Remember how we used to "lock down" for RSV season so that our premature babies wouldn't run the risk of getting sick? Yeah, I'm kinda wishing for those days right about now!
Just since school started, we've dealt with colds, vomiting, impetigo, more colds, more vomiting, four simultaneous cases of strep throat, and—as if that weren't enough—last week Lucy was hospitalized for pneumonia!
Thankfully, she had to stay only a little more than 24 hours, as she was not
exactly a pleasant patient (despite her sparkly dress and unicorn
sticker):
With our first trip to the hospital since the NICU behind us, I was hoping for a little break from illness. But not long after the kids got to school today, I got a call from the nurse, saying that Dahlia had a temperature of 101.7. At my mom's urging, I took Dahlia straight from school to the doctor. Diagnosis: strep!
That's what my abuelito told me when I called him almost two years ago, crying because we'd learned that Isaac's failure to start talking pointed to more than just a speech delay. In fact, our state's early intervention program had determined him to also be delayed in the areas of social skills, fine motor skills, and sensory integration. He'd qualified for speech, developmental, and occupational therapy, and we had no idea whether these interventions would even help.
The entire next year was hard. It was hard not knowing what exactly was going on with Isaac, and it was hard to see his siblings' development progress by leaps and bounds while he (and we) struggled on a daily basis. Even as I was thankful for an otherwise healthy child, I mourned what I considered the loss of everything I didn't even know I had envisioned for him.
But even in the midst of my doubts, God has been faithful. He's led us to some wonderful therapists and teachers, we've gotten a few answers, and today—after a lot of hard work, a lot of tears, and a lot of prayer—we have so much hope. Especially since Isaac began to read, we have seen significant progress in both his communication and his social skills, and his sensory issues have greatly improved, as well. So much so, in fact, that this semester he was able to join his siblings in the integrated classroom at the developmental preschool that they all attend!
Naturally, we will continue to watch Isaac's development in the years to come, and we are anxious to do whatever we can to help him catch up to his siblings. There are hard days in which I despair of this ever happening, but—more and more—these are balanced out by so many great moments in which Isaac thrills me with all the new things that he says and does. It's taken me a while, but I now realize that my abuelitowas right: This boy was meant to bring me joy!
Thank you, Lord, for the healing balm of Isaac's giggles!
One of the keys to raising multiples is organization. And one of the keys to my organization is color-coding. At first the system was meant to help different caregivers remember which pacifier or sleepsack or sippy cup (or whatever) belonged to whom. But, as the kids have grown, having an assigned color has made it easy for each of them to readily identify his or her own backpack, toothbrush, washcloth, MunchieMug, and so much more. The kids enjoy having a sense of ownership over something (a feeling that's hard to come by when you're a quadruplet!), and I love how color-coding eliminates the need to argue over whose stuff is whose: If it's [insert color], it's gotta belong to [insert kid]!
One of the downsides to the kids getting older, though, is that some things just don't come in multiple colors anymore. I was recently lamenting this fact on Facebook when a fellow quad mom gave me a great tip: Just use different colors of electrical tape to label identical items—genius!
As a direct result of that conversation, I'm now the proud owner of four rolls of plastic tape, perfect for color-coding mock Crocs (the kids all wear different shoe sizes):
And Radio Flyer tricycles (adjusted for each rider's height):
Now I don't have to sort out which pink shoes belong to which girl, or which red trike belongs to which boy. The kids just grab their colors and go. What a time saver!
Something I know I won't have to label with my fancy new tape, though, are the kids' preschool folders. This year I tipped off their new teacher to our color-coding system before school started, and she gave each kid a take-home folder in "their" color (or as close to it as possible). The kids are tickled pink—way to score bonus points, Miss M!
Today Ted and I loaded the kids into the van and took them to school to meet their teachers. That's right, I said their teachers. Believe it or not, the Fab Four are starting preschool tomorrow!
Couldn't be more excited about walking into school!
We never thought we'd be able to pay for four kids to attend preschool, but we started considering our options last year when we realized that Isaac would benefit from participating in our school district's early childhood education program. As we expected, he did qualify for free placement and, because we feel it's so important for our kids to have a shared school experience, our parents are making it possible for Lucy, Jude, and Dahlia to attend this semester as "typical peers."
This means that, four afternoons a week, Isaac will work on his kindergarten-readiness and social skills (as well as receive speech and occupational therapy) in the "developmental" classroom, while his siblings attend the "community" classroom next door (where half of the kids are on target with their development and half of the kids need a little extra help). Win-win!
Look at these big kids!
Many people have been asking me what I'll do with all my free time now. Unfortunately, I won't actually be getting that much of a break since school time is just replacing nap time. Still, I know that the structured time apart will be good for all of us, and I can't wait to see the kids, especially Isaac, flourish in their new environment. It's going to be a whole new world!
