I'm sitting in my bedroom with the evening sun streaming through the windows, the sky is blue and there is a wonderful sense of calm. I wonder how long that will last! The sun or the sense of calm to be honest.
I wanted to take a little time to blog about the last two weeks. My eldest daughter came to stay at our house for 2 whole weeks with her 6 month old twins as a temporary stop gap while waiting for their new flat to become available. The little family had to vacate their previous home as their tenancy was up. My son in law (and Daddy of the twins) still had to work and so the decision was made that babies and Mummy spend some time with us and I have to say that the whole experience was totally joyful for me. To be able to spend so much quality time with the babies and really get to know them was a wonderful experience and one that I never expected to have.
I was able to help out when asked and, to be honest, when I wanted to. I was able to give both babies their bottles, change nappies, dress them, bath them, cuddle them and even read them bedtime stories.
In the two weeks that they were with us, Phoebe had her fringe cut at the hairdressers, learned how to roll over at will and became more vocal than I have ever heard her. She laughed and smiled. She learned how to clamp her mouth shut when she didn't want anymore of her bottle, she tried solids (strawberry and banana smoothie was her favourite) with little, if any, coming down her nose as it often does in babies with a cleft palate. She holds her head up when she is laying on her tummy which is brilliant as she was diagnosed as being a little bit floppy just a few months ago. She has a real determined streak which I loved to see and which I am sure will stand her in good stead for the future.
Rolling over
Long hair!
Fringe cut
Rusks. Not sure.
Wonderful head control
Sam also had an exciting two weeks. He learned how to shriek loudly with excitement, he perfected his gorgeous smile and he is desperate to sit up on his own. He has grown a huge amount and a lot of that will be due to the solids that he is taking with no problem. He eats whatever he is given and really loves Farley's rusks in particular. Mummy decided that it was a good time for the dummy to go so he hasn't had that for ages and he has also got his first tooth!
Playtime
Feeling for that first tooth
Loving his rusk at breakfast time
Still smiling despite a sore gum
Getting so big
The twins were able to enjoy being outside in the garden and we even got them into a paddling pool for the first time. We had already brought Phoebe a swimming costume and Sam a pair of trunks in matching colours just in case the opportunity for a swim arose.
First paddling pool
First swimwear
As I mentioned earlier, this has been a joyful and wonderful time for me and a privilege that I never expected to have. I doubt that I will ever have such an amount of time with the twins and their Mummy (and Daddy when he could get here) again and I cherished every minute. I loved the early mornings...if you call 6 am early. (Both babies sleep through the night and going in to see them first thing with their smiley faces and rosy cheeks was lovely). The twins had their own cots here from the 2nd day and they settled very happily in them in our spare room downstairs which became their bedroom. It was reassuring for their Mummy and Daddy to know that they would sleep happily as, up until that point, all four of them had to share one bedroom. Their new home has two bedrooms so the twins have their own room now which is great.
The two weeks flew by. It was lovely to spend time with my daughter too. She is a super mum but having twins is not easy...especially when one of them has extra needs. There have been difficult times but my daughter is stronger than ever. Yes, she gets weary, often feels that she hasn't achieved anything when, in reality, she has got through another day with two babies. I can tell you that the days just roll into each other! So many planned trips were not made because we simply ran out of time between feeds and nappy changes. It was nice to be able to look after my daughter for a while as in making sure that she was eating, doing the washing etc etc. It doesn't sound like much but I think it helped her to feel that she had had a bit of a break.
Today our house has seemed very quiet as you can imagine. All of the baby paraphernalia has gone along with the twins and their Mummy to their new home and I couldn't be happier for them all. Their new home is a new build with so much more space than they had before. There is plenty of daylight which is so important for Phoebe with her sight problems. She still loves bright lights and sunshine! There is space for the babies to roll around on the floor, there is room for all of the furniture and Mummy and Daddy are getting a new bed. Happy days!
Until next time...
xxxxx
