FOUR little FULTONS: Don't call Pete!...

Friday, December 18, 2009

Don't call Pete!...

I have the good fortune of being able to work outside the home at a place that I have worked at for YEARS! 20 years to be exact! I started working as a dispatcher at a VERY young age and because of these children I kept working part time after their birth! I knew that I would need a break from this chaotic life I lead. It also brings home the bacon if you know what I mean. Life is good. In working there I have met quite a few people, fellow dispatchers, firefighters & most importantly policemen. These connections have come in handy with the tribe! I never thought about how the tribe would react to running into one of my friends from work until that day at Costco. I think that is when I first realized how depending on the persons uniform they can get quite upset. Apparently they do not like Police uniforms. LOL! Avery is the worst, she freaks! She is the one that has stranger anxiety. She will flip out if you come too close & she is unsure of you! She has done this a few times to her Uncle & it was quite the sight. She wailed & held on tight till she was safe in my arms. CRAZY but true! Well on this particular day we were at Costco, one of our favorite places, when we ran into my friend Pete. Pete is a sheriffs deputy & he happened to be there on a premise check so he came over to say hi. She took one look at him & she freaked! I tried to explain that he was Mommy's friend but she just cried while keeping her distance. He continued to say his "hello's" and off he went. As soon as he left Avery was fine! We ventured out into the store because it is SO tempting. We made a few purchases & decided it was time to leave. The tribe was in one of those moods and was not listening. There I was trying to get them all into the "burb, strapped in & the groceries put away so the person waiting for our spot would not get ticked that I took too long when Pete showed up! I must have looked frazzled because the next thing I knew there was Pete telling them to get in their seats! I never saw them move so quickly! They were scared & did exactly what he said! I was SO happy! Not that I want them to be afraid of policemen but I know have a new tactic to get them to behave, Pete! From that day forward all I have had to say is that I am going to call Pete & they say, Sorry Mommy...

Don't call Pete!...

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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