This time last year I was 14 weeks pregnant with Esther and William. Because we knew it was twins and because we had IVF we had lots of early scans showing us our babies developing. We really were very lucky in that respect. From 12 weeks they started to look less like aliens and more like babies. Things started to feel real. We were going to have not one baby but two!!

I loved going for scans though I was alway anxious that something would not be right, we had been warned by our clinic about vanishing twin syndrome and a higher risk of miscarriage throughout the pregnancy. It was a time of joy but also of worry. I did not have a very active pregnancy as I was so frightened that something would go wrong.

The scans were like a window into another world. A private silent world that Esther and William were already sharing and learning about each other.

When the babies were born at 27 weeks we were given another window, an opportunity to see first hand how babies develop at such an early stage. We saw with our own eyes what most parents see only on a scan photo. It helps to look at prematurity in that way sometimes, an opportunity to witness human development at its earliest stages.

Esther and William were so tiny and so perfect and it was a privilege to be able to watch them grow from kidney beans to aliens to mini athletes to proper podgy babies.

Today for the Friday Flashback I wanted to think back to those earliest of days and to remember the excitement of being pregnant and the thrill of growing new lives inside of me. It really is a wonderful thing we do.

Here are Esther and William at 13+5, less than 14 weeks later they were born x