First Christmas

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

This Chrismas was absolutely different for us. We consider our Babies the most beautiful Christmas gifts. Dave and I were blessed to have the opportunity to spend two nights (Christmas Eve and Christmas Day) in the Ronald McDonald's house in the hospital. So we could enjoy every moment with our darlings. I stayed up until 1:30 am and we gave bath for Annabelle, Mate and Lili. During the night it's very "cozy" in the module and we can do a lot with them.

Here is a little update on them: As we spend more and more time with them we can already see their different personalities.

The girls are thriving on room air and off the nasal cannula.

They tried Thomas off the nasal on 12/26. Matthew is also on room air and he decided that he will be the last one on the nasal a little bit more.

All of them can have couple of bottles/day so far Lili is the only one who takes all her feedings orally but the others are also getting there. All five of them are in cribs now.

Ladies first:

Miss Annabelle is a calm little Baby. She is 4 lbs 1 oz and very strong girl. (her birthweight was 1lb 5 oz!!!) On Christmas Eve she enjoyed her "big girls'" bath. At first she was crying but towards the end she discovered the beauty of it.

Hanna is the most sleepy and quite among them. She looks a lot like Thomas. She is about 5 lbs 4 oz She is very easy going and most of the time when we are holding her she is sound asleep.

Miss Lili Lu (as one her nurses calls her) is the "boisterous" , outspoken and the most feisty baby. She eats the most and she definitely cries for her siblings as well. She screemed through her "big girls' bath= in a tub" She doesn't care about anything when she is hungry and definitely lets us know. She is right around 5 lbs.

Matthew (Máté) is the most humble and thankful looking little boy. He loves being held. He does a superb job with his bottle. He enjoy his sponge bath. He is also growing nicely. His weight is 4 lbs 6 oz

Thomas (Tamás) is still the biggest kid. He is 5 lbs 7 oz. He is still very charming and only fussy when he is hungry. He also loves being bathed.

Christmas moments in pictures

1/ Thomas the big bottle fed boy
2/ Hanna under the Christmas tree
3/ Matthew in cute Christmast outfit
4/ Lili's Christmas bath
5/ Annabelle is hungry

A Merry Manley Christmas!

Dave and Manna are preparing for the arrival of Hanna and Lili and most likely Thomas home from the hospital at the beginning of the new year. The troops are being gathered, so to speak, to help with the transition of the babies home. BabyLand, as Manna calls it, is now set up in their home. It reminds me of the nursery at church, which is what you need I suppose! A big thanks to all the ladies who helped organize BabyLand. What a huge blessing you were to Dave & Manna! Manna was impressed with your efficiency and effectiveness.

It was fun to hear Manna laugh as she described the diaper changing fiascos they have been experiencing with the babies, especially Hanna. She's keenly apt at getting messes all over the place when her diaper's being changed. Manna also is really enjoying the times she's getting with each baby as they begin nursing. Praise God that they are learning to nurse well, and pray for Mommy and babies as they continue the learning process.

Thinking about Hanna, Lili, Thomas, Matthew, and AnnaBelle as they rely each day on God's provisions to nourish their little minds and bodies, I can't help but think of the birth of Jesus. My what a God we serve! That He chose to save us by humbling Himself and becoming a man. By being born not in a palace to be put on a pedestal, but in a stable to be raised on a cross. Be thankful this Christmas. Be in awe of the lives that God has entrusted to Dave & Manna and those of us who love them this year. But most of all, may you praise Him for the eternal life that He offers us all through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. May it truly be a merry Christmas for you!

Most Recent Photos!

Cribs, Baths, & More!

Dave & Manna had a wonderful time with the babies last night. They were able to give Tomi a bath (see photos below), and they sponge bathed Lili. Tomi & Hanna are both out in cribs now -- praise God! They had a one of those "new baby" moments with Hanna as she chose to dirty her crib -- and her daddy -- right when her diaper was being changed. Manna had a good laugh over that one! AnnaBelle is looking more and more like her sisters, as she's gaining weight so well. Matthew wasn't able to make it into the photo shoot for the night, but there's a handsome black & white photo of him. Also, remember that you can click on the photo slide show to be taken to several "albums" of the babies at another web site. Enjoy...!

AnnaBelle

Hanna


Lili





Matthew










Thomas

Gettin' Stronger Everyday...

Thomas: 4 lbs 5 oz, on nasal cannula
Hanna: 3 lbs 15 oz, on room air (Sometimes she tends to breathe too fast, but so far she’s doing excellent!)
Lili: 3 lbs 14 oz, on room air
Matthew: 3 lbs 5 oz, back on the vapor therm
Annabelle: 2 lbs 15 oz, on nasal cannula (She is the next closest to be on room air.)

Reasons for Rejoicing:

• The girls have hardly any episodes.
  
• Lili is the most stable on room air.
• They are all in cute outfits, except for Matthew who needs to wait a little bit more. Until then, he enjoys his comfy blankets.
  
• Lili and Mom are experimenting nursing, and Dad helps out with bottle feeding. She can do that 3 times a day when she is the most awake.
• Their eye exam also went well. Their eyes are right where they are supposed to be at this point.
• They all have really good appetites and do well with their feeding. They eat approx. 1 oz of breast milk every three hours.

On Dec. 6^th they had a famous visitor: Santa Claus! He got to hold them--hopefully he scrubbed well before! :-) They all got their first toy!! Since Lili and Hanna’s isolates are facing each other, their nurses took them out and they “met” in the middle of the module.

Reasons to Pray:

• The boys have quite a few short breathing episodes. Pray for no episodes for them.
  
• Please pray that the boys would need less and less respiratory help and would be on room air as soon as possible.
• For the girls (including Mommy), pray that they learn how to breast feed effectively. Manna can hardly keep up with them now that they're starting to eat "so much".
• Pray for Dave and Manna to have energy as they spend many hours in the hospital with the babies, especially now as they are learning how to eat.
• Please also pray that Dave and Manna would feel ready for the babies' homecoming.

Praise God for our support system and all your prayers!

Thanks & Blessings,

Dave and Manna

Volunteer Training Session

By Shari Gray --
On December 1, 2007, a training session was held to better prepare the wonderful volunteers who will be offering of their time to assist the Manleys with the care of their babies and their home. It was a time of encouragement as Brad and Jen Murray (parents of 10-month quadruplets) shared valuable knowledge from their experience and gave helpful tips on how to best support Dave, Manna and their babies.


They recalled back to the early months with their quads how important the volunteers were in just helping them keep four babies fed and allowing them to get much needed rest. Dave and Manna spoke about how the babies are currently doing and gave insight into each of their personalities. Topics such as how to keep the babies healthy, care of premature babies, specifics related to the care of the Manley’s home, scheduling and screening of volunteers were discussed. This event helped bring us one step closer to being ready to offer the Manleys the help they will need to welcome these 5 precious miracles home. It is exciting to see how God has brought various people with different gifts and abilities together to help lighten the load for Dave and Manna and in turn many lives will be blessed by these children.