It IS there...the hospital we mean

Hello everyone. First off, let me say that the quads are already grounded. I am serious. They caused me to miss my first Broncos' game in well over 7 years. Turns out, it was a good thing that I missed it. Yes, the Broncos and the Tide are on losing streaks and I am unhappy with that. Anyways, now I will explain why I missed.

Monica thought she was having contractions. She noticed her belly tightening and loosening every 4-5 minutes. (This was about 15 minutes before kickoff, we were getting ready to leave. She still wanted to go to the game, but I told her to quit being ridiculous.) So...we went to the hospital and checked, and once again she had proved her brilliance to me. She was, in fact, having contractions. They hooked her to a fetal monitor to measure the contractions, and she was given a shot of Terbutaline in the muscle to calm the contractions. They gave her two doses, but the contractions didn't quite go away.

Dr. Elliott had her admitted so that she could receive IV magnesium sulfate. All of the medical personnel said that the medication may make her feel more uncomfortable, but it didn't. The only symptom that she felt was that she felt extremely hot. I concurred. She does look hot, but she didn't need the medication to make her look that way. She tested negative for fibrenectin, which is GREAT news. While she is there, they are going to do additional blood work, just to stay on top of everything.

They checked the babies heartrates, and they all looked good. It looked like they were having quite the party in there with all the dancing they were doing. (Another reason why they are grounded...they need to learn when we are upset with how our teams did). I asked about all the babies, and he said they are all looking good. I asked about our little Danna, and he said, "I would say that we are a little concerned about her weight, we are NOT nervous at all yet." That made Moni and me feel a ton better.

That is our newest update. It is hot off the presses. There is no need to worry right now. Moni and babies are all doing well. The contractions this early are completely normal in a multiple pregnancy. We will probably be going back and forth to the hospital throughout the rest of the pregnancy, so we will keep you all updated as soon as we are done there. We love you all, and can't wait to see everyone who is coming to visit.

Billy and Moni

Pictures from 1st visit to Good Sam

Easier Posting Now Available

Hey everyone,
Just wanted to let you all know that I changed the settings on our blog to make it so that you don't have to sign in to post. There is an 'anonymous' option you can choose if you're having problems leaving comments (which many people have relayed to us). Please remember that if you use this option, don't forget to sign your name at the bottom of the comment so we know who left it - no mystery writers!!! Hope that helps. Oh, I also added a counter so we have a vague idea of how many people have checked out our website. Just know that if it says 10,000 hits, Billy and I are probably responsible for about 8,000 of them because of how often we check it! I really did just sit on my butt all day today. It's amazing how much you can figure out on your own in a day, even when you feel totally computer illiterate. Until next time.....

Frustration!

Hello all. Monica and Billy are currently kicking themselves a little bit. We are just a couple of dumb kids who don't know anything. We kind of just assumed that Dr. Elliott's office and our insurance would work together to take care of our little situation. However, turns out that WE need to be the go-betweens. We were supposed to have been receiving home-uterine monitoring since our first visit with Dr. Elliott two weeks ago. We must have misunderstood that we would be contacted to start this testing. Now we are currently arguing with insurance companies, medical records directors, and each other. Hopefully it will all work out here within a week. We are more than a little frustrated with the situation. Turns out, mom was right. The squeaky wheel does get the oil.
Anyways, last night Monica was experiencing some abdominal discomfort. Billy was tempted to take her in, or call Dr. Elliott personally, but Monica was a trooper. She told him, "No way are we going to miss the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy because I am having a little pain. We will just ground the little sh*ts when they are born." Billy was all for grounding them. We are already working together well in the discipline department.
We found another set of quads here in Phoenix on a website like ours. They were born last week at (from what we can tell) about 27 1/2 weeks. The babies are all doing okay, and the mom was discharged from the hospital on Sunday. That couple is from Louisiana. We are sure they could use some prayers right now too. Their website is: www.tubrequads.blogspot.com.
That's about all we have right now. The kids and mom will probably be doing better this week if BC, Bama, and the Broncos pull their heads out. Keep the prayers and comments coming.

Billy and Monica

23 week update

First off, yes the Broncos, Tide, and Golden Eagles all lost this week. Danna is pissed and refusing to eat. We just left Dr. Elliott's office and everything is going well with Moni, Pius, Forrest, and Laine. Danna, however, is seriously upset about our teams' malfunctions. She is only 15 ounces and falling behind in size. Dr. Elliott was concerned, but it is only something to keep an eye on for right now. The other babies weighed between 1 pound 2 oz. and 1 pound 6 oz.

Moni's gallstone has seemed to disappear, but her belly weight is now causing some lower back pain. Also, her walking is painfully SLOW compared to Billy and Becky's speed steps.

Mark got us some tickets to the D-Backs for Saturday night's game against the Dodgers. Moni, Becky, and Billy had a good time drinking 8 dollar beers and watching the game. The only downpoint to the game was that afterwards, somebody yelled out the outcome of the Bama game to Billy and he had it TIVO'd at home with 5:00 left in the game. He was devastated.

We got skype set up on the computer, so if any of you have a webcam you can talk to us AND see us. How exciting is that?!

Looking forward to seeing some friends and family in October. Moni's friend Karen and Billy's cousins Stephanie and Kelly are coming to see us. Then Roger and Marsha will be here at the end of October followed by Mike, Vicki, Bucko, Lainie, and hopefully Ryno for Thanksgiving. Can't wait to see all of them!

Billy and Moni

P.S. Moni and Billy have decided that since neither of us can seem to post anything appropriate (i.e. titles, obscene pictures, etc.) we will now post together in the third person. Keep the comments coming...we really are dorks about checking the website for new stuff. Also, concerning the sono pics: The top one is Pius's face, the middle one is Forrest's face, and the bottom one is Laine's facial profile. That better be the only profile of his face we ever see. The boys were crowding Danna so we couldn't get a good picture of her. Damn boys.

23 Week Pics

I FELT IT

Hello everyone. I just wanted to post to let you all know that I felt one of the babies move last night for the first time. We were lying there just talking, and she kept feeling them move. She told me to put my hands on her belly to see if I could feel it (she didn't have to ask me twice to touch her belly). I felt her belly for awhile and I felt a little shudder. We think it was Pius, and I felt him fluttering away. It was incredible. Other than that, not a whole lot of new news. Moni's gallstone is still bothering her a little. She is doing well other than that. She continues to gain weight well.

Q.U.A.D.S. update-3-1 this week. CHAMPIONSHIP.

Also I would like it stated for the record that Moni is in charge of the pictures for the website. She decides which pictures to take and decides which pictures to post, so you people talking about me not posting pictures BACK OFF! You want belly pictures? Here you go.

Love you all and miss you all,
Billy and Moni

Belly Picture

FINALLY...a visitor

Hello everyone. I have put Moni on suspension from posting, as her last title caused a minor uproar among our faithful readers. She is going on a two-day suspension without pay, so you get me doing the typing. Anyways, onto what is going on in the Billy and Monica world. I had a lot of fun last night as we had dinner with one of my good friends. Justin Yaeger is in town and we went out to dinner last night. He obviously loves me more than the rest of my friends do. He is here to see me and Moni, but it just so happens that his company has business down here for him. After dinner, Monica and Becky taught Yaeger and me a couple of lessons in the game of pitch. They let us get out to a big lead, and then crushed our hearts. It was a lot of fun, though, and it was really just what the doctor ordered.

As far as the babies are concerned they are still doing great. One of them is in a hurry to get out and SEE the Broncos win. He was sticking his head (or his butt) up on Moni's belly when she was in the pool. She said she could definitely see the outline and kind of pressed him back down there with his brothers and sister. Her gallstone is still causing her some issues, but she is really being a trooper.

An update on the Q.U.A.D.S. (the bowling team) they went 4-0 last week in league, but the week before they dropped all 4 games to dad's cousins. I was told that Stubby was in minor depression as I had just left, and J.D. struggled to roll over 100. A.J. and Kristy were their typical, unpredictable selves on the lanes. They have a lot of consistency issues that I will be looking into.

The pictures are of our wild night last night with Yaeger.

Love all you guys and miss you. Can't wait to see you all again.

Billy and Moni

P.S. Moni apologizes for any strokes she may have caused with her last title.

Good news and bad news...

We'll start with the good news... it's official, the quads are 2-0 as little Broncomaniacs. They were going crazier than daddy during the game and causing mom all sorts of issues! Well, they were almost going more crazy. We found a close-by sports bar that had many Broncos fans AND reasonably priced, good food and drinks. SCORE!
Now for the devastatingly horrible news. I've discovered I'm not immune to any of the downsides of pregnancy when I found the first traces of stretch marks to my right lower belly. Despite faithful application of Palmers stretch mark cream morning and night, it seems the dreaded marks will be inevitable. Oh well. It's a small price to pay.
Other than all that, things are going pretty smoothly still. The homesickness is starting to set in for both of us, so I hope we don't irritate everyone back home with our frequent calls! Even Billy is starting to get tired of watching sports and playing video games at the apartment. We really look forward to checking this blog site several times a day and reading all the posts from family and friends. We're dorks about it, in fact, checking it more like every hour!
We heard the garage sale when exceedingly well thanks to friends and family who hosted it, worked it, donated to it, bought from it and made baked goods to sell at it. Thanks again for everything!
We're still looking forward to our next appointment and sono with Dr Elliott on Monday, Sept 24th. I'm sure we'll post several more times before that. Until next time...

The Quads are exposed to golf

Hello everyone. We thought maybe we would let you guys know about the quads first experience with the game of golf. I somehow talked Moni into coming to the course with me. She drove Becky's cart and was a spectator to some of the worst golf ever played. Becky and I are no Annika and Tiger. Plus, Moni and Becky whimped out after 9 holes because of the heat. I would be lying if I didn't say it didn't bother me too much. Thanks again to the Snooks for the round of golf. The Kokopelli Golf Course was very nice, but also much too advanced for Becky and me. We had a great time though. We are nearing the 22 week mark for the pregnancy and so far we're par for the course! Everything is still going well and we're adjusting to life in the southwest. We still miss everyone back home and you can all rest assured that we'll be on the first train, plane or highway when the docs give us the okay! Until next time....

A few pictures for your viewing pleasure...

The first picture is of Billy, Billy's cousin Mark Moore and myself the night Mark took us out on the town. The four carseat shot was quite sobering. I had just finished putting all the carseats and strollers together and had them lined up. My stomach just about dropped out when I actually LOOKED at them all together. I yelled for Billy to, "come here quick!" I think his eyes just about popped out of his head. Two of the pics were of the quads first Broncos game experience. Good thing we won, otherwise I don't know if Billy would let us keep the kids! And I'm sure you've all figured out that the object in pink and white is not actually Shamu but me getting ready to hit the pool. I think the swimsuit makes me look fat and Billy says to remember that the camera adds 10 pounds (or 50).

Meeting with the famous Dr. Elliott

Hello all. We just met with Dr. Elliott for the first time. He did put our minds at ease, and we are extremely happy we have decided to move to Phoenix for care. The only disappointment was the wait. Our appointment was at 9:00 a.m., and we finally finished around 12:30. We spent about 90 percent of the time waiting. Waiting in the waiting room, waiting in the actual room, waiting in Dr. Elliott's office, waiting in the sono room. However, all of the waiting is well worth it because of the obvious expertise of the people who we spoke with. As far as an update, Dr. Elliott said everything looks great, his only worry at this point is Moni's gallstone. He said the gallstone isn't a problem for the babies, but Monica shouldn't have to deal with the pain. He said she needs to continue eating a lot of food, but not at the expense of her comfort. She is doing a great job with the weight gain, but needs to continue to add 2-3 pounds a week for the rest of the pregnancy. At 24 weeks, she will start testing for fibronectin which is the glue holding the sacs and placentas to the sides of the uterus. Research has shown that if one is testing negative for this, chances are better for carrying the babies longer. Right now, we will meet with him every two weeks with a sono each time. The frequency of our visits with him will increase in probably a month. The only mistake he made was saying that we came from Nebraska. Don't worry I corrected him right when he made the mistake. Sorry Karen and Pat, but we aren't any Nebraskans. I am sure you will agree that there is a big difference. Thank you for the continuing prayers and thoughts. We love you all.

Billy, Moni, Pius, Forrest, Danna, and Laine

P.S. The "Operation Quad" garage sale is scheduled to occur Friday and Saturday at Ed and Nancy Graf's house. If there is anything that anyone is wanting to donate to the sale, or if you would like to help please contact Kelly Graf 648-4610 or Nancy Graf 729-8438. Again thank you to everyone for relieving us of that burden.

BELLY COMPARISON

This picture was taken by cousin Erin Kerschen at the Graf babies' shower on August 19th when I was about 18 weeks pregnant (currently, I'm 21 weeks). Billy has since decided to go on a diet. He started his workout regimen today at the fitness center located in our apartment complex! We're just figuring out this picture thing, so look for more to come... Thanks to Billy's cousin Mark Moore (a Phoenician) who showed us around Phoenix last night, took us out to dinner and helped us navigate and post on our own blog site! You're the best, Mark!

Time to quit being lazy....

Hey everyone... I decided to make a post without Billy doing the typing. He's actually asleep right now because he wanted to be well rested for the Broncos opening day tomorrow (they play at 1000 a.m. Phoenix time!). How sad. My cousin Becky and I are watching the LSU/Virginia Tech game - she's a big LSU fan from living down in the bayous for so long. We went to dinner tonight at a mexican food restaurant nearby. I'm sure I'll be paying for that dearly in just a little while. The cankles have gotten somewhat better, but i'll be happy to see my ankle bones when this is all said and done - although I have to admit that the playdough-like consistency is kinda entertaining! Becky and I also went and hung out at the pool today for a couple hours. I think it's time to get a maternity swim suit or just a bikini and let it all hang out. We really need to figure out how to post pictures - I think we'll call cousin TJ and get some tech support. It's been fun hearing from everyone - friends/family/work. We always get excited when we see there's a new post! Well....more later. Love you all!

Moni

P.S. A huge thanks to Ed, Nancy, Kelly, Steph, Mike, Vicki, Ryno Graf, Sergio, Jennea and anyone else who helped move all the garage sale stuff from our garage to Ed and Nancy's today. You don't know how awesome it is to have you all taking care of that for us!

P.S. #2 - The babies are still doing great as far as I can tell. They're definitely moving around more! Sometimes when I first wake up, I forget that I'm pregnant until I try to get up and can't.

Phoenix isn't as hot as they say it is

Well I just picked Moni up at the airport here in Phoenix. Her ankles are the size of a small child's head. It is pretty funny. We are hanging out in the apartment trying to get up the energy to go explore Phoenix. Moni found out that the pain in her right ribs was not a baby foot, but a healthy, bouncy baby gallstone. Doc says there is not much you can do for gallstones when you are pregnant except for a few shots of tequila. Just kidding, she just has to be a big girl about it. Her labs look good, but she is a little anemic, which we will ask Dr. Elliot about at our first appointment with him on Tuesday. We just want to thank everyone again for your support and generosity throughout this exciting adventure. Katie...so you know the next update may be after our appointment on September 11, but that doesn't mean we don't check it everyday. PLEASE....give us something to do for twenty minutes each day. We love all and miss all.

Billy & Moni