I'm Back!

Hi Everyone!  I'm back =) Did you miss me?  Sorry for taking so long in between posts, but I needed some me time and some time with just our families with everything that has been going on.  It has definitely been a whirlwind. 
As of my last post, my cervix had shortened from 30mm to 16mm within the course of one doctor's visit (2 weeks).  Well, obviously that was not the best news to get!  I was at home on strict bed rest until my next doctor's appointment which was one week away.  Well, over labor day weekend, I was not feeling that great and decided to go to the hospital to get things checked out.  Needless to say, more bad news.  My cervix had shortened from 16mm to between 9-11mm from Wednesday to Sunday.  I was also having some contractions (I couldn't feel them, but they were showing up on the contraction monitor).  At this point, I was just beyond 22 weeks, so of course this was hard to hear.  The doctor's admitted me to the hospital.
I am now at OSU for the duration of the pregnancy.  The nurses and the doctors here are so incredibly amazing.  I usually see my regular OB and my high risk doctor at least once per week when they have duty at the hospital.  Otherwise, I see someone in each of their practices each day.  The first couple days were pretty scary for me.  They put me on some medicine called Indocin that relaxes the uterine muscles to stop the contractions.  I was on that for a couple days, and it seemed to do the trick.  They still monitor my contractions 3 times per day for one hour each time since, to date, I have yet to feel any contractions.  Pretty much the only thing showing up on the contraction monitor as of late is uterine irritability which all of the doctors say I am going to have for the remainder of the pregnancy just because my uterus us so huge with the four babies that it doesn't know what else to do but be irritated.  I was also able to get the coveted 2 days of steroid shots about a week ago.  This will help spur the babies growth and help their respiratory system to develop more quickly.  Can I just say that those shots are no joke!  OUCH!  I have round the clock care which helps to put my mind at ease.  I know I am in the right place and surrounded by the best experts around should I go into labor at any time.
Yesterday I had a growth ultrasound to see how the babies are growing.  They are growing awesome!  Baby A is 1 lb 9 oz.  Baby B (girl) is 1 lb 6 oz.  Baby C is 1 lb 8 oz.  Baby D is 1 lb. 7 oz.  The difference between the biggest and the smallest baby is only 12% which is great since there is usually one baby that is much smaller than the others.  Also, even Baby B (the smallest baby) is measuring in the 51st percentile as compared to singleton babies.  That means they are all bigger than average for this age compared to singleton pregnancies.  Yahoo!  That was definitely some good news.  We also got some cute pictures.  Baby B was showing off.  She had the hiccups, did a big yawn, and touched her toes to her head.  Baby C was being a little rascal and was hiding his face from the camera.  He was also punching Baby D in the face the whole time.  And so it begins.
Today marks 24 weeks for the little ones, and I am so happy to have made it this far.  When I came in over labor day weekend, I was extremely afraid that there was no way we would make it this far.  Thank you to all of you for the kind words, thoughts, and prayers.  They mean more to us than you know!  Also for everyone that has sent cards, flowers, notes, gifts, etc- thank you!  They always brighten my day.  Chris has stayed overnight at the hospital with me every night except for one.  It has been great, and he has been great in keeping me calm and distracted.  Everyone thinks that I am miserable here, but, really, I can assure you that I am not!  I was beyond stressed at home, and being here gives me a peace of mind.  I know that I am doing all that I can and everything that is within my power to give these Waugh-Nuts the best chance of survival as I can.  I know that I am close to all of the doctors, nurses, pediatricians, and machines necessary to help the babies no matter when they come.  That gives you a peace of mind.  I have plenty of things to keep me busy- Kindle, iPad with Netflix and games, my computer, and all of the doctors and nurses that I see each day.  As you can imagine, it is not very often that they have Quads in waiting at the hospital!
Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers that you are sending our way.  I know some of you would like to visit at the hospital, and I so appreciate you wanting to keep me company.  For right now, though, I am trying to focus all of my energy on keeping these little ones baking.  That means laying flat for the majority of the day and being 100% relaxed without many distractions (including not putting pictures in this post- sorry!!).  I will let you all know if I change my mind.  It is quite possible that if I last a few more weeks and I am still pregnant I may be going crazy without the visitors!
Keep those thoughts and prayers alive that my body will hold out as long as it is able and that the doctors and nurses will have the means necessary to give these babies the best outcome no matter when they decide to make their appearance.  You all are the best!  I will try to update more frequently now that I have had some time to digest everything, get used to the hospital, and make it to 24 weeks.  Feel free to post if you have any questions =)