Sunday, January 13, 2008

Talking about coming home

Hi everyone. We are a little sleep-deprived but in pretty good spirits. The twin towers are keeping us on our toes, and making us rethink the whole children situation. Just kidding...kind of. For the most part, Pius and Forrest are taking turns being turds. Yesterday afternoon Forrest had me at my wit's end, and last night Pius almost took a trip over the balcony via Mommy's right arm. Overall we are adapting and doing alright though.

The two little ones are thinking about coming to join the party shortly. They are both off oxygen and their feeding tubes, and taking their feeds "ad lib." This means that they can be fed as much as they want whenever they show signs of hunger. They have continued to gain weight well with Danna weighing almost 4 pounds, and Laine weighing around 5 and a half pounds. As far as the big fellas weights, we will get updated weights tomorrow at Pius's appointment.

Now, as for the big homecoming we feel like we need to present you all with the regulations suggested to us by the kids' doctors:

1. In order to meet the kids you will have to have had your flu shot at least 7 days prior to visiting. You can visit the health department or your doctor should be able to give you one.

2. We are going to ask that if you are wanting to come over you please give Moni or me a call first just in case we have something else going on, or too many visitors over already.

3. If you are coming from your work, we ask that you either bring a change of clothes or stop by home to clean up. We will also be asking people to remove their shoes at the front door. So Ryno, at least bring a change of socks and your velcro shoes so it is easy for you.

4. Please do not bring children that are not in high school yet. We HATE to make this a rule, but it is actually a hospital-wide rule as well. It is only temporary until the babies get bigger, and we feel that the RSV season is over (RSV in immunocompromised preemies can make them very sick or can even be deadly).

5. Obviously, if you are not feeling 100% healthy, or if someone in your house is sick PLEASE wait a little longer before you visit us.

6. When you do visit, you will be asked to wash your hands thoroughly on arrival, before handling a baby, and throughout your visit. We will have some hand sanitizer at the house, but feel free to bring your own and apply whenever the thought crosses your mind. It is amazing how much infection can be prevented through hand washing.

7. While we will need help with baby holding, feeding, and diapering, please remember that there may be days when Mom or Dad have been unable to spend necessary bonding time due EACH baby. We may want to be the ones handling the babies at the time of your visit, but don't worry I am sure we will be able to put you to work somehow.

8. When you do hold the babies we ask that you refrain from kissing them on the face. We know that they are irresistible and all, but this is just another way to prevent the spread of germs.

We do reserve the right to alter or add to the rule list if we think of anything else. We hate to make all the rules because we are as excited to show them off as you are to meet them. However, after talking with the doctors and with each other we have decided that we have invested too much time, effort, and money into our children to put them at any unnecessary risk. Please do not take offense to anything we are asking. We are not directing any of these rules at anybody in particular, and we can assure you all that the rules will be the same for everyone. We are planning to have an open house when the weather warms up, and their doctor and we feel they are ready.

After we have been home for a week or two, and have figured out what we are going to need, we will start scheduling helpers. We were a little bit afraid of having 26 people one day and nobody the next so we have asked Kelly Graf to be the "Graf Quad Care Coordinator". She will be in charge of who is going to come over to help and when and what they are going to be doing. She will be in direct contact with us so please work with her and let her know when and what you would be willing to help us out with. Like we said before, we know we will need more than baby holders, so please don't be offended if Kelly asks you if you would like to do something other than hold. Kelly has set up an email address for the helpers. Please use this to set up your times. It is grafquadscheduling@yahoo.com. Kelly will make sure that all of you are getting to come over and be a part of it, but please remember that there are SO many Graf Quad Squad supporters that want to help so please don't be like Pius, and have a little patience. We are planning to keep our blog going upon our return home so you all will be able to keep track in between visits.

It is so exciting to be talking about coming home with four healthy babies. We can't wait to see everyone, and would like to say in advance how much we appreciate all of your help and patience on our return. We promise pictures and maybe a video in the next couple days.

The Graf Quad Squad
B, M, P, F, D, and L

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Woo-hoo!! I'm so happy to hear that your babies are doing so well and they get to go home! I'm happy for all of you!!

Thank you so much for the Christmas card! Your kids are so beautiful!

Dusty

P.S. Hee Hee, I'm the first one to comment!

Jac Tubre said...

Holy Smokes! That is great news! Now the fun really begins. It is 1:30 a.m and I just got everyone down from their 10:00 p.m. bottle...they eat again in 30 minutes! I am killing a few minutes while the bottles warm so I thought I would check in on my second favorite set of quads. I am finally starting to come to terms with the fact that I don't sleep anymore...I take short naps whenever I can get them!

Well done on the rules. Yall are doing the right thing and I know folks will understand. We are very careful and ours have the sniffles right now. Hopefully it does not develop into anything major.

Miss you guys. When will you be here to start babysitting for us? We would like to take you up on your offer.

Love ya,
Jac

Anonymous said...

Moni and Billy,
The rules rule. You have to have something like that in affect and spell it out for everyone. You do know that Wichita was on CNN for having the most RSV cases this season. Things are much better now. The rules are great and I am sure everyone will appreciate them and know what is expected of them. So glad to hear everyone is doing so well and you are looking to coming home. You both have done a great job. We all think of you often.
Debbie and Dave

Anonymous said...

Nothing like putting things in writing guys! Great job! Glad to hear all is well. You'll be back home in Wichita sooner than you think (and we'll be the lucky ones then).

tammy

Anonymous said...

I am so excited to hear that you are coming home soon. I am going to email Kelly and see what I can do. I am thinking a couple of dinner nights or something. I am going to stay away until the spring just because of all the sicknesses. I know what you mean. Rylea had RSV and pneumonia when she was almost 2 and we were in the hospital for three days. No fun. Keep us posted on when you will be coming. Take care of those beautiful babies and please let me know what I can do to help.
Lachelle

Anonymous said...

Those rules are crap! Especially the one about me and my shoes!!! Whateva!

Anonymous said...

just kiddin

Anonymous said...

Your rules are well taken. They make all the sense in the world. And having Kelly as your project manager is a smart move. Aunt GGr

Bucko 43 said...

Hi all so glad you will be coming home. Thanks for the rules. It's a great idea. Keep up the good works. My thoughts and prayer are with you all as usual. Love to all. Have a great day. Love Bucko

Unknown said...

How smart are you two! The rules are fantastic and will allow those kids to be well and strong by summer. I love you all. Aunt dd

Anonymous said...

Yay!!!! Your stiff set of rules (the breaking of which is punishable by a swift kick in the arse, I'm sure)just means you are soooo close to getting home!!
Woo-hoo!!!!
We can't wait. I am ready to baby-hold, cook, clean, do laundry, mow the grass....

Just talked to Molly a while ago and she said she had a great time. She also told me how you guys are getting home! That's so cool. I envisioned the two of you taking turns driving, sleeping, feeding, changing diapers...all while trying to drive back to KS. Yikes!

Get some sleep you two :)

Maria

Stacey Faber said...

Hi!
The "rules" are simply the means to an end--in this case, four happy, healthy babies and no one will argue with that! Kelly will be the perfect coordinator and she'll keep everyone in line and on track. Don't take it personally if it is quite a while before Fabe sees the babies in person. You know how he is about little babies and illness and all of that so they may be starting first grade before he'll feel comfortable! I keep him updated but (in case you hadn't noticed) he's a bit of a worrier so he'll probably just steer clear and send food or something like that! We're so excited to be talking about you all coming home--it will be amazing. Until then, we'll keep praying and thinking happy thoughts for the six of you. Take care! We love you and miss you!
Stacey

Andria said...

Having a "coordinator" is a smart move. When you need something done, it goes on her list. Wish I had someone like that! Oh, it sounds like the rest of the pack will be home soon - that'll be much more fun taking care of them in PJ's! ;)

You guys are awesome! And, please do keep up with pics on the blog, for those of us no where near you, but lurk on you guys too often!

Anonymous said...

Good for you for making rules. We had 31-week twins who came home in October and December, so we high-five you on making the rules. We had a sign posted on our door about hand washing! You will laugh at yourself in about a year when you are giving the babies pacifiers after they fell on the floor at Walmart and when they are in 1st grade picking their nose and ...
Michelle Long
Irmo, SC

Anonymous said...

Megan will be thrilled with rule #4...great to hear everybody is doing good...love Uncle Bob

Karen said...

I'm sorry to say you're joining the ranks of Michael and Brittney, nearly losing a child out of your arms and over the balcony! Just kidding. I was a little overwhelmed with all the rules, maybe you should require some of us to memorize and recite them before entering your house! Just kidding again. I think it's a really good idea, and I promise not to come over after a shift, but maybe I'll stop by before. I can't believe you're already talking about coming home! That's so awesome! I can't wait to see all of you! Moni, you can call me if you ever get bored...actually, maybe you should just call me because you'll never ever be bored again. Talk to you soon! Karen

Anonymous said...

Hi you guys,
Billy and Moni, please let me know if you need any help right now. I dont know if you have any family in town right now, but my days are free and my kids are in school all day so I would be happy to do anything you need... run errands, bring over food, keep you company, help with the babies, ANYTHING! Please call!! Besides, I would love to tell my cousin that I got to see the babies before she did! Call me!!
Jill Crosby 623-362-8490

Anonymous said...

YEAH! So glad to hear the talk of coming home. The babes are so precious and growing up sooo fast! I love the rules (I have had to institute similar ones for our visitors with just Bethanie - I can only imagine the germ fear quadrupled). Moni, talking about antibacterial hand sanitizer, "natural concepts" makes a foaming one that is alcohol-free (so your hands won't dry out!) and you get alot for your money! I think I got mine at Wal-Mart.

Take care and try to get some rest!

Shelia

Anonymous said...

Look at you guys go!!! Rockin' it! I can't wait to see all of you...although at the rate we are going the quads will be a year before we get a chance to see them :(

Either way, we are happy to hear all is going well and you guys are looking Kansas-way! Keep us posted, as we can't wait to see you!

Dan and Delane

Anonymous said...

That's so exciting to hear about the babies coming home! We are thinking about you and are glad to hear everything is going so well.
Amy and Brad

Anonymous said...

Yay! I can't wait to move out this week because it means you are almost here!! The rules were great! I can't wait to see those little angels again soon! And you guys too,of course!! I love you very much!!
Love, Auntie Lainie

Anonymous said...

ONE MORE WEEK UNTIL YOU'RE HOME!!!!! I went to a movie w/ Lainie tonight and words cannot express how excited everyone is (except Lainie finally gets the boot and is moving back in with the rents) The rules are awesome. I'll have to buy you guys some good smelling hand sanitizer. I work at an elementary school, and it is a MUST. Good luck coming back home. Can't wait!

Mallory Williams

Anonymous said...

Moni,
Jill used to be my favorite cousin. You never know, I could still see the babies before she does. Anyway Jill, Grandma wins, she saw them first.
Debbie

Anonymous said...

You know what you can do with your rules......ya that's right. This is G rated so I can't say it. Anyway I got a call from Pius last night while he was up going through the fridge and he said I could come out and not have to abide by those rules cuz he won't. So we can be rebels together. Also I can't use hand sanitizer it freaks me out. You put it on your hands and then all of a sudden its gone without wiping. Freaky. Just kidding cant wait to see you 6 on Thurs and help out as much as I can. But I'm not babysitting and I'm not helping move anything.

Love, A.J. and Austin

P.S. Austin said he wishes he could come but he thinks those rules are a little overboard so he's gonna boycott and stay home and play with his new toys. Cuz eventually he's gonna pass them down to the QUADS.

EMO said...

Oops, I didn't leave a comment in this post. I have to since I have a rule that I MUST leave at least 1 commment in each post to make you guys happy. I think the rules are fine. Of course you will have some people complain, you always will, and usually they are the same people that complain about everything else in life too :) I may just wait to come around for the open house, but we'll see, once they are here it may be hard to resist.
Love
Erin

Bucko 43 said...

Hi Grafs, What beautiful babies. I can't wait to see them again. We are getting very anxious. Have a great day and prayers and thoughts are with you all. I'm getting ready for my fat ladies day. I'll tell all hello for you. Love Bucko

bechas said...

Hi, I'm Becky Hastings from Chanute. My daughter, Stacy went to school with Becky Brady. I have so enjoyed reading about the babies' progress. Stacy is due to deliver twins the end of April and my daughter-in-law is due at that same time, all girls. It will feel like we have triplets when we have a get-together. I will continue to follow your growing quads. Thanks for sharing them.