My Baby is in Kindergarten!

David James Quinn did what every 5 year old does... he went to Kindergarten. On August 16, 2011 Walter and I walked our baby to Mrs. Kelley's classroom at Eclectic Elementary School. Only 6 kids were there that day and 4 of them were already sitting at a big table. There was a coloring page in front of each chair. Mrs. Kelley showed David how to unpack his bag and where to put his folder. He went and sat down in front of a coloring page. He doesn't like coloring so I thought he would tell her. Fortunately, he did not. He began coloring instead. The room was extrememly quiet... until David sat down. He grabbed a red crayon and announced he was coloring the apple red. Then the same with the yellow pencil and so on. He wasn't shy at all. I wonder what his teacher thought??? Walter and I told him bye and we loved him. He said the same and that was that.

Baby Showers

Wetumpka Elementary School Diaper Shower

Friends and Family~ Faith Baptist Church

New Home Baptist Church

Another Journey Begins... the Birth of Daniel and Dillan

Sunday, July 31, 2011, I had a baby shower at my church. Everything went great. That night I had some hard contractions and then they went away. The same thing happened the following day. I had a doctor's appointment August 2nd and I had a feeling Dr. Martin would be sending me to the hospital. Out of all the contractions I have had, I don't know why I felt this time it would be it. My Aunt NaNa came and picked me up for my doctor's appointment. My feet were so swollen. Let me change that. My whole entire legs were swollen from my toes up to my thighs! They were so tight and sore. Anyways... I got called back to the room. Thank God because my circulation was cut off from sitting and I was having to stand. The nurse commented on my "significantly swollen" body. Dr. Marting was in soon after. He snatched my list of questions out of my hands. I said you are about to send me to the hospital aren't you? He answered with "Yea, essentially". He checked me and I was 3-4 centimeters dilated. I told him I REALLY needed to go by Wal-Mart to get some batteries. That was totally out of the question. He requested I go home, get my bags, and beat him back to the hospital. The plan was for me to spend the night there and do a 24 hour urine to test for protein and such, so I did. On Thursday morning, August 4, they would give me fluids, an epidural, then break my water. He said he would be done at the office by 1:00 and then we would probably have babies.
Fast forward to August 4. Urine was fine and so was mama and babies. Nurse Jennie (I love her) woke me up at 4:00 to go to Labor and Delivery. She asked if I had been feeling contractions because I was having them regularly. I told her no, I was sleeping! She moved my rather quickly. We got there and Niki started my fluids. Walter was concerned with the tv at this time and I was contracting and they were HURTING! How did I naturally start contracting on the same day the dr wanted me to deliver. AMAZING! The man came in to give me my epidural. I had to get up and when I did... MY WATER BROKE ALL OVER THE FLOOR! I looked at the nurse and said, I think my water just broke. She looked at me in shock and said are you serious? Walter yells, did you just pee all over the floor??? The man tells me to hurry up and get back on the table because I am about to start hurting bad. I listened. That epidural was more painful than the last time. They also made Walter leave the room at this time. I later found out he went out and called all the grandparents since things seemed to be progressing faster than expected. After the epi was in place, they checked my cervix. I was 5 cm. At about 8:00, Dr. Martin came in to check me. He said I was ready. READY? What? Already? (Later I would find out he felt the head when he checked me). Mom and Walter started getting on their scrubs since I had to birth in the OR. Within minutes, we were off to the OR. We got there and people were running around everywhere setting things up.
I was going to attempt this vaginally because I knew it was better for my babies. Baby B was still transverse/breech, but there was a 66% chance they would be able to turn him after A delivered. My feet were put in stirrups. I told Dr. Martin I felt pressure. He replied, I am sure you do, you are about to spontaneously give birth! Minutes later I was told to push. I pushed 10 seconds and heard them suctioning his mouth. I pushed 2 more seconds and heard the magical scream from who would later be named Dillan by his older brother. Then on to Daniel. Three doctors immediately began trying to turn him. An ultrasound was on my belly watching him and his heart rate. After about the 3rd attempt, it hit me. I needed to be praying. So I did. Walter said he would turn and then spin back around to where he was. Then, Dr. Marting went in to try to turn him. That's when I heard his heart rate went down and we are going to have to do a C-section. Organized chaos started again. Things were getting thrown out of the way. Walter and mom were ushered out until things were ready, and a curtain went up.
Then I heard the anesthesiologist told me to tell her if I felt anything. I was okay, so the procedure went on. Then I heard my sweet Daniel cry. Next thing I knew I had pain in my lower stomach. I started looking behind me for the anesthesiologist and she wasn't there. I said "Ow" in a medium voice. She was at the back of the room and didn't respond. So I shouted "OW!" She came and gave me a dose of something in my IV. Dr. Martin began again. Same exact thing happened again! More meds given. Dr. Martin waited a couple of minutes to start again. No more pain. In the mean time, Brandy brought Dillan over to see me before he was taken to the nursery. Later, I would find out Daniel had to have fluid taken off his lungs by some tube because he didn't come through the birth canal and have all of it squeezed out. It is amazing how God made things work. He was put in the well baby nursery extended care on oxygen. I was taken to recovery alone. Then Walter and David came.
Next thing I know they took me back to the Labor and Delivery room. Dillan was brought in to stay with us. All my visitors came in too. Daniel could not join us and I couldn't get up. Therefore, I didn't meet my little guy until 12 hours later. Heartbreaking...
The next few days were rough. When I was in my room, Dillan was with me. I went to the nursery to see Daniel. Early Saturday morning the pediatrician came in and told me they had to move Daniel to the NICU because his calcium levels went down. They would have to give him an IV. Things got harder from this point on. First, I am not a very emotional person, but this made me cry. Now to visit Daniel, we had to go to NICU, scrub our hands and arms, and touch him through a incubator. He was in there alone, had an IV in his tiny hand, oxygen in his nose, and a feeding tube in his mouth. Only 2 people were allowed to visit at a time. Between, feeding, pumping, taking care of Dillan, visiting Daniel, having 6 fever blisters show up from all the stress, steroids, and hormones, and seeing visitors, the days were busy and overwhelming. My nerves were gone!
I was able to stay one extra night so I could be with both boys. Then Monday came. I got to take one child home and leave the other one behind to grow and get strong. I was happy and devastated at the same time. This was the start of a whirlwind week...

The End of Preschool... Beginning of Something New

David attended K3 and K4 at First Baptist Church in Wetumpka. It was a great place to be. He met new friends, learned all his letters and sounds, can read 3 letter words, counts to 100, and loves books. He had library time, music class, and computer once a week. Throughout the year, the school had different celebrations. They had a Fall Festival, Turkey Trot where they had a race, The Polar Express Day, Grandparent's Day Breakfast, and end of year festivities. David loved his teachers, Mrs. Woodruff and Mrs. Johnson, this year. They were great with him. These pictures are from the Graduation Program where David was Uncle Sam.

Nothing Like A Twin Pregnancy

So I left you with last time with me being put on bed rest at 22.5 weeks pregnant with Dillan John and Daniel Jeremiah. You probably wonder how that happened. Well... it was Mother's Day, 2011. A great day. We woke up as a family, went to church, and then went to my grandparent's (Peggy and Buford Haynes) house for lunch. I was feeling fine. We bought 12 acres of land this year and it was loaded with blackberries. David loves blackberries and so do I. We decided to go over to the land and eat some. After all, it's the memories that count. Boy, did we make a memory! We came home and David took a nap. A little while later, I felt pressure. A LOT OF PRESSURE! I sat down for a little while and then David woke up. All three of us walked out in the yard. I decided I couldn't take it anymore. I came in and took a bath. No change. I called the doctor on call. He told me to take some Tylenol and if that didn't work, go to the hospital. I did and sat down in the recliner. When I stood up, I couldn't straighten up. I was walking bow-legged. I looked at Walter and said we gotta go! We all loaded up in the car, dropped David off with my mom, and went to East.
We arrived and things moved FAST! The nurse quickly asked me questions, hooked me up to monitors to watch contractions and the babies' heart beats. She said things looked okay. About 10 minutes later, she came rushing in my room with a hand full of stuff. She said I was contracting every 2-4 minutes! IVs started going in, cathera, they checked me. Thank God I was only dilated a fingertip. All of this was very overwhelming. I couldn't be strong any longer. I started crying. Walter looked very worried. We didn't know what was going on or what to expect. We knew if our babies were born, their chances were not good at all. The pill they had given me did not work, an IV of magnesium was started. We will refer to this drug as the devil drug from now on.
The magnesium made me feel drugged and drunk or maybe the day after doing drugs and drinking. The inside of my face was on extremely hot, I looked like I was sunburned, I couldn't see straight, and I was weak. I couldn't even see who people were without closing one of my eyes. When the tv was on, I would close my eyes and just listen. David came to visit and I will never forget the look on his face. He looked at me with such concern and fear. The way I looked and all the IVs in me... he knew. I stayed on the devil drug for 2 or 3 days. They started lowering the dose to see how my body reacted. Eventually the IVs were gone. The total hospital stay was 6 days. The day I came home was joyous, even though I would be on bed rest from here to the end.
I came home and we set up everything for me in the living room around the recliner. I was to lay unless I got up to go to the bathroom, shower, or get some lunch. My family, friends, and church family took action immediately. The started bringing dinner almost every night. That was wonderful . It was one less thing Walter had to do after coming home. He already had to get David to my dad's or Walter's parents each morning, work all day, pick David up, feed us and the goat, clean the kitchen, get David clean, and put him to bed. This killed me. My summer days were always for me and David to hang out, go shopping, to the park, Pump It Up, swimming, to the beach. We spent each day on a different adventure. His adventures would now be with his grandparents. Thinking about this was one of the only things that made me cry. How does he feel? Does he understand? I found ways to spend time with him in the afternoons and weekends. We played board games (I'm the Queen of Uno Attack), read books online, snuggled, and watched movies together. Eventually, I could go outside late in the evenings and watch him play for short periods of time.
Three weeks after coming home, at 26 weeks, labor was on again. To the hospital we went. Same events over. Nurses rushing in, IVs, cathera, devil drug, and this time steroids. I was contracting every two minutes, so they were in a hurry. Steroid shot in the hip; I screamed! It was very painful ( found out the nurse was in such a hurry that she didn't swap the "mixing" needle to the one that goes in the skin). Walter decided to say a joke at this moment about David getting his dramatic behavior from his mama. At this time, words I am not proud of came spilling out. I glared at him, gritted my teeth, and yelled "I will kick you in the _____!" The room went silent.
This trip went the way the first trip did except it only lasted 3 days this time. Back home we went for more bed rest. It didn't end here.
About 4 weeks later, I was having some contractions, itching on my palms, bottom of my feet, all around, and some pain in my right side. This time we were sent to TRIOG. I told them I thought I had something called cholestasis, which is uncommon. Of course, the doctor on call, Dr. Williams, did not listen. He was actually rude and told me he's been doing this for a long time and to trust him. Famous last words... Anyway ultrasound showed my right kidney was completely closed off. Admitted again. The next morning, dye was injected, xray taken. Blocked, but didn't know why. Baby A's head blocked the bottom of the urethra. Two hours later, same thing. I was finally allowed to eat around 2:00. At 5:00, another xray. Walter came to visit and Dr. Butha showed up at my door. He came all the way back to the hospital to tell me I would have no stint, Baby A had moved, and that was what had blocked the kidney. That was music to our ears! Another praise. He even got Dr. Martin to come and sign discharge papers for me to leave that night! Awesome.
I have been home ever since. I monitor myself for contractions with a machine twice a day and send it to a nurse. She calls me and tells me what she sees. That gives me a peace of mind. I am now 34.5 weeks and have been told they will not stop labor this time. I can't believe this journey is almost over and another beginning. I am determined to do what it takes to keep my babies healthy. Me being miserable is worth our sons being as healthy as possible. Walter has been great, David has been great, and so has everyone else around us. The support amazes me. Right now, both babies weigh over 5 pounds according to the ultrasound. I want them to be over 6, but I will be happy with healthy. Only 2.5 weeks left, at the most. I can't wait!
For the record, I contemplated putting these pictures on here. Belly pictures are not the most attractive thing in the world to me.

About 8/9 weeks

About 16 weeks

About 26 weeks

About 32 weeks

Our Journey to Conceive

I have thought very hard about sharing this story with others. I have never had a problem with talking to people and sharing our journey. However, it seems a little different to share online. It takes away the personal aspect of things for me. Here we go anyway.

It all began about 4 months after Walter and I were wed in 2004. I messed up with my birth control pills and ended up pregnant. Easy as that! Bam! There it was. It was a big surprise, but we were both extremely excited. We have always talked about wanting children and not waiting a long, long time before beginning. We wanted to be young. We told our parents about us being pregnant and soon everyone knew! At 7 weeks pregnant, I knew something was wrong. I was having horrible cramps that had me doubled over. I couldn't get it to stop. Being young and inexperienced, I didn't want to call and bother Dr. Garrard. After a while, I called and they asked me to come in. I went, they did an ultrasound, and didn't tell me anything. I had to wait on Dr. Garrard to come and tell me... I had miscarried. He acted as if it was no big deal. Women miscarry all the time. I, however, was devastated. When I told Walter, he was too. He didn't want to talk about it. Instead, he wanted to be left alone.

Fast forward about 6 months later, pregnant again with no problems conceiving. I went to Dr. Garrard and he confirmed it. Surely, this time nothing will happen. We didn't tell anyone, just in case. At 8 weeks, while taking a final at Alabama State University, I knew something was wrong again. I called the doctor and he told me to come in immediately. Same routine. I had miscarried... again. What is wrong with me??? Again, Dr. Garrard stated it just happens. Just happens? Twice? Come to find out, I have O- blood and Walter had A+. They don't mix. If they baby's blood is A+, my body sees it as a foreign object and fights it off. Therefore, I am considered rH negative. I had to have a rhogam shot in my hip within 72 hours of miscarrying to "save" the next baby. I decided it was time to change doctors to someone more compassionate. I chose Dr. Martin because I heard great stories of him having so much concern for women with complications. He ran all kinds of test and made me feel comfortable.

In August of 2007, before Natasha and Chris' wedding, I found out we were pregnant again! I think I must have been the happiest matron of honor ever! Of course, we didn't tell anyone. We prayed that this would be the one. Everything would be okay. We passed 8 weeks, then 9, and so on. Finally! We made it to 12 weeks pregnant and told our parents, then everyone else. We were having a little BOY! Not just any boy, a miracle baby named David James Quinn. We were overjoyed! Pregnancy was great. I worked 4 days a week at Peyton's Place as a server and went to school 2 days a week. Around week 34, I began swelling. Come to find out I had preeclampsia. At about 35-36 weeks I had to go on bed rest to bring my blood pressure down. It didn't work. So, at 37 weeks, on March 23, 2006, David was born weighing 7 lbs. 15 oz and 20.5 inches long. He was perfect.

When David was a little over 3, we decided it was time to have another child. Walter didn't want David to be an only child and I had always wanted 2 children. We thought it would happen pretty easily. We had been trying for about 9 months when I had my yearly appointment. I mentioned it to Dr. Martin and he decided to do some tests. I was not ovulating at all and had PCOS... imagine that! I am in my my mid-20s and I all of the sudden do not ovulate anymore. WHAT??? Over the next several months, he tried us on different doses of Clomid, a fertility drug. Take the pill for a certain amount of time and come in for blood word to see how it was working. Never worked. Bummer. He performed a laproscopy surgery on me to drill my ovaries so they would release hormones. That didn't work either. He referred us to an infertility specialist in Mobile. I did some research. Mobile was just too far. We opted for ART of Birmingham.

July, 2010 was our first appt. We were nervous and didn't know what to expect. It turned out to be lots and lots of blood taken, an examination, and Walter had to be tested. We were there for a while. Dr. Houserman talked to us about options: 1)We could try clomid again with her, 2)clomid- this time an IUI (insemination) would be done during ovulation, or 3) skip to injections called Gonal-F. We chose to try clomid with her to be on the safe side. There was a very small chance of multiples with this. We couldn't believe when they called and told us we were pregnant the first month! Finally... only to miscarry about 2 weeks later. Not this again! NO! NO! NO! Here we go again. From July-December we made almost weekly trips to either the Birmingham office or Montgomery office for blood work, ultrasounds, injections, or the IUI. If anything had to be done on the weekend, it had to be done in Bham. Same with all IUIs. It was draining, emotionally, physically, and everything else. We often wondered if we were doing the right thing. Is this what God wants us to do? Eventually, we started injections with Gonal-F. It took 2 months of that and two days before Christmas 2010, we got the phone call that we were pregnant again. This would make the 5th time for us overall. Happy and cautious is how we felt. On Christmas, I started having trouble breathing and my chest hurt so bad. Turns out, I was overstimulated from the fertility drugs. I had very large cysts! They had to watch them carefully over time. They shrunk slowly, but surely. Two weeks after finding out we were pregnant, we found out there was more than one! OMG is all I can say! Then I had some bleeding and the ultrasound showed a blood clot behind one of the sacs. Now I was on light duty and had to sit down as much as possible. The clot was watched closely to. At 11 weeks, we were turned over to my regular doctor, Dr. Martin. Things were pretty smooth from there on out until Mother's Day, 2011. I was 22.5 weeks pregnant with twin boys and having preterm labor! Great... this part of the story will be finished at a later date...

David Turns..........5!!!!!

Great Grandpa (Pop) and David

Happy 5th Birthday!

See the love...

We celebrated our baby turning 5 at Bama Lanes in Prattville. This was the first paty that I did not do myself. I actually enjoyed it. David first noticed that he got a REAL bowling pin! He was impressed by that. Then his friends started arriving. Daddy was in charge of putting names into the computer... not the easiest task! The kids bowled for a little over an hour. David won! He still talks about that! Then we all had some chips, Batman cake, and ice cream! Yummy! Thankfully, David didn't notice Publix had made the wrong Batman cake. It was even the one he specifically said he DID NOT want. Whew! After food, it was present time! His friends brought him some wonderful gifts. Overall, party was a success.

David's Friends

The Birthday Boy