Published: March 16, 2007 04:35 pm            

Party of six

Pittsboro quads welcomed home

PITTSBORO — Growing up as neighbors in a small town, Brad and Jen Murray never imagined they’d one day marry and have a baby, much less four, all born on the same day.

The Murrays brought the last of their newborn quadruplets home from the hospital last week. The couple grew up in Covington, were high school sweethearts, and married four years ago.

Mother and sons are all in good health. Clark was the final quad to leave the hospital. His brothers — Isaac, Brooks, and Henry — came home earlier this month, spending about a month in the hospital after their Feb. 2 birth at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis.

After a year of trying for a child, the couple turned to what Jen called “mild fertility” drugs. They said they knew of the increased chance for multiples and found a doctor who monitored the number of eggs fertilized to minimize the risk.

The Murrays were told they were having triplets about six weeks into the pregnancy. The miscount was due to the fact that Clark and Brooks are mono-embryonic twins, meaning they shared the same sack in the uterus and are identical twins. At eight weeks, the fourth heartbeat was discovered.

The Murrays said their doctors had counseled that there was a slim chance all four babies would survive.

“It was pretty scary, really, since the risk was so large,” Jen said.

Jen was incapacitated for much of her pregnancy. She said she relied on friends and family to cook meals for the last 10 weeks while she was on strict bed rest. The small-framed woman gained about 70 pounds during her pregnancy, or about two-thirds of her body weight.

“I love not being pregnant right now,” she said.

Jen carried the quads to 32 weeks, three weeks longer than average for quad pregnancies, and the couple said none of the babies should have long-term effects because they were born prematurely. If they had gone to full-term, they would have been expected to arrive March 30.

The “Blue Crew,” as the couple refers to them, were born two days before the Colts’ Super Bowl victory.

An avid Colts fan, Brad said, “We said early on we hoped the Colts would have a Super Bowl berth and these boys would have a Super Bowl birth.”

The couple said they’ve had plenty of offers to help care for the new arrivals, and in fact are using almost round-the -clock help now. Grandmothers Kathy Murray and Janet Myers are frequent helpers, as are volunteers from the family’s church, the Bible Church of Brownsburg.

Jen’s co-workers from the Brownsburg School system, where she is on leave from her position as a speech therapist, have turned out in abundance to offer a hand. Brad said more than 40 people have volunteered from the schools.

And as much as the Murrays appreciate the help, they said they’re looking forward to growing close as a family.

“We’d like to be as independent as possible as soon as possible,” Jen said.

Other types of support have been pouring in as well.

Brad, a civil engineer at Wollpert in Indianapolis, has taken a lot of time off work to help.

So many diapers were donated that the Murrays haven’t had to buy any so far, even though the babies go through at least 40 a day.

Formula for the preemies is also expensive. Brad said he expects each baby to go through about four $30 cans of formula a month, costing the family $1,200 a month in formula alone.

Strangers from other countries are even helping. A Canadian man had a bouncy seat delivered after reading about the infants on the couple’s blog.

An account has also been set up at Sky Bank for members of the community to help with financial support.

The Murrays said they’re “trusting their faith” to provide for needs down the road.

In the mean time, they’re simply enjoying their expanded family.

Even at just six weeks, they said the babies’ personalities are starting to emerge. Isaac is the largest, weighing in at about six pounds.

“He’s our drama queen,” Brad said. “If anyone’s crying, it’s Isaac.”

To follow the quads’ progress, visit the family blog, created when the couple thought they were expecting triplets, at www.triplet-update.blogspot.com.

kristine.brite@flyergroup.com

        

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