All About COLE

I am so behind on posting about each of the babies. I had really good intentions and then Haiden got sick, so blogging had to take a back seat. I am up and ready to blog.

Cole Austin Perez, he was always the calm laid back baby. Every time they would ultrasound me, he would just being laying flat on his back or on his tummy. He was baby B, so he was between Ella (his partner in crime) and Cooper. He too would let them measure him at all the ultrasounds, He just went with the flow of things. Cole was also one of the babies that kind of flew threw the NICU stay. When he was born he initially had more trouble breathing, so they intibated him and gave him the surfactant right away. He was the last of the babies they brought for me to see in the recovery room, because of his breathing issues. However, once he received the surfactant, he was able to come off the ventilator and be put on CPAP. This all happened before I had even got to see him. When they rolled him up to my bed, I remember seeing this dark purple line on his stomach, they said that he probably bumped an instrument when they were pulling him out of my stomach, since it turned into an emergency c-section.

He was the first of the baby I got to hold. I will never forget that moment, I just looked at him, and tears just started pouring down my face. He weighed 2lbs 7oz & 14in long. So when they handed him to me, it was like holding a wrapped up blanket with nothing inside, but inside was the sweetest & hairiest baby. He had black hair all over his body, and jet black hair, which is still jet black. He is the only one of the six kids that their hair stayed black. I remember when the NICU nurses made him a name sign, they put a turtle on it. Well we quickly found out that was the wrong animal to pick for him. He was more like superman, and that is what everyone called him. He was always trying to get out of his snugly, he would put himself, in what looked like the most uncomfortable positions. However, if you tried to reposition him, his stats would drop. What a stinker. The funny thing is he stills sleeps like that. The only added thing he does now when he sleeps is, suck his thumb! He had one of our favorite nurses Amy and Kay. They would always call him a flirt, because every 3 hrs like clock work, he knew when it was time to eat. So he would be wide eyed just waiting on someone to come and tend to him. If they didn't get there in what he thought was a fast enough time, then he would drop his stats and make his alarms sound. He always knew how to get the ladies attention. He was the second in line to get his CPAP off and put on nasal cannula. Just before he was to go up to level II NICU to join his sister, we experienced one of the most scariest events. They had just gotten through with all of their ROP exams. This sometimes can stress them out. Well our nurse for the day Patty was taking care of Cooper because he kept pulling off his CPAP. I was standing between Cole & Cooper's isolettes. I kept thinking I could hear one of their alarms going off, but nothing seemed to be sounding, when all of sudden I hear it again. I look over to Cole's machine, and his O2 and heart rate were dropping fast. I went over to rub his back to try to remind him to breathe, but had no luck. In the mean time Patty was still trying to take care of Cooper who was still having trouble himself. Patty asked me to flip him over, maybe that would be enough stimulation. When I flipped him over, not only was he not responding to touch, he was dark blue almost black! Patty made due with Cooper and turned Cole's nasal cannula all the way to 100%, but he still was in trouble, so she yelled for respiratory, and no one heard her, so I went into the middle walk area, and screamed for respiratory. Beverly, came running to Cole's bedside and had to bag him, thankfully she got him back. She is Cole's guardian angel. I was standing there watching this whole thing take place, and realizing I couldn't do anything to save him. I felt so helpless as a mother. After all the commotion, he settled down, and never had another one of those episodes. We all told Cole he didn't look good in blue, so he wouldn't be aloud to wear that color again. Yes, he is dressed in blue sometimes.

He was the first one to out grow preemie diapers. He did have SEVERE reflux, so they had him on Prevacid & Bethanchol. These two meds would help his reflux, because when he would starting refluxing he would drop his stats. He was one of my projectile pukers. He too did very well nursing, he took to it with no problem. He was also sent home on the apnea monitor and oxygen with feeds.

The day he and Ella were to come home, we were dressing them and getting ready to leave. Melissa our primary nurse, had us all loaded up, we had just said our goodbyes to Cooper & Casen, and the NICU people, when right in front of the elevator, his monitor started going off. Melissa looked at both of us, and said"now is your chance to prove you can work it" Great, we started scrambling, because this machine sounds like a whistle going off. Needless to say, I turned it off, because I was panicking. He seemed to do this every time we were at the Dr as well. He had a couple of blue spells, thankfully just needed a little rub and he was fine. Once he got home, poor Cole had such a hard time with this reflux, he was violently puking, he would get choked, and start turning blue. It was so scary, thankfully Christie had the tucker sling that she had used with her daughter. We put him in that, and he did so much better. It propped him up, to where he was basically sleeping sitting up. He finally got better so we were able to put him in his bed, propped up, but in his bed a couple of weeks later. He was always so laid back, didn't care if he was the last to eat, burp, get changed, what ever he waited. Well..............he has changed his mind on being laid back, he gets very upset, and kicks his legs, and yells, when has to wait. He really is going to work on this considering he has 5 other siblings. HA! He is still a cutie. He has so much personality!

We call him Colie Olie, his Auntie Heather started that, and she swears he's not her favorite. It's OK, we all know better! HA! He talks the most. He says Dada, Bye-Bye, Bubba & HEY! His bed is next to Ella so he slaps at her bed when he can't sleep, or is already awake to get her up to talk with him. It is so funny to hear them over the monitor. He always manages to steal her blanket from her. He has learned to pull up in his bed and slap the walls, making sure everyone knows he is awake. He has now taught the other 4 this trick. Thanks Cole:) He still has low muscle tone in his abdomen, which he receives ECI (physical therapy) for, they said it is one of those preemie things. He is doing so well. He wasn't sitting up, or even really trying to crawl when he started receiving ECI, which was in December. He is now crawling, sitting up by himself, pulling up to stand, and getting out of a standing position. His PT said that he will probably not qualify at his 6 mos re-evaluation. Of course the services are available to them until the age of 3 (if needed later). He is just a very cautious baby, so he is not necessarily slower, just wants to make sure he can before he does it. He weighs the same as Casen, but looks bigger. He was always the biggest baby, but not anymore. Cooper took that over.

Dear Cole Austin,

From the moment I saw you on the ultrasound screen I loved you. You are such a sweet, and very vocal baby. I love looking at you, and you smile the biggest smile. Your big brown eyes melt my heart. I love how you look at Haiden and just smile. You are such a little character. I will never forget the day I thought we were going to lose you, it is indescribable as a mother to describe what that really felt like. I am so grateful God's plan were for you to be with us, and allow your daddy & I to raise you. I can't wait to see what you will grow up to be. Your daddy & I will always be here for you. We will guide you and love you no matter what life brings you. I hope for you a wonderful full-filled life. You have a great Daddy & big brother that are wonderful role models for you. I love you, Cole Austin.

Love, Mommy

Quick Update

Well our prayers have been answered! Haiden actually has a boil, but now days they don't call it that, they still say staph infection. Now, there isn't such a huge panic in regards to the babies. Especially since it is not the MSRA. Thank Goodness! Over the weekend we kept putting the warm compresses on it, and finally Saturday night it popped. It broke my heart for Haiden because it was hurting him so bad, but after the pop so to speak, all of that area that was real hard and red, just came oozing out. I know TMI. He said it felt so much better, and I am sure he did since this infection was finally being able to escape his arm. We kept marking the area to make sure how much it was swelling and how far the red area was growing. Today it is still a little red, but it's not hard or really hot to the touch. It has continued to drain, so we are still taking all of the same precautions, but we are so glad he is feeling better. He will continue to be on the antibiotics for 7 more days. They just want to make sure no more pop up or it gets worse. Thank you to all who said a prayer for us.
Also I will be doing the Valentine Day post later, but Haiden getting better & continuing to protect everyone is more important right now.

Prayers Needed

Our oldest son Haiden was just diagnosed with a staph infection. He woke up with a red sore on his arm. It looked like a small pimple in the middle, but was red and swollen and hot to the touch. They also said he has 2 other spots on his left thigh. They are very concerned with him, plus our other fear and worry is now protecting the quads. This is the same staph infection that Cooper had in the NICU (MSRA). As you moms of multiples know it can be deadly. We are doing everything possible to stop this from spreading to the babies or anyone else in our family. Our pedi has been back and forth on the phone with us all morning coming up with the best game plan possible to protect everyone. They have put Haiden on an antibiotic and nasal cream, as well as calling it in for all of us. They are still talking with Infectious Disease Control doctors to find out if the babies are to young for this preventive nasal medicine. So please pray they quickly get answers so we can protect the rest of our family. Haiden is also scared because he heard the dr. talking about everything thing that was going to have to go into protecting the babies, and it from getting worse with him. He is such a sweet and loving boy. He is always worried about everyone else and their feelings. I told him not to worry and have faith in the lord and that we will get through this. I have been washing everything with HOT water, scrubbing with BLEACH, and spraying everything with Lysol. My husband is also worried sick because one of our friend's dad passed away with this exact infection. So please pray for Haiden, the babies, Kennedy and all of the rest of us. I know that GOD is watching over and protecting us, but you realize how quickly something that looked like a small pimple can turn into something deadly. We could really use your prays.

This is what I always say when I start feeling worried and stressed.

"This to shall pass" & "I can do all things with Christ who strengthens me"

All about Ella

Since February is a month that is all about love. I thought this would be the perfect time to blog about each person individually in our family. So I decided to start with Miss Ella Grace. She was the first born, and the gatekeeper during the 28wks and 5 day pregnancy. Little did we know she was going to be the smallest, yet the quickest to leave the NICU. You go girl. Plus she had to show her brothers who was still boss. I can remember the first time we were told I was pregnant, not even knowing at the time there were four lives growing inside me. My first thought was, I was pregnant with a girl at least one. The reason I say at least one, is because I had a gut feeling I was pregnant with more that one baby. OF, course quads never crossed my mind, but how blessed we are to have be chosen by God to be the parents of quads. Funny thing was she was the last baby we find out the gender for since she would never "show herself off" so to speak. That's the way to make your daddy proud. I remember just laying there while the technician kept trying and trying to find out her gender. Then Dr. Reiter came in to finish the ultrasound, and within one second says, baby A is a GIRL. I was so happy. One reason was because Haiden and Kennedy kept saying to us please let their be at least one boy and one girl. I was really starting to think Kennedy might not get her wish of having a baby sister, but as you know she did. It is so sweet to see those two together. Ella's face just lights up when Kennedy comes to hang out with her.

Let me back some: so we find out 1girl & 3boys. We had already had her name picked out. Actually her daddy named them all. Ella Grace, we thought was sweet, soft and an angelic name. Boy, we couldn't have picked a better name for her, because from day 1, that is exactly who she is. She never really moved much in my stomach, just enough usually to get comfy. We had a big scare with her very early on. I started bleeding pretty heavy at 12wks, I was taken straight to the ER, and had an ultrasound done, it showed Ella's placenta had a problem. Her placenta had not fully attached itself to the uterus, therefore a blood clot had formed between the wall and the placenta. Basically, two things would happen. It would dissolve, or it would completely tear off and we would lose her. Which would cause harm for the other babies, since she was at the bottom keeping everyone in. AKA:gatekeeper. Thankfully, within about 4 wks, the blood clot had dissolved, and everything progressed forward. There never was another problem with miss Ella during the pregnancy. She would always lay there and let them measure her during ultrasounds, and when I was put in the hospital for the remainder of my pregnancy she would never get off the monitors once they found her heartbeat.

Then came delivery day, she was the first out, and I kept asking is it a girl? Are you sure she's a girl, they just laughed at me in the OR. My sweet husband, looked at me and said "yes babe, she is a girl, I saw for myself". I will never forget the first time I laid eyes on her, she was so tiny, but yet so perfect. I had not been there 2 seconds before she began to cry this was so heartbreaking to hear, because she was so tiny, and it took so much out of her. I just wanted to scoop her up and hold her to make it all better, and be a real mommy to her. But I new that was not the best thing for her. The nurses had made her a hat to wear, it was white with a big yellow bow on it, bless her heart, it was as big as she was.

She was the first to do everything in the NICU, except for being held, she was second in line, she just wasn't quite ready to have her line taken out of her umbilical cord, and that was the one thing that stopped us from holding any of them. They had to have that out first and their PICC line in. However set aside from that she was the first diaper I got to change (of course it was a poopy one), first to get off her C-PAP & moved to nasal cannula, never needed surfactant for her lungs, first to be put into real clothes, first to be moved down to level 2 (which they held off from doing so it would be easier on us with them in the same place for as long as possible), first one to take a bottle, first baby that someone (Popo) got to hold other than us, first one I got to nurse, first one to be moved to open crib, first one to lose her NG (feeding tube) & nasal cannula (except for feedings), first one to go home, until Cole got word of that and decided he was going with her.

I will never forget the first time I held her, she was so small, that they had to fold 6 blankets up to put under my arm, because she practically fall through your arms. The nurse placed her in my arms, and I remember thinking, is she really in my arms? She was so light, but that thought only lasted a second, because when I looked down at this tiny little baby, my heart just melted, and I remember thinking to myself, how beautiful she looked.

Once she arrived home, still being the smallest baby of them all, she was still so quiet and laid back. She was always the last one up, and you always had to wake her. Now miss thang is the first one up. She was the hardest baby in the world to burp, and of course she had to be burped because other wise, she would projectile vomit. Even burping her sometimes didn't stop the puke from flying out of her mouth.

She still is the hardest to burp, thank goodness she burps on her own, and man when she burps it is man size burps. I have no idea where she gets that from either. And yes, she still spits up, but just very small amounts. What changed the most about her when we got her home was she is the last now to do things. Last to push up, last to roll over, last to pull up to her knees, and now to a standing position. I guess she figures, since she has all these brothers who will be raised to be gentlemen (just like their daddy & big brother), she will always be getting the "ladies first" treatment. When they are all in their seats eating solids, she just sits there quietly waiting her turn, and smiles every time she looks at someone. She has done some of the funniest things too. She learned quickly how to spit, blow raspberries, sticks out her tongue (like a lizard), burp like

a boy. My favorite things she has started doing is she GROWLS!! It is hilarious, and if you know

her daddy you would know he loves music, well she has learned to shake it. Well more like rock it, she rocks back and forth, and just smiles and growls, when the music is playing. Such a cutie.

Something very unique about her, is she was born with very blue eyes, now she has one brown eye, and her right eye is half blue & half brown. She is so sweet and such a happy baby. And just like her big sister, she has her daddy wrapped around her finger.

One thing I don't want to forget is she is no longer the smallest, she is a little chunk. She is second in line for the heavy weight division at a whopping 16lbs 9oz, however she is the shortest one.


I wanted to make sure I included a letter to each person on their individual post. I will also post a letter to each child on their birthday, but I wanted to do a quick one here .

Dear Ella Grace,

From the moment I saw the little flicker of your heart beating on that screen, I fell in love with you. I didn't know any details about you yet, but one thing your Daddy & I knew was you were perfect. When we had that scare with your placenta, you taught me to keep my faith. And almost 17 wks later a tiny little 2lbs even came into this world. I have learned so much from you in such a short time, I can only imagine what else this world holds for you, and the lessons that we will learn as we watch you grow. You have the sweetest little girl voice that melts our hearts. You were the one that kept your brothers safe in the womb, and now it is Mommy & Daddy's turn to keep you safe. I love how you look into your daddy's eye and his heart melts. I love how you smile every time I look at you, and how you give the best wide open mouth kisses. I am so grateful that God chose me & your daddy for your parents. We are so lucky and truly blessed. As your mom, I will always be here for you. I will guide & support you, and be by your side know matter what.

I love you!

Pimp My Ride (runabout)

I am so excited that we have finished decking out the runabout. I really hated that the seats were so hard, and they didn't have any cushion for their heads if they went to sleep, or any cushion really at all for that matter. So when we got our runabout (I bought a used one), I really wanted to make seat covers for it. Can I just tell you this is no easy task. So I had to call in reinforcement. Aunt Debbie & Nana, some of the sewers in the family came over one weekend and we built the pattern from scratch to make the seat covers. After 3 attempts and quite a few mess ups, we were successful. Well almost succesful, I had a couple more phone calls to some sewing girls to figure out how to make buttons holes for the straps to fit through, finally we were ready for take off on the first official seat cover. I am very proud to say that I actually cut out and sewed the 5 final seat covers. Now, it wouldn't be fair if I leave out the part where the bobbin messed up and I had to call Nana over at 10:30 PM to come help me. But after an hour of undoing the mess the bobbin left for me, I was back to sewing. Oh wait, I almost forget the part where Nana had to refill the bobbin, and then Aunt Debbie had to guide me through it the next morning to refill it AGAIN, you would think bobbin could hold more thread. But make no mistake I got these babies finished. Yes, I made 5 because I was just sure we could use an extra one. We made them super comfy, and easy to get on and off. I love the fact that all we have to do is through them into the wash, when they get dirty. At one point while I was making them, Jeremy called from work to see how things were going. He then says to me, "Babe why does that machine sounds like it is sewing so slow"? My Reply "Ah, HELLO that would be ME sewing that slow so I don't mess up"! His reply, "I knew you were a great seamstress, and these seat covers are going to be perfect! That's my man, always knows what to say, just at the right time. So here are a few pics of the seat covers, now if only I could put the babies in them, and take them for a walk, but not until this crazy weather gets warmer. Hope it will be soon.