Prayers Need for Jen and Update on Babies...

Jen is still okay, but she is still showing several signs that the preeclampsia is not letting up totally. Also, the bleeding still appears to be a problem.

Please pray for my wife. I am determined not to fear, but to trust our Lord and Savior to take care of my wife. She is in His loving hands and I trust him. She is not in much danger right now, but they would really like to see her swelling and reflex signs of preeclampsia go away soon.

Our boys continue to do well this morning. Unfortunately, yesterday afternoon they had to put Clark and Isaac both on ventilators to assist them in breathing. But, the NICU says that they are taking the treatment well and should be just fine eventually. Brooks is still on CPAP, but does not appear to be struggling with that, so hopefully he will not need a vent. Henry, our smallest, is still doing amazingly well. He has no breathing assistance of any kind and continues to thrive.

Because of the CPAP tubes they have in front of his face, I have not been able to see much of Brooks' face yet. But, I had the overwhelming joy of holding him, my precious son, last night. And, this morning, he was crying when I got to the NICU and I got to put my hand in on top of his chest to comfort him. He immediately stopped crying and wrapped his little hand around my ring finger. His little hand doesn't even go half way around my finger. I hope to get to touch and interact with my boys more today.

Thank you for your prayers, we are almost out of the woods, but we need to cross a few more hurdles first. Jen is in God's hands, and it is there that I will leave her, please pray for her.

(Post Copied from www.triplet-update.blogspot.com)

QUAD DAY - Birth Day x4

Hello everyone,

Our boys are here and doing really well. The birth went very well and Jen is recovering in our room again now. They all came out crying and breathing room air on their own.

One of the boys is now on ventilation as he was not able to continue to breath without assistance. The other three have continued to breath without a vent, but they all have a long way to go before we can breath a sigh of relief. But, God has given us five hours of life with our little boys already, and we are thankful to finally get to meet them.

Okay, here are the names and weights that you all have been waiting for in the order in which they entered the world:

Henry Samuel Murray
Born at 12:33pm
2lbs. 12oz.

Brooks Layton Murray
Born at 12:34pm
3lbs. 0oz.

Clark Thomas Murray
Born at 12:34pm
3lbs. 7oz.

Isaac Edward Murray
Born at 12:35pm
4lbs. 0oz.

Here is a picture of the boys just minutes after they were born, right before being hurried off to the NICU.

Left to right: Henry, Brooks, Clark, Isaac
(Post copied from www.triplet-update.blogspot.com)

Last Minute Request...

The doctors have determined that Jen needs to go on Magnesium Sulfate to protect her from preeclampsia side effects. Some people react more severely than others to this drug, but regardless, it is a terrible drug to be on.

Please pray that Jen would not react too severely to this drug.

See the message below if you have not heard about the c-section today yet.

We love you all,

Brad, Jen, and the Blue Crew

(Post Copied from www.triplet-update.blogspot.com)

Their Birthday Will Be February 2, 2007!!!!

Friends and Family,

It is with exceeding joy and excitement that I bring you some good news tonight. The Amniocentesis results came in this evening and they show that our boys have enough lung maturity for birth tomorrow! Jen is scheduled for a c-section tomorrow at noon!

Please be praying for the following items of concern:

1. That the early signs of pre-eclampsia that Jen is showing do not progress tonight.

2. That the Lord would keep our boys safe from a cord accident for one more night and morning.

3. That Jen would not have to go on Magnesium Sulfate for pre-eclampsia tomorrow before or after the surgery. (not a pleasant drug)

4. That our boys would be born safely and breathing on their own.

5. That God would give us both peace as we wait this last 16 hours.

6. That God would bring Jen through the c-section without complications. Sometimes high order multiple births can cause problems because the uterus is so overstretched, that it does not stop the bleeding very well. Please pray that this would not happen to Jen.

Looking forward to bringing you the good news tomorrow of a safe and healthy birth! You will all finally get to see the names that we have picked out for our little miracles.

Last post before birth!

Brad, Jen, and in honor of the big weekend for the Colts, the Blue Crew.

(Post Copied from www.triplet-update.blogspot.com)

The Plan - The Measurements - The Needs

Friends and Family,

I have not been able to get on here to give you our latest updates, so this post is a three part post.

1. The Plan

We now have the timing down of the plan. Thursday morning our doctor will perform an amniocentesis to determine lung maturity. The test takes most of the day to get results, so we should find out the results on Thursday evening or Friday morning.

If their lungs are mature to ours and our doctors satisfaction, he will deliver our boys on Friday or soon there after. If not, we will need to decide whether we need to risk delivering babies with immature lungs, or wait for mature lungs and risk a cord accident. This decision will be difficult, so please be in prayer for this as well. But, most of all, continue to pray that their lungs are mature. Everyone agrees that we should deliver if their lungs are mature.

So, the exciting part here is that we may be talking about babies being born this week!!

2. New Measurements

Our babies got measured today for the first time since January 5th, here they are!

Baby A: 3lbs. - 2oz.
Baby B: 4lbs. - 4oz.
Baby C: 2lbs. - 12oz.
Baby D: 2lbs. - 12oz.

These are excellent sizes!

3. The needs list

Many people have ask us what our needs are when the babies come home. We have been so overwhelmed by the number of people who have told us that they would like to help once the babies come home. So many, in fact, that we are sure that we do not remember them all. So, here is the list. We have had a couple friends volunteer to organize the help once the babies come home. (you know who you are)

So, here is the plan:

If you would like to help take care of our baby boys and us as we adjust to having four infants at home, please look through this list. Pick out any of the things that you would be willing to help with and e-mail those things to me along with your name, phone number, and days/times that you are available. After we get the list compiled, we will contact you when then needs arise.

We know that all of you are not going to be interested in holding, changing, and feeding babies. But we will appreciate ANY type of help that you might be able and willing to give in this awesome time in our lives. Also, if you want to offer other kinds of help that we didn't think of, feel free to add to the list!

Things to do.....
1. Making us meals
2. Bottle cleaning and preparation
3. House cleaning/laundry
4. Feed and change babies (morning, afternoon, evening, and night shifts)
5. Grocery Shop / Run Errands
6. Yard Work (in the spring/summer)

Things we need.....
1. Diapers (or gift cards to buy them with)
2. Coupons for diapers and other baby stuff
3. Preemie Clothes
4. Double Stroller (we have one coming, need one more)
5. Registry items at Target/Babies R Us
6. Financial support

Please contact me at my email.

We only post this list because we have had so many people ask. You all need to understand that we expect nothing of you. If you are our best friends now, and don't have time to help, you will continue to be our best friends! :) We love you all and if all you did was pray for our babies, we are indebted to you for life. God has been gracious to us and we will depend wholly on Him to provide us with our needs. If you want to be a part of that provision, that's awesome!!

Brad, Jen, and the Blue Crew
Go Colts!!
(Remember, we ask you all to pray for a Superbowl birth/berth for us and the Colts, but now we would like to revise that request. Could you pray that the birth be timed so that Jen and I could both watch?)

(Post Copied from www.triplet-update.blogspot.com)

31 Weeks = Crunch Time!

Friends and Family:

We come to you today only with a prayer request. .

Dr. Sumners says that these groups of multiples typically have larger and smaller babies. The smaller babies almost always do better at birth than the larger ones. They are not certain why this is, but it is almost always the case. There is a theory that the smaller ones have had to fight for resources for so long that they are just better fighters.

The Plan:
So, here is the plan. One week from now, Dr. Sumners will perform an amniocentesis on the two larger babies, baby A and baby B. This test will be done to determine lung maturity. He says that if babies A and B have mature lungs, then babies C and D (our identicals) are almost sure to be okay. If this is the case, he says it will be time for birth!!

If babies A and B have lungs that are too immature for safe birth, we will be forced to wait another week, and try it again.

First, praise God that we even have to go through this process! We would have never dreamed that we would need to make a decision about when to do the c-section based on these variables. It was assumed from the beginning that we would just go as far as Jen’s body would allow, then deal with extremely premature babies and pray for the best. At this point, our babies will still be preemie’s, but not the extreme preemies that we were prepared for. Praise God!! Praise God that He has provided doctors with such experience and training to help us through this process!

So, here is our MAJOR prayer request this week:

Please pray that the amniocentesis comes back positive next week. The sooner our babies are ready for birth, the sooner we can get them out of danger of a cord accident. God is in control, and I will trust His timing, but would you pray with us that His timing would be this coming week? If their lungs are mature enough to avoid respirators, there is no reason to leave them inside where they could hurt each other.

Thank you everyone, please pray hard for maturity!!

(Post Copied from www.triplet-update.blogspot.com)

Praise God!

Friends and Family:

Thank you all so much for praying for Jen's physical comfort. For the last couple of days the pain has been remarkably better. Jen is still uncomfortable and sore, but the sharp intolerable pain did not last long, which was not expected. Our nurses and doctors told us that she would probably not see relief until after delivery. Praise God!!

Please continue to pray. I plan to post a list of our anticipated needs for those of you who have requested this. I should get this list up in the next couple of days.

We are getting so excited to meet our little boys!

Brad and Jen

(Post Copied from www.triplet-update.blogspot.com)

Past 30 Weeks and Still Going....

Friends and Family:

I wanted to quickly let you know that all is well with the pregnancy and the boys. Our boys continue to show very good heart rates and from all we can tell, they are very healthy.

If you would be willing, we ask that you would continue to pray for our babies safety. They all continue to be at risk, but God has been faithful thus far in preserving their lives, praise Him!

Also, please pray for Jen's physical comfort. As the boys grow and Jen gets stretched to the limit and beyond, her body is responding with a lot of aches and pains. And, this morning a new pain was added. As Jen turned over after having a sonogram, the boys took a major shift in position. Suddenly Jen was in a lot of pain and didn't know why. Dr. Sumners came in a while later and explained that it sounds like she may have pulled/strained her round ligament. He says this ligament is attached to her pubic bone and runs up and over her belly. Evidently, one of the boys must have crashed down on top of this ligament when it was already pulled tight, injuring it in the process. This has been the most painful day yet during this pregnancy.
Would you pray that this sharp pain would go away soon?

Thank you all, we are getting so close now. In a few weeks, we should be giving you names and weights of our new baby boys!!

(Post Copied from www.triplet-update.blogspot.com)

Almost to 30 - Keep Praying!

Friends and Family:

I wanted to write and give you all a quick update. Yesterday morning our boys underwent another biophysical profile and once again each scored 8/8. This test can last up to two hours, but only took about 30 minutes this time. Each baby needs to meet 4 criteria in thirty minutes or less, which did not turn out to be a problem.

Please continue to pray for the safety of our babies. 30 weeks is yet another huge milestone to achieve and we are thankful that we are drawing close to it.

Also, pray for Jen's physical comfort and endurance as the rapid growth of the babies makes her more uncomfortable every day.

Last, Jen and I ask that you pray for her best friend Jamie who just had a baby at prematurely. Her little girl is still in the hospital. Jamie is also still in some discomfort. Would you all pray that Jamie could get some rest and be able to recover? Also pray that her little girl can come home soon.

Thanks friends!

(Post Copied from www.triplet-update.blogspot.com)

29 Amazing Weeks....

Friends and Family:

We wanted to let you know that our 29 week appointment went very well! The boys got measured today and we were pleasantly surprised to find that all four of our babies have cleared two pounds. We are so excited about this. The only issue that presented itself that we would ask that you bath in prayer has to do with our two identical boys, C and D. (Yes, they do have names, be we aren't telling....) Dr. Sumners assures us that it is not a problem to be alarmed about, but it is one that he wants to keep an eye on.

Babies C and D are smaller in general, but this is to be expected because they share a placenta which often does not allow quite as much nutrients to reach them. What is not expected is the fact that their abdominal measurement was a little smaller than expected for their size. Dr. Sumners says that when their tummy's measurement is small, it can sometimes be an indicator that their growth is beginning to be restricted.

So What Now?
First, Dr. Sumners ordered that Jen get a round of steroids to bolster the boys lung development. This will prepare them for arrival in case the problem persists and Dr. Sumners decides to schedule a c-section next week. Next, he ordered a test known as a biophysical profile. This test is done with an ultrasound machine and simply watches for things such as movement, amniotic fluid levels, and breathing movements. The best possible score for this test is an 8, and each of our four boys scored 8 out of 8! Praise God, what a relief! This gave us the confidence that we should easily be able to wait the recommended 48 hours after steroids so that their lungs get that extra boost. Monday we should have another biophysical profile to help Dr. Sumners determine their continued well being.

Size?
Baby A: 2lbs. - 6oz. (Small forward)
Baby B: 3lbs. - 4oz. (Power forward)
Baby C: 2lbs. - 2oz. (Guard)
Baby D: 2lbs. - 2oz. (Point Guard)

(I think we need to adopt a fifth child whose parents were very tall. Neither Jen, nor I are probably going to produce a Center.)

Please continue to pray for the health and lives of our little baby boys. Also, pray that God would give our doctors wisdom as they seek to do the right thing for our babies. We are still praying for 32 weeks in spite of this new development. But, if the boys are born in the next week or two, please pray that they would thrive after birth.

We are almost their friends, thank you so much for all the encouragement and support through this blog, phone calls, and cards. We will never be able to repay you for the kindness you have displayed. We still plan to post a list of anticipated needs soon so that you can begin telling us what you might be willing to do. Please never feel obligated as we realize everyone has their own responsibilities, but we will post the needs in case any of you would like to help us further when the babies finally get to come home to us.

We had one anonymous post this week asking us to give them a list of things we need. Whoever you are, could you please specify which kind of needs you were inquiring about? We would be happy to tell you, but were not sure what kind of needs you were referring to. (current hospital needs, material needs, helping hands, baby stuff??)

(Post Copied from www.triplet-update.blogspot.com)

Hospital Visiting/Card Writing....

Family and Friends,

We are having another great day today. I am at work, but was just able to run over to the hospital at lunch for a monitoring session. All of our babies are doing great and are showing all the right signs to the nurses to let them know that they are all doing well so far. Hopefully this shows that there are no current problems with cord compression or knotting to worry about, but we will keep watching!

Fun stuff:
We did have a couple of fun milestones that we reached this week that are very encouraging. First, when the initial sonogram was done when we checked into the hospital, the doctor doing the scan noticed that she was able to detect breathing movements in our boys. At about 28 weeks, babies are suppose to begin this movement to “practice breathing” before they are born. They still get all of their oxygen supply from Jen, but this will help to develop the muscles necessary to begin to breath when they are born. The other thing that happened for the first time this weekend is the famed fetal hiccups. Jen has now felt hiccups in two of the boys. I think it will be really funny sometime if they are all doing this at once!

Last, we have had some people ask about visiting while Jen is in the hospital. She would love to have visitors while she is there and we welcome all of you. The only thing we ask, for your own convenience, is that you call before you come. This way you will not drive all the way to the hospital only to find that Jen is being monitored and cannot have visitors. If you would like the address for the hospital along with Jen’s room number, feel free to e-mail me and I will get that info to you. (mailto:bradley.g.murray@gmail.com)

Thanks for your prayers, God continues to preserve the life of our precious boys!

Brad, Jen, and the hiccupers….is that a word?? :)

(Post Copied from www.triplet-update.blogspot.com)

Hospitalization going "okay"....

Family and Friends,

We wanted to let you all know that Jen's hospital stay has gone okay so far. Jen has been able to stay in her own clothes, avoid IV's, and get out of the room several times per day. That has been a big help in keeping her sanity, so we praise God for that.

But, the whole reason that we decided to voluntarily have her admitted was to monitor the boys, specifically our trouble makers, babies C and D, not because Jen was having any problems. The process of monitoring these two boys has proven to be an even more difficult task than we anticipated. We do know, due to a sonogram this afternoon that our boys are all doing okay so far, so that is awesome. But, because there is such a crowd in there, it is difficult to distinguish one baby from another.

Please pray that the Lord would give our doctors and nurses wisdom as they seek to determine the best way to monitor our boys for problems. And, as they work through this difficult problem, pray that God would give Jen and I peace, patience, and wisdom as we continue to leave their little lives in the palm of our Heavenly Father's hands.

Thank you again for all of your love and encouragement in the comments. They mean more than any of you know! (Even those of you we don't know personally, thank you for your prayers!!)

Brad, Jen, and the kickers

(Post Copied from www.triplet-update.blogspot.com)

Operation: Hospitalization (28 weeks) and An Explanation of Mono-Amniotic Twins

Friends and family,

Please read this very long post to fully understand what our babies are up against in the coming weeks. It is long, but it is just a complicated situation and difficult to explain.

We have made the decision, in conjunction with our doctors, to have Jen admitted to the hospital one week from today. While this is difficult news to deal with, we believe it is the best thing for our baby boys. And, we never thought we would have to make this decision because our doctors thought that preterm labor or some other complication would have forced Jen into the hospital by now anyway.

Why get admitted?
Sorry, but this is kind of a difficult situation to explain, but I will try:

Quad pregnancies are high risk pregnancies for many obvious reasons. But, we are not dealing with just a “normal” quad pregnancy. As many of you know, at least two of our boys are identical twins. We know this because they share the same outer (chorionic) sac. This is not uncommon for identical twins.

Most identical twins who share an outer sac, however, have their own inner (amniotic) sac which keeps them separate from each other. Our identical twin boys do not have two inner sacs, they share just one sac. This situation is a very rare condition known as monoamniotic (mono-mono) twinning. Identical twins are somewhat rare to start with, but only 1 in 100 sets of identical twins are mono-mono.

The problem with mono-mono twins is that because there is nothing in there separating the two of them. They almost always get their cords all twisted and tangled up. And, unfortunately, about 25-30% of monoamniotic twins do not survive until birth because of this cord entanglement. This is why this pregnancy has been so difficult on Jen and I emotionally. We have been told since the very beginning that there is a chance, at any time during this pregnancy, that one of those cords will get pulled tight and either cut off blood supply to the babies, or even get a cord wrapped around one of the babies’ necks causing their death. And, in most cases, if one of these mono boys dies, the other will most likely die shortly after that.

The silver lining in all of this is that although the mono-mono twins are in grave danger with everyday that passes, the other two “innocent bystanders” that are in their own sacs are probably going to be okay if the mono-mono boys die. As difficult as it is to think about, if one or both of our mono boys die before 28 weeks, we would have to simply give them to the Lord and let them go. It would not be right to deliver all four babies at less than 27 weeks gestation in order to try to save the two mono-mono boys. The risk of birth at this extreme prematurity would put all four of them in mortal danger that we are simply not willing to take.

The good news:
The good news is that we have nearly made it past that early stage of extreme prematurity with all four boys surviving. At 28 weeks, Jen and I have made the very difficult decision that we would be willing to deliver all four babies in an attempt to save the mono-mono boys. So, if the mono-mono boys are still alive one week from today, Jen will be admitted to St. Vincent Women’s hospital for the remainder of the pregnancy. During this time, our babies will be monitored for approximately one hour, three times per day.

The hope is that our doctors will be able to detect a problem with cord entanglement before it becomes a fatal problem. They have made it very clear to us that although they will do everything they can, these cord accidents can be sudden, so there are no guarantees. We may do all of this only to loose them anyway. But, even if there is only a slight chance that we could save them by voluntarily being admitted to the hospital, we are willing to do so.

The prospect of going to the hospital for up to one month is not one that either one of us is looking forward to. If our boys are still doing well at 32 weeks, (Feb. 2nd) our doctor will probably schedule a c-section near this time. By then, the boys should be developed enough that they would be nearly out grave danger. This would be considered the best-case-scenario. There would be no longer be a good reason to leave these mono-mono twins in there at the risk of a cord accident.

Jen has a lot of discomfort ahead of her; this much we are sure of. I understand that we are young and have not experienced much adversity in our lives, but I can tell you that this is the most difficult thing either one of us has ever had to experience. God has given grace in abundance and has spared us from the 24/7 agony of waiting to see if our children survive, but it has been, and continues to be a daily struggle.

Would you please pray with us that God would fill Jen and I with the Holy Spirit and comfort as we await God’s timing for the birth of our children? It is so difficult to avoid worrying constantly about our boys. God will decide if He chooses for them to survive. We know that He is in ultimate control of every detail of this situation.

May God be glorified as we pass through this trial that He sovereignly placed in our path! He is sufficient for our every need!

Thank you for caring for us friends,

Brad and Jen Murray

Two outer sacs, two inner sacs
(Typical Fraternal Twins)

One outer sac, two inner sacs
(Typical Identical twins)

One outer sac, One inner sac
(Our rare mono-mono twins)

(Post copied from www.triplet-update.blogspot.com)