Recovery: One Week Down, Five to Go!

Today I left the house for the first time since my surgery last Thursday and headed to my surgeon's office for my post-op appointment. I've been wearing a compression garment around the clock since the operation to help with swelling, blood flow and healing. It fits from my chest all the way to my hips. The garment had appeared monstrous when it arrived in the mail and I'd snorted something about it being a mistake and that it definitely was too large, but now I feel like the damn thing is 18 sizes too small. Still, it had been going great for a couple days until it started to get a little more snug, then a little more snug. No doubt I was swelling a lot from such a big surgery, which was to be expected. Then two nights ago I woke up to find my legs and feet swollen to at least four times their normal size. WTH!?

I started to panic, I had NO idea what was going on and if this was normal. I had never seen my legs and feet like this in my entire life. Even when I was pregnant with quadruplets and developed preeclampsia, I still didn't swell like this. My husband was trying to calm me down although he wasn't sure what was happening either. And because my hips and upper thigh area was so swollen, I couldn't pee and that made me even more panicked. We were both thinking I was either having a reaction to the pain meds or antibiotics (even though, realistically, that didn't make sense since I'd already been on them several days) or I had a blood clot or something. After debating it, we called my surgeon who'd given me his cell phone and told me to call him anytime I needed anything. Anytime meant 1:30am, right? Sure it did. He answered his phone with "Good morning," which made me smile in retrospect later when I wasn't freaking out about my monster-size feet. Clearly, I was not his first middle-of-the-night-panicked-phone-call-patient.

He asked if my thighs were hard, which they were. Then he asked if my calves were hard or more squishy and they were the latter. He said it wasn't anything serious, it was the swelling moving down my body and being segued off mostly into my thighs because of the compression garment ending at my hips. Relieved the husband and I jerry-rigged the garment so that the part around my legs was a bit looser but it was still snug on my stomach to provide support. Now that you've read all this, you know exactly what to do if this ever happens to you! Public service announcement provided. Bam.

At my "recovery post" in bed, with meds, lots of water and pretty roses. :)

The whole night sucked, actually, because the babies all took turns crying randomly throughout the night and I never could get comfortable. As soon as the babies would quiet and the husband got back in bed, I'd need help getting up or taking my meds. Then as soon as I got better, one of the babies would start crying again and he'd have to go see to them. Then once all of the people were quiet, the dog would start barking for no reason. I felt awful for him! But he handled the whole night like a champ, only complaining once that he really just wanted to sleep for one whole hour at a time. Which I thought he totally deserved every time I drifted off back to sleep. (Mean wife, mean!) Fortunately, he was able to get a nap amidst all the chaos the next day, thank goodness.

Other than that, I've been faring pretty well. I still take all my pain meds right on the dot. I tried to take just one pill instead of two the other day—and an hour later, I was incredibly regretting that decision so there will be no more heroism efforts for awhile. I proudly hunch-walked my way into my surgeon's office today for my post-op appointment and got a great report. Everything was looking just the way it should, the incision looked nice and clean (it's stitched up and glued shut with dermabond, same thing that closed my c-section incision) and my belly button is also starting to look like, well, a belly button! I can't wait to see more results as the swelling goes down, which will take about four more weeks. I should be more or less fully recovered six weeks out, at which point I look forward to wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans, fitted tops, working out and being able to eat healthy meals instead of worrying about foods that'll least upset my indigestion.

The babies are doing fantastic and are being taken such good care of. They all come stop by my bed for a visit during the daytime, either daddy or grandma brings them in to make me smile and cheer me up! It'll be so worth all of this when I can run around and play with them without physical ailment or setback.

A group feeding. Ready, set, eat!

My beautiful, happy Logan.

Come back soon for my next guest post from a fellow Texas quad momma!

{Quad Squad} 7 Month Update!

The quad squad is seven months old! Well, actually, they're 7.5 months since this post is a few weeks late but close-ies count in quadville, so here's what we're up to these days. :)

L to R: Trystan, Kailey, Harrison and Logan.

The babes are gettin' more vocal every week. And we love all the noise! Kailey is still the busiest talker and will converse with anything that has eyes, like stuffed animals, her grandma or a sibling. Sometimes the siblings aren't all that interested, like Logan who preferred to just grab a tuft of Kailey's hair mid-convo and give it a good yank. I think they shall be the best of friends.

Everyone's rolling around faster than a bowling ball down a lane slathered in Crisco. You put 'em down on the floor for tummy time then turn around and they're halfway across the room headed for Mexico. Or, more particularly, the bottom of the pack-and-play or to stick their legs under the couch. They have abs of steel from raising up high on their elbows and looking around and they are no longer allowed to sit unattended in their boppy pillows inside their pack-and-plays. They've taken to rolling over and twisting around in them so much it's only a matter of time before someone's little hand finds the edge of the crib and hoists themselves over! We'll soon be dropping the bottoms in both the pack-and-plays and the cribs.

Trystan working on her backbends.

Which leaves us currently trying to figure out how we'll accomplish feedings moving forward. Up to this point, we've been using blankets and bottle props to feed the babies in their boppies while sitting in their pack-and-plays, followed by a spoon feeding. They aren't quite able to sit up on their own in a booster seat yet, but it looks like we'll be working on those skills very soon.

It's an exciting time right now. Overall, the babies are really starting to "get it." When you hand them a toy, they reach out and take it. When they're happy to see you, they grin from ear-to-ear and put a hand on your cheek. They extend their arms to play with toys and objects while on their stomachs and they are familiar with the faces of their parents and grandparents, their bottles and other select objects. They've begun holding their arms wide open when they want (or expect in the case of Miss Princess Kailey) to be held, and they've also taken an interest in splashing their legs in the tub during bath time.

They all weigh in in the 14 to 15.5 pound range, which is great. I'm amazed that Trystan's caught up to the group and there's not more than two pounds separating her and the heaviest, Harrison. We haven't measured their lengths in awhile, but they are all looking longer—especially Logan, who popped out a neck a few months ago and who's torso is also noticeably taller.

With their growing heights, come new activities. They've gotten a handle on the jumperoos and spend a great deal of time each day playing in those. I remember when we had to stuff a blanket into the seat with them to keep them from falling over and we thought they'd never be able to reach the toys that were far away! Of course, now we walk by and find Harrison rotating his seat and jumping up and down to his heart's content with a big goofy smile or Logan easily grasping at the far-hanging toy. It's awesome.

Harrison is still managing to lead the group and do most things first. He gets on his hands and knees now and rocks back and forth, like he's seriously really thinking about crawling and we always think he's about to do it then he face plants on the mat and rolls over. Then we anxiously wait (or sometimes, um, "encourage") for him to get back on his hands and knees and try again. He's so close!

Both Harrison and Logan do a TON of drooling right now—like Logan requires an outfit change on occasion if she's not wearing a bib to catch all the slobber. Unfortunately, her bib usually turns into a cape and doesn't always do her much good. I haven't felt or spotted any teeth yet, but I bet in a month or two we'll have some! The babies have been eating great. They get four eight-ounce bottles a day (8am, 11:45am, 3:30pm and 7pm) and two spoon feedings and rice cereal in their last bottle. Right now, they are keen on kale, peas and pears and carrots with apples. I've been making all the food they're eating and my mom and the husband also help peel, steam and puree when I'm not able. It's been such a learning experience to see the quads reaction to mass-produced shelf-bought food versus fresh, homemade. They love it!

The daily schedule we keep works like magic and has made our household into a well-oiled machine. In turn, we've been able to accomplish things we'd normally never have even given thought to, like my abdominoplasty surgery. The husband and I continue to be so grateful for our family and friends who have supported us during this entire journey. Before we know it, I'll be all recovered and we'll be planning the quads first birthday party!

Happy seven months babies!

The Recovery Continues!

It's Day 3 after surgery and things are going well. The pain has been pretty tough but not as bad as the pain I felt right after my c-section delivery with the quadruplets. I've been diligent about staying on top of my pain meds, which has kept the worst of it all at bay. There is no reason for me to suffer any more than I must! I get up and walk around for very short periods of time throughout the day to avoid getting too stiff, and my back muscles cramp and spasm since they aren't used to working so hard. That and the nausea and general fatigue are my biggest issues right now.

Kailey girl came to keep me company for a few minutes!

The husband has been my knight in shining armor as usual, and has been taking the best care of me. He was by my side the whole morning of the surgery as they were prepping me—including when I got a bit teary-eyed and started feeling like my surroundings were becoming all too familiar again. It hasn't been long enough since having the quads for me to feel comfortable in a hospital setting...especially when you're getting poked and re-poked for an IV!

After the operation, as I drifted in and out of sleep the rest of the day, I kept thinking there was more to come and I was going to be there for awhile. Then in a hazy fog I'd remember that I was done, the operation was over and I'd be going home soon! I didn't have to worry about staying prego or taking care of four little lives in my body or fight through another 24 hours of magnesium sulfate. Being able to recover at home has made a world of difference, and I'm so blessed that it's possible for me to do this!

Right now I can't stand up straight, since the skin that's pulled down over my "new abs" is too tight to do that right now, so I hobble around like a glorified Hunchback of Notre Dame. Doc says over the next two weeks I'll slowly begin to stand straighter and straighter, as the healthy skin stretches and grows. Taking care of the drains that excavate blood and fluids from the incision site is a bit tricky, when you get up and walk around you don't want to hold them higher than the level of your incision or they start to backup and spill out the end. And I also have a pain pump catheter that's a tiny tube delivering small amounts of morphine directly to my incision site. So I have to be careful none of those get accidentally pulled out. Hopefully when I go in for my first follow-up doctor visit on Tuesday, they can get removed then. I'm also wearing a very snug compression garment around the clock to help with swelling and also provide support. Today I managed enough energy for a quick sponge bath and then my mom washed my hair for me in the kitchen sink. Now I'm back in bed, ready to dose up again and take a nap.

Trystan Lee dropping by for a visit with mommy. :)

I'm already so glad I made the decision to move forward with the surgery. My stomach is sewn up from hip to hip and my belly button is sewn into a new (much better!) place, so it's a little more cross-stitch-puzzle than flat-new-abs but I can already feel a difference. It feels like someone zipped up my abdominal muscles all nice and tight. I can hardly remember what that felt like and I know I'm going to be able to enjoy running around after the quads and keeping up with our active family.

Other than the occasional Facebook check-in or blog update, I've spent most of my time dozing on and off. It's nice to have so many wonderful people in my house taking care of day-to-day things and, of course, the babies. My husband is doing a wonderful job with my care as well as the babies, and my mom and step-dad are happily tending to their grandchildren, laundry and food prep. And hey, you have to be impressed when I come home having abdominoplasty surgery and still manage to cook everyone dinner! Or cooked that is, thanks to the 12 homemade dinner meals I'd made and frozen over the past couple weeks. If you know me, you know I like to be prepared.

Our nanny April is also here for about two weeks—she volunteered to help us out while she wrapped up some things in town before moving. We are so grateful to have made such a wonderful friend in April and found someone who cares so well for our kids. We look forward to keeping up with her over the coming years.

And thanks to all of you, my friends, family and readers, who have taken the time to lift me up in prayer. It means so much and I truly believe the timing of the surgery and my well-planned recovery have come together as a result of it. Will continue keeping you updated and look forward to sharing the quads' seven month photos in my next post!

{Guest Post} 10 Things You Need To Know About Having A Baby

I am so excited to share this post that my BFF, Lisa, whipped up just for y'all. I asked her what she thought about putting something together for the blog and she sent me her post later that same afternoon. Lisa is the type of friend everybody wants in their corner—she's amazing. She's also like me in a sense that she's real, we're no BS and we have a very unique mix of pessimism and optimism between us. Without further ado, enjoy this recount of a new mom in the real world...

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Amber, you took this whole pregnancy to another level...
(Lisa, on the left, at 26 weeks prego with one and Amber, right, 14 weeks prego with four.)

So Amber and I were roommates in college—it's kinda random, actually, how we linked up. I saw an ad in the school newspaper for a roommate and when that didn’t work out, the girl gave me the information of another girl that had called. Since it was 8am on a Saturday I went back to sleep, but a short time later my phone rang and it was Amber calling to see if I would be interested in rooming with her. We met that afternoon, both agreed on an apartment and signed a lease the same day. And as they say, the rest is history!

So I have known Amber for almost eight years…wow, we are getting old. Anyway, we always had a connection. We both decided around the end of 2010 that we would try and get pregnant at the same time. We wanted to have each other to lean on and be real with. So most of y’all know Amber’s story. After two miscarriages, I finally found myself pregnant (only took 8 MONTHS, I thought it was going to be like Teen Mom, miss a few birth control pills and BOOM – with child. Not so much.). I hated that it seemed Amber was having trouble and I told her that I couldn’t be really be excited until she was pregnant like me. Little did I know, all my prayers and those of co-workers, friends and family were going to have a big impact. BABY x's 4!

So a little about my pregnancy. I had no morning sickness, which happens to apparently only 25% of pregnant women. I weighed a lovely 145ish when I got knocked up and gained a luscious 40 pounds during. I’m 5’2 and 3/4ths, and my college fighting weight was 123, so I felt like a ship. I kept bumping into things and misgauging car doors. I got gestational diabetes the last month, so I had to curtail my girl scout cookie fests (totally lame) and I was emotional—like the time I found a nasty note on my car in the parking lot downtown calling my car a POS and that I was a terrible at parking. I cried for an hour at home to my husband, “How can he be so mean to me and my car….”

And I hated being unable to bend backward into my backseat to retrieve my mascara or get out of bed. Ugh – I was ready to be unpregnant before most people do. However, I didn’t think it as odd as I thought it would be that there was something living inside me. Plus I could never ever, ever, ever complain when compared to Amber and her QUADS. My husband never failed to bring it up if I ever had a low moment. I made sure to let her know she had blown the curve for the rest of us singleton mommies-to-be. Sheesh!

My furbaby, Jasper, on my bump.

So besides pricking my finger six times a day and eating tons of peanut butter, gestational diabetes allowed me to pick my due date. It was May 14, 2012—which also happened to be my parents' 29th wedding anniversary.  I opted for a medicated birth and boy, was I glad I did.  After TWO epidurals I was good and numb. The only painful part really was the IV. So after seven hours and 40 minutes of real pushing, my baby, WTH, (yes, those are his initials) arrived...leaving me with a Level Four episiotomy and a severe case of dry mouth. It wasn’t so bad. I actually had a co-worker the Friday before (yes, I worked right up until my due date to the shock of many people) tell me her labor was the worst day of her life. Thanks amiga. It really wasn’t all that bad.

TEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HAVING A BABY

1.) Don’t underestimate your Mother Instinct. “The Power” is awesome. Like super human. My husband couldn’t understand how I was able to just keep going and going with no sleep. And I love my sleep. Naps, sleeping in, Saturday morning-getting-up-eating-breakfast-then-going-back-to-sleep.. I was really worried how I would be able to function without my sleep. But The Power is awesome. Having and making a baby is what we were designed to do.

2.)  Drugs are good. I know there is a perceived weakness when admitting to taking medication especially for mental health reasons (are you cray cray?). I am unashamed. I knew that I had a family history of mental health issues, like one great-grandma who ate pins after having one baby and another great-great-grandma apparently would lose it after having each of her 19 children by becoming despondent and staying indoors. You are not alone. Post-partum is serious and you have to do what’s best for you baby and that is being a healthy, sane and functional mother.

You call this sane? (Yes, that's me. And no one was hurt in the taking of this photo.)

3.)  Everything changes and nothing does. I described it as everything was a different color. It was the same but, yet, different. The momentous responsibility took a while to seep in. 

What? Not love me!?

4.) It’s perfectly OK to not immediately fall in love with your baby. Seriously I was just looking at my son, going “I have a baby? I’m a mom? What? Huh?” But every day I would love him a little more. Especially after the three month mark when they become less worm-like and more like a little person. He is of me… he is my everything. Today I look at him and its takes my breath away. I made that? Inside me?!!!

5.) Breastfeeding is haaaaard. But so worth it. Words of wisdom: You gotta stick it out for two weeks. Warren was tongue-tied and so the first three days he took my nips from ready to work to OMG DON’T EVEN LOOK AT THEM… OWWW. But you have to stick it out.  After making it three weeks I was like “I actually kept a person alive with just my boobs. So weird but so cooool." I was also a trained member of the ‘formula-is-the-devil’ group but eventually realized that breastfeeding and working wasn’t going to be for me. So I slowly tapered off and then joined the formula crowd. What I didn’t expect was how emotionally attached I was to the breastfeeding. It was the bonding and the fact no one else could have that connection but me and him. I also hate when things end. But with having a baby, everything happens so fast that you have to get use to changes.

6.) Accept help when offered. Seriously, when people offer help, take it! My MIL showed up willing to work and I was all trying be nice, ‘just relax, you’re a guest,’ but she was insistent. So I told her I needed my kitchen painted and the flowerbed weeded. AND it got done! I love that woman.

7.) You need time out of the house!!! No kidding – I remember crying my eyes out over breastfeeding issues with my mom in a church parking lot. You have to get out of the hole. I went to Target, took my furbaby to the dog park and just sat outside in the sun. You need to keep perspective. There is still a whole wide world out there. I really would just love to roll the windows down and crank the radio up super loud and just jam. Forget about being a milking mom for a second and be myself.

8.) Babies grow up so fast.  I always thought this was cliché but it is so true. He went from an 8 pound 6 ounce baby Jesus to a 21 pound drooling jabberer in less than eight months. He is getting into everything and has to be caged (in a pack-n-play, that is). I look at his pictures and I’m like, nah – that wasn’t him, he was never that small and helpless. It really is wild.

9.) It really is worth it. It is important to wait until you are ready. My husband and I were married three years before we started trying. He was working overseas a lot and I was just not ready to commit to a dependent relationship yet. But if you do a pros and cons list, obviously the cons list for having a baby is always going to be longer. That’s because you can’t comprehend the pros yet. Sometimes you have to take the leap and just do it.

10.)  What happened to my body?! Sometimes when I look in the mirror, I feel that my body looks like a Barbie that’s been through an Easy Bake Oven. But I’ve been told it gets better. I’m only 10 lbs away from my pre-WTH weight which isn’t too bad. However, I would love to get back down to 130. Maybe I should actually start jogging and not eating like I’m a truck-driver.  And I’m still wearing some maternity clothes eight months out…they are just so damn comfortable. So don’t despair. You are not alone, sistah. You only really get this part of your life once, so relish it. One day you’ll be 50/60/70+ wishing you were this young again. 

My Recovery, Day 2!

By now, most of you know that I underwent my abdominoplasty surgery yesterday morning. My surgeon came by last night and this morning and said everything was looking really good! I have not yet got up the courage to look at the incision for myself, I caught a glimpse of several stitches this morning and that was enough for me. It took me over a week before I checked out my c-section scar!

I had a small panic attack twice yesterday leading up to surgery. It's like a bad case of deja vu after all the weeks I spent in the hospital before having the quads. When the nurse stuck me with an IV, the vein blew so we had to try again. Well, it was just enough to kick-start the waterworks and so they brought my husband back to keep me company. He always calms me with his presence, and several of the nurses said they could immediately sense the love in the room. Awww... :)

My doctor said he was able to fix the umbiblical hernia--it was worse than he thought--remove excess skin, sew my abdominals back together with nylon (the muscles will soon fuse and start growing back together) and he also removed a scar from my busted belly button ring I'd had for ages.

I was on a morphine drip until early this morning, when they switched me to pain pill meds and also removed my catheter. I drink a lot of fluids when I have surgery, yall, and I knew we were going to have an issue. Sure enough, just like the day after I delivered the quads, my bladder quickly filled up and I was unable to dispense it on my own and it was causing a great deal of pain. At first the nurse was literally arguing with me, telling me my bladder couldn't already be full. I told her, in no uncertain terms, I'd been through this once before and I knew that it was. At last they drained it with a catheter, 1.5 liters! A lovely piece of news you were dying to hear, huh!?

Now it also means I have to stay another night until everything starts working properly. Bummer because I'm missing my babies!!! But I also want to be in good shape when I get home.

The pain has been bearable when I'm sitting and being still, but it worsens drastically when I'm up. However, like my doctor said, a little movement will be a good thing! I am staying on top of my pain meds and not missing a dose for the first week until I'm doing better. I decided there is no reason for me to be miserable.
The babies are doing great at home. The husband drove back home last night and sent me a picture text of them all sound asleep in their cribs. Love my little munchkins!

Drop by tomorrow for a guest post from my friend, Lisa! You won't want to miss it!