One year hold!
Twins’ bond is stronger than after sharing an incubator
THE picture of their tiny hands clutching across a shared incubator melted hearts the nation over.
And now the premature twins who were born at just 3lbs each are closer than ever as they prepare to celebrate their first birthdays.
Blair and Innes Lowden were kept apart after they were born ten weeks prematurely – but grasped each other lovingly as soon as they were reunited.
A year on and the brothers are a gurgling picture of health. They have amazed parents Laura and Craig Lowden with their antics, soaring to a bouncing 19lbs and passing every baby milestone with flying colours.
‘They delight us every day with their progress,’ said Mrs Lowden, 33, of Duddingston, Edinburgh.
‘Innes is crawling at a rate of knots and Blair isn’t far behind him. They grow bigger every day and always seem to need larger baby clothes.
‘The bond between them is amazing to watch and it’s lovely to see them play together.
‘When Innes makes off, Blair seizes hold of the toys for himself.’
Last February the brothers were born weighing little more than 3lbs and taken to intensive care at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, where doctors feared they might not make a full recovery.
But as soon as the twins were reunited and were side-by-side, they reached out across the incubator to each other, forming a brotherly bond that will never be broken. ‘They have hardly been out of each other’s sight since,’ said Mrs Lowden.
The senior banking analyst was stunned when she discovered she was expecting twins six weeks into her pregnancy.
She said: ‘I was unwell and doctors carried out a scan that revealed two babies.
‘I went from fearing there was no baby to discovering there were two.’
The pair were delivered by emergency caesarean section when Mrs Lowden went into labour at 30 weeks.
Doctors were amazed when they left hospital just five weeks later after sailing through intensive and special care. Mrs Lowden added : ‘We are indebted to the wonderful work of the hospital team’
But their route to health was not smooth. Both boys had to have surgery for hernias last May and then developed the lung condition bronchiolitis.
‘Seeing them ill again brought back all those early worries which we experienced when they were premature. But they fought through that too, and have never looked back,’ Mrs Lowden said.
Proud father Mr Lowden, 33, an investment manager with Aberdeen Asset Management, said: ‘Each day has been a joy – hectic, but we wouldn’t swap it for the world.
‘Our boys have a wonderful bond, which was evident from the moment they were reunited outside the womb.
‘Our lives changed completely when they arrived and we are loving every minute of it.’
Mrs Lowden added: ‘Both have great appetites and wolf down anything put in front of them. Fish curry is their favourite.’