Delivered in 30 Minutes or Less

Hey, quick update, sorry for the delay. Jo Ann's surgery began at 7:00 Friday morning, everything went just as planned or maybe even better. By 7:20 all 4 babies were delivered. First was Anna Claire - 4 lbs. 2 ozs., then Price - 4 lbs. 9 ozs., then Finn - 4 lbs. 15 ozs., then Carter - 3 lbs. 9 ozs. And they're all doing very well! Sometimes we borrow worries, and fear things that never even happen. Not one of our babies looks like Winston Churchill. They're beautiful. Every one of them. I hope they're ours. I will post some pictures very soon...promise. We don't know when they'll be able to come home, hopefully we'll find out a little more in the next few days. Jo Ann and I have been here for 2 weeks, and we're going home tomorrow. Woohoo! By the way, if you're a husband who someday finds yourself witnessing your wife's C-section and you see smoke and smell something burning, don't panic, she's probably not on fire.

Birth Day

O Lord, Our Lord, How majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? You have made him a little lower than the angels and crowned him with glory and honor. -Psalm 8:1-5
By the time most of you read this, our babies will have been delivered to us. Shortly past 7:00 this morning. Jo Ann and I can't emphasize enough how grateful we are to have you all to share in our joy, our hopes, our fears, our excitement, our worries, all of it. Thank You.

Second Home

Hello again, sorry to be so long in writing, sometimes there's just really not much to say. Yep, this is Benjy. It's not that nothing's happening, just nothing most people really care to hear about. Each day is pretty much like the one before it, and chances are just like the one after. I've never heard so many complaining women in all my life. And the second floor is only high enough to break an ankle. We've lived here for a week now, but really it's not that bad. The nurses, the cleaning staff, everyone has been very kind and accommodating to us. Which is good, because this has without question been the most difficult week for us both physically and emotionally by far. I continue to be impressed and very proud of the way Jo Ann is dealing with it all. We actually have some fun up here. And I don't mean weird-like; just plain ol' fun. OK, maybe a little weird. We have now made 32 weeks and 5 days, far beyond what we expected when we first found out we were pregnant. We're very close! We will measure babies again this Thursday (most likely in utero), anxious to see how much they've grown. Last Thursday the boys were 4 lbs. 1 oz., 4 lbs. 5 oz., 4 lbs. 15 oz. and the girl was 5 lbs. 1 oz. Unbelievable. As I said, we're very close. And come to think of it, that part is a bit different and quite exciting. As we get closer, new people are introduced to help prepare us for what's coming next. We have begun discussions regarding Jo Ann's surgery, we will soon be meeting with the neonatologists, and also with the NICU staff. There's no way we fully understand how real this is. Sometimes we think we're dreaming, sometimes we wish we were. Seriously, we can't barely wait. I'll try to update more consistently, even if I have to make it up.

Brrrrr...

Jo Ann and I have been hoping to move for the past several months, so that we would be closer to work, friends, church and all that. We relocated last night to the corner of Governor's Dr. and California St. Our building says Women & Children on the front of it. We had our Monday appointment and Jo Ann's blood pressure was a tad high, plus we're 32 weeks Wednesday. At Dr. Conrad's office, we did our monthly measurements along with the ultrasound. The babies all seemed to be doing fine. However, Jo Ann's BP was 154/93, so Dr. Conrad decided to admit her. When we got here, she was checked again and this time BP was 164/91. By this morning (Tuesday), the nursing staff had managed to get it down to a much safer level, so for now, delivery is no longer imminent. Your guess is as good as ours when the babies might be delivered. Our Dr. doesn't even have a guestimation. Visitors are welcome, right now we're in room 205 of the Antepartum wing. But be prepared. Jo Ann is having either one long hot flash or a successive series of back-to-back flashes. It's freezing in here. I've got the 'boggan, insulated coveralls and mittens, feel like the only thing missing is a deer rifle and face paint. They've got a great fold-out couch here with a crack right down the middle, and I love it. Love it! Last night while I was asleep I dreamed I was an Eskimo in the hospital being treated for hypothermia. Really not that bad, I just like to run with it sometimes. But I would wear sleeves. Jo Ann is doing well now, we monitor the babies 2 to 3 times daily, so for the time being we're just holding what we got. I hope I'm not betraying the Nelson family's privacy here, but our dear friend Lori was in a car wreck Monday and sustained a pretty bad concussion. She's having some problems with dizziness and nausea, so please pray for her and her family as you continue to pray for us.

'Prayed for 1, but Blessed with 4'

Hello, Everyone! Hope you are all looking forward to another great week! We have no idea what adventure may or may not be in store for us this week! It is hard to believe that we have made it this far!!! As you all know 29 weeks is the average gestational age of a quad. We have surpassed week 30. Wednesday will mark the completion of week 31!!
I still think back on how it all began. This journey started a couple of years ago with many months spent on the emotional roller coaster ride of "Are we pregnant? No, not this time!) We prayed continuously for God's will. We were very close to giving up! We prayed for the right doctors, and we've been surrounded by the very best doctors and staff from the beginning! Thanks Dr. Conrad, Dr. Harper and staff! We really appreciate you guys!!
In February, things were definitely different! As usual I was hoping we were pregnant, and I really felt like maybe we were. Of course after months and months of hoping this, you start to doubt your feelings on these things. I will never forget taking that pregnancy test and waiting forever for the results. I also will never forget the next 7 I took after that to make sure it was right. HAHA! I remember being overcome with emotion and thinking that there was no way we were actually pregant. I did not have the heart to tell Benjy until the results were verified with a blood test. He had been a passenger on the roller coaster ride as well, and I did not want to tell him and get him excited only to disappoint him if we weren't. I had to wait 2 long days to find out if we were actually going to be parents! WHAT A LONG WAIT!! The thrill of getting to tell him the results and seeing his face made not only that 2 day wait melt away but also the hard months of disappointment. Little did we realize that the waiting had just began. We had to wait a couple of weeks for our first ultrasound. Wow! What a day! We arrived at Dr. Harper's office full of excitement and anxiety! As soon as the ultrasound started, I saw the screen and commented, "Is that two babies?" Christina (the nurse doing the scan) said, "MMM.. I think I see two with a possible third. Let me get Dr. Harper to take a look." Dr. Harper came in and saw 2 heartbeats and decided that the third sac was just fluid. He quickly told us that the chances of us having 3 babies was less than 3 percent!!!! We were told to follow up the next week. We left that day with me telling Benjy that we would be normal and take our twins everywhere with us. I did not want us to be the kind of parents that leave your kids at home. The next week we were back to verify our twins. I walked into the exam room and laughingly said that it better be 2 that I could handle 2 but not 3...haha...little did we know what a great sense of humor God really has!! As soon as Christine started the exam, she went to get Dr. Harper. He comes in and looks and looks...and yes he was floored...there was not 2..not 3...but 4!!! Our chances of 4 were less than 1 percent. Not one time since that moment have I been sad about having 4!! We are absolutely thrilled to finally be having our family! I did however ask if it was too late to start smoking crack..haha! My view on the whole thing was that if I wasn't freaking out then NO ONE could freak out! They told us to return for another follow up ultrasound the next week, and I think we both said NO!!! in unison! We were not sure if they were multiplying by 2 or just adding 2 each week...but we were sure we were good with 4...haha! We left that day with me telling Benjy that we were definitely going to be the parents that left our kids at home and couldn't take them with us anywhere..haha!
Every day has been a huge blessing! We have surpassed all expectations placed on quad pregnancies. This is all due to the power of prayer! We knew from the beginning that we were facing a very high risk pregnancy. Until our fire drill Friday, it has been as smooth sailing as possible! We were told bedrest at week 20 if not before if we started having problems....I was able to work until week 24! We were told we may have hospital bedrest as early as week 26 or 27....we are still at home...but expect to be there anyday! We were told by the NICU neonatologists that they would see our babies at week 29....well as you know they aren't there yet!! WOW! We've been blessed!! Thank you for all your prayers!!!!
We know our adventure is just beginning. We expect our babies any day now! Many obstacles and hurdles will be faced in the many days, weeks, months, and years to come! One thing we all need to learn is that we are not in control!! God is in control! What a great thing that is!!! We continue to pray for 4 healthy babies!!
A friend of ours (Thanks, Sara!) sent me a link to a blog of another family with quads. On thier opening page, they have written, "We Prayed for One and Were Blessed with Four!" Benjy and I feel the same way! Once again we thank you all for your prayer! May God bless each and every one of you!! Jo Ann

Surprise personal shower given by the ladies in Benjy's family a few weeks ago when Jo Ann had just begun bedrest. Thank you all!

CrimQuads Scrapbook

One of our Many Favorite Gifts. Thank you Sharon, can't wait to replace our imagination with something we can wrap our arms around.