Wednesday 2 March 2011

Wednesday 2nd March

This week, we've mostly been forgetting what sleep is like. Although that, and the tiredness created by the lack of sleepy time, are the only negative elements to come out of the last few days.

Willow and Stanley are still coming on in every way. Each morning they seem bigger and smilier, and it's always a real joy to meet them again every time they wake up. They were weighed again today - Stanley is 13lbs, Willow is 11lbs 10oz. They're moving their way up the percentiles, Stanley nearing the 75th and Willow on the 50th (for their corrected age of almost nine weeks, of course).

I've been working from home this week, pretending to not be at home at all - only interacting with family members if I hear an adult scream from downstairs. Leela has, amazingly, been coping superbly with the double full-time job she's got. On an average of three and a half hours sleep each night, it's not easy dealing with two extremely demanding little humans all day, particularly those that require oxygen, sat monitors and a cocktail of drugs. The day we get rid of Willow's oxygen and both the monitors will be like another escape - our final (material) ties to the legacy of premature birth will be left behind us.

For me, it has been like a break getting stuck back into work. I can concentrate properly now, knowing that everything I need in life is just downstairs, and not in a hospital on the other side of town, where I don't know what's happening. It's still an amazing relief every time the phone rings, knowing that it's not NICU.

The weaning is still going well; it looks like Willow is the more accomplished spoon feeder. Stanley still needs to calm down a bit, and realise that the food is not going to run away from him unless he shakes his head around like a madman. At this rate, we'll be liquidising jalfrezis before we know it. Might give those nappies a miss....

Sunday 27 February 2011

Saturday 26th February

Yesterday was all about Weening. Today, we've moved onto weaning.

Willow and Stanley both made their first steps into the world of solid foods this morning. It does seem very early to start weaning, as pretty much everything else in their development will be based on their 'corrected age' - which is the age calculated from when they should have been born (which is currently eight weeks). But, as their little stomachs have been digesting milk for five months, ie since day one, they will be able to start consuming solid foods earlier than their corrected age.

Not surprisingly, Stanley relished the opportunity to guzzle something other than liquid. And Willow wasn't shy either; I think we can call this experiment - the initial test anyway - a success. It gave us a lovely glimpse into the next few months, where they're going to be smiling away whilst covering their faces with all sorts of multicoloured foodstuffs.



Unbelievably, I only have one day left before going back to work. This has been the quickest two weeks of my life by far; I can understand now when other parents say to make the most of this time as kids grow up so fast. So I'm going to spend most of the time I have left feeding, changing, sterilising, talking rubbish and not sleeping. I'd happily swap work for all of that though - this is definitely the most rewarding job I've done.