quad mommas

I am very fortunate to have access to over 40 quad mommas across the country. We e-mail daily and these women have become my life-line. I have never been much for support groups or therapy sessions, but when I saw 4 heartbeats in ME I just about lost it! I mean seriously that sorta stuff happens to other people, but not me. I'm type A, organized and always plan everything. Now this was chaos! To top it off we live over an hour from my doctor and my husband couldn't go with me (he had to stay in town on call for work). And I didn't like my doctor. So here I am an emotional wreck having to drive by myself to a doctor that I did not like. Being as OCD as I am, I had al ready did a complete internet research on quads (I even read about the first recorded set of quads in history), read all the statistics (and all the complications), and signed up with the local multiples club (an hour away). My mind boggled with all the statistics of miscarriage (it didn't help that my fertility doc assured me that I was too old to carry quads and would miscarry one or two) and stories of complications if they did survive. Due to a miscalculation I was al ready 13 weeks along when I had my first appointment with a perinatologist (MFM) and it did not go so well. I bawled the entire time, I did not like her. And my husband thought it was just my emotional state of mind, which did not help matters! Well, I get this e-mail from JB that changed my world. She had 1 1/2 yr old quads that were healthy! I couldn't believe it, healthy quads? Was it possible? And she agreed to go with me to my next appointment. I'll never forget meeting her for the first time in the lobby of the hospital. She was like an angel walking toward me, I instantly loved her (and still do!). At the end of the appointment (which I ended up just walking out of the room on the doc), JB agreed I was switching docs! So I called the other hospital in town and the MFM actually called me back. Wow, amazing. I instantly loved him too. See the pattern, when I was pregnant I either instantly loved you or hated you, there was no in-between. Anyway, JB was there for me the entire time. She eased my mind and not only told me I could do this but was an excellent quad momma role model for how I could do this. She hooked me up with the quad momma connection that ended up being the best support system I could ever imagine. They encouraged me all the way through my pregnancy, the NICU rollercoaster ride, those first few months at home with the babies on monitors, and every step of the way since. When I had to take all 4 babies in for 4 month immunizations all by myself, I panicked. But, I emailed my quad mommas and within an hour not only did I know I could do it, but I HAD to do it! That's the kind of encouragement these women give. Empowering! I hate to think where I'd be right now without the support of my quad mommas. They have become as much a part of my daily life as water, I need them. I hope each and every one of them knows how special they are to me.
Now Lisa. Lisa is pretty special to me because she also delivered 2 boys and 2 girls just 5 days after me. I mean, what are the odds? We were there for each other during the pregnancy and the long hospital stay on bedrest. Although she didn't go in as soon as I did, so I was pretty jealous of her sitting on the beach (cause yea that's the kind of friend she is, she'd send me pictures of the beautiful beach while I was laid up in the hospital- hehehe), but eventually she was laid up too and then we got to compare aches and pains daily. We were constantly emailing asking if the other felt this or if that was normal and sending encouraging notes to eachother at our weekly anniversary (so when I reached say 30 weeks on Tues, then she did on Thurs). It was so nice to have someone to go through that pregnancy with that I knew understood how I felt. And I totally 'got it' when she complained about the intern waking her up before the sun to ask all the same questions that her doctor would come in later to ask. And she was there for me when I thought I was going to rip apart the nurses for turning the light on in the middle of the night to give me my pill (to stop contractions). But instead I called the nurse manager to my room to discuss the matter. Yes, I was a little testy! But I did end up spending 60 days inside those 4 walls, that's enough to drive anyone insane. But Lisa was there for me that entire CrAzY time, and she's still my friend. Now that's a true friend!
Tomorrow is my babies first birthday, so please excuse me while I get all emotional and reminisce about this whole experience.
--
Kimberly King
Mother to Alexis & Adrien (10/00),
Anastasia (9/08), and
Allee, Aiden, Ashton, & Bellla (8/09)
thekingsquad.blogspot.com