3 Heads are Better than 1!

Here is a picture of the boys from ultrasound today....27 weeks 5 days! (double-click the picture to get a better view!)

Unbelievable...no, Undeniable!

Hi! You would think that I would have more time to post updates, but for some reason the days seem to pass so fast here...which is a good thing! I will try to do better! As I mentioned in the previous post, the residents do a daily ultrasound to check the heart rates of all the babies...so far they have all been normal. They have also ordered a Biophysical Profile (BPP) twice a week. This is an ultrasound that gives a score to each of the babies. Two points are given for adequate fluid, big movements, small movements and breathing motions. A passing grade is 6 out of 8 with a max of 8 out of 8. I am pleased to announce that all of our babies have passed with flying colors on their last two BPPs...all receiving 8 out of 8! We are so proud!

Also, yesterday I had a surprise visit! They offer pet therapy here at the hospital. This is where trained dogs go around and visit paitents to lift their spirits. As soon as I heard about this, I had to put my name on the list. I still miss my dogs so much and it would just be so nice to love on someone else's. My visitor was 110 pound Nietzsche, a giant Schnouzer and standard Poodle mix...or a Schnoodle. He was awesome! He just came on in and put his front paws on the end of my bed and just let me love him. After a few minutes, he decided he wasn't quite comfortable enough and jumped up so that his entire body was on the foot of my bed! What a nice treat on a Sunday afternoon! Here is a pic from our visit.

As most of you know, early on in our pregnancy (8 weeks to be exact) we were diagnosed with having a untypical complication with two of the babies. First, we were told that 3 of the babies were identical which means they share a placenta or a chorion(outer sac). There is danger in this because all 3 babies would be competing for their own nutrients, fluid and oxygen. Even more dangerous, 2 of the 3 babies shared an amniotic sac(inner sac). As those two babies get bigger, the chance of a cord accident is extremely high and could happen in an instant. So not only did we have the normal complications that go along with a quadruplet pregnancy but we also have these other added risks. We have been specific in our prayers regarding these issues and been so blessed up to this point to not have any of these issues arise.


Last Monday, we had our growth ultrasound done. I believe Nick posted the babies' measurements for you. What we left out because we were waiting for confirmation from a doctor was that the ultrasound tech, Tara, was quite certain she saw a membrane between baby c & d....meaning they would each have their own inner sac. These are the same two babies that were diagnosed at 8 weeks as being monoamniotic twins. She tried to get the doctor on call to come in a view with his own eyes but he was in surgery...so she took lots of pictures to show him later. We had two more ultrasounds later in the week to figure out if what we were seeing was really a membrane! Finally on Thursday, Dr. Clewell scanned me and said that we definitely have all four babies with their own amniotic sac! This means the chance of a cord accident between each other are zero. What a relief! Praise and glory be to God!

When we found out, all I kept thinking was "unbelievable, unbeliveable, this is unbelievable!" but then when I really thought about it, I decided that this news is NOT unbeilievable. It is very much believable. Believable because of who my God is and how He is so faithful and how He answers prayers. I think the better term is "Undeniable!" He is undeniable. Throughout this whole pregnancy, it has been undeniable that He has been in control and at work. We thank you so much for being so faithful in your prayers and hope that you are as blessed as we are to see the power of prayer!

Love,
Kami (27 weeks 1 day today!)

It's me...from Hotel Good Sam!

I'm back online....thanks to the wonderful staff here at Good Sam. I have missed getting and sending updates, but I think Nick did a great job on his posts. First of all, I will say that we are doing just fine. I was admitted for mild preeclampsia...had a some protein in my urine. As I understand it, once you get it...it is very unlikely they will send you home before delivering the babies. Preeclampsia can progress pretty fast or it can stay in a "mild" form for weeks. We are praying for the latter! I'm actually okay being here for the long haul. I can understand it when other moms say, "better to stay home as long as possible!" and of course I would rather not have a reason to be here. But, the condo in Scottsdale, as nice as it is....it is not home to me either. So I might as well be here, where me and the babies are being monitored daily. It's actually a little more comfortable for me. I can get out of the bed and tub much easier. I am actually on the labor & delivery floor. They talked about moving me to antepartum where the patients are less critical but of course still monitored. I would just prefer to stay here, the rooms are much bigger. I think the final word is that they will keep me in this room as long as they don't need it for a more critical patient. A typical day here for me (at least for the past 3 days) goes a little something like this:
7a-8a : wake up
8a-9a : breakfast delivered, monitor 1 hour for contractions
9a-10a : 1st (30 minutes or so) session of hydrotherapy...they take me to a giant tub where I can float, relax, etc. This is been proven very good for blood flow, swelling, blood pressure and babies growth. I also get to bathe here!
10a-10:30: mid-morning snack delivered, usually a resident/dr. comes in to speak with me and check on me
11a-12p: another resident pops in to do an in-room ultrasound to check the babies heart rates. Yes, I get to see them on the screen everyday now!
1p-2p: Lunch delivered
2p-5p: I usually find time to take a nap sometime in these hours, another dr. check in visit, afternoon snack
6p-8p: 2nd session of hydrotherapy, supper delivered, monitor 1 hour for contractions, settle in for night TV...LOST, American Idol and whatever else gets my attention...the Bachelor too!

Throughout the day, my blood pressure is being taken hourly. Nurses are checking on me, bringing me my scheduled medicine (Motrin, prenatal vitamin, and baby aspirin.) Also on Tuesday, I received my first steroid shot and on yesterday the second. Dr. Elliott and his associates determined that this would be an optimum time to give the shot since we do not know how fast the preeclampsia will progress. The steroid shots helps to mature the babies lungs. It has the best effects on the babies beginning 48 hours after the first shot...which will be today at 3pm.

Steroid shot...lovely! I look as though I am in pain, but I am really not!

Before I got to Good Sam, most of my dr. visits have been with Dr. Elliott. In the hospital, it is whichever PPA doctor (his associates) is here that will check in with me. So far, I have been so impressed and pleased with all the doctors, residents and nurses. I do not have anything to complain about!

As for the babies, they are all doing wonderfully, growing together, hearts beating, moving around...it's still so amazing to see each time. As for me, I feel fine. Sure...I am slowing down a bit, a bit out of breath from getting out of bed and going to the restroom. But as for aches, pains, headaches, blurred vision...none of that here! Contractions are under control (with only Motrin) and my blood pressure is pretty stable(with no meds) Praise God again! My feet are a little puffy but the doctors aren't too concerned with that yet. Dr. Lam keeps saying..."well, I can still see your ankles so that is a good sign!"

Big Pop (my dad) is here! He arrived Tuesday evening and one of the first thing he was able to see was an ultrasound. This was his first one. He was all in the resident's grill...asking what is this, what is that! It was too funny. He is very excited and I am glad he got to be a part of it! Please pray for him though because he has been having a severe headache since last weekend. He has been to his doctor, the emergency rooms of Baton Rouge and Phoenix and still no test has shown anything to be wrong...they've just given him pain meds and sent him on his way.
Hello Daddy!
Look at him! He's all in it!

One of the goodies he brought with him....a King Cake straight from New Orleans! I love 'em! I joked and said I didn't know which I was happier to see..him or the cake! I have to say this is one of the best if not the BEST one I have ever had! Traveler's note***If you plan to fly with a King Cake, it must be an original...not a filled one. At least this is Southwest's rule.

Mmmmmm....a slice of home!

Last week I forgot to post my 25 week belly pic so here it is, and unfortunately I haven't taken one yet this week. Maybe next post!
One last thing, the King Family had their babies a few weeks ago at 25 weeks and are in need of all of our prayers. One of their sons, Preston, is now in kidney failure, and if his tiny kidneys do not start functioning correctly, the doctors have said that he will only make it 3 to 4 weeks at the most. Two of their other babies, Madelyn and Parker, underwent heart surgery Tuesday night. As of their last post, the surgery went well but both babies were still under anesthesia. I can't even imagine the pain they are feeling. Please keep them in your prayers and you can click on their link to keep up with their updates.

Love,

Kami

A new "home"

BEEP!...Kami's husband here. Kami can't come to the internet right now because there are no cards available at the hospital right now. I'll cut to the chase...after taking a 24-hour sample, the doctors found that Kami has some protein in her urine which means she has mild preeclampsia. Preeclampsia can progress and lead to delivery; the doctors are not saying this will happen but it's just a fact we've known all along. Kami was also told that she'll be in the hospital for the duration of the pregnancy.

Needless to say this has been a very emotional day for Kami. In her words, "the babies are doing well but now I'm not". Please pray that her body will hold up and that the preeclampsia will not progress. Besides the news today, she is feeling fine. She's still able to move around as necessary and doesn't have any other pains. She still has a positive attitude and we know that God is in control!

Speaking of the babies doing well, the techs did the growth ultrasound today. Everybody looked good - fluids, heartbeats, etc. As you can see below, they're all measuring very close to one another:

Sloan (Baby A): 1 lb 15 oz - 26 weeks 0 days
Baby B: 1 lb 13 oz - 25 weeks 6 days
Baby C: 1 lb 11 oz - 25 weeks 5 days
Baby D: 1 lb 11 oz - 25 weeks 4 days

One of today's highlights was that fellow HOM mom Kami Crisanti and her mom came by to meet my Kami today. Not only do they have the same name and spelling in common, but my Kami is in the same room as Kami Crisanti was in! How 'bout them apples?

Big Pop is AZ bound tomorrow. I'm a little jealous because he gets to see his wife before I do. There's been plenty of "man jokes" going around while we've been bachelors though! I will get to see her soon though.

I love you Kami Shea!!
- Nick

2nd trip to the triage

Hello bloggers and lurkers! This is Nick and this is my first post (Kami told me I had to do her blog justice, so be sure you tell her I did). While monitoring at home this morning, Kami had 14 contractions. As a precautionary step, they told her to come into the triage so they could look at a few things. After arriving, they decided to admit her to the hospital to run some additional tests. They did another FFN test and it came back NEGATIVE. They also did some blood work for preeclampsia and that looked fine as well. Her blood pressure has been high but it has gone down from what it was earlier today. They ordered an ultrasound for tonight to check the babies' fluids and heart rates, but at the time of me writing, they haven't showed up yet. They're going to do another ultrasound on Monday to do the babies' growth. Please pray that our boys and girl are developing as they should. They should be getting feed pretty good since Kami has her our own Southern cook with her in Scottsdale. It's such a blessing to us that GiGi is able to be with Kami on this journey!

In other news, the Lexus is sold. All the x's and o's still have to be signed but the buyer is actually the mom of a good friend of ours. Ms. Linda you will love it!

I want to say "thank you" to everyone who is following this blog. It is AWESOME to see the number people that care and I can tell you we feel your prayers! This is going to so awesome for us and I can't wait! I'll be heading out to AZ at the end of the month and will be able to work remotely from there (as much as possible). We continue to take things one day at a time and we're enjoying the ride!

- Nick

P.S. How 'bout those Cardinals!

First Trip to Triage

Unfortunately in my monitoring session this morning I had 8 contractions. I had to re-monitor for another hour where I still had 6 contractions with over 20 minutes of irritability. Needless to say, the nurse wanted to send me in to the triage to be on the safe side. Once there, they started monitoring me for contractions. I was there from about 1:30-5pm and during that time, the nurse didn't detect 1 contraction. My cervix was still closed and all the babies' heart rates were normal. The concern became my high blood pressure as that could be a sign of preeclampsia.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-eclampsia) Preeclampsia if severe enough would lead to delivery of the babies. They did labwork to test for it and also tested for protein in my urine...another sign. The labwork came back fine and I did not have any protein in my urine. We met with Dr. Lam and he said since the labs were fine and I didn't show any other signs of preeclampsia, I could come home. I do have to do a 24 hour urine collection...just a precautionary measure.

I am so grateful that this is only the first trip to the triage. Even the nurses commented on how well I was doing. Early on in the pregnancy, the Lord taught me a huge lesson about trusting Him. I admit sometimes I get distracted with all the why's, when's, how's, etc, but ultimately as a Christian, I have to come back to "He knows. This is His awesome plan and I just need to let Him work." So tonight I am praising Him for the news we received and for loving me. I pray for our babies and that His perfect will be done.

Love and blessings,
Kami

Lexus...Anyone?

First, I will apologize for the late post on our dr. visit yesterday. Once again, we were blessed and humbled by the good news we received. All babies are doing fine. Fluids are adequate and heart rates are normal. We met with Dr. Lin because Dr. Elliott was tied up at the hospital with 5 c-sections. She was great! She did a cervical exam and it is still long and closed. I have another appointment Friday afternoon just for an ultrasound to check on the babies.

Nick is at home for the next few weeks tying up loose ends. One of the items on his "daddy-do" list is to sell my car. I love my car, but I just don't think we will be fitting 4 carseats in it...EVER! Not sure yet what we will be getting so if any of you have suggestions...especially you quad moms and dads, we are open to them! I will say that it has been my lifelong dream to drive a minivan (that may be a slight exaggeration!) but really I love them! Anyway, my car (Nick calls it a truck) is in excellent shape. Here are some pics and details. If you or know someone who is interested, please contact Nick at nlambe@cox.net.

2004 Lexus RX330
36K miles
Power everything
Sunroof
Leather interior
6 disc changer
Very clean!
$20,000

Love,

Kami

All is Well!

Quick Update - FFN test came back negative...woo hoo! A negative test has a 90% reliability that I will not go into preterm labor within the next 2 weeks. We had another ultrasound today. All the babies were really moving around in there...it was so fun to watch! I see some of the positions they get themselves into and I think..."and I think I am uncomfortable!" Heartrates and fluids were all normal. Cords for babies C & D are still tangle-free! My contractions are slowing down in my sessions which means the Motrin is working...without decreasing the amniotic fluid. I had a close friend tell me today that I have a belly full of miracles. That is exactly what they are and I can't wait to meet them face to face! In the meantime, we will have to settle for a couple of sweet profiles....

Sweet little baby Sloan posed for her picture!

Baby B - yes, his chin is resting on his chest! He's almost in a ball...poor little guy!

Love and blessings,

Kami

It never gets old!

Getting good news on our babies...that is! Heartrates, fluid, and cords all look great. In the beginning, the doctors made it very clear to us that in such a high risk pregnancy like ours, something bad could happen at any moment of any day. We do not dwell on this and let fear and doubt consume our thoughts. Instead, that statement serves as reminder for us to celebrate and praise the Lord in all the good news we receive. So we are celebrating again today!

My contractions have been picking up over the last few days so Dr. Elliott put me on Motrin to hopefully slow them down. A potential side effect of Motrin is that it will decrease the amniotic fluid. We will be monitoring the fluid twice a week now so they will be keeping a close eye on that and can take me off the Motrin if needed. Please pray that I can stay on the Motrin to slow the contractions and that the amniotic fluid of all babies stays at an adequate level. Also today, I had the fetal fibronectin test. If the test comes back positive, it will mean that I have an increased risk of going into preterm labor within the next 2 weeks. Please pray for a negative result! We will find out tomorrow.

Nick and I were able to visit a quad family here this past weekend. I want to thank the Carlson's for opening their home and showing us the ropes of their quad "operation." The Carlson's (they are on my blog roll to the right) have a 4 year old little boy, Jared, and have 10 month old girls, Suzan, Anna, Bethany and Brielle. Wow! It was so awesome to see them in action and talk with Paul and Maria. It is so comforting to have so much support from all these amazing women (and their families) who have been through this before. Thanks to all you HOM moms...you have been great!

24 weeker:

Love,
Kami

Viability Babies!

Today makes 24 weeks which is considered viability! This means that if our babies were born today, they would now have a chance of survival. Obviously this is not our goal but just a big milestone in this amazing journey. We thank you for your prayers and know that they have helped us get this far!

Love,

Kami