You can call me Quatro-Mom

So we let the cat of the bag yesterday with all of our family, friends and the Facebook world!!! We are not only pregnant, but we have 4... yep, FOUR babies on the way!!!! To say we are excited, crazy, worried and tired already would be a huge understatement!!! ;) We had a couple days of HOLY CRAP, how are we going to do 4???? And that was after the initial finding of triplets, which we had been super excited about!!! The 4th one put us a little over the edge!!! LOL! I'm getting ahead of myself tho, so I'll start from the beginning now!!!

We do in-vitro, IVF to get pregnant. It has been a HUGE struggle and trial for us to grow our family, see previous posts regarding! This was our 4th time doing IVF and we felt strongly about doing 3 embryos, we've always done 3 embryos and actually even did 4 the last time without any results. With Mitch we did 3 and got him. So when the Doctors tried to convince us to do 2(like they always have), we were adamant about doing 3. We felt it was our best chance to have another baby, at least 1 more baby. We felt strongly that if we got twins we would be ecstatic and if all 3 stuck and we got triplets that we would be happy and make it work! So when I started feeling sick, I mean nauseous ALL DAY and super tired at only 4 weeks(I didn't feel this way with Mitch till about 8 weeks and even then it was sporadic!) we felt like it was either a girl or TWINS!!! Eeeeee!!!  So when we went to our first ultrasound at 6 weeks and we immediately saw 3 gestational sacs, there was no mistaking it(or was there?? LOL!)... we had triplets!!! ALL 3 embryos had made it!!! So crazy and I think the chances of that is like 3%?! It was super early they said and things could easily change, like 1 baby not making it. But at that point they were able to see all 3 heartbeats! I was a little wigged out honestly for a second, but Seth was so happy immediately!! :) We were elated, it UBER- worked and I started researching multiples and reading up on all I could so I would be prepared and ready for it!! I could so do it! Be as healthy as possible, gain 50 pounds, be on bedrest at home, make it till 36 weeks and be able to bring home 3 healthy 5-6 pound babies right away!! I was a little worried still, but I knew it was achievable! So when we went in for our 7 week appointment we decided to take Mitch and I was excited for him to be able to see the babies, we had talked to him about it and we really felt good that everything was going to be the same. My mom had called me on the way, she hadn't slept well and was super worried!! I told her I slept really good and don't worry, it was going to be ok!! ;) I then asked Mitch how many brothers he wanted, he replied rather quickly with "3 brothers." So I said, "Oh, you don't want any sisters??" To which he quickly replied again "No, I want 1 baby girl." Which made me laugh and say, "Oh buddy, you're going to be lucky to have 3." He then said, "No Mommy, like this!! Look at me!" I turned to look at him and he was holding up 4 fingers!!! It made me laugh pretty hard, I thought it was so dang cute!!! So when we got to the office I had him tell Daddy(who met us there after work), we had him tell the receptionist, then in the exam room he even told the Doctor!!! We thought it was SO FUNNY!!! So when the doctor started the sonogram I started videotaping hoping to catch Mitch's reaction for a fun way to announce our surprise! About a minute in the video shut off on its own and the doctor told me before I start taping again we need to discuss what was happening. We immediately thought that one of the babies didn't make it. :( She then explained that there was a 4th baby!!!! One of the embryos had split!!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!! That's what was happening inside my head, panic had set in and Seth and I were SILENT. My legs were trembling and I'm not sure how I didn't faint! The doctor then went into how much of a high risk pregnancy this was, all the complications we could have, all the morbid possibilities and then recommended that we reduce(meaning abort) the 2 babies from the embryo that split. She finished up the exam while explaining all this and then asked if we had any questions. I finally spoke and said "No." and then burst into tears as she left. It was so sad and crazy AND I really lost it. All the heartbeats at that point were audible, strong and where they needed to be. So far we had 4 healthy babies, so I was devastated to hear that I should reduce them. Perfect little spirits, how was I to even consider that?!!!! Especially after all we've been through to have children, to already have experienced having a baby and the emotional connection and love for him!!! Knowing that a person's life starts when their heart starts beating... reducing was just not an option for us. So we took a few days and I heavily researched, we talked a lot, I also talked with my parents, Seth's Mom, my girlfriends and our Bishop and I knew what I was feeling was correct, that it just isn't an option for us. If these babies continue to grow healthy and strong, we will not stop them!! The only way we would even consider anything is if my life is ultimately in danger or if a baby stops growing and it is threatening the lives of the others. That is how we feel about it, these babies and their lives are precious, A BLESSING to our family!! Something we have yearned for, prayed for, sacrificed for and are being given by the grace of God! We will continue to yearn, to pray, to sacrifice, to be worthy of these babies and we know that God loves us and has prepared us and will continue to prepare us for these blessings! A week later we went in for our next sonogram, which was yesterday. All four babies are still doing great and their heartbeats are strong!! It was a much different experience thankfully, we are on board and are hoping for the best! We are still educating ourselves and will do all we can to have these babies be the healthiest they can be!! We are excited and are gearing up for our new life, a life that is going to be CRAZY... but OH SO BLESSED!! :)

This Big Brother knew something before we did, crazy boy!!!! ;) He is going to be the BEST big brother!!

This is what we are looking at...

*We are 8 weeks now, on average Quads are born at 30 weeks.
*Best case scenario would be 34 weeks, this is our goal!!!
*That means strict bed rest probably sooner than later, I'm pretty much lying around all day already.
It also means I will most likely be in the hospital by 28 weeks, if not sooner.
*Most quads have a NICU stay of about 30 days, more or less depending on their weights and how long they were in gestation, I think it was my friend Amy(my sweet friend/IVF nurse who answers all my crazy calls!!!)that told me that for every day past 28 weeks is 6 days shaved off of their NICU stay! And if we get to at least 28 weeks, they will most likely be viable and able to survive outside of the womb.

 Our Litter :)

So those are the odds so far! More will come I'm sure, as we approach further testing and more exams. As for the odds of this happening, we aren't quite sure... but we do know it is very rare. We have fantastic health coverage through Kaiser, who delivered Octo-Mom actually!!! So if she can do 8, I can surely do 4!!!! You can call me Quatro-Mom!!!! LOL! (thanks Daniel Limburg for my sweet new nickname!!) PLUS, I have the support of an awesome husband, family, church and friends!!! So we got this!!!

I also wanted to share this news article/video with you! I found it doing research this week and it really helped me!!! It has a lot of great information about the process we've gone through and what we have to come, it really is the best case scenario we are hoping for!! The video loops with a couple other videos that are interviews with Doctors that share a lot of good info too. So check it out and enjoy!!

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ivf-success-story-turns-quadruplet-surprise/story?id=13350702#.UGHbUrKPXz4