A pool, a picnic, and presents!

This weekend we were reunited with my cousin Glenda, who lived with us last summer but spent this summer as an intern in Hawaii. We missed her lots and were thrilled to have her spend a couple of days with us before she begins her (gulp!) senior year in college.

Three things we loved about her visit:

1. SWIMMING ...

Glenda arrived on Friday afternoon, and as soon as the Fab Four had their snack, we loaded them into the Choo Choo for their first trek to the neighborhood pool. Three out of four kids loved the baby pool (Jude tolerated it after initially refusing to get in), no one drowned (despite a couple of accidental dunkings for Isaac and Lucy), and there was only one meltdown (you guessed it: Dahlia didn't want to leave)!

2. REUNIONS ...

On Saturday morning, Glenda accompanied the six of us to our first NICU reunion picnic. The hospital where I delivered the Fab Four holds this event every year so that the wonderful people who cared for these miracle babies can see how everyone has grown since being released from their ward. We were happily surprised to run into some friends as soon as we got to the park, and Glenda snapped this shot of two healthy sets of quads with four very thankful parents:

The Fab Four meet the Murray Crew
(l to r: Isaac, Clark, Henry, and Brooks)

Although it turned out that our kids were too young to enjoy most of the picnic activities, it was still fun to walk around, talk to friends, and just do something different from our usual routine. Before we left, we ran into the kids' two primary care nurses, and Glenda once again stepped in to record a special meeting:

Gretchen and Amanda reunite with the Fab Four

Although Ted and I could have easily handled the outing on our own, it was nice to share the experience with Glenda, who visited the babies in the NICU and spent several months helping us take care of them last year.

And last but not least ...

3. SOUVENIRS!

The first thing Glenda did when she got to the house on Friday was to produce a box of presents. Among the gifts she brought us were four adorable Hawaiian outfits for the kids ... that I totally forgot to have them model while she was here. Oops! Hopefully these pictures, taken after she went home, will make up for my faux pas:

Dahlia and Lucy, in love with their beautiful muumuus

Jude and Isaac, goofing around in their Hawaiian shirt sets

Thanks for making this such a fun weekend, Tia Glenda!

The surprises never end

I am grabbing a spare moment to let everyone know that the quads did not come home today. They came home YESTERDAY, exactly 1 month before their due date! I am guessing the NICU had some triplets on the way or something because it felt like they couldn't get us out of there fast enough.

Anyway, Ted and I were not able to get those last-minute preparations done like we'd hoped to do, nor were we able to enjoy one last dinner out together. However, we were able to buy the minivan, so at least we had a way to get everyone home in one trip! Since quads rarely go home all at the same time, we created quite a spectacle as we left the hospital last night, with even strangers asking if they could take our picture:

Going home!

I have to say that our first night as a family went very well, despite the fact that Ted and I only got about an hour and a half of sleep. A million thanks to my aunt Holly and cousin Tiff who came to spell us for a few hours today so that I could grab a nap and Ted could run to the grocery!

2 weeks old ... and some big news!

Ever since we found out we were having quads, the doctors and just about everyone else told us not to expect the babies to come home until somewhere around their due date (February 9). Things have been going so well, however, that Ted and I knew they would be discharged earlier than that. Even so, we were somewhat unprepared for the choice the nurse practitioner gave us today: We can bring two home on Friday and two on Saturday, or we can bring them all home together on Saturday—a full month before their due date!

After much discussion, I think we're going to choose the latter option and give ourselves another day to get ready for the quads to come home. We have a lot to do, including finally biting the bullet and acquiring a minivan! Fortunately, the babies' room has been ready and waiting for months:

The nursery

The quads will be busy in the next couple of days, too. Hearing screens, car-seat tests, hepatitis B shots, and circumcisions (for the boys, of course) are all on order. Please pray for these little ones as they are subjected to these final tests and procedures, that they may pass with flying colors. Also pray that they will continue to keep up their temps and drink all their bottles so that they do not suffer any setbacks between now and Saturday.

Although we are nervous about what the next few weeks and months hold in store, we are thrilled that our little family will be living together under one roof after just 2 short weeks. We are so thankful for all of the ways in which the Lord has blessed us both throughout this pregnancy and since the babies were born, and we have faith that He will continue to provide for all of our needs. Yay for healthy babies!

Brothers (Jude and Isaac)

Sisters (Dahlia and Lucia)

Weekend update

Time flies when you're not hospitalized: I've been home for a week now, and so much has happened! The babies continue to amaze everyone with how well they're doing, and Ted and I could not be more proud of them. Here's the very latest on the Fab Four:

Isaac was moved to a bassinet on Friday, and he is doing great at keeping his temperature up. He is bottle-feeding about half the volume of his feeds; the rest is going down his tube (he needs to work on that if he is going to come home anytime soon!). I plan to try nursing him tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. Although he usually acts pretty sleepy for us, he was very alert (and forgiving) as I tried my hand at giving him a bath today:

Isaac getting cleaned up by Mom

Lucia was moved to a bassinet on Friday night, but she had to be put back in her isolette today after a post-bath temperature plummet. The nurse says this is normal and nothing to be worried about; they are just putting her back in the isolette to be on the safe side. Like Isaac, she is bottle-feeding about half the volume of her feeds. I tried nursing her yesterday, but she just looked up at me like, "What is this all about?" and then fell sound asleep. Here she is back in the darkness of her isolette:

Lucia snoozing in her isolette

Jude was moved to a bassinet yesterday. His temp today was on the low side of what's desirable, though, so his nurse decided to postpone his bath; we don't want him to go back into the isolette like Lucia did if we can help it! He is bottle-feeding more than half the volume of his feeds; when I tried nursing him a couple of days ago, however, he was only interested for about 5 minutes. Here is one of the few moments today in which his eyes were open:

Jude pretending to take a bottle from Dad

Dahlia is still in an isolette, but the nurse thinks she'll be able to come out in the next day or two. Although she still doesn't have much fat on her for insulation, it's clear that she won't stay skinny for long: She is bottle-feeding all her feeds (which means no more tube in her nose!), and she is putting on more weight each day than any of the others. I tried nursing her the same day I nursed Jude, and she fed for close to 20 minutes! I think our little runt looks pretty serious about showing up her big brothers and sister:

Dahlia sleeping in Mom's arms

And last but not least, behold the picture of the reunited quads that I promised to post last time. Happy New Year!

The Fab Four
(taken by the night nurses on December 30, 2008)

1 week old

It's amazing what can happen in the span of 7 days: Believe it or not, all of our little ones are off their CPAPs, no longer need phototherapy, and are feeding regularly (which means no more IVs!). The nurses put them all together last night for their first picture together, and today they gave us a print to bring home. As soon as we get it scanned, I will post it here, but I couldn't wait to share the good news!

Of course, this progress leads to the inevitable question of when the babies will be able to come home. According to the nurses, each baby first has to be weaned from his or her isolette (incubator). This is accomplished gradually, by first dressing the babies in clothes (check), then adding a blanket (check), and then turning down the temperature in their isolettes over the course of several days. Once it is determined that the babies can maintain their temperatures without help, they will be moved to open cribs (and that will be our cue that a homecoming is imminent). The babies must also be either bottle or breastfeeding at all feeds (right now they still have feeding tubes in their noses, which are used to fill their bellies when they are too tired to suck), be gaining weight, have no apnea (which none of them have, anyway), and pass a car-seat test (that is, be able to sit up in a car seat for the length of their trip home without experiencing any dips in heart or respiration rates).

Based on this info, I would bet that our boys will be the first to leave the NICU (no wimpy white boy syndrome here—I guess it pays for their mommy to be half Peruvian!), and the girls won't be far behind. Although the prospect of being in charge of these four tiny beings is admittedly scary, we are looking forward to settling into life as a family. For now, though, we must be content with precious moments like these in the NICU today:

Ted holding Isaac for the first time and Suzy holding Jude for the first time

Isaac going a little cross-eyed for the camera

Lucia being held by Dad for the first time

Jude giving a big YAWN! for the camera

Dahlia being held by Mom for the first time

First quad pics

I apologize for the long silence on my end: The last few days have been action-packed with family and NICU visits, moving up to the post-partum unit, filling out lots of paperwork, talking to nurses and doctors galore, learning to pump, etc., etc.—not to mention that I wasn't even able to access the hospital's wireless network anyway all day on Saturday, which was my last day there. Yep, I'm home!!!! I feel like a prisoner who's been freed—a very tired prisoner who hasn't walked in 3 months, is recovering from a C-section, and still has a huge uterus that makes me look heavily pregnant (hopefully the pumping will help it shrink back down to a manageable size; Ted asked me what I would say if someone asks me when I'm due, and I told him I'd just give the quads' real due date of February 9, ha!).

But enough about me—I know that what you guys are really interested in are the babies! Without further ado, here are some first pics, along with the info that everyone's been asking for:

Isaac Nehiel

Isaac was Baby B in the womb. When he was born, he weighed 4 lb. 11 oz. and was 19 inches long. His first name means "laughter" in Hebrew, and he gets his middle name (pronounced "nay-yell") from my dad. He never required extra oxygen and was the first to come off his CPAP. I got to take his temperature (under his arm, whew!), change his tiny diaper, and give him his first bottle on Friday. After that, the doctor determined that his bilirubin levels were elevated (translation: he had jaundice), so the nurse put him in a blindfold and trained the phototherapy lights on him (but I just found out that they turned them off today, yay!). We think he really looks like Ted and can't wait to get to the hospital this afternoon so that we can see his cute little face again!

Lucia Celeste

Lucia was Baby C in the womb. When she was born, she weighed 4 lb. 5 oz. and was 17 inches long. Her first name (pronounced "loo-see-ah") means "light," and her middle name means "heavenly" (yes, there's a Beatles connection here—can you guess it?). Celeste also means "light blue" in Spanish and is the color of the Uruguayan flag. She never required extra oxygen and came off the CPAP on Saturday only to be put back on after her first bath (I guess the experience got her all excited or something). I got to hold her on Christmas while she was still on her CPAP, and then she went under the phototherapy lights, so we didn't get to see her face until a couple of days ago, when we happened to visit while she was taking a break from the blindfold. She is super-cute, and so far I think she also favors Ted. Now that she's on CPAP again, though, we're not sure when we'll get a good look at her next.

Jude Wesley

Jude was Baby A in the womb. When he was born, he was our big boy at 4 lb. 15 oz., and he measured 18 inches long. His first name is a direct reference to a Beatles song, and he shares his middle name with Ted, Ted's dad, and Ted's grandpa. He never required extra oxygen and is now off his CPAP, although he is usually blindfolded due to jaundice and phototherapy. Ted got to hold him the day after Christmas, I got to give him his first bottle yesterday, and we narrowly missed being able to give him his first bath. His hair is a little darker than Isaac and Lucia's, and his face is a little wider, so maybe he looks like my side of the family? Whoever he looks like, he is an adorable, alert little guy and I think he will be a lot of fun when he gets a little stronger!

Dahlia Solis

Dahlia was Baby D in the womb (but the fact that her name also starts with a D is a coincidence). She is the runt of the litter and was responsible for the doctor deciding to go ahead and deliver the quads before we got to 34 weeks (which would have been today). When she was born, she weighed 3 lb. 9 oz. and was 17 inches long. Her first name (pronounced "dowl-ya") is the name of a flower that Mom grew in our front yard in Uruguay, and her middle name (pronounced "so-lees") is the beach in Uruguay where my family used to vacation when I was growing up. She is the only quad who's needed extra oxygen, but it's only been a small amount (regular room air is 20% oxygen, and she's been given between 28% and 40%). She hasn't yet been taken off her CPAP, but the nurse practitioner just called to say that that might happen in the next day or so. We hear that she's a feisty little girl, and we can hardly wait to see what she looks like under all those tubes and the blindfold!

Everyone is feeding regularly now and has been gaining in grams, although not enough yet to impact the pounds and ounces. The docs say that if they keep this up, they should all be able to get their IVs out soon. And do you know what that means? Quad pics where they're all together!

We are so blessed!!!!

A week of firsts

In the past week, I've gotten to experience a lot of "fun" things about pregnancy for the first time. Lovely stretch marks have begun to appear, my right hip has decided to randomly give out on me when I stand up, and on Sunday I woke up in the middle of the night with one of the worst charley horses I've ever had!

More importantly, however, Ted and I also got to visit our hospital's NICU for the first time last week. It was a far cry from the brightly lit beehive of activity that I'd expected: The lights were dim, sounds were muted, and the nurses seemed relaxed and friendly. I'm sure it would have been a different picture if we'd walked in during an emergency, but it was nevertheless comforting to see in what a soothing environment our babies will spending the first days and perhaps weeks of their lives. The nurse in charge also took us into the little room off the C-section rooms, where the babies will be stabilized directly after birth, and she explained a little bit about all the things the nurses will be checking and administering to the babies during that critical time.

Hearing the nurse talk about preemies and the things they have to go through depending on how many weeks they're in the womb before being born was a great reminder to Ted and me about the importance of making it to 34 weeks. According to the nurse, babies born at that stage can usually breathe room air on their own, which means they don't need to be on ventilators or CPAP machines. They also have usually developed the suckling reflex by then, which means that they can feed from breast or bottle instead of via feeding tubes. And, of course, being born at 34 weeks generally means less time in the NICU before going home.

So let's keep praying for a December 29 birthday ... 15 more weeks to go!