Visit to Pediatrician and a Bath for Matt

Today was a busy day. Sam, Naty, and Sofi had a pediatrician appointment in the morning, and passed inspection with flying colors. They had all gained 3-5 oz since Monday (exceeding the goal of 1 oz for the period), and the doctor said they are thriving at home. Lots of pictures from this... they were too cute.


We had an extra long visit with Matt (yay!) while Tere and Nana babysat the three at home. We got to hold Matt for quite a while, then bathe him. The bath was a lot of fun, and he seemed to be pretty relaxed. He has had a couple of good feedings (one where he took all 46 mL by bottle), but a couple where he was tired. The doctors think one day it will just click and he'll be home free from there.

Tomorrow is the big baby shower back in Michigan for the local folks. True to Martin tailgate form, it will be more of a family style barbeque-party than a traditional shower. We'll be attending via webcam, and I'm sure the babies will be stars!

Thursday's Update / And the winner is...

Hi everyone! Today was a great day. All four babies are doing very well. Sam, Sofi, and Naty have adjusted to the routine at home, and look forward to their feedings every three hours. Dan, Tere, Nana, and I all work together on the daytime feedings, and we do two person shifts at night. The magic feeding times are 1, 4, 7, and 10 PST. They are sooo cute looking all around when you feed and play with them. Tomorrow is their second pediatrician appointment to make sure they are gaining weight. They've almost doubled what they were eating in the hospital last week (from under 30 mL to 50-60 mL per feeding), so we're hoping that means they are on track. :)

We saw Matthew tonight, he is as cute as ever and is holding his own ... no supplemental oxygen, and normal temps in the open air crib. The last goal is still eating consistently without the IV and the docs think this will just click one day. Most babies learn this at 35-36 weeks, which would be sometime in the next week for him. The doctors keep reassuring us that he is right on schedule and not to worry, the three at home are just overachievers.

For all of the Nana fans out there, Nana is doing great. She recouped well from the long flight to Phoenix, and had a really nice swim this morning. She has been a star feeder (mostly feeding her namesakes Sofia Nina and Samuel Martin). And she cooked us all a chicken dinner tonight, yum!

We'll post more pictures tomorrow, which is the official beginning of what would be week 35. Thanks for all of the posts!!!

And now to the winner.... The winner is












Mr. Uncle DJ

p.s. We did NOT pick him just because we thought this picture was hilarious. Whut? Hope you are having a great honeymoon Deej and Em, we miss you!!

Quads meet their Nana - Matthew off assisted breathing! - And a Competition!

Hi everyone, a couple of really cool things today! Melissa's grandmother, Olga Nina Martin (aka Nancy) arrived today to help out. She was so cute with her Great Grandbabies!! She was an instant hit and an incredible help. Now we have her, my Mom, Melissa and I. The extra persons help with the feedings, cleaning, etc is a real welcome break.

Melissa and I went over to see Matthew again today. He is doing very well. He is completely off assisted oxygen and is out in a open air bassinet (without any heat support). They are waiting for him to be able to take a complete feeding in 30 minutes consistently for a couple of days without fatiguing. Currently he needs 46 mL of formula every 3 hours. He is able to take about half of that in the 30 minutes and he gets tired..But, that is up from only 10mLs. He is making progress. Still no definite ETA on his discharge. We are hoping very soon. We took a couple of pictures at the NICU (posted!)

And finally, the 3 that are home are doing great. Feeding really well and generally heathly. Posted on the right is the 3 together in one bassinet. We thought that was so cute..

We'll give a special reward, a night with the quads :), to who can first post the correct order of the 3 in the picture! Matthew will be included later..

One more thing, Melissa and I went out to dinner for the first time since May! We went to a nice Sushi restaurant within walking distance of our apartment..That was fun, thanks Nana and Abue for babysitting!!

Happy Birthday to the Quads! and the Doctors

Hi everyone, Today is the Quads' one week birthday! It is amazing that much time has passed already. With Sammy, Natalia and Sofia home, we have now settled into our 3 hour feeding/changing routine, dividing up the work, living by the alarm clock, etc. We went to the pediatrician's office today with the 3.. Boy what an adventure. We had three car seats in my Mom's Honda, plus Mom and Dad, but we made it! They are so cute in their little car seats...I included pictures of that and of the doctor's visit...The appointment went really well. They are all gaining weight, feeding well and holding their temperatures. The doctors continue to be amazed that the 3 made it out of the hospital in 4 days. We have another appointment on Friday.

My mom and I went to the hospital to visit Matthew. He is also doing well, now he is in an open crib. He is working on his breathing and eating. Matthew will probably be in the NICU for another 1-2 weeks. At that point he can fly, and we will all come back to Michigan!

One other note, Melissa's grandmother (Nana) is coming tomorrow to help out. We are very excited for her arrival and look forward to some very cute babies with Great Grandmother pictures!!

Thanks everyone for your comments and posts, it really is so sweet and touches us!

Take care..

P.S. There are loads of pictures at

http://picasaweb.google.com/dsalinasd


 

Hi again from Arizona!

We've had a great weekend here. Sam, Naty, and Sofi are all eating well and are little sweetie pies. They've had fun with their aunts, uncles, cousin, and grandparents who were here through the weekend. My mom and dad and Silvia and Wes flew home last night, while Kelli, Geoff, and Kaitlyn head home later today. It was fun having the whole crew here.

Today we are hanging out at the apartment and making trips to the hospital to see Matthew. He has been doing great. He is off the c-pap breathing support and is breathing room air, and has been eating portions of his meals with the bottle. The next goals are to eat fully with the bottle (46 cc every three hours), and to stay in an open air bed while maintaining his body temp. It's up to him to set the pace, the NICU takes it one baby step at a time based on his cues.

Tomorrow Sofi, Sam, and Naty have their first pediatrician appointment. This week the baby staff will be down to Dan, Dan's Mom, and I... we'll miss the extra help, but are up for the job. We'll keep you posted!

First night at home

The babies made it through their first night at home! Everyone has been chipping in feeding, changing, and spoiling the babies, and we starting recording their "ins and outs" using custom spreadsheet technology designed by Uncle Wessy.