Almost 7 months old!

Feeding time..............

My little firecrackers!!!

Our first trip to the park..................

and the babies loved it!!!!!! They absolutely loved the swings, that is except for Matty! He is still too small-he almost slides through the leg openings! We had a great time walking around and playing on the swings!!!

Pictures from today

Katie, Austin, Emma, Matthew. Matty is really starting to fill out-I think he's starting to look more like Austin every day. It's so nice to see the 0-3 month clothes actually get a little tighter on him!!!

My girls.................

My boys..............

My Mother's Day Present..............

Nicholas came home from school today sooo excited! He brought home his present for me and could not keep it till Sunday! He was so excited to give me my "prize". He traced the letters, "Mother's Day 2007" on a painted clay pot, and helped his teacher plant the flower inside. I absolutely love it and just about cried when he gave it to me..............he is the best, well one of the best seven children I have!!!!

Here is our new "ride"!

It doesn't get better than this, right???? 12 passenger Ford E350 van..........oh, life is good! haha. But, I drove it tonight, and it was soo nice to get out of the house with the kids by myself. So, even though it is enormous, our family needs it! So, you all will see us coming when we drive down the street!

6 months!

So, we went to the Ped on Monday for the babies' 6 month check up! These are the weights:

Matthew 10 lbs 22 1/4 inches
Kaitlin 12.8 lbs 23 3/4 inches
Emma 13.8 lbs 24 inches
Austin 17 lbs 25 3/4 inches

They are all doing great. And all, except Matty ofcourse, are showing up on a "regular" growth chart for a normal, full-term six month old! Kaitlin is in the less than 5th%, but still showing up! That is great for premature babies! I know I've said this before, but I am so proud of these four babies.

Matty is doing wonderful. He is a different baby than before his surgery. No more spit up, no more constant fussing, and no more endless crying. He is eating more than ever. Before surgery, I was lucky if he ate 2-3 ounces. Now, he will eat 5-6 ounces, then within an hour, he is crying for more! Watch out, Austin!!!!!

Look how they have grown!

The first pic was taken 12/31/06, before Katie girl came home from the NICU. But this pic (taken tonight) is taken on the same chair-look how much they have grown in 5 months! With them being around me every day, I know they are growing, but I haven't realized how much they have grown!!!!!!!!!!!!! The old pic shows Austin, Emma, and Matty. The new pic shows (in birth order) Matty, Emma, Katie, and Austin.............my 4 big pumpkins!

Matty is home!

Yes, we picked Matthew up this afternoon from CHOP! We are so glad to have him home with us. He weighs 9 lbs 9 oz (he lost a bunch of weight when he wasn't able to eat for 5 days) but he is slowly putting it back on. As you can see from the picture, Matthew wears 0-3 month clothes, while our "meatball" Austin wears 6-9 month clothes! I can't believe they turned 6 months old on the 3rd!!!!

We go for our 6 month checkup on Monday-I'll post their weights afterwards!!!

Yay-Matty is home and everyone is together!!!

Busy, busy, busy..............

Oh, I hope things calm down soon! It's been a crazy few weeks! Matty is doing well! He began feeding yesterday, and is tolerating it great! He is up to an ounce every 3 hours, and they expect him to be at 2 ounces tomorrow! So, we are thinking we should have him home soon. (These pics are from Tuesday night-he was smiling away-so happy!) As I was visiting Matty on Tuesday, I realized that the patients in the next area near Matty were actually conjoined twins!!! I was really trying to sneak a peek, but I couldn't. From what I heard from the nurse, they are attached at the chest and will be having surgery. Seeing or hearing something like that, just really puts things into perspective-you know, even with everything these babies have been through, things could always be worse. KWIM?

Anyway, Katie came home last night! Interventional Radiology put a new MIC-KEY button feeding tube in her yesterday morning. She recovered well, and is tolerating her new feeding system great.

Austin and Emma are doing great. Actually all the babies are rolling from their backs to bellies already! It's amazing to see them roll all around the floor! They are starting to recognize each other, and they coo so much and soooo loud! Austin loves to imitate you-so cute! Katie is really starting to coo, also. It's been harder for her b/c of her floppy throat, but she really is getting vocal now, much more than before. I'm so proud of each and every one of them...............I sound just like a gushy mom, huh?

Katie is my Trouble maker!

Well, no, not really. She's just given us two very eventful days. Yesterday, we rushed her to CHOP's Emergency Room because her J tube clogged and I couldn't unclog it for the life of me! So, after a 5 hour visit, Interventional Radiology put a new tube in................Then tonight, Katie decided to take her J tube out!!! Yes, her feeding tube was OUT! So, tonight I took her back to CHOP's ER-two days in a row.........however, IR was not around, and she was admitted. Docs were nice enough to put her in NICU with Matty, so I don't have to go far to visit two of my babies. We are unsure whether her J tube will be put back tomorrow (Sat) or Monday................While I was there, they stuck her four times for an IV, with no luck. Poor baby.............................

Matty is doing well. Still in a lot of pain, but that is expected. I peeked in on him tonight and he was sleeping soundly..............still no poopy diaper!

Matty had his surgery.............

So, Matty had his surgery today. It was very nervewrecking as they told us it would only be a 50 minute surgery, but ended up lasting 3.5 hours! Doc found 2 perforations in his small bowel, and a major abcess. This abcess infected his appendix, so doc removed that as well. He has about a 2 inch incision right below his belly button. He is in a lot of pain right now, and we expect it to last 3-4 days. The general rule of thumb is, that as soon as Matty poops, they can start introducing his bottle again to him..........so right now, we are waiting for him to heal and feel better and waiting for the poopy diaper!!

Matty's pics in the hospital

Where's Matty?????

We're missing a baby! Matty!

This is the first chance I had to update the blog in about a week. Last Thursday, Matthew was admitted to CHOP through the emergency room. I took him to the pediatrician that morning for fussiness, a puffy belly, and he wasn't eating well. After x-rays were taken, the ped thought Matty had a partially blocked intestine.

After many tests at CHOP, it was confirmed, Matty does have a partially blocked small intestine. This is a late complication of the NEC (necrotizing enterocolitis) he had in the NICU. Apparently, it is only a small area that is a "stricture". This small area will be cut out, and the two remaining pieces will be sewn together. Poor Matty has not been able to eat since Thursday, and is on IV fluids for nourishment. He is miserable and cranky.

We hope within one week of the surgery Wednesday Matty will be home with us. Say a prayer for him, please!

Bumbo Seats!

Katie was finally Christened!

Yes, Katie girl was finally Christened today! She did great and did not cry at all when the water was poured on her head............what a good baby! We had a nice (well, actually, it downpoured!) day out at a restaurant afterwards-it was nice to get out of the house!!

Happy Easter!!!

Here they are, dressed and ready to hit the town!! We had an eventful day today. We first visited our great-grandmother's and then had dinner with our "Nanny and Poppy". We had a fun time and behaved really well! The Easter Bunny brought us a Fischer Price Play Gym that we're excited to get some use out of...............