How to help

The Jones family is blessed to be surrounded by so many people who are wanting to help out in any way possible.  My role is to help manage all of these requests and to establish a schedule of what is needed and when.  I am also the person you can ask all the questions regarding the help that is needed as we need to allow the family to spend as much time as possible with their newborn quints.

If you would like access to the web site regarding the needed help, please send an e-mail to jonesquints@yahoo.com and let me know your name, phone number and how you know Gavin & Carrie.  If you simply have questions, you can send them to the same e-mail (jonesquints@yahoo.com).

Thank you for all of your support!

Stacey Walter

Good news!

 Will, David and Marcie (the first three babies to be pulled from the womb) are now off the ventilators and on the CPAP instead! They are also receiving little feeds, and I'm so grateful to God for His work in my body that I can already provide for them. The first milk is so beneficial, especially when it's from their own mommy.

The NICU staff estimate Seth will be able to join in on the CPAP and feeding fun either tomorrow or the next day. Right now both he and Gracie are getting some blood pressure medication (very normal because they were the last two out), but the last time I was in the NICU Gracie's nurse told me they were able to decrease the dose because she was already doing better. As the tiniest one and very last one out, we deeply appreciate your prayers for her (and the other four, too, of course!). The first 72 hours are the most critical.

The clinical coordinator for the NICU just came in again, saying they are all doing so well and that "Everything went perfect today." The doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, respiratory therapists, and everyone else on the Code 5 team were amazing. All glory to God for His care and provision!

With so much gratitude and joy,
The Mommy

Anybody ready for some news?

I figure everyone is waiting with bated breath, so . . . here we go.

Introducing!

The Jones Quintuplets
Born August 9, 2012

Will Edward: 2lb, 10 oz. 10:01 AM

David Stephen: 2 lb, 6 oz. 10:02 AM

Marcie Jane: 2 lb, 0 oz. 10:03 AM

Seth Jared: 2 lb. 1 oz. 10:04 AM

Grace Elise: 1 lb 12 oz. 10:05 AM

All the babies are healthy and doing well, despite how they look (referring to the lines and tubes-- they're all beautifully formed!)  We praise God for His mercy and love in bringing these 5 new lives into ours!  The whole delivery went flawlessly from beginning to end.  Carrie has already been up and into the NICU two times to see the babies!  Everyone is saying that it's incredible how quickly she's recovering and couldn't believe how soon she was in to see them.  Isaac is enthralled with his new siblings!  Thanks to all for your prayers and all the glory to God!  

Unfortunately, we aren't connected to our email account here, just the internet, so that's a bit limiting and frustrating.  Bear with us on that, please.

She's in labor . . . they're on the way

It looks like today is the day.  Code 5 is in effect and things are getting busy.  Will update later, of course. Love to all.  Gavin

Things are happening . . .

Carrie called me this morning shortly after 5 to say that her water broke (one of the babies, at least).  I rushed to the hospital, thinking it likely meant the babies would be delivered pretty quickly.  The doctor  and nurses are monitoring the babies closely and apparently the babies can healthily go for days and even weeks in utero after the water has broken.  They have Carrie sedated, but on many uncomfortable monitors, so sleep is difficult.  The contractions have definitely increased in strength, too and some are painful for her.  It's just a waiting game now, it seems (though that's pretty much what it's been all along.)  Thanks for your prayers!

Weights of babies at 27.5 weeks

Please keep in mind that these are estimates with a pretty significant margin of error, but here are their scores!


Baby A (boy; always the big 'un): 2 lbs 10 oz

B and C (boys): 2 lb 4 oz each

D (girl): 2 lb even

E (girl): 1 lb 15 oz, but very squished by siblings on three sides, so the doctor said her measurements are very difficult to assess accurately. Actually, that's true of others, too. C is buried under two other babies and B's head was at a tricky angle, for example.

Encouragingly, the blood-flow studies (from placenta to baby) were good for each baby, even the smaller ones. Sounds like the doctors are going to keep a close eye on E to be sure she follows her own growth curve, even if that curve doesn't rise rapidly like her brothers'. According to today's scan (which, again, was very difficult to do and probably not super accurate due to the squishing) she's gained 6 oz in the past 3 weeks; less than normal for a singleton baby but at least she's gaining! Very little about a quintuplet pregnancy is normal, let's face it. :) [Interestingly, when I plotted her growth on a triplet girl chart, she jumped up to about 37th percentile. The doctor did say that quints' growth rates start falling off much earlier in gestation than twins even, naturally. I guess that's so my body can continue to contain them as they fully develop!]


Thanks again for the cards, gifts, visits, and meals for my family at home! I am feeling well (though would still appreciate prayer for the remaining itching, which made sleep last night more difficult). My last blood pressure was 118/68, so praise God that's staying low! Please also pray He'll keep the contractions at bay. I'm on the monitor right now because they've been closer together again.


With love and gratitude,


Carrie

 

 

Today is a GOOD day!

Our prayers have been answered!  We just got Carrie's  blood test results back and they are good!  Her liver function has actually improved.  Her platelets and creatinine have changed only VERY slightly in the wrong directions, but are still well within the very acceptable range (platelets more than double the critical level - we want that number to stay high; creatinine about half the critical level - we want that number to stay low).  The doctor today said that she can go for weeks yet with lab results like this!  All we can say is, "Praise God!" and "thank you" to Him and all of you.

A sonogram this morning showed healthy, bouncing babies with NO kidney issues at all any more and plenty of amniotic fluid. The doctor was very pleased and told us we are welcome to shoot for the records of weight and gestational age at birth for quintuplets. During the Olympic time it only makes sense for us to go for a world record, eh?  We are just so grateful to hopefully/prayerfully get a few or several more weeks for them to grow and develop, we don't need to break records.

We just keep on saying, "God is SO good!"  We know that He is always good even when we see things as tough and bad, but this is certainly a day for rejoicing in His obvious goodness to us specifically.