Friday 11th March

Another busy week - and not a lot of time for blog-writing.

I became 33 years old on Tuesday, and couldn't have wished for a better birthday present. Just waking up and being able to see a couple of babies smiling up at me was much more than I could wish for. As a special bonus, I also received a lovely piece of projectile vomiting from my daughter, and a couple of manly burps from my son.

The kids had their weekly weigh in - Stanley is 13lbs 9oz, Willow is 12lbs 4oz. I could do with losing a stone in weight; so that's basically a whole Stanley. Makes you realise how heavy custard creams and Zinger Tower Burgers are. Our diets have actually improved somewhat since we've all been at home. The incredible wife/mother combo package named Leela manages to whip something up most days, so I arrive home from work to the smell of something delicious bubbling away in the slow cooker. We've had Greek lamb shanks, Hungarian goulash and Malaysian beef and aubergine curry, to name but a few. I'm a very lucky man.

Willow and Stanley are still enjoying living at home; their personalities are developing every day. Stanley is a very laid back little boy; unless he's hungry, when he is a maniac. Willow is very patient, but knows what she likes and doesn't take any nonsense.

I received a message this week from John White, whose daughter Leah was born at 26 weeks 6 days on 1st March. She's in the care of Poole NICU, and her parents John and Sarah are going through the same rubbish that we went through five months ago. John's doing a blog too - http://leahvivianharleywhite.weebly.com/daily-blog.html. Just reading what's happening to Leah reminds us that just because we are fortunate enough to have made it out of hospital eventually, it's all still happening to other people behind those double doors. We'll certainly be following their journey and hoping that they start having an easier time soon.

Monday 7th March

Today was pretty good. I left work heading in the direction of home for the first time since Friday 24th September. Normality had never felt so refreshing. This is the kind of thing I probably wouldn't have appreciated enough before; the simple act of travelling home, knowing that my little family are all there waiting for me.

The kids are now on double helpings of 'solids' a day. They had apple and baby rice for lunch, and sweet potato for dinner. Slightly more nutritious than the lunch of caramel KitKats and Penguins that their father had at work. It was my first day back in the office though; and the bananas I left in my drawer three weeks ago didn't look all that appetising.

Last night, all four of us had five and a half hours sleep in one go, so today we were feeling surprisingly refreshed. It's now a quarter to midnight, so fifteen minutes til their late supper. The grunts and groans coming from the baskets in the corner are like a countdown to food o'clock. Who needs atomic clocks to tell the time when you have Willow and Stanley.

Sunday 6th March

All is still going nicely here. We've fully recovered from our time as sub z-list celebrities; even surviving a surprise appearance in the Advertiser.

It's been a busy week for the four of us. Leela is relishing her role as a proper mummy at last; and I wasn't called upon at all in my back-up position while working from home. We had a lovely weekend together, including a walk in the spring sunshine along the beach. It's getting a lot more relaxing leaving the house, and we're not relying on watching monitors constantly anymore while out driving or walking.

We're definitely starting to put the whole NICU experience behind us, and hopefully Willow and Stanley are too. Going by their smiles and how happy they always seem to be (except when hungry), it looks like it's already a distant memory for them.