Day 3 and counting

Yep, it's day 3 and I am still on the mag pump. I didn't sleep very well last night, so I napped most of the morning and plan to nap some more this afternoon (one of the perks of being on bedrest!). Dr. S came in a few hours ago (for about 2 nanosececonds—I counted), and all he said was that my uterus seems to be calmer and we'll see how I do over the weekend. The nurse came in later to expand on that, saying that I'll definitely need to be on the mag for at least 24 hours after my last steroid injection (which I had at 11am today) and then, once they decide to take me off the mag, I'll need to stay an additional couple of days for observation. So according to my calculations, the best-case scenario has me going home Monday at the earliest (although I am not holding my breath for that to happen).

In fun news, I had an ultrasound yesterday afternoon to check the babies' heart tones (they say this will be a daily occurrence while I'm here). The resident who performed the scan was pleasantly surprised at how "big and beautiful" my 25-week quads are, and when I told her their 23-week weights, she was quite impressed (yay for my overachieving children!). She noted that the babies are very active and was glad to see that they are practicing their breathing as they should. I don't have any pictures to post, but at today's ultrasound I will try to remember to ask whether the hospital's machine has the capability to burn the images to a CD (I remembered today that I stashed one in my purse before leaving home, just in case).

The best thing that's happened so far today is that I have been granted bathroom privileges (no more bedside commode, woohoo!). And the nurse is hoping that I will be allowed to take a shower tomorrow (they let me get up to wash at the sink this morning, but it's just not the same). But now I need to lie back; the nurse just informed me that I've had six contractions in the last half-hour. RATS!!!

Quick update

My doctor (Dr. S) came to see me this afternoon, just after I got my steroid shot, and asked, "You know why we're torturing you, don't you?" He stressed that once labor gets going, the momentum is very hard to stop, so we have to put the brakes on it now, while it's in its early stages. He also told me that we need to get my uterus completely quiet before I can go home—and he said that that might not happen for several more days (boo!). The time estimates for a discharge date seem to get longer and longer, but I am glad that I and my babies are being so well taken care of. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes you have been sending our way today!

In the hospital

Well, after 2 uneventful weeks of the doctor saying I was "doing awesome," I somehow ended up in the hospital all of a sudden yesterday. The trouble started in the morning when the nurse called to tell me that I'd registered 10 contractions in an hour. I gave myself an extra bolus of terbutaline and remonitored; doing that cut my contraction count in half, but I was still over my threshold of four. I remonitored again in the afternoon—same story: five contractions in an hour. That's when the nurse called to tell me that the doctor wanted me to come to the hospital.

Ted brought me to triage, where they put me on a contraction monitor for over an hour. When they saw that I was still contracting every 5 to 6 minutes, they decided to admit me for overnight observation. Once I got to my room, I found out that the doctor wanted to put me on a magnesium sulfate pump to "wipe out" my contractions. So they hooked me up and I prepared to be miserable. Fortunately, I tolerated the prescribed dose very well; the only side effect I experienced was that I felt very hot. We turned the air down and got a fan, and I was fine for the rest of the night (although Ted just about froze to death—sorry, honey!).

This morning I am having contractions every 10 minutes or so, which is better than yesterday but still not great. The resident told me that sometime today they will give me a steroid shot to accelerate development of the babies' lungs. They say it's just a precaution, but the nurse did mention that they give the shot to women who have a very good chance of delivering in the next few days. It's scary because I am not feeling any pain or anything different, yet they are telling me that these babies could come at 25 weeks and 3 days.

Please pray with us that I can keep these babies cooking for at least 3 more weeks. Thanks to a visit from my mom last weekend, the nursery is ready to go, but just about everything else (including those four little bodies) is not!

Shrinking spaces and two sweet faces

Our little Fab Four have increasingly been making their presence known during the past couple of weeks, making it feel like an air popper is constantly running inside my belly. In fact, about a week ago Baby C kicked hard enough for Ted to feel baby movement for the first time, which was pretty exciting for both of us. And on Monday I was actually able to feel a body part (head? heel? elbow?) when I pressed on the top of my belly!

At Tuesday's 23-week ultrasound, I found out why I've been so much more aware of the babies lately. The tech determined that they now weigh 1 lb. 7 oz., 1 lb. 5 oz., 1 lb. 2 oz., and 1 lb. 3 oz. (A to D), which is just over 5 pounds combined (up from less than 3 pounds at my 20-week ultrasound). To further confirm the babies' significant growth, the nurse said that my belly has now surpassed full-term size (37 weeks) by nearly 2 weeks. It must be getting crowded in there!

I also got to see more 4-D images of two of the babies. Here is a video of Baby B, who let us have a good, long look at his cute little face:

And here's Baby C (she had her arms in a very dramatic pose and refused to move them so that we could get a better look at her):

Babies A and D acted bashful and turned around every time we trained the camera on them. The ultrasound tech said that we'd try to get 4-D images again next week (when Ted will be with me), so hopefully I'll have more videos (or at least stills) to share at that time. I am anxious to get my first look at Baby A, and I would like to see how much Baby D has changed since the 20-week mark.

Incidentally, the round-the-clock terbutaline hasn't entirely gotten rid of the contractions, but it's definitely helping: I haven't had more than four an hour since I began the therapy. And the initial side effects have subsided except for when I get a bolus; this extra-high dose is delivered every six hours and drives my pulse up to about 120 beats per minute, often making me feel weak, shaky, and short of breath for a half-hour or more. My doctor says that this spike is normal and I shouldn't worry unless my pulse reaches 125 or higher. Otherwise, things are looking good: I have no swelling, my blood pressure is staying nice and low, and I have no protein in my urine. My body's just gotta keep this up for at least 5 more weeks!

Contractions, be gone!

At yesterday's 22-week appointment, I unexpectedly got to hear the babies' heartbeats for the first time. When I reacted to the sound, the ultrasound tech laughed and said she always forgets that moms of multiples miss out on listening to the heartbeats. I got to hear only a couple of seconds' worth for each baby, but it was long enough for me to notice that each one has a distinct rhythm. Even after all this time, I still can't believe that there are five hearts beating inside of my body!

After the ultrasound, the nurse got out the measuring tape and determined that my belly is measuring at 36 weeks—that's 4 weeks larger than I was measuring just a week ago! This could explain why I suddenly started to experience so many contractions last week; with this huge uterus, my body thinks it's time to get these babies out of here. In fact, when the doctor saw how many contractions I'd registered over the weekend, he decided to take me off the Procardia and start me on something a little more hard core: a terbutaline pump. The pump is about the size of a beeper and delivers the terbutaline (an asthma medication that has been shown to prevent preterm labor by decreasing contractions) straight into my leg muscle via a thin, flexible tube. I get a low dose around the clock, with a big dose (called a "bolus") being delivered every six hours. It makes me really weak and shaky, but the nurse said that these side effects should abate after a couple of days.

The other big news to come out of yesterday's appointment is that the doctor told me that I needed to quit working, even from home. To help keep my uterus quiet, I am to lay on my side as much as possible and avoid any unnecessary stress (these babies make sure I have enough of that as it is). So as of today, I am a woman of leisure—ordered to stay off my feet and lacking the strength or mobility to do anything else anyway! We'll see how long it takes for me to go out of my mind.

Meet our virtual offspring

When Ted and I were first married, we saw one of those machines that morphs two faces together and just couldn't pass up the chance to see what our future kids would look like. Over the years, we've joked about the amusing results, and now, in a matter of weeks, we're finally going to see how accurate the machine's predictions were!

Allow me to introduce to you our kiddie composites (is it wrong to hope that the technology still has a ways to go?):

Good news

The lab results are in, and I don't have preeclampsia! The nurse said that my protein levels were around 250, and they don't start worrying until levels hit the 500 range. Whew!

As for the contractions, they seem to have quieted down. I had only one during my monitoring session this morning, but I did feel several throughout the day. Fortunately, the contractions do not hurt; it just feels like my belly is tightening up and shrinking in on itself for about a minute or so—a very odd sensation, indeed. We'll see how I do over the weekend.

In any case, thanks for all your words of encouragement, as well as your continued prayers for me, the babies, and Ted. They really do make a difference!

A roller-coaster week

My first week of bedrest ended on a high note, with a baby shower thrown by my mother-in-law's friends (don't worry, I had permission from my doctor to attend). I had met most of them only once or twice (several years ago, when I was but a blushing bride), and some I had never met before. The ladies immediately put me at ease, however, with their excitement about the quads, myriad questions about how things are going, and offers to help out when the babies arrive. Ted and I were so surprised by their generosity; it's clear that they must love his mother dearly and we are so thankful that they extended that love to us. The hostesses did a fantastic job and, as you can see, I got another cute cake out of the deal!

Unfortunately, the days following this final baby shower haven't been quite as much fun. At my doctor visit on Tuesday, they found a small amount of protein in my urine. Since this could indicate the onset of preeclampsia (click on the link if you aren't familiar with the condition), the doctor decided to run some additional tests (results should be available tomorrow afternoon). On top of this, I've had contraction monitoring sessions registering five, six, seven, and even eight contractions in the past few days. For this reason, my doctor has put me on Procardia, which is usually used to treat high blood pressure but is also effective at relaxing the uterus. I am not very happy about being on meds already, but I'd rather take a pill than be in the hospital or lose my babies. Hopefully this Procardia will do the trick, and my uterus will stay nice and calm for a few more weeks.

I should be used to the highs and lows by now, but I admit that it's been hard for both Ted and me to balance excitement about the quads and the realities of a high-risk pregnancy. Fortunately, we are a team and we are growing stronger every day. I haven't enjoyed losing my independence (even if I weren't on bedrest, I have no energy and I just plain can't move like I used to), but it's definitely given me a chance to appreciate how much Ted loves me and the babies. I couldn't do this without his help, and I try to let him know every day that I don't take his willing sacrifices of time and energy for granted. I am so blessed to have his support, both physically and emotionally. He is going to be a great dad!

I've just seen a face (or three)

So the reason my doctor appointment was so exciting was that Ted and I unexpectedly got to see 4-D images of three of the babies! They actually looked like morphing gobs of goo most of the time (the ultrasound tech had to fiddle with a bunch of settings in order to get the right angle), but once they were brought into focus, it was so cool to see their little faces.

Without further ado, here is a screencap of Baby B (apparently we were disturbing him so much that he had to cover his ears):


And here's Baby C (the poor thing was getting kicked in the head by her sister most of the time, which is probably why she's frowning):

And finally, here's Baby D (not a great picture, but funny because she's in the process of getting kicked in the face by Baby C—that'll teach her!):

Unfortunately, Baby A was left out because he was too deep in my pelvis to see him clearly. Hopefully we'll have better luck next time.

In case you were curious, the babies weighed in at 14, 11, 11, and 12 ounces (A to D). I won't tell you what the scales read when it was my turn to get weighed, but rest assured that the doctor was very happy with the amount I've gained so far. My 20-week belly is measuring at 30 weeks, and the nurse commented that I am "stretching nicely" (whatever that means). So far I am not having any swelling and my blood pressure remains low, both of which pleased my doctor greatly.

He did warn me, however, that at this stage I will be experiencing contractions on a regular basis. Since I can't feel them yet, I have started using a home contraction monitor for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. (The babies go wild when I wear the monitor; I don't think they are fond of it, but I love it when they move around so much!) If I would ever have four or more contractions within the space of an hour, I would need to go to the hospital for further evaluation.

So my job for the foreseeable future is to stay hydrated and restrict my activity as much as possible in order to keep contractions to a minimum. Although I hate not being able to do anything, it's getting to the point now where it's difficult for me to move much, anyway. I predict that my new 3-month Netflix membership (thanks, Johnny and Holly!) will be getting quite the workout!

Some last hurrahs before bedrest

Perhaps not surprisingly, the days leading up to the 20-week mark have been somewhat of a blur.

It all began on Thursday, when my wonderful coworkers threw me a baby shower pitch-in, complete with Beatles song-themed cupcakes! Despite being fully aware of what wonderful people I work with, I was truly astonished at their generosity and touched at the effort they made to celebrate the upcoming arrival of these babies. It was a perfect excuse to take a break from the daily grind and enjoy each others' company for a while—I mean, where else can you sample a dozen potluck dishes while recounting your favorite toddler bathroom horror stories? Good times.

On Friday, I pretty much cleaned out my cubicle in preparation for a couple of months of working from home—it's amazing to realize how much stuff you use on a daily basis! I said goodbye to some of my pals and extracted promises that they'd visit me while I am on bedrest. Leaving at the end of the day was a very strange experience, knowing that the next time I stepped in those doors I would be a mother of four!

Saturday, we drove to my Grandpa M's house to celebrate his 90th birthday—which my parents flew in for! My aunts had set up a tent in my grandpa's backyard, and he sat enthroned in his motorized chair as dozens of friends and family arrived to offer their birthday wishes. It was a beautiful day for an outdoor party, and I got to see several cousins that I rarely have a chance to spend time with. We'd hoped that all 11 of my grandpa's children would be able to make it, but 9 out of 11 ain't bad!

Unfortunately, all this activity proved to be too much for this pregnant lady, and on Sunday morning I woke up with a racing heart. I stayed in bed all morning, hoping that it would calm down before the afternoon, but no such luck. Despite the fact that I was feeling puny, I had another baby shower to go to! This time it was a family shower, hosted by my awesome cousins Tiffany and Charisa and their mom, Holly. The theme was "Four Peas in a Pod"—check out the adorable cake that Tiff's friend made! I loved it! The lovely hostesses even found favors with four peas in a pod; I was super-impressed by their creativity and resourcefulness. They and the other family members present at the shower blessed me with cute baby outfits and other needed items, and I was again so thankful for the ways people are helping us get ready for the quads.

My parents flew home yesterday after a much-too-short visit, and now that I am on light bedrest, things should be slowing way down for me. The only exception will be my doctor appointments, which will now be occurring weekly rather than every other week. And speaking of doctor visits, I had a rather exciting one this morning. But that post will have to wait until Ted has time to make some scans ... stay tuned!

Reality check

"Think you're big now? You'll start growing even more rapidly in the weeks to come."

This startling (and unintentionally hilarious) bit of information was featured in the latest BabyCenter newsletter to land in my inbox. Believe it or not, I occasionally forget that my pregnancy is not a "normal" one—after all, I've never been pregnant before, so I don't know any better! Fortunately, I have BabyCenter to remind me how freakishly big I already am ... and to terrify me as I contemplate what it will be like to grow even faster than I have been doing for the past 6 weeks or so.

Something else that got my attention this week? The illustration (at right) of what my body should look like at 19 weeks, according to Your Pregnancy Week by Week. Honestly, I don't think I looked much smaller than this lady before I became pregnant! Prepare to be astonished as you compare this drawing to my corresponding "19 weeks" belly shot:

You know, sometimes I just sit here and can't even believe that this is happening to me. I'm so glad that I can (usually) laugh about it!

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!

Manpower and a baby shower

Bedrest is less than 2 weeks away, and the flurry of activity has begun! The busy-ness kicked off on Labor Day weekend, when my family (minus Dad) flew up from Texas to help us get some things in shape while I am still mobile. Although Johnny and Holly were only able to be here for a couple of days, they made a huge impact, helping Ted to transform the guest room into the babies' room within a matter of hours. It seriously would have taken ten times longer without their assistance! Here is the nursery in progress (notice how the cribs barely fit into one shot):

After Johnny and Holly left, my mom stayed on through the end of the week. Her most important accomplishment during this time was to keep me exceedingly well fed with her delicious cooking—not a small feat! Having a full belly definitely helped me sleep better and just feel better overall. Mom was also able to finish up a cross-stitch project to decorate the nursery with (I'll post pictures when we get around to hanging it), and on Wednesday she helped me celebrate the big 3-2 (thanks for sharing her on our birthday, Dad!).

At the tail end of Mom's visit, we attended my first baby shower, which was hosted by a group of my wonderful college friends: (left to right) Amy, Lisa, Becky, Andrea, and Kristen. The girls did an absolutely fantastic job, preparing a lovely spread, coming up with non-cheesy shower activities (thanks, guys!), playing Beatles lullabies, and even finding decorations with four baby faces on them! (The cake replicated the design; isn't it so cute?)

I can't tell you how blessed I felt by the girls' hard work and attention to detail (everything was perfect!), as well as by all the friends from different parts of my life who came together to celebrate the upcoming arrival of these four babies. All of your love and support, plus my family's visit during the past week, mean the world to us. Ted and I truly couldn't do this without you guys!

THANK YOU!!

Surprise!

Yesterday morning I had some strange pains in my belly and back. A couple of hours after they started, I decided to called the doctor. They told me to come to the office in the afternoon so that they could hook me up to a contraction monitor, take a urine sample, measure my blood pressure, etc., to make sure things were all right. When I got there, however, I learned that they were also going to go ahead and do the full scans that I was scheduled to have done on Friday.

I called Ted to tell him that he was going to miss the scans (which were going to measure the babies' heads, abdomens, and femurs), but neither of us thought it was a big deal. As soon as the ultrasound tech came into the examining room, though, she asked, "So are you here to find out what you're having?" I hadn't expected to find out for a couple more weeks! I told her that I would love to know, if she could tell me, so she got to work. Within seconds, she was able to determine the sexes of all four babies!

She gave me a bunch of pictures, but it's hard to make out what exactly they're supposed to be showing, so I won't be posting them. I will, however, reveal our happy news! Without further ado (drumroll, please):

Baby A is a ... BOY!
Baby B is a ... BOY!
Baby C is a ... GIRL!
Baby D is a ... GIRL!

I asked the tech how certain she was, and she said, "I'm 98% sure. I've been in this office 20 years and have only been wrong once." So we feel pretty confident that these boys will stay boys and the girls will stay girls. The tech said that when I have my next full scan (in a month) the babies will be so much bigger that it will be much easier for the untrained eye to see who's what.

Thanks to everyone who voted in the poll; I had fun seeing what the trends were each day (people really thought I was full of boys!). Special props go to Staci, who exercised her sonography skills by examining the ultrasounds in last week's post and determining (correctly) that Baby C was a girl! And a big thank you to Becky, who brought me these pacifiers a few weeks ago in the hopes that we would have an even mix of niños and niñas. Aren't they adorable?

For those who like numbers, I am currently at 16 weeks gestation but am measuring at 27 weeks. Babies A, B, and D weigh about 6 ounces, and Baby C is a little smaller at 5 ounces (the tech says this is nothing to be concerned about). Oh, and the tests showed that I was not having any contractions, did not have a fever, and had normal blood pressure; the pains were probably due to the fact that I've been growing so fast (2 inches in the last 5 days!).

Now it's time to start thinking of some names ...

Drummer boy ... or girl?

After recovering at home for a week, I went back to work on Monday. That morning, as I was walking back to my desk from the copy room, I felt one of the babies move! The sensation was like a very light *thump* from the inside, as if someone had hit a drumskin (my uterus) with a padded drumstick (a foot?). At first I thought the kicker was George (Baby C), but based on the babies' positions on the ultrasound I had yesterday, I am now convinced it was Ringo (Baby D). Quite appropriate, no?

Despite my heightened awareness, I didn't feel any more movement until last night. This time I felt less distinct but more numerous little taps; it kind of felt like little bubbles were popping all across the top of my belly. (And no, I did not have beans for dinner!!) People keep reminding me that I'll soon grow annoyed and uncomfortable with all the gymnastics in my belly, but I am blissfully refusing to let anything lessen the thrill of feeling my babies move for the first time.

Something else I'm getting more excited about is finding out how many of my little drummers are boys and how many are girls. I am not alone in this: "Do you know yet what you're having?" is by far the number-one question I get these days. In fact, interest is so high that a colleague of mine even suggested that I start an office pool! Although I don't plan on doing that, I'd love for people to submit their guesses in the "What's in My Belly?" poll (at right). The nurse says that we should be able to find out what we're having in another 3 to 4 more weeks.

And now for yesterday's 14-week ultrasound pics. It's a good thing that we weren't trying to see the sexes this time since all but one (Baby A, aka John) kept their backs turned to the camera: