, Trinity, made some headbands for Aubrey. If you love them you can check out her creations by becoming a fan of The Pampered Pea on facebook!





The babies had so much fun playing with Kennedy this week and she was a big help to us too. We wish she never moved away because they love her so much and she would be a great baby sitter when they get a little older.

A day in the life...

A lot of people ask us how we are able to keep up with quads and not go crazy. The answer is SCHEDULES!!! We do venture out and do things but we try to stick tight with the schedule.

6:00 am-I get up, shower, check out email and other stuff on the computer

7:00 am-babies get up for the day and have bottles

8:00 am-get dressed and go in their swings while I make bottles for the next 24 hours, start laundry, etc. They typically sleep for an hour in the swiings, just enough time for me to get stuff done.

9:00 am-two babies play on the floor with me while the other two play in the Jumperoo and excersaucer when they get bored we switch.

10:30 am-diapers, bottles and some floor time for all four before heading in their swings for a nap

11:30 am-naptime!

1:30 pm-most of the time they make it to now before waking up but if one wakes up it is a bonus so we can have some one on one time.

2:00 pm-diapers and bottles then playtime again

4:00 pm-catching a quick nap before their dinner bottle. Gives me time to throw togehter dinner and clean up a bit.

5:30 pm-diapers, bottles, time to keep themselves occupied for awhile, sometimes we resort to Sesame Street to do that job!

6:00 pm-dinner for me and Ben

6:30 pm-another quick nap for some and playtime for others depending on moods.

7:30 pm-bath time!

8:15 pm-upstairs to read some stories

8:45 pm-diapers and bottles

9:15 pm-AAAAHHHH..peace and quiet! Time for Ben and I to watch TV or go to bed!

On the days we have daycare I somehow manage to fit that into the daily schedule too. On the weekends grocery shopping and a trip to Walmart are usually figured in also. No wonder I feel so tired at the end of the day!

Great weekend with great friends

We had such a fun weekend at camp with the Styles family. The babies loved all the extra love and attention that they got from everyone and I loved having people to visit with and help with the babies while Ben ice fished.

Friday Matthew had his evaluation at the Noggin Clinic and it was determined that he needs to have a helmet. We are not looking forward to that considering he has been so crabby lately we are sure he will be totally upset with having to wear that 23 hours per day.

Matthew has always been one of the harder of the four but the past couple weeks have been rough. He has been crying for long periods of time several times a day and spitting up a lot. When he does it is sour and curdled looking so the doctor decided today to put him on Zantac to see if that makes a difference and we are thinking about trying soy formula as well. A lot of people have said that the Zantac has made a huge difference for their babies so I home that it will for Matthew too. I hate seeing him so miserable.

Kennedy has been here this week helping out with the babies and they just love her! It is amazing that she is going to be 13! I can remember her being as small as the babies and taking care of her and now she is changing diapers, helping feed, dress and bathe them. They just love her and Ben and I wish she could move her in here permanently!

The babies had their home health check up yesterday and they are growing well. They seem to be hitting the 4 month milestones and it amazes us how much they are doing already. Brady weighed in at 18 lbs, Matthew and Cameron tied at 15 lbs 1 oz and Aubrey is still the little peanut at 12 lbs 8 oz.

Bedtime Stories

Over the past month we have gotten into a bedtime routine that includes reading a few books before bedtime. Dr. Seuss is a favorite in this house, they usually laugh listening to us read them. When it is my day to read Ben normally picks books with tongue twisting words just so he can laugh along with them. Usually Cameron is very attentive to the books and loves looking at the pictures but the others take turns whining during story time last night they were all loving story time so I decided to take advantage of it and get a few pictures.

Daddy reading to the babies!


We love books!


Cameron getting a little sleepy!


Just hanging around!

Babies 1st Valentine's

All the firsts for the babies are so bittersweet. On one hand it is so great to experience them and on the other it means that they will never have that again and they are getting older. I wish we could just keep them small forever.

Yesterday we went to church then Brady and Cameron went to Grammie and Grandpa Brann's and Aubrey and Matthew went to Grammie and Grandpa Amadon's so Ben and I could go out for a Valentine's lunch. It was so weird to be sitting there alone without having to change diapers or give bottles. We took advantage of it and got groceries so we only needed one cart. Normally we take either the two double strollers and a cart or three carts to shop so this was so nice to be able to just go and get what we needed and go home.

We tried to get some good Valentine's pics but none of the babies were being very cooperative!





Matthew


Brady


Cameron


Aubrey

Big day for Aubrey!

Daddy gave in and let her get her ears pierced! She looks so cute! I thought for sure she would have a fit but she was really good about it. We decided it was better to do it now before she starts playing with her ears. Here are some pics...

On our way to the ear piercing


Ready, set...


All done!

5 down 1 to go

The babies got their 5th Synergist shot today so they have one more to go. Because they have been so healthy they do not qualify for it next year unfortunately. Without it a simple cold can result in RSV for them and they have already proven to us that they catch everything that comes into this house. Brady did better with it this time and did not pass out.

Aubrey has been really fussy for a couple days and had some drainage in her ear yesterday and Matthew and Brady had us up all night last night so we had the doctor check their ears and Brady has a double ear infection and Aubrey perforated her ear drum from her ear infection. Matthew on the other hand was perfectly fine so he just wanted to be sure that his brother didn't have too much attention. She also checked all of their lungs and they sound clear. All of the coughing has been working I guess.

New pictures

Matthew




Brady




Cameron




Aubrey

Where did our good sleepers go?

The past 3-4 nights the babies have not been sleeping very well at night. They have been coughing like crazy and waking each other up. It seems like by the time we got them all settled down and back in bed someone else was coughing and another one was mad that he/she was woken up and started crying. You could tell that they didn't feel good so we had our home health nurse check them out this morning and she suggested Matthew and Cameron be seen by their pediatrician.

We are so lucky to have a great office to bring the babies to that always is accommodating to us. We got in right away and after the babies were checked out they were diagnosed with bronciolitis. Thankfully they get the Synergist shot that prevents them from getting RSV or else things could be much worse for them since they are preemies. Chances are all four of them will be coming down with it because the doctor said that it is contagious and they probably got it from one of the other kids having a common cold.

This week hasn't been a big weight gain week for the babies but they are all gaining!
Matthew is now 14 lbs, Brady 16 lbs 13 oz, Cameron 13 lbs 14 oz, and Aubrey 11 lbs 14 oz. Looks like Matty and Cam will be going into size 2 diapers this week!

Sick again :(

Poor Matthew can't seem to stay away from getting sick. He has a cold again after having the last one a month then it was gone a week when some of the daycare kids came with colds and he got it again. I am so glad they are getting Synergist because a cold could be so much worse if they weren't. Next year they won't qualify for it so I need to figure out a way to keep him from getting sick.

The past two nights have not gone so great between Matthew waking himself and everyone else up with his coughing, Cameron coming down with the cough and Aubrey refusing to go to sleep we have had a couple sleepless nights. All of the babies have always been great about going to bed awake and putting themselves to sleep but the past 3 nights Aubrey will suck her paci a few minutes then spit it out and cry. We go through this cycle for about a half hour before she decides to sleep. In between her crying fits we try burping her, rubbing her belly,etc but she just wants to stay awake. Any suggestions???

My day away from the babies was tough, I missed them before I even dropped them off at their play dates. It makes me literally sick to my stomach when they aren't with me. I know a lot of people want to take them and Ben says I am mean for not letting them but I get a stomach ache just thinking about them being gone. After waiting so long for them I have every right to be greedy and everyone is just going to have to understand that.

This week is pretty quiet for us we have a home health visit on Thursday and Early Supports on Friday. I think they will be glad to see that the babies are starting to hold toys and Brady has decided that maybe he will eat them. LOL! Matthew likes his Jumperoo for short periods of time and the others are going to try it out today. Hopefully it will help his flat spot become a little more round.