26 Weeks, Here For The Long Haul!!

First and foremost, thanks to everyone for leaving comments, they all brighten my day! Especially the ones that say I look good for having four babies! I feel massive!!

Secondly, I started having contractions last night around 9:00 that were different than the normal ones I had been having. It was time to do my nightly monitoring, but I took my contraction medicine and waited an hour hoping the contractions would slow down. I started monitoring around 10 and when I got done I already knew I had failed. I've gotten pretty good at knowing which ones are actual contractions and which ones are just uterine irratibility. My home monitoring company called me back to let me know I had 8 contractions, needed to drink tons of water and retest in 30 minutes. I started monitoring again and knew where I was headed. Hannah Noelle was sound asleep so I text my brother to put him on standby to meet us if we had to head to the hospital. When Matria called back I was a little shocked to hear I had 11 contractions and needed to be getting ready to head in to USA. 10 minutes later the doctor on call called me at home and told me to come on in.

Leaving home was especially painful! I laid in the bed for 10 minutes after I got off the phone with the doctor knowing it was the last time I would be in that bed pregnant. Then, telling my sweet baby goodbye was like ripping my heart out! We woke her up enough so that she wouldn't be scared in the morning when she woke up at her Uncle Coach's house. She was groggy, but definitely didn't want me going back to the hospital. When we pulled up at the Chevron to meet my brother I lost it, but didn't want her to see me so I just ducked my head and said I Love You, Bye in the strongest voice I could pull together. I'm crying typing this even though she's sitting two feet from me!

When we pulled up at the hospital I was expecting an hour of waiting, sitting in the screening room for three or four hours and then either getting to go home or being admitted to L&D. Well, we walked in and were immediately admitted and whisked away to L&D. Within 30 minutes I had an IV, that she had to do twice because "I can't believe I did that." That's what she said when she stuck me and then yanked it back out. At this point my contractions were about 4-5 minutes apart and excruciating. I mean, the mother of all contractions!! They were killing me!! After numerous meetings with nurses and the resident on call we still weren't sure what was going to happen. The ultrasound tech came in around 10 and checked on all the babies and they all looked great. She also measured my cervical length and it had shortened to 2.7. At that point I figured I would be here for a while, but I wanted to talk to MY doctor. I knew he was leaving for vacation on Thursday and wouldn't return until Monday so I was determined to see him before he left. He came in around noon with lots of information. If I haven't told you I LOVE HIM!!! He is just awesome! After about 25 minutes of talking I managed to ask the fateful question, "Am I going to be here until I deliver." Without hesitation he said, yes, ma'am, you will be. At this point you are 26 weeks with a cervical length below 3.0, which is prefectly fine, especially with quads, your contractions are now painful and closer together and all in all you and the babies are safer here. He said he has no doubt we will make it at the minimum two more weeks because there are so many more medicines we can use. Again, he told me everything could change on a dime. We're still pushing for 30-32 weeks, but for right now we're focussing on 28 weeks. I took the news well, I knew it was inevitable!

As of right now the contractions are better under control, still a good bit painful though. My old room that I lived in for 4 weeks, 2 days was taken, but they put me in the next best room and told me they would move me as soon as that patient left. Well, I actually like my new room better. The view is not the best, but it's at the end of the hall so I'm not so close to the nurses' station which means midnight laughter won't wake me! Also, there is no one behind me so I don't hear them paging the nurse, etc.

Matt went home and grabbed all the bags, we left them packed when we went home last Monday and picked Hannah Noelle up from Uncle Coach's and they have been here since. They are going to stay the night tonight and go home at some point tomorrow. I want her to go to school Friday because it's pajama day and she loves wearing her jammies to school!! I'll miss her open house for preschool, her first day of preschool and several other things in the next few weeks, but the good thing is she's got an awesome daddy that will be there with bells on!! Andrea is coming into town next weekend so she will make sure there are two special outfits laid out for HN to wear to those two big days!

All in all, I can't complain! I had 8 nights at home, longer than I thought when I went home last Monday, but still painfully short! The longer I'm here though, the less time Cannon, Gunner, Lauren and Avery will be here in the NICU by themselves. HN understands that I'll be here for a while and that when I come home there won't be babies in my belly anymore. She's excited about wearing her "duck mask" so she can go in the NICU and hug the babies. I'm not sure how she'll react once she realizes she can't hold them, but that's one of the many bridges we'll cross when the time comes!

Please continue to pray for the babies and myself, Matt and Hannah Noelle. Pray that I make it to at least 30 weeks. Pray for safe travels for everyone going and coming back and forth to Mobile to visit. Pray that we hit the jackpot and can afford gas and food for the next 4 or so weeks that I'm here! (Really, God took care of us before as far as that was concerned and I have all faith that He will take care of us again.) Thanks for everything, Love to All - Sandra