The matter was taken out of hands some what at the scan just before Easter however when Twin2 who had been growing at a slower rate anyway, dropped below the lower percentage of the growth curve and the delivery date was brought forward to 35 weeks. This meant a daily 1hr 30 round trip, just at the time when the bump was getting heavy and the prospect of travelling anywhere wasn’t appealing for my wife, to the hospital for either steroid injections to inflate their lungs which don’t fully develop until later naturally and heart beat monitoring to check we didn’t encounter further issues.

I’m told the steroids aren’t one to be enjoyed, my wife is a nurse and she was aware the injection would carry a bit of a kick, I don’t think however she expected anything like the pain that was actually inflicted, but it reduced with the second and third as she know knew what was coming. The heartbeats proved just as challenging, two babies near identical heat beats and they managed to position themselves in such a way the straps couldn’t be used to hold the monitor pads in place – you could only be sure there were two when one of them kicked. But who needs straps when you have muggins here, 20 minutes of trying to hold the pad dead still is a little tiring, especially when twin2 (can you tell which one is the troublemaker yet?) decides that he doesn’t like the pad and needs to kick it off. Everything when well and we now had a date for delivery, a Thursday and we were expecting to be second on the list. We were feeling very positive and the care from everybody in the Fetal and Maternal Assessment unit from the consultant who specialised in twins to the midwifery team was first class.

We were prepared at home as well, we had got all the essentials on the checklist weeks before and where just holding off on a few items until the boys arrived, the ones that we really didn’t know what we would need like which size nappies etc. The hospital bag and the twins bags were in the car the night before, the car seats loaded and the nervous waiting began. We arrived at the hospital with plenty of time to spare the next morning and where shown to our room in the labour ward to start being interviewed by nurses, surgeons, anesthetists, the hospital cat etc.

Apparently up have to don a silly costume if you want to enter the operating theatre (like I had any choice in that!). Of course they didn’t have shoes in my size, so they had a croc hunt before finding some that were far too small for me – still I had the green light, I was properly attired

Then we got the news that the operation was delayed as there was a lack of available spaces in Neo-Natal and would have to be put back. Not good news for my wife who had not eaten since the night before in preparation for the spinal – she’s been known to get a little grouchy after a lack of food. A trait that can normally be timed to the minute, otherwise cover is required to avoid the ensuring explosion. Eventually we were told that the op would now be at 14:30 – too late now.

15:48, Twin1 was delivered and a minute later followed by his brother, who was very keep to demonstrate that the steroids really had inflated his lungs and raised objection to the wide world after 7 months in a snug warm place. A little cleaning and checking and we where holdings our sons for the first time. So, so small, incredible little beings, but before we could register who and what they were they were whisked away to Neo-Natal. We made our way to the recovery ward, for some much welcomed food once the doziness had worn off, of course that didn’t last long but at least the cup of tea was nice and much appreciated. Most of the next couple hours were spent reviving my wife and then spreading the news to anxious new grandparents.

Then we transferred my wife to post natal, which was great a two bed room which was currently unoccupied with a window and lots of natural light. We settled my wife in, and received the first reports on our sons, Twin1 was fine and was in an open cot, and Twin2 was in a warm incubator, but really just because he didn’t have enough body weight to maintain a healthy temperature and needed a couple of drips to keep the blood sugars up.  Come the end of visiting hours I made my way home  and let my wife and the boys rest up.

The next morning back into Exeter for the start of visiting hours, to find Twin1 with mum in the room and the other bed occupied and surrounded by people. There started the frustration for my wife as we came the realise that post natal is really only geared up to people being in there for at most 24 hours, so anyone whose children are on the Neo Natal ward are left in limbo. So a series of room mates appeared, got their baby breast-feeding and went home – although a couple might have stayed more than one day. Whilst my wife was in the same bed receiving visits from Twin1, going to visit Twin2 in a wheelchair and entertaining the endless and exhausting number of visitors, and trying to contain the tidal wave of gifts surrounding the bed.

Regular trips to Neo Netal to either visit Twins 1&2, to show off T1&T2 to visitors, to breastfeed, to express or just put the expressed milk in the Neo Natal fridge were required. The middle of the night was worse as there were two unmanned secure card key entry doors, the one out of post natal and the one into Neo Natal to navigate which in the early hours of the morning could mean long waits for a passing member of staff. My wife was signed off fit quite quickly post the c-section, but remained in post natal because the boys where in Neo Natal and needed to be fed, whilst I started to use up my two weeks paternity trekking daily in for the start of visitor hours and staying until the end of Neo-Natal’s visitor hours which were later.