18 months today! A memoir of gratitude for LIFE

Today is Amélie & Elise's 18 month birthday! Over the last few weeks they have transformed from babies into toddlers. It's amazing, and incredibly encouraging, to watch our little girls grow and develop from here....

So tiny!

Amélie Hope 710g

Our first night of life on the outside

Daddy's hand

Elise Grace 700g

Mummy's hand

Daddy & Elise

to now...

Elise reading to herself!

Amélie

I've just started taking steps on my own!

I know we don't tend to celebrate half-birthdays, but I like to make myself remember that our healthy, happy, energetic, adventurous little girls arrived into this world just a little too early, tiny, fragile and without a great chance of surviving, let alone surviving without any disabilities. During those first weeks, as the doctors couldn't promise that we would go home with them both, there were many rollercoaster moments...and I found that it did us so much good to celebrate every little step in the right direction. So we did. 5g gained, 10 minutes breathing without a CPAP, the first baths (in a dolls bath!), the 1kg parties, their first 'real beds', their first clothes...truthfully I found it much easier to be thankful for even the smallest things (and big things like the incredible Neonatal team!) than to feel sorry for myself and wish we didn't have to go through something like that. When I look back I really only have good memories, and a thankfulness that I have been privileged to be a part of the world of miniature, perfect little people. There were many moments that I was terrified that one of the girls might not make it. I said to God that He couldn't allow one of them to die! I would wake up in the morning and think to myself 'Well, no news (from Neonatal) surely means good news,' and then arrive to the unit and hear that Elise had had a huge apnea and they were even scared about getting her back. But thankfully I remember the people, who made us feel at home in a foreign world, the beautiful surroundings that made it very un-hospital-like, and the last weeks that were relatively peaceful - bathing the girls, changing their clothes, feeding them, giving them cuddles. 

The smallest Pampers!

Their tiny first pyjamas that I thought looked huge!

Elise's 1kg handprint!

Evolution of Pampers! Since this photo we've gone up a size!

So, there we go. 18 months old today and we can now join the voices of hope that once told us "One day you'll never know they came so early!" We're almost there. Elise still has realistic risks with her breathing, because of her vocal chords, if she catches a cold or sore throat, but...if we can make it through this winter as healthily as possible, then we should be in the clear. 


Life is a miracle, huh?! May I never lose the enthusiasm to celebrate milestones, big and small. To remember where we've come from, and to hold onto the excitement and hope of the possibilities of the future. And to appreciate even the small things, as my little girls show me how each day.


We LOVE you Amélie Hope & Elise Grace. You make our lives all the more richer, brighter, happier and fun :) 

Phew, I'm very impressed if you made it to here! That was a lot of photos. Just in case you've got time to see a few more, here's the video we made to celebrate the girls' first birthday.