The Names Are Here!

After many discussions, suggestions and trials, Gray and I have finally decided on our babies’ names. We used all family names and are very happy with them.

Broox Gray Garrett IV
Elizabeth Jane Garrett
Virginia Katherine Garrett
James Rainer Garrett

They will be called Broox, Jane, Virginia, and Rainer. We cannot wait to meet them!!

The Garrett Quads Get Showered

The day after Christmas I was given a baby shower in Brewton. So many of my friends were there and we had the best time! Thank you everyone for the kind gifts, diapers and words of encouragement.

These are some of my closest friends. We go waaay back!
My friend Carrie was able to travel from Atlanta for the shower (and to visit my brother ;) ) It was wonderful to see you!!

Kelly, Meredith and Stacey. 1 great mama and 2 mamas to be!

Catching Up.

Alisa and Kelli

Mary and me. Thanks for taking all of the pictures!

Tiffany, Rebecca, and Donielle

Cute Sisters

The hostesses. Thank you all so much for the beautiful shower.

Getting ready to feed the babies :)

Baby Bootie Petit Fours

Mary made this cute diaper cake for the shower. The cake was made of diapers, and inside, there was a hidden bottle of champagne to celebrate the babies' birth.Ooohing and Aaaahing over the gifts and mountain of diapers!

21 Weeks and Home for the Holidays

21 Weeks!
My Family (L to R - Gray, Mama, Marshall, Me, Robert, and Daddy)


Christmas Eve

Mama Merle and Me (My grandmother who was also a twin)

"Miss" Susan, Grandmama, and me

Tuesday was our 21 week appointment and we got great news once again! Our doctor checked everything out and nothing had changed. She told us that I should keep up what I'm doing, and we were glad to hear it. We then went to see the babies and check their fluids. Everything looked normal and they told us that they would check their weights at the next appointment. It's been three weeks since they last measured the babies, so I can't wait to find out how much they have grown in that amount of time. Based on my growth, I'd say a lot! (Check out that picture at the top)

After the appointment, we made our way to Brewton for Christmas. We are so lucky that both sets of our parents and grandparents live in the same town. We were able to spend lots of quality time with them as well as with our brothers, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We loved seeing everybody and had a fantastic Christmas! It's hard to believe that the next time I see some of them, the babies will already be here.

The pictures above are from our annual Christmas Eve celebration at my house. My dad's family comes over and we enjoy all of "the meats and cheeses from all the lands," as we jokingly call it. It's one of my favorite Christmas traditions.

20 Weeks: No News is Good News

Yesterday afternoon Gray swung by the house and picked me up for our 20 week appointment. I told Gray that I had a weird feeling about the appointment on the way there. I have been reading so many quadruplet blogs, and 20 weeks seems to be the breaking point when quad pregnancies begin to get a little hairy. He assured me that everything would be fine, reminding me that nothing had happened in the past two weeks that should lead me to believe otherwise. He has such a knack for putting me at ease.

Once the nurse called me back, she took my weight and blood pressure like always. I cannot tell you how strange it is to see the number on the scale each time I go to the doctor. I have now gained 20 pounds and was told originally that I should put on 55 during my pregnancy. I'm working toward that goal, but can't imagine actually weighing that much! It is important to gain more rapidly now because the babies will be premature and there is no time to gain it in the last trimester. Plus, the larger we can get the babies, the better. It seems like an easy task, but you can't just eat donuts and cake every day to put on the pounds. I am trying my best to have a healthy diet, but just eat more of it. Right now I am gaining about a pound and 1/2 to 2 pounds per week, which the nurse said was good. I also got good news about my blood pressure. She said that it has been low each time and hasn't really fluctuated at all. They watch that closely each visit. If it does shoot up, it can be a sign of Preeclampsia (you might have heard it referred to as toxemia or pregnancy induced hypertension).

Next, they put us in a room to wait for our doctor. A nurse came in and gave me the progesterone shot. The doctor asked me several questions about what I had been experiencing over the last two weeks. She must have felt good about my answers, because she told me that I would be on another week of homerest and to keep doing what I was doing.

Lastly, we were sent down to the ultrasound room to see our babies. They did a quick checkup and all of their heartbeats were perfect. I tried to pay special attention to where they are now so that when they move I will know which one it is. I would say that the little girls are moving the most right now. Probably, because they have the least room. Although Baby D tends to jut out of my left side quite a bit in the mornings.

I hope that Gray and I will be able to settle on the names soon, instead of calling the A,B,C, and D. I think we are almost there, but we're having a hard time compromising on the last two.

For now, I am back in Birmingham on homerest. Gray has been doing everything from washing clothes to cooking me dinner at night. I am so lucky to have him!

Sick Leave Donations

The home rest ordered by my doctors in November forced me to leave my teaching job for the rest of the school year. Since I was only a third year teacher, I had accumulated only enough sick leave days to cover a couple of weeks. I would have been left without insurance and without a salary when those days ran out. It was likely that the babies and I would be hospitalized for weeks or even months without insurance coverage or my salary to cover huge medical costs (hundreds of thousands of dollars), but, thanks to dozens of Christmas angels, that catastrophe has been avoided.
The Christmas angels that I am speaking of are my fellow teachers across the state of Alabama who responded to my families’ requests for donations of their own precious sick leave days. These angels have already donated 69 sick leave days. I only need about 25 more days to cover the school year and fulfill my employment contract for the year. These gifts are cause for great relief and celebration for me and my family during this holiday of giving and for the rest of our lives. I can’t adequately express how grateful we are. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!
I wish that the school board was able to release the names of the angels, so that I could thank them all personally. I understand that some wish to remain anonymous. I hope that those of you who feel comfortable with doing so will join us on the blog, send me a note or email, and identify yourselves as the angels that you are.

19 Weeks!

Here is the 19 weeks side shot. My mother and I were amazed at how much I had grown in two weeks when we looked back at the picture. I feel like I can almost watch it expand. Everything is still going smoothly. I've been dealing with restless legs and back pain, which make it difficult to get a good nights sleep some nights. The doctor suggested that I take a small dose of Benadryl when that happens and thankfully it knocks me right out. The mornings are the best time for me and the discomfort doesn't kick in until the afternoon. The heating pad and a warm bath are my best friends these days. I am so happy that we have not run into any problems yet. I am very interested to see what they will tell me at my appointment on Tuesday. I hope that I will be able to remain on this limited bed rest for as long as possible. Thank you for all of the comments, emails and conversations on the Facebook. I always look forward to reading what you have written. One of the best things about this homerest is that I have gotten the chance to catch up with people that I haven't talked to in so long.

Here is a picture of my daddy and me after eating dinner in Pace on Monday. I had a bad case of cabin fever that day and needed some new scenery. We drove down to meet him after work, and it was such a great break from the house. I am really appreciating all of the small pleasures!

Baby Shower

Mary, Meredith and me at the baby shower. Two of my best friends growing up.

Posing in front of the Christmas tree. (L to R) Aunt Anne, Me, Grandmama, and Mama.

The beautiful roses and tasty treats.

All of the wonderful baby gifts we received!

Liz, my mother-in-law, and me at the shower.

Another pic of Mary and me.

On Saturday, I was given a baby shower by friends here in Brewton. The shower and the company were so nice. I enjoyed visiting with everyone and it was a welcome break from my homerest. Everyone was positive about the babies and genuinely excited for us. When I think about how many more weeks we have to make it before the babies will even be able to survive, it is easy to get discouraged. Seeing that my body is already so far along and pre-term labor is such a threat, it is hard to see all the way to 32-34 weeks. I know how important it is to have a great attitude and to surround myself with people who are the same way. I am always grateful to those who don't point out all of the obvious hardships all of the time.

Gray and I received precious and useful gifts for the babies. There were girls and boys outfits, baby blankets, towels, toys, books, gift cards and much more! Today I'm going to organize the gifts in clear tubs. Gray and I are trying to stay organized now, because we know it will only get more difficult. We want things to be as easy as possible when the babies arrive. Right now we have a bin for girls' clothes, a bin for boys' clothes, a bin for each size of diaper we have collected, a bin for wipes, a bin for linens, and a bin for toys and books. We have a storage unit in Birmingham, but it is quickly filling up. It looks like we may have to move to a larger one, until we are able to sell our house and buy one with more space.

There are so many things to think about, and it's hard to even know where to start. Gray and I tried to prioritize a list last night of what we need to do next. My job today is to contact some of the "moms of multiples" I have met or found out about through friends. We want to get a better idea of exactly what kind of help we will need and for how long when the babies get home. I'm also going to be inquiring about pediatricians in our area, because they've told me that we'll need that right away. They also said that some doctors won't take all four all at once and that it is important to find someone who will. That way I won't have to make four separate trips and find four babysitters.

Baby Gifts, Cake, and Company

My grandmother and me at her house before going to the party.

Gray and me at "Miss" Susan's house in front of the Christmas tree.

Here is a picture of the cake. It's blue and pink for our two boys and two girls.

Last night, my family went over to "Miss" Susan and Mr. Raymond's house to open baby gifts and celebrate. "Miss" Susan was my kindergarten teacher and has been right by my side as I've grown up. I love her very much! She had a precious and delicious baby cake made from a bakery in Birmingham for the occasion. I loved all of the gifts! Everyone was so sweet to think of us. I am anxious to start getting the babies' room together and organizing all of their new things. Gray and I enjoyed visiting and relaxing with our family and friends.

Knitting Lesson

Yesterday my sweet sister-in-law, Gray, came over to give me my weekly progesterone shot and teach me how to knit. We got the injection over with first. Gray made it so easy and it didn't hurt at all.

She brought over a bunch of yarn and knitting needles and showed me how to do the stitches. I think it will be a great thing to do to pass the time, if I can get the hang of it.

18 Week Ultrasound

These are some pictures that they gave us from the ultrasound yesterday.
You can double click on the pictures to see a larger view.

Healthy Babies!!

I am very happy to report that all four of the babies are healthy and growing at a normal rate! Tuesday was a long day, but it was all worth it to know that the babies are safe. Gray, Mama, and I got to the doctor yesterday morning at around 10:00. We were called back into the ultrasound room after a routine blood pressure check and weigh in.
After that, we were sent to an ultrasound room with a technician. She told me that it would take a while to check each of the four babies. She started with Baby A and measured the head and the bones in the leg. She also checked for kidneys, a four chamber heart, the spine, a bladder, Down’s Syndrome, cleft pallet, etc. After she had taken all measurements on the first baby, she moved on to B. It was wonderful hearing that the baby was perfectly normal, but also nerve wracking knowing that we had three more to look at before we were in the clear.
This process was repeated with all four babies and they passed every test. Next, the doctor came in did a few measurements for herself. She said that everything looked great, and they were able to tell us that the boys (babies A and D) were weighing in at 8 ounces, while the girls (babies B and C) were 7 ounces. The doctor said that the boys’ weights were in the 50th percentile for baby weights at this point, which is average, and the girls were in the 37th percentile which is well in range of acceptable weights. I was so proud of them!
Later that day at 3:00, I met with my doctor. She checked me out and said that everything looked good right now. I was able to ask her a lot of questions about what to expect. She still thinks that I have a good chance of making it to 30-32 weeks with these babies. She said that I could remain at homerest status as long as nothing happens, such as contractions or any other pre-term labor indications. This was very good news to me, because I am really enjoying the little freedom I have for moving around.
She also told me that it was time to start taking progesterone shots every week. She said that they would administer these injections to me if I bring them to my appointments, but I don’t have another appointment for two weeks. This means that someone else has to give them to me. Luckily for me, my sister-in-law lives here in Brewton and is a nurse practitioner. She has given these very shots to patients lots of times. She actually worked at the clinic that I go to for my appointments in Birmingham, so she is an excellent source of information and support. Gray is her name (just like my husband, so it can be confusing) and I just feel so lucky to have her. I don’t know if my husband, my mother, or I was happier about them not having to give the shots.
She is going to give me my first shot today. The shots are given in the hip and are notorious for being unpleasant. I have heard from several sources that the medicine is so thick that you can feel it going down your leg. I’m sure it is the very least of what I will be going through and I’m thankful that there is something available to help keep the babies from being born too early.