June 22, 2006

It's been a wild and wooly few days here in the Pruetz household. Let me see if I can make this quick (sure -- and hell's about to freeze over...).

Currently, my entire family is vacationing at Lake LBJ. We do this every year -- my dad and stepmom rent a house in some mutually agreeable place and the two of them along with ZZ, myself, our four stepsisters and all of their families spend a week of family time together. It's tons and tons of fun.

But this year was a problem because of the girls and Todd's new job. So we decided not to go. But then I thought about it. Lake LBJ is only 90 minutes from here -- Devin and I could easily drive up, spend one night and drive back, giving us both a little vacation. We decided to do it and we left Tuesday morning after I went to see the girls.

But we almost didn't go because I got the news that the girls would be coming home on Thursday (today)!

That's right -- Faith and Grace have been deemed well enough to come home! It's been a long five weeks and there's still a lot to do around here. I don't even have any diapers for them! So much to think about...

But I decided that Devin (who's feeling a little neglected these days) and I needed one last hurrah before the girls come home and we went to the lake. We rode in the pontoon boat, Devin (along with Aunt ZZ, since I can't get into the water yet) was pulled in an intertube behind the boat (it was a disaster -- he was terrified), swam in the pool, took a tour of a local cave system and generally had fun just hanging around. Lake LBJ is beautiful and the cabin we rented was spectacular.

We returned yesterday afternoon to get the final preparations made for the arrival of the rest of the family to our home.

On my way back, though, I got a phone call from the nurse-practitioner in the NICU. Apparently, both Faith and Grace had had apnea episodes during a feeding on Tuesday. Apnea isn't much to worry about as long as it's happening during feeding times. It just means they got a little ahead of themselves and forgot to breathe. Pretty typical, even at their gestation.

Regardless, they want to send both girls home with Apnea monitors. It's a machine that will tell you if they don't breathe for 15 seconds. It's a safeguard, but I'm pretty happy to have it. Peace of mind for me, if nothing else.

They also want me to "room-in" with the girls tonight. It's a dry run, often done with families of preemies and/or multiples. It gives you a chance to sleep in the same room with your kids and do everything just like you would at home, but have a nurse at your disposal should you need one. I'm not tickled about spending another night at Chateau de Methodist, but if it means my girls will come home, then I'll do it.

So, we're pushing the homecoming back from today until tomorrow. If all goes well tonight, then we'll just do discharge in the morning and I'll be home with three kids by lunchtime.

I can't lie here -- I've got a certain amount of anxiety. In fact, I have a lot of anxiety. How am I going to do this? How does one take three kids to the grocery store? Where do I put the two car seats? Where does Devin sit? Devin is also a pretty typical three-year-old boy. He's loud, rambunctious and defiant at times. How am I going to get him to behave when I'm trying to take care of two infants? It's a full time job as it is.

I know that I did this when I was about to be hospitalized. I over-thought the whole thing and was a victim of my own mind. But I know the next few months are going to be very tough and I apologize in advance if I go for a long time without updating this blog. Luckily, writing it therapeutic for me, so maybe this blog can be my escape. We'll see...

But certainly my joy and relief over Faith and Grace coming home is outweighing my anxiety. They'll finally be here. Five weeks, to-the-day, since they were born and home they will come. It's a dream come true.

More updates to come...

E