10.08.2012

{Quad Squad} Four Month Update & Double Digits!

The last couple weeks have been awesome. Sure, we've still battled sleep deprivation, mountains of baby laundry (who knew tiny baby things could pile up so fast?!), roughly 30 feedings every 24 hours and four lung-bursting cries that crescendo in unison. We've also plowed through the incredible stash of diapers we'd put away before the quads arrived and this coffee-hater has started inhaling iced coffee every morning like it's going out of style. I'm just waiting for my nervous twitch to start. *Left eye blinks rapidly several times* Wait, what?

Then yesterday morning, I jolted upright in my bed at 5am to the sound of Trystan's blood curdling cry. (It's the same cry she uses for everything: hold me, burp me, feed me, I'm bored.) I ran into the living room, all bleary eyed with my boxer shorts twisted sideways and, what I'm sure to be amazing, bedhead. I stood in front of the pack-and-play closest to our bedroom door and stared down in utter confusion at Trystan and Logan sitting in their boppies inside it. "Why are they in their boppies??!" I said frantically. "How did they get here?"

Then a flood of panic came over me and I thought the most awful. No, it couldn't be. We'd never put them to bed! They'd sat in their boppies all night!

"It's 5am," says my husband calmly from our bedroom. "It's time to feed them and April's getting them ready."

Right. We have a night nanny and it's feeding time.
Crisis averted.
Heart attack narrowly missed.


(Our night nanny comes three to four times a week and peeps the babies for their 5am feed before she leaves. Then the husband and I feed them and put them back to bed, he leaves for work and I take a quick power nap!)

Ah yes, so back to how things have been awesome. In all that craziness listed above, it also means we've gotten our "new normal" under control. As under control as it can be when you have a husband working full-time, a wife working part-time, four newborn babies, three dogs and two cats. (And a partridge in a pearrrrr treeeeee.)


*Warning! The following is a super baby-centric post. Like all about bottles, weight gain, rolling over, rice cereal and sleep schedules. If you're looking for a quick update, then scroll on down, play my super cute video of Trystan and take a gander at the photos then come back later this week for my posts on fall decorations, recipes and more! Otherwise, dig on in, my friends.*

We've reached and surpassed new milestones, we've watched our babies grow and develop from teeny tiny preemie infants to "regular" babies learning to babble, hold their heads up and chug their bottles. We've been perfecting the art of bottle propping to feed all four babies at once and have literally gained back half our lives in the amount of time we're saving by doing it that way. Plus, we got a great report at their fourth month pediatrician appointment, and we've ended night feeds once and for all! More on that later. For now, here's the update on our fantastic four!


Listed below each kiddo we have the breakdown of where their measurements (height, weight and head circumference) land them on the growth chart, by percentage. You can see how being preemies born 2.5 months early has affected their initial growth stages—and how teeny my little Trystan is compared to the others!—but they'll be expected to catch up as early as the first year or as far on as their third and fourth years.

~ Trystan ~

Height 0.08%
Weight 0.1%
Head Circumference 8%


This little girl is our, um, spirited one. She has pretty auburn hair, sweet cheeks I like to squeeze all the time and a dimple on each one. Her smile alone is enough to melt your heart! But she also gets very, very mad if you've woken her up too soon or don't have her bottle waiting. We sometimes refer to her as the Hulk because her faces gets bright red, she screams and yells at the top of her lungs and little angry tears well up in the corner of her eyes. Even her tongue looks like it's curdling when she's mad. But as soon as you pop the bottle into her mouth or pick her up to console her, she calms right down like nothing ever happened. My sweet, temper-lovin' girl. Trystan hit a big milestone today, she's now 10 lbs!! It's taken us a long 4.5 months to reach the point where all four of the babies are in the double digits. To most, it's really not a big deal. Some babies are born on the verge of being double digits anyway! But to me, with babies born at 2 and 3 pounds, it's a huge success. Another recent accomplishment? The roll over! She's begun mastering this as well and did it about eight times in a row the other day because momma just wouldn't quit flipping her back over to try it again. Dang it, mom! (Sorry kiddo. I got excited.) Trystan will be going to a craniofacial specialist to get her noggin' checked out since she has plagiocephaly, which basically means one side of her skull is flatter than the other. She favors her right side of her head when she's laying down so we've been working hard to put her on the other side or place towels and blankets to keep her head from turning back over for awhile to help "even things out," but baby girl is determined. It's rumored this can be triggered from a habit in utero, so maybe she laid on her right side most of the time when she was sitting at the bottom of a pile o' babies in my stomach!



Trystan rolls over! from Texas Take on Vimeo.



~ Kailey ~

Height 8%
Weight 1%
Head Circumference 17%


She's still the princess of the group with an adorable personality that'll leave you smitten. She now weighs 10lbs 13.5oz (yes, half ounces count in this household!), wears size one diapers and size three-month clothes. She does look beautiful in pink, I must admit, and she has gorgeous little eyelashes that she likes to bat at anyone that's interested. Poor girl does have reflux and struggles with it occasionally every day, so we hold her close and tight or put a warm receiving blanket under her stomach to relieve some of the discomfort. She's on Prevacid and its definitely helped a lot. Kailey has absolutely no interest in rolling over right now, but she has taken a shining to mat time and coos and smiles while she wiggles around on her back. She also loves the mirror...and her mama. She talks frequently to both! A few weeks ago we took Kailey for a follow-up hip ultrasound since some mild hip dysplasia had shown up at the last one. This time there was absolutely no issues and her hips are just fine! Her next hurdle will be an eye appointment in a few weeks, when they'll be testing her for far sightedness that the first doctor presumed she has. I wasn't a fan of our first doc, so we're getting a second opinion and a new round of eye exams for all the babies. If there are any issues—which could result in her becoming cross-eyed if not addressed—then she might need an eye patch or goggles, the equivalent of baby glasses. Fingers crossed we're in the clear.


~ Harrison ~

Height 1%
Weight 0.2%
Head Circumference 21%


Little man is our big star! He has definitely stolen the spotlight lately and I'll admit to us having to pay careful attention that we aren't holding him a lot more than the others or playing with him too much extra. But it's so hard to resist that huge smile and all his sweet talkin'! He wakes up super happy in the morning and as soon as he sees my face pop up over his crib, he lights up from ear to ear. It's almost more than my heart can take. Harrison is very long and lean, but is still the biggest! He weighs 11lbs 3oz and is sucking down an average of five ounces per bottle. He also sleeps through the night. It was almost a bother to him to get woken up once during the night to feed, since all three of his sisters were still waking up for a bottle. But I told him to have a talk with them so they would be prepared for when night feeds ended. Guess it worked! Our boy has rolled over a couple times but has been rather choosy about any repeated episodes so we're being patient. He babbles and talks quite a bit and has even given out a loud, short laugh every now and then lately. It's so funny, he almost scares himself. Harrison also likes to show off and hold himself solidly upright on his elbows when laying on his stomach or swing his head around and inspect the room when you hold him on your shoulder. He says head rests are for weenies. Little man has also fallen in love with the ceiling fan and his light-up music player on his crib. He frequently talks and smiles at them both.


~ Logan ~

Height less than 1%
Weight 2%
Head Circumference 53%


Not one to be outdone, Logan gives Harrison a run for his money and currently weighs just one half ounce less at 11lbs 2.5ounces. She's also drinking nearly five ounces a bottle and takes her food very seriously. Very rarely do we hear Logan cry, she's a solid gal. If you startle her or take too long with her food, you might get an earful of protests but otherwise she's a very calm, laid back baby. She also sleeps through the night without any trouble, but we believe it's because she's bigger and can last longer than the other girls. She's still on Prevacid for reflux and has been doing great ever since we started on it two months ago. Logan finally rolled over for us the other day and has done it once or twice since, but she's got some adorable leg rolls going on, a big booty and a rather large head, so baby's got a bit more weight to roll her way than the others do! While we don't anticipate any issues, we are also taking her in to see the craniofacial specialist just to be sure her head is shaping well and we don't have anything to worry about. It's definitely quite a bit larger than the other quads' heads and lands her in the 53 percentile! Logan's motor skills are fantastic for her age and she bats at toys and watches every move we make like a hawk. She also adores her daddy and smiles at him all the time. 

~ ~ ~

With bigger babies, comes the end of night feeds. Though they are still on a three hour feeding schedule during the daytime, this past Saturday evening we warily fed the babies their final bottles of the day and prepared them for bed. We've begun cluster feeding a second bottle at the end of the day, meaning their feeds are scheduled to be at 6pm and 9pm, for instance, and we'll feed them at 6pm and 8pm. This ensures they stay full before being put to bed and helps them last a little longer at night. Our goal is for them to go eight hours at night before they are able to feed again. Our pediatrician assured us they can do that at this point and that it was best to do it sooner rather than later, so we don't breed any bad habits! This mom and dad hadn't seen solid sleep in so long that it was absolute music to our ears! The doc warned us that the first night or two they could cry for an hour or longer and to be strong. So Saturday night we put them to bed about 9:30pm and, aside from a few wimpers, no one woke up until 5am. Success! The next night Trystan cried for about 15 minutes during the wee hours and then went back to sleep. Again, we fed at 5am. I'm, in a word, overjoyed


I'll be introducing rice cereal to the last bottle of the day here soon and we can't wait to see how they take to it. It'll be great for the girls with reflux since the cereal in formula is a bit weightier and sticks to the stomach better, making for less spit-ups. It'll also help with weight gain and will keep them fuller longer. 


We also took the quads on their first outdoor walk this weekend! It was quite an event for us, but the babies didn't seem too bothered. Kailey slept through the whole thing, only waking up once we reached the driveway. And Logan and Trystan admired a couple leafy trees before conking out the rest of the ride. That's okay, though. The husband and I didn't have water in our cups, if ya know what I mean! What? Happy hour comes in all forms...



With quadruplets now a permanent fixture in our life, long gone are those carefree days when the husband and I hopped in the car and went out of town for the weekend or decided to turn happy hour into an all-night drinking event. No more do we galavant off to the movies without a moment's notice. It takes two volunteers, a week of planning and a precisely timed theater showing to make that happen now! But we cherish those times even more and are so happy to wake up to four healthy babies every day. It's definitely a new normal for us, but one that we're learning to live to the max. 

11 comments:

  1. Hello there! First time reader and commenter! I'm friends with Shay Shull,and she was telling me about your blog, so I thought I would come over and take a look! Your babies are absolutely ADORABLE!
    Sheaffer :)

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  2. I am so glad to hear that things are going so well! The kids are absolutely adorable and it is so nice to see them growing so nicely :) I think about you guys all the time and you all remain on my prayer list ;) I will have to say I do a lot more thanking than asking now though :)

    Let me know if you need anything! You know I'll come runnin'!

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  3. Good blog!The babies in this blog are very lovely;Gathering of information about the weight and height and comparison among them will give a god survey about the new born babies!

    Weight Gain

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  4. They are so cute! Sounds like y'all are doing a great job keeping them on schedule. I'm sure the night nanny helps tremendously!

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  5. Oh they are the cutest little things. I can't believe how much they have grown. So glad you are getting some rest at night. I would say you should be very proud of yourselfs. I know people with one baby that can't get them to sleep all night at a year old. You are doing amazing. Sherri

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  6. Wow double digit weights, rolling over,just about sleeping thru the night, cooing and laughing..love the little pudgy fingers, and oh the little rolls of fat on the legs:)
    You both are doing great raising those Beautiful, Adorable little ones.

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  7. Oh so good to hear from you, the babies are just absolutely adorable, growing so fast! Glad to hear you'll are getting a little more rest and everyone is doing so good. Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Love the update! Where did you get the girls headbands and hats???

    Lori
    FitFashLife.blogspot.com

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    1. Hi Lori! The headbands came from Babies R Us, they came in a pack of three - so perfect for me! The hats were a gift from my sister, I'm not sure where she got them.

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  9. Yay for dropping night feeds! That is soooooo exciting! I bet you feel like a new person. It's also great that yours are now on the percentile charts and you have double digit weights. Isn't it funny how our triumphs are so different from singletons that are full term?
    Oh how we LOVE to take walks. I was just telling George I think we might need to consider the infant supports for our Runabout so I can take them out if I'm solo. They just relax so much on a walk and the fresh air is wonderful.

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    Replies
    1. It's so AWESOME to put them to bed and know we don't have to get them up again for at least 8 hrs!!! The last two nights they have slept NINE hours!!!!! I love our unique milestones. Still so excited for future play dates...one day soon!

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