Micro Preemie Monday with Quadruplets

1. Tell us about your babies

Our quadruplets were born on March 11, 2012 at 25 weeks and 5 days. Cooper was 1 lb 13 oz, Brody was 1 lb 15 oz, Ashlyn was 1 lb 14 oz, and Kylie was 1 lb 5oz.

2. How long was your NICU stay? What was the hardest part?

Our NICU stay was 121-137 days. They started coming home a few weeks after their due date. It was really hard not knowing how they were going to cope while being in the NICU. We had a grade 3 brain bleed, 3 PDA surgeries, ROP surgery, and G-tube/Nissen surgery. It was also very hard to not hold my babies right away. The first baby to be held was Brody at a week old. The last baby to be held was Kylie at 6 weeks old. Can you imagine going 6 weeks without holding your baby?! It was torture! The absolutely worst part was saying good night to them and everything was fine. Getting a phone call in the early morning to rush down to the NICU and being taken into a private room to talk to the doctors about one of your children is something no parent should have to experience. I cried more in a span of a month then I have in my whole life.

3. Do you know what caused your premature birth?

Having a higher order multiple pregnancy is very high risk and most quad pregnancies deliver pretty early. We were advised to abort two of the babies and were told that if we continued with a quadruplet pregnancy our children would most likely have severe disabilities from being delivered early. We had set a goal to get to a minimum of 28 weeks but were not able to reach that.

4. How are you and your babies doing now?

The kids are 3.5 now and doing absolutely amazing! They do attend a fantastic preschool where they get OT/PT/Speech but they are hitting their milestones and progressing very well. They are very energetic and have big imaginations. All four kids tend to wheeze when sick and our one boy is on a daily inhaler for Asthma. Our son had his g-tube taken out just before his 3rd birthday. Both our girls had their tonsils and adenoids taken out due to sleep apnea. I am doing really well. I have become a very anxious person since being in the NICU and tend to get really anxious over little things. I still get teary eyed when a popular song from 2012 comes on and it brings me right back to being in the NICU.

5. What advice would you give to a new preemie parent?

It’s ok to cry. It’s ok to cry. It’s ok to cry. Being a preemie parent is not easy and it’s a club that no one should be a part of. Make sure you join a support group, Facebook has some amazing support groups. Also, take some time for yourself and your significant other while your child is in the NICU. You need to step away from the NICU at times and heal. Being in the hospital is a very stressful environment and you need to nurture and focus on your relationship as well.