The Quads are looking better and better as the days go by. They are getting closer to 4 weeks now and everyone is gaining weight just like they are supposed to! Every now and then I post pictures of them on Quads from Heaven facebook page, so Like us on Facebook 🙂 Sometimes it’s so much easier to write a little something there or post a picture than write a whole post for the blog. Time has a different meaning for me now. If I have extra time, I try to sleep. I never appreciated sleep so much and I think once the babies will come home, things will change even more. Because I pump so often, I don’t know what a good night sleep is anymore. For now I am able to provide milk for all 4 babies and that is so rewarding for me.
The little munchkins are getting chubby! It’s hard not to kiss their cheeks but we just have to be patient and wait until they are ready for all the love 🙂 Hannah is 4 pounds 0,4oz; Alexis is 4 pounds 0,5oz; Isaac is 4 pounds 7,5oz and Andrew is 4 pounds 8oz. Hannah graduated to the 7th floor last week. It was a surprise because we thought one of the boys will go upstairs. Moving to the 7th floor means they are doing good on their breathing, not needing much help, they tolerate their feeds well, they are gaining weight like they are supposed to and so on. Miss Hannah was the first one to break the ice and we hope the others will follow her soon. Up there she has her own little room.
Last week Isaac had some tummy trouble. The doctors checked him out every day, they took x-rays of his tummy to see if there is something wrong. He had an IV in his hand and that’s how he got his fluids and his antibiotics while they stopped his feeds. He wasn’t allowed to have any milk until they figured out what or if something was wrong with him. He was so fussy and he cried a lot… I had a very hard time those few days. It was heartbreaking to hear him cry so much. But he ended up being fine, the doctors think he might have had a reaction the the additives they put in the milk they fed him and so they are watching him closely to see what makes his tummy hurt so they can eliminate that. Because they are premature babies, they don’t get the milk just as it is. There are some additives that go in the milk to help the babies grow and develop. Once they reach 40 weeks, they will get breast milk or formula without anything else added. In the other crib, Andrew was acting up a little too. He had a bladder infection. So he is still on antibiotics for a couple more days, but he is fine. He is breathing most of the time on his own, but sometimes he needs a little bit of help from his oxygen cannula. He has days when it’s completely off and other days when he needs it back on. But overall he is doing really good.
Alexis is now in an open crib too, just like her siblings. That is so exciting for us. She has been in the incubator for the longest time, these last few days only because there were no cribs available. She was getting too hot in there! She had to be back on her CPAP for a couple of days but things are progressing well with her too. Because of those big oxygen tubes pressing on her face, her eyes were very puffy and we were so worried. It seems like it’s normal for the babies in the NICU to have puffy eyes but she was the only one out of the quads. Her eyes look so much better and she is showing us her pretty smile everyday. She is such a sweet little girl, all the nurses are in love with her. Doesn’t cry much, there has to be something serious going on to make her cry. I enjoy holding her and I wish time would stop when I see how happy and how good she feels when we hold her skin to skin.
I never mention anything about this but I have to say it because it is one more proof that God really is in control of our situation and He is providing for our family. For the longest time we were trying to figure out how are we going to get a minivan. This was not the time for buying a car and having a car payment every month. Time was passing by and I told Oly so many times “we are about to have these babies and we have no car for them! what are we going to do?” . Well, the babies arrived and we still had no plan for getting a car. I knew somehow, at the right time, we will manage to get a car but I just couldn’t figure out how. One day, Oly got phone call from a friend of his from Chicago. Him and his wife wanted to GIVE us their minivan. Not to get rid if it, but to help us. Before Oly went to Chicago to pick it up, they took it to a shop, put new tires on it, change the oil and some other things that needed to be replaced, cleaned it and prepared it for us. The only thing missing was probably a big red bow on top of it:) Dinu and Mona, you guys cannot imagine what your gesture means for us and our babies. Nobody gives you a minivan, especially one that is in a very good condition and it drives so well. God has worked through this family the way we never thought it’s possible. So thank you, thank you, thank you! We’ll never be able to express our gratitude enough but every chance we have, we’ll try to pay it forward any way we can. It’s amazing how this world could change if we just pay it forward every day. And I don’t mean by doing big things, but even the smallest, like giving up the best parking space you found, to somebody else (that came to mind because I always have a hard time finding parking spots at the hospital). Anything means something. All the blessing that we receive from above are the answer of all the prayers that have been lifted for us. Many of you don’t know our exact needs, but just because you are praying, it means so much!
In the next days we are going to start packing! Oh, you thought our blessings list has ended? Oh no 🙂 Everything is falling into place, AT THE RIGHT TIME. We are moving into a house! Raising 4 babies in a 2 bedroom apartment on the 3rd floor did not sound like a good idea at all, but after months and months of looking for a house that we could afford, we gave up. Honestly we did everything in our power to figure out our living situation but nothing was coming together. Can you imagine the stress we were going through, being pregnant with quadruplets, I had to quit my job, no minivan, no house, only one income… At some point I decided that I will not talk about all this anymore, I will not try to figure things out anymore, I will not think about it anymore. It was all on my hubby’s shoulders. And I would look at him after a long day at work and wonder why he looks so drained of energy… Having all this on your shoulders and not being able to do much, it drives you crazy. But once again, God didn’t let us down. He showed us that walking in faith is what He wanted us to do. By the time the babies will start coming home, they will have their nursery ready and a warm, perfect home to welcome them. As I said before, I will never understand why He choose us, why He wanted to change our lives so drastically, but we thank Him everyday; we feel so blessed and every time we look at our babies, it’s like heaven’s angels came down and they are part of our family now. We would not change a thing, this whole experience has been amazing. Even the hard days when we struggle, when I cry because as a new Mom I just want to hold my babies and have them with me all the time, these days are worth it too. Even the nights when it’s time to go home and our babies still don’t come with us, that stabbing pain is worth it too. We have each other and no matter what we have to go through, we will happily do it. Because our four miracles are worth it!
Hannah’s new room
A little bundle – Hannah
A sleeping angel, Alexis
Isaac and auntie Lois
Mr.Chubbs, Andrew! pure cuteness
Lori.
QuadsFromHeaven 