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.