First trip to the ER

Cameron has had a cold for nearly three weeks now. It started when he had the croup and never really went away. Last night he seemed to be having an unusually hard time breathing so after going back and forth and giving him a breathing treatment we decided to bring him down. Thankfully Marlene and Daegan were around to come help Ben with bath and bedtime for the other three!

They gave Cameron another breathing treatment then a steriod shot and a presciption for predislone to help open his airways. They diagnosed him with Bronciolitis. This is the second time that he has had this so far, poor baby! It makes me very nervous that he is not going to get Synergist next year because this very easily could wind up being RSV without it.

So we survived our first trip to the ER and now our mission is to make sure that no one else gets as sick as Cameron and that he gets better soon.

6 month check up

The babies had their 6 month check up yesterday and the pediatrician was pleased at how well they are developing and the fact that we have been able to keep them from having a hospital stay since their NICU discharge. We were definitely blessed with healthy babies! Everyone checked out great and they each got a new book for being such good babies during their check up. We were glad to have Jenn come with us to give an extra hand moving the babies around and helping hold them through shots. Ben can't stand seeing that part of it. I think after all the shots I gave myself over the years I am immune to being freaked out by needles! The six month stats are:
Matthew- 16lbs 6oz 40th percentile
26" long 50th percentile
17" head circumference 50th percentile

Brady- 19 lbs 15 oz 90th percentile
27" long 75th percentile
17.75" head circumference 90th percentile

Cameron- 16lbs 13oz 50th percentile
26" long 25th percentile
17.5" head circumference 80th percentile

Aubrey- 13lbs 8oz 10th percentile
24.5" long 10th percentile
17" head circumference 25th percentile

Today Cameron met with the Urologist and he will be having surgery in the coming weeks to correct his hyposadias and circumcise him. I am none too thrilled with the idea of him being put out. We were told that one of us could be there through the entire surgery if we chose. Ben can't handle things like that and I am not sure that I want to see that either so I think we will probably stay with him while he is awake then met him in the post op room but we will see what we end up deciding.

Matthew got fitted for his helmet today and it should be in for him in two weeks. He did pretty good at the fitting but I doubt he will be so relaxed about wearing it 23 hours per day. His doctor seems to think that it will be all better within two months so hopefully it will be off before the weather turns too warm. Up here in NH that usually doesn't happen too early!

We are on week two of hardly any sleep. Our terrific sleepers have turned into nighttime monsters! They think it is fun to sleep 15 minutes then wake up crying. Of course they take turns so we have been averaging one 2 hour stretch of sleep then the rest of the night is sporadic. My mom stayed Sunday so we could get some sleep. She took our monitors and I ended up taking something for my migraine and was out like a light! Last night she spent the night too so we could get a little extra rest before driving today and she was taking Aubrey and Brady for the day so she just took them home instead of us having to make an extra stop. We are so lucky to have her! Anyone with children knows that not every Grammie would spend the night, come over to help at a moments notice, watch them while others have appointments or spend nearly as much time with their grandchildren as she does. I am sure that the babies will always have a special bond with her because of everything she does for them. THANKS MOM!

Here are some pictures of Matthew getting fitted for his helmet. And yes, he was trying to eat the plaster!

Meeting the Easter Bunny

We took the babies to meet the Easter Bunny today at our high school and were very happy that none of them cried when we put them on his lap. We couldn't get them to smile but as soon as we picked them up they were plenty smiley. It was like they were conspiring against us!

Aubrey


Matthew


Cameron


Brady

Happy 6th Months Babies!

I can hardly believe that they have been here for half a year already! When they were born I didn't think it would be possible to love them any more than I did at that moment but that wasn't true. As each day passes I love them more and more. I hope the next 6 months goes by a little slower!

Matthew mastered the art of rolling over last night and now there is no way he will stay on his back so he was freed of his swaddle last night. I don't think he was very happy about it as he didn't sleep well at all. Brady on the other hand is sleeping 10x better without his swaddle on. He kept breaking free of it and needing to be reswaddled several times a night so we took him out of it 3 nights ago and he loves being free! Cameron wakes up 90% of the time with both arms out so I think we will unswaddle him tonight and see how that goes. Aubrey never even attempts to break free so we are going to let her stay swaddled until she shows us she doesn't want to anymore.

Last night we went out for a walk for the first time in their quad stroller. It attracted quite a bit of attention but they loved that they were sitting up and able to look all around at everything. Thank you Felthun Family for giving us this stroller, I am sure that we will have many more outings with it!



Sunday my dad and I went shopping and he got the babies all sorts of summer outfits, sandals and sunglasses. I can't wait to see how cute they are going to look in them all! They wore their sunglasses yesterday on our walk and did great with them.

Below are some videos of our happy babies. Seeing them smile and laugh erases all the bad days or sleepless nights. There isn't a better sight in the world!

We cheated!

We were going to hold off on all solids until the babies turned 6 months old but we were bored today and wanted to give cereal a try. Hey, it is only 4 days early! Matthew and Cameron enjoyed it immensely but Aubrey was mad before we even started and Brady was not at all into it. I figured Brady would be the one to devour it all, I guess we will try again and see how he does.



Matthew






Cameron






Brady






Aubrey






Matthew


Brady


Aubrey


Cameron

Finally getting better

It seems like the babies are starting to feel better. They are finally eating well and sleeping a little better, they are being much more playful and are acting like themselves. It seems like they have been sick all winter. I guess that is the downside of day care. Luckily our neonatologist that comes for home visits and gives them the Synergist shot got them approved for one more shot so they have the RSV protection for the rest of this season. I wish they would be eligible next year but they won't be because they have been too healthy. How can anyone be too healthy?

At the home visit on Thursday we got the babies latest stats:

Matthew
15 lbs 10 oz
26.5" long
17" head circumference

Brady
19 lbs
27.75" long
18" head circumference

Aubrey
13 lbs 3 oz
25" long
16.5" head circumference

Cameron
16 lbs 4 oz
26.5" long
17.5" head circumference

We are talking about switching a couple of them over to rear facing convertible car seats. I am having a hard time carrying Brady and his seat up and down the stairs to get in and out of the house all the time. It will be quite awhile before Aubrey will be in a big seat thankfully because we wouldn't be able to get past a rear facing car seat to get into the third row of the van. It is going to be quite the Olympic event trying to get back there to strap them in anyway.

We put them in our new quad stroller for the first time last weekend and they seemed to love it! I love the fact that I can take them out for a walk alone if Ben isn't home or he is busy. The babies are liking the warmer weather and taking walks, they look around at all the scenery and the fresh air seems to make them sleep a little better too.

It is so hard to believe that the babies will be 6 months next week. They are doing new things all the time. Blowing raspberries and chewing on their fingers are the games of the week so we almost always have bibs on them to keep them from drooling on their clothes. All of the boys are able to sit up by themselves for a few seconds at a time and Aubrey either doesn't have the desire to or can't yet. She thinks a Princess doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to! They all have tickle spots and different toys that make them laugh. Coming soon...we will be feeding them cereal next week for the first time so I will be posting pictures of their first time eating cereal!

Complete Chaos!

That is the only word I can use to describe the past 5 days! Saturday morning Brady and Cameron woke up wheezing and barking like little seals so there was a quick trip to the pediatrician in store for that day. Both boys had the croup and were given steroid shots and I was told to expect the others to get it too.

Sunday morning we packed up for our trip to Concord for Bailee's 9th birthday party. They were fantastic in the car chatting and napping most of the way. They had a great time there but there was so many people that they were overwhelmed and would not give in for a nap even with me walking them around in the stroller so by the time we left and headed to dinner they were so fussy! We tried going to the Olive Garden but there was a 45 minute wait and there was no way that the babies would be patient that long so we started out drive to Lebanon for our first overnight in a hotel. Along the way we found a McDonald's where we were able to stop and feed them. Make that TRY to feed them. They were all so crabby and no one ate more than 3-4 oz of their bottles so we packed them up and headed to the hotel.

Amazingly they slept great in the motel but woke up to Aubrey and Matthew sounding like Cameron and Brady did just 2 days before. Great! Four sick babies! We brought Aubrey to her eye appointment at Dartmouth where we ended up waiting nearly an hour for them to come get her. You would think having a 8:30 appointment there is really no time to get behind, right? We were supposed to bring Matthew for his helmet casting right after Aubrey's appointment but that got cancelled because the insurance company isn't sure whether or not they are going to approve it. The criteria for needing a helmet is 11 mm difference when measuring one side of the head against the other side. Matthew measured 25 mm difference so you would think that it would be an easy decision. So we have to call back next week and see if the approval came and hopefully bring him when we bring Cameron to the urologist on the 24th.

Monday night was HORRIBLE! Ben and I may have gotten an hour sleep all night long. All four of them felt horrible and were up all night long. Matthew was the worst crying all night long because he didn't feel well and couldn't breathe out his nose because of all the mucus but wouldn't go to sleep without his paci. We ordered a nasal aspirator to try because they still seem really junky after using a bulb syringe. I can't wait to get it.

Last night they tricked me by going to bed great and when Ben got home around 10:30 they started to wake up and someone was up at all times last night too. I hope they start to feel better soon so we can all get some sleep!

Tomorrow they have their last visit from Dr Rhodes to be checked out and get their Synergist. As many colds as they have had this winter I am going to hate not getting the RSV protection next winter as well.

Well, babies are waking up screaming, looks like another good day in store for us!

We have teethers!

The rosy cheeks we have been seeing on Brady and Aubrey had us convinced that they were coming down with something...AGAIN! We were wrong though!

Yesterday when I was brushing Brady's gums I thought I felt something so I went in for a closer look and sure enough there is a little swollen white spot on the right bottom! Today the same thing happened with Aubrey except hers is on the left side.

I think Brady is trying to tell us he is ready for a steak dinner and Aubrey doesn't ever want to be left behind. If the boys are doing something new she watches intently until she masters it.

We are hoping for four easy teethers, that's not too much to ask is it?

March already?

I cannot believe how quickly the time is going. It always seemed like the winters were so long and now that the babies are here the time is just flying by! I am so looking forward to taking them out for walks and getting the fresh air into them. Last week we picked up a quad stroller from the Felthun Quads in NH. We are so grateful to have been given this because we could never afford to purchase a new one. It will be great for me to be able to take them out when Ben isn't here to help with a stroller and it will be good for when we travel. Right now with the 2 double Snap and Go's in the trunk there is no more room in the van but when we can put the stroller on the rack outside we have enough room for all 4 Pack and Plays and 2 suitcases. I think we need a bus!

It was this week last year that we found out we were expecting. Against the directions of my RE I got a dark positive home pregnancy test 4 days prior to my beta draw. On March 5, 2009 we got the call that confirmed my pregnancy and also the warning that multiples were most likely on the way due to the high quantity of HcG in my system. I can't believe that was a whole year ago! Our lives have changed so much because of that day.

March is a busy month for doctors visits. Matthew has 3 appointments in Lebanon for his helmet, Aubrey has one for her eyes, Cameron has one for his urology consult, we will be having our last home visit with Dr. Rhodes who gives them their Synergist and they have their 6 month check up. How is it possible that the are almost 6 months old??? Didn't I just give birth?

Another thing we are looking forward to this month is starting solids! I am sure Brady will be very grateful for some cereal! LOL! It was very important to wait until they hit the 6 month mark to start these because, especially with their prematurity, food allergies are less likely to occur at this stage. I am planning on making a great deal of their food so they have all the healthy stuff without any of the preservatives. Luckily I have some great recipes thanks to other mom's that I chat with online.

Sunday we will be spending our first overnight in a hotel. We are all heading to Concord for Bailee's 9th birthday party then we are going to head to Lebanon to be close to the hospital since Aubrey's appointment is at 8:30 and we live 2 hours away. Getting 4 kids up, fed, dressed and out the door by 6:30 would be CRAZY!!! Luckily our kids are great about riding and will sleep anywhere so we are able to do this as long as we are consistant with their routine for the most part.

When I started this blog I never thought I would have the time to keep up with it once the babies were born but I am so grateful that I do as I plan on printing off a copy for each of them to go with their baby books that I just got all up to date. I think they will enjoy looking back and seeing all of these entries and reading responses from those who love them. It also serves as a good way to keep the relatives, who do not see them as often as we would like,in the know. Without it some people would not get to share in the joys of all their accomplishments and see all the pictures as they grow. Things change in a matter of days with these guys!