Holy pressure...

I know that I've mentioned that I've had pressure "down there" a couple of times in the past... and it's probably not something that had ever thrown me into complete and utter panic with my two previous pregnancies. Just recognizing that the weight of the baby (ies) were getting a bit more and I was feeling it more, right? I even remember my sister-in-law Jessica (who just had her first baby, our adorable new niece AVERY- see previous blogs!!) asking me about all the pressure she was feeling during her pregnancy and I probably answered something like "Yeah, I remember that a bit - especially with the twins further along - feeling like they were going to FALL OUT if I didn't watch myself!".

But this was before Jess went on bedrest and we knew that her cervix was going to give her a run for her money. And this was before I was 24 weeks pregnant with quads and was now HYPERsensitive to any new "developments" down there... if you know what I mean (sorry guys). So when on Saturday, after Jeremy's last day at Sagasser, I woke up feeling like something was seriously amiss down there I was a bit alarmed. I mean, usually I get that crazy pressure at night now - and it's most days - but I also recognize that I'm on my feet A LOT during the day running with my boys and it's expected that I need to take a break at night and LISTEN to my body (per Dr. Jelsema...). So I do try. I really do.

But to feel that way from the word "go" in the morning was a big much. And, as I suspected, it only worsened as the day went on. It actually got to the point where it physically HURT if I was standing during the day - what? So, I as much as it pained me to tell Jeremy about it, because I KNEW that it would totally freak him out, I had to be honest. I'm not one for complaining, nor am I really one to ask for help - but I knew that at 24 weeks I was scared to be feeling the way I was feeling. And so Jeremy and I did our best to keep me in a semi-laying down position for most of the day (or in the pool - which I figure was just as good, if not BETTER since I'm all buoyant!!). Even when we went out fishing that night (might as well use that boat while we can since it hasn't sold yet - oh - and neither did our stinking house after ANOTHER open house that weekend... we're starting to think we may be in a bind here shortly... ugh. C'mon St. Joeseph!! Help him out, Angel Meadow!! Tick, tock, tick, tock...) I did my best to lay in the back most of the time - which isn't easy for anyone involved when you are fishing with two little ones!! (BLESS THAT HUBBY OF MINE! He even ended up going over-board to save a fishing pole that Caleb thought might catch more fish if physically plunged INTO the lake... opps... it was an honest mistake... I'm sure ANY 2 year old could make it... and we remember Aiden doing the same thing when HE was 2 - gotta' test those waters, right?)



And thankfully, after all that rest on Saturday, I woke up feeling like a million bucks on Sunday. Just goes to prove, once again, that those docs know what they are talking about. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY, TONYA. And Sunday was a fun day because we met up with our friends Ivan and Sue Martsyz from Tech!! They live way up in Marquette, so we obviously don't get to see them much, but they were in Gaylord for a soccer tourney with their two girls. THE BOYS LOVED SEEING REAL SOCCER MATCHES!!! So, thanks Ive and Sue, for letting us know you were in town - it was GREAT to see you!!


Belly pic... belly pics...




24 weeks pregnant. Look at me grow!


And 24 weeks was one of our very first "landmarks" with Dr. Jelsema at our initial appointment with him waaaaaaaaaaay back when. We have now officially reached the point in our pregnancy where our babies have a CHANCE at viability. What a yucky way to think about your babies... but that's how it was worded to us. Prior to now, if our babies would have decided to enter the world, they probably would not have had a chance at life. Yes, miracles DO happen (HELLO!) and I too have read stories where babies were born prior to this and survived. But for the most part, 24 weeks is where they begin to have a chance at life AND a chance at leading any sort of normal life. Granted, the odds are very low that children born this prematurely are born without major defects that hinder them and their lifespan - but it can happen. And so - WE FEEL SO BLESSED TO BE HERE. 24 weeks, and through another great miracle from our Lord above, we are still carrying four healthy babies and have not had too many complications or incidents to date. PRAISE BE!!




It's horrible to say, and we feel horrible THINKING it, but we can't help but feeling like we are just waiting for some bomb to drop. I know, I already acknowledged that it's not the greatest way to think... but, again, we just can NOT believe that things have went THIS well for us throughout our amazing quad pregnancy. Especially now that we ARE so close and have come THIS far... all the doctor's talk about is the delivery and birth and outcomes, etc... it's all SO real for us and becoming more so each and every day. And yet there are times when we honestly can't believe that we've come this far. Did I already say that? I know. -But thinking back on those first couple appointments when 24 weeks seemed SO VERY FAR away... and the risks so high... and the outcomes so unsure... we knew to take it one day at a time. And we have. Perhaps THAT's why it's so hard to believe that, one day at a time, we HAVE made it a whole 24 weeks. That's a LOT of days... and looking back we also completely underestimated the power of the love in our lives and how it would transform our journey. We were, and still are, blindsided by so much of what has, and is, happening to us through the grace of God and those around us...

Make ya laugh

Hit me up with some 'roids, would ya'?

I've always wanted to act all tough like that. And, finally... my chance at being a 'roider... ahhhhh... it's all I was hoping it was going to be... minus any new facial hair (ummmm... YET... and do notice I said NEW... that's enough on that topic).





Oh, and since I can't lift heavy weights I guess I don't know if I can bench press any more than I could prior to being on steroids either... or run faster... or jump higher... yeah, all sorta' out of the question, aren't they?




Huh.





Too bad for me I suppose - but ALL GOOD NEWS FOR OUR BABIES HOPEFULLY!!!



Yes, the beginning of week 23 brought on our first 2 rounds of steroid shots to help our babies lungs mature faster. They told us that we'll get 2 more rounds in about 4 weeks again. But that was after a great weekend up north enjoying some s'mores and golf with Grammie and Papa. Yes, we need to take stock in marshmallows these days because we are getting full use of our fire pit!! Here's some pics of the boys playing with Grammie and Papa (WHOM THEY ADORE!! - Go figure - they don't look like much fun, do they?) as well as tearing it up on the golf course. Our kids LOVE to golf, or really play ANYTHING that involves a ball, a hard object, sand, water, running (because, who WALKS to their ball?), being outside... OK, they love all sports. It's awesome!









But my mom and dad stayed up an extra day (which meant they had to take a day off work AND STILL drive home at 11pm at night - thank you so much!) so that my dad could watch the boys and my mom could take me to my ultrasound and first steroid shot on Monday afternoon. Dr. Madion's office is so great at trying to accommodate our schedules whenever possible... it's great because at times like this, when my parents weren't positive they would be able to make it up until the last minute, they still try to shuffle the schedule so that my mom could make it to my ultrasound. They are just the greatest staff working at GT Women's Clinic - LOVE THEM!!!



Anyhow, the ultrasound went great! I was surprised to see (and confirm with the ultrasound technician just in case...) that the babies still have enough room to CHANGE POSITION inside there!!! Poor little baby "A" has always been stuck down at the bottom in a transverse position... as I've mentioned before - it breaks my heart! Yet, despite this seemingly uncomfortable position, baby "A" still flip flops back and forth from having its head on my left, then on my right, then on my left, and now back on my right again! At my last Madion ultrasound app't baby "A" actually flipped while we were there! And then babies "B", "C", and "D" can't decide if they want to be head up or head down... but it appears that they prefer to all JUMP ON TOP OF BABY "A" as they have once again all arranged themselves in a head up position as better to torment little Baby "A" =( Yet only last week at my Jelsema ultrasound babies "B" & "C" were both head down? NUTTY!! Yet, through it all little baby "A" is quite the trooper - moving ALL OVER THE PLACE ALL THE TIME!! So, I suppose it's trying to prove that it's not going to be stomped on by its brothers and/or sisters in the womb or EVER!!!! Oooorrrrrr... I'm just dramatic.





And it turned out that the steroid shot wasn't any biggie. I didn't know what to expect for the steroid shot - I surprised myself by not really doing any research on it before I went (I knew what it was FOR, but not things like side effects, pain, limited activities, etc..). But it was no worse than any regular old shot - no side effects to speak of other than a little soreness, which is expected anyhow.







Belly pic... belly pic... belly pic...



Week 23:










Sorry for all the soap/Q-tip action in these pics... I need to pay a little closer attention to what I'm doing at times... oh, and I'll bet you are ALL appreciating that SHINE, aren't you? I took this puppy right after lubing up for the night.







That's right - lubing up. You have a problem with that?





You want to talk about it? Fine. I will. In both of our other pregnancies I had used this stretch mark cream called 'Magia Bella'. It had 2 different "phases" that you used (early and late pregnancy) and it GUARANTEED that you wouldn't get stretch marks or your moola' back. So, I thought to myself, what's to lose?!?!? So with our twin pregnancy with Aiden and Meadow I used it religiously after every shower and at night. As well as using cocoa butter lotion (and 100% cocoa butter stick) every night on top of it before bed. And, voila! No stretch marks!!





Now, was this due to the cream, good genes (my mother never had a stretch mark in her pregnancies either), or the fact that I took decent care of myself and didn't put on 200 lbs? Hmmmm.... you decide. But, regardless, I was happy.





So, naturally, when pregnancy #2 came along (little Caleb) I followed to same suit and, once again, no stretch marks!! By now, as you can imagine, I'm touting this stuff like I'm some sort of salesperson to every pregnant woman I know!! Unnnnnttttiiiilllll I was ranting and raving about it to a girlfriend who said "Oh yeah, I looked that stuff up and they don't make it anymore." (I think Dana brought it to my attention)





WHAT!?!?!?





My prego stretch mark prevention cream world came crashing down around me!! I felt like a sham, even though I wasn't technically the MANUFACTURER of the stuff, or stock holder, or ANYTHING other than a two-time pregnancy user.... I had recommended it non-stop to my friends and family and this company had the audacity to go out of business!?!?!





If I'm reading between the lines correctly, that would mean that I got lucky on that 100% money-back guarantee... or should I say THEY got lucky because perhaps I was one of the very few NOT to cash in on it???





Opps.





So, now, faced with the daunting task of stretching my skin to accommodate FOUR little babies inside me without tearing my skin to SHREDS... I was at a loss!! Back to the drawing board, or the Internet anyhow. I found a NEW miracle stretch mark prevention cream to use with, again, a 100% money-back guarantee (although I'm pretty positive they must have something in the fine print for multiples... but I don't REALLY care). And, no, I'm not telling ANYONE the name of this junk incase it turns up missing in a year or two as well. But for the time being it came with great reviews and by now, yes, I'm a tad superstitious (apparently). The only thing I'm trying to avoid with our quad pregnancy is tearing my ancient belly button ring scar from here to oblivion. I think I've mentioned that before. I am preparing myself mentally to get stretch marks, I don't see anyway around it with this one, but I just don't want to literally BURST any old wounds open or something!! (yes, I saw something on a mother of multiples whose belly got so big her skin was literally splitting open and bleeding!! ahhhH!!!!)





Forget about those of you who want to shake your head at me - I'm just being HONEST!!! What woman out there goes into ANY pregnancy saying "Golly. I sure hope I get some nice stretch marks out of this one!" Nobody WANTS them - but they HAPPEN. I'm just going a bit over the top (according to some, I'm sure) to do what I can to prevent the process being any more horrific than it's bound to be. Oh, and after my miracle cream application at night I also apply cocoa butter lotion and my yoga oil all over my belly.... THAT'S (getting back to the whole beginning of this blurb) where the beautiful belly sheen comes from in this weeks pic =) And talk about smelling awesome - Jeremy and I both LOVE IT. I still try to do a couple yoga postures every night before bed to unwind (it's been a nightly ritual to do ~1/2 hour of yoga every night before bed - but I am limited pretty extensively now) and the oil is all part of the process... including the 'Enya' CD.... relaxes you just thinking about it, doesn't it?



The end of week 23 brought some pretty emotional times in our house... Jeremy had his last day at Sagasser & Associates, Inc. where he has been for 9 years now. He is leaving to pursue a great opportunity in Traverse City with another consulting firm, ECT. It is an exciting move for Jeremy and I know he will do exceedingly well, but at the same time he was very sad to leave Sagasser. My husband is one of the most loyal, dedicated, CARING employees anyone could hope to have on staff and he took his job and place at Sagasser to heart. When Jeremy started there 9 years ago he was the third guy in the door, so he had been through a lot with the company and was on a very personal level with the other owner's. At the same time, Jeremy learned most everything he knows about environmental engineering/consulting from his boss and fellow co-work at Sagasser and feels forever endebted to them for taking him in under his wing. This was the type of office that actually enjoyed spending time together most every Friday (by ~4:15pm... cough, cough...) at the Big Buck unwinding a bit from the work week. They had their own little "family" where they all looked out for each other and offered what a large-scale corporation setting could not - treating each other as PEOPLE. Jeremy loved those guys and they will be dearly missed. But we as a family are looking forward to our new future.


And Jeremy is leaving this all behind for our family. Period. Yes, as I mentioned, it IS a great opportunity for him in Traverse City, but I also know that our expanding family catapulted him to move on in his career... even if it meant breaking outside that "comfort zone" that comes with 9 years of service at one amazing place.

With this whirlwind in our lives, so many people have given so much... we've talked about this, and will continue to talk about this daily as the outpouring of support amazes and touches us so deeply. But, through it all, the life-changing decisions that Jeremy and I have made in moving forward with what we feel is best for our family have probably been the most difficult on my husband. I don't want to say that I haven't had my fair share of ups and downs through it all, but being that I am the one carrying these babies my focus is so directed. It really is just different... and not in any sort of condescending way... but different none-the-less. And the boys are both too young to really know the difference. Life will be what it will be and they are certainly young enough to adapt. Soon enough they, like all of us over here at the Lew house, will only have distant memories of what our lives were like prior to being a family of 8. And that's certainly OK. But I do not want to overlook the sacrifices that my loving husband has made along the way for our sake. I see the sadness in his eyes and know it's all exciting and yet terrifying at the same time.



PLEASE don't take me the wrong way - we are very much looking forward to our new lives and welcoming our new babies into our family! But please also understand that we are human and as much as we KNOW we will be OK no matter what God hands us... and we KNOW that material things are just that... material THINGS. We know that that Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away... we know it well having lost our Angel Meadow and we harbor no resentment in understanding that the Lord had a better place for her to be with Him. But we also can't help but give into that little self-indulgent sides of ourselves that is whispering "You've both worked so hard to get where you are and have these beautiful things to enjoy!!! And now they will all be gone? Boo hoo for you." Yes, an extremely small 'price' to pay for the opportunity for fulfill God's chosen path for our family... no question about it. And we also know that we will gain so much more appreciation in our lives as well in having to work for it a bit harder now. This is a good thing - we can all use the reminder of how gracious our Lord has been in providing for each and every one of us. It's so easy to get caught up in the "But I worked HARD for that!" mentality and some sense of "ownership" over these petty materialistic THINGS in life. But, we know, nothing is truly ours without His giving them to us.




I love my husband for his unfailing support and I love our family that we have created together. I can't wait to see what other little miracles we will be adding to our brood - and hug and kiss them all nightly with praises of unending love from mommy and daddy. ALL of our children will ALWAYS know that they are loved - no question about it... there is no shortness of energy for hugs and kisses and words of encouragement in our household... nor will there ever be. I believe that each and every one of us finds the time for what is important to them in life.




(are you snickering at me? you think it's funny that i can write this without any CLUE as to how much energy four babies, a two year old and a four year old can take up? welllllll....)

The Puzzle by Lew

Saint Joseph is buried upside down in Meadow's garden. I mean come on! It's Saint Joseph in Meadow's garden! Meadow has some serious pull, plus she's our Guardian Angel, and Saint Joseph, I mean come on!

This mofo needs to sell - that belly is approaching watermelonesque stature!

So, puzzle still looks the same...

Other than that, alls well with the Lewandowski Family!

Thanks again for thinking of us!

Love
Lew

Ya'll Rock Man by Lew

I been blawg blocked for a bit...

The lady with the four babies or whatever in her belly seems to have a lot to blawg about eh?

Okay, yeah, the title of this blog - That's right, all you, ya'll rock man! Ya'll know who you are. Family, friends, people we have never met - not a day goes by where we don't think about, shake our heads about, and hold back the tears for all the crazy stuff ya'll are doing for our family. Heck man, people we have never met, people who have never met us? Ya'll are crazy!

Seriously though, Tonya and I know that ya'llses prayers have helped us and The Quads. My knuckles are all jacked up from knocking on wood, but gosh dang man our Specialist, the man that deals with the miracle we are going through kind of a lot, said Tonya should be the freakin' posterchild for quad moms! The Quads = perfect! We wonder how the heck all can be going so well? As we've mentioned, something about percentages and stuff when you are pregnant with four babies are just so not in your favor. Then it hits us, we have hundreds of prayers peppering the man each night - he has no choice but to throw some bones down to Bellaire for us!

So, I had a chat with my girl Meadow on Tuesday night (had a bit of alone time on the homestead). I asked her what she thought would be a good start for somehow putting together a Masta Thank You Plan to all ya'll nutzos. She said we should start by treating each and everyone of ya'll as family.

Ya'll are welcome to our house, any day, any time. Period. We know ya'll have helped us in so many different ways, we want everyone that has thought of us, said a prayer for us, anything, we want ya'll to be a part of this. This is a miracle! Ya'll are helping with this miracle. So, by the power vested in Lew, ya'll are hereby considered honorary Aunts, Uncles, Nieces, Nephews, Grandmas, Grandpas, etc.

We just love ya'll - thank you.

Not sure what gives with the 'ya'll' thing, but it came to my fingers and they just had to type it that way...

Love Ya'll
Lew

Go cervix, go!

A tad bit TMI on that title? Oh well... you must've learned by now how I operate.


But before I go any further we have a major news breaking story in the Lewandowski Family!!! Jessica and Hans had their first baby yesterday morning at 6am!!! YAHOO!! Little Avery Helga Hegge was born at almost 38 weeks (what a miracle after Jess being in the hospital and complete bed rest for MONTHS of her pregnancy - you are such a trooper, Jess!!) at a very healthy 6#13oz!!! I am FINALLY an Aunt and Jeremy an Uncle!! It's been a LONG time coming, folks - we are SO EXCITED!!! And the boys will FINALLY have a cousin to play with - double yahoo!! Mommy and baby are doing fantastic and we are SO SAD that we can't be downstate with them all celebrating with them =( We can't wait to meet baby Avery... we just can't wait... congrats Jess and Hans! You will be the best parents - so much love and compassion between the two of you... we couldn't love you more. (and our new little niece!)


And now... back in the Lew Crew life...

After making it into our 20th week and surviving our very emotional last trip downstate for the foreseeable future - we were back to the doc's office to see how that cervix was holding up... you know... that BED REST AT 20 WEEKS thingy that has been forever looming over our heads - yikes! Plus I was in my last week at work too, which was a pretty somber and emotional time for me. (as if it takes much when you have prego hormones times FOUR!)

Here are a couple of pics from our surprise shower at my parents house... Jeremy, Caleb and I opening gifts and then look how cute a pic of Aunt Kristy & Caleb !!!



At my regular OB appointment with Dr. Madion we learned that my cervix essentially hadn't MOVED!! WHAT?!?! He is so awesome, with nothing but praise and continual comments on how my body is holding up so amazing throughout this quad pregnancy - it feels so good to get all that positive energy from a professional! And he took more time looking closely at the shapes of each of the babies heads this week too - another very telling sign as to the health of the babies (says them) - and Dr. Madion thought they all looked very symmetrical and well shaped!! The ONLY down side to this appointment was when he brought up the word "hysterectomy". Uhhhhh... what? We were discussed delivery and timetables with development of the babies and he indicated that "quite a few" second/third/more-time mother's of high-order multiples actually end up having a complete hysterectomy after delivery of their babies because of hemorrhaging. Once again, WHAT? Once we talked it through, it all makes a whole lot of sense, of course. Your uterus is like a big stretched out blob and you have FOUR plactentas separating from the uterine wall at the same time.... that's a lot of blood... and dealing with a moppy uterus that isn't exactly in prime time condition to snap back into it's pre-pregnancy shape, constricting to help cut off the bleeding from where the placentas have detached. Plus my poor uterus has been through a twin and single pregnancy already - so I'm sure that doesn't help the cause - in this regard anyhow. Yep. Makes sense. It just struck me as a little odd that it had never come up at this point? NEVER heard the word prior to this appointment, no mention what so ever of the possibility of this happening. I suppose Jeremy's comments about me being stitched up (ha... ha... haa.....) wouldn't come into play so much if this was actually the case - but then again I'm no where NEAR fired up for a COMPLETE hysterectomy and to be on hormones the rest of my life!! And it's just so... so... FINAL. And sort of a loss of all that womanhood I've come to appreciate so much more over the past 4-5 years... just odd to think about.

Don't get me wrong, it is what it is. And, at this point we do not have the energy to "waste" worrying about something that we have no idea whether or not it will happen until they have safely taken all our babies out and see how my body within responds to all that bleeding. And, quite honestly, if I have to try and put myself on that operating table right now (which I can't do without tearing up) I am 110% sure that I will CARE LESS if I am having a hysterectomy - I want to see and hold my babies and make sure they are all healthy!! Do what you need to do doc, just git 'er done so that I can get moving forward focusing my attention on our precious little ones!!!

Anyhow, enough about that (although, any of you quad moms out there who know of anyone who had to have this procedure done, I'd be interested to hear more and do add'l research...).

The other sad milestone as we came into our 21st week, other than the end of my engineering career which I've already talked about, is that Wendy, our nanny, and her two daughter, Chloe and Isabelle, would no longer be working for us since I'd be home full time. As excited as I was to have that time with the boys to myself, we LOVED Wendy and her girls like family... they are the sweetest, most giving people you could possibly meet - and I know our boys will miss their play friends (Aiden & Chloe and Caleb & 'Belle are ABOUT the same age, so it works out well!). And, wouldn't you know it, on Wendy and the girl's last day Chloe fell off the back of our couch and broke her arm. No stinking joke. So they spent the whole morning at the hospital and then once we found out what was going on Jeremy came home so that Wendy could attend to little Chloe in the comfort of her own home - HOW SAD!!! That's no way to end it all!!! But, we will always hold a special place in our hearts for the Lanning family - Wendy and Brian (her hubby) are also expecting soon, they have #3 on the way this July!! We wish them all the best...




Belly pics - belly pics - belly pics -



Week 21:

So, exhaustion has set in... is it all a mental thing, or the fact that being home full time with EXTREMELY ACTIVE 2 & 4 year old boys is a tad more taxing on the system than sitting/standing at a computer and commuting for 10 hours/day? Hmmm.. you decide =) I laughed at my doc when he told me that I shouldn't be driving that far 2x/week and needed to quit... because I pretty much KNEW which of the two options would be harder on my prego self... but I understand from a safety standpoint - just kind of ironic all the way around...

And I really started to feel my growth this week too. Like, FELT IT because my skin was pulling SO TAUT that I was just waiting to look down and see stretch marks cropping up all over my belly!! Not that a belly button ring scar from days gone by would ACCENTUATE that feeling or anything... nahhhhh... I'm SURE that scar will have NO PROBLEMO holding up during the entire course of this quad pregnancy... (I give it 2-3 weeks max before it spontaneously combusts!!)

Anyhow, I am TOTALLY digging being home with the boys - for sure. It feels SO GOOD to actually be able to dedicate 100% of my time to THEM when I am here now. Even though I was "only" in the office 3 days/week and worked from home 2 days/week I always tried to help people understand that it wasn't all so easy. I mean I was SO GRATEFUL that I was able to do it!! No question about it!! But I was also constantly having to "No guys, mommy has to work. I can't read you a book." "Sorry buddy, mommy has to take a phone call - PLEASE be quiet until she is done." and so on, and so on.... and I was also handcuffed to a computer and cell at ALL TIMES. I needed to check my email at least every 1/2 hour to be available and so between that fact and actually getting anything DONE - there was a WHOLE LOT of "Mommy can't right now." going on in our house... I know how confusing it must've been for the boys that I was home... but not really because I couldn't DO much with them most of the time I was "there".

PLEASE DO NOT UNDERSTAND - I am forever grateful to Gosling Czubak for allowing me the opportunity to be home with my boys 2 days/week!!! But being HOME with them, without any other agenda, is spectacular... I love being a mommy... I love to play... I love knowing that at the end of the day I haven't missed a single smile, a single hug, or a single snuggle on the couch reading a book...

The end of our 21st week/beginning of our 22nd week we were also ON TV BABY!! I know, Jeremy already mentioned it and God bless whoever found the link on TV 7&4's website (because I still haven't!) so we can share our excitement!! It's just hilarious... I mean, they were here for about 2-1/2 HOURS filming and interviewing our family and to imagine how they possibly cut down to like 40 seconds... and yet! Aiden still managed to make his TV debut picking his nose.... of ALL the footage they had to choose from (which included some nice ripping of that baseball in the front yard!) - boogers it is. Oh well - you win some, you lose some little dude. I really want to see if I can find the full transcript - I need to dig into the website more... but check it out if you get time (see response to Jeremy's blog a while back where someone posted the link - sorry I don't remember who right now!).

Grandma Lew also came up to visit with us over Memorial Day weekend and JUST MISSED her chance at super-stardom on TV with us =) It was nice to have her up - especially dicey with her visiting since Jess and Hans were due in only a couple of short weeks (SEE ABOVE little Avery!!)!! Here's a pic of her at the campfire with the boys...

Week 22:

HOLY BELLY BATMAN!!! That's 36-3/4" around now!!!

I had the honor of being escorted to my ultrasound appointment at Munson by my friend Kris today - thank you for the shuttle and good company!! This was another one for Dr. Jelsema and so they always take a bit longer since they do the full gamut of measurements each time (LOVE IT!). In my follow up consultation with Dr. Jelsema the next day (because, again, we "compromise his schedule" on his days in Traverse City with the number of babies we have to look at so we do the ultrasound on one day and then discuss with Dr. Jelsema on a different) he was once again super optimistic with how the babies are doing!!! It's just an incredible, incredible blessing... I still can NOT believe that we have made it this far and ALL FOUR BABIES LOOK HEALTHY and are developing well!! I thank ALL of you for your heartfelt prayers - that's how we have gotten to this point - I am convinced... prayers and the grace of our good Lord for sure.

Anyhow, my cervix is still holding up like a champ - which is "miraculous" according to both Madion and Jelsema for this stage of the game. Who'd have guessed I had such a strong cervix? The beauty of the female body is so much more than skin deep... and becoming a mother, experiencing all that pregnancy, child birth, nursing, etc. I know that I have truly come to realize and APPRECIATE my body so much more. I have often told Jeremy in the past that I feel sorry for him because he will never have the opportunity to experience all that I have throughout the journey of pregnancy and birth.... keep in mind that this is NOT said in a mean way, and he's usually holding a beer looking at me (water in hand) going "Uh huh. I'm so happy for you. I'll just live it all vicariously through you, T." No hard feelings there, eh? Hee, hee... Anyhow, due to the fact that my cervix is still measuring almost that of a non-pregnant woman at 22 weeks into a quad pregnancy (go cervix, go cervix! ok, enough out of me...), Dr. Jelsema told me that he has a tremendous amount of confidence that I will not go into preterm labor in the 2-4 weeks - HUH? COME AGAIN?? That is like THE ABSOLUTE BEST, MOST ENCOURAGING WORDS EVER!!! This comment is followed up with the necessary "Of course ANYTHING can happen, and there are NO GUARANTEES, but that is my thoughts on it as of today." I'll take it!


The only thing that came up in my consult is that my iron is crazy low (but it was zero surprise due to his "diluted kool-aid" explanation from like week 10 and the fact they had to take me off iron pills because it was adding to my projectile vomiting problem...) and that the babies have begun to fall a LITTLE off their gestational age growth in terms of measurement. But, this too was expected and Dr. Jelsema was not "alarmed" by it. I have read about it in all of my multiples books and they said to typically expect the growth rate of quads to slow around week 20 due to primarily unknown factors... but they tend to all agree that it is due to the crowding problem that is beginning and the fact that my body thinks it's almost full term right now with a singleton pregnancy so it might somehow signal a slowing in the growth process?? But, as I think I mentioned earlier in a different blog, even though the babies might not MEASURE at 22 weeks exactly (and it WAS encouraging that they were all VERY CLOSE in size - (2) at 14 oz and around 21 weeks 4 days and (2) at 15oz around 21 weeks 5 days, all still measuring within a couple DAYS of their true gestational age) their bodily systems MATURE earlier due to the high number of fetus' within the uterus at the same time. So, all in all we were not too worried about being off by a couple of days in terms of their measurement. WE WERE GRATEFUL ONCE MORE FOR ALL THE GLORIOUS BLESSINGS IN OUR LIVES.


And this, my friends... FINALLY brings us up to speed as I am now 23 weeks... CAN YOU BELIEVE I FINALLY MADE IT!?!? Only took a coupla' weeks... not too shabby...

Get your belly flip books ready

Week 17 continued... with an emotional vengeance.


As if somehow on cue, over the next couple of days after our amazing ultrasound and phone consult with Dr. Jelsema went so well, we started to receive semi-mysterious phone calls and emails from some of our Tech friends. It started with Jen Wickstrom... whom, upon hearing about our quadruplet pregnancy took it upon herself to immediately spring into action doing everything she could to help our family out. And I mean EVERYTHING. She was one of the first people to call me with her heartfelt congratulations and comforting words of support that God has CHOSEN our family and that this was truly a blessing beyond words. She understood to miracle unfolding in our lives and had an amazing impact on us with her words of encouragement and enthusiasm. But it didn't stop there. Through her incredible connections and friendships at her and Ben's family church she spread the word adding us to prayer lists, as so many of you have done and thank you ALL for this as it is the greatest gift of all for our family. Then she came up with a plan to put together a "needs list" for our family and actively pursue filling in every blank she could think of to include on that list through her incredible network of friends and family.


When Jen first called me and then emailed me more specifics about this "needs list" I'm pretty sure I just sat there silent for a few minutes. I know I've said it before, but we have been so focused on the health of our babies that we honestly did not dedicate much of our prayers and/or thoughts the actual logistics of the "stuff" that we will need once we have our babies. Thank you Jen for lighting this torch and now sharing/passing the torch to Tonia Nemecek, who is now my "needs" shadow... she's awesome... and a great one for persistence (to which I stink right now).

Here's a pic I found of Tonia & her son Nicholas from 2 years ago when they were up... again... she's a mom so it was rough even finding THIS action shot of her (in which you see about zero of Tonia). And another pic from that same weekend with the dad's (Jeremy & Scott) holding Aiden and Nicholas' hands walking out in the water... MELT HEART HERE!!!

The hardest part for Jeremy and I, again, we've probably mentioned this before, is trying to push our embarrassment/pride out of the way during this incredible journey. As much as we can not BELIEVE how blessed we are with the amazing outpouring of support you have all shown, we also have a VERY TOUGH time accepting it all with our mouths closed (I don't close my mouth all that often, as most of you know!). So, when Jen and Tonia put on the "TELL US WHAT YOU NEED!!!" pressure - I clam up and have no idea how to respond. Yes, I KNOW what you girls want me to tell you and yes, we certainly have needs... but we do not want people to think that we are some sort of charity case. We are confident that we can DO IT, no matter what the obstacles financially and physically... we have each other as a family. But, yes again, the truth is that we need to get the heck over it and accept that we are in a wonderful place having this outpouring of support from all of you... so I just want to say that we're sorry for being so stinking slow to respond to ANY requests for Lew Needs info... and any talk of donations to US? Ugh. We would like to bury our heads in the sand and pretend it's not on the website it's so humbling... but please, PLEASE know how much we appreciate everything. ALL of you.


And Jen, who has spent every week since she first contacted me thinking of EVERYTHING (did I mention that already?) - I mean, the girl is even trying to find someone to donate a house/apartment to our family in Traverse City in the event that our house doesn't sell in time for the birth of our babies so we don't have to split up our family (tick, tock, tick, tock...) - UNBELIEVABLE. And it is 100% Jen, and I'm sure Ben too although he's the silent player in the back, right? (go figure the woman being the dominant one in the family... hee, hee...) We have no idea how to say thank you in a way that truly conveys how we feel, but thank you. The glory of God's work is so obvious in how you choose to live your lives and help those around you.


And then, shortly after Jen contacts us, Jeremy starts getting phone calls and emails from people like Tim Bonk, George Moeke, Nate Curell saying things like "Send me some pictures of your family and don't ask any questions." Uhhhh... what? "Email me some background info on you and T and a progression of how you got yourselves into this predicament - and don't ask any questions." "Where are you planning on living and when are you going to have the quads?" Mysterious alright. Not exactly the everyday phone call/email you expect from your old college buddies - I'm pretty sure of that. And then some mention about a weekly "conference call" where you all sit around and talk about US?? (which Jeremy is EXTREMELY jealous that he can't be a part of, by the way... he wants to drink beer over the phone with you guys too!! If only you weren't talking secret code talk about US...) At this point we still didn't know about the website and blog, and to this day we have no idea what ELSE they talk about (CLEAN that open mind here), but regardless, it's touching to know that you boys have taken the time to set up a weekly appointment with each other to talk about us. Even if your primary goal is an excuse to close yourselves into the den and drink a 6 pack of beer reliving the "glory days"... well, we're honored.





And now, Jeremy and I were officially one big pile of mush at the end of week 17. In addition to everything I mentioned above we also had friends calling and offering up their high chairs, car seats, pack n' plays, etc. - and Dana Salladay shows up for a play date with her daughters Jackie and Ava with her car completely loaded down with everything she could fit in it for us to have!! We never expected or saw any of this coming... We were at our emotional wreck limits and completely unaware of how to digest the fantastic news about the health of our babies, and the outpouring of support going on with all our friends and family. We dedicated entire nights to standing in our kitchen holding one another crying after the kids went to bed, reflecting on all the miracles taking place around us... there is just nothing we could do or say to give God and those around us enough praise. Please know the impact you have all had on our lives... we are forever changed.



OK - hush up, Tonya, and show us the goods.



BELLY PICS - BELLY PICS - BELLY PICS - BELLY PICS -


week 18 folks:






















Week 18 was the scariest week we have had to date during our quad pregnancy. OK, maybe minus those first 8-9 weeks - but it's a close call. As I just reported, week 17 went by and felt like some sort of crazy euphoric dream in retrospect. And then the DAY we hit 18 weeks it all came to a crashing halt because I got sick. And I mean S-I-C-K. I am SO VERY AWARE of how blessed we have been throughout our pregnancy in terms of my health and, even more so, the babies health. I have read about and heard horror story after horror story about how sick the mom's are throughout their pregnancies with crazy hormonal changes associated with a quad pregnancy. The only other mom to have quads in Traverse City, bless her heart, Kristin Godwin, was in the hospital on complete bedrest and an IV she was SO SICK at like week 5 of her pregnancy!! I think she lost like 30 lbs because she just could NOT keep anything in her body. Yes, LOST 30 lbs people. Pregnant with quads. Is that an oxymoron, or what? But, praise God, all four of her little girls were born healthy!! Anyhow, day 1 of week 18 began with Tonya nearly passing out in the shower. But the old "I'll be be fine - I just need to eat something - blah, blah, blah" mentality of this stubborn girl was a pretty bad call that day. I INSISTED (much to my husband's dismay) that I would be FINE and drove my arce into work (long story, but I'd been off several days the week before because our nanny and her kids had the flu! So the old work-time-off guilt thing kicked in... I know... I blow... DUMB). I discovered that I could literally not be on my feet for ANY MORE than 4-5 minutes without the black tunnel starting, light headed, starry eyes, ringing in the ears... HELLO, YOU ARE GOING TO PASS OUT, TONYA - SIT THE HECK DOWN!! I mustered through, barely, about 1/2 hour of near misses before I made it to the bathroom as quickly as possible to unload that "I'll be fine food". OK. Guess this was about the time I realized how scared I was about the whole situation. So I immediately called my doctor even though, thank GOD, I already had an ultrasound scheduled for later that day. They instructed me to "lay in bed and try to keep down any fluids possible until my appointment." and that I was in "no condition to drive a vehicle, so make sure someone brings you to your appointment." Hmmm... this just somehow didn't seem like the time to admit to them what a moron I was and had actually come into work that day. So. What did I do? Well, what any other woman would do in my condition... I locked myself in a conference room (man, I hope no one from work actually reads this blog...) for a couple hours sleeping on and off and then, gulp, drove myself to my appointment. Yes, not one of my smarter moves in life (from the word GO that day), but again, that huge TLew "I can do it" pride thingy tends to be a bother sometimes... Anyhow, I think I managed to hold down like 3 almonds and a sip of water prior to my appointment and then I tried to eat a kashi bar or something on the way over... which I promptly gave back to the system when I got there. I am pretty sure I fell asleep on the ultrasound table waiting for the doc (yeah, all 8 minutes of waiting... I was pathetic) - and then finally found out that my blood pressure was registering me like... oh yeah... DEAD it was so stinking low. Once Dr. Madion came in (and woke me up) he told me that it's typical around mid-pregnancy for your blood pressure to take a nose dive for a bit - and, like with most everything else, the more babies you have, the more severe the symptoms. And I have low blood pressure to begin with, so it didn't exactly come in handy for once. But other than that, the babies looked GREAT still and all he could say to me over and over was "You are doing so great, Tonya! I am SO encouraged by how well you are doing with this quad pregnancy and how healthy the babies look! We couldn't be happier for you!" Now, normally this type of enthusiasm is met by a bolt of YAHOO's! And high five's out of TLew. But on this particular day it was all I could do to keep my eyes open and look at him and say "Are you serious? I feel like death warmed over. Are you sure I'm going to be OK?" All the while I was saying this I honestly didn't WANT to tell him any of it either because I was SO AFRAID that this was the beginning of the end of my freedom. And I mean it. I thought FOR SURE that bedrest was INEVITABLE after how my day had went and I was petrified that I was going to have to call Jeremy and the boys and be like "Mommy's not coming home... she's in the hospital on bedrest until forever..." Ohhhhhh...I was scared... but I think deep down I knew that I'd made enough bad judgement calls over the course of that day NOT to be completely up front and honest with him about how I felt; couldn't eat, couldn't drink, couldn't stand, couldn't anything. But - he gave me the ole "Atta girl" and sent me home (no - he didn't know that I had drove myself... I didn't tell him THAT part...). He reassured me that I should try to keep down any fluids, chicken broth (HIGH SODIUM CONTENT) I could and that I would TOTALLY recover over the next couple days. Okeedokee. I was smart enough - if I can say that - given the fact that I HAD to get home - in driving. I pulled over several times just to rest my eyes (this was an effort to keep them open) and took as long as necessary to get home. Thankfully I didn't have the pass out issue so much in a sitting position, so it was fine.


Oh, and yes, I learned my lesson.


NEVER underestimate the power of a quadruplet pregnancy and the havoc it can reek on your body. You may not just "be fine" so, like Dr. Jelsema says "listen to your body and be smart."


Duh.


And wouldn't you know it? After 3-4 days in bed and doing a lot of reading books with the boys laying on the couch ("Mommy, why don't you want to play with us?" INSERT FEELING HORRIBLE HERE!!! AND NOT FROM THE SICKNESS!!!!) I felt about 90% by the end of the week! So those doctor's DO know what they are talking about.... jeeeeeesssshhhhhhhh.....



week 19:

This was a great week - still recovering a tad, but for the most part I felt like "me" again and all was well in TLew pregoland...
















week 20:
I THINK I GREW AGAIN!!! WOWEE!!!

Look at the difference from week 19 to 20!!! It's nuts!!

This was Mother's Day weekend and we made our official "last trek" downstate to see all our family for the rest of this pregnancy (with clearance from the doc). It was great to see Jeremy's sister Jess prego one last time (for us) and visit with Lew family in from all over the country (Alaska baby!!!). We had a blast - although time is ALWAYS much too short... and then my mom and Jeremy pulled off a surprise baby shower for us on Saturday evening!! It was just awesome!! I felt like it was a scaled-back version of our wedding where you want to see and talk to EVERYONE THERE for hours, but in reality you get about 10 minutes top with each of them and come away wishing for more.... I couldn't believe the friends and family that hiked over to my parents house to see us and all of the amazingly generous gifts we received!! Thank you SO MUCH to all of you- especially my mom who KNEW that I was NEVER going to give the official "green light" to have a baby shower for us... again... yeah... you're sick of hearing about the pride, I know... me too. And managed to sneak one in on me anyhow... we appreciate it so much. But more than anything, honestly, is just our friends and family who were THERE. They all came and brought their entire FAMILIES which I LOVED!!! Being together is all that matters... especially since we know that our travels will come to a screeching halt here in for the next couple years (or longer?) so it'll be more and more difficult to see anyone... unless they want to sleep in a pop up outside our double-wide once we finally land in Traverse... hee, hee... WE'D LOVE IT!!! I know that as most of us have gotten older, had our own families and careers, we all appreciate the time we get together so much more. This is SO true and telling for how we felt that weekend - we KNEW this is the last time we will probably see so many of you - possibly for YEARS - and it was so great, yet bittersweet at the same time... we love each and every one of you so much... please know that even though we may be invisible and caught up on our own very real madness for a while to come here - we will be thinking of you all constantly and praying that God shed His light on your families as you have down for ours...





I miss you all so much already....