And then the rest of our lives started

Somehow, with assisted conception, you can't help feeling your partner's pregnancy is a bit different – all expectant parents must be nervous, but after the intitial good news we were beside ourselves with worry.

A twin pregnancy exacerbated that – physically, the demands on my wife, who was feeling a bit drained by the ICSI treatment, were intense (my wife was unable to walk for a month before and after the birth). Added to all the usual worries was the knowledge that the boys were unlikely to go full term and can be born very early and very small.

All in all, it was very easy to get into the mindset that July 23, 1999 (Ben and Charlie's birthday) was the end of the journey.

Ten months on

Ten months on, I am well aware that it was just the beginning of a much longer trip. Our little ICSI miracles are now normal, noisy babies – I am sure all new parents say this, but we cannot believe how busy we are all the time (and how much time we used to have, without realising it, before we were parents).

Sometimes, we look at friends with one baby, and think what a breeze that must be (although I am sure we wouldn't see it that way if we were in that situation).

But then we look at our "instant family" and think we must be the luckiest people in the world. Getting here was hard work, and looking after young twins can be unbelievably hard work.

But is it worth it? Absolutely.

Where to next?

• Trying for a baby? Find out how to maximise your chances of becoming pregnant by getting your body fit and get clued up on the secrets of conception
• Learn about the causes of infertility, the various infertility investigations and treatments you might encounter and see some suggestions for books on the subject
• If you’d like to share your hopes or worries with other parents in the same situation, join our trying for a baby discussion group – it’s good to talk!
• Worried about fertility? Check out some common questions answered by our fertility expert Prof. Steve Killick in Your Questions Answered or put your own question to the experts
• New dad or about to become a new dad? Will you take parental leave? Will you be at the birth? Consult our dads' labour kit checklist to make sure you are prepared for labour. And visit our Dads Only discussion forum to talk it all over with other dads
• Click here to read more about twin pregnancy, birth and parenting!
• Do you have twins, triplets or more? Meet other parents on babyworld's Twins and multiples discussion forum to share your trials and tribulations
• Click here for more babyworld features