Tubes: Here We Go Again & Again

On Wednesday, I took Mia and Rayleigh to the ENT doctor to have their ears checked out. Rayleigh has had several ear infections, Mia, not as many, but our pediatrician felt like she needed to be seen. They both underwent a hearing test. Mia barely failed, but the test showed she had difficulty hearing due to fluid. Rayleigh failed miserably. They doc looked at the results and said they both needed tubes. So, only two weeks after Brant got tubes, we were back in the surgery center Thursday morning. Both girls did well during surgery and are doing well now. Mia didn't have much fluid, but the doc said the fluid in Rayleigh's ears was more like concrete. No wonder the poor girl couldn't hear. I'm glad the ENT doc did the procedure quickly and hopefully both girls will be on the mend and we won't have to deal with many more ear infections in the future. The good thing about tubes is you can use antibiotic ear drops (which work better) instead of oral antibiotics. Brant has done great since getting his tubes, and he's even slept through the night for the past 3 nights. He's also starting to jabber more, so I'm glad he got tubes when he did; I think they've made a huge improvement in him.

Here's a few pics of the girls before surgery...getting both of them to look and smile at the same time was, well, almost impossible..but I think the non-posed pics are pretty cute and funny. Oh the joys of trying to take pics of lots-o-babies... haha.

This Time Last Year....

January 31, 2014 was the day my doctors admitted me into the hospital (Baylor Univ. Med. Center) for the remainder of my pregnancy. I knew it was coming and both Steven and I were packed and as ready was we could be for the remainder of my pregnancy. I was scared. I was just days away from reaching the point of viability for the babies, but I knew I didn't want them to come that early. I knew the outcome for them would probably be bad if they came at that point. I was so sad that I was going to be away from Brady. I still feel guilty for being away from him for all those months of hospital bed rest and the babies' NICU stay. But I'm also thankful for that time. I look back with a great appreciation of everyone who was involved in helping me through a very scary, crazy, emotional, and exciting time in my life. I met so many wonderful people during that time and they all hold a special place in my heart. And the most rewarding part of the whole experience is that we finally came home on August 1st with five healthy, beautiful, and wonderful babies. I'm so thankful God gave us our quints. They were definitely unexpected, but I can't imagine our lives without them.

Gracie & Brady

Brant

Brant & Brady

Tessa

Rayleigh

G, R, M

Mia

Gracie

I can't thank God enough for all my many blessings. I'm a mama to six beautiful babies straight from Heaven.

Steven's Garden 2015

Who knew you started getting ready for your summer garden in January? But it's true. Steven and Brady have been hard at work plowing up the garden and already planting a few things. Steven loves gardening, I guess it's a therapeutic hobby for him. Last year, because of all the craziness of having the quints, he wasn't able to do one, so he's super excited about this year's garden. Steven learned his gardening skills from his grandfather, Bobby Mills, and he loved to talk to my grandfather about it too. Steven's seriously got an old soul trapped in a 33 year old body.
Brady loves to ride the tractor with Steven, and I foresee many fights over who gets to ride with daddy in the near future!

And a little disclaimer..... I don't help at all with the garden so I never say it's our garden. Steven & Brady do all the work!

Rayleigh - 10 Months

Rayleigh is now 16lb 6.5oz (15%), is 27 3/8 (20%) inches long, and her head circumference is 17 1/8in (30%). She has a misshaped head so on January 1st she started wearing a helmet. (I'll post more on that later.) So far, she's done wonderfully with the helmet and it is working, so we're thankful about that. Rayleigh can crawl, sit unassisted, go back and forth from crawling to sitting on her own and roll around. She likes to roll under the furniture. She has a carefree spirit, and is very easy going. As of lately, she's been the sickest. She has lots of dark brown hair and curls. She's the only baby without a tooth. She laughs a lot, she'll even laugh at the other babies if they're crying. We were looking at some of my baby pictures, and Rayleigh looks the most like me. Her hair is dark and her eyes are brown. She's got the sweetest smile and it's funny to hear her laugh. She's very nosey or should I say curious, she's clumsy (so it's a good thing she has the helmet), she's getting more vocal, and is learning how to wave and clap. She's wearing size 9-12 month clothes and #3 diapers.

M, G, R, T

She was whining until she saw the camera, then she stopped to smile.

Following Gracie down the hall.

Gracie - 10 Months

Gracie and Tessa are tied as our biggest girls, she's 16lb 14.5oz (20%), is 27 3/8in long, and her head circumference is 17 1/8in (30%). Gracie is so funny. She loves having everyone's attention. She can crawl and pull up and she likes to dance. She likes to wrinkle her nose; it's so funny. She likes eating baby food. She seems to be a little less diva-ish these days. Her looks are hilarious, sometimes she'll look at you like, 'do you think I'm stupid, or what,'  it's too funny. She fights her sleep. She loves to rock and will even rock herself if you put her in a rocking chair. I think she's going to be my cheerleaders some day. When she gets excited she flaps her arms up and down. She gets jealous if you hold someone else; she likes lots of attention. She has two teeth. She is wearing 9-12 month clothes and size 3 diapers.

Exploring the house.

This girl is too funny!

Brant - 10 Month

Brant is now our biggest baby. He weighs 17lb 2.5oz (5%), is 27 7/8 inches long (15%), and his head circumference is 17 5/8in (30%).  Brant is the Tasmanian Devil, he's everywhere & gets there fast!!! He crawls everywhere, can pull up on anything in his way, he'll crawl over whatever gets in his way, even his little sisters. He absolutely adores Brady. He'll go in Brady's room and they'll play together. He loves his bottle, will eat baby food, but prefers the bottle. He points at everything with his pointer finger, he'll even point right up your nose and then in your mouth! He pulls hair. He's not a good napper. He is loud! He has 2 teeth. He's funny and has the biggest smile. He can also be high-maintance. Two weeks ago, he got tubes in his ears. He's doing better since the surgery. He wears 9-12 months clothes and size 3 diapers.

He loves to torture his sisters when they're in their bouncy seats.