May was momentous! The day after Mothers’ Day, (May 11) our daughter-in-law Sarah and son Ben were told that their identical twin girls would have to be delivered within the next 24 hours!
Due to there being only one placenta, and evidence of fetal growth restriction, we already knew that the twins would need to be delivered early – but at their meeting with the neonatal specialist just four days earlier, Ben and Sarah had been told that he was confident that the babies could wait until week 32 before making their appearance earth-side!
But as they say, “the best laid plans…”. Fortunately everything came together for the delivery – their Obstetrician delayed her holiday departure, a bed was found for Sarah despite the maternity ward being totally crammed full and all was set for a Caesarean the following afternoon.
It was a busy and emotional time for our family as I was booked in for a total hip replacement on the very same day in a hospital the other side of town!
The birth went really well and the girls both breathed on their own when they came out but of course, being so tiny, were whisked off to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) straight away.
Eva – meaning “life and new beginnings” – weighed in at 894g (1.97 lbs) and Matilda – meaning “mighty in battle” – weighed a diminutive 430g (0.95lbs).
The care they have been receiving in the NICU at the Mater Hospital, Brisbane, has been nothing short of amazing and we are so grateful to all the dedicated staff there.
Both will be staying in the Mater Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit where they will continue to receive the absolute best of care – probably at least to their due date but the main thing is that they are making great strides, creating amazing milestones and overall are doing very well.
At her weigh-in last Saturday (just before their four week anniversary) Eva was 1198 gms and at Matilda’s latest weigh-in on June 12 she had achieved a grand 741 gms – 70 gms off doubling her birth weight!
Other events pale into insignificance in comparison to the birth of our tiny grand daughters but plenty of other things have been happening – book club meetings, having friends to stay, visiting with friends and great progress on our modular house!
We went to check out the off-site build and were very excited to see the progress so far.
The roof was on and all the internal walls were up. It was amazing to see the design come to life and to imagine the small cottage with all the furniture in and how it would look when it was installed on our lovely little glen at Ben and Sarah’s property in Lake Manchester.
Salty tales from Bali Hai on Sunday 
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