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.