My three (twin girls and a boy) are way past the nappies and bottles stages, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy a cute twin picture from time to time - and this one is just incredible!
Last month I was delighted to see some amazing photographs of a twin caesarean section. You'll probably agree with me that the cheeky chappy (on the right) sticking his tongue out at the medical team who delivered him is so cute.
Already playing up to the camera probably doesn't come as too much of a surprise - considering he was famous before he was even born! You see, these two twin boys were the first in the world to be scanned with our twin pregnancy growth charts.
The charts were developed after our charity Tamba (Twins and Multiple Births Association) raised £25,000. Hundreds of parents of twins gave generously to help twin mums and dads of the future.
The money was used to fund research and data collection of thousands of twin pregnancies so the growth charts could be created. And after lots of hard work the pay-off finally arrived this summer.
Dr Asma Khalil from St George's Hospital performed the world's very first scan using the twin growth charts on 6th July 2017. That's when these two adorable twins were still snuggled up inside their mum Mala Vast Dhuri. It was an incredible day for Tamba and one which the charity will certainly remember for a long time.
Another landmark moment in the timeline of the growth charts came a few weeks after the scan - when Mala's twins finally arrived. Dr Khalil performed a caesarean section at St George's Hospital in Tooting, London on Thursday, 27th July 2017, and Kiaan and Kush were welcomed into the world. And it's Kush who is sticking his tongue out for the camera. Cheeky boy!
These little boys are only a few days old now, but when they're older they'll hopefully realise they were part of something spectacular. These charts mean twins can be accurately measured in the womb so health professionals can instantly recognise whether they are growing appropriately.
Previously, hospitals looking after women expecting twins plotted the growth measurements of the babies using singleton charts and clinicians had to use their judgement to decide how the twins were progressing. This could have led to incorrectly diagnosing twins as "too small", causing anxiety for the parents and the babies being delivered too early or, on the flip side, thinking the babies were okay because "twins are small anyway" when in actual fact a growth problem was being missed.
We're now hoping to see a reduction in the number of twins needing neonatal care after birth. About half of all multiple birth babies need some form of special unit treatment once they're born - if we can even make a small dent into that statistic, we'll have done our jobs properly.
Our primary objective as a charity has, and always will be, ensuring our multiple birth families are happy and healthy. Every baby has the same right to the best medical care science can offer - why should twins be any different?
Dr Khalil and I and all my colleagues at Tamba are already convinced of how amazing these twin growth charts are. Our next job is telling the rest of the medical world about them.
We'd encourage any parents expecting twins to ask their hospital if they've downloaded the growth charts onto their systems. And if you're a medical professional reading this, perhaps you could contact your computer systems provider and ask them how to download the software? (They're currently available on GE ViewPoint and Astraia systems - but let us know if there are other companies that provide systems that we can get in touch with).
Lastly, I'd like to thank every single person involved in this project, including Dr Asma Khalil and her team at St George's Hospital in London. But particularly our amazing fundraisers. If you performed a skydive, held a cake sale or donated pocket money - however you raised the money, you're a superhero. Each of you can credit yourselves with being lifesavers - because ultimately that's what these growth charts will do, they'll save lives.
*These incredible photographs were taken for Tamba by Jenny Burrows. Copyright of these photographs remains with Tamba. If you'd like to see more of Jenny's work please visit Tiny Shoots Photography.
**If you're a Tamba member, you'll receive a discount with Jenny. Find out more about our charity at www.tamba.org.uk