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!!)