March for Babies 2016

We had a very successful 2016 March For Babies walk this past weekend!!! First and foremost - THANK YOU for sharing our page and for donating! Together, so far, we have raised just under $700!! If you didn't donate and want to, it's not too late! Click the "March for Babies, March of Dimes" icon you see on the right of the screen and then on the orange "Donate" button.

This was one of our smallest teams to walk but we still had a blast! I felt like we had a lot working against us this year but we prevailed! First of all, I was super worried about our ability to complete the 5 mile walk. The quads, now 7 and all just a tad shy of 50lbs are getting too big and heavy for the infamous choo-choo wagon. I knew they wouldn't be able to walk the 5 miles all on foot and I knew we wouldn't be able to pull them the entire way either! Keeping with tradition, we committed to doing it one way or another!  My anxiety about completeing the walk with all of the kids intensified when Bret called from work on Friday afternoon and told me he had been hit with the stomach bug that has plagued so many in our area. I could not believe it. After discussing the situation over with Bethany and our other team members, we decided we would still march on without Bret, again, making it happen one way or another! Lastly, North Texas had some very damaging hail storms last week and the weather radar showed possibilities of more storms on Saturday for the Dallas area, because of this, just over half of our walkers opted to play it safe and stay home.

The 18 of us who walked were armed with a couple dozen umbrellas, panchos and ziplock bags and we were prepared to get wet. Despite the dark clouds that filled the sky, not a drop of rain fell during the walk!

Our little Quadlings... Kylee, Korbin, Baxlyn and Brody

I absolutely loved our shirts this year! Special thanks to Amy Horton for bringing my idea to life and to Prosper Marketing for graciously donating our shirts so that we can walk in style!

7 of the 12 kiddos who walked/rode!

Broman. Ugh, this sweet, talkative guy!

 

Alright yall, if you know Kylee, you know this is HUGE! She's made big progress with characters over the past few months! Mention the name "Chuck E Cheese" and she'll run for the hills, but she's making progress ;)

Luke, bless his heart. I think he had the best set up in his cute little wagon!

The Pemberton Family, seriously one of the sweetest families I know! We are so happy they're committed to walk with us each year in honor of our quads and their 5 year old triplet girls born at 30 weeks...

Not having any other option, we brought our 5 car choo-choo along so that the kids would have the ability to ride as they needed. At any given time we would have 2-4 kiddos loaded down in it and it actually wasn't that bad. Don't get me wrong there were plenty times I could be seen covered in sweat panting like a dog, bit it wasn't AS BAD as I had imagined! I was reallllllly hoping all the pulling would pay off and I'd wake up with buns of steel the morning after, but nope!

  The kids did PHENOMENAL! Thankfully, they all walked (and ran!) a lot more than I had imagined they would. We didn't have any tears or complaining from any of them. Brody & Kylee, who struggle a bit physically, had to have walked a good 2+ miles. Kylee was limping towards the end but she didn't complain one time and did a great job at keeping up. Seriously, I couldn't be more proud! We walked along side a grandpa at one point and he told me "you know, I've been watching you guys at the walk since you started when they were babies, it's just amazing to see them and how far they've come each year."

The littles lined up during one of our snack breaks...

Baxlyn holding the quads' Path of Hope sign...

Reagan and Cyndi - Thanks for participating, pretty ladies!

I love seeing all of the Path of Hope signs that are displayed throughout the 5 mile walk. Seeing signs in honor of babies like my own and other survivors as well as signs that are in memory of angel babies is a great reminder of why we walk each year. 

This sign in particular, stopped me in my tracks...

I stopped and showed the kids I had with me at that point during the walk and explained to them that THIS is why we walk. It's hard to tell the size of premature babies in pictures but when an infant is lying in the palm of his mother's hand, there's no question as to just how tiny they're born sometimes. My own babies may have a handful of challenges, they may be weaker than many, they may walk slow...but they're here to walk. For that I am so thankful.

It was right about noon that our team crossed the finish line together. We were very close, if not last to finish but we finished! Thank you to all who walked. Thank you for all who were unable to walk but supported our team in other ways. Thank you to all who read my daily status updates on facebook asking for support and didn't unfriend me! Thank you to all who shared our fundraising page and to those of you who donated to this cause that is so close to my heart. Together, we all had a hand in making a difference and helped get one step closer to being able to give all babies a healthy start at life!

 

March for Babies: A transparent view of why we walk.

With our March for Babies walk taking place tomorrow morning, I’ve found myself sitting and remembering why our family started walking several years ago. Like many, before we became pregnant with our quadruplets, I was pretty ignorant about high risk pregnancies, prematurity, infant mortality and just how many families it affects everyday. Bret and I knew from day one that we were in a risky situation. We were told we could expect to go in at any appointment and see one less heartbeat, we knew that there was a good chance, if born too early, that our babies may not even survive. We were a few of the lucky ones who had a relatively uneventful pregnancy and we, despite several very close calls, made it out of the NICU with all four of our sweet babies.

Unfortunately, not all families have the same outcome. Since becoming pregnant with our quads, I have been blessed to be a part of a phenomenal group of quadruplet families across the country.  I can honestly say I would not be where I am today without the support and friendships of these fellow moms. We are there to support each other through life raising quadruplets and often hold each other up during very difficult times. Over the last 5 years, my eyes have truly been opened to just how incredibly blessed we are to have our babies with us here today. I’ve {literally} lost count of how many mothers I’ve witnessed lose one, two or all of their babies. My heart has broken far too many times for families who are dealing with the unimaginable pain of losing the babies they so badly wanted. A deep pain that will never go away.

Meet Jen & Chris Petersen.

Jen & Chris are one of those families. Just several weeks ago, Jen went into preterm labor not even half way through her pregnancy. On March 11th, 2014 their daughter Serenity Brooklyn Monroe was delivered and called to be with Jesus while being held in the arms of her parents. The doctors had hoped that the delivery of Serenity would give her sister and two brothers a better chance at survival. Sadly, two days later, Jaxson Joseph, Gianna Charlotte Faith & Gage Christian Thomas were forced to be delivered and were reunited with their sister in Heaven. I’ve watched Jen throughout her entire journey and have been so inspired by her. Despite dealing with something many of us can’t even imagine living through, she and Chris have proven their faith in God is unshakeable.

  Chris & Jen with Jaxson, Gianna, Gage and a teddy bear representing their sweet Serenity.

A balloon release in honor of The Petersen Quads.

I share this story to hopefully shed a light on just how real this is. It happens. All the time. Real families, real babies, real pain.

This is what the March of Dimes is all about. Trying to prevent such tragedies by helping fund the research being done to help prevent prematurity, infant mortality & birth defects. Please join with us, with parents who have been through such heartbreak and with the many others fighting to make a difference and support the March for Babies campaign. To learn more about The Peterson Family visit the Prayers for the Fantastic Four facebook page.

Please consider giving to the March of Dimes in honor of their precious angels by clicking here. Every dollar helps make a difference and puts us one step closer to saving another tiny life. I know I speak for many families out there when I say “Thank You”.

Thank you, Jen, for allowing me the opportunity to share a small glimpse of your story. Your precious angels touched so many lives during the short amount of time they were here on earth and will never be forgotten. Our family walks for families like yours. Continued prayers, Mama.

We Give, They Live.

We have just over a week until our 2014 March For Babies walk and I’m happy to say we’ve exceeded our fundraising goal and the number keeps climbing! Thank you all for your donations towards the March of Dimes. You are helping fund the research being done to help all babies be born healthy. Not only is our fundraising exceeding our expectations this year but our number of walkers is too! We are up to FIFTY walkers on the Cox Quads Family & Friends team! Bret and I are so excited to be accompanied by so many friends and family this year. Some people are walking in honor of our sweet quads and some are walking in memory and in honor of their little ones, we are ALL walking to raise awareness and make a difference for future lives!

If you haven’t already, please consider donating $5 in honor of the kiddos in your lives. NO amount is too small and every dollar can help give babies a fighting chance when the odds are stacked against them. Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korbin are some of those babies who had no chance to survive on their own. The March of Dimes helped fund the research that led to the development of surfactant which is a substance used to keep tiny, underdeveloped lungs from collapsing. Our babies were given surfactant within minutes of being born which helped them survive on the ventilator until they grew stronger. The state of Texas does 30 newborn screenings, most of which have been advocated for by the March of Dimes. They work every few years to add new diseases/disorders to the newborn screening panel. Step by step they are finding new ways to prevent lives being lost due to premature birth and birth defects. Bret and I are excited to support their efforts and we hope to instill a drive in our little miracles to help others the way that others helped them. Together, we can make a difference.

To make a donation OR to join our team, click here OR click the March of Dimes icon at the top right of our blog. All donations are safe and secure. If you are unable to donate, we ask that you share this post with your family and friends so they have an opportunity to.

To learn more about the March of Dimes and what they’re doing near you, click here!

Thank you - THANK YOU!!!

 

March for Babies – 2014 – WE NEED YOU!

We’re gearing up for our annual March for Babies walk that is to be held next month in Dallas!

If you’ve followed our blog over time, it’s no secret we are big supporters for the March of Dimes. The March of Dimes Foundation is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. It was founded by then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938 to combat polio. It has since taken up promoting general health for pregnant women and babies in efforts to give all babies a healthier start.

The money we help raise for the March of Dimes supports programs that help moms have healthy, full term pregnancies. It funds research to find answers to the problems that threaten our babies. Since 1970, March for Babies has raised a staggering $2 billion to benefit all babies.

Here are just a few ways the March for Babies has already helped – click to enlarge:

Currently there are 2.5 million dollars in grants at UT Southwestern that are helping support scientists in studying the changes to a mother’s body when she goes into preterm labor, not changes that can be seen, but studying these changes on a molecular level to find ways to prevent pre-term birth. Only 50% of the causes of pre-term birth are known at this time. It is the March of Dimes’ mission to close the gap on the other 50%.

The March of Dimes is a big part of the reason Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korbin are here today. All four of the quads received surfactant for their severely under developed lungs. Without the surfactant their lungs would not have been strong enough to withstand the support from the ventilators they were on. Every baby, whether born healthy or not, has been affected by the March of Dimes in some way.

What can YOU do to help?

1) Make a Donation.

None of the above can be done without financial support for the March of Dimes. Each year, we set up a Team Page where you can donate directly towards the March of Dimes. ALL donations are appreciated, big and small, and every dollar will help make a difference in the lives of babies. We like to encourage you to give what you can, even just $5 in honor of the healthy kiddos in your life today. Each year, we’ve blown our goal amount out of the water, so this year we’re going to take a leap, reach for the stars and go for $1,000! Thanks to some our our great Facebook friends, we’re already well on our way to reaching it!

2) Pass along our site to others.

We understand if you are unable to give financially. If that’s your case we ask that you pass along this blog post OR the link to our Team Page to your Facebook friends, family & coworkers so that they can donate if they’d like.

3) Walk with us!

Obviously this option is for our local supporters! We already have a team of about 35 people of all ages who are going to walk along side of our family at the Dallas March for Babies walk, we would love to include even more! Come by yourself or bring along your spouse, kids or friends too!

Everyone is able to help in one of the ways mentioned above. You can safely & securely donate, easily join our team and/or share our team page with others by clicking here.! For additional information, feel free to contact us directly at coxquads@yahoo dot com or leave a message below in the comments section.

Take a minute to look back at some of our past March for Babies walks:

March for Babies 2010

March for Babies 2011

March for Babies 2012

The Reason We Walk

Thank you so much for helping us help babies!

 

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Our family just wanted to say thank you for all of your donations towards our 2013 March for Babies campaign. Despite not being able to walk in the Dallas walk this year, thanks to YOU, we managed to raise even more than our goal amount. On behalf of many families THANK YOU for your generosity and for helping make a difference in the lives of babies everywhere.  It is because of your support these little cheesers are here today…

Learn more about the March for Babies campaign by visiting http://www.marchforbabies.org/.

March for Babies 2012

We had a great walk this year Marching for Babies! We have been talking for a couple of weeks about our “big walk” we had planned and the quads were super excited. After a long night of preparations, the 6am alarm sounded and we were up and ready to hit the road! It started off a bit chilly this morning, low 50s, but the Texas temps rose to a beautiful 70+ degrees – perfection! A (sunny) shot of the 6 of us after arriving at the walk… We had a great team join us this year. Some returning from previous years as well as several new friends proud to join our Family Team! Below Aunt Bethany with another seasoned walker, Mr. Levi!

The Tew triplets joined us!

Miss sweet Isabella taking it easy at the beginning of her very first March for Babies walk… look at that precious face!

We had some new friends join us too, who drove all the way from Oklahoma just to walk! A family of FIVE girls (can you imagine?!) Triplet sisters Hannah, Nikole & Isabella and their big sisters Lauren & Makenzie!

Our lil’ people. Brody, Kylee, Baxlyn & Korbin.  We had our first furry friend join us this year as well, meet Diamond!   

 

Just a few of our walkers, all smiles on this beautiful day!

Gotta love these Step 2 choo choo wagons. With quadruplets, a walk like this would be nearly impossible. Our train is getting heavy day after day as these babies grow but it truly is a lifesaver. Luckily we had several strong dads along who pulled the weight all day!

  Strong Dads and a strong Korbin, that is. Big Man wanted to pull when we gave them a chance to stretch their legs. 

Don’t know how many pics I have of these two tag teaming over their little lives. One pulling while the other pushes. My lil’ 2lb 10oz miracle pushing away! …and when the little ones we not riding, you can bet Diamond took advantage of the extra seats in the wagons!Collette & Leah :] 

Sweet little…. err… ummm… ok I can’t tell these girls apart. With two being  identical and one being right there close beside, I can’t tell who is who, but they’re all dolls! (Side Note. Identicals totally fascinate me as does their mother’s ability to tell them apart instantly!)

Below - Our Path of Hope sign this year. This particular picture was taken when Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korbin were 7 weeks old (about 36 weeks gestation). After dressing them in their cute matching outfits the nurses helped mobilize the boys over to the girls so they could I could get a picture of them all together. I will NEVER EVER forget the moment this picture was taken. Against the nurses wishes, I stood on a chair above Baxlyn’s crib where they all were laying to get a good shot of them from above. It was that second, while looking down, that I realized this was the first time I had seen them all side by side. Absolutely hit me like a ton of bricks. “Oh my gosh. Look at them. There are four of them…and they are all mine. Pinch me. Hard.” It will always be one of my favorite pictures for that reason. The sign tells everyone walking their gestational age at birth (28w5d) as well as their birth weights (3lbs, 2lb10oz, 2lb7oz, 2lb11oz).  Along the 5 mile walk the signs are there reminding people of why they’re walking. Many signs in Honor of babies  many in Memory of babies who lost their fight. I was covered in goosebumps time and time again after seeing some of the pictures and stats (some weighing just ounces at birth) of some of these tiny blessings. Miracles for sure. Bret and I are so thankful and so blessed that our sign reads “In Honor Of:” This time of year, for us, is a celebration. For many parents, it’s a reminder of their deepest loss but yet the come and walk year after year.  One thing in common is that we all walk in hopes to raise more awareness and support so that other families don’t have to go through what ours did. 

Our team gathered around our sign…

 

A rare shot of yours truly. I tend to stay behind the camera so I thought I’d show proof these babies do have a Mama ;) I felt great today and luckily this lil’ growing baby number 5 didn’t phase my energy level a bit! At 12 weeks with the quads, I couldn’t get out of bed without being sick, much less would I have been able to complete a 5 mile walk. It feels good to feel good!

I failed to get a close up of our awesome shirts at the walk but here’s a still shot from home. Our friend (and lil’ Levi’s Dad) Mason, who designed our last two year’s shirts, came up with something new this year and we all loved it! Another super special thanks to Prosper Marketing for donating our team shirts this year. Our first year walking we attempted to make our own shirts, they were cute but didn’t last many washes after the walk. Prosper Marketing has offered us GREAT quality shirts we are able to wear time and time again, allowing us to show our love to the March of Dimes year round! Last but not least we thank YOU! We set a high goal this year of $1000 and thanks to all of you, we surpassed it by hundreds. The donations you so graciously gave will help support research that will ultimately give more babies a better shot at life when the picture perfect birth doesn’t happen. I know I speak on behalf of MANY when I say THANK YOU!

My Broman on Ashley’s shoulders. Incredibly thankful this dude is here to walk today. I walked a small part of the path alone, reflecting on the rough start of this little boy’s life and trying to imagine how different things would be if we had lost him like they said we might. You can bet he (and they all) got and extra special squeeze from their Mama today.

We had a total of 14 kids ages 6 and under and all 14 did great. With a few legs stretches and lots of snacks they were smooth sailing! Makenzie hitchin’ a ride with the quads! …and her lil’ sis Lauren taking advantage of her Mommy’s shoulders!    Seriously….such a cool dog who enjoyed every minute of the day!

Love this one of Levi gettin’ his flirt on with one of the triplets!

  Sweet Kylee and her fake smile. I promise she has upper teeth ;)

This had to have been the best picture of the day. The sweet 18 month old trio couldn’t quite make it the last mile. They tried, bless their hearts, but after a long stretch of bobbling heads, they all gave up. You have got to love the little bit in the red wagon…. girl was wiped out! We kept trying to prop her like her sisters but this was clearly her way of sleeping! Hilarious!

  

Sweet Isabella, such a happy baby, who enjoyed her long walk!Like every year, after our first potty break for all of the littles, we quickly fell to the back of the line. We walked and strolled and rolled and wheeled ourselves across the finish line dead last, once again, but proud to have completed our walk!       We made it!   

Thanks again to all of you who supported us in different ways! We hope our team will continue to grow each year as we strive to raise awareness! Now… this Mama is off for some much needed Zzzzs!