The Pregnancy

I figure there's no better place to start then here...the pregnancy. After trying for a year and half to get pregnant (and I mean really trying, with temperature charts and everything!), we decided it was time to get a little help. My doctor had been testing my progesterone levels, and they were extremely low. He suggested I take Clomid to boost my progesterone and ensure ovulation. He warned me that there was a slight increase in the risk of twins when taking Clomid. We took the risk! Several of my friends had also taken Clomid to get pregnant with their single babies. It sounded like a good idea. And it worked! In November 2005, I got pregnant! Because of the chance of twins, my doctor ordered an ultrasound at about 8 weeks. As I was looking at the screen, I thought it looked a little strange. The sonographer said, "Yeah...yeah, there's four!" I said, "Four what?!?" She answered, "Four babies!" I started laughing. Jim started moaning and nearly threw up. My doctor promply sent me to the Perinatal Center, where they specialized in high-risk pregnancies, which I had suddenly become, and so began my journey into quadville!
Considering my situation, my pregnancy was surprisingly smooth. They started me on weekly progesterone shots pretty early on. I had a cerclage right before Spring Break in March. After that I only taught half-days. At the end of April, I spent a week at Ft. Sanders Hospital where we discovered I had begun having contractions. They started me on a terbuteline pump which gave me a fairly constant stream of medicine straight into my leg to help control the contractions and sent me home with a monitor. I had to monitor my contractions twice a day. I did not go back to teaching after this. It was bedrest time for me! Jim set up a little fridge and microwave in the living room for me so I hardly had to get up for anything. My wonderful friend Michelle, who had recently moved to Knoxville, came over every day at lunchtime and made me lunch so I didn't have to work too hard and kept me company so I didn't go stir-crazy. (Side note: On the very same day that Michlle's husband Judah interviewed for the job that would eventually bring their family to Knoxville, we had the ultrasound that informed us we were having quads! God plans things so perfectly!) I owe so much to Michelle for helping Jim take care of me all that time!
The babies were due July 30, but I had always assumed that they would arrive more like the end of May or early June. Instead, they hung out in my ever-expanding tummy until June 20. I was at home on bedrest until the day before they were born. In the realm of quad pregnancies, that's practically unheard of! My doctors admitted me to the hospital on the 19th because my blood work was starting to look funny. The morning of the 20th it looked bad enough that they decided it was time for the babies to enter the world. I was coming down with pre-eclampsia, so the time was now. I was about to be a mommy!