Thursday 17th March

We've been home now for over a month, and it's been by far the best month in a while - certainly the best out of the last six anyway. Although the previous five wouldn't have been too hard to beat.

We are acting a lot more like a normal family now. I'm going to work every day, and still get excited each time I leave the office to go home. The babies change so much on a daily basis - I notice something different every time I see them. The change in Willow particularly has been amazing. She has so much more energy now, she's smiling for longer periods, and just looks like a happy baby. We keep thinking back to when she was looking at us so sadly with the tube down her throat for so many weeks. Looking at her now just makes us realise how lucky we are that she is the perfect, beautiful baby she is today. Stanley is still being Stanley; he basically smiles continuously, until hunger sets in.

Every day, the babies get some time on the play mat where they just lie there and look at each other. Stanley gets so excited when his sister turns up next to him, and they can spend a good hour just wiggling their limbs and googling to each other. This is one of the many benefits of having twins I suppose - instant playmates.

Feeding is still generally going well; although last night we had a bit of a moment with Stanley. It looks like he coughed, burped and vomited at the same time, which meant it all came out of his nose. We were terrified he was going to choke; I actually called the hospital while Leela masterfully calmed him down with some strategic movements and oxygen administration. After a while he cleared it out of his nose and throat himself, so the panic was over with no intervention. Six weeks ago, that would have been a definite 'bagging' incident. So on the one hand, it's very reassuring that he came out of that on his own - but on the other hand, it shows that we're still not totally out of the woods.

We recently received another benefit from our fifteen minutes of fame. During our week as celebrities, we were contacted by the makers of 'Babyglow' sleepsuits, who wanted to offer Willow and Stanley a couple of outfits each. They're basically baby grows which start off as pink or blue, and will change to white if the baby's temperature rises above a certain level. Luckily we've not experienced them turning white yet - but it definitely adds peace of mind if we're ever a bit worried that they might be getting ill. With sat monitors, apnoea alarms and Babyglows, I think we've got it covered.

We're really looking forward to the weather getting warmer now. We still don't want our babies mixing with the general public and their germy germs, so we're trying to avoid enclosed spaces when we're out and about. One only has to stand in a queue in Asda and realise that this is not the place for a baby with chronic lung disease.

We attempted to go for an outdoors lunch in Poole Park at the weekend, so walked past the warm people inside the cafe, and sat in the cold wind with an overpriced panini and the worst cup of coffee in Dorset. It wasn't long before we were sat in our nice warm car watching the boot of a Citroen Picasso while finishing our food. The babies seemed to enjoy their little excursion in the fresh air anyway, and it was just nice to be able to even take them out like that.

It's still an hour or so until we give the babies some more food to last til the morning. So, it must be about time for the parents to have some more food to last til the morning too. Food, in this case, being Quality Street and a bottle of wine. 

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.

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....

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.

Friday 25th February

So, it looks like our fifteen minutes of fame are over. Not before one final nice surprise though. Word had got around to Dean Ween, guitarist of one of our favourite bands, Ween, that I was wearing a Ween t shirt in the photo on the Telegraph's website. So the link was posted on their Facebook page and we got over 150 messages from well-wishing Ween fans. Also, they are sending Willow and Stanley some autographed baby-grows, which they'll be able to treasure forever. Some good has come out of all of this, after all.

Back home in the Senior residence, all is going nicely. The kids are getting into a routine now, with awake playfulness and long sleepy periods at the same times each day. It looks like Stanley's reflux is coming back, after a few episodes where he's done a bit of choking and turned ever so slightly navy. Nothing like what was happening a few weeks ago, but we've started him back on some Domperidone anyway. Another syringe to add to the regular drug administration schedule.

We're noticing the difference in both of them every day, particularly Willow. She's always been a few weeks behind Stanley after the rougher ride she's had, but she's making great strides to catch up with him all the time. Her smiles have gone from small unsure smirks to huge full-faced grins. No matter what time of day or night it is, seeing either of them smiling right at you just wipes away any problems there might be in the world at that moment.

Thursday 24th February

Wednesday was another day of craziness for the four of us. We awoke to the news that our story was now not only in the local Echo, but also in the Mail, Telegraph, Express and Metro newspapers (with only a little bit of sensationalisation, courtesy of the Telegraph). It's all a little bit embarrassing; we don't really feel worthy of all this attention. The kind of thing that we went through goes on every single day in this country, we are by no means the only people who've suffered and there are a lot others who are so much worse off than us. At least it does raise awareness of the work that goes on in intensive care units on a daily basis, and it's nice to be part of a positive news story amongst all the misery out there in the world today.

I don't think Willow and Stanley noticed any of the fuss going on around them. They've had another good couple of days and continue to thrive. Willow was giving us some real smiles, reacting to both of us as we talked rubbish to her, as parents do. They slept for nearly six hours last night, which is more sleep than either of us have had in the last five months. If we can just stretch that out a bit we'll be more than happy.

We've been for a nice walk down the beach in the glorious spring sunshine, but are still a bit on edge and can't help but keep looking at the monitors all the time. I think we need to start weaning ourselves off Stanley's monitor at least, so we can get used to having a baby with no wires attached at all.

The physio from the Child Development Centre made a visit today to have a look at how Willow and Stanley are getting on physically. One of the main worries of everything they've been through - like being extremely premature, and all the events that occurred since their birth - is that they might have some form of cerebral palsy. It's impossible to tell at this stage just what exactly the outcome might be, but from today's examination there was nothing obvious with either of them which would necessarily indicate any problems. So, although inconclusive, which is all it can be at this stage, we'll happily go with 'no news is good news'.

The last few nights, both babies have been fast asleep all evening, from around 7pm til midnight. Hoping this will also be the case tonight, we are planning to sit back and watch a blu-ray with no disturbances. The good thing is, we can have the surround sound as loud as we like; because they're so used to the racket going on in NICU, they can sleep through anything.

We'll see how that goes...

Tuesday 22nd February

Today was rather different. We almost felt like minor celebrities, expecting the papparazzi to be bashing down our door at any minute. The house phone rang at about quarter to nine. For the last four and a half months, that would always fill us with dread, as it could only generally mean one thing. Today though, after a quick glance at the two beautiful babies we were holding, we knew it wasn't NICU on the end of the line. Anyway, we missed the call as usual - we've always got our hands full these days - but there was a message from someone at Bournemouth News Service. Apparently we were on page three of the Bournemouth Echo, and our news story had gone national. That's the only time I'd like either of the two ladies in my life to be on page three of any newspaper.

By four o'clock this afternoon, we'd made it into the Daily Mail website, had an offer from a woman's magazine, and turned down the chance to appear on Channel Five. Not something that happens every day, and not anything we expected. We haven't really done much to deserve the attention; just had a couple of lovely little babies. All this fuss from a press release from Leela's school about the money they'd raised for NICU. If we do get any money from any of this, it will all go to NICU anyway, so it can only be a good thing.

As it turns out, there were no papparazzi, and we won't be competing with Kerry Katona for the front page of OK! magazine or the News of the World. But it did add a bit of excitement to our Tuesday anyway.

Back to the more important things in life, young Willow and Stanley were again thriving in their new environment of the Senior household. It's such a joy to wake up each morning and be able to see them again, even if it is 4:30am and they're screaming the house down. As soon as some food goes down their necks, the smiles aren't far away and it makes it all worthwhile.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1359503/The-premature-twins-tiny-arms-fit-inside-wedding-ring.html

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/8867649.Premature_twins_back_home_after_143_days_in_hospital/

Monday 21st February

We've been waiting for Saturday and Sunday morning lie-ins like this for a long time, and we finally got them this weekend; complete with bacon and egg sandwiches, and our babies on the bed with us. We're still not getting a terrific amount of sleep though, as both Willow and Stanley make continuous noises throughout the night.

We're still appreciating not having to go to NICU every day, and not having to worry all night about what our children are doing all those miles away. Of course, we still worry about how they're doing right beside us, but it's getting much easier. Their monitors are going off a lot less already; they seem to be even more stable than they were when they left NICU.

The health visitor came around this morning and was very impressed with how happy and settled the pair of them are. They were both even giving away a few smiles. They were weighed today - Stanley is 12lbs 4oz, and Willow is 10lbs 9oz - so both are still gaining weight really nicely.

We've been out for a few walks, complete with Infection Control rain covers to protect from prying fingers and germ-filled splutters. We probably look like neurotic parents, but we'd rather look neurotic than see either or both of our babies back in hospital. We're getting used to carting oxygen and sat monitors around with us everywhere, but really can't wait until we don't have to anymore. It will probably be a few months yet; although we are starting to turn Willow's oxygen down quite a bit more now, and Stanley's feeding has improved so much that he hardly ever de-saturates at all.

We still haven't quite got our own feeding regime on track. We tend to not have time to eat, so breakfast doesn't generally make an appearance until the afternoon. There is always a pot of filter coffee on the go and a small supply of cakes for emergency caffeine and calories. The kids are obviously getting a lot more nutrition than we are anyway. 

So, we're one week in to our new lives back home, which means that Willow and Stanley are one week stronger. The highlights of any of our days now is when either of them smiles at us; I suppose it means we're at least doing something right. Hopefully their memories of all the nasty things they went through are already fading, and are being replaced with dreams of a happy future.