Back-handed compliments

Finally, I've found five minutes to update this blog. For once, we've been so busy there hasn't been time to even think about it.

Last week was a whirlwind of hospital visits, Tuesday was the 20 week scan, Thursday was the Consultant appointment and Friday night was "Twins Night" at the ante-natal unit - one of a number of planned evening sessions where we meet with midwives and discuss the processes involved in having twins.

The "highlight" of the week came from Neil Elkington, our consultant, who told us on Thursday that Elly has the worst obstetric history he's ever seen. Given that the medical records for normal pregnancies are nice slim volumes about an inch thick and that Ell's is the size of War and Peace it's not *that* surprising, but still ... as back-handed compliments go it was right up there!

The twins night didn't really teach us much that we didn't already know but it was nice to go and meet up with other couples having multiples and to have some of our questions answered. It looks like Ell will be hospitalised for a couple of days post-delivery but at least they'll try and get her in one of the private rooms just off the maternity ward - as a mother of twins she qualifies for special treatment.

The hospital stay is currently my least favourite part of the whole procedure. Once the girls are born I really want everyone at home so we start being a family together in our own surroundings - I realise there may be good reasons why they have to stay at the hospital for a while (premature delivery, looking after Ell etc etc) but if there's no reason for them to be there I'd rather we were all home. Luckily Elly feels the same (if not more so) so I know that as soon as it's possible for me to break them out of Frimley Park we'll be introducing the kids to the cats!!

Elly's had a lot of growing and stretching pains this week as the bump gets bigger - almost daily it seems to be increasing in size now - and we've ended up going to bed really early a couple of nights as she's more comfortable in bed then anywhere else. I don't mind at all, if it's what she needs, it;s what we'll do but bed at 8.30pm is fantastically early - if it wasn't for my Xbox 360 (now nestled under the bedroom TV) I don't know what I'd do :) Thank you EA Sports and John Madden!!!

Oddly, as we get further into the pregnancy, time seems to be accelerating. The last week has shot by and next week we're at a baby show, a first birthday party and then my parents are visiting to help decorate the nursery - before you know it, it'll be November, then Christmas, then we can really start to gear up for the big day :)