Here's a few more details about the birth:
I'd been having bad back pain constant for a few days and nothing was helping, vicodin or heating pads. On Saturday night every time I got up to use the restroom I would get naseous and get sick. By yesterday morning when the doctors rounded they saw how I was feeling and ordered blood work. My magnesium levels (the meds that stop me from contracting) were at a dangerous level so they had to turn off the medication. My body was also showing signs of my liver failing after they got the blood results. By around noon the doctor didn't like the way I was looking and feeling with my back so she decided to check me. I was 4 centimeters dilated with the lowest baby sitting right on my cervix and the bag bulging. Bad thing is I had that stitch in my cervix which meant I was tearing through, not good! So by 2:15 I was wheeled off for delivery. Luckily Hubby was down with the kids visiting and my IM only had a short drive. My IF was out of the area so he missed the birth.
All but The smallest baby are breathing room air but he's only on a nasal canula, not fully intubated, things could change from day to day with any of them but they look great now. My IM has spent all her time in there with them trying to comfort any that cry. They even let her hold 3 of them skin to skin last night.
I haven't seen the babies yet but my mom brought back some cute pictures she took for my kiddos and I to see. I should be seeing them in the next few hours once my bleeding is a bit better and I can sit long enough.

Well, that's it! We had a storybook happy ending! All the time, pain and frustration was worth it knowing there are 4 healthy as can be babies here now.

The quads are here!

Melissa's body decided it was time for the quads to get here, so they delivered them today at 33 weeks and two days.

All are doing great. Only one baby has needed oxygen so far. Here are their weights and lengths:

Baby A 3 lb 13 Oz 16"
Baby B 3 lb 13 Oz 16"
Baby C 3 lb 8 Oz 18"
Baby D 3 lb 13 Oz 18"

Melissa did great according to the nurses. She did not need blood and can already wiggle her toes.

Will update more tomorrow, time to rest.

33 Weeks

A belly comparison, it's grown a lot in just 1 week!

Day 64 in the hospital.
41 pound weight gain, belly measuring 48" around and 56 weeks pregnant.
Made it to 33 weeks, yay! I'm still chugging along trying to stay positive and occupy my mind. Just wish my back wouldn't hurt so much, it keeps me from sleeping and walking is becoming difficult (never thought I'd be saying those words). But the end is in sight and everything will go back to the way it was. My kiddos are here again for the weekend, for the last time before the big day! They are very excited to have their mommy back and enjoy the summer together. They all want to be here on the day I get released to see me leave through the doors and get into our car. It will be a wonderful happy day! I will be out in time for the 4th of July so we are making plans with my parents to find some local event to attend. It will be nice to not miss another holiday, I missed Easter, Mother's Day and Father's Day is tomorrow.
I'm anxious to see how much the babies will weigh. I've read some stories of quads born at 34 weeks that were born between 4.5-5 pounds and only spent days in the NICU not months or weeks. I'm guessing that's how big these little ones will be! What a relief I already feel knowing I've done a good job and have done my best to give these babies a good start in life.

32 Weeks 5 Days

Day 61 in the hospital...12 more days until C-section!

Another smooth few days. Had a visit from my kids and my older brother and fam over the weekend. It was really nice and made the time go by quickly.
The first BPP scan was on Monday, everything looked great, all babies scored 8/8. The next will be tomorrow and I'm not expecting anything different.
I've been feeling really good, nothing really to complain about. Although my back gives me trouble but I can't imagine it wouldn't considering :) I'm starting to really feel big, my belly skin is hard and tight, not sure how it's managed to stretch this far. But it's reassuring because I know it means the babies are growing and getting stronger each day in my belly, not in a NICU with cords and IVs and no one holding them.
I'm still in disbelief sometimes that we've come so far and things are going along complication free right now (knock on wood). I've read so many quad blogs and it rarely seems the norm. I figured out, I read just over 30 blogs with the average delivery being 29.5 weeks and only 3 made it to where I'm at now. Only 1 made it to 34 weeks for her scheduled C-section....1!!! I have 12 more days to prove I too can be added to that category! I'm certain I'll be successful.

Here's my progress on baby cross stitch project #2

My lovely daughter decorated my room with a beautifully long paper chain, I love it! She's so thoughtful and creative.

32 Weeks

Day 58 in the hospital
40 pound weight gain
Belly measuring 47 1/2" around and 53 weeks pregnant
4 strong heartbeats moving all around

Amazing!!! So relieved to be at this point. Some thought it couldn't be done, but we did it! The risks to the babies drops significantly from this point on, I am so happy about that. I'm mentally preparing for NICU time but I know it will be much shorter than other quads.
I've been feeling good, I go outside in the wheel chair everyday. The doctor said it was fine if I wanted to sit in a chair in my room instead of laying in the bed all day. Although it's not comfortable for long, it's nice having that privilege. At this point mentally, I feel strong and capable of getting through the next 14 days. Each day seems all to similar to the one before it but it's doable, easy. Less interruptions, interventions and mental strain than before...I like it that way. Right now, I'm watching a TV series from Netflix on my IPad and finishing my second of four cross stitch projects for the babies. That pretty much fills my day along with my daily visitors. I am ok with that to get through each day. I'm anxious for the delivery and think about it often. But I know keeping my mind quiet and occupied is best. I feel supported and cheered on from every direction, we've accomplished so much, I'm still amazed!
I hope one day I can offer support to a fellow surrogate or expectant quad mom. And although this wasn't on my bucket list, I'm glad I was fortunate enough to have been apart of this amazing experience. With the help of the best doctors, nurses, family and friends, we have been successful!
Tomorrow we start 2 times per week bio physical profiles on the babies.
So, if my water doesn't break or I don't have a bleed, I don't develop sudden pre-e or there aren't any urgent problems with the babies...they will officially come into this world on June 27th around 9:30 am!!!!

31 Weeks 5 Days- Growth Ultrasound

Growth ultrasound today!
Day 54 in the hospital...19 more days until delivery!!!
Babies weights are estimated to be:
A- 3 lbs 10 oz
B- 3 lbs 10 oz
C- 3 lbs 12 oz
D- 3 lbs 7 oz
Awesome weights and measurements. The doctor said how amazing it was and how nicely by body is tolerating growing that many babies, so many things could go wrong. So, that's the last scan before delivery.
I'm still feeling good, going outside most days. Started watching tv series on Netflix with my Paid, watching 30 Rock right now for something funny to lighten each day. Then maybe onto a drama series.
My IM is feeling the pressures realizing it won't be much longer now! :)
She is frantically spending her days shopping and organizing in preparation for the babies. She has a nanny on board to look after her older children while she visits the NICU. Along with my breast milk, she has secured another person to donate for the babies and has a freezer all set up for the supply. I think she's nearly ready, I know I am! :)
Things are still looking a lot better for me, I feel great even with the strains of a big belly. I am trying to stay positive and just find ways to distract myself to get through each day. I look forward to visitors and doing my cross stitching for the babies. I try not to think about being bored or what I'd rather be doing, those are the harder days and I've made myself suffer through enough of those.
I'm finding it a lot harder to eat. My mom has been cooking and bringing me meals so I don't always have to eat the horrible hospital food. My stomach space is definitely limited so it takes me a long time to eat a whole meal. I have been doing quick shots of protein powder in water every morning and night so I can at least keep up on that. I take my prenatal, calcium, iron, potassium, omega fish oil and asprin each day. I don't feel like I can do anymore and although my weight gain has been minimal, the babies are growing fine. I think once this is all over I will have a lot of rebuilding to do but I'm ready! We're looking at nice treadmills for the house so I can use it while the kids are outside playing and I don't have an excuse to not go to the gym. I know what I need to do to get my body back and I'm looking forward to it! One day I might be able to have a nice little tummy tuck or laser surgery to fix all the marks but we'll see how much I can fix on my own.
I miss my hubby and kiddos but they should be coming back up to visit this weekend. My hubby commented that the last few weeks had flown by since he's been working and driving the kids around and such. Then I think he realized time doesn't just fly by for me, it drags, so he apologized :) It makes me so happy to know that my family is enjoying themselves and not upset that I'm not there.
19 more days...woohooooooooooo!!!!

My countdown sheets my mom made for my room

31 Weeks 3 Days

No such luck.

What a weekend! So, all labs still show I don't have anything to worry about pre-e wise, yet.
Last night I started having chest pain and decided to tell my nurse. I ended up with a blood draw, chest xray and an EKG. My chest and lungs looked fine but my mag results were high again. Also, my iron levels were horribly low (7) so they decided to start a blood transfusion right away (it's midnight by now). So, I was up all night with that and they decided to give me IV Lasix (sp) too since I was being given so many fluids. Ya, that's not fun (it makes you get rid of fluids), suddenly realizing you have to pee so bad it's painful! My poor nurse, she sat in my room with me all night.
So, the plan is still day by day, more monitoring and blood tests. Dr. E is stopping the oral Motrin (for contractions) at 32 weeks but has no plans to take off the mag (bummer!). He's saying unless my health situation drastically changes and he feels delivery is necessary, I stay pregnant! I know it's the best place for the babies, I guess we all hit a wall sometimes. I'm nearly there... 3 more weeks exactly! I'm going to force myself to be more positive and goal oriented. Maybe this stranger's blood was all I needed :)

Growth ultrasound on wednesday...excited to see how big they are now!

My hubby and kiddos went back home today after a nice weekend visiting. My hubby seemed extra sad this time but the kids are doing so well. It's funny how we have our ups and downs but we've come so far, there's no way we can fail now!

31 Weeks 2 Days

Still here and preggo, things are getting a lot harder. Not much has changed. I'm still in the early stages of pre e so nothing drastic will be happening right now. We are talking about making some changes/compromises like turning off the mag at 32 weeks since my contractions are easily controlled with terbutaline and giving me more freedoms and privileges. Although, with the way I'm feeling I know my body and I don't think I'll make it much farther, we'll see.

Thought I'd share some pics:
The hospital bed rest preggo ladies convoy going outside for some fresh air.

Our support group we made up. Except the one on the very right (triplets) decided to go into labor and delivered about 3 hours after this picture...boo!

My silly girls

Me and my girls

31 Weeks

31 weeks! 50 days in the hospital. Belly measuring 53 weeks pregnant, 46" around, 40 pound weight gain.
Yesterday definatley had its ups and downs. After feeling symptomatic from the mag they decided to do a blood draw. My levels were in the toxic range so they had to turn off the mag for 2 hours then lower it to 2.5 from 2.75. All morning I still felt pretty crummy and noticed I wasn't peeing as much as before and blood pressure was higher but not too high.
They decided to run some labs and found out my uric acid levels were elevated and kidney function was worse, all early signs of pre eclampcia. This got Dr. Elliott to rethink his plans with me. He reluctantly decided to give me the steroid shots for the babies lungs knowing it causes contractions. So, I've spent the last 24 hours being given terbulatine shots, IV motrin and they increased the mag back up to 2.75. I'm contracting 8-12 times per hour, up from 2-3. Dr. E said we may not make it to 34 weeks, that is still the goal but we have to take it day by day now. They also started a 24 hour urine collection which will eventually be tested for protein, another indicator of pre e.
So, overall I've noticed increased swelling all over my body and lower urine output. Last night was a rough night with my back, didn't sleep well at all. I'm hoping that's not an indicator of things changing, who knows with me. I have my daily ultrasound in a bit so we'll see what they find there. Hopefully he'll be able to take a quick peak at my cervix.
I have to say that I definitely feel like I've turned a corner, things are getting a lot harder physically and I just have this feeling that it won't be much longer. It would be great to get to 32 weeks so the babies are that much bigger but I'm just proud to have come this far!

Day by day, hour by hour. I'll update if anything changes.

30 Weeks 6 Days

I talked to my IM yesterday and I have to say I feel so relieved. I told her the delivery date and she seemed very happy with that. I asked if she was disappointed or bothered and she said no. I am so glad and grateful we can move past this now. It feels reassuring knowing there is an official "end date". Plus I think it makes it more real for her. My family seems happy and are supportive as always.
Yesterday morning I had this sudden pain/irritation downstairs. I hurried to use the restroom but nothing burned or hurt then. I told the nurse who promptly called the doctor. He used a speculum to check things out and tested for amniotic fluid. Tested negative for amniotic fluid and didn't appear to be a yeast infection. So, they tested my urine which came back with trace amounts of blood. They started me on antibiotics while they wait for the culture to grow, it can take a few days. I feel loads better now, just another day :)
My triplet neighbor texted and said she was having sudden pains too, back and belly. I told her she better not have her babies before I have the quads! She promised she wouldn't, we're both still here and preggo. :)
I miss my babies but they might be able to come up this weekend for a visit. My hubby is taking them to the beach today, they're really excited.