FOUR little FULTONS: MOPS...

Thursday, May 7, 2009

MOPS...

Hopefully everyone out there has heard of MOPS, Mother's of Pre Schoolers. This is a WONDERFUL organization just for us mommies of little one's pre school age. I attend a local MOPS group at our home church, Christ Fellowship. It was a LONG road getting me there but well worth it! It has been such an important part of our lives this past year. Motherhood itself is challenging enough but when you add multiples to the mix it can get down right CRAZY! When the babies were little I did not think I could handle getting them up, dressed, fed & out the door by MYSELF so I did not join. Silly me! It was when they were really little that I needed the support the most. I ended up joining just after they turned one. It was the BEST decision I could have made. These bi-weekly get togethers help me keep my sanity! To meet other mommies out there who have it just as rough as me helps me more than you could ever know! Today our MOPS group had their last event of the session, a Mother's Day Tea. VERY fitting since we mom's will be celebrated this Sunday. When I think back to where I was a year ago it's scary! I was SO disorganized and unfocused. I was living day by day. Sometimes it is better to take one day after the next because life itself is HARD! Now I'm dealing with the "terrible two's", PRAY for me!! I cannot wait for the day when things will get a little easier but have been told it never will! (= When I decided to join MOPS the thought of having to wake up EXTRA early to get the four of mine ready did not sound appealing at all. Sleep was a hot commodity & I was not willing to give it up so easily. I was a good planner but not the night before. I now had to prepare food, clothes, etc so we could get out of the house by 845am. (Sorry but 845am is EARLY when they usually sleep till 830am!) I decided I was going to do it. 2X a month I would deal with the lack of sleep but I'd do it, I needed to do it! I'm telling you that getting up that extra 2 hours was HARD & I am SO happy that I did! I even joined the hospitality committee. I knew that I could not get there EARLY to set up but I could help clean up. So that is what I did. If I did not make the effort I would not have met the WONDERFUL women that I did. I just love the ladies in my group, our group leader Elrika & LOVE LOVE LOVE the various speakers & the fun events planned for us! I would not have had those "AHA" moments that helped me helped me cope in the CRAZY life I lead. Experiences are not what makes you who you are, it is how you handle them that does. I have really seen how MOPS has helped our children grow over this past year. They LOVE going to church and being around all of their little friends. I too have fun being there, meeting new people & learning new things. To have other mommies around to lend an ear & give support is WONDERFUL! I really do enjoy myself! Thursdays has now become our day! The best part is that I can also feel my relationship with God getting stronger. The Lord does AMAZING things! I wish I would have pushed myself sooner to join! For any mom out there with little one's you really should check around for a MOPS program near you. IT is AMAZING & will change your life! It is enriching for you & especially your children! I cannot wait till August so I can start back up with...

MOPS...

1 comments:

Rachael Schirano \\ Rachael Schirano Photography said...: i have heard other moms talk about mops, i am going to have to see if we have a group here. that would be lovely for next year!; May 8, 2009 at 1:42 PM

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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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