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