Months 3 – 6 inclusive

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Can you believe it?  5 short months ago Esther and William were still being fed by a tube and we were looking at possibly another month in SCBU to get breastfeeding established.  That was 11th September 2010, on the 21st September 2010 we came home because the babies had decided that they were ready after all and within a few short days they began to breastfeed efficiently and demonstrated clearly that they no longer needed their tubes.  Just as they had shown with conviction that they no longer needed any oxygen support.  Since those final days in hospital Esther and William have continued to grow bigger and stronger everyday.  Now they are 6.5 months old and I cannot comprehend how much they have changed and grown.  They are nothing short of amazing and I love them with all my heart.  I have decided to write a series of posts celebrating their lives so far and I am going to begin with a review of the highlights illustrated through my Facebook status updates.  Facebook is good for something. 

Ladies and Gentleman, I give you the highlights of months 3 – 6 inclusive.

5th September 2010

Jennie is struggling a bit today as one of the nurses told us that the babies are really restless at night and seem to be looking for me cos I cuddle them and care for them/feed them all the day. Also they want to suck whenever they are fed and of course I am not there. They are doing so well and I just want to bring them home!

13th September

Jennie is not sure how many more nights she can leave her babies in somebody elses arms!

14th September

Jennie has had a good day! Esther is demand feeding during the day and William had his first ever bath!!!

16th September

Jennie is getting excited and scared as bringing the babies home in the not too distant future becomes a distinct possibility!!!

21st September

Jennie is home!

24th September

Jennie is very proud of her clever babies for gaining weight and impressing the health visitor with their super feeding and calm behaviour!!!

26th September

9am and I have just woken up. The babies made it through the night with 3 hourly feed rather than every hour! Progress!

30th September

Jennie feels like a milk machine today!!!

1st October

Jennie is pleased that the babies continue to gain weight albeit slowly! William is now 4lb 15oz and Esther is 4lb 4oz. No more weigh ins until the 14th October!!!

5th October

Jennie is now resigned to the fact that for the forseeable future it is feed, change, sleep or change, feed, sleep until the babies are old enough to play.

6th October

Jennie is watching her babies sleep whilst choosing music for her wedding. Life is good!

7th October

Jennie is very proud that William has graduated from Micro nappies to Premature!!! He must be gaining weight and be over 5lbs!!!

10th October

Jennie has had a lovely day with her fiance and children. We took Esther and William for their very first picnic.

14th October 2010

Jennie has just been advised by Health Visitor to postpone Esther and William’s Christening until after the cold and flu season. She says that it is just too much of a risk for them. Boo!

20th October 20/10/2010!

Today is the day that the twins were due to be born. Happy 0 Birthday Esther and William!

Jabs done and new weights recorded. Esther is 5lbs 1oz and William is 6lb 1oz! Happy 0 Birthday Babies!!

22nd October

Jennie has just walked 6 miles around the hills behind Charing with David and the babies. Ended up carrying the babies for the last two miles and pushing the empty pram!!!

24th October

Jennie can’t believe her babies are 3 months old today and should really only be 4 days!!!

26th October

Jennie seems to be always washing and sorting baby clothes!!!

29th October

Is it possible I have just had almost 3 hours sleep????

Jennie is showered, both babies are dressed, bedding changed and first lot of washing is out to dry. I have eaten breakfast and had a cup of tea! Now I am exhausted though after a twin feeding frenzy. A glimpse of what life will be like as things begin to get easier i.e. little tummies get bigger!!

30th October

Jennie is feeling so bad. After constant feeding for over 3 hours Esther is still screaming and I don’t know why. I am sure there is milk because William is feeding okay. I am going to have to give Esther a bottle of expressed milk because I just do not know what else to do and there is no one to help me.

Jennie would like to thank everyone who answered her desperate cries in the middle of the night. We got through it, as you all knew we would and amazingly I did not use the bottle after all. I just carried on feeding until she finally went to sleep. It is so hard especially in the early hours but I know it is worth it and I do love my children more than all the world. Thank you everyone x

1st November 2010

Today we start a proper bedtime routine. 6pm bath, 6.30pm feed and story, 7.30pm bed in cot and not to be picked up or taken downstairs. We will see if it can be done.

Crikey! Bathed and in bed by 7. William woke at 8 for food and Esther sleeps on. A positive first attempt.

2nd November

Jennie’s babies are being very cute this morning and are showing off the fact that they can lift their heads when lying on me on their tummies! Clever babies!!

Jennie just woke up from a nap to find William curled up next to her watching her sleep, though think he was fixed more on my chest than my face wondering how we was going to get to where he wanted to be!!

Jennie is very proud that her babies have done it again. Bath then bed for an hour, another feed then bed for 2 hours and now another feed before seeing how far we get through the night!!! Making progress – mini steps!

5th November

Jennie has had two Baileys hot chocolates whilst watching reruns of Whose Line Is It Anyway with David and the babies. A lovely end to a good good day. Now the feeding frenzy begins …

7th November

Jennie has had nearly 7 hours sleep in one night! Not all in one go, but all in one night is progress enough for now. Well done Esther and William x

9th November

Christmas has come early for the Charing Henleys! Esther and William love listening to me sing them carols especially Silent Night. Hooray for Christmas!

15th November

Jennie and David are very proud parents as William just smiled at them whilst in the bath! After a grumpy feeding frenzy of an afternoon, draining his own milk and Esther’s!! He rewarded us with a wonderful first proper smile!!!!!!!!!!

17th November

Jennie is back from hospital with Esther and William. Esther now weighs 3.2kg or 7lb 1oz and William is a whopping 3.57kg or 1oz off 8lbs!!! Well done little babies!!

20th November

Well done Babies! Asleep well before midnight with feeds at 2.45 and 5.45, and William slept in his cot all night. We are making progress!!!

22nd November

Jennie is falling in love with her children all over again as they keep smiling at her and are starting to giggle!!! So so sweet! And I am so proud that David and I have done something so wonderful and made children so beautiful. I don’t think there can be a better feeling than this!

29th November

Jennie is very pleased that William now weighs 8lb 12oz and Esther is 7lb 11oz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They need new clothes – AGAIN!

30th November

Jennie has had 4 hours sleep in a row!

2nd December

Jennie is dancing with William to Christmas music and watching the blizzard outside. Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!

3rd December

Jennie is feeling so much love for her son this morning. I washed his play gym so has been away for two days, brought it back out this morning and William is grinning and cooing and babbling and just so excited to see it and be in it again. Great for him and such a special feeling for Mummy too x

4th December

Jennie finally caught Esther and William smiling on camera!!!

9th December

Jennie is very proud that William now weighs 9lb 5ozs and Esther weighs 8lb 3ozs! Hurrah! My little fatsos!!!!

15th December

Jennie is very pleased that her little lovelies are still piling on the weight. William is now 9lb 9oz and Esther is 8lb 5oz. Well done little ones!

18th December

Jennie has decided that tomorrow will be the day when we start to use the expressed milk from the freezer. William and Esther no longer seem to like feeding together and so after the bath each day one baby will breastfeed with Mum and the other will have a bottle with Daddy. Think it will be good for Daddy too.

19th December

Jennie was not prepared to feel so sad watching Esther have her first bottle!?!

21st December

Jennie is very proud of her oldest but smallest child who has just slept through the night from 11.30pm til 6.30am!!! Well done Esther, you really are a little Star!

23rd December

Jennie has sorted the washing while Esther has her second bottle with her Daddy. William would not take a bottle! Will try again tomorrow. Esther is so much more laid back than William about all things, so different from when they were in hospital. Christmas tomorrow and I am a Mummy!

24th December

Merry Christmas Everyone! David and I are settling in for our first Christmas as parents. Have already watched The Santa Clause and read The Night Before Christmas. We have made the babies Jumperoo and are about to wrap the final presents for one another. It really is a wonderful life!

28th December

Jennie has just cried her eyes out leaving a wired, overtired William to cry himself to sleep for a total of 4 minutes … but it worked and he seems so peaceful now. Worse for Mummy I think!

29th December

Jennie is amazed that Esther just slept from 5pm to 3am!!! What a super sleeper!

30th December

Jennie is very proud that William is now a roller. He can roll from his tummy onto his back!

31st December

Jennie is a little worried that Esther must be starving. She slept for 10 hours over night and has slept at least 4 hours this morning too. She wakes, has a little feed and is then straight back to sleep!

31st December 2010

Without fail every new year I feel emotional and this year is no exception. I am staying home with all I need in the world, David, Esther and William. What a year 2010 has been for us and with so much more to come in 2011. Now I know what happiness is, it has been a long time coming but I really do feel I am the luckiest girl in all the world! Happy New Year everyone x

1st January

Jennie is excited because this year she becomes a Henley!

2nd January 2010

Jennie is bored of cold and flu season now and wants to be able to spend some time with her family and friends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

6th January

Jennie thinks William must be having a growth spurt!!

Jennie can’t believe she is back to feeding every two hours all through the night!! Thought it was one bad night but this have been at least the third, possibly the fourth!!

7th January

Esther has slept through the night!!! 10pm til 6.15am! William every 2 hours like clockwork though.

Jennie is writing everything down!! Today to see if any patterns are forming with my beautiful babies I am going to write everything down. I am going to do this until David returns from BETT and then we will decide on a routine!  At the moment we are struggling a bit as they are so different in their needs and development, also getting confused with actual and corrected age so writing it all down is going to be a starting point from which we will go on. Again! I am feeling positive about the world today. Feeling positive is good!

Jennie has just put Esther in a dress for the first time and is not sure that she or I like it very much. She is just too small for proper clothes!

Jennie thinks William is teething!!! Actually Michele thinks William is teething and she is more of an expert than me!! He is really clingy, dribbly, a bit hot with red cheeks, one side redder and hotter than the other. Also seems to like eating his hands.

8th January

Jennie loves the cute noises that Esther has started to make. I love her and William so much!!

10th January

http://thismummyloves.blogspot.com/2011/01/weaning-trials-and-tribulations-of.html
To wean or not to wean – Esther and William will be 6 months on the 24th Jan. William is feeding more and more often – at least every 2 hours round the clock!
I wonder if weaning would help?

12th January

Jennie is very proud that William now weighs 11lb 2oz and Esther a very petite 9lbs!

13th January

Jennie is not impressed that Esther thinks 4am is getting up time!!!

Jennie loved taking Esther and William to watch the tropical fish at the the garden centre with Granny and they enjoyed it too! A lovely trip out and such well behaved babies!

15th January

Jennie has fed at 12, 12.50 and now 1.50. I do hope this pattern will not continue all night!!! Guess what it did! Every hour onthe hour til we finally got up at 6.30!!!!

Jennie is loving how much Esther and William are beginning to enjoy books!

16th January

Jennie has just given William his first taste of baby rice. He seemed to quite like it! One week of baby rice ahead and then proper puree weaning! Glad a decision has been made! I have a busy week ahead making purees!

18th January

Jennie is exhausted and wishes that Esther would just go to the toilet!! 7 days and counting!

20th January

Jennie has been to GP with Esther and now has some lactulose to try and get things moving!

22nd January

Jennie wants to thank everyone for their advice on Esther’s poo situation – we are still waiting! I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts, tips or tricks on getting William to take a bottle??? He is not at all keen and I am going to have a spa day as soon as we pass this last obstacle! Esther guzzles her milk from a bottle but William just screams!

24th January

Jennie can’t believe that Esther and William are 6 mths old today! 6 months ago we had just seen them for the first time in their incubators at NICU weighing 2lb 4oz and 2lb 11oz. We were peering through condensation as their incubators were kept humid to protect their precious born too soon skin. We have come so far!

We really have come so far and I am so so proud and so excited about what the next 3 months might bring, and the next and the next …

What a wonderful life, being a Mummy, with all the ups and downs and sleepless nights, I would not swap this for all the world!!!

Not for all the world x

Gratefully Cheery Week 6

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Reasons to be Cheerful at Mummy From the Heart

This week has been a difficult week for me as Esther, William and David have all been quite unwell.  As has my cousin who was hoping to come round and support us while she was off work this week.  However this difficulty has lead to one of my main reasons for being cheerful, I have asked my Mum to come and stay for a few weeks, and I am really really looking forward to spending some proper time with her.  More on that in a minute.

My reasons for being cheerily grateful this week …

My sister’s wedding was a wonderful occasion and she was a beautiful bride!

It really was a great day and Julie did not stop smiling throughout.  I did not stop crying!  People kept asking me on the run up to the day “Will you be emotional when your sister gets married?” and I said no.  I really did not think that I would be but as soon as I woke up that morning the tears welled up.  I could not look at Julie without crying.  She was so beautiful and I felt so so proud.  My little sister was a bride and now she is a wife!  Congratulations again Mrs Newsome!

Esther and William seem to be surviving their first cold without needing medical intervention

I think that they both have the same cold on top of which they are teething but oh how different they behave!! Esther is quietly getting on with life while William is letting everyone know that he is not very well!  So so different.  He is definitely suffering though our William.  He screams with pain and his cheeks are red raw.  He is also a total snot monster and seems to be off his food.  But I am thankful, so thankful, that 3 days in and he does not seem to be getting worse.  I am hoping that this time hospitalisation has been avoided.  Touch wood!

Esther and William are now sleeping in a big cot!

When we got home from the wedding on Sunday night we did not rebuild the bedside co-sleeper instead we transferred both babies into one traditional wooden cot.  It is still beside our bed to make night feeding easier but it is a big, proper babies cot.  They sleep side by side horizontally across the cot.  We plan to keep them together until after our wedding in September when they will be one year corrected age, then they will  graduate again to a cot bed of their very own!

This blog has entered the Wikio Top 500 Parenting Blogs at 396!!!

Today I received an email telling me that my blog has entered the Top 500 of the Wikio UK Blog Ranking in the category of Parenting.  Woo Hoo! And when I checked my ranking it is 396!  This has not only made me cheerful, it has made me determined to be a better blogger and to make my way up the ranks!  One can only try!  One of the things that I am hoping to do is move my blog and rename it to make it more memorable and appropriate for the content it now includes.  I have a website as well as this blog called Edspire and so may combine the two and host my writing there.

My Mum is coming to stay!

My parents live in Spain and though we seem them quite regularly it is not the same as having them here when I need them.  Subconsciously I think that this has been really getting to me since my operation and the babies being born.  It has, from my point of view, really affected my relationship with my parents.  Today I made the first step in putting things right by asking my Mum to come and stay.  I should have done it weeks ago as we have desperately needed help but something inside me just wouldn’t let that be.  Now I have realised, through Esther actually, that this is not the right way to be.  I loved my Nan more than all the world and my children deserve to have a chance at a similar relationship with theirs.  Also, I would hate it if Esther acted toward me as I have been doing to my Mum recently.  I have to move on from the bad birth of Esther and William and do everything I can to give them the good life they deserve.  David’s family are wonderful but I want Esther and William to know my side of the family too, and I want my Mum and I to be friends, something I don’t think we have ever been.  Lets hope that we can all start again and make things work as they should x That really will be something to be cheerful about!

The Gallery – Self Portrait

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Here I am again cherry picking from the old gallery topics provided by Sticky Fingers. 

This time I have chosen to look at Self Portraits and again I am using my teaching as a vehicle for this exploration. 

When I taught Year 5, as a ‘Getting to Know You’ lesson I asked the children to make a doll of themselves using lollipop sticks, googly eyes and collage materials.  They had to make the doll as a portrait of themselves, as they believe themselves to be.  Once all the dolls were made we displayed them in our classroom as a reminder of us as individuals working together as a team.  This was a great combination of DT and PSHE that was fun for all involved and a great way for me to get to know my new pupils at the start of the year.

One of the children made a doll of me, I wonder if you can spot me??

Year 5 and 6 Literacy – Weather Idioms

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In my classroom one of my favourite projects is to combine art and literacy through the exploration of idioms.  Here are some weather idioms produced by an old class of mine.

See if you can spot a storm in a teacup, a fair weather friend and a few people with a face like thunder!

A great lesson which is lots of fun with words and pictures and can be made accessible for all!

Dear Parents of Twins …

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If you are a Mummy or Daddy of twins, please read this post and if you can, please reply.

Esther and William are now nearly 7 months old.  They are good babies on the whole though William can be quite easy to upset and hard to settle sometimes.  At the moment they are both teething and we are 2 days in to their first ever cold.  I am trying so hard to be a good Mum but even with the support of my work from home partner I am still finding it incredibly hard.  I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for making things easier?

This week is particularly bad because of the illness and teething but I often find myself exhausted with too much to do and wondering what I can do to make this work.

I love my children dearly and I want to do right by them but increasingly I am feeling that I just don’t know how.

We have had a hard start to parenting, David and I.  The twins’ arrived early after major abdominal surgery for me, from which I am not sure I have ever really recovered physically or emotionally.  59 days in NICU also took their toll and though it is wonderful having our babies home now it has been lonely through the winter months as we have tried our best to protect them from infection and diseaase.  And winter is not over yet!

I know I am sounding desperate and I don’t mean to.  I know that after 5 cycles of IVF I really am the luckiest girl in the world to have two beautiful babies, a boy and a girl, our family could be complete.  I am grateful and I count my blessings every day but I do not feel that I am appreciating the babies or motherhood as I should.  I don’t feel that I ever have the time.

I envy mothers of single babies and think how much easier life must be with one.  How you can meet one child’s needs, hug them as soon as they cry and hold them as long as they need.  I feel that I am cutting myself in two and always feel that one babies’ needs are not being met.  William is so ill at the moment he should be in my arms all the time but Esther needs me too and she does not complain so quiet and good natured is she, but I am aware and I feel torn.  Why can I not be a good enough mother for two?

And I am not alone by any means.  David is home most days but he is trying to run his business.  I feel so guilty taking up his time but we need him every day, he feels guilty if he does not help, but he is also impatient to be focusing on his work.

On a good day I am fine alone and I enjoy being Mummy, on a difficult day I struggle but I still enjoy the challenges that being a Mummy brings, on a bad day it is awful and I often end up in tears. 

Today is one of those days.  Even David, the calm one, is frustrated today as he is getting nothing done.  He wants me to get help. With the babies, with the house, help?

It is 21.45 and we have only just got both babies to sleep.  We have had dinner but I cannot easily get in or out of the lounge because of baby stuff, David is still working at his computer and I am about to drink yet another cold cup of tea.  My airing cupboard is full of damp washing that needs sorting and the bathroom is full of more washing to do.  We are not unpacked from last weekend away and the babies are being fed from packets and jars.  I am about to eat my fifth cereal bar of the day.  Trying to lose weight is just not going to work!

I thought long and hard about posting this.  I am hoping that someone will read it who will know what we should do. 

I want to enjoy my children.  Have time to play with them.  I want to wake up from a whole nights sleep feeling like I could take on the world.  I used to feel like that once.

We do have good days.  We have good moments in most days but dark dark shadows loom over them.  We laugh together, we play, we read and we sing. We cuddle and we chat.  I know that I am a good Mum, a potentially excellent one I am just scared that right now I am losing my way. 

When I was pregnant I imagined the singing, the stories, wearing a baby round the house, walks to the park, coffee with friends, baby groups and classes, making friends with other new Mums …

As it is I will go to bed in a minute, the house still a mess, the washing undone, I will wake through the night to feed and in the morning this will start all over again and before we know it it will be bath time.  I will probably have spoken to no one apart from increasingly short exchanges with David about how we need help!

If you are reading this and you are a parent of twins please please let me know how you make it work because I want to make this family a happy one.  Please point us in the right direction.

The Gallery: Black and White

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ShowOff Showcase

Putting things in Perspective – Learning to See

http://www.childrensvision.com/development.htm

Thank you to Sticky Fingers for the inspiration for this blog from her The Gallery archives.

Listography – My Funny Valentine

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Photobucket

Over at Kate Takes 5 a new listography challenge has been raised.  To list the things I would like this Valentines Day.  Here goes …

A whole nights sleep

Esther and William were born on 24th July 2010 after life saving abdominal suregry for me.  This surgery together with pregnancy and then motherhood mean that I have not slept through the night for as long as I can remember, at least 8 months.  I am tired and I need sleep.  I want to remember what it feels like to awake refreshed and feeling raring to go.

A long hot soak with a good long book

I would like a soak in the suds with a saga!  I have not read a book for over 6 months, not a full length adult book that it is not about babies, sleep and routines!  I would like to dive into the depths of the bath and wallow in the warm shallows of a novel.

A sumptuous meal cooked for me while I enjoy a drink with my fiance

At this point I don’t really want to leave my house but I would love to enjoy a meal that I have not planned, prepared or cooked, and that is not Chinese takeaway.  I would like to have soft music playing in the background and candle flames reflected in our eyes as we sit and whisper sweet nothings instead of compete with one another about who is feeling the most tired and why!

A back massage

I would like to lie and let my mind wander as healing hands work their wonder on my poorly aching back.  From breastfeeding and bending over cots, chairs, buggies and play equipment my poor weary spine has never felt so neglected, so old.  A massage would be a real treat that I would relish for days and weeks to come.

A word

I want my babies to speak.  To utter one word.  I know that I have a while to wait yet but I am so excited for when it comes.  A word, the word, one word.  What a wonderful valentine that would be for David and I.  We wait.  What a funny valentine!

Happy Valentines Day everybody, why not pop over to Kate Takes 5 to share some more romantic desires!

  “A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for”

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http://thinkexist.com/baby_quotes_for_scrapbooking/