A Date with Daddy

While we have been crazy, busy trying to adjust to having four new little ones at home, we do realize that Lilya needs some attention too. She has been making that clear, as I said in my last post, with her actions during feeding time.

Saturday, when Tony got off work, he decided that it was time for her to have a date with Daddy. The two of them went to Barnes and Noble (that was hard for Mommy, since it is her favorite store) and McDonalds. Lilya came home with Where the Wild Things Are, a new stuffed puppy, a Tinkerbell watercolor paint book, and her favorite, a chicken nugget Happy Meal. She was as happy as could be!

I'm so thankful that my children have such an awesome daddy! He spends countless hours entertaining her even when he is exhausted from the rest of his day.

Now, we need to convince her that it is not ok to paint the walls with her new paints while the babies are being fed...baby steps!

Making the Adjustment (from 1 to 5)

As you can imagine, bringing home quadruplets has been an adjustment for everyone. We have gone from having a toddler, to having a toddler and four new borns. During my pregnancy, I had blogged my feelings of guilt that I was going to be taking away attention from Lilya. I admitted that I'm sure this is a feeling that a lot of mothers have when they are expecting their second child...often wondering how you can possibly give each child the love and attention that they deserve. So, at times, I felt very overwhelmed with the fact that I was not only going to bring home one new baby, but four. I was very worried about how Lilya would react.

Now that we're home, I feel silly to have been so worried. All along, I felt like I would be taking away from Lilya while actually I have given her so much. She is as much in love as we are with the new babies. The first night that Benjamin, Jaylyn and Harrison were home, Tony was taking her up the stairs to give her a bath. She looked over the stair railing and said, "Awww...look at my teeny tiny babies." She has given countless kisses over the last 3 weeks, and even likes to help with diaper duty.

I don't want to make it sound like it has all gone perfect. Lilya is still only 2 1/2 years old. We have had some moments...four days ago, Lilya came into the living room during feeding time and said that her panties were wet. When I went into the bathroom, there was a puddle of pee next to the toilet. The following day, while babies were being fed, she walked in without any panties. When I asked her what she was doing, she said, "Nothing, I just pooped on the floor." Sure enough, in the same place I had found the puddle of pee, there was now poop. After talking with her about how she would be cleaning it up if it happened again, thankfully, we have gone two days without another accident. I try to include her during feeding times as much as possible. We love to read books to the babies as we feed. Hopefully this has also distracted her from these "attention getting" acts.

Life is about adjusting to make the best of every situation, and we are a blessed family to have so much to adjust to.

Our first Holiday (Happy 4th of July)

Two years ago today, Lilya watched her first fireworks show from the front yard of my Grandma Mary Lou's in Raton, NM. I remember it like it was yesterday. We moved the gliding bench out to the middle of the yard, so Grandma would be able to join us. Mom, Grandma and I sat on the bench and waited, wondering if Lilya would like them or be afraid. Uncle Donnie spread his blanket on the ground in front of us and got comfortable too. As they began to explode, Lilya was amazed. The loud noises didn't seem to bother her at all. She loved the wonderful colors that appeared with each bang. As we all sat watching (more Lilya than the fireworks), it began to rain. That didn't seem to bother us. We stayed right where we were until the display was over. It was as if we all knew that it would be the only time we would share the experience.

Today, we celebrated our first holiday with the quadruplets. It was so nice to prove to myself that we are still able to do things like we've done in the past...it just takes a little more work (and a lot more packing) to be able to leave the house! The quads and I headed down to meet Lilya (she had spent the night with Papaw Tim), and have lunch with my dad and his family. Lilya was able to go to the parade and celebrate this beautiful day with aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and her newest brothers and sister. Oh how I wish it could have been a trip to New Mexico, and even more that I could sit with Grandma, Mom and Donnie to watch fireworks on the front lawn.

I am grateful for the memories that I have, and even more grateful for those that are yet to be made! I hope everyone enjoys their family and friends today! God Bless the USA and all who live here!

Home Sweet Home

It's tough to keep up with the blog when all you want to do is watch your new little ones. We were able to bring home Benjamin, Jaylyn, and Harrison on Thursday, June 16th. It was tough to leave the NICU that day with only three of the four kiddos. I knew that Oscar was in good hands though, so we came home and began to adjust to this new life style. This past Friday, July 1st, we were able to bring home baby Oscar, and make our family complete. I am grateful for the technology that we have today that has allowed us to bring our baby boy home. Oscar has SVT's which causes his heart to race, so he has come home on a monitor that will alarm us if this happens. He is on a medicine called Digoxin, and is responding well, but he is also growing quickly. I am thankful that we have a way of knowing if he medicine is not doing its job. He is expected to outgrow this condition within the first year of his life. We have lots of appointments coming up, so stay tuned for updates and survival tips for traveling with so many newborns!

Almost to the Feeding and Growing Stage

Oscar after he got the iv out of his belly button


Oscar wearing clothes

Jaylyn practicing with a big girl binky

Harrison

Benjamin

The babies are doing great! They have all been gaining weight, and it looks like they will be starting bottles within the next few days. Oscar has had a few episodes called SVT's where his heartrate jumps up to 300. This was very scary, and the last time, they put in an iv to give him some medicine he now gets on a regular basis. We are hoping and praying that this is something that he will just grow out of. He had an EKG, and everything came back normal, so they really can't give us a reason as to why it is happening. Harrison is the only other one that has had any problems. Of course we couldn't get away with no reflux problems. He has had some episodes where he spits up and gets a little choked on it. Sometimes he is able to resolve it on his own, and other times, the nurses will have to help him. We are very familiar with this since Lilya did the same thing when she was little. The doctors said it is very common, and he should outgrow it...hopefully sooner than later. Benjamin and Jaylyn are just feeding and growing. Jaylyn is always so alert when I'm holding her. She keeps her eyes fixed on me only to go cross eyed every now an then from staring too long. Benjamin, on the other hand, sleeps while I'm holding him. He seems so content and cozy.

Already Famous

I feel bad that I am having trouble keeping up with the blog right now. It is so easy to just post quick little updates on Facebook, so that is what I do most of the time. I have gone down to the hospital every day since I've come home, and it makes it very difficult to get anything else done. I am starting to feel back to "normal" from the c-section, and that is making it easier to get around.
view
Yesterday, our Fox 59 news interview aired. It was so wonderful to see the babies make their grand appearance on t.v. What I loved most was that the interview was taped last Wed., so I could already see the changes and progress that the babies have achieved in just 5 short days. I'm just sure that they are going to be ready to come home before we know it. You can watch our interview at Fox 59.com in the female focus segments!

Enjoy!

The Quads are here!

You might notice that up until this point, the blog has been about Baby Lilya. Well, Baby Lilya is no longer the baby, she is now the big sister! We welcomed her brothers, Oscar James, Benjamin Ryne and Harrison Kerry along with their sister, Jaylyn Rae on Saturday, May 14th at 9:41, 9:42, 9:42 and 9:43. I have spent my entire pregnancy blogging on a caring bridge site, and now decided that I should continue the journey here.
I am now home from the hospital for the first time in over 3 weeks (2 1/2 on bedrest). While it feels so good to be home, it was very hard to leave the hospital without the babies. Here are some things that I had to continually remind myself:

• I have a 2 1/2 year old at home that needs me as well


• All four babies are doing great, and are right on target of where they need to be


• They are getting the best care around from the nurses and staff at St. Vincent


• I can call or visit the hospital 22 out of 24 hours in a day


• They will be home before we know it, so I should rest while I have the chance

I am so lucky to have the reassurance and support from so many friends and family members too!

I am going to keep things pretty current right now for the sake of time, and I'll go back later to explain more of our story.

For now, like I said, all babies are doing great. Harrison is the only one on oxygen right now, and it is just the canuel (sp). He is still breathing room air with just a little support. They all have been taken out from under the lights which means for the moment their jaundice levels are down. Yesterday, they increased each baby's food intake, and while I never thought I'd be this happy over the news, everyone had a poopy diaper!

I can't wait to check in and see the progress that we are making today!