21st September 2010.
59 days after they were born.
Esther and William came home.
Home – Making Up for Lost Time and Missed Cuddles
The few hours that we had not been at the hospital with our newborns we had been busy preparing their home.
The room that would house all four of us for the forseeable future.
The nursery.
Making Ourselves at Home
They were still so very tiny.
Tiny Twins
They made everything at home look huge.
Giant Baby Rockers
It felt like we had over prepared.
The nursery had a jungle theme just as our playroom does now.
Daddy had created all the artwork.
Daddy’s Art Work
The window was sealed and insulated to keep the room warm and quiet and dark. The window was covered with a jungle mural that Esther and William used to stare at for hours while we watched the clock. They should have been asleep!
Babies loved the mural
Mummy watched the clock
We had a cosleeper for the babies to sleep in when they were not in our arms.
Cosleeper
A changing cot, just like we had in hospital. Though special care habits die hard.
Changing Cot
I tried to stick to the NICU routine at home, changing nappies every three hours round the clock. Washing all body parts before putting babies in the bath. Only now can I see how silly this was. But then I did not know what else to do.
There were lots of cuddles those first few days. Making up for all the time we had lost.
Feeding Cuddles!
This room was our safety blanket, a secure environment that we could control.
Where we kept all our medicines and guide books, planned our days and adapted our routines.
Where we got to know each other and found our way as a family.
This was our sanctuary. A place we could finally be together and alone as a family of four.
No beeping, no buzzers, no whirring machines.
No footsteps.
No questions.
No probing and prodding and painful procedures.
Things were starting to normalise.
At least that is what we thought.
But of course our lives were not normal. I am not sure they ever will be again.
Follow the blog over the next few days as I share with you our experiences of bringing our premature babies home.
Forming A Family
Simply beautiful, making me well up a little!
I kept our NICU routine too. I even kept notes of feeds written down in a little book before someone gently suggested I was a bit mad. I love even when you have a big safe house you still have one haven room, like a cosy cave. My bedroom was little sanctuary, and the sofa! That top picture is gorgeous. One to really cherish x
I did that too, writing down all the feeds, for ages actually. Clinging to something familiar I think x
What an intense journey this must have been for you.