The Little Ones Are Here!

It has been a crazy couple of weeks. It all ended today. The four little ones were finally born on March 28th, 2007 at Santa Monica Hospital. 3 boys and 1 girl! I’ll explain…

On Saturday it was apparent that Amy was turning a corner. Her blood pressure was trending upward, the nurses were detecting additional amounts of protein in her urine, her kidneys were slowly shutting down, and her contractions were on the rise. The blood pressure, the protein, the kidneys, and the contractions… they are all connected. The source of each of these problems according to the doctor was Amy’s weaker placenta; Cedar’s placenta. A weaker placenta is known to trigger higher blood pressure, and as a result, the other problems follow.

By Tuesday morning, neither of the main medications used to relax her uterus were working. Her contractions were becoming more consistent. We did receive some good news though. The doctor realized that the hospitals records were off by a week and that Amy would in fact be at 31 weeks by the next day. Amazing!

Today, at exactly 31 weeks pregnant, Amy calls me at 5:30am. Her contractions are now 3 minutes apart and there is no stopping them. I get to the hospital 1 hour and 35 minutes later. We are told that Amy will go into labor either today or tomorrow. Ahhh!!!

8:30am… Amy’s doctor comes in to check on her. He confirms that she is at her limit and that the babies need to come out for her health and safety. He praises her for the incredible effort she has put in, and reminds us not to worry… “These babies are going to make lots of noise,” he says.

9:20am… Nurses Jamie and Jessica come in with their IV kit. They try to apply the IV to Amy’s left hand twice with no success.



Amy’s veins are not cooperating… they call in the pro. Stephanie, the veteran, walks in the room and applies the IV on her first try. Savory, electrolytes begin flowing through Amy’s body via the IV.

9:32am… The first dose of Magnesium Sulfate is released into Amy’s body via the IV. The purpose of the Magnesium is to relax the uterus as much as possible. Magnesium is a last resort during labor if other medications aren’t working. The Magnesium doesn’t do much. It slows her contractions to about 1 every 5 minutes. Within the next few hours they will again speed up to 1 every 3 minutes. Her body is ready to give birth.



9:49am… Amy has a catheter installed. It’s uncomfortable but necessary. Amy is now declared “NPO”; No eating or drinking due to upcoming surgery…

10:40am… Amy’s doctor walks in the room, tells us he will deliver at 1:00pm. The 5th floor of the Santa Monica Hospital begins to bustle like a crowded market-place.

12:32pm… Amy is taken through the final preparations for surgery. She is given her blue surgery-gown, another dose of Magnesium, and begins receiving a drug called “Haspan,” which expands the volume of her fluids to keep from dehydration.

1:37pm… Dr Roberts, the anesthesiologist, sits at Amy’s side and explains the entire medication process. Amy will receive an epidural in addition to many other medications to make the process as pain free as possible.

1:39pm… Nurse Jessica brings Amy’s wheel-chair. She looks at us curiously then walks away. We stay in room 513 with Dr Roberts for now.

1:47pm… Nurse Jessica is back, her eyes not able to hide the anticipation this time. It’s game time! Amy is helped up from the bed. I give her pregnant belly one last kiss.



She is then wheeled to the OR door and stays there for the next few minutes. I stay behind for further instruction.



1:55pm… Amy is wheeled into the OR and moved into operating position.

2:12pm… Dr Roberts begins to administer the epidural.

2:27pm… A nurse runs out of the OR and tells me, “Dr Tabish would like for you to bring your ipod in so he can listen to “50 Cent” during the operation.”

“OK,” I exclaim. “I don’t have ‘50 Cent’ but the kids like Jay-Z, will that work?”

“Sure,” the nurse says

I grab the portable ipod system, set it to “Brush Your Shoulders Off” by Jay-Z, and am taken into the OR. All at once, 1 Surgeon, 1 OB, 1 Anesthesiologist, 4 Respiratory Therapists, 4 Neonatologists, and 4 Labor and Delivery Nurses begin delivering the Shahbaz babies… to the Grammy winning sounds of Jay-Z.

2:38pm… The first “cut time” is here. Dr Tabish is sure to reach for Hope. She has been sitting on top of Amy’s cervix since the beginning. He reaches in and pulls out the first baby. My eyes begin to tear up. I try and describe what going on for Amy. It’s a boy! He let’s out a healthy cry just as a newborn should. He is quickly handed to a team of nurses and doctors who begin to clean and evaluate him. But where’s Hope?



2:39pm… Dr Tabish reaches to the right side of Amy’s uterus. “I know this one’s a boy!” Jonah is delivered and sees the world for the first time. He lets out a cry and is quickly taken.



Instantly, Dr Tabish then reaches to the left side of Amy’s uterus where Jordan should be. Yup…Another boy! He let’s out a yelp and is taken away. One more baby to go! From the center of Amy’s uterus, Dr Tabish brings out the feistiest, little, preemie in So Cal! Cedar is born, and YES, she’s a girl!



As it turned out, Hope was a boy all along. Just in case, we had a name picked out… Our oldest son’s name is Jeremiah.

So… Friends and Family, I’d like to introduce you to…

Jeremiah Shahbaz, born 2:38pm, 2 pounds, 11 ounces, 38.5 cm (approx 15.2 inches)



Jonah Shahbaz, born 2:39pm, 2 pounds, 10 ounces, 37 cm (approx 14.7 inches)



Jordan Shahbaz, born 2:39pm, 2 pounds, 13 ounces, 38 cm (approx 15 inches)



Cedar Shahbaz, born 2:39pm, 2 pounds, 4 ounces, 35 cm (approx 13.8 inches)



And yes, they are doing well. They were all quite capable of breathing on their own, but were placed on ventilators and many other gadgets to help out. (all except for Jeremiah, who may be placed on a ventilator later). The entire neonatal staff has been extremely encouraging and very positive about each baby. Initially, the neonatal staff uses what’s called the “AFGAR” scale to rate the health of each baby upon birth. The scale has 5 categories, and gives up to 2 points per category for a total of 10 points equaling a perfectly, healthy, new-born, baby. The categories are: Color, Respiration, Heart Rate, Reflexive Irritability, and Muscle Tone… Jeremiah scored a 9, Jonah scored an 8, Jordan scored a 9, and Cedar scored an 8. Folks, God gave us healthy babies! They have a long road to go, but so far we are nothing but thankful. This truly was a miracle given to us by the grace of our Father, and as a result of prayer, faith, and of course… Hope.

Please continue to pray for a swift recovery for Amy, and for the babies to fatten up quickly. If all stays well, they will come home with us when they reach about 5 pounds. A lot can change in the next few days and weeks… but we remain thankful.

For now we are limiting visitors to close family, but as Amy regains her strength and the babies pile on the pasta, we will begin to invite you to come out and see our little miracles.



Stay tuned for another update in the next few days.

29 weeks and counting!!

We can't believe the 30 week marker is just around the corner! Praise God!!! Every additional week after this marker is an extended blessing and will keep the babies out of NICU that much longer.

Visiting Update
With the babies growing, Amy's getting more and more tired, and less and less able to have visitors. Please fell free to give here a call and leave her an encouraging message at 909.534.0644. She loves hearing from you, and want's to devote what little energy she has to the babies : ).

28 weeks tomorrow!!

Hello again, and it’s time for another update on Amy and the little ones. Tomorrow, Amy will in fact be at 28 weeks. She has made it to the Third Trimester! This is truly amazing. The average for quads is 28 weeks, but Amy is still going strong and her spirits remain high.



Here’s some details…

1) Amy has been on hospital bed-rest for 63 days.
2) Amy has had 156 visits by friends and family since she’s been on hospital bed-rest.
3) Amy has gained an average of approximately 3.1 pounds each week for the past five weeks.
4) Amy has had two, full, 2-hour, ultra-sounds since she’s been on hospital bed-rest.

Amy’s second ultra-sound was last Tuesday the 6th, one day before her 27th week. Here’s what we found out.

Jordan



– He’s the new beef-eater of the pack. He weighed in at 2 pounds 6 ounces! His progression at 27 weeks was 27 weeks, 5 days. His heart-rate was at a healthy 140 beats per minute. During the ultra-sound, Jordan had a finger in his mouth.

Hope



– She also continues to have a healthy appetite. She weighed in at 2 pounds 5 ounces with a heart rate of 136 beats per minute. Her progression was at 27 weeks 4 days. Hope’s head is literally on top of Amy’s cervix. She’s ready to get out and get started.

Jonah



– He’s also above two pounds. He weighed in at 2 pounds 2 ounces with a heart rate of 143 beats per minute. His progression was 26 weeks 6 days.

Cedar



– She’s still watching her figure but doing well. She weighed in at 1 pound 14 ounces with a heart rate of 167 beats per minute. Her progression was at 25 weeks 6 days.

Don’t worry, Cedar is going to be OK. Remember when we first found out that Amy was pregnant with quads, there was one that seemed to be behind that I nick-named “little-man?” Well, "little-man" is apparently "little-woman." The doctor confirmed for us that she is the one that was behind from the very beginning. He’s nick-named her “the shrimp” of the bunch. The other encouraging detail is that when born prematurely, girls seem to be much stronger, grow faster, and remain in NICU less then boys. Although she’s behind, it’s still possible that she may come home with us sooner then the boys. But PLEASE continue to keep them in your prayers. Every day they are inside the womb takes two days away from having to be in NICU.

Amy is hanging in there. Her spirits remain high because of all the visits and random letters, cards and packages that arrive in the mail every day. She’s even receiving DVD’s in the mail from random people around the country that we don’t even know. Honestly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for showing so much love to Amy! At this point, we have to watch her health. As long as she remains comfortable, the babies will stay inside. In the last few weeks she had a small bout of high blood-pressure that went away and a possible urinary-track infection that lasted a few days and then went away as well. Because the babies are taking so much room inside her, her organs are getting pushed all over the place. As a result, it’s getting a little harder for her to breath, and she has to use the bath-room almost every half-hour. She also is getting tired much faster and is sleeping a little more then usual.



If you want to visit her, now’s the time to call her up and schedule a time. She’s not going to be in there for very much longer. Although we’re confident that she’ll make it past 30 weeks, time is running out. When you do call to schedule a visit please be aware that at this point she can only handle about one visit per day. So if you do call, please don’t be offended if she can’t visit the day you want or the day you will be in the area. If possible, try and be flexible. The more we can spread her visits out, the less she’ll go a day without a visit. And keep sending those posters and “weekly” cards. They’re fantastic. Her room is covered with pictures of friends and family celebrating each week she has finished.

Another thing to note is the Discovery Channel show Multiples: Inside the Womb. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a fascinating show following three different multiple-birth pregnancies. The quads that were born in the show were born at 28 weeks, all weighing just above 2 pounds. One was at exactly 2 pounds. Amy is past this point. We still have a long road to go, but we can only be thankful and continue praying for her and the little ones.

Here is what will be going on this week and next week with Amy and the little ones.

28 weeks

- Our little ones’ hair is growing and gaining color now.
- Our little ones’ lungs are now capable of breathing air, if it were absolutely necessary.
- Not only are they able to open and close their eyes, but they even have little eyelashes to bat.
- Jordan and Jonah’s testicles are developed within their abdomen, but are now descending into their scrotum. Way to go boys!
- Up until this point our little ones’ brains were smooth. Now, due to rapid growth, those wrinkles that are completely normal on the surface of the brain, are beginning to develop

29 weeks
- Space is getting really tight for the babies. They will have their knees tucked up to their chest now all the time in the 'fetal position'.
- The babies bone marrow has now taken over production of red blood cells.
- Due to the lack of space available for them now, our babies will make fewer big movements, like somersaults, and more small movements of the arms and legs.
- Now that almost all of the babies’ organs are functioning, their growth will focus on maturing those organs and growing muscle mass and fat stores.
- All 300 bones in the little ones’ bodies are present and accounted for now, though some of them will fuse after birth, leaving a grand, lifetime total of 206.