On the bank holiday weekend in August 2019, I was 7 months pregnant with Leo and Jack. It was a roasting hot weekend and I was feeling uncomfortable, but no more so than you would expect at 31 weeks with twins. We were at Tommy's parents' house discussing a shortlist of names while I sat with my swollen ankles on some ice packs.

A few days later on 28th August Tommy and I went for my 32-week growth scan and saw both the consultant and midwife, who said the immortal words "They look really comfortable". They were presenting as breech, so we booked delivery at 37 weeks via caesarian on 5th October. The perfect day for a birthday, I thought.

That evening, after my regular aqua aerobics class and dinner at the sports club, I started feeling funny. At about 10pm I still was feeling odd and Tommy suggested we should go to the hospital to get checked out. I agreed, taking a phone charger with me just in case we were there for several hours. On the drive, we were both a bit quiet...

Fast forward to 3am, 29th August. In what can only be described as "dramatic fashion", the boys were being born in an operating theatre after I was confirmed as being in labour, and a quick one at that. Leo and Jack arrived - they were 1.4kgs and 1.6kgs, or just over 3lbs each - and were whisked straight off to intensive care, leaving us staring at each other in total shock. Less than 24 hours after choosing an October birthday, we were parents in August.

And so we were plunged with no warning into being NICU parents.

The boys spent a total of 4 weeks and 1 day in Luton & Dunstable's NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). As 32-weekers they were what I later found out was classed as "mid-range" premature, and thankfully just needed time to grow, learn how to feed and be able to maintain their temperatures. We had a straightforward journey with minimal difficulties. But it was as traumatic as you might expect, and not somewhere we ever imagined would be the boys' first home.

L&D's NICU is wonderful. They are a level 3 unit, which means they can care for the earliest and sickest babies. They can help babies born 10 weeks earlier even than the boys. The staff were fantastic and worked so hard to care for the babies and the parents, adjusting to their new normal. All the early bonding experiences that might have been denied to us through their time in incubators were carefully and thoughtfully managed with kangaroo care. Breastfeeding and pumping were encouraged and supported. We couldn't have asked for more.

And yet they were doing it with some pretty poor facilities. In 2019, the building housing the NICU was basically a temporary building, which we were told was supposed to last for 2 years. That was 20 years before. I remember saying that if I was rich I would pay for a new building, and if I had a little leftover money I would at least buy them some comfortable chairs for parents to sit beside the incubators. At one point we all had to squash three rooms of babies into one when an infestation of spiders took over one of the wards.

But they have worked hard and the L&D has recently completed a brand new building for the NICU, and they have raised money to refurbish the parent accommodation bungalow across the road, where parents from further afield plunged into this crisis can stay close to their babies. You can find out more about what they do in the NICU and what they are still raising money for here.

Six years later - and one pandemic which meant I never did get that leftover money to buy any chairs - I want to give back and say thank you for giving Leo and Jack a great start in life. They may have been early and small, but they are mighty, healthy, happy and smashing life.

So here we are, I'm going to abseil down their big new building just short of the boys' 6th birthday. I haven't abseiled in about 30 years, and I've definitely got more cautious and nervous as I've got older. I haven't actually seen the building yet but it looked pretty massive in the photos...

If you can, please give a few pounds (or a lot) and help other parents through their time of crisis.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Thanks for reading!