We're Heading to Phoenix....

During our search for a doctor, we kept hearing and seeing the name of a doctor in Phoenix who is the leading expert on high order multiples... Dr. John Elliott at Phoenix Perinatal Assoc. At first, I told Stephen there was no way that I was moving, but the more we talked to people and the more research we did, the more I opened up to the thought of maybe going. Dr. Elliott's average gestation for quintuplets is 4 weeks longer (32 weeks) than the national average (28 Weeks) and the babies have a lower morbidity rate. We had a phone consultation with Dr. Elliott and I LOVED him. He was very clear that I am in a risky situation, but that there is no reason that I couldn't have healthy babies. His practice has processes that they follow that offer a good chance of success for women. At the time that I talked to him, he had delivered (2) sets of sextuplets, (8) sets of quints, (92) sets of quadruplets, and (500) sets of triplets!! He was so kind and encouraging, that I was determined to find a way that I could go. He even gave me his cell phone number... That has never happened to me before!

Oh, the logistics of trying to figure out if I could go. Would my insurance let me go out of state? Where would I live? Who would take care of me? Can we afford it? And the questions kept coming... One by one we knocked them out and in the end everything worked out just perfectly.

So come April 1st, I am going to be on bed-rest in Phoenix. The first 3 weeks, Stephen, my best friend, Misty, and my sister Amy are going to take weekly shifts with me. Then my wonderful mother is going to come and stay with me the rest of the time, so Stephen can stay in Houston and work. (We have a relief for her a week every month so she can come home... my girlfriend Kari from California is taking the first shift!!)

We are renting a condo in Scottsdale for April-June and then we are renting a larger house for July and August. (Thanks to Bill's cousins, Mike & Kelli for letting us rent their gorgeous home !!) Then I hope to be home by September.

I am a little terrified of leaving Stephen and my entire support group here in Houston, but know without a shadow of a doubt that our babies need to be born in Phoenix. On the other hand, I am looking forward to getting there and starting the next phase of our journey.