Rough Night/The Right Place at the Right Time

Sarah had a rough night last night. She had 22 contractions in one hour. They put her on the monitor, gave her medication and called the doctor. After the medicine kicked in, her contractions went to 12 per hour. Eventually the medicine worked, but she was up all night.

First thing this morning, the doctor sent her down for bio-physicals to see if the babies were stressed. They all got 8's, which is good. The doctor said that Sarah's uterus is just responding to the fact that it is so large. These contractions were pretty bad, but not as bad as the ones that caused her to be admitted. The doctor also commented that Sarah's due date should be August 9. Then, their birthday would be eight nine ten. (She was just providing a little comic relief. :))

It appears that A might not be born first after all. He has changed positions, so someone else might be the firstborn. We will see if they change places again. However, the bigger they get, the less able they are to move. We shall see.

On the way home from the hospital, Tom and I witnessed a dog attack. Right in front of the hospital, there was a guy in the middle of the street with two pit bulls with big broken chains jumping on him. My car startled the dogs when I came around the corner. I stopped in the road and the dogs came up to us. Then the man was able to get away. Tom said that the guy was smart to run into traffic. The car is what saved him. I am so glad that we didn't park on the street.

Week 29 is Finally Here/The Price is Always Free

Today is Week 29! I am so amazed that Sarah has made it this far. She has been in the hospital since Week 23, and has now been on the floor the longest of everyone there. She has already made it further than most quad pregnancies. She has been very patient and sweet, and the nurses really like her. Now that another milestone has been reached, I can tell that she is counting down the days. The end is in sight. For awhile, it seemed as if she would be in the hospital forever. Please pray that Sarah will keep her spirits up and be patient while God helps her make it through to the end. Every day she stays pregnant equals four less days in the NICU for the babies. Every day is a blessing.

The technician thinks there is hair on the head of Baby A. She is equally convinced that the girls are bald. Baby B is quite the mystery man. We couldn't see his head clearly enough to look for hair.

I have been helping occasionally with the fetal monitoring that goes on twice a day per baby. The sessions go better if someone "handholds" the Doppler in place. Baby B was cracking me up tonight. He was not happy about the monitoring, so he kept kicking at it--hard! I was trying my best to hold it in just the right place while he was trying his best to kick it away.

Since Sarah's veins kept blowing (three in all) from the IV, so the doctor took her off the IV iron and put her back on the dreaded pills. Once her veins have a chance to heal, she can go back on the IV.

Sarah figured out a way to remember which hip gets the B12 shot each day. She now asks for a band aid and leaves it there until the next shot. Smart girl!

I am amazed at how well children handle difficult circumstances. Callie seems to finally be adjusting (or resigning herself) to being away from Sarah. She doesn't cry as often when we leave the hospital. She doesn't cling to Sarah the whole time we are there. In the meantime, Callie manages to have plenty of fun riding rides and eating snow cones. Since Papaw owns the carnival, Callie never has to wait in line or buy tickets. For Callie, the rides are always open and the price is always free. Recently, it occurred to me that I experience a similar privilege. No matter how crazy it gets sometimes, God owns the show. When I go to spend time with Him, the door is always open and the price is always free.

"In times of trouble, may the Lord answer your cry.
May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm.
May he send you help from his sanctuary
and strengthen you from Jerusalem.
May he remember all your gifts
and look favorably on your burnt offerings.
May he grant your heart’s desires
and make all your plans succeed.
May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory
and raise a victory banner in the name of our God.
May the Lord answer all your prayers."
Psalm 20:1-5

Bethany's Visit

Sarah had a rough night last night. She had 22 contractions in one hour. They put her on the monitor, gave her medication and called the doctor. After the medicine kicked in, her contractions went to 12 per hour. Eventually the medicine worked, but she was up all night. She asked me to pray that she will get some sleep.

First thing this morning, the doctor sent her down for bio-physicals to see if the babies were stressed. They all got 8's, which is good. The doctor said that Sarah's uterus is just responding to the fact that it is so large. These contractions were pretty bad, but not as bad as the ones that caused her to be admitted. The doctor also commented that Sarah's due date should be August 9. Then, their birthday would be eight nine ten. (She was just providing a little comic relief. :))

It appears that A might not be born first after all. He has changed positions, so someone else might be the firstborn. We will see if they change places again. However, the bigger they get, the less able they are to move. We shall see.

On the way home from the hospital, Tom and I witnessed a dog attack. Right in front of the hospital, there was a guy in the middle of the street with two pit bulls with big broken chains jumping on him. My car startled the dogs when I came around the corner. I stopped in the road and the dogs came up to us. Then the man was able to get away. Tom said that the guy was smart to run into traffic because the car is what saved him. I am so glad that we drove by and also that we didn't park on the street!

Baby Weights/Amazing Start

Week 28--Bio-Physicals and Baby Checks

Bio-physicals: All babies scored 8's out of 10. They were practicing breathing.

Baby Check: Fluids and weights were good on all four babies. There is a 13% difference between the biggest and the smallest baby, which is good since they like it to be less than 20%. It went down from two weeks ago, when it was 18%.

Quad A: 2 lbs. 12 oz. (56%) He is breech. He is at the bottom taking all
the weight of the other three babies.
Quad B: 2 lbs. 6 oz. (46%) He is oblique, which is between breech and
transverse.
Quad C: 2 lbs. 7 oz. She is breech.
Quad D: 2 lbs. 8 oz. She is transverse. She was using Quad B's bottom
as a pillow.

The nurse said that Sarah is quite a celebrity on the floor. Everyone is talking about the quad mom and trying to guess which one she is. The nurse asked if she could let one of the other patients come in for a visit. It gets lonely for people who don't have family around. She also told us that there are three sets of triplets on the floor. Babies are everywhere!

The technician mentioned how well Sarah was doing, noting that another quad mom had lost all of her babies this past year. My mom said, "It's all the prayer." The technician agreed, noting that Sarah's condition is quite amazing. She added that Sarah doesn't have the swollen ankles and the high blood pressure and the diabetes that goes along with higher multiples or "super twins," as they call them. God is so good.


He is working in wonderful ways that gets the attention of the people in our lives. When we go to the bank, everyone asks about Sarah. When we go to the dentist, they are cheering Sarah on and offering prayer support. Everywhere we go, people are asking--sometimes begging--to tell us all about this unusual pregnancy, which naturally leads to giving credit to God. These babies are a result of prayer, and they are being nurtured through prayer.

When I ponder the lasting power of prayer, I think of my great grandmother. She was a tiny woman with a big family. She had nine children and a husband who adored her. One thing I remember is that Grandma Cora was a good cook. She made homemade egg noodles and dried them on clean chair backs so they would store well in the pantry. Her cocoa cakes were light and moist. The rich frosting was simply prepared by breaking off a chunk of Hershey's Chocolate from the display case in my great grandfather's general store, placing it in a pie tin and melting it in a low-temperature oven. Then she would stir in a little fresh cream and pour the delicious mixture over her cake. The smells from her kitchen brought her family to the table quicker than a dinner bell ever could.

Sadly, though, Grandma Cora was deaf. Raising a family at the turn of the century brought enough troubles on its own. Deafness added additional hardships, as well as an unusual loneliness to the family dynamic. Grandma Cora spent most of her life in silence, alone with her thoughts and her prayers.

But Grandma Cora had a great faith. Every day after her chores were finished, she sat in the kitchen with her Bible on her lap. There she prayed for all nine of her children to give their hearts to Christ.

Years passed. Grandma Cora died in 1974, but her prayers did not die with her. I watched in wonder as, one by one, her children came to Christ. My great uncle was in his nineties when he became the seventh to surrender his heart. Only the two youngest--both women in their eighties--were left. Finally, the last two came to God--a sister in Nevada and the other in Ohio. One beautiful day, they walked the church aisle together to be baptized.

My great grandma had been gone over 26 years. Before she died, the prayers she prayed were set in motion and God went to work. He honored those prayers in His time and in His way. All those quiet years, she was not really alone. God was listening.

When I think of all the wonderful people who are praying every day for my grandchildren, I get nervously excited. Where will God take them? How will He use them? What an amazing start to their already unusual beginning! It's a privilege to be along for the ride. Grandma Cora would be so proud.

Awesome Update/Life is Good!

The doctor who admitted Sarah came in with an awesome update today. She said, "When you came here, I really thought you were going to have those babies. Now you are doing so well, I think we can get you another 4 weeks." She said that 28 weeks is a major milestone for the quads. She is surprised that Sarah made it this far. They think Sarah is doing incredibly well.

Here are some highlights of her comments:

~Although Sarah was given steroids when she was admitted last month, they plan to repeat the steroids again. Steroids speed lung and brain development. However, they cause contrations, so they will wait until she is scheduled to deliver.

~Pre-eclampsia test was normal. They are keeping an eye on that problem. It can present itself without high blood pressure with multiples.

~Iron levels went from 30 to 34 since Sarah has been on IV iron. Normal levels are 30 to 126. Iron is involved in oxygen transport, is essential for the regulation of cell growth, and aids with immunity. Pregnancy times four coupled with expected blood loss during delivery are the reasons for upping her iron levels. The problem is that Sarah's veins keep "blowing" from the IV's. She had two veins blow yesterday, before the third IV finally took. If this problem with overused veins continues, she will have to go on the dreaded iron pills. :(

~They are watching Baby A very closely. The quads are labeled in the order they will be delivered. Baby A will be first since he is the lowest baby. He has the weight of the other three babies on top of him. So far, he is doing well and does not appear to be stressed.

~They keep checking the skin on Sarah's belly. It can get dangerously thin and broken with multiples, and the blood flow can be compromised. Sarah's skin looks great! The doctor noticed that she actually has room for one more baby on her right side. (Sarah was not pleased with that observation.)

~The babies all look really good. The doctors have noticed that the babies move and wiggle a lot more than most. Great. Anyway, they move as much and more than singletons. No one is stressed. Baby C has not had any decels lately.

~The doctor was very concerned that Sarah is okay with being in the hospital. She said that moms who aren't emotionally and mentally prepared to stay usually deliver early. She is pleased that Sarah seems to be adjusting well to her confinement. From October through April, no children under the age of fourteen are permitted to visit. Moms don't do as well when they are kept away from their children. Sarah is fortunate to be there in the summer. She feels much more comfortable on the medicine. Callie can come visit. Tony can spend the night. I spend the days. The room is private with a TV and a refrigerator. Everyone is praying. Life is good!

Good Bio Results/A Slight Change of Plans

Tony's grandma made these adorably soft blankets and caps for her great-grandchildren. It won't be long now.

The biophysicals went well this time. Every baby scored an 8.

Sarah is getting so big she that it is hard for her to eat much after breakfast. She said it feels as if she is stuffed from a huge Thanksgiving dinner. Nothing sounds good to her by dinner time except for peanut butter. We were warned that after 28 weeks she would find eating very difficult. The quads are taking up all of the space in her belly and then some. At least the doctors are pleased with the sizes of the babies. Their weights are equal to the average weight of singletons at this stage. I guess all those high-calorie, around-the-clock meals were worth it. Now if I can just lose the sympathy weight.

Every day, I walk through the halls of the hospital and see so many people whose plans, like ours, have drastically changed. I pray for these people as I go by, wondering about their stories. Everyone has one. What did they do on that last day at home? Did they have any idea that they would spend weeks away from their families when they entered the building? I know that Sarah didn't.

Last summer, Sarah and I bought water park passes. We planned to lounge in the pool this summer with Callie splashing nearby. We have not used them once. There was a slight change of plans.

I want to welcome interruptions as sent by God. I want to be looking for signs of His work when those interruptions come. I choose to believe that the unused water park passes and the extended hospital stay are no coincidence. They were orchestrated by a loving Heavenly Father who knows what is best for all of us. I try to remember that when Callie cries for her mother. It's all part of the plan.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."
Romans 8:28

As you can see, Callie is enjoying spending time with her daddy and Papaw and Uncle Eric. She loves ice cream! We make sure that she spends a lot of time with Sarah. Callie knows the directions to the room better than I do at this point. It breaks my heart every time we leave. She begs to stay with Mommy. The halls are filled with cries of kids who want to stay with their moms once visiting hours are over. Life can be so hard sometimes.

Baby C is still decelerating once or twice a day. The protocol is to monitor an additional hour when she does "decel." As a result, Sarah is sometimes on the monitor until the wee hours of the morning. Those days wear her out! The number and length of those decels are figured in with the biophysical scores to determine how the babies are doing. The bio scores were good today. Everyone scored an 8. We haven't heard if and how Baby C's score will be affected by the decels. The nurse said that the older Baby C gets, the less the doctors will tolerate the decelerations.

Sarah had a moment of confusion during the sonogram today. When Baby C was being checked, boy parts were discovered! Sarah said, "Are you telling me that I have three boys?!" After some quick detective work, the technician discovered that B and C have switched places.
Boy B doesn't like to be monitored, so he hides behind C anyway. I guess she decided to take his space.

It is fun when nurses come in who have never seen quads. They are fascinated by the babies and enjoy trying to find them all with the Dopler. One of the doctors in the practice has dealt with quads before. She said that these are the best quads she has ever seen! Sarah's primary doctor is now hoping that he can get her to 35 weeks. We were surprised, since Sarah is already measuring 45 weeks or better. However, it would be fantastic if she could carry them that long.

My son is on a mission's trip this week. Please pray for all of the people involved, that they will experience God in a new and powerful fashion. I feel so complete when my family is serving God in a special way. Thanks for praying!

Biophysical Results/Begging for Mercy

The doctor has ordered biophysicals on each baby twice a week, in addition to the non-stress monitoring twice per day. The tests consist of:

• A detailed ultrasound to observe the babies' body movements, muscle tone (flexing of the arms and legs), and breathing movements (the babies' ability to move chest muscles and diaphragms), and the amount of amniotic fluid surrounding them.

• A non stress test to assess whether the babies' heart rates change when they are moving. A technician straps two devices to Sarah's belly: One monitors the babies' heartbeats and movements; the other records contractions in her uterus. The technician listens to and watches the babies' heartbeats on a computer screen the results are measured on a 10 point scale. Each of the five components — body movements, muscle tone, breathing movements, amniotic fluid, and heartbeat — is assigned a score of either 0 (abnormal) or 2 (normal). These scores are added up for a total score ranging from 0 to 10. In general (and for one baby) a total score of 8 or 10 is normal, 6 is considered borderline and you are retested in 24 hours, a score of 4 means you are tested again in 2 hours, and a score of two is an automatic delivery.
Obviously, more than one baby complicates that decision.






Wednesday's Test Results:

Baby Boy A-- 2.1 pounds, 52 percentile, 6 points
Baby Boy B--1.13 pounds, 40 percentile, 8 points
Baby Girl C--2.2 pounds, 56 percentile, 6 points
Baby Girl D--2.3 pounds, 59 percentile, 6points

Today's Test Results:

Baby Boy A--6 points
Baby Boy B--8 points
Baby Girl C--8 points
Baby Girl D--8 points

The babies are young yet, so the scores are in the acceptable range until 28 weeks, when higher scores will be desired. Baby C and Baby B had decelerations of over 2 minutes today, which is not good. Somehow the cords are being compressed, either from overcrowding or
contractions.

Sarah had a glucose-tolerance test to check for gestational diabetes, and she passed. Hooray! We were a little worried about that test, since diabetes is common with multiples. Her blood pressure is 74/49, which is also great since hypertension is also common with multiples.

I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later, but I have tonsillitis! Through an entire school year of college students, second graders and tutoring kids coughing and sneezing in my face, I stayed healthy. Now all I have is one three-year-old, and I'm begging for mercy.

Please keep praying. God is watching over us!

Baby C Scare/

Baby C's heart rate took a dive last night during monitoring. About ten doctors and nurses poured into the room and went to work. Sarah was repositioned, hooked up to an IV, and put on oxygen. Two hours later, everyone calmed down. Baby C was back within her safety zone for stress.

The medicine to stop contractions that Sarah is taking can cause the fluid around the babies to shrink. While all of the babies have acceptable fluid amounts, Baby C has the least amount. The nurses are wondering if there is a kink in her cord that could be causing the heart rate deceleration. On Wednesday, Sarah will have biophysicals and full sonograms ( at least 40 minutes per quad) for all four babies. It will be exhausting and hard on Sarah. Please pray that all will be normal.

I lay down and slept,
Yet I woke up in safety,
For the Lord was watching over me.
Psalm 3:5

The Dipstick That Broke the Camel's Back/ God Goes Shopping

It's been hard, lately. I've been trying to be prayerful, positive and strong, but it's not easy. Keep in mind that I dislike change. My whole world has been turned upside down! Not only have my circumstances changed, but I am also taking care of a three-year-old. We are in the middle of our business busy season. I am trying to prepare for the babies to come home. Then there is the roller coaster ride with Baby C.

I've noticed that when I get tired, little things seem overwhelming. For example, a census worker stopped by because we were on the naughty list after forgetting to mail in our census form. WHY? It was so embarrassing and unnecessary, but our lives are too crazy right now. Fortunately, the worker was a friend of ours from way back. I told her about the quads, gave the required information only, made sure she would pray, and signed her up to hold a few babies.

Then, I got home late from the hospital one night and still needed to go pick up Callie. My brakes seemed soft (or I was so exhausted that I was shifting wrong), so I asked Tom to check my brake fluid. The poor guy was more tired than I was and naturally impatient. If you work on a tiny VW Beetle in the dark, there's going to be trouble. Sure enough, he ended up snapping the oil dipstick guide in half. WHY??? I wanted to sit down in the driveway and cry. I don't have time for broken dipsticks! So I drove off to get Callie, spewing oil the whole way.

Later, I decided to check the quad clothes list that my mom has been making. Bad Timing! I looked at the list and despaired. This time I did sit down and cry. I felt very sorry for myself, telling the Lord that I don't have time for census taking or broken dipsticks or baby clothes shopping. I really wanted to sing a sad country song, but I don't know any. I can be quite pathetic when I try.

As soon as he had a free minute, Tom called the Volkswagen dealer to order the part. It was in stock and only cost $12.00. Callie and I went
to pick it up on the way to the hospital. While we were waiting, the people in the service department were talking to Callie. I told them about the quads, and they agreed to pray. One trip to the dealer added three people to the praying list! Later, Tony popped the part in and my car was good to go. (The brake fluid was fine, by the way.)

A couple of days later, I was brushing my teeth when the phone rang. It was the census worker again. This time she said, "Sondra, I'm at a garage sale and there are lots of baby clothes. Do you guys still need anything?"

"YES!" I said. "Get me some and I'll pay you back." Tom was nearby on his way to work, so I sent him there to help. The couple had a boy and a girl, and their driveway was full of clothes from baby to preschool sizes. Tom made them an offer for everything. I came down in a truck. We filled up the bed of the pick-up with bags of clothes, all sizes. My friend told the sellers about the quads. They said it made them feel good to help out, especially when they found out we are pro-life, and they agreed to pray. So did a couple of men who were shopping for their grandkids. One gentleman told me all about his twin grandchildren while offering lots of encouragement.

I drove home and couldn't stop smiling. Why do I even waste time asking WHY? God has a purpose for every friendly census worker, every little broken dipstick, and every interruption. What's even more amazing is that when it's necessary, God does my shopping for me.



Psalm 146

Praise the Lord!

Let all that I am praise the Lord.
I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.

Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.
But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
He made heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
He keeps every promise forever.
He gives justice to the oppressed
and food to the hungry.
The Lord frees the prisoners.
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.
The Lord loves the godly.
The Lord protects the foreigners among us.
He cares for the orphans and widows,
but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.

The Lord will reign forever.
He will be your God, O Jerusalem,throughout the generations.