Our Schedule!

Another busy day here :) Busy is good, now if I had called it a crazy day that is another story!!

So many people ask how I do what I do... which I always kind of find silly because I truly don't know how to respond. Honestly, because I don't even know how I do it. There are days I am on point and everything happens at the right time... everyone gets dressed... everyone naps... everyone is easy. Then there are days I want to hide in the bathroom every few hours. No one makes it out of pajamas, some nap and some don't, dinner isn't even a thought process and I just feel like I have failed.

Those are the days that I have to steadfastly remind myself of one of my main reasons for staying home (aside from the fact that I could never earn enough money to put my kids in daycare). I am building relationships with my kids and building the beginnings of the lives they are going to lead outside this house some day. So what if A and C relish in the fact that they can get their pants off and walk around in their shirt and diaper.... Seriously.... I'm already tired of having the "keep your pants on" conversation!!

Back to the topic I started this post for... Our Schedule! Before the Quads we (with the exception of my husband) were barely clinging to the definition of routine and a far cry from being scheduled. After having quadruplets and a newborn in the course of 11 months, we had to change.

This is what my perfect day looks like. Not every day works like clockwork, but most do. Most have to for my sanity. There are a million diaper changes in the mix here along with endless housework and laundry... but why muddy the nice neat schedule with details?!

8:15 -	I wake up and make a cup of coffee… always done first. Then make the milk for the Quads and a snack for Munch who is up already and eating breakfast with Angel.
8:30 -	Get Quads and R up. They have milk, I have my coffee and nurse R while we watch PBS.
9:30 -	Breakfast - usually cereal or a bread I have made the night before and water or juice. On the weekends Superman makes pancakes and eggs :)
10:15-	First Nap time for Quads. I try to use this time for doing something with Munch, if he is not in preschool that day.
11:30-	Prepare lunches.
12:15-	Quads up and lunch time for all. Except me... I eat when everyone else goes down for afternoon nap...or that is the idea at least, whether or not it happens is another story.
2:15 -	NAP TIME FOR ALL LITTLES! With the exception of R who is not on a set nap schedule yet. Usually she thinks it is a great idea to be up when others fall asleep.
4:30 -	Everyone up and snack time
6:30 -	Dinner
7:30	Bath time
8:30	Bedtime :)

XO

Fast forward - R was born

I wish I could be better about writing here... to catch the daily/weekly occurrences of our lives because it passes so quickly. So incredibly quickly!!

To update big things first - as most people know - we had baby number SEVEN back at the end of Feb! She came a month early, but is perfect just the same. R's labor started (as all of my children's labors did) in the middle of the night. My poor husband!! I woke up at 3:30 and the contractions got closer and stronger. Knowing that I had a scheduled C-section, I truly didn't know what I was looking for with when I should call the Dr or go to the hospital. I finally called at 6, because if you know me at all, you wouldn't be surprised that I didn't want to bother the on call dr until it was a "reasonable" time...

They had me head into the hospital. I truly believed they were going to send me home. I had been in and out of the hospital so many times with the Quads and a few times with R too, that I just don't expect to stay.

After monitoring me for a few hours, the contractions got stronger and closer together and I was progressing into full labor, so they told me that they were going to make me the first c-section of the day. Not what I had expected. They sent in a nurse to explain to me that because the baby was 36 weeks, she might need help breathing and could end up in the NICU for a few days or weeks. Nothing I didn't know how to handle, but it still worried me... Our NICU stay at Saint Peter's was an amazing time and a blessing - I still miss their nurses all the time. But I didn't expect it with R. 

Fast forward - R was born at 11:31am at 6lbs3oz. Healthy, strong and with two cute little dimples!! My first thought when I saw her was that she  looked completely different from our other children.

I had a hard few hours of recovery as I got very sick and had my hubby worried and the nurses watching me closely. Finally my body started kicking into gear and, aside from a spinal headache, my recovery in the hospital was fantastic... I love my hospital stays with my babies... I guess I'm not the norm for that, but I do.

Catch up for the rest of our crew:

A is going through some physical therapy for gross motor movement. She is stiff as a board and it is effecting her ability to balance, which effects her ability to walk/stand/etc. She also needs some speech therapy for expressive talking. Her problem solving/critical thinking skills are AMAZING though and she can usually find her way into anything she wants. She is finally starting to come out of her shell too! She is one of our least picky eaters usually, but lately only wants protein and fruit and literally demands more when she runs out.

B is little mommy and a verbal copycat extraordinaire! You can see the wheels turning in her head to figure out how to say something and normally she can get pretty close. She loves to wipe things down and clean up things. She also is great at telling her siblings to "sit down" if they stand during meals or when C makes her way to standing on the Mickey chair! She is cruising, but very hesitant to walk. She is generally a cautious little girl. She loves most food, but will throw what she doesn't want right on the floor and she makes sure you are looking...

C is a firecracker or 10. She has a huge personality which runs both hot and cold depending on the millisecond. She was the first of the Quads to walk and has been for about a month now. She is like a bulldozing puppy... she has no clue personal space exists and will just walk right over to you - regardless of who is in your lap or who has their diaper being changed in front of you - and climb right in your lap. She is our pickiest eater but is getting better about eating messy food.

X is a big teddy bear of a boy! He is SOLID... he is going to be doing physical therapy along with A for gross motor skills. He is usually easy going, but totally plays the pity card when he wants to be snuggled. He is our best eater and I'm not entirely convinced he even pays attention to what he is eating... it just all gets shoved into his mouth... and like a game of jacks... grab as much as you can!!

Munch is doing well and loving preschool. He is def a two year old crazy busy boy.. I just need to learn how to harness that energy. Learning what to do with it daily. He is such a sweetheart though and makes everyone crack up!! He's a nut!!

Angel is enjoying her summer. She helped out at a VBS last week and loved it. Angel is great with kids and I can totally see her getting into that as a profession of some sort. She is my makeup guru and the one I turn to when I need advice in that field. She's a great teenager in my book :)

My Superman is.... Superman... working ridiculous hours and coming home and helping take care of the kids at night... then turning on his computer and working again until about midnight... It has been hard, but we are managing. I really don't know how he does it, but he does it with a smile of his face usually. I am so grateful for this strength and stamina!!!

Is that everyone?! I think so... aside from me. I don't eat enough... I don't sleep enough... so things haven't changed at all for me!! All of my kiddos sleep through the night (R has since she was 2 months old - can you say LUCKY) and I still am up until 2 or 3am some nights. Just in my blood, I guess... That and I AM ALONE!!! How can I willingly use that time to sleep when I can be up listening to NOTHING and doing NOTHING!!!?!?! Sleep is overrated anyways.

I am not editing this - so take it as it is. Editing is overrated too...

XOXO

Yes, like a circus...

As I stand here awake at 4am (par for the course this time around) I realized I had finally hit 36 weeks. Only 3 weeks to go until our scheduled C-Section on March 18th. I am done and ready to tap out graciously proclaiming this little lovely lady the victor of a long battle over space, nutrients and sanity!! 

For a long time now, I have wanted to share some of the silly things that I face while out and about with my growing family... Now, I understand that we create somewhat of a show when we go out. With all of us in tow, there is a lot to see. That coupled with the fact that my wonderful, loving, probably reading this right now mother is always at the ready to point out to anyone that yes, there are in fact FOUR babies. Between two double strollers, a two year old boy and at least three handlers (yes, like a circus), it is seriously hard to miss us. As much as I had wanted to blend into the background, I just can't and probably will never be able to again. 

I have learned many things over the weeks of leaving this house to find some sense of normalcy in the outside world. 

1. People will ask you anything and everything they have ever wanted to know about your life. I have been shocked at some of the things people are so willing to be open to me about. Don't get me wrong people, I have nothing to hide, but seriously...
2. I have learned to address everyone's shock and awe with one motto WWMDS - "What Would Michelle Duggar Say" :) No matter what my inside voice wants to retort or how bad of a mood I might be on that particular day, I MUST under all circumstances remain insanely positive. More on this in a later post.
3. I must show the world I have it all under control. Bottles prepacked, at the ready for the time needed = CHECK. Unlimited amount of toys for any and all to play with and toss on the ground only to yell for another = CHECK. Unbelievable amount of diapers and changes of clothes = CHECK CHECK. I must seem as though I have it all together and this is all easy for me because I have learned that people watch... and wait... for me to unravel in public.
4. I will always need a nap when we get home :)

I plan to come on over the next couple days to do another update for the kiddos and to add  the post "Most Ridiculous Things People Say". Yes I have kept a list... Yes, you might be on it :-) 

Okay, you're probably not on it... strangers tend to take the cake on this one.

XO

January 2013 - UPDATES!!

Holy Smokes... it's been quite a while.

I'll use the old excuse that "life has gotten away from me"... although for me I think it applies more to an explanation than an excuse :)

To start off the wonderful rambling and updates... YES I am pregnant... YES again... LOL. No one on this earth was more surprised by that than I was. And no - not even Seth was as surprised.

If you know me, you know that I am very open about my infertility issues. After facing the thousands of hours in waiting rooms, hundreds of self injected shots, and a plethora of people I didn't know in places I didn't want them - I can honestly tell you I was the most shocked to find that, three months after our littlest babies were born, I was pregnant again.

We are happily expecting baby number 7 in March 2013 :) SHE is doing well and bouncing around like none of my other kiddos have! She's super active and I can't wait to meet her.

Now onto my kiddos at home with me...

Angel is almost 14... yeah... can you believe it. I can still remember snuggling her before bed, singing to her (what we did every single night until she was about 8), holding her thinking "I can't imagine her at 10"... now I can't imagine her at 20. She is active in her coop and active in her love for anything and all things beauty product oriented. I wish I had a quarter of her makeup savvy growing up... I wish I had it now!!

Munchie turned 2 in Sept. and he is an active little booger! He is loving his siblings and with some on on the move, we are encouraging him to share his toys. It's not really going anywhere at this point though, as his new thing to do is place the Rubbermaid container over what ever his sisters are going after at the time and sit on the box...... Sharing obviously doesn't come naturally. We have him in morning preschool 2 days a week and he is loving it. I am loving watching him grow and learn.

As for all the quads, they will be 10 months old on Sat. Their adjusted age is 7 months (born 3 months early, they adjust their age for development). That's pretty much where the similarities end.

A has a quiet nature and observes everything going on around her. Don't get me wrong - she can talk up a storm, but only in the right mood and to certain people. She is one of our best eaters, as she will eat a jar of baby food in a sitting and enjoys most of it. She has light hair and has {finally} grown into her BIG blue/green eyes. She is our littlest weighing in at just over 12.5lbs. 

B is a pip... She is army crawling to anything that looks like she shouldn't have it - And she's quick! She doesn't talk a lot, unless Daddy is home and then it's all smiles! She LOVES her Daddy. B hates any food that even looks like it came in a jar and will only eat self fed food... the other night she thoroughly enjoyed the pork chops and fried rice I made. She is about 16.5 lbs and has dark dark hair and brown eyes.

X is a boy through and through. He is big and round and happy and jolly. Our heaviest weighing in at 17.5 lbs he surely has the personality to back it up. He is an observer and rolls around to get where he wants, but is much more content on his back playing with his toes. He is a great eater and loves his jar food. Munchie loves him and constantly is doing something silly to make him smile - or climbing all over him to give him hugs :)

C is the baby of the family {for now} and takes full advantage of it. She can be the happiest smiling baby and then instantly break into full on baby heartbreak cry because maybe her sister (usually B) might steal her toy. She has 2 teeth on the bottom and is our only with teeth right now. She loves her bottle still and is not interested in any solid food. We're trying... she will just sit in her highchair and stare you down... eyebrows raised and all!! She rolls to anywhere and everywhere she wants to get to. She is our second smallest, weighing almost 14lbs - she is long and lean. C takes after me and has brown eyes and no hair {I was a bald baby for a loooong time}.

Baby number 7... has no name yet. We just can't pin one down that jumps out at us and feels right. At 30 weeks though, we had better step it up. I am scheduled to go in on 3/18, but am fighting to change that as (A) I don't think I will last that long and (B) it is the day before the quads' bday. We'll see though. As you can tell by whatever time stamp shows up on the post, I am facing yet another loosing battle with Pregnancy Insomnia.... YARG. Other than that though - as long as I keep moving - I feel great :)

Just to throw it out there... I miss all my friends that I now no longer see from MOPS and COOP and life in general  <3 I think about you all everyday...

Alright - off to see if I can coax myself to sleep for a  few hours before daytime life begins again :)

XOXO

Hotel Saint Peter's

Has anyone else noticed that when I get to the part about talking about the hospital I stop writing? It is true... I just can't get myself to write in depth about it.

This is mainly because it was simultaneously the easiest and hardest thing I've ever done. I have never felt so alone in my life, but at the same time I've never felt so incredibly loved. Sometimes at the same exact second. There is literally no way to describe it... Which is why I just don't even attempt to.

Basic points:

• I had beyond amazing nurses that I created wonderful friendships with.

• I was on Magnesium Sulfate a total of 5 times in 5 weeks. The final being the night I had the quads. The second to last one made me so incredibly ill I was afraid to close my eyes and sleep in fear that I wouldn't wake up. I don't think I have ever felt like that in my entire life.

• I grew wonderful friendships with the hospital staff including the meal deliverers, restaurant staff, security, and doctors.

• I had weekly visits from family an friends on various days. My Wed afternoon visits from my mother in law, sister in law and her kids and my grandmother in law. My Wed evening daddy-daughter dates with my dad at the hospital restaurant. Tue date nights with my hubby (he came other days, but this was our dinner date night). My Sat with mom and Angel. My Thursday nights with my brother and sister in law (we never did get that picture). And the occasional visits from friends when I felt up to it.

• My normal day went like this: 5:30am wake up by resident dr, 6am nurse with meds and vitals check, 7:30am bfast delivered, 9am nurse visit with more meds and my time on the contraction monitor, 10am dr came for exam, 11am ultrasound to check babies heartbeats, 12pm lunch delivered and nurse with more meds, 2pm vitals check, 5:30pm dinner delivered, 6pm meds, 8pm contraction monitor again, 9pm meds, 12am meds and then bed. Sounds like a lot, but it was an extremely lonely time in between my wonderful nurses and visitors.

• I made a promise to myself to never cry in front of my kids and I kept that promise (miraculously).

• Skype was my best friend. 

• I was there so long that they let me order off of the staff's menu... honestly I haven't eaten so well for so long in all of my adult life.

• My husband was both parents for 3 months... and sometimes still now. I don't know how he did it - I am just still in awe of the way he could hold things together while his wife was stuck in a room. AND work 2 jobs... he's amazing.

Yeah... I really can't write more about it now. I can't believe it is over and I miss it in some ways... But am so grateful to be home with my family (well half of it).

Pix... why yes, of course :)

 Me and my husband Superman. I don't think at this point I was able to leave the floor yet, but he came in looking dapper for me anyway :)

 Munch was so good when he visited (about 2 or 3 times a week for a few hrs). When they moved me to the amazing corner private suite there was more room for him to run wild :)

 My first flowers sent to me from Superman's cousin... He is serving overseas on his tour. When I realized who they were from I burst into tears. Here I was safe and sound in a hospital bed in New Jersey and he's thinking to send me flowers... I'm always amazed and honored by my friends and family in our armed forces.

 A pic with my sister-in-law Auntie Rah-Rah and her son BamBam - along with Angel and Munchie.

 I LOVED my visits from my kiddos...

 Our wonderful Pastor came to visit almost weekly and I loved our time to talk. He dropped off this amazing care basket put together from my MOPS mommy friends... It kept me going in the end - I love them so much <3 

Visit with my mom!

Our Angel's 13th Birthday

Although my family and friends questioned my dr sending me home that Monday, I politely as I could told them all to shut their pie holes and made sure no one was around to argue the dr when he came for my check up that day. I mean, there was little they could do for me in the hospital and I just wanted to be home.

In wise wisdom, my husband wouldn't allow me to go back to our home though - I needed to be babysat. So off I went to my old room at my parent's house to be taken care of my my wonderful Mom. Although I fought it, I knew I wasn't going to win this one. It ended up being a blessing as my mom cooked for me and made sure I was taking care of myself by pretty much not allowing me to do anything. 

Tuesday was our Angel's 13th birthday. It was really a blessing to be sent home for that day to celebrate with our girlie as I was missing her in the hospital as much as she was missing me. We planned out a family Mardi Gras party for her with beads, masks, candy, etc... We always have a themed family party for her and probably will continue it until she pleads with us no to anymore. We are starting to run out of ideas though, as we have had everything you can think of from a 70's theme to pajama party. We've done Glam, Hannah Montana, Hawaiian, Pirates, and everything in between. Hence the random Mardi Gras theme :)

Our lovely 13 year old Angel had a great time. It was great to see most of our family there celebrating our 1st born during a time that was very hard for her.

Little did I know that the celebrating was only going to last so long... The very next day I laid down to go on the contraction monitor that I went on twice daily so many times before. It showed 11 contractions in 1 hour....... crap. I knew where this was going to go - and I was going to fight to have it not occur, but I lost.

Wednesday Feb 22nd was my check in day at Hotel Saint Peters.

Early January through Mid February

Oh dear... it's been a while. I think home bed rest and hospital bed rest left me uninspired to share my days filled with internet browsing and really (really) crappy tv watching. I should have posted more, considering looking back it all seems like such a blur, but I can't worry about it now - I'll just post what I remember...

Early January through mid February was my learning time for accepting help. IT WAS SO HARD! It's a combination of me wanting control, proving I can do everything,  and feeling like I don't want to inconvenience anyone. However, I couldn't chase Mr. Munch anymore and my Angel was getting bored (to say the least), and so the help wasn't an option - I needed it. Thankfully my wonderful family and friends came to our rescue picking up the kids, watching them, dropping off meals, etc... It was so humbling and I felt so incredibly blessed!

My days alone at home were spent watching absolutely horrible tv - yes to the tune of MTV reality shows, ABC Family dramas, and TLC. Okay... so some of you know me well enough to know that I watch most of that anyway :) There are worse things to watch out there!

At home I have to admit, I ate horribly, didn't drink enough, and couldn't sleep for the life of me. My wonderful Dr had me set up with a home monitoring company which rented me the contraction monitor, blood pressure reader, and gave me 24/7 nursing call services. They were wonderful, but the system really didn't work in my case. In the beginning of the month it was fine, I stayed most of the time below my threshold of 6 contractions in an hour. As the weeks crept on though, the contractions increased which sent me in and out of the hospital's labor evaluation unit a few times. I ended up just driving myself a few times because I knew I felt okay and they would be sending me home anyway.

On Feb 17th I woke up feeling horrible. Back pain, lower abdomen cramping, just plain not right. Seth decided to drive me to a normally scheduled appointment and go to work late that day. Before heading into the office though, we stopped at IHOP for breakfast. Never mind that I was in pain in the car on the way there and never mind that I didn't feel like I could make it through the meal... I wasn't going to pass up an IHOP breakfast!

Things progressively got worse and I was happy when I made it into the office to be seen. To make this already long story short, they took me in, and sent me right over to be seen at the PET unit for evaluation again. This time though, they set me up with a single room, so I knew something was up. After being on the monitor for an hour, they saw that my contractions were only about 3-4 minutes apart and they had to be stopped because I was only 24 weeks pregnant at the time.

Being only the first time this pregnancy going into preterm labor, I had NO CLUE what I was to expect. I didn't know about Magnesium Sulfate or the BETA shots they gave me for the babies lungs. I had no clue how long I would be in the hospital and how I would feel when I went home. 

They started the Magnesium quickly and the fun began. I fought the exhaustion it causes as hard as I could, but finally gave in to the overpowering side effects. I have never been on a drug that literally feels like it is sucking every last ounce it can take from you until they started dripping Mag into my veins. It sucked the life right out me, gave me the finger, and skipped away carrying what I can only imagine was the innards of my soul.

I was so blessed to be taken care of by a sweet nurse who was amazing during the whole process. I could not wish on anyone what she had to witness that night, lol. I did see her later in my hospital stay and thanked her greatly for her care - while on the inside I was thoroughly embarrassed as I had always wished our paths wouldn't cross again.

They moved me into the High Risk Maternity, what I will refer to as 4G, and set me up to stay for 4 days. After not eating for 24 hours and being on Magnesium for 2 days, I was spent. I had no shame left and could barely walk to the bathroom without a nurse there to help me. I earned the wonderful wrist band of "FALL RISK" and for good reason.

The nurses and I got along swimmingly though and after 1 night of sharing a room on 4G they moved me to a private room at the very end of the hall. It had an amazing view and more room for people to visit.

Although I continued to have contractions and some pain through the weekend, my doctor said I was fine to be sent home on Monday... little did I know I would be back again very (very) soon.