Spring is always a positive time of the year; and this one has been no exception. After a nasty autumn and a very long, tortuous winter, it was just what the doctor ordered (so to speak).
Willow and Stanley have now been home for two months, and have so far escaped any colds and infections. We've stuck to our strict policy of baby-handling by immediate family only, and it's paid off. We're sure a lot of people think we're being overly cautious, and that the babies need to get illnesses to help their immune system. Well, that's true to a certain extent, but if they were to catch a bad chest infection at this point it would probably only make their lungs even worse. I'd rather not see Willow back on a ventilator again, thank you very much - it's bad enough that she still needs oxygen 24/7.
They went for a check up at the hospital on the first of the month, for a once-over by a NICU doc. He seemed very pleased with the progress of both of them, and couldn't really find any faults. Of course, we are still not out of the woods at all, but all the signs are still good. We were so proud to show off our babies - we must be doing something right anyway.
They've also been weighed again this week. Stanley is now 16lbs 8oz and Willow is 14lbs 14oz, so they are both approaching the 90th percentile for their corrected age of three and a half months. They're really starting to appreciate the world of 'solid' foods, having three meals a day. A 'meal' being a yoghurt, or half a banana, or a pot of liquidized vegetables. Each of these is of course still complemented with a bottle of the white stuff, but they are certainly getting to grips with the fact that solids will satisfy their hunger as much as milk does. In the early days, there was no way we could get Stanley to go for a spoon of yoghurt when he was starving; we had to take the edge off with half a bottle first.
My favourite part of the day is the morning; it always has been, but now it's even better. We all wake up at 6am, and while Leela goes downstairs to get the nutrition ready (bottles for Willow and Stanley, coffee pot for Mummy and Daddy), I change the babies. They are both particularly cute first thing in the morning, and always seem to have grown an inch or two. But most of all, they are extraordinarily happy, smiling up at me and wiggling their limbs about because they are so excited (about something, I don't know what). They're such happy babies, and only really whinge at the same time each day - just before their evening kip when they're over-tired. After that, they still sleep til we wake them at 10pm for their 'dream feed', and sleep again until 6am. This weekend, we're going to try and stop the 10pm feed, and see if they'll go all the way through.
That all makes it sound easy - but it's not, by a long shot. There is always something to do, whether it's washing, sterilising, washing up, cleaning, playing, feeding, bathing. I had my first day on my own with them on Sunday, as Leela went up to Somerset to visit her other neglected family members. I'm only just about convinced I'm responsible enough to look after a hamster, let alone two babies. But I just about coped on my own for a full day, and got a taste of the job that Leela does every day when I'm at work. I've definitely got the easier deal being at work, that's for sure. Just a shame I can't be with my three favourite people all the time.
Willow and Stanley have now been home for two months, and have so far escaped any colds and infections. We've stuck to our strict policy of baby-handling by immediate family only, and it's paid off. We're sure a lot of people think we're being overly cautious, and that the babies need to get illnesses to help their immune system. Well, that's true to a certain extent, but if they were to catch a bad chest infection at this point it would probably only make their lungs even worse. I'd rather not see Willow back on a ventilator again, thank you very much - it's bad enough that she still needs oxygen 24/7.
They went for a check up at the hospital on the first of the month, for a once-over by a NICU doc. He seemed very pleased with the progress of both of them, and couldn't really find any faults. Of course, we are still not out of the woods at all, but all the signs are still good. We were so proud to show off our babies - we must be doing something right anyway.
They've also been weighed again this week. Stanley is now 16lbs 8oz and Willow is 14lbs 14oz, so they are both approaching the 90th percentile for their corrected age of three and a half months. They're really starting to appreciate the world of 'solid' foods, having three meals a day. A 'meal' being a yoghurt, or half a banana, or a pot of liquidized vegetables. Each of these is of course still complemented with a bottle of the white stuff, but they are certainly getting to grips with the fact that solids will satisfy their hunger as much as milk does. In the early days, there was no way we could get Stanley to go for a spoon of yoghurt when he was starving; we had to take the edge off with half a bottle first.
My favourite part of the day is the morning; it always has been, but now it's even better. We all wake up at 6am, and while Leela goes downstairs to get the nutrition ready (bottles for Willow and Stanley, coffee pot for Mummy and Daddy), I change the babies. They are both particularly cute first thing in the morning, and always seem to have grown an inch or two. But most of all, they are extraordinarily happy, smiling up at me and wiggling their limbs about because they are so excited (about something, I don't know what). They're such happy babies, and only really whinge at the same time each day - just before their evening kip when they're over-tired. After that, they still sleep til we wake them at 10pm for their 'dream feed', and sleep again until 6am. This weekend, we're going to try and stop the 10pm feed, and see if they'll go all the way through.
That all makes it sound easy - but it's not, by a long shot. There is always something to do, whether it's washing, sterilising, washing up, cleaning, playing, feeding, bathing. I had my first day on my own with them on Sunday, as Leela went up to Somerset to visit her other neglected family members. I'm only just about convinced I'm responsible enough to look after a hamster, let alone two babies. But I just about coped on my own for a full day, and got a taste of the job that Leela does every day when I'm at work. I've definitely got the easier deal being at work, that's for sure. Just a shame I can't be with my three favourite people all the time.
