40 Weeks Today/ Life is Good

We had a visit to the neonatiologist. It was quite a production, but we pulled it off.

Landon (A)is 6 lbs. 12 oz. and 19 1/4". He is the longest of the four.













Jackson (B)is 5 lbs. 12 oz. and 18 3/4". He is no longer the smallest quad. He has passed up Samantha!







Isabella (C)is 6 lbs. 15 oz. and 19". She still weighs the most.










Samantha (D)is the tiny one now. She is 5 lbs. 10 oz. and 18 1/2 ".




Almost Ready to Go









Transporting Samantha




Sarah in the Warner Brothers van that Tony's parents bought for them. Hooray! They all fit!



Callie was excited to go back to Good Sam. "I love the hospital!" she said. I guess it feels like home after being there all summer. She knows all the nurses.

















She seemed so small before the quads were born. Callie is growing up very quickly.














We decided to put the girls in one stroller and the boys in another. It was easier than carrying the car seats.













The boys



The visit was crazy with so many babies. We took up two examination rooms. I was in one and Sarah was in another. My mom sat outside and fed whoever was crying. Callie ran back and forth between the two rooms. The doctor, nurses, and occupational therapists were very helpful and patient. They know the quads since they took care of them in the NICU. They are the best!

Samantha's oxygen was turned up to prevent her desats. I hope it works. We noticed right away that her color is better and she eats more. The doctor said it might be a few months before we can wean her off the oxygen.

Guess who was discharged from the regular neonatologist visits? Our little rock star, of course! Jackson doesn't have to come back until his gestational age of 6 months, or April. The other three are still coming in regularly.

Jackson does have eye appointments every two weeks. He is at risk for retiniopathy of prematurity due to his birth weight, as is Samantha due to the oxygen. Please pray for Jackson's and Samantha's eyes.





Since we were on the same floor, we stopped by Sarah's home for the summer on our way out: Special Care Obstetrics. The nurses wanted to finally meet the babies they took care of for so long. We sure do miss everyone!

The babies are 40 Weeks today! This is the actual due date of the quads. I was looking back at some of my first posts to this blog. I was so worried and shocked. These 40 weeks have been some of the hardest I have ever been through, but God took care of us. We have experienced so many emotional extremes, and it is not over yet.

When I think back to the time when Sarah could first feel the babies move, I remember how she could tell what each child was like almost from the beginning. She was right. They are exactly like she said they would be.

Landon (A) is very laid back. Nothing seems to bother him. He is last to be fed because he is so patient. He is more alert and aware than the others. He has big eyes that stare at me intently when I feed him, as if he is trying to figure me out. If and when he does cry, we know something is up.

Jackson (B)is not easy going or patient. We have decided that he doesn't mind being a quad as long as he is the center of attention. He cries loudly until someone picks him up, and then a miracle happens--instant silence. He is small but his lungs are BIG. He likes to watch football with his dad or papaw.

Isabella (C) is the most high maintenance. She has a high-pitched, ear-piercing wail that sounds like some kind of injured animal. She also demands immediate attention in a different way. She holds her breath until she turns blue. She also projectile vomits, so we MOVE when she cries, and fast. It is a toss up about who is the loudest between Jackson and Isabella. They usually cry together, so the volume is incredible. On the other hand, Isabella is sweet and cuddly, especially when she gets her way.

Samantha (D) is more laid back than Jackson and Isabella, but is not as patient as Landon. The jury is still out on Sammy Jo, because she is not wireless like her siblings. If she cries, she desats (either oxygen level is down or heart rate is up, or both), so we have to keep her happy day and night. She is the smallest and is very frail. Her cry is lower and more pitiful than Isabella's. She knows what she wants. She, along with all of her equipment, sleeps in our bedroom. When she is ready for bed, she fusses until we caravan her and her machines up the stairs and into bed.

Callie is having a time of transition. Her little world has changed. She is good about helping with the babies: getting diapers, getting wipes, getting bottles, getting burp cloths. It's a good thing she loves to help.

My life has changed, too. Right now I am holding a baby with my left arm, swinging another baby with my right foot, and typing with one finger. It's not easy. I measure my days by three-hour feedings, and I long ago lost track of how many diapers I've changed. The crying doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would, but not going to work bothers me more.

John Stott says, "It is a mistake to be in a hurry or to grow impatient with God. It took him about 2,000 years to fulfil his promise to Abraham in the birth of Christ. It took him 80 years to prepare Moses for his life work. It takes him about 25 years to make a mature human being. So then, if we have to make a decision by a certain deadline, we must make it. But if not, and the way forward is uncertain, it is wiser to wait. I think God says to us what he said to Joseph and Mary when sending them into Egypt with the child Jesus: 'Stay there until I tell you.' In my experience more mistakes are made by precipitate action than by procrastination."

I have been too busy for too long, and I know it. God has arranged for me to slow down for awhile, if you can call this slowing down. I am right where I need to be. On the bright side, I did put on make up today. Life is good.

Thanks for praying.

"Let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts."
Colossians 3:15