Homerest has Begun...

As of last Tuesday, I will no longer be teaching this year. Per doctor's orders, I have gone on homerest for the remainder of my pregnancy. Homerest means that I am only allowed on my feet for four hours a day. The rest of the time should be spent sitting or laying down. I have been busy making a list of all of the things I can get done while I'm off of my feet. I plan to do all of my Christmas shopping online, continue to plan for the arrival of the babies, write a bunch of thank you notes for the showers I have coming up, read the books I never have time for, find out about pediatricians, nannies, etc. and of course rest. I'm going to try and keep my days as busy as possible, because I can already see how this could easily get old. I am so thankful that I am not on strict bedrest yet and can still move around when I need to as long as I don't surpass the time boundaries.

Gray and I drove down to Brewton on Wednesday for Thanksgiving, and have had a great time with our families and friends. Gray went back to Birmingham yesterday so that he could get to the Alabama game in Tuscaloosa early today. I am staying at my parents house for a while rather than being at home by myself all day. Gray will be coming back down here on the weekends and I will be going back and forth between Birmingham and Brewton until Christmas break. My parents are such wonderful nurses. As I write, my mother is making me a healthy breakfast of oatmeal and bananas with orange juice. She loves feeding the babies and I love it too!

Our 18 week appointment is on Tuesday, December 2nd. During this extended appointment they will be doing an in-depth ultrasound of the babies. The doctor told us that they would be able to detect about 80% of possible birth defects. They will also be measuring all parts of their bodies and we will find out how much they weigh for the first time. I am nervous about the appointment, but if everything goes well, it will be such a relief knowing that they are all doing well.

I will keep you updated on what we find out! I'm also trying to get all of our ultrasound pictures posted, so they should be up soon too.

A Little Background...

Hi Everyone! My name is Kate Garrett and I'm beginning this blog in an effort to keep friends and family up to date on my pregnancy. First, I thought I would fill you in on all that has happened.

Gray and I were married on October 27 of last year. We live in Birmingham Alabama, where Gray works as a project manager with a building company, and I have been working as a fifth grade school teacher.

In early spring of last year we decided to begin a family. After having no luck, I visited my doctor who advised me to try Clomid for a few months. After my first month on Clomid, at the lowest dose, I was pregnant!

Gray and I were thrilled and anxiously awaited the first ultrasound at 8 weeks, when we would get to see the first picture of our baby. When the technician began the ultrasound she was very quiet. I asked her if she could see the baby, and when she didn't answer I began to worry. From the look on her face, I was almost certain that we had lost the baby. Finally, after what seemed like a long time but probably wasn't, she said, "Well, it's multiples." I knew from that answer that it was more than twins. I looked over at Gray whose eyes were getting larger by the second and asked her how many. She turned the screen and announced for the first time that we were going to be expecting four babies! As she pointed out the four separate sacks I began to cry and Gray grabbed my hand.

Gray and I were both shocked and probably a little peaked as they ushered us over to a room to wait on my doctor. I can't remember everything we talked about during that next half hour sitting in that room, but I do remember being bombarded with one hundred different emotions one after another. When my doctor came in, she told us that she had been taking a poll around the office to find out if anyone had ever heard of a case like ours. One month of Clomid at 50 mg. and quads! She said that they had even gotten the books out. After talking with the doctor, we were informed that we would have to leave that hospital, because I was now classified as high-risk.

When we left the hospital we were excited and still in disbelief. We began calling our family members and letting them know our big news. Several were speechless, and others thought we were joking. Gray and I didn't get to spend much time together because we both had to get back to work. It was so strange to return to my regular activities after hearing the news. Especially since no one else at school even knew I was pregnant yet.

Since that life changing day, we have been busy getting ready for their birth. We look forward to the ultrasounds that I have every other week, so that we can peek in and see how they are growing and moving. We are so happy that this has happened to us and our families are all excited and anxious to meet our little ones.