The Quints Birth Day

Our fabulous five blessings have arrived! They were delivered at 29 weeks 1 day. Here's how their depute unfolded.

March 17th- My friend Anita came to the hospital to visit me and bring lunch. She also did me a favor and took my 29 week belly picture. I'm so thankful I asked her to do it, otherwise I never would have gotten to see just how big I ended up. 

28 weeks

29 weeks - The day before the quints were born.

At 28/29 weeks I noticed things were really starting to change. My fingers were swelling and when I'd get out of bed to use the restroom, my veins in my arms would swell. I was extremely uncomfortable at this point and really didn't think I was going to make it much longer, but I thought I would at least make it to 30 weeks which had been my goal since the beginning of the pregnancy. On the night of March 17th, a couple of my nurses were in my room and we were chatting like we'd been friends forever. One of the nurses gave me a fork and told me when I had gotten to the point in the pregnancy where I didn't think I could take anymore, all I'd have to do was hold my fork up and say 'stick a fork in me, I'm done'....then she taped the fork to my bed. We all laughed....

March 18th- Around 4am I woke up from a contraction, and then another came....it was dark so I wasn't watching the clock, but I knew something wasn't normal because I never had had contractions that early in the morning. Around 4:30am I decided I needed to let my nurse know so I called down and she came right to my room, I think she knew what was about to happen. I told her about the contractions and she hooked me up to the monitor. It showed I was having constant contractions so she gave me 2 medicines to stop the contractions. I was scheduled to have a sonogram that morning, so I went to that and I had dilated to 3cm. That's when they told me to call Steven and tell him to get to the hospital. Then they took me down to labor and delivery. My friends Anita & Paula were with me in L&D until my family arrived. All my family made it in time for the birth. My nurses gave me magnesium to help with contractions but it's also good for protecting the babies brains. That magnesium was bad stuff. I made me feel hot from the inside. It felt like I was laying on an electric blanket. Thankfully, the side effects didn't bother me too long. My contractions got pretty strong and that's when I got the epidural. However, just like with Brady, the epidural only worked on one side of my body so the guy had to take it out and do it again. It worked well the second time.

Around 2-2:30pm it was game time...they wheeled me to the OR and got me prepped for my c-section. Steven came back and sat by my side the whole time (except for when he was standing over me watching as everything unfolded). I was so calm during the whole procedure, I had a few tears, but all in all it was a wonderful experience. My babies were finally coming..I was so excited to finally meet them. Of course I worried about their health and well-being, but I was excited to finally meet them. And then it happened.

First came Miss Mia Danielle weighing 2 lbs 10 oz

Second came Miss Tessa Suzanne weighing 2 lb 13 oz

Third came Mr. Brant Lee weighing 3 lb 6 oz

Fourth came Miss Gracie Lou weighing 2 lb 7 oz

Fifth came Miss Rayleigh Ann weighing 2 lb 14 oz

My mom, dad, & sisters before the delivery

Almost time to meet our Fab Five!

Steven's bracelets for each baby.

To be 11 weeks early the babies did remarkably well. They started off breathing with a Bubble CPAP. But after a few days, all babies, except Rayleigh, needed more help and were put on ventilators. They were only on the vent for a few days (except Mia). Mia had to stay on the vent a few days longer. They all lost weight after birth. I'm able to pump and make enough food for them to eat. They are fed through a feeding tube.

Steven and I want to thank everyone who has supported us along this journey. I can't even begin to name all the people who have shown us so much love through both small and big acts of kindness. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives. God has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams. We seriously prayed for one more little blessing and God gave us five! God has also shown us how powerful prayer truly is and if we will let God be in charge of our lives, He will take care of our every need. I ask that all you wonderful people out there that have been praying for us to continue to pray for us. Please pray that each baby will grow and develop like they're suppose to. Pray that they will grow stronger every day. Pray for Brady because his whole world has changed so much these past 4-5 months, he's had to live life without his mama around, and he's about to get 5 new siblings, all at the same time, in a few months. Pray, pray, pray!!!