real life
Inset: Robert and Ashleigh with their darling twin boys Ethan and Dylan Main pic: The twins meet Mrs Claus for a cuddle!
“I have to say that the
premature baby charity, TinyLife, was my
section and because the boys were taken away from me immediately, I remember just feeling empty. I didn’t see them for a few hours and it took a long time for me to connect with them and feel that they were mine. I felt like I was looking at somebody else’s babies. Te doctors think I had put up a guard and that I didn’t want to connect emotionally with them because I thought they were going to die. Tat could be true but, as I say, while I know for certain that I would love to have the experience of birth, I don’t know if I could put myself through the trauma of that experience again. Only time will tell. I have to say that the premature baby
charity, TinyLife, was my backbone at the time. On the day that the consultant told us
that Ethan wasn’t going to make it, I was going to TinyLife to borrow a breast pump – a double one – and I ended up breaking down in front of Denise, who works for TinyLife. She was so good. She just sat and talked to me for an hour and it just put everything into perspective. I can’t find the words to thank TinyLife enough for what they did for me, my babies and my family. Tose first days and weeks – the hardest
of my life - were just a blur. All I could do during that time was express milk, so I tried to take comfort from the fact that I was doing the only thing that I could do – providing my babies with the nutrients etc that they needed. You feel that you should be looking aſter your babies but you just feel so helpless.
backbone at the time” No one ever thinks that they’re going to
have a premature baby. It’s totally unexpected but when you have the support of someone like Denise who, during those eight hours a day that I sat in the neo-natal unit, just sat and talked to me and supported me, it’s worth its weight in gold.„
Tinylife are currently recruiting volunteers from all over Northern Ireland. To become a volunteer you must be 22 years or over, have three- four hours free per week (office hours only) and be happy to attend a two-day training course. Tinylife will pay volunteer travel expenses. For more information contact Lisa Stone on 02890 815050 or email
lisa@tinylife.org.uk for an application pack.
MODERNMUM 27
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