5.30.2013

{Daily Pics} Four Peas in a Tub, Shopping Haul & Other Things

After a busy Memorial weekend, the husband and I finally trekked home with the quad squad eager to get them fed and in bed. But first we had to do baths. Before we pulled up to the apartment, we were strategizing to see if there was any way to speed up the process. Typically, when I'm not doing baths alone and have a second person, I bathe the babies one at a time then hand them off to get dried, lotioned (is that even a word?) and dressed. This time, we decided to both man the bath tub and put all four kiddos in at once. Surely it would go a tad bit faster and could be kinda fun to have them all splashing around together.

The water was drawn and Logan was already in the bathroom with daddy, when Kailey decided to go check out the scene....

(fyi - the cord is our video monitor into their room,
we don't just leave safety hazards lying about unattended!)



We added Harrison to the tub and all three were happy little fish playing with their toys in the water. Then Trystan wanted in on bath time and we added her...




...and that's the last photo we got. Trystan decided she wanted to stand up and even attempt to crawl part of the tub, which knocked Harrison over then made both him and Logan want to stand up, which meant babies were slip-slidin' all over the place and mommy and daddy's hands couldn't keep up fast enough. Because they were getting water all over their faces, they began to scream. All four of them. And it echoed like banshees in a cavern in that tiny little hollow bathroom. Quickly we pulled them out and put them on top of towels on the bathroom floor. The husband dried off a couple and threw on some diapers, while I finished bathing the one baby I kept in the tub. Even if it was Bam Bam, and even if she kept screaming bloody murder. Let me assure you... ain't nothing cute about shampooing a screaming, slippery wet baby's head at a 45-degree angle with one hand while holding them by the elbow with your other hand so they don't drown in two inches of water. Contortionist I could become.

To wrap up my story, the husband and I were laughing but in that frantic holy-shit-this-didn't-work-out-at-all sort of way and moving as fast as we could to get the job done. We ended up having to do baths the traditional way—one at a time—and didn't really stop to catch our breath until all four were dry and sitting at the quad table for dinner. Note to self: do not bathe four babies at once unless I've grown eight extra arms, a spare set of eyes and am wearing ear plugs.

Yesterday, my mom came over in the late afternoon to help me with the quads since the husband was working late and had a dinner to attend with the company. (The night before as well, and his mom came to help me with that one. I'm so glad we're now living close to grandparents, hallelujah!) The babies were all being really good and I enjoyed some play time with them—I love to lay on my stomach on the floor and let them crawl all over me. They get such a kick out of it! Next on their gift list needs to be a soft jungle gym of sorts because they want to climb on everything.


Grandma also brought a couple new toys for the quads that she'd scored while thrifting and one of them was this cute Tonka truck. The other kids were figuring out how to get the better of it, when Logan crawled over and sort of pushed them out of the way in an "I've got this" fashion. She stood up, swung her leg over and crawled on top. Then started clapping her hands. It was to die for, so cute!



This morning, I got a rare chance to take care of some shopping while my nanny stayed at the house and the babies napped. I had a couple returns to make, then hit up Carter's, Old Navy and American Eagle in lightening fast form. It's awesome what you can get with coupons, outlet mall prices and clearance racks. I scored lots of brand name stuff, everything in the photo below was $150!

shopping excursion gets a thumbs up!


Now it's time for afternoon naps and to clean up and prep things for the last half of the day. I just made some black iced tea (hello, caffeine) and there's piles of laundry making dirty faces at me. But every couple of minutes today, I am shaking my head and smiling as I think back upon this time last year. I was hanging by a thread, not sure how much further I could go with the quad pregnancy. I'd already been in the hospital for 56 days, had extremely blurred vision, intense bodily pains, couldn't walk, my skin was on fire and I felt like death from the magnesium sulfate I'd been on for eight weeks. Plus, I'd started contracting a lot and they were starting to hurt. And then those four beautiful babies arrived the very next day and changed my life forever.

momma with kailey and logan
They will be a year old tomorrow and it's such an incredible milestone for both us as parents and them as premature multiples. While we'll be enjoying a low-key day since their birthday party is the following weekend, I look forward to giving them a little cake and putting together a blog post with a few photos looking back on the last year, plus some new ones, and their 12 month stats. One year (nearly) down!

12 comments:

  1. It is hard bathing one infant let alone four,you and your hubby get a A+ for trying:)
    I remember the posts of your Dear Mom, her describing how you were doing those last few days,the birth of four beautiful babies,and the many many prayers and tears for little Harrison. God has truly answered the many prayers for you and the babies.
    Thanks so much for sharing, looking forward to your 12 months post,and to many more posts of the quads growing up.
    ps..Nothing better for the spirit then a great shopping trip..you scored great bargins.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Okay, you had me laughing so hard tears almost streamed out imagining the bath debacle. I've taken note and will not follow suit on this one.

    The journey from the past year is amazing and nothing short of miraculous. Happy birthday, Quad Squad!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You've come soooooo very far.
    Congrat's on this major achievement!!!
    Loved the bath story!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I still can not believe that the Bell Quads are ONE!! It just does not seem possible. I feel like it was just yesterday that I was trying to read your blog to know what I would be facing and secretly praying that I would not have to partake in the magnesium fun. You and Mike have done an amazing job and you both should be so proud. You have survived the first year!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love it! I honestly don't remember howi stumbled across your blog but I love it. And I even have people at my work asking how your quads are doing! Lol so funny. Happy Birthday quad squad! Congrats mommy on holding it together for that first very tough year!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow it is so hard to believe that it has been a year since they came into your life. It has been amazing watching you carry them and them to watch them grow before our eyes. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful family with the world. Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday to them special little sweeties. Sherri

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ahah, I really loved the bath story ! What an adventure !
    And the pictures of the babies crawling around in theur diapers are just adorable.

    Oh, and by the way, it's 2:15pm here, so... Happy Birthday Trystan, Kailey, Harrison, and Logan !!!

    Hugs

    Jess (from Paris)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Have you tried those little bath seats that stick to the bottom of the tub? They are great so your baby can sit without falling over. I had 3 kids close together, and I used to bathe all 3 at once. I am not sure if 4 would fit, though! Maybe 2 at a time would help?!

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousMay 31, 2013

    Amber-I laughted out loud at your bathing story! We had such a similar experience when we tried to be efficient with bathing several at one time in the bathtub. After two miserable - and ear splitting - fails, I was too scared to try it again until recently (18 months). This time, they LOVED it! It was everything I was hoping for - more fun for all, less work for me, and more efficient! You will be there soon!

    You capture such great moments on camera - Kailey standing on top of her sister, Logan standing up in her chair, Logan clapping for herself, etc. Thank you for sharing those moments!

    Happy, happy birthday to your little ones!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. haha, i did notice that cord! it seems like they could get used to all 4 in the tub! good idea at least.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Happy (belated) birthday to the Quad Squad! Way to go Mom & Dad! Now think of all the milk you get to buy & refrigerate instead of powdered formula. ;) Hope you all had a great celebration!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I loved the bath time story. Too funny
    One suggestion which you probably already have but just in case... they make a blowup thing to go over the faucet in the tub. Kinda looks like a floatie but I can tell you it came in handy a couple of times when Pamela was in the tub and managed to hit her head there. Still smarted but not as bad.
    Like you need me to suggest anything. I think you have things pretty much under control.

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from any readers out there, just keep it clean and friendly!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...