1st day of their lives!

Hi everyone. It is a very excited, and sleep-depraved Billy and Monica reporting from Banner-Good Samaritan. Day one has gone relatively well. Moni and I went down and visited the Graf Quads at around 7 a.m. It was great getting to see and talk to our babies. One of our nurses was giving me a lesson on Moni's breast pumping stuff while Moni was talking to one of the babies, and I did the best that I could to remember it all, but I think that Moni once again proved her brilliance and figured it out herself. She did well with it for the first day, but she is hoping to improve. Her volume wasn't what she would like, but they say that it all is normal.

Pius James:

He is our lazy giant. He is the last of our batch to remain intubated. He does okay with breathing and eating, but he just doesn't seem to want to put forth the effort to do it on his own. He likes for the machines to handle all the heavy lifting for him. Everyone said that it is normal for "the giant" to progress the slowest. He is used to having everything done for him. I got to change his diaper, and it was so fun. I know, I know...changing a diaper is fun? HELL YES IT IS! Moni and I have been waiting for so long to change our OWN baby's poopy diaper.

Forrest Michael:

He is still our crazy little guy. He squirms, he wiggles, he cries, he basically writhes all over his incubator. They had to draw some blood today, and Moni and I got to watch. His nurse had to stick him twice because his blood is so thick and she couldn't get any out of his left arm. She stuck his right arm and got just enough blood to run the test. I can't remember for sure what the test was for, but I remember that it came back as a good score. I was able to have some father-son alone time with him and tell him about the Broncos, the Golden Eagles, the Tide, and women. He seemed particularly interested in the women, but I told him that Momma would tell him things about women that I don't even know.

Danna Lynn:

She is my pretty little girl. She is doing great. She heard that her and Pius were both intubated, and she decided that she wasn't going to be the last one with the tube down her throat. She was extubated, and seems to be doing really well on CPAP like her brother's Laine and Forrest. She has the most beautiful, little cry in the world. She started throwing a major fit tonight when I was in there with Mark, but as soon as I started talking and rubbing her back she calmed down. (The nurse also removed some excess air from her stomach, but we are going to give daddy the credit). She hadn't started eating yet because of getting the tube out of her throat, but they are planning on starting that tomorrow morning. She is kicking ass, and taking names.

Laine Ryan:

Our content little man. He really is the kid minding his own business in the corner. He is doing so well. The nurses said his only issue is that he isn't digesting his food quite right yet. Yet another perfectly normal thing for preemies they say. That is his ONLY issue right now. He is doing so well with the entire situation. We are hoping that he stays this way throughout his childhood, but a little trouble would be okay.

They are doing very well so far. The boys are pooping, and sweet Danna is breathing on her own. It has been such a blast up to this point. We promise pictures tomorrow when Grandparents Haag, Graf, and Great-Grandma Selenke get to town. We also want to send out yet another giant thank you to the Moores. Laverna sentMoni some beautiful roses, and Mark brought Moni another flower arrangement. If he doesn't quit spoiling Moni, we are going to quit telling him where we are. J/K. Thanks so much.

Until next time...