Hoff All-In: September 2009

Oufti! It almost seems as if doubling up on the kiddy numbers has also meant that time goes by doubly quick as well. Here we are at the beginning of September looking back to what has been a pretty fabulous couple of months since last report:

• weather-wise: what a TREAT! it has been here in Belgium, lots of blue sky, warm weather and balmy BBQ evenings
• family-wise: we're all getting along terribly well! Louie and Jules are two very happy babies who just love eating, sleeping, and playing - ahhhh! could not have wished for better
• holiday-wise: Nikita and Jojo had a great time at scout camp end of July. And the whole family went off to Denmark for a very relaxing, quiet break with family and friends
• work-wise: I think that I may have 'struck gold' in finding the work-life balance that really! rocks for us

The highlight of our past two months has to be the twins baptism in Denmark on 9 August 2009. Church service was at 12pm with reception luncheon at Fregatten Jylland cafe/restaurant. The ceremony itself was brilliant. FIVE! babies were christened altogether: our two, Nikoline (Chris' cousin, Pernille's baby) Rasmus (baby of Helena, sister to Pernille) and little Oliver (no family relation at all, but certainly in the right place at the right time:)

Needless to say but it was a little mayhem there for a while as the priest went through the motions for each of the babies (and their godparents and parents - phew!)

A GARGANTUAN thank you to Kirsten (Chris' mum) and Uncle Knud for hosting the reception at Fregatten Jylland!! And a very big thank you to ALLLL the friends and family for the many! gifts that the boys received on their baptism day.

Water is a major feature of any Danish holiday and so it was that this year that Nikita and Jojo took their first sailing lessons! Jojo is clearly a sailor's boy. He cannot get enough and cannot stop talking about it! Nikita on the otherhand is well, we think she is interested. She is certainly able. It's just a little disconcerting when, if left to her own devices, she will tend to plait the guide ropes together rather than use them to manage her sails......hmmm.

Disappointingly? (so I am told) enough, neither Nikita nor Jojo managed to capsize their little optimist sailboats. Oh well, there is always next year;) See more summer photos on the link to the right of this page.

So we are now back in Brussels! Nikita has just had a small surgery to re-seal the ear-drums in both ears. This means that she should actually get to 100% hearing capability within the next couple of weeks. School started back last week (1st September): Jojo is in his 3rd and final year of pre-school; and Nikita very proudly started primary school (parents very proud too:) The sun is still with us although we sense very much the beginning of autumn (bl**dy leaves EVERYWHERE in garden). Chris and I are back at work thanking our lucky stars for Aabida, the twins new nanny who incredibly makes it so that when I come home from work, all I have to do is play with my children.

Next up on the Hoff-Nielsen family agenda:

• my 40th birthday celebrations (crikey!) with loud friends in September (while weather still nice) and quiet family in October
• Nikita turns 7 years old at end of October
• Chris's Uncle Henning turns 60 also in October and we'll try to get up to his celebrations in Denmark

And before u know it, it will be Christmas!! Lots love to all in meantime:)

Hoffs All-In: July 2009

Summer time has arrived! .................and now it's gone again. Oh well that's life in Belgium hey LOL!!! But life goes on right? Indeed! And lots has happened since our last blog:

• I started back at work on 15 June and thanks to our super Nanny, Maeva, the twins daily routine has remained cool and zen (which also translates to me remaining cool and zen because I don't need to run about like a mad thing trying to beat the traffic morning and night to drop off or pick up the little ones from the creche)
  

• Nikita and Joakim have joined the local Scouts club and are looking forward to Scout camp at end of July. They're also on summer vacation too now so they're coming into the office with me each day where they're looked after nicely along with hundreds of other Belgacom littlies while all the mums and dads are working on 'important' stuff:)
  

• Christian is busy busy as ever travelling between Belgium and the UK in his never-ending bid to pick up cars and parts for go-mini.be. Actually, his company has been quite popular with the media types these last couple of months! Look out for a vampire-themed short film coming to cinemas soon.............there are a couple of his minis featuring big time and if u read flemish, check out last weekend's edition of De Standaard (the one with the breaking news about Michael Jackson) because there's a 6-page insert featuring - you guessed it, minis out of go-mini!
  

• And of course Louie and Jules are growing well. They're now 5 months and we're introducing solid feeds to their daily routine. Oh and did I mention that they're now sleeping right thru nights? BLISS!

In a couple of weeks we'll be heading off for our annual pilgrimmage to Ebeltoft, Denmark. Big on the agenda is the twins baptism on 9 August. It's going to be a great occasion as two of Christian's cousins will also baptise their newborn babies at that time too. Lovely culmination of a very productive year ah-hem:)

In the meantime tho' it's heads down and getting on with the daily business of managing work demands with those of very full home life. Thankfully, all are happy happy and in very good health. Touche du bois que ca continue!!!!!!

Hoffs All-In April-May 2009: Moving right along...

Last time I wrote, I believe I mentioned that 2 weeks had ripped by with barely much notice. Well, seems that have well truly taken me 'eye off the ball' and allowed 2 months! to run away without much of an ado. Thank you to those dears from whom I received phone calls and emails not so much to check if we were OK, but rather to tell me politely to pull finger and get writing! Big kisses to u "Mmmmwah!"

Well I can report that we're all still doing really great. Family dynamic is lovely, tho' it helps that mummy's home, keeping house, and getting the dinner onto table each night. Fingers crossed that we can keep up the happy times when mummy goes back to work mid-June!

SO! Nikita's theatre piece at end of March went off spectacularly well and we r very proud that she overcame her speech difficulties and delivered each word, and each line SO! clearly and SO! brilliantly. Her speech therapist, who sat next to me, was thoroughly impressed also. The show overall was a big hit in fact (DVD copy available on request). So good in fact that they should be nominated for a kiddies-theatre Oscar:) Oh and yes, the bunny rabbit costume turned out pretty darned decently I'm pleased to report....tho' I don't expect to be taking home the award necessarily for best costume;)

And Joakim turned 5!!! Far-moar, Kirsten, came down for the week of his birthday and scored the biggest points with her Obi-Wan-Kenobi light saber and costume gift. Far-far, Bjarne did pretty awesomely as well with his and Corinne's remote-controlled boat. And Nanny, Susan, got the biggest thumbs up for a clothes gift that I have EVER seen. I've never seen anyone so happy with trousers and t-shirt that he'd want to SLEEP in them as well as wear to school the next day! Crikey, anyone would think I dress my children in rags the way he carried on LOL!!

Louie and Jules are cracking along nicely too. They almost sleep thru the nights now. They're down at 8pm and wake around 5.30am which means I'm more tired than before since my body is still functioning on a 'catnap'-sleep regime. Jules was the first to get to this stage - he has actually managed to sleep thru until 7am.

As well as far-moar's visit, the other highlight of April was our first family holiday to sth France to visit far-far, Corinne and family. We spent 10 relaxing days together around the pool, visiting places, catching up with family and friends. It was truly lovely and so many MANY thanks to Bjarne for arranging everything and of course to he and Corinne for taking such care of us while there. (I only cooked once while there AND! they babysat ALL!!!! our kids while Chris and I went out for a wonderful dinner looking out over the mediterranean.) It really doesn't get much better:)

And now we are back in Brussels, we are expecting a busy month this May:

• the twins get their first vaccinations (yowch! thank goodness the experience won't stay in their memory banks too long)
• Nikita goes to the dentist for her very first visit (her teeth are literally FALLING out of her mouth and we just want to check the new stuff coming thru is growing normally. She won't have too many mates if she continues looking like A vampire yeah;)
• Christian celebrates his 38th year this Schuman Day (9 May)
• Joakim gets to party down in a belated birthday celebration with some of his friends (23 May) Any volunteers for entertaining 8 little ones for the afternoon?
• We all go off for a company-sponsored family day at Walibi attraction park, yipee (24 May)

So, lots of photo opportunities coming up and what with so many celebratory times, not too many excuses for long faces (well not at time of writing, that is. I still have yet to see my own dentist bill for the series of appointments scheduled for me this month) ay ay ay!

Hoffs All-In: Monday, 3/3/2009: A New (blog) Beginning...

After four weeks at home altogether, it becomes timely to wind down our blog focus on the twins' progress and start to check out what's happening with the rest of the family. So we are beginning a new 'chapter' in the blog called "Hoffs All-In" - not to be confused with a 7-day "all-in" break to the Dominican Republic (though that would be nice too;)

I think the most important element in our little family's dynamic these last couple of weeks has been the fact that both Chris and I have had enough energy and time for Nikita and Joakim, in spite of the obvious 24/7 demands from Jules and Louie.

Nikita's hearing problems continue but we see major improvements in her self-confidence and speech capabilities these last couple of months - it's fantastic! The best part is she is so motivated herself to improve. She's teaching herself how to write (she'll take books and copy out words), she goes thru her speech therapy exercises even though Chris and I have already gone thru them with her and her vocabulary is increasing no end! We couldn't be prouder of her:)

Jojo is a real little boy. He's discovering all the super heros and his current fav is anything Star Wars (a subject very close to mine and Christian's own hearts;) So, we are planning a Star Wars movie sit-in this weekend. Despite all his bravado though, he's still a very sensitive child and we've had to spend some time de-dramatising situations which see him otherwise go into a corner and cry to himself. We had to pay particular attention to him when the twins arrived. It took him a couple of weeks to accept the twins really. But now he's cool being big brother. On that note, we've managed to find little ways for Nikita and Joakim to get involved with Jules and Louie. Although I'm breastfeeding (4-hrly intervals now - woo hoo!!), we'll do the 5pm feed via a bottle for example. That way Nikita and Jojo can also help with feeding. Actually it's pretty cool because we never have any fights over who gets to hold the baby since there are two of them after all:) And at this stage they can't tell the difference between the twins, so there's no favouritism....yet;)

Chris and I, in contrast, have not had much time together since the twins arrival. Yes, yes, I know some of you will laugh and say that given the number of children we now have, that some time apart is perhaps a good thing LOL! Well all I can say is that we're doing fine and looking forward to when we will be able to sit down simply to watch a movie together. Ahh life with plenty kids eh;) LOL!!

So, Hoff family projects for the next two weeks:

• Nikita has a school play end of this month so she's busy learning lines. She's playing the role of Mama Rabbit. Suits her well. She gets to tell all her baby rabbits not to go into the farmer's garden and eat his vegetables....of course they DO! so she gets to 'whoop their asses' ;) LOL


• Joakim's 5th birthday coming up (7 April), so some seriously planning/organising required there. He'll be wanting to plan the whole thing down to last detail (ahhh, my son!)


• Louie and Jules have a 'sleep test' to look forward to end of this month (just to make sure sleep patterns are all well and good). They've also got first paedetrician appointment next week, which will undoubtedly mean a jab in the butt for something - poor blighters:/


• Chris is off to the UK to pick up a Lotus Elise for a customer - and some bacon from the farmer's market for me! It's the only condition under which I let him go;)


• Chilli is in the dog box (literally!) for getting into one of our rubbish bags the other day

• As for me?.....oh same old, same old: cook, clean, feed, wipe bottoms, make milk, make a rabbit costume, and take 5mins to sit down and drink that re-re-RE-heated cup of tea.

Life is very full:) And we couldn't be happier.............we could be RICHER! but not necessarily happier;)

The Hoff Twins: Wednesday, 25/2/2009 Home Sweet Home!

Well it's been just over one week all home together - a long time no blog, but I'm sure u can appreciate it can a little time to get everything (everyone) organised and into a routine. We're not saying that we're entirely there yet, but we're not doing too darn badly!!! I've even managed to get thru the horrendous mountain of ironing this week (a task which I sincerely LOATHE).

Louie and Jules are now full-term (40weeks) and weighing in at just under 3kg each. A hospital nurse came by last Saturday to weigh the chaps and see how we were all doing. Now, at this age we should expect that they'd gain an average of 20g per day. So 6 days at home means 120g minimum weight gain. Well, (proud mama now;) Jules gained 200g and Louie took on 265g. HOWZAAT!!!!!!

Nikita and Joakim are also starting to interact more with the boys. It's Carnaval week here in Belgium (school holiday) and so all the kids and I are home for the minute. Last night, I walked in on big sister and brother trying to teach the younger ones how to count to 10. They tried to progress onto 20, but came a little unstuck after 15 at which point a short debate was had about how 16 comes after 15, not 18 (Joakim!) It was fun to explain to them that it didn't matter too much WHAT we said to the twins at the minute; it was just more important to interact with them. Case in point: they reacted very positively to me reading them an item from The Economist about whether sport was/is recession-proof. (Obviously reading in my best 'Cinderella, you may go to the ball' fairy god-mother voice;)

Christian is still very busy at work and begging me to run away with him to somewhere warm, ie., Portugal, for a week or so. Oh to be free and disregarding of one's responsibility to be able to upsticks and go where the heart leads. Poor man to be married to such a boring lady who's primary concern is STILL to make enough milk to keep two little blighters from ya-hooing all day and night;)

We've had a few visitors this week! It's been FABULOUS! to catch up with friends - been a very long time. Please feel free to keep the visits coming. We are still housebound for a couple of weeks (that's another blog post entirely!) so it's great if u would like to pop in and see us here at home. Just give me a call and we'll set up a time.

Lots love to all in meantime!!!!

The Hoff Twins: Sunday, 15/2/2009 The Boys Come Home!!

Hormones honestly! I can tell u I bawled my eyes out when the doctor told me Saturday night that the twins could leave the hospital and come home the following day:)

Although it was WONDERFUL up at the neonatal unit (I had 24/7 babysitters right - so I could even go out for dinner or sleep ENTIRE nights without having to get up and change/feed the boys - DELUXE!), it was like a major weight had been lifted. We could PLAN to have our whole family together under one roof. Up until that moment we dared not even IMAGINE this eventuality. It was so important psychologically simply to take each day one at a time and to be thankful for every little improvement that the boys made.

So when the big news came, we were a little unprepared! As in, we had to do a makeshift bed for the boys last night because we have yet to get their cot sorted (we have got one coming....we just haven't picked it up yet). But must say that the last few weeks have helped to put a lot of things into perspective. And frankly, whether the boys sleep on a good bed or baby cot for their first night home is not such a big deal:) (It might have been one if I had to sleep them in a drawer however;)

SO!!!! Dear, DEAR friends from this weekend onwards (21 Feb onwards), we will be very happy to receive you here at home to celebrate the extension to the Hoff-Nielsen clan!!! Feel free to call me and we'll try to find a good time together.

Lots of love and thanks again to all of you for being so supportive and lovely:)

The Hoff Twins: Wednesday, 11/2/2009 "A Day in the Life of..."

I've received quite a few requests from some of you who would like to hear about what our daily schedule looks like. The first time I got this question, I had to ask myself "Crikey, when does my day start actually??" and "Does it ever stop?!" ;) But then I realised that this could be useful information particularly for friends who would like to know the best times to call etc. So here goes:

00:00 crawl into bed (BLISS!)
02:00-02:30 first machine milking session (target 2x60mL)
05:00-05:30 second machine milking session
07:00-07:45 wake, shower, get Nikita and Jojo up for breakfast. Chris gets them dressed and to school by 08:30
08:00-08:30 drive to hospital
08:30-09:00 wake, bath (or massage), weigh Louie.
09:00-09:30 feed and reweigh Louie (then can see how much he's eaten - not usually enough:/) Change bed, put Louie back to bed for more sleep.
09:30-10:00 wake, bath (or massage), weigh Jules.
10:00-10:30 feed and reweigh Jules (he's a big eater this boy, so Mummy very happy:) Change bed, put Jules back down for sleep
10:30-11:00 milking session nr 3
11:00-12:00 should try to nap in this time, but use it to do all the evil administration stuff that comes with having babies in Belgium - aargh)
12:00-12:30 quick sandwich before boys start to wake
12:30-13:00 wake, change nappy, weigh Louie
13:00-13:30 feed and reweigh Louie. Put him back down for another! sleep
13:30-14:00 wake, change nappy, weigh Jules
14:00-14:30 feed and reweigh Jules. Put him back down for another! sleep
14:30-15:00 milking session nr 4
15:00-15:30 drive home to pick up Nikita and Joakim from school
15:30-19:30 Home time! get dinners, check stuff for school, wash baby clothes, read and play with Nikita and Jojo. Try to get 30mins shut-eye
19:30-20:00 drive back to hospital
20:00-20:30 wake, change nappy, weigh Louie
20:30-21:00 feed and reweigh Louie. Put him back down for another! sleep
21:00-21:30 wake, change nappy, weigh Jules
21:30-22:00 feed and reweigh Jules. Put him back down for another! sleep
22:00-22:30 milking session nr 5
22:30-23:00 drive home
23:00-00:00 prepare late night supper, sterilise milking gear, prepare stuff for next day, blog

As you probably guessed, most of my day is about generating enough milk to feed the boys. Thankfully, I have a great little electric milking machine that I can use to pull off any milk that the twins aren't taking directly during their breastfeeding sessions. Have to admit that I feel (and probably look like!) like a cow most of the time LOL!

So my schedule is not too bad actually. We have many deviations too, it's not always running to schedule. For example, Jules will decide that he's hungry at same time as Louie and I have to do a 'double whammy' feed, ie., I got two boobs right? Works very well actually:)

Oh yes, during the night when I'm at home, the boys are fed (my milk that I have been fastidiously pumping with my electric milker all blessed day) by the neonatal nurses.

I will be very glad tho' when the boys come home and I can use that travel time to try and catch some much-needed sleep. Which is due about now actually. Am even slightly AHEAD of schedule! WOO HOO!!!! Nighty night all:)

The Hoff Twins: Sunday, 8/2/2009 The Hoff Quartet

Another day and another big milestone:)

Joakim and Nikita came to visit their little brothers today for only the second time since their birth (they visited first during the twins cyborg phase). So, this visit was much more relaxed and more funny for our two eldest who got to hold and cuddle their little brothers. While Joakim was a little apprehensive (tho' u couldn't tell from these photos - such a performer!), big sister Nikita proved to be completely at ease and indeed serene.

(In photo: Joakim & Louie; Nikita & Jules)

Thursday, 5/2/2009: 'Brothers in Arms'

Louie and Jules are doing SOOOOO great that they've both been downgraded from intensive care part of the neonatal unit and got to take their first bath today!!!!

As with all newborns and their first baths, the first few seconds are pretty freaky (for the baby, I mean;) But very quickly they adapt and recognise a familiar environment and start to have fun:) It was nonetheless surprising when the boys suddenly linked arms and clung onto each other. Really one of life's very special moments.


All that remains now is that they feed properly (60mL my milk every 4 hours) and they'll be allowed home. It gets harder not to get excited, I must say:) 'One day at a time Darleen!'

For the moment, we seem to be managing the home<->hospital shuttle OK so that I can be up at the hospital for most of the feeding sessions and then be home to pick up Nikita and Jojo from maternelle (preschool) and spend a few precious hours with them. Thank goodness for my Mum who is here with us momentarily to help prepare meals, look after grandkids, and be an all-round ace Mum! It will certainly be a lot easier once the boys are home and we are altogether in one place.

And once that happens then we'll really be in celebration mode and be looking forward to welcoming friends to our home to meet the wee fellas. So continue to watch this space!!!!

The Hoff Twins: Monday, 2/2/2009 Introducing Louie and Jules!

Yes it is OFFICIAL (as in Belgian administration official - which means REALLY set in concrete now;) Christian, myself, Nikita, Joakim, and Chilli the dog are very pleased to introduce to family and friends our latest additions to the Hoff-Nielsen clan:

Louie Pekama & Jules Te Arahi Hoff-Nielsen

Thanks to all of you who voted (it is actually pure coincidence that these two names were also the most popular among you in our online survey. Great to know that we are so like minded!) Big thanks also to those of you who came back with 'other' suggestions. Here's a few that came close and a couple who made us giggle so much we could forget the serious-ness of the first few days: Jim & Jules, Davy & Tom, Ced(ric) and Thomas, Max & Phil, Wallace & Grommet, Dubel & Trubel. You lot, honestly:)

The boys are Danish since Christian made an honest woman of me back in 2006 and we shall be applying for New Zealand citizenship in addition.

What's behind the names?

Why Louie with an 'e'? Don't know really LOL! I guess we just wanted to take a slightly different twist on an otherwise classic name. We can imagine calling him Lou-lou as a nickname (at least while he's such a wee fella. Perhaps when he's 6ft s'thing weighing in at 100kgs muscle, then 'Lou-lou' might seem less appropriate)

Pekama is a family name (Maori) which seems to come originally from a great-uncle who died here in Belgium during the Great War. The latter is now a permanent resident at Khandahar War Cemetary in Nieuwkirke, West Belgium. It's kind of nice to know that his descendant, being born in Belgium will be taking his name back to New Zealand eventually.

We just loved the name 'Jules'. As the french-speaking Belgians would say, 'it is so mi-mi' which means cute. Again, 'Jules' is not entirely conventional and for our Danish family members it might seem downright bizarre since the pronunciation will seem one is talking about Christmas! We know also that we risk ridicule from our Kiwi mates, eg., "isn't that a girls' name?" or "LOL! ju-ju lips!!!" (you'll only get that last if u are a Kiwi so don't worry about it). But again, it will be a different story when our little 47cm/2.46kg grows into a 6ft/100kg muscle specimen of a man;)

We finally wanted a second maori name that would convey the concept of someone who was capable to move anywhere in the world, amongst all levels or classes of society, and be at 'one' with the people irrespective of their race, culture, religion, etc . You know we were so proud that Nikita and Joakim were both born without nationality (because Chris and I were not married at the time, and I came from the wrong hemisphere). They were for us TRUE international citizens. We're not out to save the world - please don't get me wrong! But Chris and I truly believe that we can learn so much from each other and that there is incredible beauty and richness in all cultures, all over the world. Hence finally, our youngest son's Maori name: 'Te Arahi'.

The Hoff Twins: Sunday, 01/02/2009 Daddy's Day Off!

The week has been a hectic one for all of us but for Christian, it has been especially frustrating. In most countries (Belgium included) Dad's are entitled to a few days parental leave. However, the realities of running your own company do not always allow for such Dads' to take that time out with new-born offspring. Chris had been able to spend about 4hrs only with his boys during this whole first week.

So, Sunday 1/2/2009 - being his one day of leisure, was especially welcome as it would mean precious time for Dad and his boys. A picture is worth a thousand words; check out the photos of 3 of the 4 Hoff boys (5 in total if u count Chilli the dog;)

The Hoff Twins: Wed-Fri, 28-30/1/2009 The Sun is Out!

What can I say? Since Wednesday, it is like every day there is some AMAZING evolution in the boys development:

1. Wednesday milestones:
   First-born (aka 'Iggy' ad interim) is off the oxygen and just having air blowing thru his body (via a 'c-pap' contraption which makes him look like a cyborg incidentally)
2. Second-born (aka 'Ziggy' ad interim) is still on O2 but doing MUCH better and his lungs are developing nicely
3. Nikita and Joakim went to see their new brothers. The verdict is "ils sont beaux" (ie., they're beautiful)
4. Uncle Adam comes to visit the boys and see them for the first time. At this stage, we are really only in direct contact with immediate family. Thankfully, we have wonderful, supporting friends who are being very patient and understanding of our need to keep focus purely on the twins evolution.

Thursday milestones:

1. Iggy's cyborg headgear can come off and we get to see his face for the first time. He opens his eyes and my heart melts. He makes a big 'O' with his mouth and so nurse clamps him on my booby and he feeds ravenously much to his delight ( and my relief!!!!!!)
2. Ziggy still got his c-pap but lungs are fully developped following dosing with surfactant. He's also off the antibiotics
3. Both are re-united temporarily (first time since birth) on my chest. The A-Team is together again!!

Friday's milestones:

1. Ziggy's c-pap (cyborg headgear) is removed!!! He can breathe all on his own!!!
2. Both boys are breast-feeding (TINY! amounts, like 4mL each 4 hours - but hey, this is MAJOR progress!)
3. Brain and kidney scans reveal all is as should be for this period in their development
4. I get to change their nappies for the first time (not sure if this is really a milestone to celebrate under normal circumstances, LOL! But I am taking WHATEVER step forward as a plus)
5. I discharge myself from hospital and get into the business of balancing hospital visits with 'normal' home life. It is likely that the boys will remain in the neonatal unit for another few weeks. But the progress that they are making is astounding. The specialists are equally impressed!

The Hoff Twins: Tuesday, 27/1/2009 Boys Are Stable!

By the following morning, both boys had been stabilised on full respiratory support. They were both TINY! and weak but clearly battlers. I couldn't have been prouder of them or more impressed by the incredibly dedicated, loving team in the neonatal unit at Edith Cavell Maternity.

It was like the sun had come out for a moment (incidentally it was typical, cold, grey Brussels weather). However, while the boys seemed to be on a slow-moving train to recovery-ville, I was feeling weak with asthma and low blood pressure. I managed to get up to see the boys for a few hours only that day. But in the end really had to take decision to sort myself out first and leave my darlings to the specialist team.

Yeah, Tuesday was shite.

The Hoff Twins: Monday, 26/1/2009. The Neonatal Experience

Now, all parents of twins know that there's a high probability that they'll be born prematurely, and probably end up in neonatal unit. OK, so that's the rational part. Then u get there and u realise (naievely) that u may not be prepared for what is actually happening.

We were able to see our boys a couple of hours after birth, around 21h00 only as the team needed some time to stabilise the boys - it's not like one needs just to fill in admission forms, for example.

We discovered quickly that both needed respiratory support - not altogether surprising as lung development is usually what is going on in Hotel Mama at about this time. The latest ultrasound had weight estimations of 2,5kg each which we all took to mean that there was no need to stick me with steroids to speed up lung development in case of impending prem birth. Yet as we saw only one of the boys came anywhere near that weight estimation......Terrifyingly, the youngest of the twins (and the heaviest) had no real lungs to speak of so it meant that little guy was struggling like hell even on oxygen and full respiratory support. Nr 1 (the lightest at 2,1kg) looked like he was going to pull through.

Watching a child struggle to survive is one of the most painful, heart-wrenching things that I can ever imagine to see. It was even harder knowing that u couldn't just change the channel on the TV, or turn a blind eye to this reality; it's YOUR reality. I don't care who knows it but this was one time I was damn glad to have my Mama with me. I am not sure that I would have held it together without her.

Chris and Mum left around midnight and I stayed with my boys til about 3am before exhaustion took over and I was wheeled back to my hospital bed. It felt absolutely rotten returning back to my empty room. I remember asking the nurse to remove the baby cribs that had been prepared to receive my boys from the room, and crying myself to sleep.

The Hoff Twins: Monday, 26/1/2009 The Big Show!

Well what a start to the week! Basically, waters broke around 5am Monday, 26/1/2009. Wasn't like in the movies tho;) was fairly low key and at home. For readers unfamiliar with the whole process, it basically means the train is about to leave the station - or rather MUST leave the station within the next 12 hours.

So, managed to wake hubby Chris and pack a bag for the hospital. The morning did however require some planning as there was:

1. Nikita and Joakim to consider - many MANY! thanks to our neighbours who got them off to school for us!!
2. me to get to hospital
3. my Mum to collect from Brussels airport at 10am who was flying in direct from NZ
4. the question of: what do we do with Nikita and Joakim after school? (big kisses to Uncle Adam, Chris' brother who kindly left work a bit earlier to look after his niece and nephew)

But Chris is the man! And he managed to do all that and be back with me in the delivery suite by 11am. Contractions had started by that stage but all very mild. Monitoring showed the babies were doing great. The only risk in fact was that my doctor was going to miss the birth as he was only scheduled to be back in Brussels much later in the evening! Poor dear had gone off to London for a VERY! well-deserved 2-day break.

So at about 18h45 that evening, it was all systems GO! The twins were arriving 4 weeks premature so the neonatal units were on hand to take the boys directly. I was really surprised by how many people there were with us that night. Excluding me, Chris, Mum, and the twins there must've been at least 12 others: neonatal unit teams x2, paedeatrician x 2, gynae, physio, midwives x 2.

After a couple of heave-ho's, our first yahooing little boy was born (18h53, weighing in at 2,1 kgs). A bit more pushing and shoving and our second screamer entered the world (18h58, weighing in at 2,46kg).

The birth was terrific! I count myself VERY fortunate to have been able to carry these guys this far albeit not quite far enough AND to have been able to deliver them naturally without any complication. It's fair to say that I was feeling quite relaxed, euphoric, and impatient as hell to get up to the neonatal unit to see them for the first time!! (no, I didn't get to see them as they were being born - not usual, but I'd agreed that the neonatal teams do what they needed to ensure the boys' safety. If it meant no skin-to-skin contact before whisking away - then no worries!!)

The Hoff Twins: Week 35

So the week started out really well! Ultrasound on Monday (19/1/2009) confirmed that #2 had turned around and both babies are now in 'firing' position, ie., head down. Chris and I even managed to go out on a hot date (something which has eluded us - due to fatigue, during this final trimester). But come Wednesday morning all went to custard while I was driving myself into work for what had also been decided would be my final working week.

I'd been having normal little Braxton-Hicks contractions for the last week or so - all quite normal. However, on way into work I noticed that something much tougher was going on. I didn't have to pull over onto side of road but some controlled breathing was required to endure the contraction as I plodded along in rush-hour traffic.

Edith Cavell Hospital (where we were planning to give birth anyway) was only about 5mins away, so I thought would just park up the car outside the hospital and sit for a bit of time to see if these contractions were going to get regular. As well I did that because after 30mins waiting, I'd been having quite severe contractions every 4mins. So I waddled into the hospital up to the maternity ward for a checkup.

We monitored the babies, blood pressure, contractions etc and as suddenly as it all started, it all stopped. A quick visit from my doctor confirmed I would be on forced bedrest for remainder of the pregnancy, ie., another couple of weeks only and at my own home. Pretty fortunate really when I consider good friends who have had to endure bedrest for 10-15 weeks in hospital!

So the rest of week has been one of laying low, not doing much, drugging out on progesterone to try and avoid more contractions. Christian has been an absolute star racing around after Nikita and Joakim, me, the housework, and of course his own work at Go-Mini.

We did a thorough ultrasound though on Thursday (22/1/2009) to check weights and make sure the babies are getting enough oxygen. All is great!!! Boys are both at 2.5kg each which means just need to get their lung development sorted and we should be able to let nature take its course in another 7-10 days. As my good friend Carla-Farla put it: "best those boys stay in Hotel-Mama a little bit longer". Indeed, I'm told that 1 day in the womb is equivalent to 1 week in neonatal unit. Put into that perspective, yeah I can lay on my fat ass for a bit!