March of Dimes

We are participating in the March of Dimes again this year with team "Natey and the Quads".  As most of you know, my sister's son Nathan was born unexpectedly at about 31 weeks due to preeclampsia.  This was a shock to our family, as we had no experience with premature babies.  My sister was expecting a normal pregnancy and this was an impossibly hard experience for her.  There is no way to understand what it feels like to not be able to hold your newborn baby unless you experience it yourself.  And then to see your baby for the first time surrounded by wires is even harder.

Nathan in the NICU

My first time holding Nate.  

Natey's first Easter

Soon after Natey was born, I found out I was having quadruplets.  My experience with preemies was very hard as well, but in different ways.   I knew from the beginning that my babies would spend some time in the NICU.  However, I had FOUR preemies, each with their own troubles.  Thank goodness for the research and medical advances that make it possible for one pound babies to survive and eventually thrive!

The March of Dimes mission is to help moms have full-term pregnancies and research the problems that threaten the health of babies.  To learn more about their mission visit their website here:  March of Dimes.

If you would like to help our team you can donate here.  I am also hosting a 31 product party and 10 % of the proceeds will go to help our team.  If you would like to order go here:  Thirty One Party  .
Click on My Parties and then shop now under Team Natey and the Quads.  The party will close on March 26th.

Some pictures from last years walk:

Last year we walked at the hospital where Nate was born.  This year we are walking in Valley Forge on April 26.  Let's hope for a beautiful day!  Thanks to all who supported us last year and those who ordered from 31 this year!  We are hoping to have another fundraiser in the coming weeks.  Stay tuned.

17 month update

The Quads are 17 months old!  It has been a rough winter at the Hill household.  It is really hard to not be able to take the quads out for walks, to the park, etc.  I think they are getting bored being in the same room all the time.  We haven't had a chance to "toddler-proof" the basement yet, so we are basically in our living room (thank goodness it's pretty big!) all day.  We have one of our snacks and breakfast, lunch and dinner in the kitchen.  We stay on the same floor of the house basically all day!

Our schedule (We recently pushed everything up along with the time change):

7:15 am Wake up- Eric makes breakfast while I get the quads dressed for the day.  They are now starting to go down the steps by themselves depending on distractions!  Cameron and Cooper are pros and Mia and Hannah just need a little help.

7:30 Breakfast- eggs, pancakes, or french toast and milk.  We give them dry cereal if they are still hungry.  They are up to 5 eggs between the four of them and could probably eat more.  

8:00 Play time

9:00 Small snack in their snack cups (goldfish, dry cereal, cheese its, animal crackers,etc.) and water.  

10:00  The Quads crawl upstairs for "quiet time".  They have books and toys in their cribs at this time.  Usually they talk/whine and then fall asleep for a little bit.

10:30  I get them up and they come back downstairs.  Check diapers.  More play time.  Sesame Street gets put on the TV at 10:00, but they are not very interested in TV at this stage.

12:15  Lunch-  We give them all different things for lunch with their milk.  Usually it is grilled cheese, PB and J, yogurt, rotisserie chicken, mac n cheese, or something like that.  Often they have fruit too.

12:45 Get cleaned up, check diapers again and play for a little bit until it is time for nap.

1:00ish- Afternoon nap.  This can last anywhere from 1-3 hours.  Cameron is the best napper and the twins sometimes end up down on the couch napping after an hour.  I would like to let them fuss a little and fall back asleep upstairs, but I still worry they will wake the others.

Around 3:00 The quads start to get up.  When all or most of them are up we have snack at the table.  It is usually something a little more substantial than the morning snack.  When they are finished they play again until dinner.  This is usually the time we can take them somewhere to get out of the house.  Hopefully the weather will continue to improve so we can do this more often.

Between 5:30 and 6- Dinner -  The Quads are not very picky.  They always have some kind of meat or fish with this meal, along with veggies, fruit, etc.  They eat ALOT!  Sometimes we are scrambling because we didn't plan for enough food for them!

After Dinner we change them into their PJs or do baths.  I think once the weather is better we will add a walk.  

Bedtime is around 7:15 now.  I was really having trouble with them getting up so early (6:00), so we are hoping the time change and change in our schedule will help them to wake up closer to 7:00.  That way Eric can get ready for his day and I can sleep in a little more.  I know many kids go to bed later than that, but with the four of them we have no time to do anything while they are awake.  We are really trying to avoid having them go to bed any later than that.


Hannah

Our little Hannie is finally starting to walk.  She is only up to two steps, but that is huge for her.  She remains our tiniest at only about 18 lbs.  Everything about her is petite.  She is moving into 18 month tops (although 12 still do fit!), but 18 month bottoms are still much too big.  She is very brave and will try to climb to get everywhere even if she really isn't strong enough.  Hannah loves to play with the Little People animals and farm. She can sit and play with them for a long time, unless Cooper stops by to knock everything over!  Hannah has a silly streak and the cutest smile when she is doing something she shouldn't be.


Mia

Mia is still our "chubbiest" baby.  She is becoming a great walker.  She is in 18 month clothes.  Mia likes to play with cars, the poppers, and balls the most.  She has major "stranger anxiety" right now, which can make things pretty difficult.  We have to give her time to "warm up" even to people she knows.  She usually will cling to me and just kind of stare at people until she feels comfortable.  Mia is the only one who points at herself when we say "Where's Mia".  We happen to think that's pretty smart :)  Mia loves to eat!  


Cooper

Cooper is still the biggest by far.  Many people think we have triplets because he just looks older!  Cooper picks up on everything.  He knows where things go and scans the room in the morning to make sure there isn't anything new and everything is in it's place!  He closes the bathroom door if it's open and tells us to put up the blinds.  Cooper likes to dance, climb, and move everything around the room.  He is a good boy and often plays really nicely, but also disrupts the girls while they are playing.  He will come over and flip over the toy they are playing with or try to take it.  We are also having some trouble with him biting.  Boys are definitely different than girls!  

Cameron

Cameron is a loving girl.  She gives the best hugs and kisses.  The quads have started to hug and kiss each other.  It is the cutest thing ever.  She is happy most of the time, but if someone takes something that is "hers" she throws herself down and cries.  She is so dramatic.  It is going to be super fun shopping with her as she gets older.  I can just picture her throwing herself on the floor if she doesn't get what she wants.  Maybe it is a little payback.  Cami has the funniest hair line right now.  Long in the back and short in the front.  She is also a little parrot and says the most words.  She is wearing 18 month clothes.  

We're back!

We're back!  I am starting with a fresh blog because I don't have time to go back and watermark all my old pictures!  Stay tuned for our 17 month update!