Attention Family and Friends!

OK, so I beg your forgiveness in advance, but I am going to get into 5 Star General Mom mode now. If you are a relative or a friend that hopes to visit the babies, either in the NICU or at home before they are 5-6 months old, this is a VIP (Very Important Post) for you.

I have never been one of those germaphobe moms in the past. I never required that people spritz their hands with sanitizer or not breathe in my house if they had been recently sick. Then I had a baby taken by ambulance to the hospital at just 2 months old with a bad case of RSV, and my thinking on being a germ freak started to change a little bit.

Now that I will have not one, not two, but THREE preemie babies, I have decided that I would be an irresponsible mom if I didn't get into Mama Bear mode with their health!  Plus,  now my doctors, the NICU, and my friend who just had triplets 2 months ago have urged me to make sure that our friends and family members abide by a few guidelines:

 1. Everybody needs to have had a whooping cough/pertussis booster shot in the year 2013.  This shot needs to be administered at least 2-4 weeks before you see the babies. So those of you planning on visiting the NICU, that means get the shot ASAP because this could happen any day now!

Why? Adults can carry the virus without even being aware of it, and can easily spread this virus unknowingly to babies. Preemies are especially susceptible for several months after birth, into their toddler years.

But I had my booster shot in 2011 and they told me they were good for x # of years. That's what I thought too. I just had mine in April 2012 and they told me I need another one. I did some research, and basically, in the 1990s people started having reactions to the vaccine that was in use then - nothing serious, just a lot of uncomfortable side effects like sick stomachs, etc - so researchers made a new vaccine that successfully eliminated the side effects. Everybody was happy until a few years ago when they noticed that the number of whooping cough cases had been steadily on the rise. 2012 was the WORST year for whooping cough cases since 1955. What researchers have found (and this is really recent info, as in the past 1-2 years) is that changing the vaccine in the 1990s caused it to have a shortened lifespan. Within one year after the vaccine is administered, it loses HALF of its effectiveness.

So please, if you haven't had a booster in the calendar year 2013, please get one. This is incredibly important to JJ and I. If you don't wish to get the vaccine, that is your choice and I respect that, but please don't put us in the difficult situation of having to tell you that you can't come see the babies. I am a softie and I would feel just awful having to turn somebody away. But it is my babies' health and I will do it if I have to.

It is a super easy, painless shot (just make sure to massage your arm afterward so it doesn't hurt the next day), and you can get it in ten minutes at your primary care office, or even at Walgreens.

2. Get a flu shot.

3. If you have been sick, please wait at least 7-10 days after the sickness has completely passed to come and visit.

4. And of course, hand sanitizer will be required, and it would be nice if clean clothes that haven't been around children or people who are sick (teacher/nurse friends) were worn when you visit. With Jace, I was very careful to change my clothes after I finished teaching piano lessons before I touched him. And he still ended up back in the hospital :o(  We may also employ the use of masks, depending on the babies' health and strength. I know that nothing is 100% certain to prevent illness, but I am going to give my 3 preemies every chance to stay healthy.  It is especially important to protect their lungs, since even after being outside the womb for several months, their lungs are not nearly as developed as full term babies. I saw diagrams. It was scary. They can look totally normal on the outside, like any baby or toddler, yet inside, their lungs are vastly underdeveloped.

So please, don't be offended by these simple requests that we will abide by until the babies are deemed strong and healthy. Please don't feel like you are the only one we are asking to do this - or the exception. And please don't be offended when you ask if you can come visit and we ask if you have had your shots or have been sick recently. Just remember these guidelines are coming straight from a high risk doctor, a triplet mom who knows and the NICU.  And I am not trying to be mean, just trying to protect my babies. :)

Thank you!!