2 months old!

Yes, believe it or not, the babies turned 2 months old yesterday! They are growing and changing so much every day, though, that it seems they've been around much longer than that. I wish I had the time to post more often, but since I don't, here are a few pics along with some quick tidbits about each baby:

Isaac doing what he does best: eating!

Isaac is a bright-eyed and alert little cuddler. However, he's been having a rough time over the past week. Not only has he developed some baby acne, but also it seems that the soy formula made his reflux and gassiness even worse (we now have him on Alimentum, a hypoallergenic formula). Despite his digestive issues, Isaac has succeeded in overtaking Jude to become our big boy: At the boys' 2-month check-up on Monday, Isaac weighed 10 lb. 3 oz.! He is definitely our most demanding eater, and I think he's probably the only thing keeping the rest of the kids from sleeping through the night at this point. He's getting better, though: Last night he (and, therefore, everyone else) went from 8pm to 3:30am between feedings!

Jude snoozing on a Boppy
(froggy cover made by his great-aunt Priscilla!)

Jude is much quieter than Isaac, taking in everything around him (especially the TV!) with his big, serious eyes. He is a very sweet, laidback little boy who only fusses when we forget to give him his gas drops on time. Jude is the same length as Isaac but weighs "only" 9 lb. 6 oz. (probably because he takes forever to eat, usually falling asleep as soon as the bottle hits his mouth and remaining dead to the world until you finally give up). Because the pediatrician detected a slight murmur in his heart on Monday, Ted is taking him to get an echocardiogram tomorrow. The doctor told us that it's more than likely not a problem, so we're just waiting to see the test results before getting worried.

Lucia living up to the claim on her sleeper: so pretty!

Lucia is our princess. She has a dimple in her cheek and loves to look at the baby in the mirror. Lucia thrives on praise and is overall a very patient and pleasant little girl, but make no mistake: She knows what she wants and how she wants it. Whenever anyone tries to force her eat more, she gags dramatically and sometimes even brings everything back up. The spitting up hasn't impacted her weight too badly, though: At her weight check last week, she weighed 7 lb. 8 oz. We're not sure why she's lagging behind her brothers, but the pediatrician isn't worried since her weight is within normal range for her adjusted age of 2 weeks.

Dahlia on her knees
(is she praying ... or begging her daddy for mercy while he burps her?)

Dahlia has been growing furiously and has almost caught up to her sister: At the girls' weight check, she weighed 7 lb. 4 oz. Dahlia is strong and very squirmy; she is happiest when we can help her sit up or stand like a big girl. She gets so frustrated with being a baby that I would not be surprised if she is the first to crawl, stand, and walk. Like her sister, she has a dimple, and her eyes are always smiling. I can't wait to see her (or any of the babies, for that matter) smile for real! I wonder if any of them will have their daddy's beautiful smile ...

Proud daddy with his brood
(left to right: Isaac, Dahlia, Lucia, and Jude)

Lack of sleep = sick mommy

Yep, I'm sick. It started with a sore throat on Monday night, and things went downhill from there (runny nose, sneezing, watery eyes, achiness, etc.). I went to the doctor yesterday hoping for some heavy-duty meds to get me well in record time but, since I don't have a fever, he just prescribed an antihistamine and told me to get plenty of rest (yeah, right!). I am really hoping I didn't contaminate the kids before realizing that this was more than just an allergy attack, especially since our insurance did not approve them for the all-important RSV shot (believe it or not, the babies would have been covered if they'd been born at 32 weeks, which means that we are basically being penalized for making it as far as I did!).

We certainly don't need another source of discomfort for the babies. In the past couple of weeks, all of them have exhibited signs of reflux to some degree, including spitting up the entire contents of their stomachs, arching their backs, gagging, and/or having difficulty sleeping. This condition is not unusual for preemies (sometimes the valve between the esophagus and the stomach doesn't close properly), but combined with their pre-existing gassiness, it's contributed to an unusual amount of fussiness. We've switched to a soy formula and placed wedges in the cribs to keep the babies' heads elevated while sleeping, but since these measures haven't completely solved the problem, we started them on Zantac tonight. Hopefully this will help them keep their food (and stomach acid) down so that they can be more comfortable.

I don't really have anything to complain about, though: The big news is that the babies have been sleeping for two 5-hour stretches at night for about a week now. Here's hoping that they make it to 6 hours in the near future!

Happy due date!

When I found out I was pregnant, I thought I might have a Valentine's baby. Little did I know then that by February 9 I'd have four nearly 7-week-old "newborns." If I had any energy, I'd write a longer post about what the past few weeks have been like. As it is, though, you'll have to settle for just a small glimpse of the joy these babies have brought to our family since their Christmas Eve arrival:

Abuelita Joanna holding the quads for the first time
(left to right: Lucia, Jude, Dahlia, and Isaac)

1-month check-up: Jude and Dahlia

On Monday, Ted and I took the "younger" kids in for round two of the quads' 1-month appointments. Once again, we were very happy with the babies' progress: Jude now weighs 7 lb. 6 oz., and Dahlia is at 6 lb. 3 oz. (way to go, little girl!). The doctor said that they are all are gaining about an ounce a day at this point, which means that Isaac and Lucia are probably neck-and-neck with their siblings in the weight department.

It's so amazing to see how quickly the quads are growing and developing. In the past week, the boys have moved on to newborn diapers, and both the boys and girls have started outgrowing their preemie clothes! They're also starting to stay awake longer, which means that we've been trying out new things like activity mats and tummy time. Some of the kids (the girls) enjoy these activities more than others (the boys):



We'll see if the boys do a little better tomorrow during the quads' television debut. That's right: Fox 59 will be here live from 7 to 9am to do a story on us! Fortunately, my cousin Tiff (who contacted the station) and my mom (who coincidentally happens to be in town) will be here to help us out. Keep your fingers crossed that everyone behaves!