Teeth Brushing 101

I finally bit the bullet and started brushing their teeth. I know all you moms and dentists out there are gasping. It is the truth. I had been meaning to do it for a very long time and it just kept getting forgotten. Plus, I have a new bad habit. I procrastinate on things I don't want to do with the kids. That sounds worse than it actually is. You see, unless you have five little monkeys running you ragged you wouldn't understand. Every new thing is a big deal in this house. I have to think about it forever and decide what the best way to implement something is.

One example, I have intended on changing the kids sippy cups from the straw kind to the normal kind. The ones they use now are messy and the kids don't grasp the concept of tilting your head to get a drink. I tried it for a few days, but haven't been successful in finding that "perfect" cup. So, I have moved on from that and will get to it some day. By the way, if anyone has a great sippy cup, let me know so I can get one and try it out.

Anyway, I have intended on starting the teeth brushing for a long time and hadn't done it. So, I bought some cheap toothbrushes from Walmart and decided to start. What most people don't think about is that with five little monsters running around they will stab each other, rub them in bad places, share, poke their eyes, brush their hair (they know what brushing your hair means), etc. Thus, my delima, how do you brush five 19 1/2 mo. toddlers without having a casualty? It took a while, but I finally came up with a safe plan. We brush first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Before they get up in the morning and after I put them in their beds, we each get a toothbrush with Thomas The Train toothpaste and start in. I brush my teeth and cheer them on at the same time. They do surprisingly great. They really like it! Sydney does a really good job by herself. The others do really good too, but her technique is already close to what it should be. After I am done brushing my teeth, I go to each one and brush their teeth for them. The first couple of times Peyton and Sydney let me do it, but not anymore. Ethan does okay with me doing it, Landon and Jenna love for me to do it. They sit there with a smile and open wide.

So, yes I am aware that I am really late at starting to do this, but I have to choose when and where I pick my battles. I wasn't ready to fight this one yet. It has turned out to be pretty easy so far.

Our Journey Part #6

I started having contractions around week 18, but I didn’t know what they were until about 23 weeks. I remember sitting on the couch and a strange feeling coming over me. It was a little stronger than normal and made me wonder if it could be a contraction. I can’t explain what it was like, but it didn’t hurt. Once I realized that it was probably a contraction I got nervous, which made for a bad combination. I couldn’t sleep and laid in bed until about midnight. When I was too scared to lie there anymore I got up and called Tanya. She told me that they were contractions and I should call the doctor. Why didn’t I think of that? Dr. Turnquest told me that I shouldn’t have more than 6 an hour. If they got more frequent I should call her back. To my dismay, I ended up calling her back at about 4: oo a.m. She told us to go in to labor and delivery. I was checked in and they started monitoring me. My nerves calmed down once I got to the hospital and the contractions slowed down. They were frequent enough to require a Terbulatine shot. The medicine made my heart race and I hated that feeling. I felt like I had swallowed a gallon of coffee. Eventually, I got back in balance and went back home two days later.

The day we made it to 24 weeks was huge. We had accomplished our first goal. We didn’t want to deliver yet, but we breathed a sigh of relief because we knew our babies could be viable and were developed at 24 weeks. If worse came to worse, 24 weeks is the minimum age for survival. However, if they were to deliver that early, they could possibly have some severe problems.

I also received my first steroid shot at this time. Around 24 weeks gestation, steroids help develop the lungs more quickly in preparation for a preterm delivery. I had to be monitored for an hour post-shot to be sure I didn’t start contracting. Everything was fine and I went home the same day.

I hadn’t allowed myself to shop or daydream about tiny clothes or baby items before then. I didn’t do any preparing until this landmark, and as I slowed down, I began to nest. I had decided that I wanted the kid’s room to be decorated with polka dots. I was really anxious to get their room ready. My mom came over and did most of it for me. I couldn’t do much at that time and it took us a few weeks to get it accomplished. We also managed to sort through many boxes of donated baby clothes. I can’t begin to list all the people who gave us baby clothes. In the end I had 30 tubs filled with clothes made to fit from preemie to 9 months. Painting the nursery was all we were able to do before the babies were born. I couldn’t bear the thought of a finished nursery and with no babies to bring home in the end. So, I didn’t prepare much more ahead of time. I knew if they were born that they would be in the NICU long enough for us to get things done at home.

Busy, Busy, Busy!!

Well, we have been in survival mode for the past week. Peyton started with the sniffles last Tuesday and it has been all down hill since then. When one gets it they all do. I took him and Jenna to the doctor on Friday since they were the worst. Peyton had a bad double ear infection and Jenna was okay. They just has a virus that had to run its course. By Saturday evening Ethan was doing really bad. I took his temperature at about 5:00pm and it was 101.8. That was with Tylenol at 3:30. By 7:00pm his temp was at 104.0. I called the after hours clinic and of course they were closed. The nurse told me to keep giving him Tylenol and bring him in within 24 hours. Well, Rob and I were planning on going to Indy in the morning. So, we opted to take him in to the Emergency Room and get him checked out. They did the dreaded rectal temp. and it was 104.7. They found a really bad throat infection and conjunctivitis (pink eye). The poor guy, he was really sick. So, after a shot of antibiotics, some eye drops, and three prescriptions, we headed home. His fever came down and he was out like a light.

Since I knew he had medicine in him and his fever was down I decided to still plan on going to Indy. We were going to visit the Chan's and go to the Colts game. We had the van loaded down with lots of great things to pass on to their kids. The famous table made the trip too. It was sad to see it go, but we are glad it is going to be used by people who really need it. We were really bummed that we couldn't see the Chan babies. It always seems like something has to happen when we are really excited about something. I talked to the pediatrician and the nurse at the emergency room. They both said if we didn't have symptoms of being sick that we would be okay to see the kids. After we found out about the pink eye we opted not to risk it. We did go in the living room and look from a distance at their beautiful babies. We will be going back to take a closer look one of these days. We unloaded the van and headed downtown for a nice lunch with Paula and Jamson. It was neat to talk to people who have such similar lives. They are doing a great job with their little ones.

After lunch Rob and I headed to Lucas Oil Stadium. Last Christmas my side of the family went together and got us a brick to be displayed at the new stadium. We found it and took some pictures. That will be neat to bring the kids some day to see. Unfortunately, we didn't win. It was kind of a bad game to watch. We love the Colts, but yesterday wasn't their day. All in all, we had a great day and are glad we went.

Our Journey Part #5

Now we’ve come to the part of the story that isn’t so pleasant. I believed with all my heart that I could give birth to all five of my babies. I also knew in my head that it very well might not happen. Everyone who knows me knows that I am a very rational, logical person. I have always been level headed and responsible. That part of my personality kicked into high gear during my pregnancy. Rob said in one of his interviews that I was his hero because I never wavered in my faith. The truth is that I had just as much faith in the pregnancy failing as I did in its being a success. I went through my entire pregnancy emotionless. I had prepared myself for the worst. The chance of survival before 24 weeks gestation was slim to none. If none of my babies survived I had to be okay, because life would continue. That mentality prevented me from bonding with the kids. I look back and feel like I was robbed of that part of becoming a mommy. I lived week to week. Every doctor’s appointment could have been the Earth-shattering day I had prepared for. We never knew what was going to happen. The list of possible complications was endless. Rob and I would lie in bed and talk about how we didn’t feel like we were going to have 5 babies. It just seemed like a dream. I was scared that one of the kids would die and I wouldn’t know it and that would cause the other babies to die. It was my first pregnancy and I had no idea what I was feeling. How was I supposed to know if something was wrong? Every week Dr. Turnquest reassured me that everything was fine and not to worry. The unknown was the most difficult to deal with because we were working against things we couldn’t see or imagine. I wish I had been able to let go of my realistic expectations and relaxed in the knowledge that God knows when even a tiny sparrow falls. That would have allowed me to enjoy my pregnancy and possibly kept them inside of me a little longer.

Rob’s cousin Shelby gave birth to a little girl named Addison in October of 2006. I was about 10 weeks along at that point. When we went to see them in the hospital Addison was having her picture taken, and there were lots of smiling visitors popping in and out. I remember looking at the little bed she was laying in. It was so hard to hold back the tears. I knew that I was never going to have that experience. If I had the babies they would be so small and sick that they would have to be confined to the NICU. They would live in the hospital for a very long time, and visitors would be limited. Rather than deciding which pose was best for pictures, we would be faced with some very difficult medical decisions. I was never going to have people coming to my hospital room to see our new baby; or be wheeled out of the hospital with my baby in my arms ready to start our journey into the world. I felt like I was being robbed of an experience very precious for a new mother.

Our Journey Part #4

In the early months, I was very fortunate that I only had two side effects of being pregnant. Although both were very painful, the first one brought me ridiculously bad headaches. I have always taken Advil for my headaches, but that is on the “don’t” list when pregnant. Tylenol had never worked for me in the past and certainly wasn’t cutting it now. Somehow, I suffered through them for about 20 weeks. The second side affect was magnified because I was having quintuplets instead of just one baby. I felt like someone had beaten me with a baseball bat between my legs. That is the only way I know how to explain it. I could hardly walk. A normal pregnancy is 40 weeks long and your pelvis expands slowly throughout the 40 week period. I carried the circumference of a full term pregnancy at a mere 20 weeks gestation. Therefore, my body was going through the paces at breakneck speed.

My pelvis had transitioned so quickly that my body was prepared to deliver at 20 weeks, but the babies were far from ready to meet the world. I heeded my doctor’s orders and tried to take it easy. I haven’t talked to any other mom of HOM who wasn’t sick during the first trimester. The hormone levels reach such a height when you are carrying multiples that it is common to be sick – more grace for our journey.

From this point on, my pregnancy was strangely uneventful. I had to go in to the doctor’s office every Thursday starting at week 16 to receive a very painful injection to prevent preterm labor. I also had a few visits with a Nurse Nutritionist. She taught me about all the vitamins and foods that I needed to consume to help develop different parts of the babies. She also explained how important it was that I didn’t develop gestational diabetes.

Dr. Turnquest and her staff are great. Everyone there was exceptionally friendly and reassuring. Because we were such a high risk case ultrasounds were part of our weekly appointment and it was wonderful. I needed to see the babies with my own two eyes every week to ease my nerves and be sure that they were all still okay. If I could have chosen what number of which sex we would be having I would have picked 3 boys and 2 girls. I had always wanted more boys than girls. But I didn’t want any one child to be all alone. Courtney, the ultrasound technician, performed our ultrasounds most of the time, and at fifteen weeks gestation we went in so she could tell us how many blue blankets and how many pink blankets we would need. I forgot to bring a tape (VHS tapes were the least of my worries!) to record on so she went the extra mile and found a blank one for me. It was amazing to find out what we were having. Baby A was the first one up. A Boy! He was the biggest the entire time which was good because he was on the bottom of the tangle of arms and legs. Baby B was next. A Girl! She was always nestled on my right side, and the most painful at the end of my pregnancy. Baby C was on my left side. Another Boy! Baby D was always right in the middle. I never quite knew where that one was going to be. It was another Boy! I started to get a little concerned at that point because baby B was really outnumbered by the men in the family. Finally, Baby E. A Girl!! I had gotten exactly what I had hoped for. God knew I needed something at that moment to lift my spirits. Courtney froze the pictures and put an arrow to show the sex. She also typed the sex so everyone could see. We took the tape home and watched it over again. That night we took the tape to Rob’s sister’s house for everyone to see. I had everyone guess what they thought it would end up being. Not a single person guessed correctly. It was fun to see everyone’s reaction and share our joy. We repeated our game at Mom and Dad’s too.

Other than my big belly, I didn’t feel pregnant until I started feeling them move at about week twenty-two. The first time I felt one move I was sitting in the movie theatre. I had gone with the women’s group from church to see “The Nativity.” I was just sitting there when I suddenly felt Sydney kick me. She was always at the top of my belly and moved constantly. I put my hand on my belly to see if I could feel it on the outside. There aren’t words to describe my excitement. I grabbed my sister-in-law’s hand and she was the first person to feel their tiny thumps. I was so excited that I didn’t think about waiting to let Rob feel them first. I remember putting my hand on the top of my belly and pushing down lightly. Her head (I think) would go down and float back up. I could feel different body parts all the time. That was a big difference than most singleton pregnancies. I could push on my belly and move the babies because they were packed in like sardines.

Our Journey Part #3

A lady named Tanya Siekman had heard news of my pregnancy and happened to know a member of my parent’s church. At the age of forty-eight, Tanya had welcomed triplets just 2 years prior to my pregnancy and had also been a patient of Dr. Spence. I found it deeply comforting to talk to someone who was familiar with the risk and stress that waited ahead. I shared my initial perception of Dr. Spence and she related her own experience. I inquired if there were any other high risk pregnancy doctors to be found locally. As luck (or maybe God) would have it, Dr. Turnquest-Wells was the doctor at St. Mary’s Hospital. I spoke to my gynecologist and asked about Dr. Turnquest. He had little faith that Dr. Turnquest’s outlook would be any different from Dr. Spence’s. I didn’t expect him to understand my hesitancy toward Dr. Spence because even Rob didn’t understand.

During this time Tanya ran into Dr. Spence and mentioned that she knew me. Dr. Spence then told Tanya to advise me to selectively reduce because it was not possible to have all of my babies. As I’m sure you can imagine, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. What happened to professionalism and patient confidentiality? I was officially done with Dr. Spence. In the end I had to do what I felt would be best for me and my babies, and I set up a consultation with Dr. Turnquest.

This turned out to be the best decision I made throughout my entire pregnancy (other than keeping all of my babies!). She was wonderful! She was as honest about the risks and possible complications as Dr. Spence, but with one minor exception that changed everything. She believed in me. After we told her that we were going to keep all of them she was on board with our decision 110%. She gave me hope that I could carry my babies and they could be normal. It took Rob meeting a different doctor to realize how unnecessarily negative Dr. Spence was, and he was completely supportive of our move to Dr. Turnquest.

The most helpful thing Tanya did for me was to explain the difference between Deaconess Women’s Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital. We had originally planned to have our babies at Deaconess Women’s Hospital. Although Deaconess Women’s hospital is an excellent facility, being a new hospital at that time, they did not have an “in-house intensive care unit” and would not be able to take care of me there if I would develop a life threatening complication. I would possibly have to be taken to a different hospital downtown. If that happened they would have to send nurses to monitor the babies, and then if I would deliver there, there was no NICU and the babies would have to be transported back to The Women’s Hospital. On the other hand, at St. Mary’s they would be able to take care of all of us in the same place. I believe God brought Tanya into my life to help with that decision. She never told me what I should do, but she talked to me from her own experience and her own near life and death situation and helped me understand that if I was to pull this off successfully …. The key would be great prenatal care and to be prepared for all scenario’s that could possibly arise.


After we were established at Dr. Turnquest’s office the smooth sailing began. We finally found out that we were absolutely having five babies. While I had been in turmoil, they had been busy growing and it was easier to see them on the ultrasound screen now.

I was 11 weeks 3 days along here. See baby B sucking her thumb?

Our Journey Part #2

The nurse left our ultrasound in a hurry, to get our doctor who happened to be in the office that day. Dr. Bonaventura is responsible for a fertility clinic in Indianapolis and often travels between the two. This was our first peek of grace in this situation; we wouldn’t have to wait for an explanation. God knew what he was doing. Isn’t it funny to look back and see how God’s hand is in everything?

I remember being somewhat frustrated because Dr. B was extremely nonchalant about our situation. I couldn’t believe my ears when he said that it was “about time” for another set of HOM (higher order multiples). It had been about 6 years since anything like this had happened. My frustration quickly faded when Dr. B told us that he didn’t expect all of these babies – my babies- to survive. He shared that until the 10th week any or all of the sacs could and probably would dissolve. Nature would run its course. Religiously, I walked into the doctor’s office every week wracked with nerves about Nature’s choice. As scared as I was, I wanted all of my babies to survive no matter the odds against us.

Baby A Baby B

Head and body shots (9 weeks gestation)

The very next week we saw only 4 little blips on the screen. The fifth wasn’t very visible the first ultrasound so we thought it had dissolved, or maybe we had imagined it in our initial state of shock.

Week 3 of our journey took us to see Dr. Spence. She was the high risk pregnancy doctor at Deaconess Women’s Hospital. Thankfully, Dr. B had prepared me for my first visit. We knew that she would be very forthcoming about the statistics and risk associated with this kind of pregnancy. It was her job to inform us of all the circumstances we might meet along the way. Dr. Spence also presented us with the option of selectively reducing our “little blips” to a more manageable number.

Baby C Baby D

Head and body shots (9 weeks gestation)

Selective reduction means directly injecting the heart of the fetus with a lethal dose of Potassium Chloride. Unfortunately, it isn’t uncommon for all of the babies to die when this is done. My faith tells me that abortion is undeniably wrong, and I believe that wholeheartedly. However, this wasn’t a black and white decision. We were informed that one or two of the yolk sacs were larger than normal and that could represent problems later in the pregnancy. We had to make the best decision that would give the greatest number of them a chance at life. We didn’t want to hurt the others by keeping one that would eventually harm them all, and we knew there were extremely high risks for my own health. I knew from the very beginning that if my babies were going to survive, I had to be there with Rob to help raise them.

For some this might have been an easy decision, but it wasn’t for us. In the end, I didn’t feel that we had enough facts about what was going to happen to justify reducing any of them. We knew anything could happen, and none of them had any apparent problems. We took all five and put them in God’s hands. Ours were far too small for such a task. A mother only has two hands and as much as I wanted to keep hold of all my babies, I simply couldn’t control the situation. God had begun the miracle, and we knew He would be there.

During our first visit with Dr. Spence, she announced that we appeared to have twins in one sac and four other sacs as well. That brought our total up to six. Six babies. Could we handle any more? We left that visit very scared and unsure of what to do. Dr. Spence communicated abruptly and without providing any glimmer of hope, and that was something we desperately needed. I believe in being honest, and sometimes honesty is the most compassionate gift we can give someone. But I also believe in humility and respecting the choice of another. I was upset by the time I left and felt as though I were quickly running out of time and options. In my head, I knew it was her job to tell us the good, the bad, and the ugly. In my heart of hearts, I knew it couldn’t be all “ugly.” During the next few weeks I had a minor surgery which involved sewing two stitches into my cervix to keep it closed throughout the pregnancy.

Baby E and all five in one shot (9 weeks gestation)

Our Journey Part #1

September 15, 2006 was a day Rob and I will never forget. It was the day our lives changed forever. The months have flown since then but, I remember it like it was yesterday. It was an exciting day because we wanted so badly to start a family. The doctor had called 2 weeks prior to let us know that we were in fact, finally, expecting. I can recall the doctor telling me that my HCG level should range somewhere from 30-100; however, mine had skyrocketed to 371. Looking back on it, I didn’t think much about the fact my HCG level was abnormally high.

We had to wait 2 weeks after the initial announcement, before we would be able to visualize our future child on an ultrasound screen. This was the day we were going to see our baby for the first time. Our hope of having a family was finally going to become a reality.

We walked into the ultrasound room and I climbed up on the table. Rob sat in the chair next to me as we waited for the nurse to come in. I wondered if I would know what I was looking at on the monitor. I could never make out the actual baby when other proud parents flashed their sonogram pictures. Would I be able to see my own baby? No one described what an embryo would look like, but I expected it to be a little round blob. I remember looking at the screen feeling like my heart was going to jump out of my chest. It was confusing because I thought I saw something little and round like I had always pictured in my head, but there were several similar little blobs. I looked back and forth from the nurse to the screen hoping that I could read her mind. I was already thinking and feeling that something was wrong.

Could a mother’s intuition really kick in so quickly? Finally, I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I asked her if that speck was the baby. She reluctantly replied, “Yes.” So, naturally my next question was, “What are all those spots?” That was it. One tiny question with an answer 5-times more unbelievable than I had expected. Her answer to that question was the beginning of the scariest, toughest, happiest days of our lives. “It looks like there are at least four sacs, maybe five.” I vaguely remember stuttering and speaking half sentences, too stunned to put all the pieces together. Rob immediately dropped his head into his hands. When all of this started, the doctor indicated that we had a 25% chance of having twins and a 3% chance of having triplets. The percentages stopped there because there was no reason to go any higher – the chances of multiples after that were too miniscule and not worth mentioning. We went through the process hoping for just one baby. God had shown us his sense of humor, but we weren’t laughing just yet.

Happy Birthday Jarret!

Today we celebrated the kid's cousin Jarret's birthday. Guess where the party was! Chuckey Cheese!!!!!! I have to admit that I wasn't very excited about going. In fact I thought I was going to need a brown paper sack to breathe into when we pulled into the parking lot:) Rob couldn't make it so I was flying solo. Thankfully my sister-in-law Mel was there with her 6 kids to help. The kids loved it. I was so pleasantly surprised. They sat at the table staring up at the strobe lights. Aunt Mel put Sydney's hair up in pig-tails before we left. She hates having anything in her hair. So, they came out eventually and this is what we were left with. Poor girl. I ended up getting a cup of water and combed her hair out with a fork. I couldn't let my baby girl go around looking like that! They had loud music and big screen TVs. The kids ate a bunch of food and then they were handed off to the girls to go play. I walked around with the camera trying to capture every moment I could. They did really well. They loved the tunnels on the ceiling. Peyton was the best at it. He was the least overwhelmed I think. He took everything in stride and just explored. The others were constantly looking around and making sure I was somewhere near. We were there for about 2 hours. Thank you Jarret for inviting us to your 5th birthday party. We had a great time! We all hope you had a very Happy Birthday!!!

Don't forget Monday is the first blog of many that will be going back to the beginning of our journey.

Treasures in the toilet...

If you ask any mom with multiples she will tell you that somehow we grow eyes in the back of our heads. It just happens. Every sense you have is multiplied. I will admit that today Sydney and Ethan got me. They rarely beat me to anything, I am on top of every move they make. Before I go on with my story I will tell you my excuse for why they got me. Our bathroom door, you can tell where this is going, is warped. You have to pull the door knob really hard to make sure the door latches. We keep it closed at all times. My brother Lee came over this evening to help me out. He is 9 years old and a big help. Anyway, while the kids were eating dinner he had gone into the bathroom. I didn't think anything about it. After I finally got all the kids down from the table and their chairs wiped off we were rounding them up to take them outside. Ethan and Sydney were MIA. Then I heard it...laughing and splashing. As silly as it sounds, my first thought was that they were in the bathtub. Not thinking at the time that there isn't water in the tub. Yep, they were searching in my toilet for buried treasure. I was totally shocked. The first thing I did was tell Lee to watch them as I ran to find the camera. After all, they were already wet and what is another minute in the toilet. Ethan's face in the bottom picture is priceless. Doesn't he look so gulity! I'm sure some of you are thinking that I should have gotten them out right away and thrown them into the tub. Having quintuplets has taught me that it's better to laugh and let things go. If I stressed about everything they did I would have a heart attack. Instead. my first reaction to everything these days is, "Wait! I need to get my camera." This way, I never forget the funny things they do. So, I hope no one calls CPS on me because I promise I cleaned them off. But not until I got some cute pictures. Enjoy!

Bouncing Babies...

The kids great grandparents got this bouncing house for them last Christmas. I hadn't gotten it out yet because it has been so hot. The weather has been cooler lately and I thought it would be worth the time of putting it together to see if they liked it. Success!!!! They loved it. At least the three biggest did. Jenna didn't even get in the house. She wanted to get directly into her swing and just relax. We took her out at least three times to try to coax her into playing. She threw a fit. So, we let her stay in her swing. That made it easier on us. Only four kids to watch like hawks. Landon warmed up to the house. He usually takes a while to get used to something new. I'll give you one guess as to who is the mommas boy. Isn't it obvious??? I wouldn't trade that for anything. We had a great evening in the yard with the neighbors. They are great occupiers. They sat at the opening of the slide and kept the kids attention. It was nice to have something new to do. The kids were asleep as soon as their heads hit the bed. I didn't hear a peep out of them until morning.

Play Date...

(Sam, Landon, Sydney, Meg, Peyton, Jenna, Ethan, Jay)

Tonight was a very eventful night. Tanya Siekman came over with her triplets. They are 4 years old and very cute. Before they got into my house two of them had peed in my driveway. They went straight to the bathroom and went again, and again, and again, and again. I can't wait until mine get that big and I am doing that 5x. It took Sam, Jay, and Meg a while to warm up to the kids. It was so funny to see. Her kids and my kids just ignored each other. They played around each other and didn't mingle. Eventually Meg became my "babysitter." She helped keep the kids in line on the couch. Tanya's kids are so funny. They say all kinds of stuff, and are really smart. She brought my pictures to me. Anyone who comes over will get to see my wall revamped. I am going to get different frames before I hang the individual pictures.

I am so proud of these two pictures. You can tell we are the moms of HOM (higher order multiples). Not even the best photographer (except Tanya) could get 8 kids to pose like that. Moms are amazing gifted people. We can do anything we want if we really set our minds to it. The funny thing is that it was a piece of cake getting them to pose like that. Isn't that neat!
I didn't think about it before we took the pictures, but I was not prepared to be in a picture. Oh well, this is one of those times where I can say, "I have quintuplets" and that is good enough. It is really sad. On Wednesday I got up early to get myself ready to take the kids to the doctor. The kids were a mess the entire morning. I never get ready unless I am going somewhere. The kids thought I was leaving them and were clinging to me like leaches all morning. They whined and cried and it was awful. That is sad when your 18 month kids can tell when you are leaving just because you got dressed and did your hair. Anyway, I am beat. Goodnight!

Toddlers...

A year ago I was begging for my kids to hurry up and start doing something. Today I am officially the mom of five toddlers. My babies will always be my babies. I don't know that I will ever quit calling them that. But the truth is that they are growing up. Every day my babies take one step closer to being "big." Today was their 18 month doctor appointment. I took them one by one into the room to be checked out. It is amazing to think of how far they have come. Every one of them has reached their milestones. They are perfect in every way. I am so blessed. Here are the updated weights.

Ethan

weight - 25lbs 8oz

height - 31"

Peyton

weight - 20lbs

height - 30"

Landon

weight - 18lbs 9oz

height - 28 1/4"

Jenna

weight - 17lbs 10oz

height - 29 3/4"

Sydney

weight - 20lbs 7oz

height - 30 1/4"

After 2 hours in the doc. office and a shot in each leg, we headed over to Dr. Turnquest's office. She wasn't in today, but we got to see everyone else. After we left her office we went to Labor and Delivery and finished our trip at the NICU. It is so fun to see the people who were responsible for our successful delivery.

September 15 is a very special day for Rob and I. That day in 2006 was the day we found out we were having quints. A month or so ago I started writing my story. I don't ever want to forget it. It is 6 pages so far. I am going to start posting it on the 15th. It will take a while to get through. i don't want to overwhelm people, so I will post it a little at a time. I'm not done yet, and I may just keep going with it. One warning, this story it the complete truth. It isn't all happy. It has proven to be a challenge to write.

Oh yeah, everyone did a good job guessing the kids. The correct order is: A-Sydney, B-Ethan, C-Jenna, D-Landon, and E-Peyton.