Quints- 1 month

It doesn't seem possible that our precious babies are one month old (as of April 18th)! They have changed so much this month. I am so thankful how well they've done to be born at 29 weeks. There have been some tough days. There have been some scary moments. Someone once told me that life in the NICU is like a roller coaster and they were exactly right. I have to continue to tell myself to just take it one day at a time. I have to give this whole situation completely to God. I know God is watching over my little angels and I have faith that they will continue to do well and we'll all be home soon.

Steven stayed in Dallas with me for the first 3 weeks to help me recover. He did a wonderful job of taking care of me. I had no idea how difficult it was going to be to recover from a c-section. It took 2 good weeks to finally start feeling normal again. I'm now able to move around well and drive, it's nice to finally have my freedom back.


*We've been able to hold the babies since they were about 5-7 days old. We do kangaroo care (aka: skin-to-skin) with each baby. It's a special moment to get to love on each baby. We have to hold each baby for at least a hour at a time when we do kangaroo care.
*The babies can finally wear clothes. They are maintaining their body temperature.
*They have graduated up from a covered, temperature controlled bed to an open regular newborn bed. Each baby is in his/her own bed.
*They continue to gain weight which means they continue to go up on their feedings. They get my breast milk plus vitamins. They also take caffeine.
*They look so much bigger now.
*The older they get the more awake and alert they are.
*The occupational therapist checks them out each week and she says they are doing so well. I watched her work with one of them today and she checks their reflexes and muscle tone.
*At times, they suffer from reflux so their feedings are stretched out over longer periods of time.
*They all have feeding tubes and will keep those until it's almost time to go home. They are starting to learn how to take a bottle (but it's a slow process).

This first month in the NICU has been quiet the learning experience for us, like hiccups are a sign of stress in premies. I've had to learn to trust the nurses with my precious babies. There aren't words to describe how hard it is to leave them every day and go home without them. It's hard to not pick them up when I want to and love on them. Its so hard to not be able to pick them up when they're laying in the bed crying. It's hard to have to watch some of the things they have to go through. With all that being said, I am amazed how well they have done. They are so strong. They should still be cozy in my belly (I'd be 34 weeks now) & I should still be breathing for them and eating for them. Instead, they're having to breath and eat on their own. And they're doing SO well! God is so good! Prayers really work. If you ever doubt the power of prayer or how great our God is, just take a look at my five little blessings, all the odds were against them...but God is bigger than science or medicine. He is the Great Physician.

**As of today (they are 5 weeks now) all the babies are at least 4 pounds!!!

Thank you to everyone who are praying for us. Prayers are greatly appreciated and needed! Please keep the prayers coming!