Released - Part 1

They made me wear a mask, but the nurses let me into the graduate NICU on Wednesday night so I could see my boys. I just couldn't wait any more.

So I drove down to Denver after work, took my wife out to a belated anniversary dinner, and then we went together to give the boys their 9:30 p.m. feeding. Ben and Luke were sleeping together in the same crib, swaddled like Glow Worms and making the little baby noises we haven't heard in almost four years.

Jack was still in his temperature-controlled isolette. But he has been eating well and gaining weight, and today he is sleeping in the open air with his brother Ben. By all accounts, both boys should be ready to come home by the middle of next week.

We are keeping our fingers crossed.

Brutish Luke, however, was released from the hospital yesterday, only 13 days after he was born. He spent the night with mom in Denver, and he is her travel companion as she treks back and forth to the hospital to feed his brothers.

A few months ago, I was standing next to my wife at a yard sale hosted by the Moms of Multiples Club from Fort Collins when I suddenly felt dizzy. For a moment, I thought I would pass out. I was watching the moms pushing the strollers with twins (or in one case, a stroller with twins and a third baby strapped to mom's chest), and the reality that we would soon have triplets washed over me. I literally thought I was going to fall down.

How in the world were we going to handle newborn triplets and their three sisters? Our girls are, of course, potty trained. They can feed themselves. They can climb in the car and buckle their own car seats. Are we really ready to start over - with three?

A few minutes later I was standing in the checkout line next to a man who looked like he might be someone's grandfather. Naturally, the conversation turned to our triplets, and my tone, or expression, or something must have revealed my worries. He stepped close, put his hand on my elbow, and told me that one of his three children had died at age 14.

"They are a blessing," he said. "Enjoy every minute. Every minute. You will be just fine."

Indeed.

We love you, Luke. We're glad you're here and out of the hospital. And we can't wait for you to come home. We'll figure out how to sleep through the baby noises.