for real

post by mandy
ok for real how did those pills get in my Y crack? they are right at the top of my crack. do you think somone was trying to smuggle narcotics in my ass crack? the pills were too big to be asprin. Amy and I got the biggest laugh ever when i found those in there.

little cheatin' never hurt

post by mandy
so the babies are in little houses and have to be in a crib to come home and keep their temps warm on their own. today our nurse turned up the heat in the whole nicu so kerry could keep her temp up. we were all in there sweatin our asses off. and all the nurses and staff were bitchin cuz she turned up the heat to 80 degrees so kerry could be in a crib. it was quite funny and the nurse wasn't taking shit from any of them for telling her to turn the heat down. "she said i'm trying to get my babies in cribs, get over it" one of the other nurses even went up to amy and ask her how HOT we keep our house. amy said, "not this hot"

just photo's

left to right....Kerry and Tillie. They are really hard to tell apart. I think I can though.

can't seem to turn this picture? O well, just turn your head. It's easier on all of us.....

just photos for you....

nurse Ratchett with Bradley and Harper.

Just kidding Betty!

Bradley's face is surprised from his brother being in a crib!!!

assss prin

mandy was in the shower at the hospital today ... getting released. She yells out "omg" (oh my gosh) and I go in there to see what is wrong. She says... "ive got pills in my butt crack".....

Breathe....I know this is really funny.

I go in there and look, there is a pill on the floor of the shower. She is standing there in disbeliefe. So am I !! So, I ask the inevitable.... "turn around and let me see where they were."

So she shows me, and she has 4 imprints of round pills on her aaaasssss. Well, in her aaassss.

We stand there and laugh harder than ever in the hospital bathroom.

Later, she told me there were actually 3 pills in her butt. We can't figure out how they got there because she didn't take pills orally. HAHAHAHA How do these things happen to Mandy?

So this puts a whole new meaning to AAAsssss Prin.

Harper and Nana Boo. Harper has made it to a big boy crib. See it n the background.....he is out of his glass house. Yeah for harper.

trouble in river city

Mandy was admitted to the hospital on Sunday. She had a dnc yesterday, the dr took a litre of blood from mandy's uterus. I know...GROSS. She has been having headache's since her c section, and she has determined it was a spinal head ache. Dr's don't want to listen to her. She is being adimant that they fix her headache's. A resident came into her room this morning and asked her how she was. She told the dr her headaches were back. The dr. said..." I didn't know you were having headaches" mandy said "didn't you read my chart". Dr said "yes" mandy said "can you go get my chart so I can write that in my chart, I've told everyone that has come in my room, and it still isn't in my chart". I think she is tired of having headaches. What do you think?

Good for Mandy!! Dr's can be really dumb sometimes.

So, Dylan (kids cousin) bought the ducks for the babies. I wanted to post this picture for Dylan so he can see how much Harper was enjoying his new toys.

Here ya go Dylan.....

HOLY SHIT

post by mandy
"oh shrimp fried rice" this is not a mandy lie. we walked into the nicu yesterday and kennedy has been taken off her breathing tube and was just on a little oxygen in her nose (same as harper) we about fell over. guess kennedy was just waiting for me to blog about her. i asked the doc when we could hold her and he said we could hold her with no problems since she didn't have her tube anymore. i was feeling really bad so i asked amy to hold her so my bad sick energy wouldn't be transfered to her. Amy held her for about 10 min. then we put her back in her house so she could rest. She's good as new. NOW PRAY FOR ME!!!!! I quit taking the blood pressure medicine and it had me in a drunken stooper since delivery so i guess i never felt pain or it wasn't letting my uterus contract back to normal. I was so sick yesterday. How is this possible? Amy showed me a pick of how big my belly was before delivery to remind me of why i feel so bad right now.

everyone else

post by mandy
kerry and tillie both are breathing room air and doing absolutely fantastic. no issues at all. they only have feeding tubes down their throats now. they are just gettng fat. harper is still having a few breathing issues but nothing major or concerning. his are just because he's a preemie. they moved kerry and tillie's houses right next to each other because they are overcrowded with babies so we played the game of holding them up next to each other to see how much they look alike. THEY LOOK LIKE TWINS. They aren't but they sure do look like it. we are for sure going to have to mark em when we bring em home. harper and kennedy are both fair with light hair. tillie and kerry and darker with black hair. i am still pumping. oh my god it's kicking my fucking ass. i am soooo tired and don't feel well. the doc did say i could quit my blood pressure medicine. so hence i actually feel well enough to type this, this morning. today is my first morning without that poison in my body. we will see how the day progresses. i took all of my pumped milk into the nicu and the nurses were impressed with me:) i was afraid our kids would go for a popsicle and leave the freezer door open and we'd lose all the liquid gold. guess that's the good thing about having 4 kids. we have enough storage for all the milk in the nicu freezer. everytime i pump i want to quit. amy has been a great cheerleader and well quite bossy about me continueing to pump and not giving up. i know the kids need it and that's what gives me the strength to keep doing it. the milk just runs out all over me every night while i'm sleeping. i wake up in soaking wet sheets every night. it's gross. too bad amy doesn't have some sorta crazy milk fetish and find me oh so attractive with milk dripping everywhere. i do have something funny to say. do you remember when i compared men and women with my pregnant belly hanging to the left and men having packages that favored a direction. well there's another noticable comparison when i think about a baby or hold a baby my milk just pours out. so i have to think about softball and not babies. don't guys think about baseball when they get happy? see our bodies and the psychological aspect are more alike then we know.

update on kennedy

post by mandy
kennedy had a blood transfusion yesterday. she seemed to be doing better after that. i sat by her bedside while the nurse and the respiratory therapist worked on her tube. She was grimmisoning and fussy which makes me happy. she had a hellacious poop. it didn't look like baby poop. they were sending to lab for more tests. hopefully we will get those results back today. she is taking the occasional breath on her own now. the antibiotics seem to be working. she just has to get over this bump in the road.

kennedy

some of you know that we have hit a bump in the road with Kennedy. Our youngest....was placed on a ventilator on Monday. She ran into Roto Virus and her little body is sick. She has been very pale, the vent is breathing for her so that her body can rest and get well. She is on antibiotics to help get rid of her infection. I have had so much love coming our way and we still need it. I just called the nicu and she has had no change over the past few hours. She doesn't look like the same baby. She will get through this... of course!





Update on Tillie, Kerry, Harper.... They are all thriving. Eating well, sleeping well. Their nurses are all so great! I can't wait until the babies are all home and here with us. It sure is tough having babies in the nicu...even when I knew this was going to be our life when we got pregnant.
This photo was taken Sunday evening, before she started feeling bad.
Isn't she sweet?

kitty coo

We have this scrumptious beautiful white cat....his name is kitty coo. He has been stalking Mandy. She has been shooing Kitty Coo away for days now, and tonight I realized why...
Mandy is pumping milk all the time and the cat can smell the milk !!! HOW FUNNY IS THAT!!!

mini update part 2

photo 1 is of my oldest boy. Ahhhh...Isn't he scrumptious! He was just leaving the hospital and going home with Nana and Papa Boo for the night. He is really as sweet as he looks.

Picture 2 is of my youngest boy Harper. He is Bradley's new best friend. They can't wait to play swords together and play baseball catch.

recent photos

photo 1 is Harper, Photo 2 is Kennedy who is now with out all the garb.

I don't have all 4 good photos. here is a mini update....

all babies are over 3 lbs now. they are all being fed fortified breast milk. an extra 4 calories per feeding and that will put weight on them. darn it, wish I could cut out 4 calories and loose weight. yeah....

all babies are being taken off their iv fluids this weekend. That makes mommy happy!!!!

Amanda and Bradley kept us hopping this morning with sports. They are thrilled to be playing.

blood pressure update

post by mandy
so i went to the doc today for a blood pressure check. It's finally down with the help of new meds they put me on. i am politicing to get taken off one of the meds and be only on one of them.
Go back on Tuesday. Can you tell i'M NOT a big fan of taking any meds? i gained 90 lbs with my pregnancy in the past 12 days i have lost 45 lbs. I am half way to losing all my pregnancy weight. Amy is on me constantly to eat more so i can make more milk. Between eating, drinking water and pumping every 2-3 hours i don't get shit done. Really I don't. The babies have caught up to me on eating more milk then i can make. The blood pressure medicine I am on has hurt my milk supply too. Damn it!!!

Friday April 17, 2009

The sun is shining, and the kids are outside playing basketball. What a great day!
Mandy and I went to the hospital and held babies today. Here is a rundown of weights and progress....

Kennedy... Off her cpap, has an oxygen hose on her nose. She is getting 14 ml's of breast milk each feeding. She is digesting all milk and thriving. She has the noisiest monitor in the nicu. She likes to get really relaxed and her oxygen levels drop. She weighs 3.3 !!!! Today while I was holding her, she woke up and looked at me. I said "hello Kennedy" and she grinned. Ahhh.

Harper... has the hiccups all the time. He has no help in breathing, his "house" is very low in temp so he may be the first to get his big boy crib. He likes to grunt a lot while we hold him. He weighs 3.3 as well.

Kerry... She is the smallest and weighs 2.14. She is dainty! Kerry is pretty quiet most of the time...she squeeled twice for me today while I was holding her. She was mad when I moved her. Guess she was warm and comfy. She is on oxygen and doing well.

Tillie...the strongest of the bunch. She weighs 3.5. She has no bells going off ever. She is a movedr and a shaker. When the nurse goes to check on her, she has moved all around on her bed and moved all her blankets.

all babies should be on total breast milk by the end of the weekend. which is a good mile stone.

a week and couple of days out

post by mandy
i am now over a week out of delivery. man i feel like shit. i went to the doc today with a LIST of complaints. i vowed not to complain while pregnant and i never did so i am making up for lost time. i feel so bad because of the high blood pressure medicine they have me on. my babysitter (amy) was going to drop me off at the doc and go hold babies when something told her to ask me if i'd been taking my high blood pressure medicine. BUSTED. She went to my appt to tell on me. i had been only taking it at night cuz it makes me feel sooo bad. my pressures hadn't changed they are high on it and off it. the doc did switch some stuff around and added a new medicine to make me feel better. thank god. i am going to see a kidney specialist to have my kidneys checked out. Polysistic kidneys run in my family and i can't take any chances being on this high blood pressure medicine if i have kidney disease. my back has been killing me. probably just cramps from all the bleeding i'm doing. docs says too low to be kidneys. oh ya did i mention my head hurts to. get out the violin please.

Monday

mandy's blood pressure is still high. She is on medication that gives her spots in her eyes, wild dreams, and makes her feel horrible.
I woke up this morning with hives. we are a hot mess.
Amanda woke up this morning sick. She has a sore throat. She stayed home from school. The extra sleep did her good. She is eating cinnamon toast for breakfast and I am enjoying having her here.
Bradley stayed awake until 11:00 last night, needless to say he is still sleeping.
Amanda and Bradley are going to Teri's this morning at 10, and Mandy and I are going to the nicu. Amanda say's she is craving bruchetta so she is asking Marmee to take her to the olive garden for lunch. Isn't that a strange thing for a 7 yr old to crave? I love it!
I am taking clothes for Tillie to wear. The nurse had her in a onesie the other day. So, I have packed her something cute to wear. I ordered preemie hats online last night to take for the kids. The hat's they have been wearing are so tight, I wanted them to have something of their own to wear. I will take new photo's today.

Kennedy

Today was the first that we had seen her head. She had a hat on immediately after delivery. We have been waiting to see her hair. In this photo, it looks dark but it isn't. It looked like a cross between blonde and red. They haven't had a bath yet, so it isn't accurate. She weighs 2.12 tonight .... same as her sisters. Strange how neck and neck they all are. Dr. says this is good that they are all equal in the health dept. One isn't thriving over the others. We always have a fair house...why would it be any diff in the nicu?

We are so happy with the birth of these munchkins. We are exhausted. Running here and there, and the older kids have started soccer and baseball. We are in the thick of it. Lovin life.

Harper

Harper lost weight today. I must have messed with him to much when I was holding him today. I always have problems with their cpaps. They come undone, and then I try and get them hooked back up. Or the nurse took his temp 100 times today. She took it 3 times while I held him. That was a first? Kind of over zealous.

Anyway, Harper weighs 2.14 tonight. When I hold him, my heart melts away. He always looks up at me, and his eyes cross, and then he coos. I enjoy the energy that boys put out, and mandy and my mom laugh when I say that seeing as though we have 4 girls plus 1. Hahaha. Sorry this pic is of me, I did not loose weight today.

Kerry

This photo is of Kerry. She is still on cpap....tonight she weighs exactly the same as both the other girls. Nurse said she had a couple ??? bradies? which is when she stops breathing and the nurse touches her and rouses her so that she remembers to breath. Im sure Im spelling or calling that the wrong thing. But, Kerry looks exactly like Tillie. They are not twins...they had seperate sacs. Believe me, I saw the sacs. Coolest thing ever to see quads being born. I'd do it again and again and again...(as a nurse) I have it on video if anyone wants to see it in 18 yrs when our lives slow down. LMFAO!!!! We're going to charge admission to the movie to pay for college.

Tillie

Mandy and I held babies today. Here is an update on all the babies.





Tillie....weighing in at a whopping 2.12 She is off her nose air...(cpap) and off her billy lights. She looks like a normal baby now. Well, a really small skinned squirrel. Adorable. She cooed and wiggled and rooted around on Mandy the entire time she held her. Here is her photo....

Isn't she wonderful? Anyone GOT MILK?

The mustache will come off soon, I think they left it on in case they needed to put her cpap back on.....

I love me some Tillie!!!!

requested update

check out how much of a fog I am in.....

Yesterday on my way to the hospital I rear ended a car. I actually stopped to let them out into the traffic on 10th street....and then I freaking rear ended her. I was going under 5 miles/hour and she got out and acted like I totalled her car. So, since I have been taking pictures of the babies everyday, I got out my handy dandy camera....she called my insurance company in one hour to report the damage. Do you see any damage?

That's what I say!!!!

Amy

home

mandy came home tonight from her week in the hospital. what a double edge sword. the kids and i were really ready for her to come home ... to return to normalcy. normal for us is changing quickly. the night was good. we had our june cleaver dinner together. the kids tried to run away and not eat...but were quickly reeled back in. we hadn't sat at the table together for quite awhile so they didn't know how to act. dinner was prepared by our friend jenny godby. we had cheesy potatoe casserole and bbq pork ribs. omg, dinner was so delicious. bradley especially loved it... he loves anything w bbq on it.
the downfall to coming home was leaving the 4 babies behind. no matter how long you know and how long you prepare yourself that your baby will be in the nicu , it doesn't take away that empty pit it leaves you with. when bradley and i layed down for bed, we sent our prayers over to the babies. he sent them a blanket, a binky, a bottle, and a stuffed animal...telepathically. god love him. amanda has been taking care of mandy all evening...she is our caretaker. she knew mandy was upset about leaving the babies so she did not let go of her through dinner. amanda isn't one to love all over us like that. it was sweet to see her put her energy and love out to us.
mandy's dad is in the hospital tonight, his blood sugar bottomed out today to a mear 28. he is in icu and boy o boy when it rains it pours. we have been covered up with the babies, our older kids, baseball practice, and everyday chores. please accept our apologies if you have called and not been called back. Please Please know that we love all of you and that when our lives settle down, we will give you back some lovin. :) big love tonight, we love you tillie kerry harper and kennedy. Oh yeah. I got to hold 3 babies today. Which means, i have now held all 4 babies, and god almighty, I am in love!
Amy

only photos

tillie's squirrel leg....

only photos

amanda was reading her homework to Mandy in her hospital bed. They had a really good time together tonight.

Bradley and I were not using our brains, but our wits...

only photos

only photos...

baby update

Mandy and I just held two babies. Kerry and Tillie. They have an AWESOME nurse. Her name is Liz. She has been so accomadating. Wonderful to have her. Kennedy received a pic line today, so we didn't mess with her. We didn't ask to hold Harper because it was such an ordeal to hold the other two that we were both dying of thirst, and Mandy needed to pump. Baby steps I guess... no pun intented.
My dad was checking Kennedy out the other day, and said "holly cow, she has a cleft chin". Mandy has been aching for a kid with a cleft chin. So, it took her 6 tries to get one. Kennedy was last born. Get it... 6 tries. I made an effort to show Mandy her chin tonight, and when we lowered her incubator, Mandy cries out... "omg,,, that isn't a cleft chin, that is a butt chin". She loves loves loves cleft chins. ????????
So, many people have asked about the names of the children. Mandy and I love to name kids after someone important in our lives. We all know how much Mandy loves herself. So we named our first born after her. Amanda.
Bradley is named after my special Uncle who was like my soul mate. Uncle Brad.
Tillie is named after 2 people. My great great aunt tillie who passed when I was a teenager. She died when she was in her 90's. A really cool lady... She raised my grandpa.
Tillie's middle name is Jay. My brother and my nephew both share this middle name.
Kerry is named after Mandy's brother who passed 4 yrs ago. His life wasn't over, he died really young. He now has a name sake. Her middle name is Jo. After Amanda.
Harper is a name that we found from one of Mandy's friends on facebook of all places. We couldn't find a perfect name for our little boy, and when I heard this suggestion I loved it. His middle name is James. Named after Bradley's middle name.
Kennedy is another facebook name. When I heard it I loved it too. Her middle name is Erin. She is named after my oldest brother Mark Aaron. So all 6 of our kids have name sakes. Don't ya love it?
Amanda and Bradley are on their way to the hospital with Teri. Mandy's mom. I can't wait to see them. I am going home tonight to stay with them, and when Mandy comes home, which may be tomorrow...we are all coloring easter eggs together. Family activity awaits. We miss the older kids. It has been just the 4 of us for so long being away from them is tough.
over/ out... thanks for all your support.

geesh

post by mandy
I am up in real clothes and getting moved out of intensive care today. Doc says i am doing better than most multiple moms at this point. I am still on high blood pressure meds. My wound looks good. Room is still a little dizzy but nothing like before. My mom stayed with me 2 nights ago and Amy stayed with me last night. Tonight I don't need a babysitter cuz i'm BIG. :) My sitter last night slept the whole night. Whew she was tired! She deserved it after dealing with me for the last 10 weeks waiting on me hand and foot plus the kids, the dogs., the houses, the snake, the the,the, the ,the, the When we had bradley she has always teased me that i slept through the whole night when we had him in the room with us. I was up today at 6am pumping taking pics of her snoring. Hee Hee. I told her we are even now. She laughed. I ate breakfast, saw 2 docs, 2 nurses, pumped all before she was up. She got up at 8:30 a.m. I'm glad cuz i was bored. Guess that means i 'm getting better. Bored and Bossy!!

more babies

this is Harper James Sheckles Paul which was the 3rd born. He has little hair, and it is light.

He is also off his breathing tube now.

Second photo is of the 4th born . "kennedy Erin Sheckles Paul" She was born with her cord around her neck. She came out crying. She has been the strongest of the babies. She is suppose to have light reddish colored hair, but we actually haven't seen it yet. The hat has been on since birth.

All babies have been reported that they will all come off all breathing apparatus's today and will be breathing air..... isn't that great?

More photos as I get them. Amy

WE have BABIES

Photo #1 Is the second born...

"kerry jo sheckles paul"

Photo 2 is the first born...

"tillie jay sheckles paul"

both girls have been removed from their breathing tubes. They are both the smallest of the babies...and doing well. they both have dark hair as you can see.

Mandy is doing well. She is still confined to her bed, since she is on magnesium for the pre eclampsia. I am going to try to wheel her bed to the nicu today to see her babies. see next post for more pictures.

lucky 6

I was in the shower this morning. This really small shower, corner shower, with a curtain that blows in and sticks to your leg. You know the kind...
It was 5:00 in the morning and I was tired and talking to myself in the shower. This is my conversation:

Wow, I am going to be a mother of 6 in just a few hours. 6? Hey, that's my lucky number. Hmmm, that's a coincidence. Cool.

I am one lucky person.
Amy

Post by msndy
I am typing this on my phone as I lay in my hospital room alone. 10 hours til I
deliver. Its 10 pm. Well I guess I'm average. 30 weeks is average for quads.
The babies r doing great however I'm not. I am very sick. Kidney failure and
liver disfunction. High blood pressure.. Can I say HOT MESS. I told the doc I
had absolutely no interest in playing russian roulette and my safety and health
are the most important thing. man my breath stinks. I did get 2 showers today.
We still don't have a boy name. Tic toc tic toc. I'm on magnesium but thank
god its not making me sick. Amy and I have requested no phone calls, text
messages or visitors. Feel free to email or post comments. My condition is
very touch and go and very stressful for us. Think positive thoughts by helping
us. we appreciate all of the support and help from everyone. Thank u:)
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HOSPITAL

We are sorry for the delay in our updates. We have been in the hospital since noon yesterday. Mandy had pre eclampsia. We will know by the end of the day if she has severe preeclampsia. It was explained like this at 7am by our dr......

Mother is trudging along with this sickness in her body. She walks up to the cliff, and decides to jump.
We don't want Mandy to jump! HAHA....seriously...
They are watching her really close. We are not having babies today, however, the next 24 hours are crucial for Mandy's health.
We are without cell phones in the hospital. Mandy has asked for no visitors due to the fact that she is really sick, and needs to relax. She is getting a massage later today. (lucky)
The reality is that the babies are coming and quick. Mandy is 30 weeks. We are wishing that the universe will keep the babies in Mandy for another 2 weeks. Odds of that aren't likely. We are looking at really small babies, with underdeveloped lungs. Mandy will be getting round 2 of a steroid shot to improve their lungs. Dr says a couple day's won't make a big difference to the babies, but a couple weeks will. All depends on how Mandy's body handle's the preeclampsia.

What you can do for us: Please send positive messages to the universe around Mandy's health, and the babies health. I would love to see Mandy carry the babies a little longer, however, life without Mandy insn't in my cards this lifetime.
Our kids have spent the last 2 days with family. Yesterday they spent the day with Marmee at the zoo. Last night they spent the night at Embassy Suites with Nana and Papa and their 9 cousins. What a blast.
We will keep you posted as events change. Thanks for thinking of us in our journey.

30 weeks

post by mandy
on my way to the doc. for appt. i am hurting so bad. only slept 4 hours last night. my body is sttrrrreeeeetttccching. today is a really long appt. they do differerent things to the babies today. i feel sick

about dinner....read previous post from mandy

I did take the kids on a really big outing today. We went to the pool for 2 hours. Went to Walmart. I bought baby hangers for Jen and Renee. Kids bought their gear for sports next week. Amanda is playing soccer and Bradley is playing baseball. Just so you all know....because we may need help with practice. We played a little ball in the yard tonight. Went on 2 bike rides. Played at the park across the street. Had FUN! When we came home, I cooked steaks on the grill, dirty rice and a yummy salad. I fed the kids at the island. Then after the kids had dinner- Mandy and I ate dinner together upstairs. Bradley was Mandy's gopher. "bradley I need a drink. Bradley put my drink back on the table. " He is a trooper. Amanda is still down stairs. She knows that since we went to the pool today that I will make them take a bath before bed. So, she is steering clear of me. hahaha...what a bad mommy.
I am up for six feet under tonight. Kids are going to bed early....oops it's already 9pm...better get off here and get this show on the road.
over/out

ribs

post by mandy
my ribs are seperating and they feel like they have all been broken making normal activities like wiping my butt very painful. i refuse to let amy wipe my butt. where's a bidet when u need it. today was a good day. amy took the kids swimming, bike riding,shopping, and played in the yard with them. my mom came over and scrap booked while i moaned and groaned in the bed with her right by my side. i felt a little human tonight and got to open the mail yipppppeeeee!!!!!
i'm hoping to catch a six feet under with amy tonight and watch tv with the kids. wonder what's for supper? It just shows up and i eat it. Amy is a good cook! I am NOT. Before all this bedrest stuff we sat down and ate dinner at home as a family every night at the table. So Leave it to Beaver style:) We like it that way. There is one funny thing about that, Bradley has to poop "every" night during dinner and has amy sit with him and lets just say he's not a fast pooper. he likes to shoot the shit. ha no punn intended