Preschool Graduation

My baby girls graduated from preschool today. This means two things; 1) they are ready for Kindergarten and are no longer my babies 2)they are home for the entire summer and I no longer get a 3 hour break three days a week. I am not sure which one makes me sadder! Only a parent can understand this.

Waiting for graduation to begin

The girls have gone to The Sunflower School for the last two years and it has been amazing to watch them bloom. They started off as three year olds that held each others hands, sat by each other in circle time, and couldn't write their own name, actually they had just started recognizing their name by sight when they first started preschool. They now write their name legible, know their birthdays, can dial 911 and just simply amaze me with the words they use in their everyday talk. My favorite being 'unacceptable'.

Natalie & Aubrey enjoy going to school. They loved art. They loved watering the garden filled with flowers and veggies. They loved bringing home lemons and pomegranates from the trees in the school's backyard. They loved working in their workbooks and as soon as we got home today Aubrey was erasing all that she could in her book so she could do it all over again.

The afternoon pre-k class

Grandma getting her baby fix

Some lovin' from Auntie

I am so excited for their next step in life: Kindergarten. It does not make me sad only because I know they are ready. They will excel next year and Paul & I are so happy with the school choice we made for them to begin their next academic path. Natalie & Aubrey you have made both mom and dad so proud!

Love those two!

Ms. Kim

Ms. Jen

One of their bff's.

Summer has officially begun in the Lesnau house. Bring on the popsicles, sprinklers and Pandora. We are ready for some summer fun!!

I am still working on the Q&A post so if you have any burning questions make sure to ask them in the comments.

My tough little boy

When Drew started teething we noticed that one of his teeth was coming in twisted 90 degrees from his other teeth. It lined up exactly where his cleft incision was. When we took him to the dentist for a check-up after the tooth had come through we found out it was actually an extra tooth. There was no concern at that time but we knew eventually it would have to come out. We called it his silly tooth. At his last appointment the dentist and I discussed his silly tooth and when the appropriate time to have it taken out would be. I wanted to get it out before kids started teasing him at school and also before he would get scared of having it pulled. The dentist said at this time it would be better to get it out sooner rather than later because the roots would soon start getting squished by his adult teeth and would make extraction more difficult. 

His silly tooth

Friday was the day that we said goodbye to his silly tooth. We talked it up at home like he was going to Disneyland and he was so excited. Our kids LOVE the dentist by the way and often are asking when they get to go again. Dental groups geared towards kids are awesome! When Drew woke up this morning he was asking right away when he and mom were leaving. I had to tell him that Dr. Justin wasn't going to be there til after lunch when he started crying because I told him we wouldn't be going til the afternoon. We took lots of pictures to be able to remember his tooth and then it was time. My boy did not need to sit on his mommy's lap. He didn't freak out when his whole lip was numb. He didn't shed one tear the entire time. He got major kuddos from everyone there and I even saw that they had wrote in his chart 'did excellent for only being 2 years old'. I was so proud of him. 

Not nervous one bit

All numb...he looked so sad.

All done and still with a smile on his face

He got to go pick out some prizes and a balloon and he made sure he picked out a pink and purple one for his sisters. And since my kids have a love for Motrin he was quick to remind me when we got home that he needed medicine. It is different to not see his silly tooth anymore but I still find him absolutely adorable.

Our toothless kiddos

The tooth fairy came!

I wanted to also thank everyone for voting every single day for this little blog. I am sure you all were as tired of voting as Paul and I were. We took fifth which I think is unbelievable. I have to complete some questions for the Circle of Moms and I will let you know when that is done. And speaking of questions I know I have some new readers following the contest so I think its time to have another Q&A post. So post your questions and when I get a handful of them I will be happy to answer them. I also have a bunch of hodge podge pictures that will accompany them. So the more the questions the more the pictures that I will be able to post!!

We are 9 Months!

For the last couple of months I have started your month post off by saying the last month was the best but this month I am having a hard time saying it only because I swear I was just typing your 8 month post 2 days ago. How in the world did another month past just like that? I need to find that pause button in life because I am just not ready to let this time be done already. There will come a time in your life, probably junior high, when you will feel like every. single. day. just drags on and life moves at a snails pace. Let me tell you that period in your life is short lived. Life started speeding up when I got to college but once I became a mom everything started going at light speed and I would give anything to have this time in my life slow down so I could continue enjoying you as my babies.

"Izzie mom only has 15 minutes to get our 9 month photo shoot done. She thinks she is going to sit us on the grass for the first time ever and get cute pictures. Can you put on your best act to let her know how foolish she is to try and accomplish this with only the assistance of Natalie, Aubrey & Drew. Okay...go!!!"

Some days I am shocked that you are already nine months old and then there are those times I can not believe it has only been nine months since I saw you for the first time. There are days I am so amazed at what you are doing and then I think about what your siblings were doing at this age and I wonder if you will ever catch up. Having preemies is so different than having full term kids and its sometimes hard to not compare. You are each amazing and it is so much fun watching you discover the world around you. At least with you being born 9 weeks early we really do get to have you as babies just a little bit longer than if you would have been born near your due date.

Rylan:
This last month you had me awake more at night than I find acceptable! You discovered how to roll easily from your back to your tummy but you were too lazy at night to go back when you realized you did not want to sleep that way. If it wasn't for the fact that you would bury your face into your mattress I probably would have made you figure it out after two weeks of getting up with you every hour to flip you. Thankfully you now like sleeping on your tummy and you are also very good at turning from your tummy to your back. So good that we can hardly keep you on your tummy to play. You are usually rolling before we even have set you done on your stomach. You by far are the best and cleanest eater when it comes to solids. There is nothing you do not like. During naptime you pretty much spend the entire time rolling around your crib sticking your feet through the slates and turning on your music aquarium. You also love looking out the window that is near your crib. You are usually the first to wake in the morning but are very happy spending that time having 'you' time.

"Mom, I don't have time to look at you so stop trying to get my attention. This green stuff is really cool by the way."

Isabella:
You are our little birdie when it comes to eating. You sit the entire meal with your mouth open just waiting for the next bite. You have started taking your bib and sucking on it after each bite which sure does make a mess! You were the first one to start vocalizing with constants. Dada is one of your favorite sounds to make. You are very unsure of new places and people. It takes you a while to warm up but once you do you are all smiles, except for the camera. I think in all the pictures we have of you you have this bewildered look on your face. I think part of it is because your eyes are so big and round and you don't care to smile once you see the camera come out. When you cry you have perfected the rolling 'r' sound. Mom and dad have no idea how you do it but boy can you get loud with it. You remain our best sleeper and often let us know when it is nap time before anyone else.You hit the crib, roll on your side and are out even before we can get the other three to bed.

Isabella true to her drama queen title did not find it acceptable to be touching green pokey stuff and she made sure to let all the neighbors know.

Kenzie:
You have an absolute love for faces. No matter who is holding you you will reach up and gently feel their face. I wonder if you will be an an esthetician when you get older. This would benefit mom greatly so I have no problem if this is what you choose to do! You are our mover. You have figured out how to roll to get where you want to go and sometimes to places that you really didn't mean to. Today I walked out the front door and when I came back you had rolled to a spot that you could watch for me to come back in.  You are able to sit for about 5 minutes independently but you lean so far over when you do. You literally have your chest on your legs. You are our pickiest eater. You don't like things that are too sweet but you also are not a fan of plain vegetables and if something has any texture to it we know it is a no go with you. You do like puffs and mum-mums though so I think you will be like Drew who moved to table foods very quickly  and will skip the chunkier purees.

Tate:
You have finally decided that there is more to life than just lying flat on your back!! You are very good at rolling but only when you want to. You do tend to get frustrated if you rolled accidentally and didn't really mean to go to your tummy. At these moments you totally forget that you do know how to roll to your back. You too can sit unassisted but sometimes you get a little top heavy and come crashing down. You have been boycotting naps this last month which has lead to some long days for both you and I. You don't want to nap but you don't want to play either. You only want to be held which I love having the chance to hold only one of you and get some snuggles on but 2 hours is a long time for you to expect me to be able to do this. You love watching your big brother Drew and he often has you giggling. I had been squishing you into some 6 month jammies lately and finally had a moment to go buy you some new ones the other day. I decided to just get 12 month and skip the 9 month altogether. The 12 month seemed huge but I decided to bring them home and try them on you. Daddy agreed that they were way to long and that I needed to go and get a couple pair of 9 month. I decided to wash up one pair and try them on and you shocked us both by fitting into them and you actually won't be wearing them long! You are going to be one tall boy but that doesn't come as much of a surprise. 

There is only 3 months until you guys hit the one year mark. I can't believe we have almost survived a year with quadruplets. Mom and dad have loved so much of it and we never thought we would survive as well as we are. The nicu stay was long and trying, the sleepless nights where just that- sleepless, lots of spit-ups and washing of clothes but the joy of seeing you sleeping each night in your room and knowing that we are your parents is truly a gift.  The coolest thing is now starting to happen: you are finding each other. There is nothing better than watching you hold hands while eating, sucking on each others fingers, or smiling at one another. You do have the tendency to find great joy in pulling each others hair which does not send out the 'I love my sibling' vibes. I can't wait to watch your relationships develop. I just wonder will you pair off or will you always be a team of four. 

I love you my quad squad and Happy 9 Months!!

The Walk for Babies

A week ago Saturday we got up bright and early. Okay mom got up bright and early and everyone else got up when they normally do. Why is it that kids do not take advantage of being able to sleep in and have to wake up when the sun comes up? We did get everyone ready and out of the house by 7:50 which is a big deal around here. My goal was 7:30 so we would have time to stop for coffee but so with the delay coffee was had after the walk! We were very excited to participate in the Walk for Babies that was held by the March of Dimes again this year. We were not able to do it last year because I was already pregnant with the four little munchkins. It is always amazing to see the turnout for this event. I believe I had heard that there were 7,000 walkers this year in Sacramento and I don't think this takes into account all the little ride-alongs who are relaxing in  their strollers.

This year we did the shorter walk (3 miles) and by the time we finished it was time to get out of dodge. The babies who had missed their morning nap were letting us know that they wanted out of their stroller. Isabella can be quite the drama queen when she wants to be. Next year we hope to go back to the capitol and join in the festivities that are held afterwards.

We want to thank those that generously sponsered us in our walk:

• Tom & Jenny Campbell
• Scott & Mari Bradford
• Grammie Helaine
• Grandpa & Grandma Maier
• Emily Lambert 

If you have never walked for a cause I strongly urge you to find a cause that is near and dear to your heart and join in their walk. There are so many organizations that now do these walks to raise money and they are so much fun. Our family loves participating in the March of Dimes and the Down Syndrome walks. You don't have to raise a ton of money for them. Any small donation is a huge for them and it is so much fun to get together with people you have never met that feel the same way for a cause.

Izzie was so tired. This was moments before she let us know just how tired.

We were in the front of the walk. It is amazing how many people come out for such a great organization.

So glad we got a picture of this balloon because it soon went up in the sky and Drew cried a river for his forever lost balloon. Helium in balloons and little kids never ends well.

Held Hostage

I have been held hostage for the last 8 months and 22 days by this machine:

While I was pregnant with the quads I had this grand idea that I would alternate nursing the babies and giving them bottles. I had tandem fed the twins for 14 months and so I knew I could do that part of it. What I never took into account was the fact that I would be nursing preemies AND have three older kids plus 2 other babies while I sat and tandem fed two!

I will start at the beginning to give everyone a better understanding of why I have been held hostage for so long. When I had the twins I was not a nicu nurse but 100% felt that breast milk was the best thing for my babies. I did not want the twins to have any formula and I even found a pediatrician who would support me in my desire to breast feed. A week after the twins were born I ended up back in the hospital in the ICU because I started hemorrhaging. Even while receiving a blood transfusion I would not give the babies formula. Hind sight is always 20/20 and now looking back I know I was not very smart at this point because I was loosing so much blood that there was no way my babies were getting much milk but luckily they and I survived! That night when I was too weak to even lift my own legs I finally surcummed and allowed Paul to give the babies each a bottle of formula but I made the nursing staff get me a breast pump because if I was too weak again to nurse they were going to get pumped milk. Yes I was a bit crazy and some of the nicu nurses I work with now love to give me a hard time! When the twins were 3 weeks of age I had to give them one bottle of formula in the evening for three weeks because my milk production could not keep up. I cried every night when the babies had this formula. After they were 6 weeks of age they never received another drop of formula and they nursed until they were 14 months old. 

Then when we got pregnant with our singleton I was so thrilled to experience nursing one baby but that excitement was short lived when we found out about his cleft. Some babies with clefts can not nurse and have to use specialized bottles. From 20 weeks until he was born I was so concerned that he would not be able to nurse. I knew that I would pump for him if needed which would allow him to still benefit from the antibodies and all the other good stuff found in breast milk but I was so sad that I would not get the bonding experience that comes when a baby nurses. I was overjoyed when he was less than 10 minutes old and he was already nursing like he had done it a million times. We ended up having to battle with him to take a bottle when I returned to work but that is a whole other topic! I nursed Drew til he was also 14 months old and Paul nicely told me that "he is too big to still be nursing." I did think it was funny that he never had a problem with me nursing the girls as long as I did but with his boy he was ready for me to be done.

With the quad pregnancy I quickly had to get over my dislike for formula because I knew I would never make enough milk for four babies. With my original plan I also wasn't planning on pumping except for when I was at work because I was just going to nurse two babies on a rotating schedule which would mean I didn't have to pump. I had a dislike with pumping almost as much as my dislike for formula. I started pumping about four hours after the babies were born and stayed on a very strict 3 hour schedule until they babies started coming home. And let me tell you that I would spend 4 hours a day just pumping. At night I would fall asleep while I was pumping and wake up an hour after I had finished. Thank goodness for a hands free pumping bra! Once the babies came home I continued to pump every three hours during the day and then would pump when the babies woke at night to eat. I would start pumping while Paul started on diapers and then I would feed two babies all while I continued to pump. I got very good at multitasking. My plans to tandem feed the quads never got executed. I quickly realized that with preemies they had no clue how to nurse like my full term kids did. It took time and time and more time to get them to latch and then they didn't have the endurance to take a full feed at the breast so then I needed to supplement with a bottle. I just did not have this time. And how was I going to bottle feed two kids and nurse the other two when I was home alone. What if one of the kids that woke first was suppose to nurse and the other that was awake was to bottle feed. The logistics of it was just too much for me. So I knew that I was going to be pumping for the long haul.

Slowly over time I have decreased my pumps from 8 to 5 pumps per day as the babies started sleeping through the night. The older kids have gotten so use to their mom pumping that when they tell people that they learned to pump they also include 'not their boobs, on the swing'. Me having to pump is part of their day and sometimes they have really hated it because sometimes we have had to come home because of it. Pumping has taken up a ton of my time. It is exhausting. And finding 30 minutes to pump 5-8 times a day has not always been easy. 

But no mater how hard it was I would not have traded being able to provide breast milk to my babies. I remember when the babies were 3 months old I told myself that I just needed to get to 6 months and then I could call it quits. I thought 6 months would never get here. When I got there I decided to continue to rent the hospital grade pump because have you priced out a can of formula? One can of the formula we were using is $17. When the babies were 6 months old we were going through just shy of 3/4 of a can per day. I was providing about a third of the babies milk with what I was able to pump. If I quit pumping it was going to cost us at least $25 per day just to feed them. So I rented the pump and told myself I just needed to keep going. Each month I have made a new goal but now the time has come that I need to be done. I want that time back with my big kids during the day. The babies are napping less so trying to fit in a pump session while they are asleep some days is nearly impossible. Over the last month my supply has slowly been decreasing even though I am pumping the same amount of time. I have made the decision to go til the babies are 9 months which is coming up on the 9th of May. I have to be okay with them getting all formula for 3 months. It makes me sad that I am not going to be able to provide the kids with breast milk til they are a year but as my supply and time have decreased I have found that pumping has been causing me a lot of stress. I do not enjoy pumping so the pumping I will not miss! 

I am saddened that I never got to breast feed the quads. Nursing the twins was work. I realized this after I got to nurse just one baby. Nursing Drew was a wonderful experience. I will occasionally put the quads to breast. Tate loves it and snuggles right in. He would have made an awesome nurser if I would have been able to figure out how to make it work and still get the other three kids fed. Isabella and Rylan scream bloody murder every time I try. It makes me sad that still at 8 months they have no clue how to nurse. I am sure if I worked on it every day they would get it but I don't have time for it. And Kenzie I haven't even tried for the longest time because she never requires more than her bottles so the opportunity never really presents itself.

The last week I have gone down to 4 pumps per day; watched my supply decrease and I am working through the fact that I am almost done. I know that once I am done it will take away a lot of stress but weaning is so hard. My pump has to be returned May 14th but I do have a Medela pump at home that I can use if I decide I am just not done yet! My days of being held hostage to the Medela Symphony are almost done and I can tell you 'Symphony' is the wrong name for this thing!!