One year and counting

So, a year has gone. On the 24th of September, we celebrated the first birthday of our two favourite little people. That day last year was one to forget in many ways; the only good things to come out of it were, of course, Willow and Stanley. The rest of the day was horrific and frightening.

I occasionally think back to the person I was before that day - an expectant father-to-be, relishing the prospect of the birth of a baby or two and full of excitement about what was to come. At the point when the doctor said those words 'You're having these babies now', all those hopes and dreams were smashed to pieces. Not, of course, due to our children being born, but because they were born fourteen weeks early. Fourteen weeks that they should have been growing and developing in the comfort of their little coccoons. A lot of people still don't seem to understand just how premature that is. I'll tell someone they were born fourteen weeks early and they'll say 'oh right, so you had to stay in hospital for a few days then'. 'Yeah, just a couple of days, until they grew some skin, quadrupled in weight, learned how to breath without the aid of mechanical equipment - you know, that kind of thing.'

It's only been the last few months that we've really been able to enjoy parenthood, despite the cerebral palsy, multiple daily doses of medication, continuing oxygen administration and monitoring. I think, because of all these things, we're appreciating every little milestone even more than we would in a normal situation. And on the subject of milestones, we're getting along very nicely in the most part.

Willow is now crawling - and when I say crawling, what I mean is running on all fours. There is no stopping her once she gets her eye on something at the other end of the room. And that something is always a prohibited object - like a mobile phone, the stereo, a plug socket; anything expensive, breakable, noisy or dangerous. She's also now using a walker to walk without any parental assistance, and is cruising between different items of furniture - all the while nattering away and making funny noises. Considering everything she went through, and the fact that she's only really ten months old - she's doing pretty well.

Stanley's predicament is still holding him back a few steps, as expected. Only in the last few days has he managed to sit up for more than thirty seconds. Today in fact, he sat unsupported for over five minutes; he's still a bit wobbly though, and needs plonking in the right place, but we're pretty confident now that he'll be officially sitting up on his own by Christmas. The fact that he's got CP really does mean that every milestone is even more amazing.

Both the babies have still managed to avoid any form of illness since coming home - mainly due to our extreme strictness with germs and hygiene. We just need to get through this winter without getting any major colds, and from next spring we might start to be able to be a bit more normal and let them get a bit ill now and then. If they were to contract bronchiolitis or something similar at the moment, they'd still be in trouble - Willow especially. They've got plenty of time to build up their immune systems, when they're no longer at risk of hospitalisation.

So anyway, life is good right now - it's never been better, in fact. Willow and Stanley couldn't be any more perfect, and we still appreciate every minute we spend with them. Just wish I had a few more of those minutes each day.