tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70498520828794575682024-02-07T05:48:20.195-08:00So Many Mielers!Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-11903891424265985762016-03-11T09:06:00.000-08:002016-03-11T09:06:33.895-08:00Sleeping through the night.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My apologies in advance, as this will be of interest to only some of you, however many people have asked me how we got all four babies sleeping through the night, so I thought I'd address it here. Hopefully someone else can be helped by our experience.<br />
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As always, I started with the Baby Wise program as my baseline. I don't believe that I would have been able to make the transition to sleeping through the night so smoothly had we not already had the babies on a schedule. Since I no experience with and therefore cannot speak to feeding on demand, this post assumes I am speaking to parents who use scheduled feeds with their little ones.<br />
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Building on the Baby Wise schedule, I researched online what had worked for others and cobbled together our program based on suggestions that made sense to me. In our case, within two weeks of starting our new program all four babies were sleeping through the night. They were four and a half months actual.<br />
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So here's how it worked for us. At the time we started working on this, the babies were eating as follows: 7a, 11a, 3p, 7p, 10p, 3a, and getting 5 ounces per bottle. The babies were gaining weight appropriately and we checked first with the doctor to confirm that dropping the 3a feed would be safe and appropriate in our case.<br />
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<span style="color: #141823; font-family: inherit; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. We started waking them up for the night feeding rather than allowing them to wake us. Knowing one of the babies usually woke by 3a for their scheduled feed, I got up at 2a and woke them to feed. I had read that this trains them to sleep until someone else wakes them. </span><br />
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<span data-offset-key="fcsht-0-0"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2. During the night feed we kept them very sleepy, no removing swaddles, no diaper changes if they were only wet and very low lights. It was not quite a true "dream feed" but as close as we could get to it while still burping refluxy babies.</span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="1rs2q-0-0"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3. We gradually decreased the amount of the overnight feed by half. In our case they had been getting 5oz. at that point so I took it all the way down to 2.5, decreasing by a half ounce every few nights. This is supposed to teach their bodies that the small amount of food is not worth waking up. </span></span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="1rs2q-0-0"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4. At close to two weeks of this everything was going very smoothly. The tiny night feeds were going very quickly and we felt like it was time to do a trial run of omitting the feed entirely. The following night I did not set my alarm to wake them to feed. That morning one of the babies began to cry around 5a. I soothed him back to sleep without picking him up and without feeding. The following morning all the babies slept through until the 7a feed. With very few exceptions that is how it has gone since, though their final night feed is now at 7p. </span></span> In general, they are all quiet now within 5-10 minutes of going to their cribs and sleep until I wake them for their 7a feed.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I fully understand that every baby and every situation is different. I don't believe that there is a one size fits all solution to sleeping through the night, but this is how we were successful with our four.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy sleeping!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Jen</span><br />
<br />Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-90055377731010063752016-03-05T05:57:00.002-08:002016-03-05T05:58:13.048-08:00It's not usually about me, but this time it's about me.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I continue to stand in awe at the prayer and support that is daily showered on us and the babies from people we know and from those we will likely never meet. If you have read the blog you already know much of our recent journey, but many of you don’t know about the journey before the journey, the one that started long ago with a girl who could not have imagined the beautiful life and blessings that would someday emerge from the ashes of pain. That journey was mine.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There was something wrong for as long as I can remember. On the surface everything looked like a storybook. My parents were married and seemingly happy. Dad worked hard and was successful, while mom was devoted to raising my younger sister and me, serving as Brownie leader and class room mother, and making treats for my school mates for every holiday and birthday. Our home was safe, lovely, and filled with mom’s sense of style and hospitality that made everyone who entered feel at home. I had my own room, and better yet, my own room redecorated every few years to reflect the changing tastes of an adolescent girl, from Holly Hobby to teddy bears, to the eventual covering of every wall in Michael Jackson posters. We ate dinner nightly as a family around the table, with a home cooked meal in front of us. We worked jigsaw puzzles together and enjoy spirited games of Hungry Hungry Hippos. On Saturdays Dad regularly took me to the donut shop to pick out treats for the family, and later lifted me carefully over the stove to drop blueberries one by one into the pancakes. Each Sunday we went to church, stood, sat, knelt, prayed, sang. From the outside it all looked perfect, idyllic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the inside though, everything was wrong. Not with them, but with me. I never felt at home, never felt comfortable in my skin, never felt good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, funny enough, just never felt </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">enough</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I spent my childhood and much of adulthood chasing that elusive “something” that was going to make everything okay. It was the Cabbage Patch doll, the Walkman, the ten speed bike, the tent, the new clothes, the new haircut, then the new school, the new relationship, college. They were all only fleetingly satisfying, and the older I got, the more quickly the shine seemed to wear off whatever was to be that next big thing. The thought never came to me then that I was attempting to fill with the worldly a void that could only be filled by God.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don’t remember a time when I didn’t believe in God. I remember as a very young child laying in my canopy bed under Holly Hobby sheets, surrounded by everything a girl could want, and feeling absolute despair and hopelessness, praying fervently to God that He would offer some relief, repeating the prayer over and over until I fell asleep, “God, please help me, I can't do this anymore, please help me.” I remember waking each morning feeling the same anxiety as the night before, and my mistrust of the God who had once again seemed to ignore my prayer. When, at seventeen, my parents divorced, my mistrust of God deepened into hostility. I never doubted God’s power, but came to believe that, for me, that power was not available. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At sixteen I discovered alcohol for the first time, drank until I was sick, vomited for several hours seemingly everywhere </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">but</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> the toilet, blacked out, and early the next morning reported for work at Mr. Fables restaurant, fighting nausea every time the smell of bacon and eggs hit my nostrils. I had never felt so sick in my life, and I couldn’t wait to do it all again. If you aren’t an alcoholic, that last sentence probably didn’t make sense to you. You might have read it twice to be sure you had read it correctly, or assumed an unfortunate typo. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>What? Threw up? Blacked out? Hung over? And you wanted to do it again?</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> However, if you </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>are</i></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> an alcoholic, then there’s a good chance you nodded your head in agreement as you read. The previous night, after a few drinks, things had felt right for the first time in my life. I had felt at home, smart enough, pretty enough, funny enough, all my insecurities forgotten. It was an awakening for me, and from that day on I sought alcohol with the desperation of a drowning man grabbing for a life vest. And in so many ways, alcohol was my life vest. I had no way to know that day at sixteen what my future would hold, that in just a few short years I would start an unremitting period of drunkenness that would last for seven years, that whole months of my life from that point would be lost to blackout, that life could be so dark and lonely. I could not have known that I would lose so much; relationships, family, friends, jobs, myself, my God.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Many years later, in March of 2000, I sat alone in my apartment, as I did most nights, watching the clock, waiting for an appropriate hour to drink, trying to abstain until dark. Eighteen months before, convinced that the people in Michigan, not drinking, were my problem, I had gotten in a car and headed South, driving until I reached Texas, a place I had never been before, a place where my problems surely could not follow. I soon learned that my problem was me, and that problem had followed to Texas, and thus I did not find the relief I had sought there. On that long ago night in March I started as usual, quickly drinking the first few of my eighteen nightly beers as I sat alone in my chair watching TV. After several beers I stood to go to the bathroom and experienced an unsettling event. I was able to walk a straight line, not relying on the walls to steady myself along the way as I had on countless nights before. On this night, for the first time ever, alcohol seemed not to be doing its job. I returned to my chair and redoubled my efforts. After eighteen beers I still felt insecure, uncomfortable in my own skin, angry and afraid, all the feelings that I nightly relied on alcohol to change or at least hide from consciousness. You see, in addition to being my problem, alcohol had long been my solution, and on this night, inexplicably and without warning, my solution had failed. In the kitchen, I reached deep into the back of a cupboard for a bottle of whisky I had hidden there. I lived alone and rarely had visitors, but the nature of the alcoholic is to hide, and so I hid. My fear grew as I continued to drink and seemed to remain sober. My only friend had deserted me.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I heard someone say once “my moment of clarity came when God paralyzed the liar in me long enough for me to see the truth.” I saw the truth that night, saw what my life had become, what I had become, saw for the first time the pathetic state in which I lived, the filthy apartment with shades always drawn, the increasingly infrequent showers, the silent phone. I saw that the problem was, and had always been, me. Not my home state, parents or schools. Not the wrong car, boyfriend or job, but me. At that moment I fell to my knees and uttered the first sincere prayer of my adulthood, returning inadvertently to the desperate repetitive prayer of the child in her canopy bed. “God, please help me. I can’t do this anymore. God, please help me. Please help me.” </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The next morning, sixteen years ago today, I woke up to a different world, to a world in which God had performed a miracle in my heart. I don’t know how else to describe it. I felt different. My apartment looked different. I opened the blinds in my apartment for the first time ever. I saw trees and flowers that I had not seen before. I could breathe. That night I waited for the fear to grip me, the terror that nightly would grow and grow inside until I knew that if I didn’t get a drink I would claw through the walls. It didn’t come. I thanked God that night for the miracle He had performed and marked the day on my calendar with a big black “X” to mark the first night in over seven years that I had gone to bed sober. I marked those “X’s” each night for the rest of that year, amazed and awed that God had accomplished in one night what I had been unable to do with years of self-help books and writing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On my third day sober, I sought out a spiritually based recovery group, a fellowship in which I still take part today, and whose members, I believe, God used to save my life in those early days. The group however, in an effort to be inclusive, encouraged talk of God in general terms, of a “higher power”, a “god as you understand him”. That last made me realize how little I really knew God, except in terms of what I now realized was the drastically flawed concept of my childhood. I wanted to know more about this God who had saved my life. As I sought God and grew in my faith I saw clearly how He had been with me all along, that it was not He, but </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> who had created the distance between us. I had been baptised as a child, but gave my life to Christ that year as an adult. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For the last sixteen years I have worked to rebuild my relationship with my family and with my God. I have had to unlearn a lot of wrong information I believed to be truth. I have had to face the difficult but ultimately freeing realization that a life with me in the center will always be a sad, ego driven existence, but a life dependent on my Loving Creator will never fail. It has been slow progress at times, but there has been progress. The patience that I have been shown by my family and by God awes and humbles me. I know I have a long way to go but I am amazed at how far I have come. My favorite Bible verse is Philippians 1:6, which reads in part “He who began a good work in you will see it to completion”. The four beautiful miracles I was blessed to welcome last September are a beautiful and tangible daily reminder of God's good works and of His extravagant grace. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I don't know what your struggle is, but I know that we all have have them. More importantly, I know that for all of us there</span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"> is forgiveness, there is grace, and there is redemption. There is always more progress to be made on this journey, and that progress will continue until our last breath. I had believed before that I had to </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">achieve</span> a certain level of spiritual fitness, and at that point I would be worthily to reach out to God. How happy I am to have been wrong, to know that God meets each of us exactly where we are. In the midst of pain and brokenness, His loving hand is there to guide us to Him. As my wonderful Pastor and friend Jeff Manion says, "God loves us not because <i>we</i> are so good, but because <i>He</i> is." </span><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Andy and I attended a conference last weekend, and one of the speakers said something that was a fabulous reminder to me of the constant work and progress of life. "Good, better, best, never let it rest, until your good is better, and your better is best." And so the work continues for me, and for you.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am encouraged often by the simple and beautiful words on the tombstone of Ruth Graham, the late wife of the Reverend Billy Graham,</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“End of construction. Thank you for your patience.”</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Love and blessings,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jen</span></div>
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<br />Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-44059328493668730392016-02-10T10:01:00.000-08:002016-02-10T10:01:56.574-08:00Five Month Updates.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqrkm6ARx_fqMJUrAb-Iz22FroASu0huyUPOVYpsA-gsWjODbNb13NnoK-XMWMiB9dC5UgoAx_15XkyBroLvO5Nb7N8C-OHgGBitwtdW4Dre2WeeFZs4U8hgNDAUaGjbDigbI048-_rDg/s1600/IMG_4628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqrkm6ARx_fqMJUrAb-Iz22FroASu0huyUPOVYpsA-gsWjODbNb13NnoK-XMWMiB9dC5UgoAx_15XkyBroLvO5Nb7N8C-OHgGBitwtdW4Dre2WeeFZs4U8hgNDAUaGjbDigbI048-_rDg/s400/IMG_4628.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Can you believe they're five whole months old today? It hardly seems possible to me. Having a front row seat to watch them grow and change every day has been one of the greatest privileges of my life. I continue to be blessed and amazed by them and the really cool little people they already are.<br />
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A while back we began to see smiles, but in the past month smiles have developed into full laughter. It's hard to hear them laugh and try not to laugh myself. It's truly <i>that</i> infectious. This month also brought us the unexpected joy of sleeping through the night. Big thanks to the babies for this one. The extra sleep has been life changing!<br />
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I have done a good job of keeping up with my goal of posting at least one update per day on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Why-yes-my-hands-ARE-full-927873297308321/" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>, but there were just so many cool moments to share this month that I decided to flood you with a bunch here all at once.<br />
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As always, thank you for your continued prayers for our family. We have been blessed beyond any measure we could have imagined. I knew before that God is good, and didn't doubt His blessings, but since the arrival of these precious miracles, I most often think of Him as my God of <i>extravagant </i>goodness and blessing. Like the saying says, "if you think my hands are full, you should see my heart."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Ji5-WWRvNl4yTm9gDR6UIuV7lBK2vXQO9P6P8viBENeeeusaqn4p_CstVbNTdcpq0Xlybn3-zCNIDkAQU41vepd2uA3oxSkg0qasJh97c_qdTm4NZhyphenhyphen_BmNqHkQo0vYGeI2f5rWxRys/s1600/APOS8826.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Ji5-WWRvNl4yTm9gDR6UIuV7lBK2vXQO9P6P8viBENeeeusaqn4p_CstVbNTdcpq0Xlybn3-zCNIDkAQU41vepd2uA3oxSkg0qasJh97c_qdTm4NZhyphenhyphen_BmNqHkQo0vYGeI2f5rWxRys/s400/APOS8826.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roland and Becker with Daddy, waiting for their turns with the eye doctor. Everybody got a good report, and no one needs glasses!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nap time for Sweet Micah.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjioYGSit62fdFYNibm3jmrfYUIPqR-vPkrytfMidXp0JC3PCIrv0h50DsslQcD69B4Qw5Cco8AHlmCH-pHcgEwem8M1GQBH8TbuNzP3zkdOn3s81GqV3usv2hfPvrEgvr0fZ70LGreyB0/s1600/CHWO5826.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjioYGSit62fdFYNibm3jmrfYUIPqR-vPkrytfMidXp0JC3PCIrv0h50DsslQcD69B4Qw5Cco8AHlmCH-pHcgEwem8M1GQBH8TbuNzP3zkdOn3s81GqV3usv2hfPvrEgvr0fZ70LGreyB0/s400/CHWO5826.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We finally got over our colds. Andy and I got so tired of wearing masks in the house, but I guess they worked because we never gave the cold back to any of the babies!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAso956Tp-640U_iL9bkiWRluCYvMmP_-IQ5TZq160_fCJwU2YV18oWokh-3VNFhURhyUbm3re3lfrCRl5TSIg410kI9-BgDkNbRtq09YmbKDjhc9esffEjIB1Pe7iaB-uBssAEWva1oI/s1600/CSCZ4237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAso956Tp-640U_iL9bkiWRluCYvMmP_-IQ5TZq160_fCJwU2YV18oWokh-3VNFhURhyUbm3re3lfrCRl5TSIg410kI9-BgDkNbRtq09YmbKDjhc9esffEjIB1Pe7iaB-uBssAEWva1oI/s400/CSCZ4237.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We get told often that Micah and Marin look alike, as do Becker and Roland. I wonder how many times in the next couple years we'll get asked if we have two sets of twins?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feeding time! My sweet quad mom friend Becky took this picture. She said that I was going to look back and realize that I had thousands of pictures of the babies but very few with me in them. I'm sure she's right.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I told her she looked ridiculous in this thing, but she insisted. Diva.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shameless pandering. I think we all know who will be the politician in this family.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPqA-rZyYyVUPF6t9nhnsEXMdphR3g3rfm4sWIV17XpIDtld8_N_mmIB0rlDP9LrxH2olBy78Ur_8MFHt6fJFxESlEfECe6vUJZgx9UgClqIoJA7y48aNLqKOHQS1YqKYAskjRKr-8sk/s1600/GAIP2413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmPqA-rZyYyVUPF6t9nhnsEXMdphR3g3rfm4sWIV17XpIDtld8_N_mmIB0rlDP9LrxH2olBy78Ur_8MFHt6fJFxESlEfECe6vUJZgx9UgClqIoJA7y48aNLqKOHQS1YqKYAskjRKr-8sk/s400/GAIP2413.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My blue eyed boys are full of giggles these days.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were a big hit among Packers fans this month. We can't wait for April when the Fearsome Foursome makes their first trip to Green Bay and Lambeau Field.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I didn't put the blanket over his mouth but he sure does look cute.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgFCRwE-o7JTd6jYThS8zSn6ja72YCch0vsT2xuzH3EnJ3gJRpwrH1xqhPFAyCdKRY0yeHaJ_jDD0IXq6oBMr64jn0rs-aRXa74pPF9Il7d1WUsg3RvBcsvpQh6K-96UlYMA_pq08OP7I/s1600/HZNF6804.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgFCRwE-o7JTd6jYThS8zSn6ja72YCch0vsT2xuzH3EnJ3gJRpwrH1xqhPFAyCdKRY0yeHaJ_jDD0IXq6oBMr64jn0rs-aRXa74pPF9Il7d1WUsg3RvBcsvpQh6K-96UlYMA_pq08OP7I/s400/HZNF6804.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet Micah melts my heart.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roland will play happily in his seat for a long time, but when he's done, he's done!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRqzVlx8NMbIVH2SpsocW_GTwXRZxOE-woRwSJRuRJ6s4_n0hi9ovaSN5WNU6RL2x6F58HsO-FnWShYiO35_MelfhtA35bbkwzBn60oIhZAL52QYlDWfN00uriLNBZ1YuSZ2q2XkN3_Mc/s1600/KHUL8305.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRqzVlx8NMbIVH2SpsocW_GTwXRZxOE-woRwSJRuRJ6s4_n0hi9ovaSN5WNU6RL2x6F58HsO-FnWShYiO35_MelfhtA35bbkwzBn60oIhZAL52QYlDWfN00uriLNBZ1YuSZ2q2XkN3_Mc/s400/KHUL8305.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four bears getting ready for the short walk to the eye doctor.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDn7qwobwK-d3FuPltU7szT9sXfjoTjY-OGIhH4BFVl-I0CsszRRJ0zwQNyZji38C1iC2cLHpNuL6yzV7jf7U5QvS1tVGE7hEEyO6tdSwZBaieK5RZyU1i9Slx4bW12KptkJHzLlkFLyI/s1600/LKNN5531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDn7qwobwK-d3FuPltU7szT9sXfjoTjY-OGIhH4BFVl-I0CsszRRJ0zwQNyZji38C1iC2cLHpNuL6yzV7jf7U5QvS1tVGE7hEEyO6tdSwZBaieK5RZyU1i9Slx4bW12KptkJHzLlkFLyI/s400/LKNN5531.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can anyone tell yet that Roland enjoys the spotlight?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKL_DL_czXHb69LKABCGgPAP0hfttiEkZl2c4ALOmH26HTs3c8SwWe0mZh49J3Xzatmqx2vhJvt58c447a9MCVuy6US4ENkZUDXjCT4-ouTQpgRJJP6swF_nkYcJ9qXff_dL1YpxSWedQ/s1600/MWXM1379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKL_DL_czXHb69LKABCGgPAP0hfttiEkZl2c4ALOmH26HTs3c8SwWe0mZh49J3Xzatmqx2vhJvt58c447a9MCVuy6US4ENkZUDXjCT4-ouTQpgRJJP6swF_nkYcJ9qXff_dL1YpxSWedQ/s400/MWXM1379.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We spend lots of time playing on the couch. No one is rolling yet, but I think we're close, so we spend more and more time playing on the floor.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Mgt7tLiWxTojIh-kRFRv0PFILJoURhvpY3JgMMTRD0lxPy9gkhdL3jIXkqyWtg75H4W6HHHmqy6WKv9yW3T3YRTvIs995DMapaPhFdJQk19gywKdPMrVjhF_vUApJy8Sjx5R78AlPa8/s1600/PPKY7163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Mgt7tLiWxTojIh-kRFRv0PFILJoURhvpY3JgMMTRD0lxPy9gkhdL3jIXkqyWtg75H4W6HHHmqy6WKv9yW3T3YRTvIs995DMapaPhFdJQk19gywKdPMrVjhF_vUApJy8Sjx5R78AlPa8/s400/PPKY7163.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More diva.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQ7OoMDbX54-nfheDPACqwg-6Ue8jnL-ZbaIL9ORrny3MCBidFYxBD-czelzk_3P3C4qtDQtf0whIWg5kPAA3BrtcZhcS1gpnwtJCXyfZ9ETGAHunRvyTFmiitEHP9cM0iE9rDAMkj_U/s1600/QDCT5375.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQ7OoMDbX54-nfheDPACqwg-6Ue8jnL-ZbaIL9ORrny3MCBidFYxBD-czelzk_3P3C4qtDQtf0whIWg5kPAA3BrtcZhcS1gpnwtJCXyfZ9ETGAHunRvyTFmiitEHP9cM0iE9rDAMkj_U/s400/QDCT5375.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And just when you think she's the cutest baby girl ever, she does this.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjovNykoZtHxYOzrauupk2ParxGrZirP59en2fBd7ELvZ0MovqTsGuPswe0oEoa7ZKJLFzhy1X2TLHVn3PFzOPIarJGE5kHOU4g8t0PunMsOaGGsJihsdbGV33eBRVFK0Q5dbq88o6nvCk/s1600/QSWR1981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjovNykoZtHxYOzrauupk2ParxGrZirP59en2fBd7ELvZ0MovqTsGuPswe0oEoa7ZKJLFzhy1X2TLHVn3PFzOPIarJGE5kHOU4g8t0PunMsOaGGsJihsdbGV33eBRVFK0Q5dbq88o6nvCk/s400/QSWR1981.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue eyed boys.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieYw1JqgKTZCvmMOkBvKbFzxt2ZbzV1Hxl82Yoj7pT2kxWAciQIuWB2ZJH7TISHc83xqMJfgny8xAVVpmXYthWjGDAyqZQxIIAysVt9eXHBw7LPpnp73_sCgD7V3zQc1t46SkZNVH3so/s1600/RDBM3939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieYw1JqgKTZCvmMOkBvKbFzxt2ZbzV1Hxl82Yoj7pT2kxWAciQIuWB2ZJH7TISHc83xqMJfgny8xAVVpmXYthWjGDAyqZQxIIAysVt9eXHBw7LPpnp73_sCgD7V3zQc1t46SkZNVH3so/s400/RDBM3939.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Micah took advantage of some play time at the doctor's office.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0DOTXxsgy7zdQ4rTaU3gu7RxBK2Zc7oPNklOlQwzqeCa-KoGwLazHzV9j4H-VnGhW8n5e15s0qLMi7ZoIpF_p8fFiAbZDn2gfxkM6fiM1ZUzwVFSPhhQP9I3tfAo8sXC7E1REJwp9GI/s1600/SPAI0095.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix0DOTXxsgy7zdQ4rTaU3gu7RxBK2Zc7oPNklOlQwzqeCa-KoGwLazHzV9j4H-VnGhW8n5e15s0qLMi7ZoIpF_p8fFiAbZDn2gfxkM6fiM1ZUzwVFSPhhQP9I3tfAo8sXC7E1REJwp9GI/s400/SPAI0095.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have read that eye color can change until they are about a year old, so there is still time, but Roland is bluer than ever.</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuL3koeMO8JwgrC8f54qYSHoN0TA7QRFiV7DZNqzDoaPYCcq0ePICoHnjHd2bA7YWyYcFUwVkf5ti6TmMboescy44DnW4zU-oH1DHYWHE0tPzaejaz2apHWDWj4ef4wF0FeRAZ9WZ924A/s1600/SRZG6594.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuL3koeMO8JwgrC8f54qYSHoN0TA7QRFiV7DZNqzDoaPYCcq0ePICoHnjHd2bA7YWyYcFUwVkf5ti6TmMboescy44DnW4zU-oH1DHYWHE0tPzaejaz2apHWDWj4ef4wF0FeRAZ9WZ924A/s400/SRZG6594.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daddy and Marin Grace enjoying a catnap under the floor gym.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnadMY4G74YlXKSKBZz0nmC3ZavxiEZPbaXjBcCi1W4Pn-APqptzdLMEbwu2vlfOERL_Eivdv9tLIS2ZVhP8fwbSW8L5PLtQAgdwcy6M-gj1zyCHn1MObqNNk6UROdfj0tN8R0UGFZjnU/s1600/TDLV9899.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnadMY4G74YlXKSKBZz0nmC3ZavxiEZPbaXjBcCi1W4Pn-APqptzdLMEbwu2vlfOERL_Eivdv9tLIS2ZVhP8fwbSW8L5PLtQAgdwcy6M-gj1zyCHn1MObqNNk6UROdfj0tN8R0UGFZjnU/s400/TDLV9899.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New friends.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg3lOMOGX48jg39Ofht1TxQFp5NwT-z6t9UqzVtNTVElVS0q77qDhW-LtQzEl1xwXPiZspPSFyJnjf0RxUy2q7sSvOpvBtTNSJ1-UvDh2AcbRyNe9awLEBTLoeQyEek-C03nbCUdF6Vps/s1600/TKDK5118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg3lOMOGX48jg39Ofht1TxQFp5NwT-z6t9UqzVtNTVElVS0q77qDhW-LtQzEl1xwXPiZspPSFyJnjf0RxUy2q7sSvOpvBtTNSJ1-UvDh2AcbRyNe9awLEBTLoeQyEek-C03nbCUdF6Vps/s400/TKDK5118.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Definitely our ham, Roland.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOvIRwdrca9nGr6ng5wZRhXl4gK1ZFfIpIRHnxsz4QNI8hwchj71Zxqu9SJiC0tPWWW6MYJLXFjocZ_1cfWYQXmzgPhTtKOFpPG0CEoUUO3eNdAHNnxtbuNj9YHFMamHnaDRD1H7hgbjI/s1600/TTEH7603.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOvIRwdrca9nGr6ng5wZRhXl4gK1ZFfIpIRHnxsz4QNI8hwchj71Zxqu9SJiC0tPWWW6MYJLXFjocZ_1cfWYQXmzgPhTtKOFpPG0CEoUUO3eNdAHNnxtbuNj9YHFMamHnaDRD1H7hgbjI/s400/TTEH7603.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everybody is doing great at tummy time, though sometimes they get lazy and fight it. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDb33JPcLyefiiNqAdpNvBQTcCgnhBox6QxOJE3_vtz0mbdQLoHxh0Idv0-ECP1I4BAth8Fn0KkojUrn7FyWy_AfKKnpKeb7dy7zVeVAG-ZwiU0YkVfCG8Nh2NnqgHReslx0Bk3jhDSVQ/s1600/YFBG9655.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDb33JPcLyefiiNqAdpNvBQTcCgnhBox6QxOJE3_vtz0mbdQLoHxh0Idv0-ECP1I4BAth8Fn0KkojUrn7FyWy_AfKKnpKeb7dy7zVeVAG-ZwiU0YkVfCG8Nh2NnqgHReslx0Bk3jhDSVQ/s400/YFBG9655.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweetness.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2PVSiOqotUrNFoFYJUhtsOkmHLlTW2QGFq6EGik8ORG9_aM54lduBVc_3Tkh-54zL8WYcWmlvhjGrfYtZ_Ff9r-YxFN_-_SvLvJltYiOsUipWzokvnS_S3bkOI_U6-NPWktbKo4ak1vQ/s1600/UKTT0364.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2PVSiOqotUrNFoFYJUhtsOkmHLlTW2QGFq6EGik8ORG9_aM54lduBVc_3Tkh-54zL8WYcWmlvhjGrfYtZ_Ff9r-YxFN_-_SvLvJltYiOsUipWzokvnS_S3bkOI_U6-NPWktbKo4ak1vQ/s400/UKTT0364.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Dude, put your tongue away. You look ridiculous!"<br /><br /></td></tr>
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I hope that's not picture overload, but there was just so much cute to share this month!<br />
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Until next time, love and blessings,<br />
<br />
Jen & Andy<br />
Sweets, Squeaks, Smiles & Sleeps<br />
<br />Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-14717274548745537862016-01-27T15:16:00.000-08:002016-01-27T15:16:12.323-08:00Why yes, my hands ARE full. You may have noticed a distinct lack of activity here these days. Not surprisingly, as the babies get more and more active it has become increasingly difficult to find time to write and edit blog posts. It's sad because every single day something happens that I badly want to share with you. To that end, I've decided to add a Facebook page to share day to day happenings quickly. I will continue to update big events here at the blog, but you will see them with much less frequency than the Facebook page.<br />
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So if you'd like to keep up with us, head on over to Facebook and Like the new page, (did you guess the name?) "Why yes, my hands ARE full". <br />
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Love and blessings,<br />
<br />
Andy and Jen<br />
Sweetness, Tank, The Lip and Princess PorkusJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-91282198743538236352015-12-31T10:19:00.000-08:002015-12-31T10:23:28.495-08:00Farewell 2015!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What a December we had here. The babies turned three months old, and spent the entire month sick. Can you believe it? They've had colds for a full third if their short little lives! Thankfully that didn't stop us from doing our big three month photo shoot.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bAU6NkAzJCw/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bAU6NkAzJCw?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbfro2H2wTB_XVieZwNj9FlCNO8S_nP5t3C6Q9JNlLmMIFx3B0u5tiVRsZMlQ4gzf0e14RYYHJR-Yo8jlII4VnVmeX1eiAMmLzbHYigv3A2CZVTbt3ABC8rUuPfQPri066qFqAH_jBWxw/s1600/DTHW1705.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbfro2H2wTB_XVieZwNj9FlCNO8S_nP5t3C6Q9JNlLmMIFx3B0u5tiVRsZMlQ4gzf0e14RYYHJR-Yo8jlII4VnVmeX1eiAMmLzbHYigv3A2CZVTbt3ABC8rUuPfQPri066qFqAH_jBWxw/s400/DTHW1705.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The colds aren't slowing them down too much. They love play time!<br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">I followed up with the doctor weekly, but since they weren't running fevers it was only last week that the doctor wanted to see them. He confirmed that they do indeed simply have lingering colds that they keep passing and mutating between them. We are hoping that the end will come soon. There was other good news from the doctor's office when the kiddos hit the scales. Their weights are amazing! Micah is over the 80th percentile and all are over the 50th percentile. Here are their weights as of last Tuesday.</span><br />
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Micah- 10lbs. 7oz.<br />
Becker - 9lbs. 12oz.<br />
Roland - 9lbs. 8oz.<br />
Marin - 9lbs. 13oz.<br />
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Because of their colds we've been extra careful about visitors. RSV is our biggest fear during the winter so there is lots of hands washing and sanitizing going on around here. Our first Christmas together turned out to be very quiet. Andy's parents were both out of town. We had planned to see mine, however my dad caught a cold and had to stay away, and my mom had the flu running through her office so she had to stay away as well!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyqMr-JL8oV0egu7O0vbxQXbFqAMigxFdro465z1wUKUPL4MpSEYzUdb34poEtR9wNzUcPj2Wptcisi49OeSe2xzQ78zCbeebl0EiNpoYqnkA1qhhCYr32R5L0PWPAyIPEWlQzPeVFTw/s1600/RZCM2554.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuyqMr-JL8oV0egu7O0vbxQXbFqAMigxFdro465z1wUKUPL4MpSEYzUdb34poEtR9wNzUcPj2Wptcisi49OeSe2xzQ78zCbeebl0EiNpoYqnkA1qhhCYr32R5L0PWPAyIPEWlQzPeVFTw/s400/RZCM2554.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Christmas group photo in their outfits from Grandma Mary. Roland has been working on his pout for weeks now and on Christmas Eve he felt that all his hard work had finally paid off. You can't see the subtle lip quiver in the photo, but, oh, trust me, it's there.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gP7ECk0DQeMvdifclcPRt-k3YbG1ilsFDawLEZuI9bSAOc5_ZxeURlhA2pFyJDC74tseUEnR3OX41r9TA7JUkPbsqIZwAd1y3f7-7GuQxpbeI1od_EcTyNvw6WnewPU4HeWCynImLQQ/s1600/DEUA7194.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3gP7ECk0DQeMvdifclcPRt-k3YbG1ilsFDawLEZuI9bSAOc5_ZxeURlhA2pFyJDC74tseUEnR3OX41r9TA7JUkPbsqIZwAd1y3f7-7GuQxpbeI1od_EcTyNvw6WnewPU4HeWCynImLQQ/s400/DEUA7194.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">People keep asking whether we got all the babies photos with the tree and the answer is "no". <br />
I guess being the big brother has it's perks!</td></tr>
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Christmas Eve was warmer than average for Michigan so we decided to load the babies into their strollers and head out for our first walk. We bundled the kiddos and headed downtown. It was a great walk, followed by the not so traditional Christmas Tater Tot Casserole and viewing of one of my favorite movies, the 80s Classic, The Beastmaster. On a side note, if you haven't seen The Beastmaster, do yourself a favor and watch it. And if you are going for the full 80's B movie experience, make it a double feature with the original Clash of the Titans staring the incomparable Harry Hamlin. You won't be sorry.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUL_HhzW15Hnf7bUaF166DEMQH3oxrgrahjezG_pcvFVbZQxB46BUboxiw8kBdODI_nZQLOAjDGWTL9u3KpQsJ785O8ERvPle8DgkkkD5xAnqb7sb7GTJWTNJQrN7sTxk-96irCVurOE/s1600/HTTV7785.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUL_HhzW15Hnf7bUaF166DEMQH3oxrgrahjezG_pcvFVbZQxB46BUboxiw8kBdODI_nZQLOAjDGWTL9u3KpQsJ785O8ERvPle8DgkkkD5xAnqb7sb7GTJWTNJQrN7sTxk-96irCVurOE/s400/HTTV7785.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bundled up in their warm suits from Becky!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First outing in the strollers. We let the BeagleDog get in on the action too.</td></tr>
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I want to take a moment to talk about a serious topic with which you may not be familiar. Two words. Bald shaming. Bald shaming has gotten a bad rap but you can't argue with results. Just days after my little talk with Micah he began to sprout beautiful new hair buds and now barely three weeks later he has a gorgeous head of hair!<br />
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In addition to his new hair and awesome weight gain, Micah has started smiling and cooing. He gets sweeter every day. He loves to sit up and look around. He has outgrown all his newborn clothes and this morning got to wear his first hand me down from his daddy, a really groovy Packers sleeper. I think he looks pretty handsome!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So Many Mielers...So Many Chins!</td></tr>
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Becker continues to squeak and dance. He loves both! Our little runt is becoming a big guy. For a while he was as wide as he was long. I had taken to calling him The Block. Now he's finally getting tall, though his face still looks like a square. A very cute square. A very cute, blue eyed, fuzzy headed, squeaky square.<br />
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Roland has been such a mellow guy lately. He is our champion sleeper these days. I have to wake him up almost every night for the overnight feed. He has an awesome smile, and, like the others, is starting to imitate facial gestures like grinning and sticking out his tongue. He is spending a lot of time awake and loves looking around at his surroundings. He has been spending quite a bit of time in the floor seat and adores the view!<br />
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Marin is, well, cranky. She's a bit of a diva. Definitely a drama queen. She has mastered the cry and can manifest multiple giant, fat tears within moments of the onset of the tantrum. If she is picked up she is suddenly and magically happy. She has decided she's not a huge fan of her Rock and Play, but absolutely adores tummy time. This is how a typical Little Lady day unfolds.<br />
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Me: Put Marin in Rock and Play after feeding, burping and changing<br />
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Diva: "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"<br />
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Me: Pick up Marin, sit her upright in my lap.<br />
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Princess Pork Pie: So very tired. Can't keep eyes open. Must crumple right here in mommy's lap. "Zzzzzzzzzzzzz."<br />
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Me: Yay, sleeping baby. Back to the Rock and Play<br />
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Drama Queen: "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"<br />
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Thankfully, when she's sweet she's super sweet and it more than makes up for the cranky times. She is a super snuggler. She also refuses to wear two socks, but has mastered keeping one on for several days.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marin operates in two modes. Sleeping... </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...snd Sassy!</td></tr>
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A couple weeks ago Andy and I were able to drive to the wedding of one of his high school friends in Chicago thanks to the Grandma's willingness to babysit. It was a great evening and a much needed foray into adult conversation. Hopefully I didn't slip and baby talk to anyone.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rare glimpse of me NOT in my pajama pants.</td></tr>
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As we close 2015 and welcome 2016 I can't help but be reminded of how richly God has blessed us this year, with four healthy babies, amazing family, wonderful friends, and the best Prayer Warriors ever. I hope that we have been, and continue to be, faithful stewards of all that has been entrusted to us.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Becker and Micah in their matching duds.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Andy, please refrain from eating The Spaceman.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sympathy tantrum.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playtime!</td></tr>
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I'll leave you with a little video I call "Bromance". Enjoy!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/CMDkZVgQ3Qs/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CMDkZVgQ3Qs?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Love, blessings, and a Happy 2016 to you all!<br />
<br />
Jen and Andy<br />
Sweetness, Block, The Lip and Porkus<br />
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<br />Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-91558831250795234022015-12-08T12:45:00.003-08:002015-12-08T12:45:40.621-08:00"The Talk"I had hoped that I was years away from having this talk with any of the kids. I certainly never anticipated dealing with this before they hit three months. Today I had to face the fact that for Micah the time had come, and I could no longer avoid the truth. It went much like this.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poor little bald fella.</td></tr>
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<br />Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-52876527045765153862015-11-30T13:33:00.001-08:002015-11-30T13:33:37.670-08:00An Epic Birthday.I'll bet when you read "epic", you thought of a few words. Wonderful, perhaps? Fabulous? Amazing? The best ever? Well, in this case, the context of epic, was epically bad. But more on that later.<br />
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First, a happy Thanksgiving to you all. We had a spectacular day around here. Both of my parents and stepparents, as well as Andy's mom and stepdad, descended on our house, feast in hand. We literally didn't have to lift a finger, including to hold babies, who were cuddled from start to finish. The only blemish on the day was that my awesome sister, The Bug, whose idea the whole celebration was, got sick and was unable to join us. Though the day was wonderful, her presence would have made it a little sweeter. That, and a Packers win. Don't even get me started on our beloved Packers season thus far.<br />
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The day after Thanksgiving, our Micah (SweetMicah) came down with a cold, followed quickly by Becker (Spaceman, Squeaks), Roland (The Gunslinger) and Marin Grace (Pork Pie, Baby Girl). Can you imagine having four sick two month olds? It's as bad as you've imagined. I'm pretty sure that Andy was excited to go back to work today.<br />
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On another topic, did you know that the 22nd was my due date? That these babies would be just a week old now had I held off until then? Amazing, when I reflect on all they have accomplished in just a couple months; breathing on their own, lifting their heads, trying to roll, smiling, cooing, Marin beating a PDA and a pneumothorax, perfecting a hundred different cries to signal their needs, following rattles with their eyes, taking nearly four ounces from their bottles at each feed, and so many other things that are too numerous to list here.<br />
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Here's a little glimpse at then and now.<br />
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I call Micah SweetMicah for exactly the reason you'd guess. He is amazingly sweet. If you were to pick him up you'd find that he just melts into you. He's not fussy, he doesn't cry much, he loves to look around, and he loves to make eye contact. He's just, well, sweet. The poor boy did run into a bit of bad luck though. A couple weeks ago he started losing his hair. On top. Only on top. He still has his nice dark side hair, but on top, nothing. With a hat on he looks like his same sweet self, but take off the hat, and you have Terry Bradshaw. Needless to say, it's hat on for now.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet Baby.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terry Bradshaw.</td></tr>
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Little Becker is the comedian of the group. I wish I could tell you why. Is it the squeaks? The squawks? The funny faces? The hair sticking up? All of these? It's hard to say for sure, but whatever it is, he makes everyone laugh. Unfortunately for him, it's even hard to take him seriously when he's crying because that's funny too. He and Roland are tied for lightest baby now at just about seven pounds each, but Becker seems smaller because he's shorter that Roland. He may turn out to be our stocky guy. We'll see, but for now, he's the funny guy.<br />
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Roland is wide-eyed and curious. He adores looking around the room, and spends more and more time awake these days. He is crazy about his Sit Me Up Floor Seat. He is also not afraid to let us know when he is displeased. His cry is definitely attention-getting, complete with tears and lip-quiver. Andy thinks Roland is the momma's boy of the pack, and this momma is fine with that! Roland is still a little guy, but getting taller by the day. I'm guessing that he's working on becoming long and lean like dad.<br />
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And then there's our Baby Girl. Marin Grace is one of a kind. She's growing every day, and in the last few weeks since she's been able to take a bottle and kicked the feeding tube, her chubby cheeks are beginning to shrink. For a while, the lack of exercising her cheek muscles had her looking an awful lot like Quagmire on Family Guy. She is beginning to look facially proportionate at last! Our little Pork Pie is, however, not without her issues. First, she still goes cross eyed from time to time, though this is getting better every week. Next, I'll try to put this delicately, she struggles with occasional, er, frequent, gas. Last, when she cries, it's less like a baby crying and more like a sheep blatting, if that sheep were two hundred pounds and using a megaphone. Despite all this, we couldn't be crazier about her. I just melt when she looks at me, and when she smiles I'd probably give her chocolate if she asked. She's becoming quite the little charmer, despite her less ladylike moments.<br />
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Many people ask how we feed four babies. When Andy and I are both at home, we feed two at a time. When Andy is at the office, the old adage, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" proves true. I feed whoever is grumpiest first, then the other two. The strongest feeder goes on the side and the weaker on our laps. My Aunt Jayne captured the feeding routine, as well as a lot of the other photos posted today, during her visit Saturday, when she dropped off about two thousand diapers for the crew. Two thousand, by the way, is not an exaggeration. The diapers, the visit, and the great photos were all much appreciated.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burping Roland while feeding Micah.<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The classic Double Burp.</td></tr>
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Okay, on to the epic birthday. Is is Murphy's Law that says anything that can go wrong, will? Well, that's the kind of day we had Sunday, which happened to be The Hubs Birthday. I can spare you a lot of the details by simply reminding you that we were home with sick quadruplets, and that neither Andy nor I were feeling anywhere near 100% to boot.<br />
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The evening, fittingly, was just as bad as the rest of the day had been. Let me try to set the scene for you. I was upstairs with the babies, at least two of which were screaming at the top of their lungs at all times. The babies not screaming were busying themselves alternating between coughing and sneezing. Every four and a half seconds or so I was sucking snot out of one of them with the NoseFrida, a nifty tool which allows me to neatly suck gobs of snot using my own mouth and a flexible tube. Yes, gross.<br />
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Andy, in an attempt at a much needed escape, decided to head to the basement to start construction a base for the new, quad sized washer and dryer we have arriving tomorrow. (Note: When I say quad sized, I do not mean that we will be putting babies into the washer or dryer, but that the capacity will be large enough to allow us to keep up with the massive amount of laundry the quads generate. Please do not email me imploring me not to put babies in the appliances.) I suspect that the combined music of screaming, sawing and drilling would have quickly driven any visitors out the door that night!<br />
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As he worked, Andy, ever a keen observer, noted a change in his environment, namely the sudden appearance of a liquid. Dripping. On his head. A less than pleasant smelling liquid. When he came upstairs to learn the source of the liquid, it was discovered that our Beagle Dog, Lambeau had chosen that moment to pee on the wood floor. To give you a better sense of how incredible this is, let me clarify the following. I can count only a handful of times that Lambeau has ever gone to the bathroom in the house. It happens maybe once a year. Maybe less. Couple that with the fact that Andy spends probably less than ten minutes per year standing in that precise spot in the basement. Add to that the fact that his Birthday rolls around just once per year, and the fact that these three events came together on the same day at precisely the correct moment makes the whole thing pretty incredible. I think Andy will come to see the humor in it. Someday.<br />
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I leave you with a video of all the peanuts looking pretty darn cute, just being themselves. As the late, great Fred Rogers would say, "I like you just the way you are".<br />
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Until next time!<br />
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Jen and Andy<br />
SweetMicah, Spaceman, The Gunslinger and Pork Pie<br />
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<br />Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-89570155791098696062015-11-25T09:22:00.002-08:002015-11-25T09:22:26.494-08:00Rockin'<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: start;">While the babies are on strict TV ban, we do encourage music around here, which often leads to dancing. Becker, as you can see, took to it like a fish to water. Enjoy!</span></div>
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<br />Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-10580239390076193152015-11-20T15:43:00.000-08:002015-11-20T15:43:24.457-08:00The More Things Change...Remember ages ago when I told you I was a control freak? Apparently that hasn't changed. Andy is upstairs with Becker and Roland and I have Micah and Marin downstairs. I've been sitting here thinking that I should move Marin over by Micah and me. Marin Grace, however, is Baby D and Baby D belongs in the D position in our little line. So there she sits, way over there, because my psyche cannot handle her being in the "wrong" spot. Yes, I understand I'm not well. Hopefully she won't be telling this to a psychiatrist in fifteen years!<br />
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<br />Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-56933645835466995502015-11-15T13:58:00.001-08:002015-11-20T15:42:01.214-08:00Marin & the Murder of Mielers. Alternate title: You Complete Me. Last week Marin seemed to decide it was time to work on breaking free, so it was not a surprise when Friday we got the call that she would likely join us the following day. To this emotional mother the day seemed both like the end of an era and the start of our next amazing adventure, so I asked Andy how he would feel about gathering the whole family for the big event. After some good natured eye rolling, Andy agreed that getting three babies changed, dressed, fed, loaded into carseats, moved to the van, driven to the parking garage, unloaded from the van, carried in carseats across the skyway and up three floors to the NICU, then reversing the process with four babies seemed like a great idea, so the next morning we were off to pick up our baby girl.<br />
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One of the most special parts of the day was that our primary nurses, Samantha and Jen, were there to say goodbye. Jen was not even working, but drove the twenty miles over from her town to see the quads again. If you have been through the NICU experience, you know exactly how we feel about these ladies. If not, perhaps I can paint the picture for you. When the babies were newly born and so tiny and fragile, the machines monitoring their heart rate, oxygen, and breathing rate caused a constant chorus of beeps and alarms through their area of the NICU. For new parents, unfamiliar with either the alarms or the accompanying colored lights, the reassurance of the nurses was an enormous comfort. The hospital gave each baby a little book for their milestones, and Jen was meticulous about recording each new achievement and pasting them to the books. Our wonderful first month footprint cards were a lovely and unsolicited gift from Sam. I can't imagine how many hours I passed in our little corner of the world rocking babies as I talked to these amazing ladies about nothing, and everything. There came in point in our stay when it seemed that the boys were making such amazing progress and Marin, to my eyes, was taking only steps back. As I stood near tears next to Marin's isolette, Sam came to my side, and, as if reading my mind, told me how wonderful Marin was doing, that it was only that the boys were doing so much better than expected that made Marin seem slower by comparison. What had been a moment of despair had quickly been turned to a moment of joy and pride by the kind and timely words. As time passed and the boys began to come home, with each new baby at home I was able to spend less time at the NICU with the remaining babies. By the time only Marin was left, my time with her was an hour or less per day. I don't know how I would have gotten through those last couple weeks without the comfort of knowing that Marin was under the care of people who knew her and cared for her. We will never forget Sam and Jen or the contribution they made to the early days of our family.<br />
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That night we had planned to attend a small family get together, a chance we wouldn't likely have again until after flu and RSV seasons have passed in the spring. Though it had been only a few short hours since Marin had come home, we decided not only to keep the date, but to surprise the family with Marin. Andy had left for a couple hours to run a couple errands, but planned to back in plenty of time to help me with changing, feeding, dressing and getting the babies into their carseats and van. Unfortunately, Andy got delayed and I was on my own for the first ever foursome feeding. As you might imagine, it was not smooth. I had fed the boys on my own many times, however the whole group naturally chose my first solo feed and the first time we were trying to get out the door at a specific time for their first epic group meltdown. There was screaming, squirming, squeaking, squawking, and a variety of projectile fluids as I tried desperately to get them ready for my mom's house, and hopefully clean!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq52Cot9va77Rqpc_NNw3bVKvgx2ixQq-DgKA5NuvNMoVz3MCxFGh0KEH7GHFUKo1lg_BmQkgC64BnGRsD-e1XGiBXVm-E4dkHJ4xlHP_aGsLTMtfY8bHAEdOc3T7gvqZSIojotQWYSLE/s1600/RYUB0040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq52Cot9va77Rqpc_NNw3bVKvgx2ixQq-DgKA5NuvNMoVz3MCxFGh0KEH7GHFUKo1lg_BmQkgC64BnGRsD-e1XGiBXVm-E4dkHJ4xlHP_aGsLTMtfY8bHAEdOc3T7gvqZSIojotQWYSLE/s400/RYUB0040.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks to my sister, who insists she did not go "a little crazy" shopping at Carter's, we had plenty of cute outfits from which to choose.</td></tr>
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And wonder of wonders, we arrived safe and sound, clean and fresh, and only thirty minutes behind schedule. I handed off the three boys, covered in their carseats, to family, and was delighted by the shouts of joy and excitement as I pulled the unexpected fourth seat out. Hubs joined the party shortly after and we had a fabulous evening enjoying Uncle Dave's legendary fried fish and homemade coleslaw. The babies were a hit and we enjoyed many proud parent moments as everyone exclaimed over and over how wonderful they were. I couldn't agree more.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grandma's first group hug!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji19UDi3hgeUBqOzqjYfd6lqjYwWtSxBdKj9U2nyFzX5ihs5nvjYeTt-eitVLkvPvoX9U3srupO8jHfVWbSfGPDycHe5a1Mxinz5QN79oM9IyFBPbFW3S5K0vjLJb4ddzE3G8_CyfcXt4/s1600/LENM3133.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji19UDi3hgeUBqOzqjYfd6lqjYwWtSxBdKj9U2nyFzX5ihs5nvjYeTt-eitVLkvPvoX9U3srupO8jHfVWbSfGPDycHe5a1Mxinz5QN79oM9IyFBPbFW3S5K0vjLJb4ddzE3G8_CyfcXt4/s400/LENM3133.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grandma snuggling with Roland.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzW5KNs1lVBQIHuXbXzn8E_SvlCAAE3n5wohkOfIQlW_lILhnCK-lY4Va3n1dyOjTgs2_gwYP4YwBXKdaxPHXk_sm8jXLI-Sc_6bClPFSdNhmi8prw5dcxexRBSzqSHO_D5GXrbwDnYk/s1600/GVHT6977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzW5KNs1lVBQIHuXbXzn8E_SvlCAAE3n5wohkOfIQlW_lILhnCK-lY4Va3n1dyOjTgs2_gwYP4YwBXKdaxPHXk_sm8jXLI-Sc_6bClPFSdNhmi8prw5dcxexRBSzqSHO_D5GXrbwDnYk/s400/GVHT6977.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My lovely cousins, Megan and Laura, enjoying time with Micah and Becker. Laura and Micah were inseperable most of the evening. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfLoNWPdiZB_OwL2ErOXd5sMBGqfyqFwJJAZwr9nEvghzDzGqeJdILivwv7Vu6rTDWuUtqvecWkFQiQkiUqWHJpL7LouypSU_WwGD2soC5tIMGJNhq2jd2Fc_Bn2PfobALkJjLuUyE2Xw/s1600/FTJY0381.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfLoNWPdiZB_OwL2ErOXd5sMBGqfyqFwJJAZwr9nEvghzDzGqeJdILivwv7Vu6rTDWuUtqvecWkFQiQkiUqWHJpL7LouypSU_WwGD2soC5tIMGJNhq2jd2Fc_Bn2PfobALkJjLuUyE2Xw/s400/FTJY0381.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aunt Jayne hadn't seen the babies since her visit to the NICU over a month ago. They've changed so much since then.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWvSM9q4nbCyFHdzqJrVQNBt2r4nBks_r0HG1t6nqN4qP6HqoNIBywNBn2Tyk_pq2VJAP7je8bZ27XuYLckS33EUiYdeYZ0PNr_GoHmQb8lBPt91oV7tdS9E6wb3PhEzlYxusTgk82jco/s1600/YBHA0933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWvSM9q4nbCyFHdzqJrVQNBt2r4nBks_r0HG1t6nqN4qP6HqoNIBywNBn2Tyk_pq2VJAP7je8bZ27XuYLckS33EUiYdeYZ0PNr_GoHmQb8lBPt91oV7tdS9E6wb3PhEzlYxusTgk82jco/s400/YBHA0933.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Uncle Dave was pretty smitten.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ahd1B8eRh4zF7hWUX66ej2wNljWkemYhC-V0_6_CC2TzV91NeqbSGQToLd-GDLeT3uKqbxGaf4NpE9HBp6Z8KdbUX2LhIcr5DBShcoVGmeSexTbOOgzzsZmarY3kjyNxjGHAY0xPjnA/s1600/REOO6776.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ahd1B8eRh4zF7hWUX66ej2wNljWkemYhC-V0_6_CC2TzV91NeqbSGQToLd-GDLeT3uKqbxGaf4NpE9HBp6Z8KdbUX2LhIcr5DBShcoVGmeSexTbOOgzzsZmarY3kjyNxjGHAY0xPjnA/s400/REOO6776.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marin was wiped out from all the excitement.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWytuGmsaX1V5IdnpBVKS4hqHdJ1SOov2hqR7vMvUF0g2GL33n1Se-Pkz80K11r3IkPfU0N7E2kncPf6-2lvRMW2A67Tgi42lLqjOmzhKHaHT_5yMxbZKDYz34eKJnbXVvIt9qQxfAZbM/s1600/TGAJ8841.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWytuGmsaX1V5IdnpBVKS4hqHdJ1SOov2hqR7vMvUF0g2GL33n1Se-Pkz80K11r3IkPfU0N7E2kncPf6-2lvRMW2A67Tgi42lLqjOmzhKHaHT_5yMxbZKDYz34eKJnbXVvIt9qQxfAZbM/s400/TGAJ8841.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buddies.</td></tr>
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Having four babies at home has been a challenge at times, but accompanied by so much joy. Filling the fourth crib felt absolutely amazing and I could't be happier to have the whole group together at last. I think Marin feels the same way.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73qUkL-n7hcoTzCedRfch4meRRGk9yHmPY-cicyL-4ZK8HicECjrl9wMMuAmMDeFKWUmj_l0LL4_NPAojABSwb2jmBpS3o2k9l2E5mfN9F8OGr0RHiIkhqLOIuepZlgNS-ctdb9IaM6E/s1600/LHBA2501.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi73qUkL-n7hcoTzCedRfch4meRRGk9yHmPY-cicyL-4ZK8HicECjrl9wMMuAmMDeFKWUmj_l0LL4_NPAojABSwb2jmBpS3o2k9l2E5mfN9F8OGr0RHiIkhqLOIuepZlgNS-ctdb9IaM6E/s400/LHBA2501.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new Packer hats are courtesy of Grandma Le Blanc's hairdresser in Green Bay. The timing was great as they had just outgrown their first Packer hats. Sadly, the team spirit from <i>this</i> Pack has not helped <i>the </i>Pack win the last three weeks.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kbpONct57qmNTRCE9LdtswLRi1a86mkr0T3t972_E7t2TuWXZm9Q_2ydvnUsqxmRa7ECP_XB7wNO1dcEL3bXs-RoQeUXpOna7OFSriHlcqP7AYvQHPsk6p4q7GApAOHM-cse7OleiiQ/s1600/TTIM3301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_kbpONct57qmNTRCE9LdtswLRi1a86mkr0T3t972_E7t2TuWXZm9Q_2ydvnUsqxmRa7ECP_XB7wNO1dcEL3bXs-RoQeUXpOna7OFSriHlcqP7AYvQHPsk6p4q7GApAOHM-cse7OleiiQ/s400/TTIM3301.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It warms my heart to see them all together. They love their group snuggles. From bottom: Micah, Marin, Becker and Roland.<br />
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Until next time,<br />
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Andy & Jen<br />
Micah, Becker, Roland & Marin<br />
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<br />Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-27319338916118449322015-10-29T11:49:00.002-07:002015-10-29T11:53:02.487-07:00Homeward Bound.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, it's been a long time, but once again I promise I have a good reason. On Friday, October 16, 2015 I had just gotten out of the shower and saw that I had missed a call. The voicemail left was from Dr. Beaumont at Helen DeVos and it went something like this. "Jen, this is Dr. Beaumont calling. Please call me back to discuss plans for Roland to come home tomorrow, Becker on Sunday, and Micah on Monday."<br />
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Though incredibly excited, I was also very surprised and a little nervous. After all, I've never had infants and most of what I knew about caring for them I had learned in the NICU. I called Andy immediately to share the great, scary, mind blowing, nerve-wracking, well, <i>news </i>anyway. I will never forget his reaction. It is etched into my memory forever. Of course, it was a very easy reaction to remember. Me: "Dr. Beaumont just called to say all three boys may be home by Monday". Andy: "No. No no no no no. No. No. No. No no no no no no no no no. Really? Monday?" I was laughing pretty hard by the end of the call, as his shock pretty well mirrored my own, though he expressed it far more eloquently. You see, there is not a lot of notice at the NICU. Things change quickly. There had been no talk of the boys coming home. We were still expecting their stay to be around seven weeks, certainly not five. There are criteria that must be met prior to discharge. One of these is that the babies be maintaining their own body temperature. They had been taken out of their isolettes over a week before so this milestone was no surprise to us. The other major obstacle to discharge is that the babies take all their feeds by bottle, rather than through their feeding tube, for a full forty eight hours. There had previously been days when one or more of the boys came near the twenty four hour mark, or days when they took a majority by bottle, but never close to the full forty eight. My point is, though we have longed to have the babies home, somehow the call was still a shock.<br />
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As I considered last minute preparations for our first son home, I found myself increasingly excited to see our nursery cribs occupied. The following day we had plans with Andy's dad and stepmom who were flying in from Chicago so the four of us headed over to the hospital to visit four babies, and to take one home. It was a wonderful feeling to watch our boy freed of his tube and leads for the last time. Our tiny but fiercely strong and determined boy looked even smaller in contrast to his carseat.<br />
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I marveled again at the fact that the was the baby who was not supposed to survive, the baby that doctor's would have chosen for reduction, was our first little fighter home. Today I can't imagine a world that doesn't include Roland, our mighty Gunslinger.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLA2TfnHf2aUGQAzWyeS1QjhDoGML3IrNaLvyLc9yx0kYXSo1DAL0dhGsdtD9K0hXLvcbam-PytPBKOWLRVLJlg35aUqm74gSi0X8sNQQAp-ypPQLjdXlaPsHYoQhOwJUnSLLUlWug5E/s1600/RYCT7046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLA2TfnHf2aUGQAzWyeS1QjhDoGML3IrNaLvyLc9yx0kYXSo1DAL0dhGsdtD9K0hXLvcbam-PytPBKOWLRVLJlg35aUqm74gSi0X8sNQQAp-ypPQLjdXlaPsHYoQhOwJUnSLLUlWug5E/s400/RYCT7046.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roland William<br />
Days in NICU: 38<br />
Birth weight: 2lbs. 8oz.<br />
Discharge weight: 4lbs. 4oz.<br />
Discharge status: Mighty.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This mommy may or may not have mistaken butt cream for lotion and slathered it all over her boy's dry forehead.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1RU9V62zP5fOpJHwbsEZKEBzpAnRaawtBaOjmQru4GQqPnRmeARlq2XPLIluZYIiCUCS3zC69tTOZmKIZY5qb1ke9Z3XMfA-jOxp_WFyxjDE_MwUmzKJ91skQsKZLfqrDpUR_zHdRa8/s1600/MTLX4579.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1RU9V62zP5fOpJHwbsEZKEBzpAnRaawtBaOjmQru4GQqPnRmeARlq2XPLIluZYIiCUCS3zC69tTOZmKIZY5qb1ke9Z3XMfA-jOxp_WFyxjDE_MwUmzKJ91skQsKZLfqrDpUR_zHdRa8/s320/MTLX4579.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So much space for such a little guy.</td></tr>
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We had made dinner plans with our guests that night and, after some deliberation, decided to keep them, with the agreement that Roland would stay under the protection of his car seat cover and safe from germs. We went to San Chez, a local Tapas Bistro that has been my favorite restaurant in town since the 90's. The food is consistently good, as is the service, and the atmosphere always feels to me like a gathering of friends. The host was kind enough to put us in an L-shaped booth so that I could put Roland in the corner. Roland didn't make a peep through our whole dinner, though Andy and I peeked into the carseat to check on him roughly every four and a half seconds. It was a great night with family, and I was glad we kept the date. It felt important to me to be able to have the experience of going out with a baby in public. Just one baby, in relative anonymity. I knew that as more babies came home, not only would dinners out become impractical, but our outings as a family would draw attention from people curious about the family with four babies. It was a very <i>normal</i> feeling night, and I enjoyed it thoroughly.<br />
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It was so much fun getting Roland settled, introducing him to his crib, rock and play, bassinet, and the dogs. Putting him to bed each night I would remind him sternly not to get too used to having his own room. It was about to come to an end.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This won't be your own room for long, Little Man!</td></tr>
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Doctor Beaumont's prediction that Becker would join us on Sunday proved incorrect, as little Becker had a small setback when he spit up through his nose and required suction. The hospital requires a minimum of five additional days after such an event so he was to have a few more nights in his comfy NICU bed with his favorite nurses catering to his every need.<br />
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Monday afternoon Micah reached his forty eight hour mark for bottle feeds. Since it was after discharge hours we were informed that he would spend one last night with Becker and Marin at Helen DeVos and come home Tuesday.<br />
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We brought Roland with us to enjoy a visit with Becker and Marin, and soon had both boys loaded into their carseats.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlt5D-2itj8wJZw1hjVVHNxh4KO7dXYRzy6_UvNaByhhzCnzqkDMW7p7HNNqZXr29UlRIs9zfk7KqIeiUE9Ous6ZfAni0Hpb5nQAoECDsXEvK6bKG3JyFCCTYOZABYnhOhgToY_t004fY/s1600/OKNI5230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlt5D-2itj8wJZw1hjVVHNxh4KO7dXYRzy6_UvNaByhhzCnzqkDMW7p7HNNqZXr29UlRIs9zfk7KqIeiUE9Ous6ZfAni0Hpb5nQAoECDsXEvK6bKG3JyFCCTYOZABYnhOhgToY_t004fY/s400/OKNI5230.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Micah Paul<br />
Days in NICU: 41<br />
Birth weight: 3lbs. 0oz.<br />
Discharge weight: 5lbs. 0oz.<br />
Discharge status: Sweet as pie.</td></tr>
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I wish I could describe to you the feeling of putting the boys together for the first time. It was better than amazing. They cuddled up immediately together. We allow them short supervised naps like this, and it seems to be their best sleep of the day.<br />
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A few days later the boys had their first doctor's appointment, where they were proclaimed to be in perfect health.<br />
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That very Friday it was time for our little Becker to join his brothers. Picking up Roland and Micah had been such happy occasions, but I was surprised to feel sad when picking up Becker. Picking up the other boys, I had left the remaining siblings with each other. This time, I was leaving Marin alone. Marin, of course, had no idea that she was alone, but seeing her by herself, occupying the last of our half of the NICU room tugged at my heart.<br />
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Becker Andrew</div>
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Days in NICU: 44</div>
Birth weight: 2lbs. 6oz.<br />
Discharge weight: 4lbs. 5oz.<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Discharge status: (extremely rare) Midwestern Squeaker Monkey</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our little Monkey was somewhat skeptical about sharing his space.</td></tr>
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Andy was supposed to go out of town for the weekend that day but wanted to cancel when we found out that we would have all three boys home. I put on my brave face and assured him I was up to the task of caring for the trio that weekend. Do I need to tell you that I was not up to the task? The boys chose that first night with Andy gone to be up all night! We had recently moved Roland and Micah to a new schedule that worked better with Andy's office schedule. Becker was not excited about the change and he got the whole crew on board with his protest.<br />
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I catch myself referring to Becker as Squeaker because, well, he squeaks. He has a hundred different noises, and most of them involve some form of a squeak. Imagine my surprise when we were ushered into the exam room for his first doctor's appointment and found this picture hanging on the wall.<br />
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It has been so fun, though tiring, having the boys home. I love getting to know them. They are each very different in both looks and personality, so I have been able to get to know three individuals, rather than "the boys." But more about that next time.<br />
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For now, just know how blessed we are to have these beautiful peanuts home with us, and how much we look forward to Marin Grace joining the party and completing our crew, hopefully very soon.<br />
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Love and blessings,<br />
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Jen and Andy<br />
Micah, Becker, Roland and Marin<br />
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<br />Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-24786506101773226792015-10-13T09:45:00.000-07:002015-10-13T09:45:15.264-07:00A Month? Already?How time has flown. It is tough for me to believe that a month has passed already. In some ways it feels like yesterday, but reflecting on their progress it is amazing that they have accomplished so much in such a short time.<br />
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Everyone's faces are filling out. Roland has finally lost his old man wrinkles. Their personalities have changed. Micah and Marin were fussy and feisty, Becker and Roland very calm. These days M & M have become the calm ones, either sleeping or looking happily around their tiny world in the NICU. Roland has formed the very strong opinion that the nurses are not giving him enough food, so he begins to voice his displeasure a full hour before his next feeding is due. Becker is generally pretty happy but seems to learn to use his voice a bit more every day. Not only does he cry, but he has a variety of grunts and coo's to go along with his many facial expressions.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Marin Grace, happily snoozing on my lap. Now that they are able to regulate their own body temperatures they don't have to be constantly swaddled. The tops have even been removed from their isolettes.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Roland, sleepy after a diaper and wardrobe change. All the boys still like to sleep with a hand near their face. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Marin Grace. Remember the white swaddles all the babies were in? MG was the first to outgrow them and move to blanket swaddling. The boys followed quickly behind. This was her first day out of the Dandle Roo swaddle. She didn't seem to mind much.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The nurses keep encouraging me to put a headband on Marin but I'm adamant that it won't happen! She has such girly features already, and those baby headbands always look so tight and uncomfortable to me. I'm sure she'll thank me later.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Becker, with a hand at his face as usual. People lose track of time holding Becker. He's so animated and honestly has a hundred different faces!</span></td></tr>
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Andy enjoying skin to skin (aka Kangaroo Care) time with Micah and Becker. The hospital encourages an hour of this daily as studies have shown that it helps the babies both with their breathing and the release of growth hormones.</div>
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And here I am during skin to skin with Roland and Marin. Roland always stays awake for the first few minutes, while Marin Grace snoozes the moment she hits my chest.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Roland snoozing again. This must have been right after a feeding. Can you tell how much fuller his face looks these days? I keep telling him that he's a real boy now!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This was a big weekend for us. By Saturday, Oct. 10, their one month birthday, Marin's breathing had improved so much that she was able to get off her nasal cannula and take her first bottle! Here's her first bottle with Daddy as they both anticipated the Packers going to 5-0 later that day. Go Pack go!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mr. Micah. His face is filling out too. I think that he and Marin look the most similar, our little M&M's, but they all definitely have their own look. I love watching this guy sleep. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">But it's not all rainbows and puppy dogs here folks. Sometimes boys get fussy. </span></td></tr>
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So this past Saturday, the babies one month birthday, was also my beloved Grandpa's 90th Birthday. They were celebrating with a party of course, but that party was in Green Bay, nearly seven hours away from home and the peanuts. I sent my RSVP with regrets months ago, but as the date got closer I started having some doubts about not going. Friday night I started really feeling like I should be there, and by Saturday morning I had packed a bag, still not sure if I could go through with it. In the end I gathered my willpower, and by the time I passed Chicago I was pretty sure I wasn't going to turn around. I'm so grateful that I was able to make the trip, and so grateful for Andy for encouraging me to go and for being willing to stay near the babies to ease my mind. The look on my Grandpa's face when he saw me was all I needed to know that I made the right choice. It was a great evening celebrating an incredible man.<br />
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Grandpa with all his grandkids. We travelled from Indiana, Michigan </div>
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and Arizona to celebrate with him.</div>
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Grandpa and Grandma (also a very young 90) with their kids, my dad at left, and his younger siblings Mark and Mary. Mark and his wife flew in from California to be there.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">FAQ # 1,236 - "Do twins run in your family?" Yes, and here they are! My dear Grandma Madeline and her twin Marilyn, bookending their older sister Violet. They have two other sisters who were not able to make the trip. How cute are these ladies?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This was a no gift party, but I couldn't resist printing out a bunch of baby pictures to pass along to grandpa. He sat with me for a long time looking at them over and over. He touched each one so gently, as if he were touching each baby rather than their photo. Finally, he looked up at me and asked softly, "So they're really okay?" "Yes, grandpa" I replied. "They're perfect."</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I love this one because it displays so perfectly the tone of the evening. They are such a fun group to be around. My grandparents are some of the most positive people I know and it is so fun to see them still so active.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">Micah, 1 month, 4lbs. 4oz.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">Becker, 1 month, 3lbs. 10oz.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Remember the footprints cards I told you that Sam made for us? Here they are on the left of each picture. On the right is the footprint taken when they were just a couple hours old. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">Roland, 1 month, 4lbs. 1oz.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: left;">Marin Grace, 1 month, 4lbs. 7oz.</span></td></tr>
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This week I caught a little cold, so yesterday I decided to play it safe and stay away from the little ones. Andy picked up the slack and changed a ton of diapers and did some bottle feeding last night as well as skin to skin, so they were in great hands! Since I wasn't able to be with them, I decided to continue preparations for the day they would come home, and finally set up their pack and plays and rock and plays. Baby Central is coming along! It's a good thing too. We could start having babies come home in less than two weeks.<br />
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I also got the carseats put in the van. I am beginning to see why so many of my Quad Mom friends have opted for cargo vans rather than mini vans. Even with three rows, it's a tight squeeze and will be a chore to get babies in and out of the third row. No regrets though! The jump from Mazda3 to mini van was big enough. I'm not quite ready to settle into a cargo van. Yet.</div>
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I woke up early Saturday morning before leaving for Green Bay, to spend time with the peanuts and to celebrate their one month birthday. I am so proud of them already and all they have accomplished in one short month. These are some incredibly strong and determined tiny people. If you can't tell them apart yet, they are, from left, Micah, Becker, Roland and Marin.</div>
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I love this sweet brother moment between Micah and Becker as we got them settled. </div>
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It's so fun to see them interact.</div>
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After their group picture in the crib, the nurses lined them up on me. A better and more organized mom would have thought to swaddle the babies first so that they would be in a nice neat line, rather than looking like a row of wet rag dolls, flopping in the wind. I am apparently not that mom. Sorry kiddos.<br />
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I think you're all caught up now. They continue to grow and change, and we know them a little better each day. We are grateful for them and for each one of you who care about their incredible journey. Blessings multiplied indeed!</div>
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Jen and Andy,</div>
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Micah, Becker, Roland and Marin</div>
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Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-65401308389725828372015-10-13T07:02:00.000-07:002015-10-13T09:44:28.464-07:00Blessings Multiplied.<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center;"> </span><br />
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<span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Verdana, Arial; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 700;">"How He Loves" </span></div>
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David Crowder Band</div>
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And we are His portion and He is our prize,<br />
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,<br />
If his grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.<br />
And Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,<br />
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,<br />
I don't have time to maintain these regrets,<br />
When I think about the way...<br />
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That He loves us,<br />
Oh, how He loves us,<br />
Oh, how He loves us,<br />
Oh, how He loves.<br />
Yeah, He loves us,<br />
Oh, how He loves us,<br />
Oh, how He loves us,<br />
Oh, how He loves.</div>
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Andy and I have been discussing the need to write this post and have been frankly baffled and a bit overwhelemed at thinking of where to begin. Years ago someone suggested to me that the journaling of a gratitude list was a good practice, but I'm not sure that simple gratitude comes close to expressing what we feel. I am a decent writer but I don't know that I have either the writing skills or vocabulary to tell you what Andy and I have experienced this year. The generosity of the human spirit, people at their absolute best, and God's limitless, extravagant grace are just a few phrases that come to mind.<br />
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Blessings multiplied. When I chose this blog heading last spring I thought it was both cute and logical. Babies are, after all, a blessing. And four babies of course would multiply that blessing. Logical, yes? I would take note of the heading as I updated the blog and feel inwardly satisfied at my cleverness and consiseness with language. It was really only this week that these two simple words slammed home to me in an entirely new way.<br />
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We have been blessed beyond measure. Blessed in a magnitude that cannot be multplied into anything quantifiable. Blessed in a way that we could not have earned in a lifetime of good deeds. Once again, I am reminded of my favorite definition of grace, "unearned favor" and the aptness of this meaning in our lives today.<br />
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As I sat in the NICU this week, rocking a peacefully sleeping, perfect, beautiful baby, the magnitude of all that has occurred over the past many months came crashing in on me. That I was allowed to carry these precious lives inside me for 30 whole weeks. All that could have gone wrong, but didn't. The thousands of prayers lifting our family to the LORD. The shower of completely unexpected gifts. The joy of introducing our babies to family and friends and delighting in their reactions. The talented nurses and doctors at Helen DeVos. All of these and more wrapped up in the extravagant grace of our loving and powerful God.<br />
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Marin Grace</div>
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I have mentioned before that I have found a group of fellow mom's of quads who have been an enormous support and comfort to me. These ladies have become friends, confidants and cheerleaders. They have also served as a grim reality check of the heartbreak that often accompanies the joy in these very high risk pregnancies. Since I joined the group last spring, four women in my group have given birth prior to twenty five weeks and lost one or more of the treasured lives they carried inside them. Of these women, two lost all four of their precious babies, two lost one. I have cried bitterly for these losses, wept in anguish for these women to whom I am connected, though we will likely never meet. I know what can go wrong. These ladies did everything right, everything they could possibly do to carry their babies until they were big enough and healthy enough to come out and meet the world, yet they suffered unimaginable loss. The truth is, so much of our quad pregnancies is out of our hands. A scary thought for a control freak like me. I went to bed each evening thanking God for another day of safety for our babies. I woke each morning asking Him for one more day. One day at a time those days became weeks and before I knew it, thirty of those weeks had passed. I didn't do anything to earn those weeks. Each one was a gift I accepted gratefully, while knowing each could be my last. I knew all too well what could go wrong, and while I wept for those friends whose paths took them to a devestatingly tragic place that no mother should ever have to endure, I praised God that His plan for us seemed to be down a brighter path.<br />
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Becker</div>
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I can't imagine how many times our family has been lifted in prayer over these past months. It's so easy to say to someone "I'll be praying for you" and then carry on with the day, promise forgotten moments after it was uttered. That has not been our experience. We have recieved emails from people who tell us precisely when they are praying for us, and for what they pray. A wonderful aunt of mine has an entire group at her office who regularly pray for us. I have a great aunt who is a Dominican Sister and her entire convent in Wisconsin prays for our not so little family. Friends have spoken to their friends for us and shared our blog, leading to a prayer chain stretching longer than we could have imagined. The time you have spent in prayer for us has sustained our family in ways you may never know. The moments of panic and despair that I had anticipated during pregnancy never came. We were able to live in a very uncertain situation with a great deal of peace. We felt early on that God's plan for us included bringing four babies home, but knew that somehow we would be okay regardless of our outcome.<br />
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The gifts we have been given have absolutely humbled us, often left us completely speechless. We have received gifts from people we know well and from people we will likely never meet and from everyone in between. We have received handmade gifts and marveled at the craftsmanship and time they must have taken. Just last week a new package arrived, this one from Andy's office in Utah. Among the gifts in the package were four amazing handmade blankets with each of our babies names on them. This is the second such package from Andy's office. The first contained, among other treasures, the four handmade blankets in which you see the babies swaddled in many previous photos.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPcTNsUJ2oTiLbyNStdAsPLcqn3ma_kyhzhEkSFt0ECQqEO_lFXSDVUYW38Q6AHTYz0kA3hwl83wIwyf9-EJRXjdRdFauUJ6gmy1eNM1yFwLEq8s7GdWoOevP1rexlIPwY6ookr_j8RA/s1600/XSRS7097.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPcTNsUJ2oTiLbyNStdAsPLcqn3ma_kyhzhEkSFt0ECQqEO_lFXSDVUYW38Q6AHTYz0kA3hwl83wIwyf9-EJRXjdRdFauUJ6gmy1eNM1yFwLEq8s7GdWoOevP1rexlIPwY6ookr_j8RA/s400/XSRS7097.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wife of one of Andy's colleagues made these beautiful personalized hats for the quad squad. They should fit perfectly once the snow flies. They almost make me anxious for winter. Almost.</td></tr>
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We have received gift cards to help with diapers and supplies from people who we know were stretched financially to have given the gift. It has all been truly humbling. We are amazed that people care so much for us and for our precious tiny ones. Several weeks ago a friend from church contacted me and asked whether some meals would be helpful to us. For the next two weeks we came home from the hospital each day to a homemade meal ready for the oven. Only one of the meals came from someone we knew. Most included a card for us, praising God for the blessing of Micah, Becker, Roland and Marin, and promising continued prayer for their health. It has been absolutely humbling to stand in the face of such generosity.<br />
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Over the past four weeks we had had the pleasure of introducing the quads to many family and friends. I love these experiences. I can't get enough of showing off our kiddos! The reaction people have to these tiny lives has been one of the greatest joys I have experienced. They bring broad exclamations of joy to some, awed silence to others. I have watched men I have known for years and from whom I have rarely seen strong emotion, dissolve into tears as a tiny but mighty hand grips their much larger finger. The comments we hear most often proclaim their tiny perfection and the miracle of God's work. These babies melt people. I watch the change happen as someone stands at the isolettes for the first time. Whatever form the reaction takes, there can be no doubt that there is a reaction. Keep asking to see them. It makes us as happy as it makes you. I pray that in this world where so little is certain, these babies grow up with the unshakable certainty that they were treasured and adored from the beginning, first by their Heavenly Father, then by their earthly parents, and soon after, so many other family and friends.<br />
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When we moved back to Grand Rapids last year and chose our neighborhood we had no idea this simple choice would prove to be such a blessing. Our house is less than a five minute walk to one of the top children's hospitals in the United States. The facilities and staff there are nothing short of remarkable. The peanuts have two primary nurses, one for the day shift, Samantha, and one over night, Jen. Both are incredibly smart and capable and allow us to feel totally confident in their care while we are away. While we know they are doing their jobs, they do so much more for us, going far beyond the normal call of duty. The care and tenderness they display with our children touches me more every day. Only yesterday I arrived for an afternoon visit to find that Sam had made darling footprint cards in anticipation of their one month birthday tomorrow. I was so moved by the gesture that it reduced me to tears. As I've said, experiencing such goodness in people has been incredibly humbling.<br />
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I walk here at least once a day. As the hospital comes into view my steps feel a little lighter </div>
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knowing I am getting closer to the babies. </div>
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That's all for now. Thank you again for your continued prayers. We know they work. I spoke to a doctor yesterday who told me that the health of our babies is "quite remarkable".</div>
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Next time, one month update. Stay tuned.</div>
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Love and blessings,</div>
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Jen and Andy</div>
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Micah, Becker, Roland and Marin</div>
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<br />Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-42973019345884009192015-09-30T08:02:00.000-07:002015-09-30T08:02:19.917-07:00Tales from the NICU! I'll save you the suspense and give you the short version first. Everyone is doing great! The babies continue to amaze us as well as their staff with how well they are doing.<br />
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We have established a loose routine for now. I am still feeling really exhausted so I seem to end up running to the couch for some rest most afternoons. In the morning I get up for some coffee and time with the doggies. I spend a little time catching u<span style="text-align: center;">p on the previous day's news clips on Roku, then get showered and head over to the hospital. I am making myself walk over there at least once per day and sometimes I'm able to do it twice. I like to hold each baby while I'm there and spend time talking to them. They seem now to recognize both my voice and Andy's and react to them when they are awake. They smile a lot these days and their eyes love to roam our faces. They sleep up to twenty hours per day so those moments of smiles and eye contact are precious to us.</span><br />
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As of late last week all the babies are back above their birth weights. Also new is that twice per day the babies are now allowed to supplement their regular feedings with either bottle or breast. This will prepare them for a couple weeks from now when they will be expected to take most of their nourishment this way in anticipation of removing their feeding tubes. The babies are doing great with the feedings, though some are catching on more quickly than others. So far Roland is the undisputed champ! This past week the peanuts graduated to wearing clothes. They are amazingly cute in them. We have filled their drawers with clothes and let the night nurses choose what they wear. It is always fun to come in the next morning and see what the nurses choose. We did, of course, opt to dress them ourselves for the first time.<br />
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Mom putting Micah in his first onesie.</div>
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Dad putting Becker in his first onesie.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJYr9TvATWmxO1wAoMpL3A8GpyQoamQ1I6HcW8Glfm_y3pNlBNxa3a8h0x21GM4t8zEH80GGnLlP_LNEdQrJHapCvZyUnPbMUNzztmmAyVIcDcAiFOfYOWwMe3uHQphAKjBJECUUGZO0/s1600/WSIH9989.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJYr9TvATWmxO1wAoMpL3A8GpyQoamQ1I6HcW8Glfm_y3pNlBNxa3a8h0x21GM4t8zEH80GGnLlP_LNEdQrJHapCvZyUnPbMUNzztmmAyVIcDcAiFOfYOWwMe3uHQphAKjBJECUUGZO0/s320/WSIH9989.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The whole crew in their duds.</div>
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Last, all the babies have lost their umbilical cords. In Roland's case, he truly lost his cord. It was sitting in the isolette next to him one minute and was gone the next. The nurse thought she may have accidentally scooped it up in his dirty diaper. Poor Roland. Hopefully he won't mind being the only one without his cord in his baby book since Bad Momma was unwilling to go rooting through poopy diapers to retrieve said cord.<br />
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Here's what we've been up to.<br />
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<b>The Crows</b><br />
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A flock of crows is referred to as a murder. My darling husband feels this is also an appropriate name for our bunch, and has taken to calling them "A Murder of Mielers". I have expressed my strong disapproval and suggested alternate references, such as a "gaggle", a "flock" or even a "litter", however in Andy's eyes, all lack the panache of the murder reference. So, as I continue to struggle with picking my battles and letting go of control, I breathe a sigh, roll my eyes ever so slightly, and grudgingly accept that we may forever be known as A Murder of Mielers. You win hubby, you win.<br />
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<b>Micah</b><br />
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First, Micah looks so much like his Daddy. It's the first thing people say when they see him. Not only are their facial features very similar, but Micah is extremely long. His fingers seem almost disproportionately long. Think of a puppy who has yet to grow into his paws and you'll have a pretty accurate picture. Dad is 6'4" tall and I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find Micah looking eye to eye with him one day.<br />
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The babies are allowed some tummy time each day, safe at this age only because they are being monitored constantly. Unfortunately, Micah thinks tummy time means "face plant" time and as soon as he is on his tummy he turns his head completely into his swaddle. This sets off his alarms and summons the nurse, who turns his head to the side, only to find him face down a minute later.<br />
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Last, a story from way back to over two weeks ago. I was still admitted to the hospital and the Mieler babes were barely a day old. Behind each baby's isolette is a dry erase board with their name, care times, nurses name, parents names, and the goal each baby had been given for that day. I had a similar board across from my hospital bed not far away. On day two Micah's goal read "poop!". Seeing this, Andy calls across the room to me, "look Jen, you and Micah have the same goal today!" And so begins life with four men.<br />
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<b>Becker</b><br />
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I think I have fewer pictures of Becker than the other kiddos, but with good reason. It is really tough to catch him in different poses, other than sleeping on his side! My mellow guy is a champion sleeper. Snoozing, however, is not his only talent.<br />
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Last week the little ones were under the care of Sam, one of our fantastic nurses. The conversation went something like this, as I stood by Becker's isolette, ready to change his diaper.<br />
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Sam (looking a bit sheepish): Jen, has Becker peed on you yet?<br />
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Me (surprised, amused): No, why do you ask?<br />
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Sam: Well, it's just that, um, I've worked with a lot of babies, and never seen such a strong urine stream on a preemie.<br />
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At this point I glance down at the isolette, the top of which sits a full foot and a half above my baby boy. I see quite a bit of condensation collecting on the top, and realize that there must be a malfunction within his temperature and humidity controlled environment. As I'm about to ask Sam about this I notice a very thin stream of liquid, which I trace down to Becker, smiling happily up at me.<br />
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Me: Oh my gosh Sam! He's doing it now! You weren't kidding! He's reaching all the way to the top!<br />
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Sam (gets up from the computer, walks over): Jen, why didn't you cover him???<br />
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Me: Cover that? I'm way too impressed!<br />
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We had a great laugh as I finally covered the stream, which must have sprayed unfettered for at least thirty seconds. Of course by then poor Sam had to clean and sterilize a full half of the isolette, as well as change his sheets and swaddle. The little stinker has done it three times more under other nurses care and is, in typical Becker fashion, lackadasical about the whole affair.<br />
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Snuggling with Grandma Lin.</div>
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<b>Roland</b></div>
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It's almost impossible to me that he was once considered the weakest and least likely to survive. This guy is so strong and funny! He is a champion at both his pacifier and his feedings. He and Marin are both now on the shortest possible feeding span because they are doing so well. Roland is still working on losing his old man wrinkles on his forehead. He also seems to be shedding a bit of the hair at the top of his head, but growing more on the sides. Combine these with his tendency to go red faced when he is fussy, and he often looks like a very cute, very tiny, grumpy old man!<br />
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Roland is very alert and has a thousand facial expressions when he looks at you. It's easy to completely lose track of time staring at this little one.<br />
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Grandma snuggles!</div>
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Snoozing on mommy with Marin Grace.</div>
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<b>Marin</b></div>
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Marin continues to be our naughty little drama queen. The PDA in her heart has not yet closed, but has been downrated from "moderate to large" to "moderate". Since her other clinical signs are good, the doctors will wait it out for now and hope that she is able to close it on her own. If she still has it at discharge, we will be referred to a cardiologist, who will make a recommendation on whether she will need surgery. Please continue to pray for this naughtiest of our monkeys!<br />
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She has also developed some super dry patches on her skin, and continues to make her eyes cross on a fairly regular basis. I tell her it's not very pretty, and she'll have a tough time finding a date if she continues to make goofy faces, to which daddy nods and says "good!". Andy is quite sure that she will not be allowed to date until she is eighteen. <br />
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But don't feel to sorry for our girl here. Being the only girl in a sea of boys, she gets tons of attention. Everyone wants to hold and touch her, and of course, pinch her cheeks. I'm not too worried about her being spoiled though. Those boys will be sure to keep her in line!<br />
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And last but certainly not least, a few days ago we were able to get the family together for our first of a lifetime of family photos. It was such a precious few minutes, seeing all our babies together, and then being able to hold them all together. We continue to marvel at God's power to do amazing things. If these four miracles aren't proof of God's incredible love for us, I don't know what is.</div>
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Left to right, Micah, Becker, Roland and Marin</div>
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Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. We tell people constantly that we owe our amazing progress to the many people who lift us up daily in prayer!</div>
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Love and blessings,</div>
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Jen and Andy,</div>
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Micah, Becker, Roland and Marin</div>
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(The Murder of Mielers)</div>
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<br />Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-33255809703365123812015-09-18T06:30:00.001-07:002015-09-18T06:30:07.838-07:00We're One Whole Week Old!Okay, technically we're one week and one day old, but Andy and I were late at the NICU yesterday staring at those sweet faces and I just didn't have it in me to write when we got home. So please, in the interest of me feeling like an awesome mom, close your eyes for a moment and pretend that we are all reading this yesterday!<br />
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As of their one week birthday, all the babies are either back to birth weight or just an ounce or two away. The nurses tell us that preemies often take up to a month to get back to birth weight, so we are extra proud of these overachievers. Of course, I'm willing to acknowledge that we may be ever so slightly biased.<br />
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I stood at each isolette at each baby's exact birth minute. It was so fun to remember back to a week ago and the happiness I felt as each came out crying. We are amazed and humbled at the progress these guys have made in a week. Every day I walk in half expecting the nurses to tell me that Roland and Becker went out on a double date. They're making such big strides every day!<br />
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Mr. Micah is still our sweet feisty guy. When I reach into his isolette he almost automatically reaches for my hand and holds on tight. His nurses expect that when I see him today, he will be off of CPAP. A few days ago the doc's detected a heart murmur which they suspected was PDA, a very common condition in which a vessel in the heart fails to close completely. Many babies resolve this on their own, or treatment is just a three day course of ibuprofen. When the doctor came in yesterday to confirm the diagnosis with an ultrasound, the murmur was no longer detected. She thinks that Micah closed the valve on his own in the couple days since she first heard the murmur. He is such a sweet boy, and so far the biggest cuddler.<br />
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Becker cracks everyone up these days. His one remaining issue is some spitting up after his feedings. so the staff has increased the duration of his feed to two hours hoping this settles his stomach. And though we know it's too early, the little ham is smiling. It's the funniest thing. He opens his eyes, looks around, and this big lazy grin slowly spreads across his little face. It's too cute! I'll try to get a picture soon but he was fast asleep in his swaddle for his birth minute picture and I was afraid that if I woke him I'd get a screaming baby picture instead of a smile. His face looks a little messy because he had some spit up from his last feeding. </div>
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Roland is our strong boy, though he didn't start out that way. Remember, this was the peanut that the doctor's thought would not survive in me through the first trimester? Roland is a warrior! Every day lately the reports on Roland go something like this. "Nothing to report. He's doing really great." My one complaint is that since he discovered the swaddle I don't think I've seen his eyes once. The swaddle seems to have cured him of wanting to be awake, and every time we see him he is in a slow easy sleep. </div>
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And then there's Marin Grace. MG had a heart murmur as well, and it her case, PDA was confirmed with the ultrasound, so she started on the ibuprofen treatment yesterday. The side effects can be trouble with digesting food and trouble in the liver, so she will be monitored closely for signs of these side effects. I know a lot of ladies in my Quad Mom's group whose little ones had this issue, and the outcomes have been very good. All in all, pretty minor stuff in the scope of preemie issues. She adores sleeping on her stomach so the nurses let her do it for some time each day. Unfortunately, this time stomach time coincided with her birth minute picture, and every time I tried to move her hand down, the little stinker shot it right back to her face. Who would have thought our little girl would be the camera shy one? Oh, well. Trust me, the cuteness is there! She is also opening her eyes quite a bit and doing great with her feedings. The nurses expect that her CPAP will be removed by Monday. Last night, Andy tried to tell the nurses that she would not be Daddy's Spoiled Little Princess, and the room erupted with people laughing and telling him that she would be daddy's pampered girl. Andy finally grinned and acknowledged "there may be some pink clothes from daddy in her future".</div>
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And last, because you've been asking, here's mom. Unfortunately I was due for my 30 week photo the day the babies were born, so the best "before" shot I have is 29 weeks. I was probably about five pounds bigger than this when the babies were born last week. Though I so badly wanted to hold them in until 32 weeks, I must admit that I am enjoying things like bending over, sitting upright, and being able to walk up and down the stairs without breathing like a bull, fighting the urge to pass out, and resting for thirty minutes after.</div>
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My surgery went great. I had some pretty severe swelling in my hands and feet, which has just started to go down in the last couple days. I am getting a not-quite-migraine every day that doesn't seem phased by the Motrin I take for the surgery pain. Last, the carpal tunnel I had during a few weeks of pregnancy came back with a vengeance after the babies were born. I am working on knitting blankets for them, and got less than two rows done the other day before my hands went numb.</div>
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And since everyone loves hearing about other people's dreams as much as they love watching four hours of someone else's vacation photos, I give you, My Dream. After csection, gas is very common. Not just ordinary gas that a belch will cure, but big roaming bubbles that expand the stomach and cause lots of unpleasantness down south. In my case the gas became really bad Friday. That night I fell into a half sleep, basically sleeping, but somewhat aware of happenings in the conscious world. As I dozed, gas bubbles began to move around my stomach and became pretty intense, so intense, that they began to feel like the movements of the babies inside me. I had a very vivid dream that the gas was a fifth baby that had somehow been missed on our many ultrasounds, and that I was going to have to go into surgery again to give birth to a fifth baby! That dream wouldn't have been so awful, except that every time I woke with it and realized I had only been dreaming, I fell asleep again only to repeat the dream and wake shortly after scared all over again! It was a pretty unpleasant Groundhog Day kind of night, until I was finally able to come fully awake in the morning and assure myself that we have only four, not five babies. I repeat, NOT five babies.</div>
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Basically, all my little issues are totally normal post csection symptoms and I have no real complaints at all. Today will be my last day driving to the NICU before I start taking advantage of the short walk over to get some exercise, and start rebuilding the stamina I lost with all my couch time during pregnancy!</div>
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So here you go, before and after baby. As of yesterday, I'm still 35lbs. over my pre-pregnancy weight, so I've got some work to do. No more Rice Crispy Treats for me Grandma Mary!</div>
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Last, with the pregnancy fatigue and all the activity since the babies were born, we still have not opened all our gifts or managed to send out a single Thank You for the beautiful gifts already received. So for now, please know that we are grateful for every last one, and you will be getting a proper note of thanks just as soon as I can write without my hand going numb.</div>
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Love and blessings,</div>
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Jen and Andy</div>
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Micah, Becker, Roland and Marin</div>
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<br />Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-24754976603397670512015-09-17T06:23:00.002-07:002015-09-17T06:23:59.387-07:00And Marin Grace, The Independent <b>Marin Grace</b><br />
Born: 9/10/15 @ 11:29A<br />
Weight 3lb. 4oz.<br />
Length: 16"<br />
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The delay in Marin's update is for the best possible reason. Unexpectedly, I was holding her! But more on that later.<br />
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Marin is turning out to have her momma's independent streak. While the boys love to hold hands and grip our offered fingers almost immediately, Marin will often spread her fingers wide when we try to hold them. "Um, thanks but no thanks mom." I sometimes sneak a hand hold while she is asleep and compliant.<br />
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Also unlike her brothers, she has been trying to cause all sorts of drama. The nurses think she wants to be sure she doesn't lose attention to all the boys.<br />
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She started out with the same gear as the boys, IV, CPAP, feeding tube, lights. Then Saturday night we got the very scary call that she had developed a pneumothorax, a small hole in her lung. The doctor would insert a chest tube to pull out the air that was leaking into her chest cavity, but from there, Marin would have to do the work. The doctor told us that he expected the hole to be healed within three days, at which point the chest tube would come out. When three days passed and the chest tube remained I worried a bit. There were a few bedside tears.<br />
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Tuesday night, the chest tube was still in place but slipping. The doctors began to talk of having to pull the tube and insert a new one if she didn't resolve the hole in a day. That same night we were there when the nurse cleaned her up and changed her CPAP hat. To do this they turned off her light and removed her little goggles, and I got to see my baby girl's eyes for the first time. She looked back and forth, up and down, as I looked on, tears rolling down my cheeks. As I gazed down at her beautiful face, marveling at the perfect focus of those tiny eyes, she looked up at me, and went cross eyed. Spell broken. Little stinker. Not to worry, though. The nurse explained that this is just a function of prematurity. It will take her a little time to develop control of her eye muscles.<br />
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Then last night we walked in expecting no real change from my visit hours earlier, and was thrilled to find staff at Marin's bedside, removing the hated chest tube! Her X-rays the day prior had shown no sign of leak so they had capped off the tube and waited a day to confirm with a second X-ray. No leak! And the news kept getting better. Even though she was only minutes removed from the chest tube, the doctor thought that she would benefit from being held immediately. After six days I was about to hold my tiny girl for the first time!<br />
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Marin, 1 day old</div>
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Marin, eyes open at 5 days old</div>
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Marin, 6 days old</div>
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Day 6, Mom and Marin's first ever snuggle time!</div>
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<br />Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-83640663001432318452015-09-16T15:04:00.000-07:002015-09-17T05:52:04.689-07:00In Rides Roland William, The Gunslinger<b>Roland William</b><br />
Born 9/10/2015 @ 11:27a<br />
Weight: 2lbs. 13oz.<br />
Length: 15.5"<br />
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Our boy Roland totally lives up to his namesake so far. He is calm and in control, unless he wants his binkie, in which case he shrieks like a banshee until the small piece of rubber is inserted into his tiny waiting mouth. He has the least amount of hair of the four, making him the easiest to identify by head alone. When we tuck his legs up like the nurses showed us, mimicking their environment inside me, he has a tendency to kick back the first few tries. It makes me laugh because he has been doing this against my hand for over two months, every press of a certain spot of my stomach meeting with a gentle kick back from my boy. And lets not forget that it was the trademark restlessness of The Gunslinger character that led to my water breaking six days ago!<br />
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Roland began his NICU life with IV, CPAP, and feeding tube. He was later put on lights and needed to be intubated due to some trouble breathing. He was extubated less than a day later and did great on his CPAP. He was off his lights for three whole days before he needed a little extra time sunning himself. After three days without his little glasses, he was used to looking all around the room (the nurses tell us that at this age, they distinguish light, dark and faces) and he was not happy to have his eyes covered again. As of this morning, Roland is on the least support of anyone. Not only are his lights and CPAP off, but his IV has been removed as well. Aside from surface monitors for heart rate and such, he has only the feeding tube left. The soundness of his sleep when I left him this afternoon tells me he's feeling pretty darn happy about the whole thing. He and Becker seem to be in a race to see who comes home first, so it will be interesting to see what Beck does in the next few days.</div>
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Roland, 1 day old, intubated but with no lights yet</div>
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Momma's first baby hold ever. Roland was the lucky guy at 3 days old.</div>
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Roland, 6 days old, sleeping soundly in his new swaddle, almost wireless!</div>
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Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-32375995637158375312015-09-16T14:45:00.000-07:002015-09-17T05:51:00.383-07:00Presenting Becker Andrew, One Cool Dude<b>Becker Andrew</b><br />
Born: 9/10/2015 @ 11:26a<br />
Weight: 2lbs. 9.5oz.<br />
Length: 15"<br />
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It seems totally appropriate that Becker was given Andy's name as his middle. So far, Becker is the most like his father. This guy is super laid back. He doesn't cry a lot and when he does it's generally pretty brief. We were told at the beginning that the babies will feel most comfortable with both legs and arms tucked tightly against their bodies, but Beck is proving them wrong in his case. No matter what they put over his chest, no matter how they tuck or swaddle his arms, he always finds a way to get them up by his face. He most often looks like someone kicked backed on an ocean somewhere, "too cool for school" glasses over his eyes.<br />
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Becker started with the IV, CPAP, feeding tube and lights, but at two days old had already mastered breathing to the point that he kicked the CPAP and it has not returned so far. He too is now off the lights and looking just as cool without his sunglasses. It is such a treat to see there eyes wandering over to me! As of day six, Becker now only has his IV and feeding tube. We expect the IV to come out within a few days or less. The babies all have to keep their feeding tubes for a few more weeks, as the suck, swallow, breathe skill won't develop for a bit yet. </div>
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Becker, birth day, already holding a hand to his head</div>
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Becker, 1 day old</div>
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Becker, 2 days old, daddy's very first hold with a baby</div>
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Cool dude, sunbathing at 4 days</div>
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Becker at 6 days old, no more glasses...</div>
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but those hands still up to his face!</div>
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Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-10521422561585336742015-09-16T11:23:00.001-07:002015-09-17T05:49:56.303-07:00Introducing Micah Paul, The Feisty One<b>Micah Paul</b><br />
Born: 9/10/2015 @ 11:24a<br />
Weight: 3lbs.<br />
Length: 17"<br />
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Before I get to Micah, a general note about all four babies. They are the hairiest little beasts you've ever seen! No one can believe how much hair they have. Had these been forty week babies they very well may have emerged sporting a range of dos from mullets to bobs. In addition to all the hair on their heads they have the soft fuzz covering their bodies which normally falls out just before full term birth. It's all quite amusing and of course only adds to their general cuteness in my eyes.<br />
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The docs pulled the kiddos out in order as they were lettered during ultrasounds, A, B, C, D, so I'll proceed the same way.</div>
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I think every nurse who has worked with Micah has used the exact word, "feisty" to describe him. I love that he is not frail and lets the nurses know he is there. He's a good baby, but very vocal when he's displeased, which to his credit is not incredibly often.</div>
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Micah started off with all the usual preemie accessories, IV, CPAP, feeding tube and bilirubin light. A couple days ago he had a twelve hour trial off the CPAP but went back on. The doctor's anticipate it coming off again, hopefully for good, tomorrow. Yesterday evening he went off his bilirubin light and now we can see his gorgeous eyes when he wakes up long enough to open them.</div>
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Micah got spoiled with daddy holding him at four and five days, and mom at day six. He was fussing before the holds but calmed immediately when Andy or I held him and nestled contentedly in our chests for an hour each night. </div>
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Micah Paul, 1 day old</div>
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My favorite, Micah's epic tantrum at 3 days old</div>
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Micah's first hold with daddy</div>
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Micah, 6 days old</div>
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Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-55813037437443435392015-09-15T11:46:00.000-07:002015-09-15T11:46:09.218-07:00The Birth Story - Alternate Title, "What the Heck Happened?"I'm going to start a few days before the birth with a seemingly unrelated event, Roland and his endless kicks.<br />
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Do you remember the name meanings? Roland is our Gunslinger, our restless wanderer, and we knew that his name fit before they were even born. For the past two months there has not been a time of day or night that I would push this spot on my stomach and not feel our little guy kick out his legs and push back.<br />
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And that brings me to last Thursday, September 10, 2015. We had gone to our doctor's appointment the previous day and gotten glowing reports, four strong heartbeats, four sacs with plenty of fluid, and great blood pressure on mom. In short, a perfect pregnancy with nothing out of the ordinary. We celebrated with lunch at McDonald's giving the babies what we didn't realize at the time would be among their last calories on the inside.<br />
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I went to sleep that night thanking God that we had hit 30 weeks, fully prepared to go to 32, even anticipating a birthdate of the 22nd. I woke the next morning at 6am, with the usual urge to urinate as strong as ever.<br />
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As I stood up from the couch a flood of hot liquid hit my legs. Not a trickle, not a flow, but a full on movie type gush! I waddled quickly to the bathroom trailing water all the way, in the back of my mind thinking that I had heard of plenty of pregnant women losing control of their bladders late in pregnancy, while the more rational part of my mind protested "true, but this is a LOT of liquid, even for you."<br />
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As I sat in the bathroom the flood seemed to have stopped, but I knew I needed to go upstairs and talk to Andy. To be safe I wadded up some toilet paper and stuffed it between my legs as I set off for the bedroom. Reaching the foot of the stairs the monsoon began again and I quickly had water running down my hand onto the floor. Running back to the bathroom again, I this time rolled up a hand towel and set off on my second attempt to get upstairs to Andy.<br />
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Waking him up as I entered the bedroom I told him that I had either completely lost control of my bladder or one of my waters had broken. Andy immediately got on the phone with doctor's off hours service while I set to packing a few last minute items in my hospital bag, one handed of course, since I still had my towel. The doctor called back quickly and told us that we should head over to Triage. We calmly finished packing as we chatted, Andy packed some snacks in case we needed to stay a while, we fed the dogs and let them out. Since I wasn't having any contractions I didn't feel like there was a great urgency to rush to the hospital. As we tried to figure out what I should wear to the hospital I realized that in my certainty that I would reach 32 weeks, I had not prepared with any maxi pads for an event such as water breaking. We spent a surprisingly long time discussing what I should stuff between my legs to ride the short distance to the hospital that would keep me from getting the seat wet in the new van. After a few minutes I could see the light come into my brilliant hubby's eyes as he raised a finger and triumphantly exclaimed "puppy pad!" And since I would be crazy to argue in the face of such genius, I agreed, and off to the hospital we went with a puppy pad between my legs.<br />
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We were immediately put in a room a Triage and gowned to wait for a doctor from the Maternal Fetal Medicine team. On arrival the doctor quickly confirmed that a water had broken and I just as quickly murmured "Roland!" under my breath, knowing before the doctor confirmed later that it was The Gunslinger who had broken his sac. The doctor told me I would move over to Labor & Delivery, and that I would not leave the hospital until the babies had been born. He told me that I would be monitored closely and that they would not let me go into labor. It was around 8:30a. Still no contractions.<br />
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We were wheeled over to L&D and introduced to a team of several doctors who would evaluate the situation. I was thrilled to discover that the head doctor was named "Columbo", because, well, it's just a really cool name. I was hooked up to various heartbeat and contraction monitors and received an IV of magnesium in a concentrated dose. Columbo confirmed that our goal was still 32 weeks and that, barring infection, they planned to keep me pregnant for at least another week. The ultrasound team was summoned to verify that Roland still had enough fluid in his sac. Still no contractions.<br />
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Around 10a, the contractions came! Remember that I was told I would not be allowed to go into labor? I went into labor. Hard! I went from having no contractions to having them every five minutes apart. The docs made the decision to hold off a bit longer to see whether the ultrasound team would arrive soon. Then, in the blink of an eye, the contractions moved to every two minutes lasting a full minute and a half! I barely had a break from one before the next one hit. Finally, at 10:45a, we got the news that today would be the day. As a team of over twenty five doctors and nurses prepared for our little miracles, I laid in my room having contractions as Andy tried to soothe me.</div>
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At 11a I left Andy to be wheeled to the operating suite, a room already packed with staff when I arrived. I was quickly given a spinal as I endured the last of the contractions and Andy was brought in to join me. As the doctors finished prepping me for delivery, the reality of the babies arrival hit us both and we were overcome with emotion. Months of prayer and anticipation. Hundreds of baby clothes. Anxiety. Excitement. Fear. And today was the day.</div>
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There was no pain but I could feel a lot of movement and pressure as they pushed the babies down. As Andy took video the doctor's let me know as each baby was born and the whole room oohed and aahed and I breathed a sign of relief as each baby announced their arrival with a healthy cry. Each received an APGAR score of 8 or 9, amazing for 30 week preemies. Andy was even allowed to cut a couple cords, as I watched on in awe. Four babies were born in just five minutes, from</div>
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11:24a - 11:29a.</div>
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As I was stitched up and moved to Recovery, Andy went to be with the babies in our little corner of the NICU. He was back shortly with pictures and reports of how beautiful each baby was. Here they are less than an hour old.</div>
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Marin getting warmed up.</div>
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I was given a bracelet for each baby, plus one for me and another declaring me a "Fall Risk". Andy told the nurses that the Fall Risk bracelet should stay on me all the time, pregnant or not. Yes, I'm a huge klutz.</div>
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Before I was moved to my room the nurses were kind enough to wheel my whole bed into the NICU so I could get a quick glimpse of God's majesty in the form of four tiny, perfect little creations. I was brought to each isolette in turn, and as we arrived at our Baby B, Becker, the nurse opened a side port so I could touch a son for the first time. It was absolutely precious.</div>
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There is so much more to write but it will have to wait a while. My body desperately needed a rest today, but just as desperately, Andy and I are longing to get back to the babies. Very soon I will get you individual updates on each baby.</div>
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In the meantime, I want to thank you again for all the prayers and kindness. Everyone who sees the babies, including the doctors and nurses, exclaim at how big and healthy they are for 30 weekers, and I know we owe that miracle to every one of you who has lifted us up in prayer over these past many months. Our God is an Awesome God indeed.</div>
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Love and Blessings,</div>
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Jen and Andy, Micah, Becker, Roland and Marin</div>
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<br />Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-19782855096011931552015-09-10T18:20:00.000-07:002015-09-10T18:20:07.136-07:00They're here!!! We intended to notify you before they came, but things went fast this morning. I'll write soon when I'm a bit rested and clear headed, but the babies are all healthy and beautiful! All came out crying and all had APGAR scores of 8 and 9.<br />
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More very soon. Please keep up the prayers!Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-76213275545047221162015-09-05T17:07:00.002-07:002015-09-05T17:07:58.865-07:00Baby Notifications. As we get closer to meeting the babies, a lot of you have asked whether we will post an update before hand. Yes! Absolutely we will unless things happen so fast that it is not possible.<br />
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If you want to be sure you know when the babies are coming, all you need to do is fill in your email address in the box that says "follow by email" on the right side of this page and click "submit". If you read the blog on a mobile device and don't see this box to the right, simply scroll all the way down and click on the link that says "view web version" and you should see it there. You will only receive an email when the blog is updated, no spam.<br />
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Won't be long now. We can hardly wait to meet these little peanuts!!!Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-56067552584956601392015-09-03T08:29:00.000-07:002015-09-03T08:48:41.175-07:00Headaches and stretch marks and gas, Oh My!Today marks 29 weeks for us. Can you believe it? What a thrill to have made it this far! It's hard to believe that a number stating with a "3" is now so close! The babies should be nearing our 3 pound goal if not there already.<br />
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In honor of 29 weeks, the babies have given me a three day migraine, my first stretch marks, and the complete inability to walk more than five consecutive steps without passing gas. Obviously we have a little work to do on their gift giving etiquette.<br />
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So today I am going to lay on the couch, nurse my headache, lament my stretch marks, and take a break from writing. I leave you instead with my favorite pictures from our maternity shoot exactly one month ago today. The disc arriving in the mail this morning was a great surprise. <a href="http://www.abbyjaynephotography.com/">Abby</a> really did a fantastic job on these and I am so glad we decided to have them taken. They will be fun to look back on when someday in the distant future, LORD willing, I have a waistline again. Enjoy!<br />
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<br />Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-75419198813875151842015-08-30T04:05:00.000-07:002015-08-30T04:05:48.541-07:00The Final Countdown,<br />
Well, we've not only hit 28 weeks, but blown past it by three days! The babies will be ready to meet us soon. Our goal remains 32 weeks, which would give me just under another month with the little ones in my belly.<div>
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I've updated my belly progress at <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7049852082879457568#editor/target=post;postID=3529711008661147312;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=5;src=postname">The Quad Bod page</a>, but here's another view. Still no stretch marks, but at this rate they can't be far away.</div>
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I've had a couple changes this week as well. First, the swelling in my legs returned full force. It's painful and makes it hard for me to walk. Actually, it forces me to do something of a waddle. Not particularly gracefully looking, but it gets me from A to B. A is, of course, bathroom, which would make B the couch. This is my most frequent route of travel these days. I may wear a path onto our floor before this is all over!</div>
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Second, and far worse, was waking up yesterday at 4am to shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. I knew this may happen carrying so many little ones, and I have dreaded the possibility. I've struggled with asthma since childhood, and the panicked feeling of not being able to draw air has gotten, if anything, worse for me over the years. Surprisingly, my breathing during pregnancy has been good until yesterday. Sitting up helps me but unfortunately also puts tremendous pressure on my southern parts, so I can only sit up for brief periods. I spent tonight sleeping in short stretches, waking up panicked and gasping for air. I am hoping that this problem exits as quickly as it appeared, but I also know that I can handle anything for a few more weeks!</div>
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I think I'll title this next section "Pea Brain". I have probably mentioned before that since pregnancy my brain capacity seems somewhat diminished. I am forgetful, have difficulty maintaining a train of thought, and just feel generally "dim". I have had lots of downtime over the past few months on the couch to watch TV and movies but have found my current mental state problematic. Andy and I have watched only a couple movies, because I can't seem to follow them. I have started to watch TV shows like Prison Break, Jericho, and The West Wing, but don't make it through more than an episode, because my brain just can't seem to string the plot. I invariably return to shows I've seen before and know well, Seinfeld, Hart of Dixie, Everybody Loves Raymond, etc.</div>
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Enter Sharknado.</div>
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So here's how the conversation went. </div>
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Andy: Want to watch a movie tonight?</div>
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Me: If you can find something I can follow.</div>
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Andy: Sharknado?</div>
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Me: Never heard of it. What's it about?</div>
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Andy: Just what it sounds like. A massive tornado that throws sharks at the unsuspecting citizens of Los Angeles.</div>
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Me: Throws sharks? Yes, we MUST watch that.</div>
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And I loved it. The plot was simple, there were really only five characters (besides the hundreds of sharks), and it was just bad enough to be good. One of my favorite scenes featured Jon Heard (of Home Alone fame) being taken off screen to be devoured by one of the many sharks flying through the air. I believe this one was a hammer head. As the poor gent is being torn limb from limb by the beast, the talented Mr. Heard cries softly off camera, "Ouch! Owwww!" Really, the whole movie was just so bad that it was spectacular. So if you, dear friends, find yourself with Pregnancy Brain or any similar state of diminished mental capacity, I highly recommend Sharknado.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlbdabA5hsqNBvt41Z0g-fIcV00MWFUEmqHbx_VXNEWBJSazKb39WAEz6CDfRewcG3LLxieASlzBDbIOTLWHM-RK4luomfLkAjpDGLL6WHoY2hUaDhD5-w-4VEpEXHYb_OZM9hge3PlY/s1600/IMG_2063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlbdabA5hsqNBvt41Z0g-fIcV00MWFUEmqHbx_VXNEWBJSazKb39WAEz6CDfRewcG3LLxieASlzBDbIOTLWHM-RK4luomfLkAjpDGLL6WHoY2hUaDhD5-w-4VEpEXHYb_OZM9hge3PlY/s400/IMG_2063.JPG" width="355" /></a></div>
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Last, one more shot from our maternity shoot with Abby Jayne Photography. Andy did a spectacular job fluffing my gown then running top speed out of the frame! I'm glad we got them dome at 25 weeks, as I'm not sure I'd be up to it today!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJN8We9i1LmYTy-UwefBuFQ58xqWgOchbGbSe4Emp8LRcD3jkJWtx1lrkJWKRBZxlGPUdHlnjBmzjpN3iePcEdh4_Y9aTWF966JMnHbV_HPPCFG4j9gfwaIJirD8Zvm1O3uqQHhA29GzI/s1600/IMG_2069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJN8We9i1LmYTy-UwefBuFQ58xqWgOchbGbSe4Emp8LRcD3jkJWtx1lrkJWKRBZxlGPUdHlnjBmzjpN3iePcEdh4_Y9aTWF966JMnHbV_HPPCFG4j9gfwaIJirD8Zvm1O3uqQHhA29GzI/s640/IMG_2069.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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As always, thanks you for your love, support and prayers. We adore you all and the outpouring of support for us and the peanuts means the world to us.</div>
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Until next time, love and blessings,</div>
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Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7049852082879457568.post-83412093233026807142015-08-25T12:38:00.000-07:002015-08-25T12:38:10.918-07:00Blessed & blessed & blessed & blessed. It's been a whole month since our last growth scan, so we were very excited for our scan today. I will admit to a little bit of nervousness, however both Andy and I were mostly feeling peaceful about it. As I've said before, we really do feel your prayers and they have brought a great deal of comfort during what could have been a very stressful time.<br />
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Before we even got our results there was no doubt in my mind that the babies were growing. I know this first because during the past two weeks I haven't been able to stand up or shift positions on the couch without needing to urinate, so I knew the pressure on my bladder was increasing. Second, the babies movements have been crazy of late. I will try to get a good video of it and post a belly dancing link when I can. There is hardly a time of day or night when I can't feel anybody moving! I can feel and often see limbs on the surface of my skin, though I couldn't tell you whether they are arms or legs. Last, I'm huge! Everything is tougher at this weight, including breathing. Poor Andy must feel like he's sitting on the couch next to a bull in a rodeo as loud as I have become. </div>
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Overall though, I have to tell you that so far this experience has been less horrible than I imagined. Yes, sleeping is hard, walking is tiring, the stairs feel like running a marathon, I get nose bleeds when I blow my nose and occasionally pee a little when I sneeze, my ribs and back hurt all the time, the swelling in my feet has been miserable and I see the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man when I look in the mirror. However, there have also been a lot of wonderful things about the last months. I've gotten to know Mr. Hubs in a whole new way as he takes care of me and prepares our house for the babies. I've gotten to know God on a deeper level as I learn a new level of dependence, (because don't you know that my spiritual growth seems to come only during times of trial). We have enjoyed dinners with family and friends, the prayer and blessings of strangers, countless laughs with Andy on the couch, the joy of first feeling, then seeing the babies movements, the fun of getting to see the babies on the ultrasound screen every two weeks since way back when we were just five weeks along, and the anticipation of meeting these precious little miracles for the first time. </div>
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But back to today. Against all the odds (praise God that he doesn't work in odds) the babies are all growing perfectly. At 27 weeks 5 days we are still on track with singleton babies. It took two ultrasound techs, several position changes and a lot of creative angles to get our numbers. Poor Micah is buried in brothers so he was hard to see but we finally got the results. </div>
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<b>Micah</b> </div>
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2lb. 9oz. /1172 grams</div>
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66th percentile</div>
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Heart rate 141 bpm</div>
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<b>Becker</b></div>
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2lb. 7oz. /1093 grams</div>
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49th percentile</div>
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Heart rate 135 bpm</div>
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<b>Roland</b></div>
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2 lb. 5oz. / 1060 grams</div>
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42nd percentile</div>
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Heart rate 139 bpm</div>
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<b>Marin</b> </div>
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2lb. 9oz. /1176 grams</div>
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66th percentile</div>
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Heart rate 131 bpm</div>
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What little miracles they are! Isn't God amazing? Doc J. it's now pretty confident in their health. At this point their survival chances are very high and their chance of brain or other disorder low, though as we all know, nothing is guaranteed.</div>
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Unless something happens in the meantime we go back to the doctor Labor Day week.<br />
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Last, we had our maternity photo shoot a few weeks back and yesterday got our first preview. We can't wait to see how the rest of the group turned out, but we're tickled with the first! <a href="http://abbyjaynephotography.com/">Abby Jayne Photography</a> did a great job, though it was her newborn shoots that really drew me to her, so I can't wait to get those Mieler Peanuts in front of her!<br />
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Until next time, love and blessings,</div>
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Jen </div>
Jenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240109347747764826noreply@blogger.com1