Kayla's Big Day

Last weekend my middle sister, Kayla, got married. Kayla was a beautiful bride and Jeremy was a handsome groom. They had a beautiful wedding. I'm so thankful I was able to be there for Kayla's special day. Brady was suppose to walk the flower girls down the isle, but instead he ended up helping my dad walk Kayla down the isle. He was so cute (if I must say so myself) in his tux and acted so good during the wedding. He loved Kayla's wedding dress. I can't wait to see the pictures the photographer took of him in the dressing room. Here's a few that I snapped before the wedding.

My handsome date

Kristian helping Kayla put her shoes on.

Hiding in Kayla's dress

Hiding under the chair

Isn't she gorgeous! 

Who knew weddings were so tiring. This is how he fell asleep when we got home.

Welcome to the family Jeremy! I hope and pray Kayla & Jeremy have a wonderful life together.

Rayleigh - 3 months

Rayleigh has had a tough month. She got sick about 4 weeks ago and was put on the ventilator. She ended up being transferred to Children's Medical Center to have her PDA fixed. I was terrified about her having heart surgery, but she's a tough little girl and she did great. A day or two after her surgery she was off the vent. Now, she's off all oxygen. I'm so proud of how well she's doing. She still has chronic lung disease but that should get better the older she gets. She will have another swallow study done on Monday to see how well she's taking a bottle (the last test showed that she aspirated, but she got sick the next day and hasn't been able to take a bottle). Rayleigh is dark complexed, her hair is dark brown and her eyes are hazel. She weighs 9lbs 2oz and is wearing 0-3 month clothes.

Gracie- 3 months

At birth, Gracie was the smallest baby, she's now the biggest! She weighs 10lbs 1oz. She's wearing 0-3 month clothes. Her hair is brown and I think her eyes are going to be hazel. Gracie got a g-tube Thursday and is doing good. She the most vocal of all the girls. She will scream if she's not happy about something. She loves to be held. She's a sweet baby and is starting to grin more. I'm hoping she will be able to come home this coming week.

Brant - 3 months

Brant is home!!! He was the first baby to be released from the hospital. He has adjusted well to being home (the first week was rough but he's settled in nicely). He eats every four hours. He sleeps pretty good at night, he usually only wakes up to eat then goes back to sleep. He loves to be held and doesn't have problem letting you know when he's unhappy. He's got a good set of lungs. His eyes are blue and his hair looks like it's going to be red. Brant was the biggest baby when they were born and now he's smaller than Gracie and Tessa. He weighs around 9lbs 5oz and wears 0-3 month clothes.

Tessa - 3 months

Tessa was our first baby girl to come home from the hospital. However, she's been readmitted due to dehydration and constipation. While she was home she got to where she wouldn't drink all her bottle, she would only take about half of it. I took her to the doctor a few days after she was released, to have her weight checked and she had gained weight but by the weekend, she was eating less and not pooping or peeing like she should. I took her to the ER at Children's Medical Center where she was readmitted and is still there. She had surgery on Wednesday to get a g-tube. I'm hoping she'll get to come home this week. 

Tessa is a very sweet baby. She will lay quietly and look around. She's a good sleeper. She was our biggest baby until Gracie passed her up today. She weighs 9lb 14oz. She's wearing 0-3 month clothes now. She has blue eyes and sandy blond hair. She's so easy-going and cuddly. She has a sweet smile.

Mia - 3 months

Mia is getting so big. She is now 9 pounds!!! She is so alert and interacts with anyone who'll talk to her. She's still our "sparkly" girl. She has the biggest eyes (I think her eyes are hazel or light brown). Her hair is a lighter shade of brown. She likes to lay on her back so she can see what's going on, so now she's got a flat head. We're putting her on her stomach more so her head will hopefully go back to being more rounded. She has pretty good head control and will hold her head up on her own for a while, she loves to look around. She is growing out of newborn clothes and is starting to wear 0-3 month clothes. She's starting to smile more and more. Last weekend, I walked in the nursery to visit and she was awake so I went to her bed first, when I got over there I started talking to her and she gave me the biggest grin. She had surgery this past Monday to get a g-tube and is doing well. We're hoping she'll get to come home this week!

The Quints- 3 months

It's hard to believe our quints are almost 4 months old. I'm so behind on blogging about them, it's been a very busy month. All of our babies are growing so well. They are becoming more alert and interactive every day. This month started off on the wrong foot for our sweet Rayleigh. She got very sick and had to be put on the ventilator. She was the only baby to not be ventilated when they were born. She ended up having a minor heart surgery. Mia, Tessa, and Gracie all got g-tubes this past week, so in the span of 6 days, 4 of our babies have had surgery. It has been a stressful and worrisome week. Brant is the only baby that is home with us. Tessa was released from Baylor but after a week of  not eating well, she had to be readmitted into the hospital because of dehydration and constipation.

I've had so many people ask me why the girls need g-tubes. All our girls aspirate when they drink formula (aspirate means some of the milk goes into their lungs instead of their belly). To keep them from aspirating, rice cereal is added to their formula to make it thicker. The thicker consistency helps the milk go down to their tummy, however, it tires them out and they have difficulty completing all their feedings by bottle. The g-tube will help them complete their feedings when they're unable to drink the whole bottle. We'll put the remaining formula through the g-tube to insure they get all the nutrition needed to grow big and healthy. Once they don't need the g-tube to complete their feedings it will be taken out.

Rayleigh had surgery last Friday to close the PDA (patent ductus arteriosus) in her heart. Her PDA was causing her lots of issues. She was transferred to Children's Medical Center for the procedure. Turned out that her PDA was larger than expected and they used a plug to close the ductus. She is doing so much better since the surgery and is off oxygen for the first time in her life.

If everything goes as expected, (and to be honest~ nothing ever goes as expected with us), Mia, Tessa, & Gracie should all come home this week. Rayleigh will probably be the last baby to come home. She was set back a few weeks when she got sick. I am so ready for all the babies to be home. I'm so ready for the next chapter of our lives to begin.