Baby Dylan is taken home to complete parents' Fab 4

7/25/2006
BY LAREN WEBER
BLADE STAFF WRITER
  • Baby-Dylan-is-taken-home-to-complete-parents-Fab-4

    Nurse Jettie Noe, right, cries as A.J. and Catrina Motter ready Dylan for the ride to the Motters' west side home.

  • Nurse Jettie Noe, right, cries as A.J. and Catrina Motter ready Dylan for the ride to the Motters' west side home.
    Nurse Jettie Noe, right, cries as A.J. and Catrina Motter ready Dylan for the ride to the Motters' west side home.

    Catrina Motter, the mother of 2-year-old twin boys who gave birth to quadruplets in May, says her life so far has been pretty easy.

    Three of the quadruplets have been home from the hospital a few weeks, and Dylan arrived home yesterday afternoon with his hospital bracelet still dangling around his tiny ankle.

    "This is the Motter family," the 25-year-old said proudly, as the whole family sat on the couch of their West Toledo home. "We're all home at last."

    As she unbuckled Dylan from his car seat to introduce him to the rest of the family, Bryce - one of the twins - pointed to the sleeping infant and said, "Baby Dylan."

    "One, two, three, four babies now," said their father A.J., 28, an engineer with a firm in Livonia, Mich., as he talked to the twins, who weren't quite sure what to think of yet another new baby.

    But the babies' grandmother, Anne Motter, said it was about time he came home. "We've been waiting," she added, while holding Elizabeth, one of the quadruplets.

    Despite all the fuss over his homecoming, all Dylan wants is a nap.
    Despite all the fuss over his homecoming, all Dylan wants is a nap.

    Mrs. Motter was taking fertility medication when she conceived the twins and the quadruplets, and doctors at Toledo Children's Hospital said it is common for multiple births to occur when taking such medication.

    But according to the most recent information available from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, only 468 quadruplet births occurred nationwide in 2003, making the Motter foursome pretty special.

    "We feel very lucky," said Mrs. Motter, who delivered the quadruplets at 31 weeks, which is about three weeks longer than most people carry quadruplets.

    Connor, Elizabeth, Grace, and Dylan all weighed a little more than 4 pounds each when they were born.

    Dylan's lungs are underdeveloped and is on oxygen for now to help him breath, but he shouldn't need it as he gets older, Mrs. Motter said.

    Dr. Howard Stein, who was the quadruplets' neonatologist at the hospital, said it's rare that quadruplets are as healthy as the Motter babies.

    "Usually, quadruplets come out much smaller and sicker," he said. "They had some problems, but for what normal quadruplets would have, their [problems] were not as bad."

    Right now, the quadruplets sleep a majority of the time, and are usually awake to eat every three to four hours.

    "They're real mellow," Mrs. Motter said. "They're real calm babies."

    Even though they are less than 2 months old, they've all started to develop their own personalities.

    Grace is the demanding one, and always wants to be the first to eat; Elizabeth is our "little princess," and Connor and Dylan are laid back, she said.

    Although life at home is relatively easy now, things will get a little more hectic soon. The Motters will be auctioning off their two-story, three-bedroom home so they can buy a bigger house in the Toledo area.

    And then the Motters expect the next few years to be even more hectic as the little ones get bigger.

    "Everybody said 'you're going to have your hands full when you get home,' but I think my hands will be full once they start crawling," Mrs. Motter said.

    Contact Laren Weber at:

    lweber@theblade.com

    or 419-724-6050.