FOUR little FULTONS: party of 7....

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

party of 7....

I have thought about this for quite awhile. What it feels like when we attempt to actually go out for dinner, a treat for us, and for it to turn out being a not too great experience. I really think this occurs because businesses do not know about people like us. They do not know what it requires for us to have an ok time. Let's just face it the real world has no clue what it is like raising multiples & I sure do wish they did. I have a "bag of tricks" that I ALWAY'S bring with us when we go out. It has their "feeding" bib's a must so their clothes do not get soiled, sanitary wipes to clean off EVERYTHING, a few table toy's to occupy their time and the minimal diaper stuff just in case.. Now what we can not guarantee is that the restaurant we end up at will be able to accomodate us with seating. Do you know how hard it is to feed toddlers in a "big boy/girl seat"? C-R-A-Z-Y!! They need structure & restraints/seatbelts so they are not able to wander around the place. Let's just face it most establishments can not accomodate a family like ours. You go out to eat & you are LUCKY to get 2 highchairs let alone 4! (Remember there are other people thinking like us & need highchairs too!) I would have thought S Florida of all places would have plenty since so many people vacation here but alas no. We feel like we won the lottery if we find a place that has 4! So we plan our dinners out around what restaurant & what time we think there is not a lot of families going to be there. We had this happen to us over the summer in of all places the local zoo. We decided to have lunch at the normal time, BIG mistake! LOL! They actually had quite a few highchairs more than a normal place would have had EXCEPT they were all in use! We started to bring our quad stroller in to feed them out of but luckily another mommy from my multiples group was there & gave us 2 of their highchairs. We were 1/2 way to the 4 that we desperately needed. It is in times like this I feel I should stand up on my soap box & share with the world by "multiples" struggles. I feel if I can help one person see what it is like to be a quad mommy than maybe I can help create change. Trust me when I see something that could be just a little better I tell them. I have complained to local malls that do not have motorized wheel chairs. (Besides helping a handicapped person they can help a pregnant mommy tremendously!) I am alway's on a "mission" to show people there is a better way. Not that I have enough on my plate, I just care. Currently my mission is in the "Mommy & Me" dept. SO many places restrict us by making it a requirement to have a parent per child for most activities. I really do not feel that a mommy of twins or more should not be allowed to participate just because she does not have anyone there to help her. AGAIN this is just my opinion but I will stand up on my soap box & share it with whomever will care to listen. If I can make just one establishment have more than 4 highchairs or organization let me attend minus 3 other set's of hands I will have done my job. For now I just hope for the best when I say Fulton...

party of 7....

1 comments:

Christy said...: I hear ya and agree totally! Though I only have 2 babies... compared to 4... often times we are lucky to get 2 highchairs. We live in a small community, and in my hometown (even smaller) the only resturant there only has 1 highchair and 1 booster seat! It is very frustrating to try to eat there with the twins. We too are excluded from doing swim classes that require a parent for each child! I feel your pain! Good for you to stand on your soapbox! I think I will stand up there with ya!; September 25, 2008 at 3:22 AM

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Our Story...

Ok I am now over 8 years into this "job" of mine, being a mommy to multiples, high order multiples to boot! They say that if you try to conceive without protection for one year with no success then you are infertile. Those words were a lot to take in. I sought answers from everyone. We started out with our 1st OB/GYN Dr William Casale doing the normal testing that they were equipped to do. We did it all, IUI's, spermwashing, etc. I then contacted RESOLVE, a wonderful organization for people like me (could not get pregnant). I started making mental notes of what I needed to achieve my dream, to be a mom! The next step was to go see a Fertility Doctor. We chose to see Dr Mark Denker. After checking me out he then referred Michael to see a Urologist who ended up putting him on clomid. Yes, men can take this RX too! It helps make more sperm just like it helps a woman create more follicles. It is AMAZING the things you learn when you are trying to conceive! After further testing we were both told we had fertility issues, I had fewer eggs than a woman my age & they were "tough", Michael had double vericasils so that in order for us to have the "best odds" we needed to go the IVF route. I had this feeling that it was not going to work right away, call it my intuition. So we bought a package, can you even believe that they sell "packages" like a travel agency? Our "package" included 3 rounds of IVF with ICSI, minus all the meds I would need. The drugs are an expense we did not even think of but had to purchase for this entire thing to work. Well, it ended up taking all 3 rounds of IVF & accupuncture courtesy of Dr Susan Schiff for me to get pregnant & boy did I get pregnant! (Trust your intuition!) We started out with very few follicles, only 3 fertilized into embryo's and all three took. I was finally pregnant! 8 weeks into my pregnancy one of the embryo's split & became identical. Can you believe that!? What are the odds? No one told me that could happen! AMAZING! We had a lot of decisions to make. No one thought that we should keep all four. In the medical world it is called a "selective reduction". Only a few doctors even do this procedure. We did not know what our future would hold just that we could not reduce anything! In the beginning we had a hard time finding a doctor that felt like we did & wanted our four babies to thrive! We finally found Dr Moises Virelles, a fellow Christian & my now OB/GYN. He then referred us to an AWESOME Perinatologist, Dr Gary Cohen. Having the two of them on our side we knew ANYTHING was possible! My pregnancy was really uneventful. I was put on "bed rest" at 22 weeks. I later found out my "bed rest" was unlike other women's bed rest. I was just not allowed to work. I continued to do things, just stayed off my feet as much as possible. If I went shopping I would ride a motorized scooter. If I went to a party I sat pretty much the entire time. I had no issues, my cervix was long & rock solid. I really feel that God wanted me to be a mommy! The babies were great! They kicked each other more than they kicked me! People would look at me & could not believe that I had four babies inside me, I tell you I was meant to carry quads! Now don't get me wrong, it was not a joy ride, I was miserable towards the end & felt it very difficult to breathe. I never even went into the hospital prior to January 15th. Even though I asked them to admit me MANY times!! On January 17, 2007 we welcomed our GBGG quads; Camryn, Brendan, Avery & Lindsey into this world. 1 set is fraternal & 1 set is identical. They weighed 4 lb 7 oz, 4 lb 4 oz, 3 lb 6 oz & 3 lb 3 oz. I made it 32 weeks 5 days when I delivered them at St Mary's Medical Center. They were all HEALTHY and they did not need to be intubated! WOO HOO! They were little miracles destined to be here! I had nurses come up to me & tell me how wonderful it was that I carried them so long, that it was a better gift holding onto them as long as I did than a Harvard education! WOW! We were SO happy, excited & most of all unprepared for how much our life was about to change. I will say it was a GOOD change! I cannot imagine my life without them! Everyone watches our little ones in amazement & they still do. This is their story....

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