Wednesday, November 28, 2007

A bad day to quit bad habits

Hello everyone. First off, I know that it has been awhile since an update and I completely apologize. I take full blame, but I feel that I have good reason. We had decided that bi-daily updates would suffice. We still feel that bi-daily updates will suffice if we can keep up. However, I now have four children and a wife to keep track of. It will be hard, but I know that once I get my system down pat, I will be able to handle it.

As some of you may have heard, Moni got admitted to the hospital last night. Her swelling hasn't gone down, her pain has gone up, and overall she has a hell of a lot to complain about personally. I called Dr. Elliott two nights ago looking for answers. He hadn't called back yet as of yesterday morning, so I called again. He did call back when we were finishing up lunch yesterday and thought that he had an easy plan for getting her looked at. He was wrong. We went in after lunch at around 1 o'clock Phoenix time. By the time the ER, the Phoenix Perinatal Associates and Moni had figured out the problem, it was 1:45 a.m. this morning. The entire situation was a debacle and extremely trying for me personally, trying to go chew-free all day. For you math majors out there, it was an over 12 hour event to get Moni admitted. Therefore, we apologize for not posting, but we were kind of busy during posting time.

As for sweet Monica...she has a few problems. She has swelling and cellulitis on her lower abdomen. It is extremely uncomfortable and is holding Moni back as far as movement. She also has an outer ear infection. This is causing her the most pain, but they gave her some antibiotic ear drops which, hopefully, will work. The swelling in her legs has gone down some with Lasix (water pills), but as for her ankles, they are still pretty swollen. They admitted her so that they could give her some antibiotics through an IV for the cellulitis. She could have taken pills orally, but the doctors felt that taking it through the IV would improve the medicine's effectiveness. She will probably be discharged tomorrow, and we can't wait to have her back. Also, her pumping is much improved. She now averages 5-6 oz. of milk each session and tries to pump 6-8 times a day.

Now to the chillun:

Pius James: Still gaining weight, still breathing room air, and still pooping very well. Gampy Stubby and Gamma Vicki got to hold him today, and he supposedly had a conversation with them. He told them that he was ready to go home, and wanted to go home with them, but he felt like he needed to stay to keep his eye on his roommate Danna. It seems that his run-in with Mr. Nurse Wratchet did not seem to have any lasting adverse effects. Mamma Bear was assured by the charge nurse that Mr. Nurse Wratchet was done with the Graf kids and she apologized profusely for the bad experience.

Forrest Michael: Still gaining weight, still breathing room air, and still pooping very well. He continues to eat well and feels that he needs to stretch out for everyone to see him. He is quite the poser, and he knows that he is gorgeous. He is even good-looking when he threw up on me and pooped at the same time.

Danna Lynn: She is the only one still on CPAP. She is breathing room air on her own but they want to make sure that she uses her energy on growing, not breathing. She is doing so well. Moni got to hold her yesterday, and she made sure that everyone knew that she was pissed when Momma had to put her down. She is doing wonderfully. All she needs to do now is grow!

Laine Ryan: He is gaining weight, breathing room air (completely on his own now, Thank You), and Daddy knows first hand, pooping very well. He dropped a deuce in his diaper today that I was even impressed by. He still has small bouts with his heart rate, but he always seems to correct it on his own. He seems much happier without the mask, and likes to follow everyone's voices with his eyes when he is awake.

The boys started using the extra calorie additive to the breast milk a couple days ago. This is to help them grow, but also helps them create very ripe diapers, which Jackie Tubre can attest to.

We are having a great time with all the family in town. Becky's mom and dad, Phil and Cathy, made it in today. Phil and Cathy were the first great uncle and aunt to see the munchkins. Championship. We promise pictures tomorrow when we find the picture posting equipment.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ha Championship for the Juice. Looks like everybody in the Dub goes to bed early. Anyway glad to hear the kiddos are doing good and hopefully Moni gets to feeling better. She has been a trooper. Keep soldiering on Moni. Tell my goddaughter Danna I can't wait to see her along with her strong brothers Pius, Forrest and Laine. Bill it is nice for you to keep us all updated but we do understand you are busy. So if you can't post I think we can handle it for at least two days. Keeping you in my prayers. And yes I do pray. Good luck. Love. A.J. and Austin

P.S. Austin is snoring right now so I cant sleep that is why I'm posting now. And look Championship!!!!!!!!!

Stacey Faber said...

Hi Everybody!
I'm so happy to hear that the troop is doing so well. I remember when Kelsey and Lia were newborns and Fabe and I would get so excited over the littlest things and just watch them like hawks! I can't imagine multiplying that by 4! The joy, the worry, the diapers, the feedings...I am exhausted on your behalf! Moni, hang in there! I hope the antibiotics work their magic quickly and you're able to enjoy the babies 100% real soon. Thanks for the update--and I stand by my previous statement that any and all updates you provide are appreciated and more than sufficient! There's no need to EVER apologize for anything blog-related! It seems to me that unless the blog readers are as equally committed as the two of you and plan to respond to each and every one of your blogs (and I know some of you do-props to you!), then there can't be much discussion about your frequency because they're not even blogging as much as you are! At any rate, no worries! I can speak for our whole family that we anxiously await your posts but consider them gifts that you give us and for that we feel so thankful and blessed. Thank you both! You're terrific! Love you! Stacey
PS-Sorry for the "speech"!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the great update on "my" baby daughter, I really appreciate it. I guess parents never stops worrying about their children....as I am sure you are discovering. Tell Aunt Cathy and Uncle Phil "hi" for us and please have someone update us on Becky.
Love you all!!
Budda

Anonymous said...

Opps, sorry for the extra "s".

Anonymous said...

Hey there everybody,

I just had to speak on behalf of the Wesley West ER gang. Moni, you know that waiting 12 hours to be admitted would never happen at our place. We would take such great care of you! Wish we had the chance to right now. Know that we love you and are keeping all of you in our prayers. The BC dedication and groundbreaking for the new buildings took place yesterday. Things are changing here on the West side. Hope you get the chance to come home soon and see all of them. Billy, final basketball cuts are tonight for the Eagles. I will keep you posted. Call us at work. We miss you. Barb P.

EMO said...

Poor Monica. I am glad that you are getting treated and hopefully better real soon. It sounds like all good news on the baby front. I love how the pooping gets thrown into every update. I think that us the "audience" has done very well lately not begging for posts. I guess since the babies are here now, we kind of understand :) Billy congrats on starting to break the habit. Good luck with that. Just think of your kiddos for any extra support that you may need. Have a great baby-poop-filled day. Until next time!
Erin

Anonymous said...

Hey guys! Thanks for the update! I understand you must be crazy busy. We hope Moni gets better soon. That entire situation sucks. And I understand how that kind of wait in the ER can be trying to one's moral reluctance to blow up! The whole situation has to be frustrating. Hopefully the antibiotics will kick in and get Moni feeling better soon. The babies sound like they are continuing in their rock star ways --doing great as always!! You guys have really done amazing! We can't wait to see you all back home and catch up on life!

Talk to you soon!

Delane and Dan

P/S. Random story--Dan asked where something was today...I told him "if it were up your butt you'd know!" It made me think of Moni! And made me laugh!

Andria said...

Sending well wishes for Moni. I hope you get some relief. What a doozy!

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear you are feeling crappy, Moni :(
I wish there were some words of wisdom (eat some homemade chicken noodle soup, take a nice bubble bath, have some hot cocoo...)I could offer you but your situation is Greek to me.
You have Billy there to take care of you (which I'm sure he is!) so I'm sure you'll be recovering soon.
Is everything you're going thru normal for a new mom of quads?

Still praying for all 6 of you.
Love you and can't wait to have you home.

Maria

Anonymous said...

I was so excited to see a new update! You guys must be completely exhausted and I can't figure out how you even have any time to post. So thank you for making the time Bill. Looks like all of the prayers are working! It sounds like things are going great. Well, I wish Monica had it a little easier. Hopefully that will change soon! (today would be nice) I love you all and can NOT wait to meet the four of them.

Love-Mandy

Anonymous said...

Hope you are feeling better Monica, get plenty of rest and try to take it easy. The pictures are neat of the babies, it seems like they are doing good. Enjoy the nice weather there because it has been cold and windy the past 2 days. You will get spoiled and not want to come back to the cold weather.

We are keeping you all in our prayers.
Love
Ross, Brenda, Jennifer and Brandon

Gretchen said...

Like others have said- the update is a wonderful thing to read, but we understand if time passes due to your priorities. "Being there husband and daddy" are first and foremost- "being there blogger" takes a few steps back. Please tell Moni that she is in our thoughts and prayers- how I wish this was an easier recovery for her....
Blow a kiss to those little ones for me- and get a nice strong hug from someone close by (but pretend its actually me)!
I love you guys! (how's that, Jac?)

Kel Kel said...

Keep on keeping on Nix Grafs! Moni, I hope no one has told you your feet look like Fat Bastard's because that would be sad. I hope they rectify all your ailments, your poor body has been under so much stress lately. Billy, good luck with the quitting. Don't try to put too much pressure on yourself right now though. Love you all more than Louis loves to lick his toes when I'm trying to fall asleep!

Kel

Anonymous said...

Billy and Monica, I just found out. Apparently it takes a week and a half for news to travel from Wichita to Florida. I am so excited for you all! You two are going to be great parents. Congratulations! My prayers are with the little cuties. Also, Congratulations to Grandma and Grandpa Stubby, and Uncle Ryno! It's going to be a Graf Christmas!

Love you all,

Steve Lechner