Heart Jewerly

Sweet Angel Samantha right after heart surgery.



Even in the Intensive Care Unit she lights up a room with her smiles!


Still sleepy from sugery, but she would not miss an episode of Sponge Bob.

I want to start by saying that Samantha is such a good girl and doing great. We are waiting to be discharged right now. She is such a strong girl and after everything she went through she never stopped smiling.

She had the first surgery of the day which made it easy for her since she didn't realize that she was fasting. We were told MANY times that she was stingy and didn't want to give up a vein. It took them an hour to find a good one. So, she is covered from head to toe with bruises from the many failed attempts. Of all the places, it finally worked in her left thumb (how weird is that). The sad thing is that the left thumb is her favorite to suck, and she was very frustrated by the inconvenience. Apparently, she didn't want to share her arteries either. So, they had to use arteries in both groins to conduct the surgery.

During surgery they did a test to see how bad her back flow of blood was. A normal blood flow is 1:1 ratio (half to the lungs and half to the rest of the body). Her ratio was greater than 4:1. They couldn't measure it further. The device (plug) was placed in the hole. However, it is not in a "perfect" place. It is pushed up against her aorta. It is causing a 4 mm indent. The doctors decided that removing and replacing would be to high a risk of damage and decided to leave it there. They took chest x rays and it was still in the same place.

She will continue to see the cardiology surgeon (while doubling with the cardiologist) for the next six months. She will need to continue being monitored by a cardiologist for the next several years. She needs to carry a card in her wallet (Coach purse) that talks about her new heart bling bling.

Even to the naked ear we can hear a difference. She has not been panting or sweating for her bottles any more. I am so glad that her tiny (yet big in spirit) heart is better.

She is doing great and we are ready to head home to see her sisters. Thank you for every one's prayers and support. Thank you Debbie, Zenda, Martha, Diedra, Sarah, Nancy, Lynne and the rest of the crew that made this happen smoothly. We all appreciate your help!

Heart sugery today

Today is Samantha's heart surgery so everyone please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We hope to be back home tomorrow. Josh's mom will be here with the help of a few very kind people. I will update as soon as we get home. We are all doing good! I have so great pics to post when we get back.

Happy Easter!

Where are my ears?


Samantha is bigger than her sisters!


Sweet Sandra!


Silly Samantha!

Cute Hannah!

Precious Makaila!

Sandra found all the eggs!

Beautiful Samantha!

Yesterday I took Makaila to the new ENT doctor. After giving the doctor the history of Makaila's voice troubles, she decided to look at her vocal cords with a camera. Originally I was told that in order to do that she would need to be sedated. When, this doctor just had me hold her for the procedure. They put a camera through her nose to her larynx. Poor Makaila! It was awful seeing her go through it. The good news is that there is no vocal cord damage. There was irritation on the larynx and the doctor saw milk also. It had been 3 1/2 hours since she ate. Apparently, her reflux is still bad. The new belief is that the reflux is causing her lack of voice. I called the pediatrician today and she is now on more medicine to help with the reflux. She will go see ENT again in three months. Thank you Debbie and Lynne for watching the other three while we were gone.

On Monday the school district came out to visit Makaila since she was diagnosed with ROP. She passed all her vision tests with flying colors. However, due to her age she needs to be reevaluated in six months. Samantha continues to have physical therapy which she hates. It is hard for me to see her so upset on those days since she is usually the happiest of the bunch. Hannah and Sandra had occupational therapy this week and are doing great.

They are all growing and developing so much, it makes us proud! They are so much more alert and playful now. Makaila and Hannah are doing the best with spoon feeding. They are now actually opening their mouths in anticipation. Sandra is starting to get the idea and Samantha would prefer to skip it and get a bottle. We introduced the jumperoos this week and they were a big hit. Samantha is atually grabbing at the toys on it.

We hope everyone has a very Happy Easter!

A week of firsts

Sisters being entertained; waiting for bath time.


They really enjoy being close together.



Hannah has been less fussy lately and her smile is beautiful!


Maxine loves to lay by the girls! I am constantly trying to stop her from licking them.

Samantha and Makaila watching TV. Usually there is a row of all four watching.

Makaila and Daddy studying finance. Good job Daddy on keeping up the great grades through all this craziness!

Daddy entertaining all four while Mommy makes bottles.

Alright, I know it has been a while since the last post. But believe it or not, we have been busy. So, we have a few updates. The girls are all doing awesome. It is so fun to see them change so much and do new things. Samantha actually is starting to pick up toys to play with. Sandra will play with one if you hand it to her. It is so cute! They are starting to acknowledge each other and give each other smiles.

We have changed our schedule a bit. But, lets mention a few firsts first. The girls started eating cereal from a spoon. Maybe I should say attempt rather than eat. Another first is that they are all drinking apple juice now. So the new additions changed our schedule and make for a very busy day.

7:30 am change and feed Sandra

7:45ish change and feed Makaila, Hannah and Samantha

8:30 swing time

9:15 floor time (tummy and back time)

10:00 apple juice for all four

10:15 change and feed Sandra

10:15 morning nap for girls, chores for mom

11:15 prevacid for Makaila and Hannah

11:30 Change all four

11:45 feed all four rice cereal

12:00 all four get bottles

12:30 play time

1:00 afternoon nap

2:00 feed and change Sandra

This time of day is when I get the most done (that is if everyone co operates). I blog, finish up dishes, grab a bite to eat, go potty and get ready for the rest of the day.

3:45 change and feed all four

After this feed they are awake and ready for action for the rest of the day. It takes everyone around to entertain them. This is also when we make bottles for the next 24 hours.

6:00 apple juice for all four

6:15 feed and change Sandra

If weather permits we go for a 30 minute walk at this time. Otherwise, you might see us acting a little silly entertaining the girls.

7:00 bath time

7:30 feed and change all four then to bed

quiet time for mommy and daddy. Usually involves catching up on our favorite TV shows. Thank you DVR!

10:30 feed and change all four.

They now sleep through the night until their next feeding at 8:00 am. It is so nice to be able to go to bed and stay there until the morning. We are very fortunate!

Remember two to three times a week (usually at 10:00) we have physical therapy, occupational therapy and any other visits for the girls at the house. This week we only had one doctors visit. It is impossible to keep their necks dry! They are constantly drooling. Hannah got an infection on her neck. So, during every diaper change Makaila, Hannah and Samantha also get either an ointment or powder on their necks. Just one more thing to do. Sandra has a long skinny neck so she does not seem to have a problem. We stopped Hannahs's Reglan for reflux and she seems to be doing great. Sandra has not rolled over any more. But they are all getting better at holding their heads up.

Samantha is still scheduled for the 14th for her PDA closure. And Makaila has an appointment next week for her vocal cord damage. The last ENT wanted to have her sedated and scoped but he didn't have the capability to do it. So, we are starting over with a different doctor. G Ma is still here and helping out. We all appreciate her! The girls just love their Grandma.

Happy Birthday Baby Bear!

We are glad to announce the arrival of Baron Asher born last night. He weighed 7 pounds and 15 ounces. He was 21 inches long. The girls can't wait to meet and play with baby bear. Congrats Sara and Stanford for a healthy baby boy!

We have a roller!

Yesterday was another busy day. I had to take Sandra to her last Synagis shot. However, it was over an hour away. It is great to know that the girls are finished with their RSV shots. After dropping Sandra back off at home and feeding the girls I had to leave again with Samantha to go to her plastic surgery appointment. The good news is that she no longer has to wear her silicone sleeve. Her arm is still healing and requires weekly physical therapy and daily massage. Her arm is very sore and she gets very upset for her massages. The doctor said that she will need plastic surgery when she is one to two years old to relieve the tissue that is so tight. Another good thing is that she does not have to go back for six months.

After a tiring day and a struggle with extreme highs and lows of my blood sugars, I needed a boost. And wouldn't you know it the girls pulled me through. One of the girls rolled over. She almost even did a 360 because she had so much momentum. So you ask who was the first to roll over! Little peanut Sandra! Yeah! You go girl!

Quad stroller has arrived

Our quad stroller arrived yesterday. Josh was able to assemble it quickly so that we can take the girls for their first walk together in one stroller. They sure love their new ride. Maxine, the dog, really enjoys taking the girls for walks too. When we took the girls out before we used two double strollers that were covered in blankets. People in the neighborhood would say; "Aw, how cute twins!" We would not say anything and just smile! Now, it is obvious and we get the usual comments and questions. Again, we smile and just keep walking. You know, we don't want to stop and chit chat we want to keep our heart rates up.

Sandra, always so photogenic!


Hannah ready to a ride!


Makaila enjoys the new view!


Samantha; chillin' as always!




I have been very tired and having extreme headaches lately. I have just been chalking it up to being a mother of four adorable girls. Knowing that I had gestation diabetes and hadn't checked since delivery I wanted to check my blood sugar. To my surprise, I have been having high numbers. I am continuing to check throughout the weekend and will call my doctor Monday. I know Type II diabetes was a concern my high risk OB told me about after the pregnancy, but I didn't think this would happen to me. I will update after the appointment.

Surgery is scheduled

Samantha had her cardiology appointment yesterday. After waiting over two hours to be taken to a room we saw the doctor. Any one who hears her heart pipes up with a "Wow"! Not all PDA's have to be surgically repaired. But Samantha's is wide open and causing the left side of the heart to over work and start to get enlarged. She also starts to pant and sweat and requires breaks during her bottles. The doctor showed me the different devices that will be used for the surgery. There are two main devices used to close a PDA; a spring and a plug. She will have the plug placed since her opening is wide open. I am still amazed that this will be placed through a groin vein and all the way to the heart through a catheter. They will put contrast on her heart to be able to see the rest of the heart. She also has a small hole in her upper part of her heart. The doctor said that 25% of the population has it and don't even know it. So, they are not concerned about it. The surgery is scheduled for April 14th and will last about three hours. She will be in the hospital for two days. She will be in a different hospital than Sandra was in for her surgery. Hopefully we will have better care. Through all of this Samantha still lights up the room with her big smiles.

Our 4 Lucky Charms

We truly believe that we are lucky with the health and happiness in our family. We hope everyone has a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Samantha needs heart surgery!

G Ma feeding Makaila! Since G Ma has been here we have been hand feeding the girls. I know the girls appreciate the extra TLC!


Hannah or is it Makaila? ha ha Really, this is Hannah!

Sandra, had a brady! Or should I say the monitor alarmed a brady. Even though it did not appear to look like a brady we had to start a new month count down.

Makaila talking to G Ma about what she wants the Easter Bunny to bring her!

This is a common occurrence after the 4 pm feed. For some reason, they are all usually fussy between the 4 pm and 8 pm feedings. Yes, I eat dinner some how this way to.

Oh wait this is after a 8 am feeding. Hum! Another fussy time. Yup, that is a lap top behind me trying to respond to e-mails and update blogs. Can you say multi task?

This is a big milestone for our blog; 100th post. Can you believe that? Anyways, Wednesday was Samantha's cardiology appointment. G Ma and Nancy watched the other three girls so that I can take Samantha. The appointment started off with vital signs then an EKG which she giggled through followed by chest X-rays that she hated. She didn't like to be stretched for them but she recovered quickly. Then we got to see the doctor. Once she heard Samantha's heart mur mur she said it was at least a Grade III and needed a echo gram TODAY! We had to wait a while but she got it done. She had to lay still on a big bed for it and she did awesome! I think she is going to be a couch potato. She literally laid there and watched Sponge Bob Square Pants. I was so proud of her though.

She then saw the doctor again. Samantha still has her PDA open and it is huge and causing a back flow of her blood. She also has a small hole in the upper part of her heart but the doctor is not concerned about that one now. Samantha needs to have heart surgery to close the PDA. They will implant a spring into her heart. The good news is that they do not have to open her chest and will do it all through the vein in her groin through a catheter. The procedure will last three hours and she will be in the hospital for two days. She has an appointment Wednesday with the surgeon to schedule the surgery. I know she is strong and will do great but knowing she has to have a general anesthetic and heart surgery just scares me. Plus, it is so close in time to Sandra's surgery I just don't want to have to see another of my children sedated again. But we will get through this as a family like we did for Sandra.

Last weekend Babies R Us had a sale on formula so we bought 90 containers. Right now, one container lasts just under two days. But only three are on this formula and we are continually increasing the amounts. We are hoping it will last a few months though. Today I ordered their quadruplet stroller. It should be here by the end of next week. I am very excited that I will be able to take them all on a walk by myself if I want while Daddy is at work. Yeah!

We are all enjoying the girls smiling and giggling. We are having fun with G Ma. It is really nice to have the extra hands around. We hope everyone is doing good.

Welcome back G Ma

G Ma arrived on Wednesday! It was so nice to have her back. The girls really missed her, including Maxine the dog. For those who have noticed Sandra not wearing her apnea monitor; she actually is but just unplugged. The only time her alarms go off now is when she wiggles and the wire gets loose. She technically is being monitored until March 25th but we like to unplug the wires more often now.

Since G ma has arrived we have been hand feeding the girls most of the time. The feedings go so much faster now. When Josh is at work we prop Samantha and hand feed Hannah and Makaila. Sandra is still on an every two hour schedule during the day.

Today was such a nice day Josh, Maxine and I took the girls for their first walk around the neighborhood. They really seemed to enjoy it. However, it took more time getting them ready and in the strollers then the walk itself. It was so nice to get out and get some fresh air though. As soon as the stroller got going, Hannah fell asleep. I told Josh that I was going to take her for walks after every feed. ha ha

Food glorious food!

Josh and I have had dinners delivered to us for about a month and a half now. The meals have been so delicious and well thought out. We get a variety and many courses. We have never met these people before they so graciously bring us meals. Prior to the help we would either go without or if we were lucky we'd grab and run usually a boring sandwich. The meals help us out so much. I wanted to tell all of you; "Thank you from the bottom of our hearts".

We as usual have a busy week ahead of us. On Monday we have a nutritionist coming to the house, Tuesday the occupational therapist comes to work with Hannah and Thursday is Samantha's physical therapy. But, we are all looking forward to Wednesday. We are counting the days. G Ma (Josh's mom) will be returning. YEAH! It will be nice to have the extra hands here. Hannah and Makaila have been struggling with reflux and require being held a lot more now. With the extra help, I also plan to organize and Spring clean.

The girls are a lot more alert now and curious about their surroundings. They love their mobiles. We had the kind that came with their bedding and only ran for I think 30 seconds. Our hands were getting sore winding them up so this weekend I got them mobiles that last for 20 minutes by remote control. Woo hoo! The girls are also holding their head up more and more and smiling more often. Sandra is still eating every two hours during the day. They all sleep after the midnight feeding until the 8 am. That is such a huge relief.

One of the small things that I do to help get through the difficult days is to take one of the girls and Maxine (the dog) for a walk to the mailbox daily. I rotate (in birth order) so they all get an equal time out. I am in the hunt for a quadruplet stroller. I have in narrowed down to two options. Yes, there are a few out there. It will be so nice to be able to take all four out on walks together. I plan on ordering (whichever one I decide on) one next week.