Must needs ~ for a family with multiples

Weeks after we found out we were expecting quadruplets, I started making lists of things I thought we’ll need. Four times this, four times that and so on. It really seemed like a lot. Too much stuff! I read other blogs about families with multiples and it helped a lot. I was able to cut some things off my list, add some more and at least get an idea of what’s going to be like bringing lots of babies home from the Hospital.

I would like to create my own “must needs” list. Maybe along the way it will help another momma. I added the links to some of the products that can be purchased on-line, so just click on the highlighted words and it will take you there (if you want to take a look at them). We bought many things at consignment sales, and also, many people gifted us with a lot of the stuff we needed.

If you live in Georgia and you would like to find more information about consignment sales near you, click here.

1. Rock & Plays (x4)
   We used the Rock & Plays since day 1 of being home for each baby and throughout the first year. Preemies most likely end up having reflux and these rocking “chairs” help a lot with that. We used them for sleeping, in the beginning, and later on we even used them for bottle time. Our babies never held their own bottles, so we sat them in the Rock & Plays and propped their bottles (always under supervision!). Worked great!
2. Cribs (x4)
   Each of our babies has his/her own crib.When they were really tiny, we used two Pack & Plays in our bedroom and always had two babies in each.
3. Pack and Plays (x2)
   We only had 2 in the beginning and didn’t even need more. They are easy to put together or move from one room the another. At some point, one of the boys had a sleepover in the girls room, for a few nights, because his brother was having a hard time going to sleep. So we used a pack and play in the girls room. We ended up buying 2 more pack and plays just in case we’ll need to travel somewhere with the babies.
4. Motorola Video Baby Monitor (with 2 cameras)
   After all four babies came at home, it was too hard to get some sleep having them in our room, even when they were asleep. Little babies make so many noises!! We joked around saying that our bedroom is like a little petting zoo 🙂 So we moved the girls in their own room and the boys in their room. In each room we have a camera up on the wall, facing down towards the 2 cribs put one next to the other. This way we are able to watch four babies using only 2 cameras. The Motorola Video Monitor does its job, so we are extremely happy with it.
5. Dr.Browns Bottles (tons of them!!)
   Loved these bottles! The best for preemie babies that have reflux! You can find them in different colors or just use a marker to label each bottle with each of your child’s name. Some families use colored rubber bands which I think it’s brilliant. We used 32  4oz bottles every 24h in the beginning and then we moved on the 8oz ones and as the babies started sleeping through the night and also eating solids, we went down on the bottles. Only went up one size on the bottle nipples – around 6 months. Two babies needed their formula thickened with rice cereal, because of acid-reflux, but I made a bigger whole into the size 1 nipples for them. And it worked great.
6.  Bottles drying racks (x2)
   The First Year Spinning Drying Rack worked best for us. We also had a big bath towel, folded in half, on the counter top where I dumped all the small parts after taking them out of the washer.
7. Dishwasher baskets (3 sets)
   Washing bottles took a very long time and so I decided to use the dishwasher. One load of bottles every night. It made our life easier. They were clean and sanitized at the same time.
8. Bottle Brush (x1)
   Since the bottles were getting washed in the dishwasher, we didn’t use a bottle brush much, but we sure did need it every now and then.
9. A large pitcher and a large whisk for mixing formula
   When preparing gallons of formula, it doesn’t make sense to get ready one bottle at the time. I made a big batch and poured the right amount in each bottle. Simple things that made our life with quads easier. This is what was going on at our house every night. Prepared formula is good for 24h if refrigerated.
10. Boppy Pillows (x4) and covers (x6)
    Very useful for us. We used them all the time with the quads. When we started feeding two babies at the same time, we propped them on the Boppy Pillows. Later on we learned how to feed all four at the same time and the Boppys really helped! And of course for tummy time, learning to sit up on their own and so on.
11. Bottle proppers (x4)
    These worked great when we were feeding all four babies at the same time. And we did that most of the time unless we were at church or at our family’s house. I got ours from another quad mom but you can find them on-line among with many other different types. Very useful especially if you don’t always have extra help around.
12. Noise Machines (x2)
    Again, we bought one for each room. We always use them during nap time and even night-time. At night we select the “rain” option. If one baby wakes up crying, having a background noise helps not wake up the others.
13. Burp cloths & bibs (lots and lots and lots)
    We used so many! I got some new ones but I was able to buy most of them at consignment sales! You would not believe how many “like new” items you can find there.
14. Wubbanubs (x4 or more)
    I have never heard of Wubbanubs until I got pregnant with quads. These cute pacifiers have a little toy animal attached to them and so the baby gets to snuggle with it and it is soothing for him/her. When you have four babies, these things are pretty helpful! We had 2 for each baby but now only Hannah wants them. The other babies are not interested in pacifiers anymore (unless they want to tease Hannah).
15. Baby Bathtub (x2)
    You don’t need four of these. Most of the time we only used one but the second one was handy when both my husband and I gave baths at the same time or when auntie Lois stopped by to help with bath time. She called it “spa time”.
16. Clipboards (x4)  and baby schedule
    Just regular clipboards where we clipped our baby log and schedule that we printed out. It made a lot of sense and this way it was easy to keep up with each baby. From feedings to medicine given, everything was written down.
17. Humidifiers (x2)
    We bought one for each of their rooms and we usually use them during the cold seasons.
18. Car Seats (x4)
    We opted for the Chicco Key Fit 30 because it secures babies from 4 to 30 pounds. Not all infant car seats are made for preemie babies, so make sure you choose the right one.
19. Strollers
    Baby Trend Double Stroller Frame  worked for us. We had a hard time finding something that will match our car seats. They didn’t snap on the stroller but they were safe. We found it to be the easiest way to get around with four tiny babies. For the most doctor’s visits we took 2 babies at once, so we only used one stroller.
    Runabout Quad Stroller – Fits four babies in a row. Great for walks and hikes.
    Foundation Quad Stroller – Fits four babies, two in the front row and two in the back. It is heavy but it fits in the trunk of our minivan. We used it at church and other places when we wanted all four babies in the same stroller.
20. Quad Table
    Love, love, love our quad table! We purchased the seats at Justformultiples.com and got our table custom-made by a local cabinet company – Kitchen and Bath Design Group.
    

I am pretty sure there were other things we used a lot but for now, that’s all I can think of 🙂 I will try to update the list if my memory helps me. Have fun shopping!

Lori.

Disclaimer:
Please keep in mind that these are all personal preferences. What works for our family might not work for another family. We do not benefit from any purchases you make by clicking the links I provided. 

World Prematurity Day

Years ago, when we were newlyweds, my husband and I used to talk about having babies like it was as easy as baking a pie. The thought of having a premature baby never crossed our minds, because even if we don’t live in a perfect world, we tend to create our own and so we never thought we could end up having a premature baby (or four!)

Life is unexpected, as we all know. For my hubby and I, life followed an “untraditional” route and God choose us to deliver 4 miracles and to show His glory – for that we are forever grateful. Because it was such a unique situation, we knew from the early days of my pregnancy that the quads will be born premature. How many weeks was I going to take this high risk pregnancy? We hoped for as many as possible. Thankfully, we reached all the milestones we hoped for and we passed the 28 weeks mark which was so important. I did get some steroids shots in order to rush the development of the babies lungs and some other organs, which greatly increased their chances of survival. No one knew how much longer I’d still be pregnant.

At 29 weeks and 4 days, the quads were born. Tiny little peanuts, 2 and 3 pounds babies, that started their lives in a battle. We were not allowed to hold them, not even touch them right away. We couldn’t see their faces for days because they were covered with the CPAP tubes or oxygen cannulas. Healthy babies but small and fragile and not quite ready for the real world.

Quads from Heaven ❤

They all spent some time in their own incubator and they each had a special cushion that was soft and kept them warm and comfy. The incubators were covered with a large blanket, just to keep them dark. This way, they felt somewhat like in the utero. Usually babies move on to an open crib once they are able to mantain their body temperature; that happens around 34 gestational weeks, or even earlier. The incubator protected the babies from infections. A mother’s antibodies don’t cross the placenta until 32 weeks, so the immune system of a baby born before that doesn’t protect him much. We washed hands SO much. Besides that, we used hand sanitizer A LOT. By washing hands I mean a good 15-20 seconds of handwashing with soap and water, every time we entered the nursery and every time we wanted to get close to an incubator. Even when we were just moving from one incubator to another, without touching anything, we had to at least use hand sanitizer. If we touched our phones, purse, keys, a water bottle, pretty much anything and everything, even our own hair or clothes, we had to wash hands. It felt crazy in the beginning, nobody was used to that, I mean it was hard to teach ourselves and not forget that we always had to wash our hands. Even after we brought the babies home we continued this habit as crazy as it sounds. But we managed to keep the babies healthy through the flu season and throughout the first year of life.

Isaac sleeping peacefully in his warm and comfy incubator

It’s pretty scary to see your babies attached to all these machines. But it is even scarier when a machine goes off and the beeping doesn’t stop; that means something is wrong with the baby. There are many frightening moments in the NICU, everything is uncertain. As a parent, you would give ANYTHING to help your baby, you would do EVERYTHING that it takes to help their situation. But you can’t do much. Usually the nurses teach the new parents how to handle their preemies, but I remember that for a good amount of time we were only allowed to change diapers (at specific times that were called “touch times”) under their supervision of course. Later on, after spending a few weeks in the NICU, I felt brave enough to give my babies baths and both Oly and I were allowed to take them out of the incubators/open cribs by ourselves. Still, we felt better knowing the nurse is near by just in case we needed her. There are many things to be said about the NICU but thinking about those days that we spent there, is pretty hard on my heart.

Baby Hannah in her incubator

Yesterday we went back to visit  the Northside NICU and say another “thank you” to the doctors and nurses that took care of our babies. I knew there will be a lot of emotions and flash backs but I was really hoping it will not affect me that much. It did… Even though I was there with my family, our four thriving preemies that are now 14 months and absolutely perfectly healthy and beautiful! Seeing that first nursery where Isaac was admitted right after delivery… it was very hard on me. Even after we came home, the thoughts in my head were giving me a headache.

Daddy next to Alexis’ incubator

While we were there, many parents walked by to get to the nurseries where they had their babies. Moms of singletons that had emergency deliveries due to different complications, that were not prepared to bring a premature baby into this world. I could see the sadness on their faces. I could see their uncertainty and worry. There was a granddad in the lobby, playing with his grandson. He told us that his granddaughter was born at 24 weeks weighing 1 pound 8 oz. This micro preemie has been in the NICU for over 50 days now and she still has a long way to go but they really hope she will make it home in time for Christmas. 40 gestational weeks is a full term pregnancy. 24 gestational weeks is considered the point of viability and the baby has 50-70% chances of survival after reaching this milestone. Premature babies often deal with different conditions, some of them are treatable but some can stick with them for the rest of their lives. To have all four of our babies perfectly healthy is such a blessing and we know that only God was able to make that happen.

Kangaroo Care with baby Andrew

When you go through the NICU journey and have a preemie baby (or more), the only things that can help you from going nuts is a good support system and your faith in God. Many times the support system is not that strong and that’s just because people are not familiar with the NICU life and they don’t know what the parents of preemies have to deal with. And that is understandable. Without our God… we would have lost our minds, that’s all I can say. But believing His word and His promise, made us tackle one day at the time. He is in control at all times and that was proven to us. This is what the Bible says in Matthew 17:20 ~He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”~ and it is true! Instead of letting fear and desperation take over, we had our hearts full of gratitude and we embraced our faith will all our strenght.

Today is World Prematurity Day and it is special to us. There are a lot of parents of premature babies out there. People that never thought they will end up in this position. But premature births happen so very often. It could happen to any pregnant woman at any given time. But I am praying and hoping for less and less premature births. I am praying for the research teams and organizations like March of Dimes, that work hard to find ways to stop and help premature births.

Tonight, in honor of World Prematurity Day, at 5PM Eastern Time, Fox 5 News will air a story about preemies! And the story is ours! We are excited to tell the world about our miracles and how blessed we have been to have the March of Dimes Organization on our side.

Fox 5 crew at our house

Preemies are superheros!

Love,
Lori

Happy 1 year homecoming anniversary to our super girl, Alexis!

Alexis Madeline Lupei ~ 12 months old

I wish I would have taken time, a year ago, to put my thoughts down and write about one of the most amazing days of our lives, when the last baby in the NICU, finally came home. There was an overwhelming amount of mixed feelings from happiness to uncertainty and so on. It was exciting to have all four babies home. A new chapter about to unfold…

I will never miss the days when half of the babies were home and half in the hospital. I wanted to somehow clone myself so I can be with all 4 at the same time. Once the boys came home, we were not able to visit the girls every single day. And they were getting slower and slower in learning how to take a bottle (and finish a whole feeding by bottle) among other important things that kept them from coming home. The NICU nurses and doctors have told us that the babies knew our voices, recognized our smell and it did make a difference if we spent time with them in the NICU or not. In the beginning I didn’t think it mattered that much or that the babies really knew I was with them the whole day. But later, I realized that they did know I was there, they did know when Daddy was there. And so this dedicated father went to visit the girlies by himself after work while I was home with the boys. On the weekends we always took the boys with us back in the NICU and spend a whole day there with Hannah and Alexis.

Family picture before we left the NICU. The babies were 70 days old

You would probably ask me “what in the world did you do 10 hours (or more) a day in the hospital?!”. I was SO busy that sometimes many times I didn’t even have time to grab something to eat! Taking a lunch break meant leaving the NICU nursery, because I wasn’t allowed to eat there. But my meals were also important because I was pumping around the clock, every 2 hours at that time, to get my body to produce more and more milk so I can keep up with all 4 growing babies. And even though it was hard and time consuming and I was dreading it, I was happy to do it because it was one of the few things I was able to do for my tiny babies those days. Along with that, I did Skin to Skin therapy (also known as Kangaroo Care) with each baby daily. This practice helps babies maintain body warmth, regulate their heartbeat, and gain weight (and also gave us the opportunity to hold and cuddle with them). I had days when I couldn’t cover all 4 because I needed at least 1 hour with each and in between that and pumping and trying to eat, there was just not enough time. I always felt very guilty for the days when I couldn’t do everything I planned and I felt very bad when I wasn’t spending the exact amount of time with each baby. But again, super daddy was there to help out, every day after work. He would stop by our friends house to shower and change (they lived 10 min away from the hospital) and come spend time with our little peanuts. At the end of each day, both of us would do Kangaroo Care with a baby, sometimes in the same nursery, and that felt awesome (we had 4 babies in 3 different nurseries in the beginning). That was family time for us. The time didn’t matter anymore; the fact that we were very uncomfortable sitting on those wooden chairs for an hour without moving an arm, did not matter; all the noises that the machines in the nursery were making on and on and on didn’t matter; not even the wires and the tubes that were in our way and all the things that were making it so hard to hold our babies, didn’t matter anymore. We were spending precious time with the most precious little people in the world. After that, we said good night to everyone, grabbed the laundry bags and headed out to get some dinner in the hospital cafeteria if it was still open. Oh those nights… when you are hungry but don’t want to go out and sometimes don’t even have the money to go out for dinner, but there is nothing at home to eat. I don’t think I made time to cook dinner in that period of time. Stopping by the grocery store? Ummm that would have taken away from the time I needed for my babies. Don’t ask how we survived, we just did. We were getting so tired of those long drives to the hospital (we lived about 40 min away from Northside at that time). We just wanted everyone home, under the same roof.

I feel like my mind is all over the place. While I try to stick to Alexis’ homecoming story, I jump to many other things, hopefully you can keep up with me 🙂 Glad I still remember these things, but then… how could I forget?

NICU nurses rock! Kaitlyn and Lori saying goodbye to the Quads ~ November 16th, 2013

Lori & Kaitlyn today with the Quads! November 16th 2014

Alexis took her car seat test the day Hannah came home, right before we left the hospital . At least one of the parents was supposed to be there for that so we were glad that she passed and we got that out of the way. We were really hoping that in a few days she will come home too. And she did. 5 days later Alexis finally got discharged! After spending 70 days in the NICU, our super girl was coming home! We took our time leaving that hospital. You would think we wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. Not really. We made friends and memories for life. There are some very special people that work there and had a huge impact on our lives and they will forever be special to our family. We took some pictures with some of our favorite nurses that were at work that day. It was kind of crazy 🙂 But thankfully we had auntie Ada with us to help out while auntie Lois was out and about, shopping for some last minute stuff that we needed at home for the quads.

Ready, set, go! A full load 🙂

My heart was pounding as I was getting pushed in the wheelchair, with my little fighter in my arms and 2 strollers with the other 3 babies were following us. My hubby and Ada were trying to get everything on camera, push the strollers, don’t lose the balloon, make sure we have all the bags and all the stuff with us. We were leaving the NICU for good. Wait, what ?! Really? Finally we were saying goodbye and talking about maybe visiting our Northside friends one day… we were going home. All six of us were going home !!! Oly and I no longer left the hospital empty handed but with our hands full and our hearts even fuller! I cannot help myself but cry just remembering those moments…

Going home! November 16th, 2013

Our family, a year later, in the same spot 🙂 November 16th, 2014

We strolled our way out on the Northside Hospital’s corridors and there was the Quad Taxi waiting for us. Oh how I dreamed of that day…  I used to see families leaving the hospital with their babies, daily. Balloons and flowers, excited parents and tears of joy. I wanted that every single day of our NICU stay. Finally it happened! Our minivan was packed. And off we went!

Home sweet home ❤

First night at home, Hannah reached out to her sister as they were sleeping. Love this picture!

I would like to talk about our Alexis since it’s her homecoming anniversary. Maybe you wonder why I call her our super girl. It is because I feel like she fought the hardest throughout the NICU journey and even after she got discharged. This whole year has been a complete transformation for her and we praise God for answering our daily prayers. Each and every one of the quads has their own pace and their own way of learning things and reaching milestones. Like I said before, we need to give them extra time to accomplish things (because they were born premature) but also we work with them to get there. Andrew has been the leader and sometimes we call him the big brother just because he has a faster way of learning and figuring out things. It is funny because he is our baby, he is baby D of our set of quads.

Our little elf!

Well, Alexis is the one that needs more time than the others and she is also an observer. Before she tries anything new, Alexis needs to make sure she knows exactly what to do (Andrew just goes for it, such a risk taker). And I think she is also a perfectionist (ahem, like her mama) because she easily gets upset if something goes wrong. On the other side, she has been a leader herself! First one to sleep through the night! (sleep training was so worth it!!) We were waking her up when the others wanted to eat (that was one of our rules – one for all and all for one). First one to say bye-bye and also wave. First one to get over baby formula and eat big kids food!  I have to say that a lot of her progress happened because of a very special person, Ms. Aimee. I mentioned in my post about Hannah’s homecoming anniversary, how this amazing lady works weekly with our girls. She puts her whole heart into it and loves our babies so much! We are very thankful for her.

Alexis is one of a kind ❤ She is so friendly and ready to play even with people she sees for the first time. She is Daddy’s girl (I think a very strong bond was built back in the NICU when Daddy spent his nights with her) and loves him so much that sometimes calls him “Mama!” 🙂 . We are truly blessed to have her as our daughter. Her sweetness is contagious!

Four peas in a pod

1st Christmas

Dear Alexis,

Even when you were a tiny baby in your Mommy’s belly, we knew you have a big personality because you were taking your space by kicking everyone all over the place! You are such a strong girl and we are excited to see God’s plan for your life. The first time I got to hold you in my arms, I felt like God is pouring his grace all over us… You transformed from this tiny helpless preemie baby into a strong, beautiful and gracious little lady. Coditza, you are and always will be our miracle baby, along with your sister and brothers, and we will never stop thanking the Lord for you guys. Mommy and Daddy love you so very much and we are SO proud of you!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Love her so much!

Those eyes!

6 months old

Busy bee 🙂

Our little piano player!

Cutie! Look at that hair!

Out for a walk in the Runabout stroller

March of Dimes with Daddy

Her smile…. ❤

Coditza 🙂 (pony tail)

1st time at the pool

our little crawler! so proud of her!

Best friends 🙂

Sisters ❤

Alexis Madeline Lupei ~ 14 months ~

We wanted to do something special today, to celebrate this day. So we took a trip to Northside Hospital to visit our friends. It felt surreal to be there, to see everyone. Tears of joy and hugs and cuddles with the babies – pretty much sums it up. We stopped by the NICU first and then we made a quick visit to the High Risk Pregnancy floor, where I spent two and a half weeks. Loved seeing everyone and it was well worth going back.

A few of our NICU nurses, I wish we could have seen all of them today!

A few of the nurses that cared for me on the HRP floor and Brandee (first on the L) that made sure I always had plenty to eat so I can keep the quads growing big and strong in my belly 🙂 

We had such a busy, fun but full of emotions day, I feel drained! Taking a peek through a window at one of the NICU’s nurseries made my heart sink… I couldn’t help but tear up because I will never forget those days spent there with our miracles. God is so good!

Love,
Lori.

Hannah’s Homecoming anniversary!

Sweet baby Hannah ~ 12 months old

I never got a chance to write on my blog about the day Hannah came home from the hospital. Today marks the 1 year anniversary and I think it is the best time to reflect a little at that special day. After a few weeks of not being able to spend much time with the girls since we had the boys at home, we were so happy to welcome sweet baby Hannah home. Bitter~sweet once again, since we had to leave Alexis by herself in the NICU for a few more days… It was probably one of the hardest days of our NICU journey, to leave the hospital knowing that only one baby is left behind. The nurse promised me to cuddle with my Alexis and give her extra hugs for us that night. Hannah spent 65 days in the NICU.

Ready to go home!

Mommy and the trio!

Hannah’s first car drive

Hannah looked better than ever 🙂 We could tell she was READY. Ready for her home, ready to be next to her brothers, ready to be spoiled and pampered, like a real princess, by everyone around her. On our drive home, my mind was going crazy. I started counting how many bottles I had to prepare, how will the feedings go since we have 3, how things will change having baby number 3 at home. Yes I was nervous, of course I was. More happy and excited than nervous this time around. When we got home, we sat the car seats in the livingroom one next to the other. It looked really cute. But we kept repeating ” can you imagine when we have all 4 in a row? ” 🙂

3 home, one more to go!

That week was pretty challenging because having 3 at home and 1 in the NICU was tough business. Since we wanted to get Alexis home ASAP, Daddy went to see her every day after work and that really made a huge difference. So needless to say the exhaustion started to settle in.

Daddy, Hannah, Andrew & Isaac

This little lady of ours sure has a big personality. Hannah has always been a feisty girl (even in the womb – she was the 1st one to kick!). I remember giving her a bath in the hospital, you would have thought something serious was going on, that’s how loud she was! She just didn’t like anyone to mess with her. And now… the boys get in trouble if they grab her toys or paci. She fights them! But she is also a sweety-pie and gives the best hugs! She likes to follow Isaac and Andrew everywhere they go. Loves her pacifiers, her lovies and chatting with her sister at nap time. They are so cute together and we love seeing them being best friends. One of the best things about having multiples is watching their unique bond grow and become more and more special as the time goes by. She can be very,very serious, especially when we have people over or if someone approaches her, but she gets very bubbly and happy once she feels comfortable. Hannah loves Ms. Aimee, the world greatest Physical Therapist, that comes every week and plays with the girls… God works through this amazing lady and we all appreciate and love her so much!

First doctor’s checkup

Angel ❤

Sweet baby Hannah

Chubby baby 🙂

1st Christmas

Hannah Liana

6 months old

Precious baby girl

March of Dimes Walk!

Hannah in her 1st bathtub from the NICU 🙂

Loves books !

Love that smile!

Hannah and her best friend and sister, Alexis ❤

Love you so much!!!

Dear Hannah,
You brought so much love and joy in our family that words are not enough to express that. From the day you were born there was something special about you! Your smile and your giggles are precious and you make our world so much better everyday. We are so proud of your progress, you are the cutest crawling peanut ever! We love seeing you try new things and even though new things can be scary, you don’t give up! Such a fighter and a brave little girl! We thank the Lord everyday for you and your siblings and we are SO blessed to be your parents!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

The Quads at 14 months 🙂