1.15.2012

BLESSED WITH FOUR!!!

There's a reason that things have been so busy lately, that I've been so sick and that both my husband and I have had a lot of mental processing to do. But up until now, we'd been keeping it all under wraps—waiting until preliminary doctor's visits were under our belts and we felt that the time was right. Now, I'm happy to share the news with you all!



Yep, you're seeing that right. 
We're pregnant.... TIMES FOUR!!! 
My husband and I are expecting QUADRUPLETS!!


It's a shocking bit of news, I know. It's nice to be on the other "side" of the shock, and we have definitely learned to break the news to our friends and family, followed by an elaborate pause so they can process the information!

As overwhelming as the thought of four little babies all at one time can be, we are both very excited and look forward to this amazing challenge and new chapter in our lives. God never gives us more than we can handle, and we're trusting Him completely on that!

Over the past month or two, my husband and I have both read countless blogs written by parents of quadruplets that have proven extremely helpful to us, and I merely hope to continue that trend by sharing our story with others.

After celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary in the fall of 2010, we were ready to kick start our own family and see what all the fuss was about! Unfortunately, we had two miscarriages over the following year and doctor's test results that revealed my body wasn't reacting properly to keep the pregnancies and my egg count was extremely low. The doctor anticipated I'd hit menopause by my mid-30s and that we should definitely become aggressive about our family planning.

We weren't treating infertility, at this point, but my body did need some help along. So we opted for me to do a low-dose round of hormone injections and an IUI, then waited two weeks. We were elated when we got positive results! Another two weeks later, the day before we headed to Italy for 10 days, we went in for our first ultrasound and discovered there were FOUR embryos. The nurses and doctors were floored. 

In addition to us both being completely stunned, I was sick as a dog for our 10-day trip through Italy. After finally arranging for a nearby pharmacy to accept an email prescription from my doctor back in Texas, I picked up some Zofran (a powerful anti-nausea medication) that quite literally saved my life. I was able to start keeping fluids down, then some food and even survived the 21 hours it took us to travel back home. We flew straight into Dallas on December 23rd and started Christmas the next morning, completing five Christmases in three days.

Soon as we got home, we had another ultrasound which revealed all FOUR heartbeats and growing babies. It was really amazing. It also revealed a fifth amniotic sac that was empty, meaning we'd likely started off with five embryos but had lost one early on. Our doctor had already discussed with us his urgent advice to choose selective reduction and go from four babies to two. The risks are definitely great when carrying multiples, for both me and the babies—but it's also something that has been successfully done before. After much prayer and soul searching, we decided to keep all four and do the best we can to grow healthy babies and trust God to take care of the rest. There's just no way I could ever give the okay to terminate two of those heartbeats. The husband and I agreed our goal through this challenging, yet exciting, process is that we'd have no regrets. No matter what happens, we can look back on everything we did and know we gave them all the best chance possible.

* * * * *

So that's where we're at! I'm nearly 11 weeks, just one week away from completing the first trimester. However, with multiples like this, we won't even make it very far through the third trimester so the timeline feels like it's cut in half! Things are starting to move quickly, but all the while we know our situation could change at any time. We've read some really incredible success stories about quadruplets and some awful ones. Our goal will be to get past 28 weeks, and from there hope I can carry them to 32 weeks. They'll certainly be preterm, so we expect them any time between mid-May and mid-June.

With quadruplets, apparently your stomach grows at, well, I'm guessing four times the rate of a normal pregnancy! So I'm already showing and feel like I'm beginning to grow even more quickly as we get farther along. 


We hope you'll enjoy following along as we share our "quad journey" over the next few months—and of course we appreciate any and all prayers for these four babies to develop strong, healthy bodies and to grow as much as possible! Oh, and for my nausea to pass because I'm sick of feeling sick!!

Though my blog will still continue to contain much of its usual content, I will intermittently post updates on the quads, which you can access instantly through the "Quad Squad" category—available in the sidebar on the right. 

Thanks for reading!

28 comments:

  1. Oh my! How wonderful! God's blessings to you and your little family. I pray that you and your four little ones stay healthy and strong.

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  2. I have been looking forward to you and Mike announcing this amazing news! You are surrounded by love and prayers......and so are all four of those Baby Bells!!!

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  3. What absolutely amazing news! Your so right, God doesn't give you more than you can handle. Just know that he is with you every step of the way and in total control. Many thoughts and prayers coming your way. I'm so excited to be a part of the journey through your blog.

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  4. Congratulations!! Wow! mary is having triplets and now you are having quads ya'll are both going to be busy mama's

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  5. Wow Amber! What news! A big congratulations to you and Mike. This is sure to be an incredible journey for both of you. I'll be eagerly awaiting each "Quad Squad" post. (Love the category name by the way!)

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  6. Congrats from a new follower!

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  7. Hi Amber. I've been a follower of your mom's blog for awhile now and I hope now to follow yours as well. What exciting news! I am going to enjoy seeing how things progress with you. Much prayer coming your way from Kathy in Philadelphia.

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  8. I am so happy for you!!! :) I left you a comment on FB but thought I'd say it here too!

    -Veronika

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  9. WOW- that's crazy!

    I can only imagine the journey you're embarking on!

    Hope you feel better soon and the nausea goes away!

    mindofmr.blogspot.com

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  10. Our prayers are with each and everyone of you. And yes know this or not you are both up for this. you have both been selected. The nausea I hope and pray this gets b
    etter soon. Roomer has it OH! you forget about that...I NEVER did forget! But I do hope you can. Love and prayers.
    Aunt Nita

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  11. congrats! You guys are going to do amazing! I am so happy for you guys and cant wait to hear all about it!

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  12. Wow, that is such exciting news!! I love your posts and look forward to reading about your quad journey!! Sending prayers your way!! I'm sure you will need tons of help come summer time, sign me up, seriously!!!

    Shannon
    Spring, TX

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  13. Congratulations Dear One, to both of you. And all good wishes.

    I'm a reader of your Mother's blog, and that's where I popped in from. She was so happy to be able to share the news, with her Dear Blogging Friends. Of course. :-)

    Lots and lots of gentle hugs,
    "Auntie"

    “Don't you ever imagine things differently than what they are?
    Oh, Marilla, how much you miss.”

    ~L.M. Montgomery

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  14. Congrats!!!! I have been following your blog for sometime now and your Etsy store!! Many thoughts and prayers for you and your squad!!! Looking forward to all the updates!!

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  15. Wow, what exciting news!! It's hard for me to believe that you were encouraged to terminate two of those precious babies, so glad they will all be welcomed into the world by their incredible parents.

    Sending prayers your way for a healthy pregnancy!

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  16. Congratulation! What an absolute amazing blessing. And what an awesome accomplishment to get the first trimester complete. I'm excited to follow your journey.
    I know there are a lot of you quad mommas down there in Texas, but if you are not already in contact with some amazing quad mommas, please contact me for the info.
    Thekingsquad.blogspot.com

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  17. Oh Amber, I'm so proud of you and Mike. You two are going to be amazing parents (you are already showing that already by giving them ALL a chance at life!) and I can't wait to watch you conquer this challenge! If anybody can handle it, it's you- the queen of multitasking! If there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask... I'd be more than happy to help you out in any way that I can (grocery shopping, picking up the house, running errands or just providing moral support... etc). Oh, and I'll save all the stuff my girls outgrow for your kiddos (if you have girls!) for you if you'd like. I'm so excited for you and I'm sending loads of love and prayers your way!

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  18. Congratulations! We will be praying for you and your new little family!

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  19. Welcome to the quad world!!!! :) I am a fellow quad mom of ~4yo GGGG and an ~8yo boy.

    What a marvelous adventure God has you on with quads! Blessed beyond belief! :D

    Feel free to peruse our blog for our life with quads!

    Praying for a long and uneventful pregnancy with the 4 babes!
    -Maria, mom to 4yo GGGG and an 8yo boy

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  20. Another pregnant quad-to-be momma here! I am 15 weeks, and I am in the Houston Texas area. I would love to chat with you, my email is ellagracescloset@hotmail.com!

    Praying for you and all 4 sweet babies for an uneventful LONG pregnancy!

    -Ashley Martin

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  21. I am a mom of almost 3 year old quads in the Houston area! Please feel free to contact me betsygilbride@yahoo.com or on Facebook! I have a blog but I am horrible with updates!! Gilbridefamilyhouston.blogspot.com

    Hope to hear from you soon!
    Betsy

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  22. Welcome to the club! :) My BGBG just turned 3 ... and sometimes I'm still amazed at the fact that I have quads. ;) We don't live in Houston right now, but we're planning to move there sometime this year to be close to my parents. Best wishes for a looooong pregnancy and four healthy babies!!! :)

    Keep up with me, Ted, and our Fab Four at http://four-by-two.blogspot.com.

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  23. So happy for y'all and your fast growing family. I'm still in shock probably not as much as y'all. ;o)
    For some reason I kept waiting for y'all to announce that you were pregnant but wasn't expecting 4. Congrats to you both. You'll be the best parents ever.

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  24. Fellow Texas Quad Mama here! Congrats girl! Rest up, its along long road ahead. Were all here for you!

    -Heather Cox
    BGGB 28w5d 2.16.09
    Www.coxquads.blogspot.com

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  25. Congratulations! There are many wonderful quad mamas in Texas that wiu be great support for you. My quads will be 1 on May 14th (due date was July 11). It is an amazing adventure. My thoughts and prayers will be with you over the next few months.
    Liz Stewart

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  26. does any of you who are pregnant with quadruplets ever suggested by doctors to get pregnancy reduction? because my obgy rejected to take me since im pregnant with quadruplets .and sending me instead to a higher risk pregnancy Doctor for quadruplets specialist.and suggesting for me to get reduction so i can have a healthy pregnancy.im scared now i dont know what to think. any advice? Thank you!

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  27. I was looking for your post about our qmbff trip and found this post. The comments from the seasoned quad moms are awesome, and Ashley found you too. Love it!

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