2 Dec 2004

Julie went back into labour and I've spent the last three days at the hospital, with every effort made to stop the arrival of the twins.

We lost that battle this morning at 7am, the twins were delivered and they now reside in incubators with a zillion tubes and sensors attached.

Aubrey weighed in at 1 pound and 15 ounces.

Viking weighed in at 1 pound and 12 ounces.

Both are incredibly tiny, shiny and bright red, like two hobgoblins.

Aubrey cried when he arrived, the tiniest cry you ever ever heard.

Viking just waved his arms about, as if warding off early summer wasps.

The twins are now receiving morphine, respiration,
food juice, light therapy and our love when we can get near them. They look grumpy at leaving their weightless fluid home.

All we can do now, is wait....and hope. I won't be around too much for the next few days, grabbing moments like these is important to me for all kinds of mushy reasons. bye

6 Dec 2004

It's been a week of such highs and lows.

We had a scare of horrifying proportions when Aubrey started bleeding in his lungs and at one point they asked us if we wanted him christened, very very scary.

The treatment, which involved letting the lungs bleed, until it stopped WORKED!! Aubrey now fine.

Although they will always be Viking and Aubrey, I have given in to all the "you can't call him viking!!" nonsense, and he has been officially named Edmund, so it's now Edmund and Aubrey, although to me they will always be Viking and Aubrey...but there you go.

They're now both progressing, needing less and less of everything to survive, Edmund is taking on the morphine and the breathing machine, taking his own breaths more and more, both need less antibiotics, oxygen feed and other stuff.

To combat jaundice they have been wearing shades all day, and lying under their blue lights they look for all the world like the stars of a french punk film.

They aren't red anymore, they're now kind of tanned, and ever so wrinkly.

Julie's breasts are huge and are emitting milk by the TANKER-LOAD, and both twins will be taking tiny portions of this feast every six hours from now on.

We got through the first 48 hours with only one bleeding lung situation, now we have to get through the first week which is the next critical stage, but we are counting every hour as a bonus.

They each have a little white knitted woollen cap on their head. I asked the nurse where the hats come from and she said volunteers made them. What a brilliant way to make a little difference, there should be a documentary on this, at least a photo-article.

Having said that Edmund's cap is rubbish, even the nurse agreed with me, Aubrey's hat on the other hand is superb, or maybe it's just the way he wears it, with a kind of sashaying confidence.

The night shift on our babies intensive neo-natal care ward insist on playing the Bee Gees, should i sue the hospital if they grow up with quavery falsetto voices and a taste for high-waistband trousers?

Anyway, that's the update. Hopeful, getting better, taking it one hour at a time.

From us and the kids in the plastic boxes, goodnight.

6 Dec 2004

On friday night I was out with my best friend, he'd come down to see me because he's off to Argentina for a month. During the night the hospital called, little Aubrey was in trouble as his tiny lungs had started bleeding. My best friend insisted on coming with me to the hospital, keeping my spirits up and generally being superb.

Julie and I spent the worst night of our lives in the intensive care unit and my friend slept the night on a sofa in reception.

By the morning the situation was a lot better and my friend took us to the hospital cafe and bought us breakfast.

Best friends are absolutely priceless.

12 Dec 2004

The boys are now 10 days old, that's still 13 weeks premature which is shocking.

They both have heart murmurs, apparently we are not to worry about it too much as this is common with premature babies . Some drugs, maybe a small operation and it's fixed.

Edmund is now feeding entirely on Julie's milk, which is brilliant. He is about to lose one of his intravenous feeding lines and has put on loads of weight, so much so that he's back to his birth weight....which we are told, is a very very good sign indeed.

Aubrey, dear sweet dilettante that he is, is taking a more leisurely approach and is feeding a lot less and sleeping a lot more, but he is also putting on weight and generally looking fabulous.

They both respond to our holding them (we can only cup their heads and bottoms in our hands through the windows of the incubators). It's amazing to see their little oxygen-ratio settle down when we talk to them, it's like some kind of visible proof that we can actually do something for them. sniff.

They both gesticulate like mad, it's like a pointing competition between them, they point at everything, but it's all random because they haven't opened their eyes yet and have no concept of what pointing is, but it's still great fun...

They are both peeing and poohing, into nappies the size of postage stamps!

And we love them infinitely as is their birthright.

That's the update.

13 Dec 2004

This is Julie giving Edmund a hold, they can't tolerate any other kind of touch except a hand pressing on them, to imitate life in the womb.

And this is Edmund in his cocoon and morphine world.

29 Dec 2004

Hello.

I've made a new website with a few pics on, the twins are doing well, and we have every reason to be optimistic...

Happy new year everyone...xxxxxxxx

As a forward-thinking charity, Action Medical Research is creating a healthier future for everyone. Although we will still fund work into a wide range of diseases and conditions affecting all age groups, Touching Tiny Lives will give extra impetus towards solving the problems of pregnancy, childbirth and the early years.

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