Jack Keith Maitland and Ella Rose Maitland were born at 25 weeks + 2 days gestation on the 10th December 2010. Jack was the impatient one, he'd sent Anthea into hospital 9 days earlier trying to get out but luckily the staff at The Mercy Hospital in Heidleberg managed to halt the progression into full labour. Anthea was transferred to Monash Medical Centre a couple of days later as it was closer to home and also the best premmie hospital. We were hoping they would hold out till Xmas but Jack had developed a slight infection in utero which forced things onwards at about 6pm on the 10th. Jack was first, a quick normal birth at 10pm - he weighed in at 850 grams. Ella followed more slowly, she was born breach and need alot of help to come into the world She was born at 10:08pm and weighed 808 grams. Anthea was fine after the birth but that night gave us our first introduction to the world of NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). It was fairly confronting at first, seeing our tiny babies there surrounded by tubes and people but they had 10 perfect little fingers and toes, their weight was pretty good for their gestation and Ella progressed straight to CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) rather than being intubated for ventilation. Jack was a little less advanced, needing to be intubated. Although this was a difficult time for us as parents, all we knew was that they were here, they had made it past the first hurdle and they were our children.
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