Hey There Brother!

In the last day or so, we've noticed the boys being much more aware of each other's presence.

We stood Theo and Charlie in front of each other earlier today and our hearts completely melted when Theo gave Charlie a massive smile! It was so cute...

Snug as a Bug In a Rug

Here's a picture of the boys getting ready for a trip out in the buggy with their new pram suits on.

"Move over will you, it's a bit tight in here!"

How on earth is this buggy meant to last until they're three years old!

A Very Merry First Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Santa has been VERY generous to the boys on their first Christmas. They had a pile of presents at least twice the size of Mummy and Daddy's!

Extra EXTRA Long Sleepy Time!

Last night we had for the first time in over 2 months (longer for Clair due to 'bump induced insomnia'!) about 7 hours undisturbed sleep!

The boys had their final feed of the night at about 10:30 and we didn't hear a peep out of either of them until 6am!

It felt good.... very good. A nice Christmas present from the boys.

Erm... Extra Long Sleepy Time Again!

Rejoice! Theo slept until 6am last night! He had his last feed at about 10pm and slept all the way through the night!

And Charlie? Well, he still demanded a feed at 4am - but that's OK. I'm sure he'll come along good soon... He'd better...

Not so Extra Long Sleepy Time

....errrr, no. It's all gone wrong again! Charlie woke at 2AM this morning and Theo woke at 4AM!

Who's to say that they should always be in synch anyway....

Extra Long Sleepy Time

Normally Charlie wakes first in the night - usually about 3am, sometimes slightly earlier, sometimes slightly later.

Except last night, when he didn't wake until gone 5am! We couldn't believe it however the only problem is, once they've both been fed at that time there's no point in us going back to sleep!

Roll on when they sleep ALL through the night. Fingers crossed that time isn't far away....

Black and White Boys

Theo Black and White, originally uploaded by jonburchell.

Charlie Black and White, originally uploaded by jonburchell.

Our current favourite pics (apart from the bath foam hair ones of course!)

How alike do they look!

The Best of the Best

We've probably taken over 2,000 pictures of the boys since they were born. Some (most) of them were only suitable for the bin, but the beauty of digital photography is that it doesn't matter! You can just delete and try again!

Over on the right hand side is a slideshow featuring all the best pics. Click on an image to see it full screen. Alternatively, click on the link below to watch the slideshow full screen from the first picture of the boys through to the latest...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonburchell/sets/72157603430965934/show/

The Great Escape

Theo seems to be trying to escape from his cot! He's learnt to bounce his way up the cot's entire length. The other morning he was actually lying at right angles to his bed - the day before, he had his head wedged amongst the soft toys at the top of the cot!

He's a real wriggler. Charlie meanwhile moves barely an inch from the moment we put him down. Chalk and cheese as they say....

Bathtime Fun

Childish I know - but good fun...

Bathtime Fun, originally uploaded by jonburchell.

Bathtime Fun, originally uploaded by jonburchell.

What You Lookin' At?

07 Dec 2007_0912, originally uploaded by jonburchell.

Things We've Learnt Part 2

• If we're still in bed after 7am, it's considered a lie-in
• They really DO grow out of clothes amazingly quickly. 'Tiny baby' size clothes? - gone, 'Newborn' size clothes? - forget it, '0-3 months' size? - on their way out....
  
• As soon as one stops crying, it seems to be a signal for the other one to start.
• Either they mostly grow whilst they are asleep at night, or our arms are considerably weaker in the morning.
  
• When we're out shopping with the twin buggy, NO ONE gets in our way!
  

Xmas Babies on the Tree

Along with several million other people, we put our Christmas tree up over the weekend (and then put it up again this morning when it fell over - but that's another story...)

A few months ago whilst Clair was still pregnant, we bought some Christmas decorations for the tree (we buy some additional ones every year). We didn't know at the time we were having two boys so to cover all bases, we bought a blue decoration and a pink one. Here's a picture of them both on the tree.

Girls next time maybe....!

Ante-Natal Week 8

After almost a two and a half month break, we had the next of our ante natal classes today. This was the first of the final three classes for everyone post-birth.

It was great to see everyone again with their gorgeous babies. Most of them were quiet for most of the sesson but 2 hours is a long time to be stuck in a room with 8 couples and 9 babies and inevitably the odd winge or cry (from the babies that is) came along.

And the boy / girl split? There were 8 couples - 3 girls and 6 boys!

Two more sessions remain but these are strictly mothers only! God knows what they're going to get up to....

Web Babies!

The hospital where Theo and Charlie were born have a service called 'Web Babies'. Basically, they just publish details of their birth on the hospital website.

Here's the link to our little treasures...

http://www.theportlandhospital.co.uk/web-baby-details.asp?q=111

..and a picture of the page in case they remove it at some point in the future!

Eight Week Jabs

Can you believe that the boys are now 2 months old! How quick has that gone! So, what that means is the first set of injections. Oh what joy...

Here's a list of what they had at the doctors yesterday.

Theo was awake and subsequently let out a huge cry when the needle went in (one on each leg). He soon settled back down though but you could see that he didn't like it.

Charlie meanwhile was fast asleep before, let out a huge cry during the injections and then subsequently went back to sleep.

The doctor then gave them the once over. He checked their vision, hip joints, chest, 'down below' bits(!) and all were fine.

There's a whole host of immunisations due over the coming years. There's a full schedule here.

Dear Santa....

Dear Santa,

Mummy and Daddy have told us about Christmas. Apparently it's a time when we all celebrate the birth of another baby (not a twin) called Jesus and we also all get together to have lots of food (not sure what that is yet) and drink (we assume this is milk). Also Mummy and Daddy have told us that if we are very good and don't cry (much) and don't produce too many of THOSE nappies that you might like to give us some presents. We're told that you are a big furry man who likes to wear red and flies in the sky with big versions of Monty called reindeer!

If you are going to buy us some presents we have a few things in particular that we would like, so we thought we'd make a list for you to make it easier.....

http://www.mamasandpapas.co.uk/product-2492028/type-i/
http://www.mamasandpapas.co.uk/product-s0003563/type-s/
http://www.mamasandpapas.co.uk/product-s0003565/type-s/
http://www.mamasandpapas.co.uk/product-s0003571/type-s/
http://www.mamasandpapas.co.uk/product-s0003489/type-s/?item1=S105781B4&quantity=1&h_item=S105781B4&id=s0003489&type=s
http://www.mamasandpapas.co.uk/product-s0003461/type-s/
http://www.mamasandpapas.co.uk/product-s0003492/type-s/
www.mamasandpapas.co.uk/product-s0003170/type-s/
http://www.mamasandpapas.co.uk/product-755182701/type-i/
http://www.mamasandpapas.co.uk/product-7586827/type-i/
http://www.mamasandpapas.co.uk/product-s0003503/type-s/
http://www.next.co.uk/shopping/children/baby/2/5
http://www.next.co.uk/shopping/children/baby/2/1
http://www.next.co.uk/shopping/children/baby/2/3
http://www.next.co.uk/shopping/children/baby/3/2
http://www.next.co.uk/shopping/children/baby/4/2
http://www.next.co.uk/shopping/children/baby/6/2
http://www.harrods.com/HarrodsStore/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=000000000001423045&Breadcrumb=children%2fchildrenbaby
Anything from Bobandblossom.com
http://www.harrods.com/HarrodsStore/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=000000000001069582&Breadcrumb=children%2fchildrenbaby%2fBabyBoyClothing

Well maybe they are just ideas Santa, but really we'd be delighted with anything you would like to get us.

Mummy says we probably won't be able to see you , even though we will all probably be up all night with the feeding etc, Daddy did say that he, oops! sorry you really like something for your journey so we'll be leaving you some brandy and mince pies and some carrots for Rudy.

Safe journey Santa and we'll keep one eye open just in case.......

Love

Theo and Charlie
xx

Theo Smilie

I'm sure there's a smile there somewhere...

Another Weigh Day!

The Health Visitor came round for the last time yesterday. We have to go to the clinic fortnightly from now on (home visits would be so much easier!)

Theo now weighs 10lb 11oz and Charlie is 10lb 6oz.

The Professionals

We had some professional shots taken of the boys when they were 2 weeks old. Here's the complete set of pictures. Alternatively, click here to see them full screen.

Charlie Smilie

Proof that we do get the odd smile now and then. We'll get a shot of Theo smiling soon!

All Systems Go!

We went for Clair's six week check up with the consultant today. Remembering back to our last visit to the hospital, this one seemed so much more organised! We were out the door as quickly and smoothly as a well oiled machine now!

All was fine. He was happy with how she was healing and signed her off with a clean bill of health.

So now Clair can drive again!

Smile Please!

In the last few days, first Charlie and now Theo have started to smile! No, we're pretty sure it's not wind - it does seem to be an actual smile.

On the balance of things though, we'd be lying if we said they smiled more than they cried at the moment. Ho hum, the pressures of being a six week old baby....

Theo - Scan vs Real Life

Same for Theo as the post below for Charlie.

Charlie - Scan vs Real Life

We've been looking back at the 3d scan pictures that were taken of the boys back in July to see how they compare to the real deal. It's so obvious which was which!

Post-Feed Chillout

Here's a pic of the boys from today just after they've had a feed. Charlie is in the foreground (you'll see he's lost all his hair!)

Outgrown Already!

And the items of clothing that Theo and Charlie have outgrown is ALREADY piling up!

Not even six weeks old and the clothes with the 'newborn' tag are already disappearing from their wardrobe. It'll be the 'zero to 3 Months' lot at risk next. Not that there's any standard sizing at play here. All shops seem to be different.

Certificates of Birth..

...have arrived!

Which means we can register them with the doctors and start to claim child benefit! Which brings me on to another moan.

Did you know that regardless of whether your second child is born one year after the first or one minute, he /she is still classed as a second child and receives a lesser benefit amount than the first? Obviously the idea of the lower benefit is because you've already bought most of the big items you'd need (cot / pram / baby clothing etc.). Doesn't necessary work with multiples though does it and yet no allowance is made for this.

If you're interested, there is a campaign running here

Weigh Day!

The Health Visitor came calling today to weigh the boys.

Theo now weighs 9lbs 3oz and Charlie weighs 8lbs 13oz - which is a really good weight gain!

Teddy Bear Sandwich

BURCHELL Clair & Jon (50), originally uploaded by jonburchell.

The boys with a couple of their good friends....

Useful Things and Useless Things

We thought we'd compile a list of the most useful and useless things we've bought for the twins:

Useful Things

1. Moses Baskets - although we only used them for a grand total of two weeks (!) - they allowed us to have the boys in our room during those demanding first couple of weeks at home. It did mean they had to sleep separately though, but they didn't seem to mind!
2. Cotton Wool - and LOTS of it!
3. Changer and Plastic Changing Mat - Everything stored in one place - and get a plastic mat rather than a fabric one (for obvious reasons..)
4. Body support for bath - Very useful for bathing the boys safely.
5. Disposable Nappies - We had every intention of going green and using re-usable nappies from day one. With twins though, it really wasn't going to happen so we've swallowed our eco-pride and gone disposable (shame on us..)
6. A Small Notebook - To keep track of who has been fed what, when and for how long.
   
7. Avent Steriliser - This one in fact. Six bottles at a time, ready in six minutes - simple...
   
8. A ROUTINE! - We'd be floored without one - and we've needed to stick to it rigidly. We feed and bath them at the same time each day - and we think it seems to be working...
9. Easy fix bases for the car - These stay in the car, the car seat just clicks into place - job's a good'un!
10. Bouncy Chair - Where one baby goes whilst the other one is being attended to. Invaluable.
    

Useless Things

1. Virtually everything from Mamas and Papas - Yes it looks nice, yes it's all matching but cot sheets and baby grows that you can't tumble dry? C'mon! (ps. we do tumble dry them anyway and they are absolutely fine). We now understand why you only see 'mums-to-be' in their shops - existing Mum's know better!
   
2. Cot Bumpers - Like this one. Honestly, by the time the babies are big enough to be able 'bump' their head in the cot, they'll be about 10 years old!
3. Baby Grows that do up at the back - How do you change a screaming, wriggling baby when you can't lay him flat on his back? With difficulty, that's how...

Twins in the Belly.....

Now I don't remember them ever moving like this inside Clair.....

Back to Work

After what have undoubtedly been the busiest, most stressful, but above all the happiest four weeks of my life, today is the day I go back to work.

Up until now I've changed nappies, re-swaddled, dressed, fed, winded, washed, kissed and cuddled the boys at all times of the day and night. From today onwards though, that changes.

:-(

Theo and Charlie in Black and White

Theo and Charlie, originally uploaded by jonburchell.

We had some professional photos taken of the boys the other week. Here's one of our favourites.

Order Order!

Slowly but surely we're starting to get the boys into a bit of a routine.

Bedtime is around 7pm and they then wake for a feed at about 10pm. During the night, we're trying to get them to wake up at around 1am and 4am (together if we're lucky!) If they don't wake up together, then the night is really disrupted as effectively, we'll be awake at least four times!

They're much more alert now and staying awake much more between feeds. In the last few days they've also started to learn how to hold their heads up. Good boys! You'll be in school before you know it.....

Halloween Horrors!

See how happy the boys were to get dressed up in their Halloween outfits...

Things we've learnt in the last 3 weeks

1. There are 1,256 different ways to burp a baby and none of them are guaranteed to work every time or even at all.
   
2. Never be too hasty to change a nappy if you hear your baby 'filling' it. You'll still be changing him 3 nappies later.
3. Our lives are now controlled by 3 things. Charlie, Theo and the 30 minute timer on the oven for water for the bottles.
4. When the twins cry, they either need feeding, changing, winding.....or something else.
5. All over the house will be installed invisible 'crying baby' alarm buttons which you will activate whenever you start to do something for yourself.
   

Happy Birth Day!

For those of you that have been keeping track, you may remember that today (24th October 2007) was Clair's actual due date - the 40 week mark

The boys arrived when Clair was 37 weeks and 5 days pregnant.

It's funny, but this date has been in our minds for most of this year.

They're now official

Went along to register the birth of Charlie and Theo today.

A fairly straight forward process however, I lost count how many times I checked whether 'Theodore' or 'Charles' were actually spelt correctly on the form!

Another winge here though. Why on earth do you have to pay extra for a 'full' birth certificate. You get a 'basic' certificate with the registration but for things like a passport you need a full certificate! Crazy crazy.

Coo Count!

We went for a shopping trip to Kingston today (brilliant - the boy's second trip out and it's b***dy shopping!)

It was weird going somewhere familiar for us, but having to find alternate routes to navigate with a buggy. The lifts in the Bentall Centre could accomodate us and no one else!

Everyone loves a newborn baby and it seems even more people love newborn twins. As such, we decided to count the number of 'coos' we had from passers by. I think we reached 20 on this outing - and we were only out an hour or so.

We'd better lap it up whilst it lasts.....

Theo - Cuteness to the Max!

Sleepy....

Charlie - Cuteness to the Max!

How cosy does he look here....

Consultant Visit - avec babies!

We took a trip to see the consultant again today - hopefully for the second to last time!

We took the twins, which I suppose we have done every time we've been, except this time they were outside of Clair's belly. Usually when we go, we just get ready and go - oh no, not this time. This trip - being our first journey out in the car (car seats fixed correctly, changing bag loaded with feed/nappies/wipes/changeofclothes etc.) - had to be planned with military precision!

Our appointment was at 12:30 and, I tell no lie, we started to get ready at 08:00. Bearing in mind the journey was only 45 minutes, I think we've just realised how much work babies can be!

Once we got there (another careful car journey), we felt incredibly vulnerable as we loaded these two helpless little things into their brand new buggy (second usage, first usage here). Went for a coffee first and realised how tasks that used to be so simple are now so complex ie. getting the buggy up a small step (no more than 3") into Starbucks.

It's almost as if we're now so much more reliant on other people's goodwill to do things such as opening doors - when in the past, it would have been us doing these things for others. Anyway, we wouldn't have it any other way and it turned out to be great fun commanding the pavements of London!

As for the appointment, he was very impressed with the way Clair is healing and he'll see us again in 4 weeks for our final visit.

We'll miss our little trips here...

Twin Buggy Maiden Voyage

We took the buggy for its first journey out of the house today. Oh, of course the twins were in there too :-) After just managing to squeeze it through the front door (literally about half an inch either way!), we took the boys for a quick ten minute walk.

Here's some pics (Theo on left, Charlie on right - we try to always keep them like that!). Click on any of the pics to see it full screen...

Charlie and Theo - One week on - Day Four

Never have I rushed so quickly to somewhere than I did this morning. Being apart from the three most important things in my life overnight was really hard.

When I got there though unsurprisingly, Clair had been really looked after during the night. The 'laundry' had looked after the babies for a while so Clair could get some sleep - only returning them when they needed feeding. In fact, at one point Clair went to go and find them because she missed having them by her side!

We had visits from the paediatrician today to check over the twins, the accounts department (tried to avoid them!) and the physiotherapist to give Clair some post birth exercises. I should also mention that our consultant has also been visiting Clair every day.

We took it easy again today - just a few evening visitors.

Charlie and Theo - One week on - Day Three

Wednesday 10/10/07 - Day Three

We were exhausted - literally exhausted. We'd had about 5 hours sleep in total since Sunday morning (3 days ago) and something had to give. We needed to chill out, spend some time enjoying these boys and being a bit selfish for a change.

We cancelled all visits and decided that I would go home about lunchtime to allow Clair some time to herself and give me a chance to get things ready at home for their arrival later in the week.

I got home about 2pm - unshaven, exhausted but feeling like I was on top of the world! After a quick shower, a shave, a visit to the shops to buy a pressie for the boys and a bite to eat, I went back to the hospital for the evening. I was going to be staying at home that night so this would just be a quick stop off.

Clair has been well looked after all afternoon - she'd managed to get a bit of much needed rest herself which was good.

Coming home that night and leaving them all in the hospital was such a hard thing to do but it meant I could be relaxed in preparation for the next day.

Charlie and Theo - One week on - Day Two

Tuesday 9/10/07 - Day Two

Even though we'd had a good few hours sleep, we were still up around 4am however. With the way we felt (and still being on a high) this was not a problem.

We had loads of people come and visit us today and I think this is where things started to go wrong. Although we were desperate to share these guys with all our families, we suffered on Tuesday night as I think we got about an hours sleep! Crying, crying crying non-stop, for no apparent reason - we eventually had to dispatch them to the 'laundry' just so we could calm ourselves down let alone them!

The thing is, with one baby, if it cries then it just cries and you can devote 100% of your time to trying to placate it. With two, you calm one down, the other one starts, then both cry at the same time and it just spirals from there. We were going to need to learn some 'twin techniques' very quickly!

Luckily, I've been able to stay in the hospital with Clair and could have stayed throughout however, someone had to get the home ready for their pending arrival. Fast forward to Wednesday....

Charlie and Theo - One week on - Day One

So, it's been one week since Charlie and Theo were born. We thought it would be a good idea to recount some of our experiences over the last week:

Monday 8/10/07 - Birth Day

The day obviously started very early for us. Best read about in this post here. After they were born, we were left alone in one of the delivery rooms so that Clair could feed them and I could merrily snap photos for this blog! After an hour or so, we were taken down to our room and the boys were put into their cot which would be their home for the next 4 days. To be honest, most of the rest of the evening was a bit of a blur - receiving messages of congratulations from various people etc. In fact, we got a SUPERB nights sleep - Clair said it's something to do with nature's way of giving the mother time to rest after the birth. Well, that was all about to change.....

First Picture at Home

First Picture at Home, originally uploaded by jonburchell.

Last Picture in Hospital

Last Picture in Hospital, originally uploaded by jonburchell.

This is the last picture of Charlie and Theo before they were strapped into their car seats for the rather traumatic (for Mum and Dad, not babies!) drive home.

Welcome to Casa Burchell

Charlie and Theo are now settling in to their new home and already the place looks like a bomb has hit it.

The drive back from the hospital was so emotional, not to say stressful. Clair 'faked' the fact that she wanted me stop for a bottle of water from a petrol station just so she could check on them!

The first two nights have been relatively calm - although disturbed for feeding on about 3 occassions. They've been far more relaxed than the nights in hospital though.

Ready For The Journey Home

Here's a rather dark picture of the car seats fitted by me in the car at 12:00 midnight tonight upon getting home from the hospital - in preparation for the homecoming! Yes, I know it's a stupid time to do it but we're grabbing any spare time we can at the moment!

Our 'spacious' car has suddenly become 'fit for purpose' in the matter of a few days.

Laundry Service

The nursery here at the hospital is just like a laundry service, you hand over your washing (or in this case, babies) and it (they) comes back washed, freshened and beautifully ironed (swaddled).

We've made great use of the facility - especially before visitors!

21st Century Babies

The boys would love to hear from you so they now have their own email addreses.

Contact them at:

charlie@teamburchell.com
and
theo@teamburchell.com

The First Photo Shoot

Here's some pictures of the boys first two days out in the wild...

Sleep? What Sleep?

So far we've had;

Sunday 7th October - 15 mins sleep (waters broke)
Monday 8th October - 4 hours sleep (newborns tend to be sleepy on the first night)
Tuesday 9th October - 1 hour sleep (what a night!)

I now understand why sleep deprivation is such a successful form of torture...

Names Decision

We've finally decided on a middle name for Theo. He'll be known as Theodore James Burchell.

Theo and Charlie - The Story So Far

So, this is how things happened on Monday.

It was already planned that Clair was going to go in to be induced on Monday 8th at 08:30. The twins would have been 37 weeks + 5 days which is a really healthy duration for twins. However, at about 2:15am Monday, Clair turned to me in bed and said her waters had broken - I thought she was asking me for a glass of water so initially ignored her before realising what she actually had said! Birth Action Plan was initiated!

We went straight to the hospital and they monitored the twins constantly until our consultant arrived at about 08:30. At this point, they started to induce Clair and we waited for the contractions to kick in.

That was it for the most part of the day. Constant monitoring of the twins, frequent checks from the consultant, lots of contractions and LOTS of cups of tea.

By 17:00, it was clear that labour wasn't progressing very fast and we had to make a decision. Either stick it out for what could potentially be another 24 hours of labour with no guarantee of success (and also potentially introduce unecessary distress to the twins) or have a c-section immediately. It was our consultant's advice that a c-section would be the safest course of action for mother and babies so, we took his advice.

Theo and Charlie were born (in that order!) at 17:45 and 17:46 on Monday 8th October 2007.

Clair is doing amazingly. The boys are beautiful in every way and suffice to say, we're absolutely chuffed to bits.

Settling down for the night

Side by side in their cot

Welcome to the world Theodore James Burchell!

Haven't thought of a middle name yet!

Happy Mummy

They've been feeding for an hour already!

Welcome to the world Charles Edward Burchell

Chuffed to bits! He;ll be known as Charlie.

We're here!

Arrived at the hospital about 3am this morning!

Directions to the Hospital

Just as a little reminder that, once Clair goes into hospital, should anyone wish to visit us, the directions are on this website in the right hand side panel or alternatively, at this link here.

Both Female AND One of Each!

We've closed the poll now to guess the sex of the Burchell twins.

After a total of 55 votes, it's ended in a very diplomatic fashion with 'both female' and 'one of each' on an even 35% each! So, that covers most of the bases - those that have been voting over the months will just have to wait and see whether you were right!

'Guess The Sex' Poll Closing Sunday

We think it's about time that we closed this poll so if you haven't voted for which flavour you think the Burchell twins will be, now's the time to do it.

We're going to close the poll on Sunday afternoon.

No prizes for guessing correctly - except for us of course.

Freezer Food

One 'post-birth' tip that someone gave us a while ago was to stock up on frozen food for the times when we can't be bothered to cook anything and end up reaching for the takeaway menu.

Well, over the last few days, our kitchen has been transformed into the domestic equivalent of a food factory production line as we've been preparing stews, lasagnes, apple crumbles, shepherds pies etc all destined for the freezer in ready sized portions. Yum! And far better for you than shop bought!

The only problem now is finding room for it all. Anyone got a spare freezer?!

Trunkles

Admittedly, not the nicest of pictures (don't click on the picture if you're squeamish!) but I have received clearance from Clair to post this. It's a picture of what we now refer to as her trunkles (Trunk-like ankles).

One of the side effects of late pregnancy is water retention. Looks like she's got the whole River Thames in there....

37 Weeks Picture Added

It's funny. Some weeks we get a huge growth spurt (like last week) and other weeks the shape just seems to shift around a bit!

Slideshow on the right, or here....

Consultant Visit - 37 Weeks

The first of our weekly visits to the consultant today.

Once again, he is very happy with progress and sees no reason to intervene at the moment. Both of them have good strong heartbeats and are still head downwards (not that they have much room to move now!)

Clair is keen to try and have a natural delivery but we obviously understand that the chances of that are relatively low. We'll just have to wait and see.....

We went to a lovely place for lunch afterwards - highly recommended!

I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want...

....it's to be baby sitting on the 2nd Jan whilst Clair is out larging it up at the Spice Girls concert!

A Walk in the Park

.....well, it was about half a walk in the park.

Clair is starting to find everyday tasks incredibly difficult now. Even the shortest of walks are proving to be a real challenge - which is no surprise with 14 pounds worth of baby up front!

We try to get out every day - even if it is just a walk round the block. Here's a few pics from our walk today - all five of us.

Absolutely positively 100% ready (....we think)

A few additional tasks completed today!

We've washed all the baby clothes we're going to take to the hospital and re-packed the bag. We've also washed the baby bedding and put it onto the cots and moses baskets.

Whoever at Mamas and Papas decided that their bedding wasn't suitable for the tumble dryer ought to be shot!

Ante-Natal Week 7

This week was all about looking after baby (or babies in our case) after the birth. ie. when you get home and you're let loose into the big wide world!

We talked about different approaches to looking after baby including the Brazelton approach and the Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale. We also spent quite a bit of time discussing the programme that was on Channel 4 the other night, Bringing Up Baby.

So, this was our final NCT class prior to the birth. There are three more sessions planned for December when we all get back together with our babies. I cannot imagine how manic those classes are going to be in a small room with 8 couples and 9 babies...

36 Weeks Picture Added

Blimey! This has got to be the biggest week of growth we've had yet!

Slideshow on the right, or here....

Consultant Visit - 36 Weeks

We saw our consultant again this afternoon. He's more than happy with progress and now wants to see us weekly - although I don't think there are going to be many more weekly appointments!

The Final Scan Pics - 36 Weeks

Here's your last look at the twins before they're born. Today we had what should be our final scan before they're journey into the outside world!

Have a look at twin 2 here (incorrectly labelled as the first twin) - you can see their hand in front of their face!

Apparently they already weigh almost 7 pounds each! (that made Clair wince a bit!) Let's hope they don't have another growth spurt and we end up competing with these.

T minus 1 month!

If you glance over at the counter on the right hand side, you will see that it has just tipped over to 29 days!

Whilst this Wednesday will be classed as 4 weeks to go, there's no harm in celebrating T - 1 month as well is there?

If we ever have anything like this in our house, feel free to shoot me

We saw this in Mothercare the other day. It gave me a headache just looking at all the things it did. Can you imagine two of these flying round the house..

Do you think it also has wifi and bluetooth? :-)

Ante-Natal Week 6

Penultimate session this week and the focus was on breast feeding.

We had a demonstration of how a baby attaches itself to the breast - no, not a real life demonstration but with a puppet (which looked like it was straight out of Sesame Street) and what can only be described as a breast made of wool, complete with knitted nipple.

We also discussed some of the complications in breast feeding such as mastitis and engorgement.

We then watched a video on breastfeeding. Did you know that a new born baby, if left alone will eventually find it's way to the mother's breast and start feeding? I don't think we're talking about a 10 metre crawl across the room or anything - I think it has to be fairly close to the breast in the first place... Still, amazing stuff.

Final week next week!

Babies 1st Halloween

Assuming the babies are born before the end of October (if they're not I can't imagine the state my body will be in), then they will of course need outfits for trick or treating!

Mamas and Papas do a whole range!

35 Weeks Picture Added

Oh how we laugh when we look back at the tiny bump in the first picture of the slideshow!

New pic over on the right. Or click here for the full screen slideshow.

Hot Cold Hot Cold Hot

Now, usually I'm the one that's always hot, always turning the thermostat down, always opening windows etc. - even in the middle of winter!

It's been a little bit cooler the last couple of days, but this time it's Clair that's the hot one and I'm the one contemplating turning the heating on! Being the tight wad that I am, that usually doesn't happen until we open the first window on the advent calendar..

Oh, the irony of pregnancy...

Check!

Nursery ready - check!
Nappies bought - check!
Clothing bought - check!
Moses baskets bought - check!
Hospital bag packed - check!
Buggy bought - check!
Car seats bought - check!

Anything else we're missing?

Ante-Natal Week 5

Oh yes, the birth video this week.

I certainly don't intend on being that close to the business end - and definitely not with a video camera....

Have you ever seen those films on TV where they show a calf being born? It wasn't entirely dissimilar - apart from the mooing and the lack of a vet to pull the baby out. Seriously though, it was really useful to see and I'm glad we got there early to experience it.

We also started talking about breast feeding this week but the main session on that will be next Wednesday.

Only two more ante-natal sessions to go before we're let loose into the wild!

God help the twins....

34 Weeks Picture Added

New pic on the right or click here for the full screen slideshow.

The Bi-Weekly Consultant Trip

Another trip to see the consultant today.

He's more than happy with the way things are going - both heads are pointing down and it's unlikely that they're going to change positions anymore now. They're running out of room at a serious rate!

Instead of punches and kicks, they're now just pushing and stretching against Clair's belly - another sign that things are getting tight in there.

In preparation, we've posted directions to the hospital on the right hand side of the home page, just underneath our picture. In case anyone wants to visit us when they do eventually arrive.

A Trial Run

We did a trial run to the hospital today (talk about being prepared!)

As the hospital is in central London, we won't want to have a car with us so Clair's mum will be taking us when the time comes.

Ante-Natal Week 4

It's funny seeing these women get bigger in the space of just one week. They were all coming in to the class this week rubbing their bellies - all too hot and bothered to be interested in taking part in the group tasks.

This week we discussed more about pain relief (we seem to be doing this every week!) and the pros and cons of each option including the effects each has on the baby. We also talked about having a birth plan which details all your preferences when it comes to giving birth.

Next week we move on to post-birth including breastfeeding. Before that though, we have 'the video'. We've been told that if you don't want to see it, come along ten minutes later as she'll be running it at the start of the class. Can't understand why you wouldn't - forewarned is forearmed and all that....

33 Weeks Picture Added

The bump goes up, the bump goes down, the bump goes up......

New pic on the right, or click here for the full screen slideshow.

Fascinating Fact

Apparently, in the Huichol tribe of Mexico, the presence of the baby's father [during labour] may be required so that a string can be tied round his testicles on which the woman can pull as each contraction mounts to a peak of pain. (from 'Rediscovering Birth' by Sheila Kitzinger).

...I presume they're referring to silly string you get from a party shop?

Clair, The Poptastic Radio Star

We were listening to James O'Brien on LBC on our way to see the Consultant last Friday. The traffic around Hammersmith was horrendous so we thought it would be fun to phone up and join the 'quiz of the week'.

It's one of those quizzes where you have to say the answer to the previous question instead of the one you're being asked.

Have a listen below. We didn't last very long...

Smile for your 32 Week Scan!

We've had a couple of trips recently.

Thursday we went to the hospital for the 32 week scan and today we went to see the consultant for the follow up appointment.

Below are some pics from the scan. Amazing to think that the babies are now so big that they can only just fit their heads into the pictures! Compare these with the pics from 20 weeks.

We then visited the consultant on Friday afternoon. All the usual checks were done and everything is absolutely fine. Which led him to ask the killer question.. "Have you thought about the options for delivery?" "Erm, yes. The option without pain please..."