It’s my children’s first birthday today. I remember the moment in the top picture very clearly indeed although the hours following it are a little more sketchy. It was the first time I laid eyes on one of the babies growing inside of me.
They were here.
They were out, airborne, alive.
I had a son.
And a daughter.
I think we were both a little stunned actually. Stunned and very excited. I was chuffed to bits, in between loosing four pints of blood and nearly passing out on the operating table, but very excited was most certainly the overriding feeling at that time.
I kept thinking “we have them for the rest of our lives, they’re not going anywhere, they’re here to stay”
And stay they most certainly did.
We were thrown in a whole new life full of brand new experiences, sensations, tiny bodies, black poo, funny noises and sleep snatched at various intervals throughout the night and day.
I acquired two new friends due to the fact that my son had been born with a tooth * wince *
And we got used to doing many things in a darkened room.
Did I mention the exhaustion?
No?
I don’t think it’s passed to be honest. It’s a new level of constant tiredness that just hums along in the background of life. I would hear parents speak of always being tired but I didn’t actually realise that you still have to function as a whole and complete human being with bones that ache, a head that hurts, eyes that sting and a brain that has almost completely shutdown.
I’d like to say that it’s because we had two at once but I think the tiredness is relative.
When they were two weeks old we opted for a gentle routine from a book called Baby Secrets by Jo Tantum. My sister and her husband used it with their twins and we saw both babies and parents thrive on it. For the first few weeks on this routine there is something called the Dream Feed, it takes place at eleven pm. I would do the feed at seven PM and then go to bed with the babies at the bottom of the bed from seven until eleven. At eleven, and when I was in a coma-like deep sleep, Robert would come in with two bottles and have to wake me up. Each and every time he came in at that time I begged him to let us just let the babies carry on sleeping, just an hour more I wailed.
But babies need to be fed and small babies are fed every four hours. Tired parents or no tired parents.
The first year has been full of ‘firsts’
The first time on the beach.
The first time shopping.
The first time they went through the night.
The first injections.
The first tooth.
But the through line for the year has been something entirely different for me. It’s been a year when I have fallen in love.
I’ve fallen in love with the babies, they are my lifeblood, that goes without saying.
And I have fallen in love with the Daddy of the babies. All over again.
He’s pretty cool.
But I’ll tell you about that another time.
Happy birthday to my children. I love you.
Have a fantastic weekend whatever you may be doing and thank you so much for reading this week. I’m off to bake a cake or two!
Wait! Before you go, don’t forget to take a look at the Behind The Scenes.
Cherry x
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Happy birthday to your gorgeous twins! I can’t believe how fast time has gone! I used Baby Secrets with both of my two, it was a lifesaver! Enjoy today and this weekend, looking forward to seeing the cakes x
Oh my gosh, your post made me all gooey.
The way you write and the photo’s you post to make a whole story make me feel part of something special you have, I get so excited when I pop onto your blog and see that you have posted something new that day.
I can’t believe it is a whole year since your babies arrived, it has gone so quick. I have so enjoyed seeing all the things they have been up to. Such precious moments captured on film transport you back to that moment and how you felt at that particular time. Every now and again I flick through photo’s (yes real photo’s as my babies are nearly 17 and 12) of my children and feel slightly sad that the time has gone so quick. My mother in law always told me to enjoy it as it goes so quick to which I replied, I am finding it hard to enjoy with this cloud of tiredness!!!!
I am still tired and nothing ticks the box better than an early night, so rock and roll.
Have a wonderful day and weekend whatever you are doing and can’t wait to see more precious pictures of the birthday fun and the cakes you bake for your babies xxxx
Cherry, I feel so emotional for you reaching this huge milestone in all your lives.
Happy birthday to your precious little people, congratulations to you and Robert for surviving the year!
Blessings to you all.
Wow, 1 year old already! What wonderful memories you have to look back on from this first year with them. Wishing you all a very happy first birthday xx
Happy Birthday to two lovely babies x
Congratulations Cherry and Happy Birthday to your beautiful children. Hope you have a lovely weekend with your family xx
HAPPY,HAPPY, HAPPPPPYYYYY BIRTHDAY to the beautiful twins – and to you too
It’s so lovely to be able to follow you and your family throughout the year… have a wonderful time today 
xx
Happy Birthday times two today!
Congratultions and have a wonderful, lovely day full of lots of lovely things!
x x x
Happy Birthday to Ned & Anais. The times just speeds up when you have kids. It’s great that you have documented so much for them in this blog.
The tiredness gets worse you know…………..2 year olds with so much energy and a thing for getting up at 4.30am in the summer. Lord give me strength. xx
Happy birtday twins, hopefully a long and happy life lasts.
Happy birthday(s) Ned & Anaïs xoxox
Happy 1st Birthday to your beautiful children, Cherry. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend
Your post brought the tears to my eyes as I remember that first year of my own precious child’s life. How truly blessed we are. Happy Birthday to your little ones another special day to make memories.
Oh Congratulations Cherry for surviving the first year. It is a toughie that is for sure but the years that ahead of you know put it all into perspective. I actually think the 1-2 year is the hardest but maybe that was just my experience! Happy Birthday Ned and Anais. You are the most beautiful and loved children I have come across. You have a very very clever and talented mummy. Enjoy the next 12 months and the next and the next and and and … thanks for letting us share your journey with you. xxx
From one Mum to another, well done!!! And Happy Birthday gorgeous Anais and Ned, what lucky babies you are to have such a lovely Mum and a cool Dad. Enjoy today and thanks for sharing your special moments.
Happy Birthday to your gorgeous little darlings, enjoy this special day all together, it’s magical to relive their birth and first twelve months!
And well done to you and your husband, as parents to now three year old boy-girl twins your post rang very true to me, rest assured it does get easier but no less special. xxx
Have a glorious day with your family Cherry, happy birthday little ones!! My four week old is sitting on my lap as I type and wonders why her mummy is welling up AGAIN – that baby love is all encompassing isn’t it! xx
Happy Birthday to your beautiful babies! My aunt always phones me on my children’s birthdays as she says it’s my day too – and she’s quite right, so enjoy your day Cherry! x
A wonderful post today Cherry. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside
xx
Happy Birthday to your babies & to you of course, their mama ! It’s your day too !
I’ve been following your blog for a couple of years now but always stayed silent.
Today was the perfect day for saying a little “hi”, for wishing you all a fabulous day
and for thanking you for everything you share on your blog.
Best wishes !
Awh – Happy Birthday to Ned & Anais!!! I bet you will have lots of fun today spoiling them rotten
Enjoy….
Gillian xx
Happy Birthday to the gorgeous babies!! I am beginning to plan my son’s first birthday so I can totally relate to everything you have said. I am still amazed at all the growing and changing that’s happened in the past year and just how fast it has gone too. Hope you all have a fab day & look forward to a pic of the cake (or two!) x
Joyeux anniversaire, joyeux anniversaire, joyeux anniversaire Ned et Anais, joyeux anniversaire, from The Bradleys in France xxxx
oh lordy, lord, that takes me back. That tiredness. Actually, I don’t think ‘tiredness’ does it justice. It’s a new level of tired that has no name, and I’m speaking from one baby. I can’t even start to imagine it x2.
And, I must say, I think you spend the rest of your life trying to catch up on all the missed sleep. Even now I will happily go to bed and fall asleep by 9, just because I can, and I know I’ve got no nighttime feeds to do.
Loved your post. Loved seeing your babies as newborns again.
A very happy birthday little people, enjoy your special day.
And enjoy yours too, Cheery Mumlove
xx
Awww! Happy birthday to the bubba’s!!
Hope you all have a great weekend, you are clearly a very happy “in love” family, and an inspiration to me for the future!