See how happy the boys were to get dressed up in their Halloween outfits...
31 Oct 2007
28 Oct 2007
Things we've learnt in the last 3 weeks
- There are 1,256 different ways to burp a baby and none of them are guaranteed to work every time or even at all.
- Never be too hasty to change a nappy if you hear your baby 'filling' it. You'll still be changing him 3 nappies later.
- Our lives are now controlled by 3 things. Charlie, Theo and the 30 minute timer on the oven for water for the bottles.
- When the twins cry, they either need feeding, changing, winding.....or something else.
- All over the house will be installed invisible 'crying baby' alarm buttons which you will activate whenever you start to do something for yourself.
24 Oct 2007
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.
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.
23 Oct 2007
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.
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.
20 Oct 2007
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.....
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.....
19 Oct 2007
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...
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...
17 Oct 2007
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...
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.
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.
16 Oct 2007
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.
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....
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.....
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.....
14 Oct 2007
Last Picture in Hospital
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.
12 Oct 2007
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.
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.
11 Oct 2007
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!
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
Contact them at:
charlie@teamburchell.com
and
theo@teamburchell.com
10 Oct 2007
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...
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.
9 Oct 2007
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.
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.
8 Oct 2007
7 Oct 2007
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!
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!
6 Oct 2007
'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.
We're going to close the poll on Sunday afternoon.
No prizes for guessing correctly - except for us of course.
4 Oct 2007
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?!
3 Oct 2007
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....
Slideshow on the right, or here....
2 Oct 2007
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!
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!
1 Oct 2007
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!
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