Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Babies Have Really Short Arms

Really. Have you ever noticed how truly short babies' arms are?? It's kind of fascinating! And cute! :)

It's been a couple of weeks since I’ve had a chance to update the blog. We seem to have found a routine which works well for us, but which also causes the days to fly by before we even realize that they have begun. As I type this, I have Caleb and Elijah asleep in their bouncers, Abby is on the floor playing with her gym, and Ellie is sitting on my lap because she absolutely refuses to be quiet anywhere else and her daddy is trying to take a quick nap. I’m seizing my opportunity to blog a bit. 

A few quick SIGNIFICANT updates!!

1)      The babies are now on a 4 hour eating schedule. It’s awesome to have a little extra time in between feedings to get things done. The babies made the transition seamlessly. I feel a little saner since I can actually get to the grocery store and back without wondering if I will make it in time for the next feeding.

2)      The babies are also sleeping through the night! Sean and I are beyond happy about that! We feed them from 9pm-10pm and then again from 6am-7am. They normally wake up in the middle of the night, but a quick flip onto their stomach puts them right back to sleep. 30 seconds to flip babies is so much easier on me than 2 feedings in the middle of the night that last an hour or longer. While we still definitely need our day helpers, we’ve managed to let our overnight help go, and Sean and I are handling the evenings and nights ourselves. It was a big move for us, but we are enjoying having some privacy back. At the same time though, we miss our good friends who were willing to sleep on the couch and feed babies at 2am just to help us survive the first 2 ½ months. Thanks to those of you who sacrificed your sleep right along with us!

After about three nights of them sleeping through the night, Sean looked at me and said, “Do you feel more rested now that they’ve slept through the night a couple of nights in a row or are you still exhausted?” I said, “Well, I’m still exhausted, but not quite as much, I guess. Why?” Then my smart-aleck husband answered, “Because you aren’t doing or saying as many stupid things as you were a couple of days ago.” Encouragement in its finest form! 


3)      Ellie found her thumb! I’ve had some people tell me that I will regret her thumb sucking in the future when I have to break her of the habit. Not a chance! She is so much happier now that she is a thumb sucker. After all, no one goes to college sucking their thumbs. J

The kids had another NICU Follow-Up appointment last Friday. Everybody is progressing nicely for the most part. Abby is the only baby who is still struggling a bit. She had been taken off of oxygen, but her oxygen saturation was too low on Friday and the doctor placed her back on oxygen at night. Not exactly what we were hoping for, but we definitely want her brain and organs to develop well. She will go back in three weeks to see if she has gotten her sats up. On the other hand, Ellie was completely discharged from the NICU follow-up! She never has to go back! And the boys will be reassessed for their swallowing difficulties at the babies’ Developmental Checkup in August to see if they can be taken off of their formula thickener. If they come off of it, they will be discharged as well! 

We had our first little bout of sickness here at the house last week. Thankfully, I was the sickest with a sinus and ear infection. Ellie and Abby both had runny noses and chest congestion, and Eli had a runny nose, but it was nothing more serious than that. Caleb managed to make it through the week without any issues. We had a few brave friends who still came to help with the babies in spite of the germs over here. I am so grateful to them for showing up! I wasn’t feeling well, and desperately needed the help.

Between overnight helpers, day helpers, dinner helpers, laundry helpers, and helpers who show up even when there is sickness, we are one blessed family! I tell you what, having quadruplets is an excellent way to find out who your really good friends are! 

Evening Bottle Prep


We got into the habit of getting all of the bottles needed during the night and first thing in the morning ready before bed. Even though the babies are sleeping through the night now, it’s still a good system. Grab four, pop them in the crockpot to warm, change diapers, and they are ready to go!


 


 



Trip to the NICU Follow-Up Appointment


  


 



Ellie: “Daddy, I don’t want to talk to the doctor today. I want to hold your hand instead.”



 



First Walk


We have two double strollers. I picked a “cool” evening to go, but apparently 92 degrees is still pretty hot and humid.


 


 


 



First Night in Their Room


Now we take them upstairs and let them co-bed up there during the night. In 3-4 weeks, we will move the two cribs in our living room up there and let them each have their own crib. Why are we waiting? Because it’s really convenient during the day to have cribs in the living room.




  



Who me??



 



Girl Time: Mommy, Abby, and Ellie



  



Five Month Pictures: Abby, Ellie, Caleb, and Elijah


We tried so hard to get Abby to wake up for this photo. Sean even picked her up and blew raspberries on her tummy, but she was just completely out. This was our best photo.



 --posted by Becca

11 comments:

  1. I totally know what you mean about still being so exhausted even though your babies are sleeping all night. Juliet started sleeping 7-7 FINALLY at around 9 mo. Before that, she was going down at 7 and waking between 3-5 to eat. When she finally started sleeping 7-7, I think it took James and I about 4 months to get back to going to bed at our normal time and not waking up exhausted. I can only imagine how tired you'd be with 4! I'm so happy for you that they transitioned to sleeping so long, so quickly!

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  2. Hooray! You're all doing so well! Great update and can you even believe how fast they are growing? Awesome!!!

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  3. They are beautiful! They're getting so big too, how much do they weigh? I'm glad you're able to get more sleep and have a "little" time for yourself. You've really managed well! We look forward to seeing you!

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  4. Thanks for the continued updates and photos. We may not be able to help physically, but we still think of and pray for all of you. It is so nice to hear about the progress everyone is making and hear where our prayers are still needed.

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  5. Love these updates, Rebecca. What a Wonderful way to keep everyone informed and to permanently mark milestones. You are indeed one very blessed family.

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  6. catherine mooreheadAugust 2, 2011 at 5:35 PM

    such sweet pictures and updates! We LOVED helping you that ONE night but we are so glad that you are able to start some semblance of family nights. I didn't have any thumb-suckers but the fact of the matter is that a THUMB never falls on a nasty floor, I have never seen a desperated parent searching everywhere for a missing THUMB and I think it is true that I have never seen thumb-sucking in college!!! love to all--xoxoxoxo

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  7. Sharri Adkins ZahnterAugust 2, 2011 at 6:39 PM

    God has certainly blessed all of you. Becca u always look so refreshed & beautiful. I pray for you all every day.((((Butterfly Hugz))))! Sharri Adkins Zahnter

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  8. They are just adorable!!! And I am soooooo proud of YOU! Those babies are blessed to have two such great and funny (Sean) parents!
    Denise Terry

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  9. It's so wonderful to see them healthy and growing. You guys are doing a wonderful job. Love you all!

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  10. Oh I love to hear about the babies. You will love it that they are sleeping through the night I can remember when Amira started sleeping through I was scared at first. They are getting so big, are they all up to weight yet? I can't wait to hear when they are crawling, that will be fun too. Keep up the good work. The crock pot is such a good idea with the bottles, i wish I would have known that with Amira for the overnights alone.

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  11. I really enjoy reading your blog. I am glad to hear that things are going well. The babies are getting big fast!

    It was nice to meeting you at the gkcmom meeting the other night. I am glad you got a few hours off..you deserve it!!

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