I was just fine. 1.55kg or three and a bit pounds, which I thought sounded pretty good really. Gentle hands transported me from my Mummy’s tummy to an incubator which was lovely and warm and I would have been quite comfortable had it not been for all the monitor wires and that ventilator equipment. I could actually breathe on my own and did so from quite soon after they moved me to the Winnicott Baby Unit which is where I got to know so many lovely doctors and nurses. Everyone took such good care of me. It was wonderful. My Daddy came to see me straightaway and it was lovely to hear his voice. My Mummy came the next day and we had our first cuddle together. I think I must have looked especially sweet or something as she cried a bit. I was just so happy to be in her arms that I fell asleep again.

Well, I had a really lovely time over the next six weeks and even got used to all the heel prick tests, the noises and bleeps from the monitors and the occasional ultrasound of my head to check that my brain was ok! I slept a lot and was fed and changed regularly. Everyone was so gentle with me – especially when the feeding tube, that went in through my nose, had to be changed from one nostril to the other. The nurses were so kind, talking to me a lot and making sure I was comfortable. I had so many visits, mostly from my Mummy and Daddy but my grandparents came to meet me there too. Mummy would be there during the day while my brothers were at school and my Daddy would come for the whole evening after work. Sometimes they’d be there at the same time and once they even brought my brothers to meet me too.

I didn’t always wake up when my parents were there but I heard their voices and I felt them cuddling me. I liked the kangaroo care best, when I just lay against my mother’s chest – I could hear her heartbeat and felt so secure with the familiar sound and smell of her. Mum came and went a bit during the day. I think she went off to a different room where she made milk for me and she always came back in a good mood – probably from having chatted to all the other nice mothers whose babies were at the Winnicott too. I had Mum’s milk through the tube down my nose and straight into my tummy (so you can get to sleep and eat at the same time, saving energy for growing!). That continued until I was stronger and could stay awake long enough to suck a whole feed! I made some great baby friends during my stay and I got to know many of them so much better after I moved into the Special Care room. We were all awake a lot more and not in incubators any longer. We used to have great fun, particularly on the nights when we were weighed when we used to compare how much we’d grown!

I’ll never forget how great it was when one lovely nurse showed Mummy how to massage me. That was wonderful. I still love having my feet massaged – and my head stroked for that matter. My first bath was another good day. All wrapped up in a towel so that I didn’t get a fright, I was slowly immersed in warm water. As I got used to the water, they unwrapped the towel a bit so that I could move my arms and legs and enjoy the new experience. I never once felt afraid or vulnerable. In fact that really gave me a taste for how wonderful baths are and I look forward to mine every day now. I could spend hours kicking and splashing around in that warm water if I could.

Well, all too soon I had to go home! I was now 2.59kg, growing and feeding well. Everyone thought it would be nice if I was home for Christmas. They were right. I went home on the 22nd December with my parents and a big bag of things I still needed, a special fortifier for my milk, something else to help my bones grow, abidec vitamins and minerals oh, and Gaviscon for my reflux! The nurses had shown my parents how to do it all so they were pretty confident about what to do at home. My grandparents from Canada were staying and my twin older brothers were also at home when I got there. There were so pleased to see me and I think my brothers were also happy that Mum and Dad were going to be at home with them a lot more and not up at the hospital with me! Christmas was wonderful and I was so glad to have been early and in time for it.

I do miss all those doctors and nurses at the Winnicott but I have been back a couple of times already to say hello and to show them all how big I’m getting. I believe I was very lucky indeed to have been born at St Mary’s and looked after so well in such an incredible place. My parents think so too and want to thank everyone again, very much.