Extra! Extra!

Gift: Jen Murray (left) looks at photos after giving a survival kit to Sara Scott, 28, whose premature quadruplets have been in a neonatal intensive care unit at St. Vincent Women's Hospital since Nov. 25. - Matt Detrich / The Star

Our NICU Survival Kits Made Front Page News!  You can read the full article here.  Keep spreading the word!

We are grateful for the many ways YOU are contributing your own efforts towards this project through blankets, lotions, ideas, time….Lives are being impacted and touched! 

I’m super excited about some things in the works of how you can personally get involved….

A special thanks to Josh Duke and Matt Detrich for their ability to articulate this story through their gifts! 

NICU Survival Kits: What’s Next? (Update)

Update: Isella went to be with Jesus this afternoon.  Although her 3 days on this earth were short, her impact on this world will be long lasting.  Please keep her parents Myka and Ben in your prayers as they face the difficult days ahead.

My heart is heavy for several babies currently struggling in the NICU.  My friend from high school FCA, Myka, gave birth to a sweet daughter named Isella.  There were complications during delivery and things are very bleak right now.  We are praying for a miracle and trusting God’s sovereignty in her sweet little life! Another family friend’s niece delivered a baby boy named Broyan today at 24 weeks. He’s 1 pound 12 ounces and so far is fighting and stable, but the days and even weeks ahead will be very critical.  Another little guy Noah was born recently, even though his due date wasn’t until December.  Would you join me in praying for these sweet precious gifts from God, Isella, Broyan, and Noah, the medical staff, and their families?

Since our last media post on the NICU Survival Kits, I’ve received several emails of referrals, prayer requests, suggestions, and offers to help make preemie blankets and hats for the kits.  This is super exciting to us, because we really want this project to be a blog community effort.  Many of you are contributing just by visiting our blog, because a portion of the modest revenues we receive from advertising on this blog are used to fund the NICU Kits, which cost about $40 a piece to assemble.  THANK YOU!  We are truly blessed to have you as faithful readers and supporters of our family! 

For those of you who are interested in becoming more involved in this project here are some suggestions for things we need.  We would appreciate your ideas, feedback, and any resource suggestions as we continue with this effort!

~ We are in need of a good container/bag/box to put all the goodies in.  Currently I’ve been dressing up a regular large gift bag, which does the trick, but I have visions of a custom box or reusable bag with a nice label on it.  Ideas?  Suggestions? 

~ We are in need of crotcheters and knitters for preemie blankets.  Think “doll blanket” size.  Most of the blankets that I’ve received have been in the 20x20 range...a little longer is fine.  I have a stock pile of about 20 blankets, but we are assembling quite a few lately and they are going quickly. 

~ We would love to find a discount to buy the book, On the Night You Were Born, (affiliate link), in bulk.  We have checked with the publisher (Feiwel & Friends), but were not able to get a bulk rate.  If we order through Amazon we have to pay shipping per book.

~ Ongoing Items in Need:  Gum, Snacks, Hand Lotion, Journals, Disposable Cameras, Chapstick.  Keep your eyes peeled for discounts and sales and tell us about them!

Again, we are not asking for your $ or even donations, just your dag-gone amazing resourcefulness! 

Feel free to leave me a comment here or we’ve set up an email account specifically for our NICU Survival Kit Project at

Thank you for helping our efforts in a project that is sooooo dear to our hearts!  Thanks again for your prayers for Isella, Broyan, and Noah.

NICU Survival Kits in the Media

Monday a local news station, Fox59 News, spotlighted our family and our NICU Survival Kit Project in their “Female Focus” segment.  I was grateful for the opportunity to spread the word on this project.  They did a top-notch job on our story, and were very generous at covering my nervous jitters, ramblings, and word fumbles.

The video, pictures, and dialogue of this story, is a great reminder of our own journey with 4 little miracles and the blessing they are in our lives. Our desire is to reach other families experiencing the uncertainty of the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), that became our boys first home for their first 3-5 weeks of life.  If you would like more information on our project, check this link or the toolbar menu labeled “NICU Survival Kits” or contact me at quatro_mama {at} yahoo {dot} com .

PS  Hope my Quad Mama Sistas enjoy your Shout-Out!

NICU Survival Kits: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

If you’ve been around the block and back with 4tunate, you are familiar with our “NICU Survival Kits”.  It’s been quite some time since I’ve posted about them. We took an extended break after our move and then we got caught up in parenting two year old toddlers to dedicate the time and resources required to put these together. Brad and I spent the weekend restocking, organizing, and assembling our supplies. After hand-delivering a NICU Survival Kit to a new triplet mom today, I’m excited to say, “It’s GREAT to be back in business!” 

(If you have no idea what I’m rambling on about, you can look back on these posts where I explain NICU Survival Kits in more depth and see how the idea has evolved.)

Many of you have written and asked if you could make up your own NICU Survival Kit for a family member or friend who is experiencing the uncertain journey of the NICU, and my answer has always been ABSOLUTELY!  We are in no way copywriting this idea, and it thrills us to no end that many of you want to “Pay It Forward”!

Check this video to see the details that go into a NICU Survival Kit:

 

NICU Survival Kits are funded by the revenues we earn from the sponsors of this blog. (Another portion of it helps feed our ravenous toddlers.) So thanks to you, readers, for helping us bless others just by reading our blog!

If you have ideas, tips, or would like to get more involved in our NICU Survival Kits, be sure to leave me a comment or email me at quatro_mama {at} yahoo {dot} com We’d LOVE to have you as part of this effort to reach out to parents of babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

And there’s more….but I’ll leave you in suspense until a little later!

NICU Survival Kits: Part V

If you are newish to our blog you might wanna check out this link to catch you up on NICU Survival Kits (Parts 1-4)- you'll get the 411 on what they are, who they go to, what's in them, etc.

Since our last update here's some progress that's going on with the kits:

~There's been talk about a possible sponsorship for a portion of the kits. (I don't know the details, but I will fill you in as I get more specifics.)

~We've started working on a card to put in the kits about our personal experience.

~We've opened a separate account for sole use of NICU kit contents, complete with a debit card that donates to the March of Dimes every time I use it - isn't that awesome? It looks like this:

~We received our first donation check from a blog reader.

~We've gotten a nice stash of homemade blankets for the kits.

~We received a few schedule books from justmultiples to try out.

~We've received a payment check from Adsense for hosting ads on this blog (proceeds going towards the NICU kits)

~We visited our NICU and perinatologist office around the boys birthday to thank them once again for the excellent job they did in caring for our boys. We are so grateful for the roles they played in their health and well-being. Here's some pictures from our visit:

Henry getting a birthday hug from DeDe; She "caught" him when he was born

Dr. Sumner's IN the choo-choo wagon - he's still a kid at heart and we love him for it!

Sheesh! That's more than I thought had happened in a month!

A couple of questions I need to answer.....

How do I decide who gets the kits?

My contacts so far have been either a personal connection, through friends, or through this blog. I would LOVE to make one for each multiple family/preemie that I hear about, but right now I do not have the resources (time, finances, etc.) to do so....for now I'm trying to send out at least 1 per month.

What size do I make the blankets, how do I get them to you, what should they be made out of?

I prefer 20 x 20 or close (they don't have to be square - rectangle are fine)...a little smaller or a little larger is just dandy too! They can be yarn, fleece, or fabric. Email me at quatro_mama [at] yahoo [dot] com for my mailing address.

Are there other items that need donated?

It seriously floors me that any of you would be interested in supporting this cause any more than what you are already doing by visiting our site. You can find the contents of the kit here. I've got plenty of lotion and journals for now, but the other items are still needed. My next item to purchase is some storage containers, so that I can stock up and put them together more quickly/efficiently.

How can we donate, how can I sponsor a kit, will you put a donate button on the blog?

Again, blows my mind! For now, we are not adding a donate button to this site, for various reasons. We are looking into creating a 501c3 account (there's a pretty hefty application fee)...so it may be down the road, making donations tax deductible. If you truly feel led to donate please contact me (email posted above) and I can give you our mailing address.
Please know that we package these kits not with the intention of gathering donations, but rather a way for US to give back to other families facing similar situations that we have experienced, but enjoy sharing it with you!

Once again, feel free to leave me a comment or send an email with questions, encouraging words, or suggestions. I will try my best to get back with each of you in a timely manner. Thanks for being part of the TEAM!

NICU Survival Kit Headed to The Big "D"

Well past my bedtime last night, I was putting together a NICU Survival Kit for Casey Gerwer who just delivered quadruplets yesterday at 29 weeks in Dallas, TX! You can find the stats on Reid, Cameron, Trey, and Brady on their blog. Please keep them in your prayers especially over these next few weeks as their babies transition from womb to the real world where they are expected to do all the full-term tasks (breathing, feeding, maintaining their body temp., and yes, pooping!) 11 weeks early. Congratulations, especially goes out to Casey as she fought so hard for these babies and did so well to make it to 29 weeks! Way to go quad mama, welcome to the club!

Can I tell you how much I love putting these kits together?!!! I find myself praying for the family as I pack the contents of the kit. I pray for the mom's recovery, strength for dad, the babies to be little fighters, the doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapist that are so vital to the baby's survival......and then I'm overwhelmed with gratefulness as I reflect on our NICU days and how blessed we are with 4 healthy babies!

Especially this little guy (Clark) who really made our NICU nurses work for their money

Our super-sitter (well, she's free so I guess she's not really a sitter), Tami, is on her way with some hand-made preemie blankets for the kit. So soft and sweet! Many of you have emailed about the blankets so I want to give you some "specs". Tami's are 12 x 12 (some a little bigger or more rectangle), and I could also use some 20 x 20's.

Lastly, an enormous thank you to my friend Melissa, who donated a sack full of really nice lotion from Bath and Body Works for the kits. I'm telling ya, your hands get so sore and dry from scrubbing up that lotion just melts in your hands. This will be wonderful, Melissa!

Oh yeah, one more thing...then I have to get some lunch while I have the chance! There's been a lot of chatter about Adsense lately (Suz added it to her site too). While we can't tell you how we get money from the ads due to "contractual obligation"- you can easily look this up on our friend google to find out if your curiousity is killing or check out problogger for more....or try monetizing out for yourself (you can sign up here by clicking on the link in the left column under the ads)!

.....Seacrest, OUT

NICU Survival Kits: Part III (If you are still counting)

I've been hit with several emails from many of you around the country about our NICU Survival Kits (See Part I and Part II to get on board). I'm so excited to hear that some of you want to contribute, or better yet want to start your own NICU Survival Kits in your neck of the woods! Way to Pay It Forward, Fellow Bloggers! Today I want to discuss the contents of the kit.

Here's some things that have been included so far in the kits.....

*On the Night You Were Born by Nancy Tilman - I am HOOKED on this book! I've bought a total of 5 copies now for the kits, a few baby showers, and finally one for my boys. It's illustrated and written so beautifully and I especially like it for preemies/multiples. Highly, highly recommend! (If anyone knows Nancy or the publisher, Feiwel & Friends, or perhaps the CEO of Amazon that could give me a discount for the cause - definitely give me a call!) PS I call dibs for future baby showers!

*Preemie Blankets - Thanks to Tami for volunteering to make these!!!! They are beautiful! (We could eventually use another knitter/crocheter/fleece cutter as demand for Kits goes up - so let me know if you're a crafter)

*Lip Balm and Lotion - you have to wash your hands all day long at the NICU, even between each baby, which leads to dry chapped skin. Alcohol gel really starts burning! Eeeeowwwch!

*Disposable Cameras - One for each isolette, This way the nurses can snap a precious moment if you are away; It's very difficult to leave you babies every night, especially as you watch moms all around you being wheeled out with their full-term newborns on their laps, so I think knowing that your leaving your nurse with a camera helps to know that you won't miss everything. (Kodak, give me a call as well!) =)

*Snacks and Change for the Vending Machine - For the long hours and to hold ya over until shift change

*Name Tags for the Isolettes - Makes it personal and cheery. I have several of these pre-made and ready to go... Here's a pic of me putting these together

*Journal - also to keep at the isolettes to record updates, notes to nurses, latest weights, thoughts, etc. It's info overload - so writing things down helps you make sense out of it later!

Okay so here's YOUR big part! Ready - who's in? Your mission is to make these kits even better! Do some brainstorming, talk to other preemie moms and get their input, think creatively, and leave me a comment (or send an email) with your great ideas! Or do you have an ability that we could put to use for our project??? It's a community effort! 'Tis the SEASON!!!

(Don't forget you are already contributing just by visiting our blog - so pass our blog along to others!!!)

NICU Survival Kits: Part II

Our preemie Brooks

We are thrilled with your enthusiasm in our NICU Survival Kit project! Thank you for your emails and comments of support! We hope to get many of you on board with this project and look forward to your involvement and ideas.

Our recipients thus far have been: Suzanne Steece (mama of quads), Joy Larkin (mama of triplets born last Wednesday), and Manna Manley (mama of quintuplets). I've met these precious moms through connections with other friends and through our blog. It's amazing the bond you can have almost instantly with other moms that have experienced the joys and fears of high order multiple pregnancies/births. I'm so blessed to know these women and be a part of their lives! (Suz - we will meet in person one day, I'm sure of it!)

Over the Thanksgiving weekend I was able to meet the "Many Manley's", who would appreciate your continued prayers for their 5 miracles, who remain in the NICU at this time. Experiencing the NICU once again brought a sense of relief to be on the other side. However, I do miss the daily "wowness" of preemies. It's absolutely astonishing to see a baby born so early and so tiny - yet fully and beautifully formed. This is where our passion for this project lies!

Here's some reactions to our kits so far:

"Jen gave me the most incredible NICU survival kit, including cameras to put next to each girl's bed so that the nurses can snap pictures, blankets, an awesome book titled "On the Night You Were Born", and a few other items that she said really helped her through their time in the NICU.....Your visit today truly uplifted me and made me so excited to be a mother of multiples!"

- Joy Larkin (mommy to Sloan, Hayden, and Campbell born at 33wks 6 days)

"My pregnancy was not a normal singleton pregnancy. Carrying quadruplets was terrifying and I had no idea what to expect. I met a couple who had just delivered four, beautiful, healthy quads from Indiana. Brad and Jen were a source of strength and wisdom and continuously encouraged my husband and me on a daily basis throughout my pregnancy. When I was placed in the hospital on bed rest, my fears began to multiply..."What is going to happen? What should I expect? What is life going to be like once my babies are in the NICU fighting for their lives?"...

About that time, I received the most incredible surprise package from my good friends across the states...A "NICU SURVIVAL KIT"! This kit was fully equipped with everything I needed to survive the NICU! The kit included things such as: hand-crafted name tags to put on the babies' isolettes; disposable cameras to keep at the babies' bedside for those precious, priceless moments I might miss while away; snacks and quarters for vending machines for those long days up at the hospital; lotion for our dry, cracked hands from all the vigorous hand-washing to enter the NICU...and more! The kit was invaluable...and not just the items inside, but the fact that I knew I had someone I could count on for support, every step of the way. I immediately felt a billion times better after receiving the package and come to find out...every single item in the kit was used!

Thanks Brad and Jen for your ongoing encouragement and thoughtfulness, especially during one of the scariest times of our lives! We truly appreciate your incredible NICU SURVIVAL KIT, but more importantly, your friendship!"

-Joe and Suz Steece (parents to Ethan, Andrew, Savannah, and Benjamin Steece born at 30 wks. 1 day)

Hope this is only the beginning of beautiful friendships and friendships to come! We are definately in the research "preemie stages" for this project. If you have ideas or resources you think would be beneficial do leave us a comment! (Oh, and great job contributing via the ads!)

NICU Survival Kits: Part I

A couple weeks ago, we mentioned that we have a new project in the works which you, our faithful blog readers, have been contributing to without your knowledge. What you did not know is that you have been contributing money, real dollars and cents, to our new project since this summer!

You may have noticed that our blog started running advertisements earlier this year. We hope that these advertisements have not been too much of a bother, but I think you will be pleased with the results.

Everyday, as you log on to 4tunate to see what our little rascals have been up to, our advertisers (ie: Google Adsense and BlogHer) are keeping track of how many hits our site is getting. (By the way, we just reached 100,000 page views since June - UNBELIEVABLE! Who knew? Thanks for visiting!) As a result of these page views and clicks on their ads, they pay us for hosting them on our blog. As the weeks and months have gone by, this money has slowly accumulated to a point that we were finally able to fund the start of our project, "NICU Survival Kits".

We are really excited about this opportunity; getting people on board, reaching others with our story, being able to encourage other parents that are faced with the uncertainty of the NICU, and where it may all lead. Right now, for a variety of reasons (time, funds, resources, etc.) it's still in the "preemie stages". However, we have already delivered 3 kits!

There's sooooo much to tell you about, but it would be too long of a post, and besides my Colts are getting embarrassed and need me....

Coming soon:

• What's in the NICU Kit?
• Who's received a NICU Kit?
• What's next?

Sooooo what are your initial thoughts? We'd love your input!