'Tis the season

October means Homecoming, and all year I've been looking forward to taking the Fab Four to their first Homecoming Fair. In fact, I was so excited that I even had a friend pick up four matching college tees (not cheap!) so that the babies would be appropriately decked out.

What was I thinking?! Not only does RSV season start this month (running through April), but also H1N1 seems to be everywhere. Both viruses could pose a life-threatening risk to my 33-weekers, who have not been vaccinated against either one. After remembering this tiny detail, we ultimately decided to stay home.

Unfortunately, this will be the story of our lives for the next several months. If you plan on visiting us during this time, we have just a few requests:

If you are sick or have been in the 5 days leading up to your scheduled visit, or if anyone in your family has been sick during that time, please postpone your visit until you are well.

If you have a baby or toddler, please do not bring them with you to visit us until RSV season is over, as the virus is common among children and spreads very easily from child to child.

If possible, please get a flu shot. We plan on getting vaccinated for the regular flu next week, and the babies will be vaccinated for H1N1 when the vaccine becomes available at our pediatrician's office.

As usual, we'll ask you to wash and sanitize your hands before touching the babies, since the virus that causes RSV can live as long as 6 hours on hands and 12 hours on objects.

Oh, and if you're wondering whether I returned the tees I bought for the kids to wear to Homecoming ... no way! Look how cute they look in them!

Jude, Lucy, Isaac, and Dahlia get their first taste of fall in matching AU tees