It's a beautiful Sunday here in Merion. The birds are chirping, the house is somewhat calm and our dog hasn't eaten anything overwhelmingly expensive yet today. I've also been taken to breakfast by my very attentive husband (at least when it comes to feeding me, lol) and had some great french toast. So why am I inside blogging on this gorgeous day? Well, I'm not allowed in the sun anymore. But that's a-ok because the babies are doing well, the boys are doing well and Weston and I are doing well too.

As of tomorrow we are 22 weeks pregnant. The doctor seems to think that we have 8-10 weeks to go! It's amazing how quickly the time has gone by. We have two or so weeks left until we reach the "safe zone" of viability, and I am thankfully still moving around quite well for carrying 4 babies. My biggest concern now is carrying them for as long as I can and making sure that they continue to grow well. I am now going to the doctor once a week, which is both great (I love seeing them during the ultrasound) and overwhelming. Every week I essentially prepare for bad news. Thankfully we haven't received any to date!

At our last visit the babies each weighed in at over a pound each. They are big, gorgeous and unfortunately very cramped. So much so that John's head has a home nestled inside of my liver. But as I said they are all healthy, and growing at an exceptional rate. We really do feel so blessed.

Our concerns and fears now lay more in the logistics of how life is going to be for the next few months. We leave for our shore house in 2 weeks for a 3 week stay. How am I going to survive at the beach for three weeks, not being able to go in the sun or extreme heat? Especially with Jakob and Owen being as active as they are. What the heck are we going to do if an emergency occurs and the babies are born while Weston is flying? Like anything else in life, we'll adjust and make due because that's what we have to do. There are no other options. But trying to plan for the "what ifs" when we have no idea what's going to happen is often a tedious and exhausting task.

People continue to ask if we're nervous or apprehensive and "how on earth we think we'll manage" everything. First and foremost this is not a situation "to manage." It's our life, and just like anything else in life, all things will be dealt with accordingly as we continue to raise our SIX children and live as a family. Yes, we need to be prepared and we'll have help (thankfully we have the ability to have help). But to over simplify the joy of having such a family by making it out to be a business proposition seems so unjust. To the kids, and to us. We are of course nervous, about the health of the babies and about the adjustments the boys will have to make. But honestly, we're pretty damn excited too. Some people we encountered have such a negative thought process about what WE are going through that it is utterly amazing. I mean, we chose this for ourselves. Who are these people doing the second guessing for us? On the other hand, we have encountered so many people who are just beside themselves to be introduced to such an amazing situation, which is always something I find endearing.

In other news...Hmm.....I guess there really isn't any other news...At least nothing huge. Jake has fully recovered from his surgery and has regained his usual energy and endurance. Owen has been soaking up the sun (when it's not raining- YUCK!) and is learning to ride his scooter just as well as his brother. Both of them are enjoying all of the time they can at our pool, and getting as dirty as possible while they play outside :) They are just boys being boys....

I suppose that's it for now. I'm headed outside under our covered porch to at least enjoy the weather- even If I can't be in the sun :)

Enjoy the week!

Half Way There

I finally got to see my Mom yesterday. And my Dad, and my sister and a lot of my other family that I miss so very much. Weston, the boys and I made the trek out to my parent's and I am so happy that we did. It was a great start to the week, and I enjoyed every minute of being with my family. I think one of the hardest things I'll go through with these babies is not having my family close. Jakob and Owen spent their first years seeing my parents daily. They were a huge help to me, and the boys developed such a strong bond with them. Now, we're two hours away and I am so sad that the babies won't have that same experience.

Onto the pregnancy news...Today I am 19 weeks pregnant! That's means we're more than 1/2 way to the end of this pregnancy and that we're getting closer and closer to meeting these four babies!

I'm feeling well right now. I mean, I'm having a hard time moving faster than a newly walking toddler but generally I am ok. All of the other ailments that I have are still persistent but keeping myself busy is really a great way to forget about them. I am slowly purging everything that we don't need, and getting more and more organized every day. I was somewhat organized before, but I've taken it to a whole new level. I just keep thinking how having a system for everything is going to make life that much easier when the Quads arrive.

Another great way to forget about how badly you're feeling is to have a child who's sick and feeling worse than you are. Jake spent a day in the ER last week for abscessed tonsils, and is having surgery to remove his tonsils & adenoids in addition to putting tubes in his ears on Wednesday. We've gotten to the point where the doctor is confident it's the wise choice after he's had recurrent infections for a year. So, my oldest son is having his first surgery. Sigh.

Jake was such a brave guy last week. He didn't flinch when they put his IV in, he didn't move every time they gave him more meds, and he didn't complain when he couldn't have any snacks. He just sat in his hospital bed watching Nickelodeon and coloring with Owen. I'm hoping this week he proves to be just as brave, for his sake and (selfishly) mine. He knows he's having surgery, and seems ok with the idea. BUT, that's only if you say they are "shrinking" and not "removing" his tonsils. He's more comfortable with the idea that they are going to remain intact, lol.

Jake also graduated from Preschool on Friday night. He was so incredibly adorable. I can't believe I have a 5 1/2 year old who is making his way QUICKLY towards Kindergarten. Where on earth has the time gone?

The graduation from Preschool and the end of preschool for the year for Owen marks the start of summer for the Veith/Liebe clan. The pool we belong to opens this weekend, our summer vacation to Sea Isle is planned and the weather is finally getting warmer. I can't wait. I know I'll be a beached whale for most of it, but at the very least I have all the time in the world to spend time with Jake and Owen before our lives become even more hectic.

I'm off to bath time. Have a great week~

Here's an update....

I want my mommy. Badly. I don't care if I'm 29 and shouldn't. Sometimes a girl just needs to have her arm scratched (long story but she's been doing it for 29 years and I'm in need of some arm scratching now!).

I also want my sister. Why, I don't know. Yes, I miss her too, but I'd really just like for her to make me some weenies in a blanket. She's the best weenie in a blanket maker I know...And I don't even LIKE weenies. Ok, that came out wrong-but you know what I mean.

While I'm on the "I want" tangent, I'd also like to add the following:

*Sunshine. I am SO tired of it raining. The boys are going stir crazy and we all want to go outside and play

*My husband. He's flying until late tomorrow night which means I won't sleep nearly as well because he's not home and next to me in bed.

*A sugar free cherry Rita's. Because everything in my life at this point revolves around food.

*A Gin and Tonic. It's been WAY too long.

Consider that my tantrum for the day.

Eat, Drink and Be Merry

I'm tired. Really, really, really tired. I'm also achy, emotional and various other things, so as you can see not much has changed.

What has changed is that we are all much more aware of just how fragile I am physically and how my health is going to play a huge role in how long this pregnancy lasts.

We have been very fortunate throughout the past 17 weeks to not have any terrible scares with the babies. In fact, we really haven't had any scares at all since the very beginning. What we did have was a scare with me.

We've known all along that my caloric intake, liquid intake, etc had to increase tremendously. Unfortunately I hadn't realized just how much what I ingested and when would have such a huge effect on my ability to function on a day to day basis. So essentially I woke up last Saturday eager to get outside and enjoy the nice weather with the boys and West. I had my usual juice, but not my usual heavy breakfast. I ate toast on the way to the dog park with Owen (we were meeting Jake and West) and as soon as I got there I knew something was wrong. After resting for 10-15 minutes I started the very short walk back to our house. I continuously had to stop and make an effort to breath. I felt faint and exhausted. Finally after stopping several times I fell...twice. I had passed out cold and couldn't function. Thankfully, we had neighbors who were in the area and they brought out juice and a cereal bar. After I drank the juice, I was able to get up and waddle home. That incident landed me in the hospital overnight and left all of us extremely scared. Never again will you catch me doing anything without eating/drinking first.
Obviously the babies are all fine- they are just draining every ounce of everything I have out of me. The doctors explained that I had a low hemoglobin (my body isn't making enough blood), a low blood sugar, low potassium and dehydration. It's amazing that no matter how much I ingest, it's never going to be enough.

This experience showed me just how fragile I am right now- but it also showed me how fragile we all are on any given day. Jake and Owen fell witness to something very traumatic to them. Weston was left in the middle of a chaotic and frightening situation in which he was left to care for me, the boys and our crazy dog Hamilton. Once you go through something like that you have no choice but to acknowledge the possibilities, both good and bad, of what can happen at any given moment.

Thankfully we made it through last weekend unscathed. Family came together to help Weston with Jake and Owen (which I am so eternally grateful for), Weston managed everything so incredibly well and we've learned some very important lessons. Weston and the boys continue to take amazing care of me on a daily basis and I have to say I feel so blessed.

I am still trying, no matter what the circumstances, to maintain a sense of normalcy for Jake and Owen. Their lives are going to change so much, and I want to devote all of the time and energy I can to them right now. I took them to the zoo on Wednesday and we had such a great time just walking and talking (Obviously I ate a lot before we went, lol). That peaceful time is just so meaningful to me.

While we're all so excited to welcome our four new additions, we are also very aware that life will never be the same. That alone is reason enough to be scared.

As the pregnancy progresses, my emotions change quite often. At first we just wanted to make sure our children would ALL be happy and healthy. Now that we now that the babies are healthy, I worry about the effect of doubling our family will have on Jake and Owen. Of course, this often subsides to excitement of seeing the interaction between all of the children. But just as I take that minute to relax and enjoy those thoughts, I am left with the sinking feeling that something is bound to go wrong. It really is a roller coaster of emotions.

At 17 weeks, we are likely 1/2 way through this pregnancy. It's amazing, isn't it? The babies are roughly 1/2 pound each and fattening up as we speak. For obvious reasons we're hoping to stay pregnant as long as possible. However the reality is that we'll have the babies between 30-34 weeks. To prepare we've started the nursery, which is a great distraction from thinking too much.

We've also settled on names for all of them, which was a task in itself. So, joining Jakob Douglas and Owen Russell we have:

*Mary Elizabeth (Weston's mom is also named Mary. To honor Owen's request that we have a sister named Emmie, we've decided that we'll call Mary "EMMIE" for her initials- M.E.).
*Katherine Mae (Mae is my grandmother's middle name. We'll call her KATE).
*Benjamin Charles (Charles is Weston's middle name. We'll call him BEN).
*John George (Weston's father and brother who have both passed away were both named John George. John is also a nod to my mother, JoAnne which is the female form of John as well as my Great grandfather, John Kiefer. We'll likely call John "JOHN JOHN"

I'll admit, it took quite an effort to name them all :)

For now, I am going to go enjoy my time with Jake and Owen who are fighting over puzzle pieces. Not because they want to do a puzzle, but because they want to use the pieces as boomerangs. They are truly boys.

I've been terrible with the updating, I know. Part of me started to feel as though I was exploiting this experience. But, people continue to ask about updates and I do like the feeling of having an outlet so I'll continue...Maybe not "frequently" but enough to keep those who want to know in the loop.

In the past few weeks we've continued to experience the emotional ups and downs associated with both pregnancy and the realization that every day we're closer to having quads join our family. It's really like nothing I've ever experienced before.

We made it through our CVS procedure (Which I will NEVER do again....way too painful for me!) and found out that each one of our four babies is genetically perfect. While we feel so blessed to have four "healthy" children, I'm still constantly worried about all of the ailments that can affect them in the future. We still have to make it through the anatomy screenings, etc. Not to mention the aftermath of having quads prematurely and the risks associated with that. It's like a never ending roller coaster. Just when I think I can take a step back and relieve myself of some of the worry, there is something else to focus that worry on. I could scream.

Aside from the genetic (chromosome) screenings, we were also lucky enough to find out the sexes of our babies. It was very early in the grand scheme of things (12 weeks) but because the sex of a baby is determined by chromosomes (are you having a back flash from high school biology?! XY and XX...lol) we were given that information as well. So, we are having 2 boys and 2 girls join Jake and Owen :)

Names have already been decided for the most part and once they are firmed up, I'll pass them along.

Speaking of Jake and Owen, they are increasingly excited to meet their brothers and sisters. Each have definite ideas of what they are going to do for the babies, and what they want to teach them. It's an amazing thing to see their faces light up with thoughts of siblings. I'm not sure they realize how crazy it's going to be around here, but hopefully that won't sway their attitudes the other way.

We also recently moved their bedroom to our spare in order to be able to fit the quads in one nursery. THANKFULLY both boys were ok with the move and helped decorate their new "pad." Now that we know the sexes, we have planned the nursery and ordered the cribs and bedding. I'd like to say my husband had a lot to do with this process but alas, I don't think he's too interested. At the very least he's probably thankfully it's keeping me occupied and my mind off feeling like such (pardon the term) crap.

So, that's the last few weeks in a nut shell. We're looking forward to warm weather, vacation and some relaxation once the boys get out of school for the year. We have another doctor's appointment next week, so I'll update then.

I hope everyone had a great holiday!

It's Been a While, I know.

So much for keeping everyone well informed.

Things have been increasingly hectic, and even more emotional. I haven't really even sat down at the computer to correspond via email, let alone catch up on this. There has been a lot of time spent at various doctors' offices, and even more time spent in bed on bed rest. But, it seems as though there is light at the end of this tunnel, and I am looking forward to slinking back into normalcy even if it's just for a little while.

Since I last wrote, we have had FIVE different appointments with three different doctors. At each appointment since the discovery of baby number four, we've been told to expect it's disappearance and to focus on the three others. At our last appointment, (which was yesterday) we were finally told that we have four seemingly healthy babies for 10 weeks gestation. And for that, we breathed a sigh of relief. Baby number four has caught up completely with its siblings and for now, all remain on par for where they should be at this stage of the game.

We did have a pretty intense scare this week, complete with emergency doctors visits (I'll save you unpleasant specifics). But, we've walked away unscathed.

I am now 10 weeks pregnant with Quadruplets. It still feels surreal to say that out loud. Even more surreal is that we will have SIX children.

We had our first appointment with a high risk ob last night. Specifically, he's a Perinatalogist. We both really liked him, and he spent a ton of time going over every facet of the pregnancy. He (and his practice) have a ton of experience delivery high order multiples and we both left feeling so much more comfortable with what's going to happen in the next few months and beyond.

The doctor gave us a ton of statistics and feels that I have two things going for me- one is my age, and the other is that I've never progressed in either of my other pregnancies. This means that I have a fighting chance of not going into severe pre-term labor. The longer the babies stay put, the less likely they are to suffer any long term detrimental effects from being pre-term. The most important thing to do is to mentally be in the mind set that this will all have a positive outcome, and use common sense in regards to what my body can endure.

I have to say that for the first time, we have faith (Well, Weston has most of the faith) that we can do this. I can actually begin to let the excitement build, and look forward to meeting our four new additions.

In non-pregnancy related news Jake was registered officially for Kindergarten last week. My first baby is growing up so quickly. I swear he's going to be driving and going to college any day. Owen was registered for the four year old class at his pre-school, which is also hard for me to stomach. They are both getting so big, talking like little men and becoming so mature. It's really amazing to sit back and watch them progress day to day. Even more astounding is the relationship they have with each other. There is less fighting and arguing and more conversations, play time and pleasant interaction between the two of them. It's such a great thing to witness.

Needless to say we're blessed...