T.G.I.F.

A quick posting - mostly because I'm exhausted and am a step away from bed...

The girls had a reasonable but exhausting day today. They all had their eyes examined again today. This is quite a short but very stressful experience for them and it left them with little energy. 

I made sure to cuddle all of them before and after their procedure but what they really needed today was some quiet sleep time in their crib. Even this evening, the nurse reported that they were still quite sleepy, their energy still spent. 

Emily was doing better from yesterdays apnea antics - she convinced the doctor's that she needed some more time with her caffeine and was put back on it. Caitlyn and Heather were content today and all continued to delight us. 

Papa had a chance to go in tonight as well for feedings and cuddles...

On a somewhat sad note, we've decided, after consultation with our doctor and the neonatology team, to pull Jennifer out of day-care for a while. I think the tipping point was having her put on antibiotics yesterday - we decided that having her home with her sisters will be much easier for all of us than having one or more of the little one's in the hospital because they caught something from the day-care. So Jennifer had her last day at day-care today and will hopefully return sometime in the fall. It was a great sadness for me to have to make this choice as Jennifer loves her "new day-care" and has thrived there. She gets really excited to go and never wants to leave and has adopted many of her friends names either for herself or her dolls. In true Jennifer style though, she was equally happy with the idea of having play-dates with her friends in the neighbourhood. The staff at the day-care were equally sad and gave her a great send off with chocolate cake!! She is also welcome back any time and will be on the top of the wait-list for the fall...we really could not ask for more.

Jan

--

Papa here: I dropped by the NICU tonight, as usual, and I am glad to report that, by and large, the girls were doing quite well. Emily had one insignificant desat, but recovered well on her own. Perhaps the caffeine is kicking in and making a difference. Anyways, by the time I arrived, the girls had all been fed and assessed and the nurse was on her break. I sat down beside the crib in a rocking chair and stared in at my sleeping girls. It was a very relaxing and calming quiet, in a sense. You learn to tune out all the bells and lights and alarms, and it is not hard to absorb the beauty of a baby that is your child, deep in a peaceful and dreamy slumber.

To echo Jan's sentiment, the decision to withdraw Jennifer from daycare, for the time being, was a very difficult and agonizing one, but at the same time I am feeling confident that it is the right one. These babies' immune systems are under-developed and immature: they cannot be put at unnecessary risk from viruses and bacteria that might be transported from the germ-battlefield of a daycare. In due course, they will get sick, of course, but the big concern with the bugs that could be brought home from the daycare is their virulence and the possible frequency of infection. Even with Jennifer out of daycare, of course, there is still always the risk of infection, but we both feel (and the medical professionals seem to agree) that keeping her in daycare is just too risky. It's a good thing that both of us will be able to take time over the next months. We will have to be diligent about attending to her needs in terms of both activity and social contact. Today, Jan got the contact information for a couple of Jennifer's favourite friends from daycare, so that we can setup playdates for her. Hopefully, we will also be able to make good use of the outdoors this summer, to get her out and active. We are both firmly resolved to get Jennifer back in daycare as soon as the babies have grown and their immune systems have strengthened.

It's going to be a busy weekend. It's quite conceivable that Caitlyn will come home in the next few days, and we are going minivan shopping this weekend. Wish us luck! There are also some domestic things to attend to around the house, things that must be attended to or they might never be addressed!

Next week will be my last week of work before I go on parental leave. I am hoping I can fit everything I need to get done into the work week next week, but I am very excited about the prospect of getting these girls home and having a chance to be together as a family. I am excited to introduce Caitlyn, Emily and Heather to their big sister; maybe too excited! Jennifer is going to have to learn some lessons about being a big sister (patience!), but I'm sure that, with time, encouragement and our patience, she is going to be one of the all-time best big sisters ever.

TGIF folks, TGIF!

I hope everybody enjoys a nice long weekend!

Cheers,
Jer