Latest Doctor's Visit

Lets start with some good news. The doctor increased Teri's medicine and the contractions are once again under control. However, Sandra did not seem to grow at all this week. Therefore, it has come time for the doctor to make a decision about when is the appropriate time to intervene. Our doctor called doctor Elliott ( the leading high order multiple doctor in the country), and he confirmed our doctor's plan. She is going to allow Teri to remain at home because of the high level of care she has received by our mothers. If Sandra does not impove dramatically we are going to deliver the babies at thirty weeks. Thirty weeks is the average for quadruplets so we are fine with that timeline. The doctor also said that she was thinking that Teri would go a maximum of thirty-two weeks if Sandra does grow the next couple of weeks. However, we are preparing for the babies to be here in the next nineteen days. Thanks for all the continued support and keep the prayers coming.

27 Weeks!

Yesterday, I wore the contraction monitor for 24 hours, which is never fun. It is difficult to get in a comfortable position while wearing it. But I did it! Plus, the monitor goes off every hour and I have to reset it and send the data every 3 hours. Not allot of time to sleep. So, at 10:00 I asked the nurses not to call me unless it was urgent and I would get all the results in the morning. So, wouldn't you know at 12:45 am I get a call. I had 7 contractions in an hour. At first they wanted me to do a demand dose of my pump. But I was to get a dose at 1:00 am. So, they told me to drink water and take Tylenol and send in my data in 2 hours. So, I did! I have started to feel my contractions too which means they are harder ones. So, 3:00 am I get another call saying that I had 6 contractions in an hour. So, I am now awaiting to hear what my next step is. I am sure the doctor is going to increase my pump.

I have a doctors visit tomorrow! I am hoping to stay away from insulin another week.

26th Week Doictor Visit

We had a very exciting visit yesterday! The girls are all growing like crazy! I hope you are ready for this: Hannah weighs two pounds, Makaila weighs one pound thirteen ounces, Samantha weighs one pound twelve ounces, and Gertrude (aka the child formerly known as Sandra) weighs one pound three ounces. Teri has decided to call her Gertrude until she catches up to the others! Ha Ha! Seriously, we are considering changing her name to Casandra so that all the children will have different initials. Judging from the weights, it looks like Gertrude is falling further behind. However, according to the calculations from all the measurements she gained about three days gestationally since the last visit. The doctor was pleased with the progress. We are still concerned about her, but as long as she continues to show this kind of progress there is no need to panic. Teri still does not have to take insulin, but the doctor did mention its impending arrival in the coming weeks. We are on a mission to beef up her diet (literally) on ensure that she stays off of that for as long as possible.

Everything is starting to return to normal (in our house) in the wake of Hurricane Ike. However, 47% of the Houston area is still without power and at least 22,000 residents remain in shelters. Josh went back to work on Thursday, but many of his students are unable to make it to class yet. Fortunately, none of his students were harmed.

We want to thank all of you for the continued support, but we are going to need it more than ever in the coming weeks. We started the third trimester this week, and Teri already has six pounds twelve ounces of babies in her. She is in for the fight of her life over the next several weeks! She is going to need everyone at some point to give her the old pep talk! You can do it! Keep up the good work! and of course, We Love You!!!

We Got Power!

So, we got home on Monday from Dallas. Let me tell you it was a long, uncomfortable and eerie drive home. The closer we got home the more damage we'd see. We'd see convoys of work trucks headed here also, which was a good sign. We passed a sign that said, "Don't drive to Houston or Beamount, limited fuel and supplies" and here we are driving to Houston. When we got to our development we saw that the front half had electricity and our half didn't. You can tell that many people were still evacuated. Every so often, you'd see a house with a flash light. Our neighbors had gotten home earlier and were all set up. So, they really helped us get set up with our generators and gathering our lights. They even brought me over a much needed meal. That is one thing that really came out of Ike, neighbors being neighborly. It was great to see. It got really hot and tiresome without electric. It was starting to take a toll on me physically. I was getting whole body cramps from sweating, even though I was constantly drinking water (bottled that is). We had water but it wasn't deemed safe until Wednesday night and were on water ration the whole time. So, when the electricity came on Thursday night you could actually hear cheers in our neighborhood, and I was among the cheering squad. Our house had no damage. We had several trees and shrubs that uprooted that have been fixed. And our fence took some damage that will require a contractor to fix. It is temporally fixed so that Maxine can't escape. We could not have survived at home without the help of Josh's parents who brought us generators and an AC, my mom and our neighbors whom we all helped each other.

In regards to pregnancy, I made it to 26 weeks yesterday! YEAH! The girls are very active lately and enjoy the play dates that they have. I have a doctor's appointment today. It has been 2 1/2 weeks since I saw my doctor because of Ike. I am very hopeful that the PAINFUL shots are helping Peanut grow. My body had adjusted to the pump and I am able to cope with it much better. Still averaging 2-3 contractions with the pump so I'm glad I'm on it.

Headed Home!

We are so grateful to have loving and helpful family. Josh's mom and dad drove down from MO and brought two big generators and an AC since Texas is sold out. My doctor said since we had that in order we could go home. I am so excited! I have been only getting a few hours of sleep since I am so uncomfortable and actually in pain from the hotel bed. We know that we have fence damage at home but the house looks good according to neighbors. We will not have Internet or phone service. I have heard about a mile away if we stand on a bridge we can get cell service. So, I will be able to keep in contact with Matria (monitoring and terb pump service) and able to call my doctor is necessary. It'll be a long drive home and lots to do when we get there but it will be worth it to sleep in a comfortable bed tonight. Thanks everyone for your prayers, love and support. We will blog again when we have Internet service.

Update on Evacuation

We are still in Dallas in a hotel. I am having a lot of difficulty getting comfortable here. Well, let's put it this way, I can't. I miss my hospital bed. My side effects have subsided some from the pump. Still shaky and increased heart rate. I basically only eat protein now since my blood sugars have gone up. Other than that me and the girls are doing good.

Josh and I are anxious to know how our house is. Plus, we left our two cats there and hope they are fine. I do know that our neighborhood does have damage. I am concerned because there is a forest, bayou and power tower right behind our back fence. Josh is thinking about driving back tomorrow to access the situation. If Houston gets power my doctor wants me to get a hotel there close to the hospital.

The girls have been very active lately. Josh can actually see them moving from across the room. It's crazy!

Evacuation to Dallas

Prior to evacuating I did a 24 hour contraction monitor. I contracted between 3-4 times an hour in the middle of the night. So, my medications for contractions through my pump was increased. I wasn't very happy because I am already getting side effects from the pump, increased blood sugars, increased pulse (jump out of my chest), vomiting, shaking and just a feeling of drunkenness. Luckily, some of the side effects come in waves and aren't all the time.

Speaking of waves...IKE! I think packing for just myself gives us a little of an idea for packing for 4 kids in the future. I had to pack so much just to get me by; contraction monitor (which is a wireless one for the trio), pump medicine and supplies, Levonox injections and supplies, a ton of pillows, all oral medications, food, water, blood sugar tests and supplies including Sharps container, blood pressure monitor and I tried to pack some extra sanity. The drive was difficult but not as bad as I expected. I surrounded my belly with pillows since any bump in the road is somewhat painful actually. A 4 1/2 hour trip probably took us almost 7 hours with extra traffic and having to stop often for potty breaks and to stretch. I am so glad we left when we did because I could not have made it in the traffic that did occur after we left.

Maxine (our dog) came with us and I am glad for that. The friends that were going to watch her evacuated also. She has been so good through all of this. Josh allowed her to sleep in his bad. She is being spoiled and is enjoying her trip. Unfortunately, we had to leave the two cats at home with lots of food and water. Our hotel is nice! I am having difficulty with getting comfortable, but am managing. Mom and Josh are freezing and I am still hot! Mom actually had to get extra blankets. The hotel has had a good spread for breakfast (even including food that I can eat!). We are watching the news closely and hope that after Ike passes Houston and won't be without electricity for too long. Once electricity is back we will head home. Thank you for everyone's love and support. We will keep you posted as events arrive.

Ike is Headed Our Way

Hurricane Ike is heading our dirrection. My doctor called me this morning and wants me to evacuate to Dallas (4 hours North-that is without evacuation traffic). I am now trying to find a hotel that is near a good hospital. I need a hotel with a big comfy bed and a big kitchen for Josh and Mom to cook in. I have a nurse coming in today to start my terb pump. I also am doing a 24 hour contraction monitoring today. I guess I should never have complained about wearing it for one hour twice a day. ha ha

Belly Pic- 24 w 3 d

I think WE grew. Hopefully the painful shots are helping!

Lab Results

Some of the lab results came in. And yes, I am ANA positive (Duh!) and still anemic. I started my blood thinner injections today. All I have to say is "OUCH!" I have had a lot of shots this year but these hurt. I am willing to do it for the girls though. Boy am I glad that we have the insurance that we do. Lab work alone the other day would have been $2300. We paid nothing. Today the injections were $1021 and we paid $9. My hospital bed is $897 a month and we pay nothing. I also don't have any co-pays for my numerous doctor's visits. So, waht I am saying is that I am 4tunate for my husbands job and insurance. Today was a BIG day for me. I went baby shopping. I had not been out of the house except to go to the doctors in a couple months. I had a blast. But let me tell you those motorized carts at the store are hard to drive.

Doctor's Visit - 23w 5d

Sandra is still a major concern. She is measuring about 3 weeks behind her sisters. All four still have strong steady heartbeats. I had 8 tubes of blood drawn today to test to see if something could be found why Sandra is so small. I do know that I have a positive ANA. In past have been told it means nothing. My doctor said that it could mean that Sandra isn't getting the amount of blood that she needs. If that is the case I will begin daily shots of a blood thinner to help. If that is the reason for her lack of growth then the shots will help quickly. So, Sandra needs extra thoughts and prayers by all!

My contractions have increased recently but don't need to go on a medicinal pump yet. My fluids were good! I now will be seeing the doctor every week so that we can monitor Sandra closely! We were told that we may have to deliver early for a better survival rate of all due to Sandra's size. Grow Sandra Grow!!!!