Sunday, September 7, 2008

Welcome to our Blog

Hello and welcome to friends, family and anyone in between. Amy-Jo and I have decided to keep a running blog of all the news and happenings with our latest adventure. We will be updating on a weekly basis (give or take don't hold us to it!) the latest on our newest additions. Being far from home we wanted to keep everyone up to date with the latest and greatest and thought this would be the best way. So come back and check on us from time to time and we will provide you with all the news from the parents to be. Amy-Jo will probably do most of the updating from this point on, she is a little under the weather so I took on the initial duties. I know there are a few computer challenged readers who may struggle to find the site after the initial visit (cough, Dad!) so just to help some of you, click on favorites, then add to favorites and this site will be there for you whenever you need it.

Okay, back on topic. I am sure most of you have heard by this point that AJ and I are expecting Quadruplets, pause for those who haven't heard to stop laughing/crying. I am going to do my best to catch you up on the happenings the last couple of weeks, and AJ will probably chime in later to fix what I get wrong. After trying for a baby for over 2 years we found out officially August 1st we were pregnant. The inside scoop is I knew about 5 days earlier, basically after 2 years of trying I became familiar with certain mood swings that coincided with mother nature. So basically a week of me staying out of trouble was a sure sign that something was off. The doctor's confirmation of my being right was just a formality. The initial blood test came back a little high which sent off some initial anxiety. Biology lesson time, HCG is the hormone they test for pregnancy, at our initial test she should have been 50 - 100, and it came back at 865! The doctors warned us at that time there was a good chance of AT LEAST two. Let me just say there are times that you like the term AT LEAST, like your paycheck will be AT LEAST $2000 or you have won AT LEAST $500, this is not one of those times. That said we are now excited about what lies ahead.

Two weeks later we were back for a sonogram and the tech, with a concerned yet excited look, said the words I will never forget "Well there were three, but now there is four!" The next several minutes AJ will have to fill you in on as I went into a complete panic attack and blacked out. What I learned later is there were three fetus, one of which split into a set of identical twins. I have since nicknamed them the OCD Twins, as anyone who has spent time with my wife knows of here slight Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) which plagues me every day, "hand me 2, not 1 only 2, of those M & M's, crackers, etc" so apparently our babies have inherited this trait a little early. We have been told that there is still a chance one of the embryos may terminate and not reach full term. Even though 4 is a lot-o-babies we still do not want anything to happen to any of them so your thoughts and prayers are welcome and needed!

We had a couple of doctor appointments this past Friday where we were able to see the babies heart beats on the sonogram, very cool by the way. All four are healthy and growing at a normal rate, pictures below. Speaking of growing at a normal rate, AJ is definitely NOT! 8 weeks in and this girl is already out of her normal clothes, the doctors said she is about the size of a normal pregnancy at 13/14 weeks. She really hasn't gained any weight yet only a couple pounds, I am pretty sure I have gained more since finding out than she has but lets not dwell on who has gained how much weight its all for the health of the babies. Anyway, we meet with a perinatologist, specialist for high risk pregnancies, in about a week and get some details on what is to come. We know this is going to be a challenge and more work then we could ever imagine, but we are excited for the road ahead.

Below are some pictures from our sonogram on Friday, and no these are not photos from Hurricane Gustav.

This is Baby A and B (the OCD twins)

Baby C


Baby D

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

We are SOOOOOO excited for y'all, and keep all 6 of you in our daily prayers! Thanks for keeping us posted on how things are going. We can't wait for the next update! XOXOXO, Kris and Phill

Aaron Anderson said...

Hey guys this is such a great idea! I'll be checking out your blog weekly! Corey and I are very excited for you as well! We are keeping you in our thoughts and prayers! I'll look forward to your next update! Take Care!

Anonymous said...

Hi soon to be Mom & Dad,
What a great idea for this blog, Seeing the babies has made it all real. Thanks for sharing this exciting time in both your lives. You know you have our prayers. We all are so excited for you.
All our love-----Nana & Papa

Anonymous said...

I just wanted to let you know that Josh, Rylie and I are happy for the two of you. Little Rylie keeps asking when the babies are going to be here. Now I have the chance to show here the pictures. Rylie is going to call Amy Jo one day though to talk to her and explain to her how she is going to take one of your babies because you have one to spare and she wants me to have another one and well, Josh and I aren't quite sure that we are ready for it yet. So I will let her call you guys so you can hear it all. Congrats! I will keep all six of you in my prayers every day. Keep us updated and take care. Love Emily, Josh and Rylie

Unknown said...

Wall-O-Text much? Alright, now that I have that out of the way a big congratulations from your #1 brother, Debie, Bob and Eddie! I'll have to keep an eye on your blog, never thought I'd see you with one.

Anonymous said...

Dear Mr. and Mrs. B Sather, I wish both all the luck, and happiness that this will bring to you. I hope you find time to go out and eat, take in a movie, and enjoy a few hours of silence. Hell is about to break loose!!! I am so happy for you both to be able experience mother and fatherhood. It is so great! You both will finally be able to see first hand why your parents and other relatives have grey hair. I love you both and want you to know that Uncle Jeff is now retired and can plan a vaction to come help you once your bundles of joy come into your lives. All you have to do is let us know when you are ready for help, and we, like evryone else, are ready to help. Congradulations once again, and God Bless you both. Jeff

Anonymous said...

"Congradulations" to the new parents to be. It is so great to have the technology to share your pregnancy with family and friends that live so far away. I am so excited because I know how much you wanted a baby, and now there are four. The 6 of you are in our thoughts and prayers, and keep sharing with all of us. We love you, Ziggy and kenny

Anonymous said...

Brandon, After reading your post, i think you and Amy Jo have more in common with me and Robbie than i even realized!! The story was like deja vu and we had the same doctor, CRAZY!!!
Can't wait to meet yall in person and help in anyway i can through this crazy ride of Quads!! Its amazing. I still wake up every day and say "I HAVE QUADRUPLETS... ME!" And mine are 8 months old (almost). Not sure when that goes away, maybe when im packing them up to leave for college (the count down begins 17.5 years roughly, hehehe). Ill be checking your blog. And of course, feel free to check mine out for any info yall need, or if yall just want to see what a quad belly looks like (super hot ;)). Congrats! I'm praying for you!

Anonymous said...

Good morning Amy-Jo & Brandon,
Just thinking of all of you and let you know I go on every day and look at those beautiful babies, and say a prayer for all of you. Know that we love you all and thinking of you every minute.

hugs & love----Nana & Papa

Anonymous said...

Sathers--

Congratulations! Your insurance agency is thrilled and will be checking in periodically to see how things are progressing. We wish you the very best through the next 8 months and will be praying for you too!

Love, Russell, Amanda, Megan, Mark, Travis and Melena

Anonymous said...

congradulations to you, brandon and amy-jo.iam so very happy for the both of you.babies are the most beautiful things in the world,and you will have your arms full of them.you are so blessed. good luck in the weeks to come as you all grow. love to you both aunt teresa

Anonymous said...

Congradulations on your babies!I wish you all the very best. They all look so beautiful. May God bless you all.