Almost 18 months old

Carl and Ella are now almost 18 months old.

Best of Friends? Or Not?

Recently we've been seeing some nice signs of love between them, with Ella randomly going over to Carl and putting her arms round him for a cuddle and Carl stroking Ella with a smile on his face. These gestures are not always welcome or reciprocated and often we find one shoving the other away or snatching things out of each other's hands which ends up with at least one in tears most of the time. They do now recognise the command 'Kiss Mummy' and 'Cuddle Daddy' etc. so we sometimes tell them to cuddle each other and it's so adorable to watch.

Quite often in the mornings after breakfast when I'm busy clearing up in the kitchen (and trying to have my own breakfast) I hear the most adorable chuckles and giggles from them. They seem to spend this time really well together, playing together and having rough and tumble games on the sofa with each other. Sometimes I stay outside and watch them on the monitor as it's so entertaining. I know that the minute I go into the room, they'll stop and play with me or separately so it can be nice to deliberately stay away and observe discreetly.

Jealousy

Ella in particular can show strong jealousy at times. Occasionally it's directed to Carl but that tends to be if she's feeling under the weather and she wants to sit on my lap and wants him off it.Recently though at some playgroups I've held someone else's younger baby and Ella's come over and tugged at the baby's arm in a really aggressive way and got very angry that her mummy is holding another baby. Carl doesn't tend to do this but he can be quite possessive over certain toys and get very angry with Ella for playing with them.

Walking/Running/Bouncing/Clambering/Walking backwards/Spinning round

They do all of the above! Both Carl and Ella have decided that running is far preferable to walking. This in turn keeps me very busy and my Fitbit is thriving. We have been experimenting a little with reins recently for times when I am going somewhere from the car so not too far but where vehicles may be. Carl walks wonderfully on the reins with me but Ella gets very upset when she feels the restriction. Perseverance is the key.We have Little Life backpacks with reins but they aren't yet steady enough for those yet so we're using special twin reins which are really versatile and can attach as one or as two reins, by handle or by waist belt for hands free. Fantastic when getting one out of a car with one on the ground. 

Ella has learned to spin round and round on the spot to make herself dizzy. She finds this hilarious as she falls over. She also likes to line herself up in front of me and walk backwards to end up between my legs for a cuddle. Carl will copy Ella after she has done this but he doesn't tend to do it of his own accord at other times.

Rough and tumble clambering plays a large part in their lives at the moment. Most often it's enjoyed by both but of course sometimes it gets a bit too rough. Soft play outings help them release the energy they have when we can get there.

They have started following some commands so we play a game where I say an action and we all do it e.g. "Up"and we stretch up high. "Down" and we touch the ground "Turn Around" is as you'd expect and "Dance" sees them swaying from side to side.

New Shoes / Wellies

They now have their 2nd pair of shoes (1st pair of proper walkers). Carl is 4.5E and Ella is 4E. We managed to buy these at the right time as it was Twin discount weekend at Clarks. They've also now got a pair of wellies each so we are ready for Peppa Pig's muddy puddles. They love to collect their own shoes and coats and bring them to me when I say it's time to go outside. They know their routines so well now that they let me know if I've forgotten anything!

Clothing Sizes / Hair

We are just getting ready to start wearing 18-24 month tops. I think Ella still has a while to go before she grows out of 12-18 trousers. Carl has been wearing 9-12 month trousers for a long time now but they seem to fit well so that may continue a while longer.

Ella's hair has been getting long. This is an after bath photo.

It was a battle for ages to get her to keep hair clips or bobbles in. Either she or Carl would pull them out immediately. Recently though she is happy to have a bobble in and even Carl doesn't bother trying to get to it although he still goes straight for the hair clip if we try to use one of those.

Carl's fringe gets cut by Mummy as and when needed.

They are both starting to look so grown up. Where have my babies gone?

Communication

We've been keeping an eye on their linguistic development since the Health Visitor mentioned it as an issue around their 1st birthday and it is apparently very common with twins. She also said to account for their prematurity with their speech development but that there is a wide variety in age that children begin saying words. Ella has always been very vocal in her babbling so we haven't worried too much.

Carl has graduated from 'Pia pia pia' to 'Daddy daddy daddy' but he uses it for everything! We have lots of 'da' from him when he wants to show us something but he is very good at getting his message across to us through his body language. He's also very patient and will repeat it again and again if we don't understand the first time. He will point to the box of tissues to ask for his nose to be blown, to the remote control and dance to ask for his favourite DVD of songs to  be put on and this last week he has continually pointed to his nappy, walked over to the nappy changing station and held his hands up to be picked up after he has done a poo. Proud Mummy! 

Ella is using starting sounds so will say 'd d' when she sees a dog and 'b b' when she sees birds. Her first two syllable word may well be 'Peppa' as she seems to say it perfectly when she sees Peppa Pig on TV or on her pyjamas etc. She's less patient than Carl and if we can't understand what she wants from us, she tends to whine or cry. Speaking of Peppa Pig, we went to a birthday party at the weekend where Peppa Pig herself made an appearance. I have never seen such a look of awe struck amazement as the look on Carl's face. Ella just wanted Peppa cuddles. It was wonderful to see. 

Books/Toys

Ella loves flicking through books and can often be found sitting quietly flicking through books on the floor. She loves touch and feel books and lift the flap books the most. Whenever possible she will point at a word and wait for us to say its name and this is really paying off as she is learning them very well. Her vocabulary awareness is high and often surprises me. I'll say something like 'Where's the rabbit? and she'll go and pick it out from all the soft toys purely from me saying 'rabbit' on the pages of a book.

Carl's favourite toy recently has been his plastic football. He brings it to us to throw and then he follows it. Sometimes he will throw or kick it himself too but following it is the most fun. If we go anywhere where they have a baby walker he will still make a beeline for it but is also showing more interest in other ride on toys too. He can get quite obsessive over one toy and hang on to it all day long. When we were at a friend's house last week he took a liking to a toy broom and carried it around the whole afternoon. Here's a picture of him trying to brush Ella's hair with it.

It was awful trying to get him to part with it when we left to the extent that they suggested we take it home with us. We managed to get him to stop full blown screaming eventually :-(

We've started introducing pretend play games and they're beginning to get the hang of it e.g. pretending to drink tea from the teacups poured by the teapot etc. They pretend to wash their hands in the fake sink in the kitchen of their playhouse. They are big fans of the play kitchen at nursery and playgroups too.

The Garden

It's been lovely being out in the garden since the weather has been improving.We are planning to extend the grass area in April once the threat of frost is over but for now we are using the main area of the garden.

They have a new playhouse and picnic table, some ride ons, a slide and a seesaw to keep them busy but mainly Carl likes to collect stones (Macca Pacca style) and Ella likes to pull leaves off flowers! It's lovely seeing them rock on the see saw together though.

It's so much easier to fill short blocks of time in the garden rather than always being in the house. 

Nanny's Sleepover

Mummy and Daddy had a well deserved break in February and Carl and Ella had Nanny Maureen over for a sleepover. I think everyone enjoyed the experience and we've been wondering how long is polite to wait before asking Nanny to do it again!!

New Adventures

Donkeys & other animals

We visited another farm park recently in Bucklebury, home of the Middletons and Chris Tarrant, both of whose houses were pointed out proudly to us by the guide who was supposed to be showing us the deer! The deer were amazing and we were up very close with them. Neither Carl or Ella were afraid but they were much more happy to sit holding onto me rather than throw feed to the deer like the older children were doing.

We went there with two friends and their children, Sharon and her almost 3 year old quads, James, Joshua, Emily and Lauren and Helen with Hugo who is a little older than Carl and Ella and the very recently born Lydia who was an angel and slept through the experience.

Ella was teething quite badly that day and was fairly grumpy unlike Carl who loved petting all the little rabbits and guinea pigs etc. Ella finally reached out to pet a donkey only for it to bite her. Cue Mummy panicking and a fantastically calm reaction from Girl Guide Helen with her amazingly stocked first aid kit.

Pony rides

This morning we went for a 'pony introduction' to one of the stables at the bottom of our road on Ham Island. They have a beautiful pony who loves being stroked and having his hair brushed by little people.

The children were allowed to do all that and sit on him, whatever they wanted and were comfortable with.

Carl sat on for a bit but was happier brushing his hair. Ella was braver and sat on him more often and for longer. She was even quite happy to sit on him while he walked very slowly around the field.

Dan and I also loved the whole experience. It was quite something to see them enjoying being around different animals.

Musical experiences

Not quite a formal lesson but here's a picture of Ella having her first go at playing piano, nobly aided by Cousin Katie in her best Japanese outfit following the tea ceremony! 

Almost 18 months...

Their different personalities are more and more evident as time goes on. It's a joy to watch. We are really enjoying this age, yet we have probably said that at every age so far. Someone once said to me when they were about 3 months old that it just keeps getting better and better even when you don't think it can and I totally agree with that.

16 months old

Carl and Ella are now 15 months old and so much has changed since the last blog entry about their birthday. We have been in two minds about whether to continue the blog or use the birthday as a natural end point but as you can see, we have decided to continue. Updates will be posted on a fairly random basis as before.

Walking

Both babies are walking now. As opposed to the crawling, this time Ella was first. We always thought she would be as she was never as keen on crawling as Carl. She took a few hesitant steps and over a week or so got more and more confident. She made us laugh as she looked a bit like a zombie with her arms outstretched in front of her and the same kind of walk as you see in zombie invasion films!  Carl was definitely feeling a touch of envy while watching her but at the same time he would smile away and look really proud of her achievements.  About a month later Carl went from launching himself wildly at us and throwing a few steps in before falling to taking more precise steps in the right direction. Within just a couple of days of this he had more or less caught up with Ella, turning round, sidestepping and avoiding obstacles in his path. Both of them now prefer walking to crawling although will occasionally crawl if they need to be somewhere fast e.g. if Dan or I have forgotten to shut the stairgate across the playroom and Carl sees the potential to escape :-) I would go so far as to say they are almost running at times now and I quite often find them playing the 'running backwards and forwards game' which they never seem to get bored of. They particularly love playing it with two adults, one at either side of the room.

Shoes

We took them to Clarks at the start of January to get their first shoes. Ella is 3.5F and Carl is 4F. They are both really happy with the shoes and don't try to take them off.

Talking

Now neither of them are exactly talking yet but the babbling definitely sounds more like words than ever before. Sometimes I'm convinced Ella is saying things like "Who's that?" but it's just wishful thinking. I think they do say 'Ta' and for a long time Ella has said something that sounds like a cross between 'Hiya' and 'Ella'. Carl went through stages of saying 'no no no no no no no' and 'pia pia pia'. They are clearly understanding far more of the words that we say to them now. We can give simple commands like "Give that to Daddy" and they will do so, particularly Ella. She also really likes to point to things and hear me say the words out loud.

Nursery, Playgroups & Swimming

They both love nursery and are developing so well there. Recently they've been a bit clingier than normal at drop off time but usually get over it really quickly when they see the toast waiting for them at the breakfast table.We love seeing the things they've made during the day and hearing what they've been up to. We still go to quite a few playgroups throughout the week but have taken a break this term from any pay up front termly ones. We've also temporarily stopped the swimming lessons as they missed quite a few last term due to illness and weren't overly enthused while there. Instead of that we go once a week as a family to a leisure pool and have a fun swim. They LOVED the Coral Reef at Bracknell but unfortunately it's closing down for a year for a massive makeover so we'll try Windsor pool instead soon.

Soft Play

One of their favourite things is soft play and every time they go there are more and more parts of it that they become able to explore. It began with them mainly in the ball pit area and now they can (to an extent) climb up steps and explore further areas.

They LOVE coming down slides but it can be hard work getting them not to try to climb back up the slope. We've also been going to Phoenix gym in the mornings where there is a much wider range of equipment and huge running space and they enjoy it a lot.

This morning I took Ella onto the trampoline for the first time and she was a natural. She loves nothing more than to bounce at home so it made sense that she'd be good at it. Think it might be time to get a toddler trampoline.

Christmas

Leading up to Christmas we had a full schedule of Christmas parties to go to and we met Santa a number of times. They behaved so well around him that of course they received brimming stockings on Christmas Day.

We had a lovely family Christmas and Boxing Day and of course Carl and Ella were extremely spoilt by everyone. They sat at the table very well for the family Christmas dinners and enjoyed their Roast Turkey and Christmas pudding a great deal. Carl was fed copious amounts of Christmas cake by Great Uncle Danny and showed no sign of being full.

Toys

At the moment their favourite toys at home are the stacking cups and putting the rings on the pole. These are probably the simplest of all the toys we have here but they play endlessly with them. They are both choosing to play with shape sorters a lot too and getting much better daily at choosing the right hole for the right shape. In terms of active toys though, Ella is a huge fan of the Spin n Bounce Zebra (the natural follow on from the Jumperoo) whereas if allowed to, Carl would spend all day long walking back and forward pushing a walker.

Personalities

They are such different little people. At the moment Ella is showing so much confidence physically when we go to playgroups and soft play. She's embracing the independence she gets from her mobility and loves to run round exploring. She often goes up to older children and watches what they're doing and slowly tries to join in. At home she plays with her favourite toys a lot and then often comes to me just to sit for a while and play games on my lap.

Carl goes through stages of happily playing independently, copying his sister and trying to play with her, rough and tumble climbing play and being quite clingy and needing a lot of cuddles. He is very definitely an observer. I see him watching how we do things and then trying to do them himself. It won't be long until he figures out the stairgate!

Behaviour

While I would say that on the whole they are well behaved, we are starting to see rebellion and boundary pushing alongside frustration tempers when they are restricted by ability. So mealtimes can be quite tricky sometimes with Carl who is desperate to fully feed himself with his spoon but depending on the meal, not always able to do so without help. He gets really frustrated and has a real stubborn streak. A while back just the word 'no' was enough to stop anything in its tracks but these days they are far less responsive to it. We notice that when one of them has been told to stop doing something, the other will then go and deliberately do the same thing within a minute or two, all the while looking to make sure we've seen them do it. The fun is just beginning!

Dan and I are really enjoying this stage. Their personalities shine through and they are learning so much all the time.We can't wait for them to be able to talk to us and each other.

1st Birthday

It gets said so often but I really still can't believe they are a year old. The time has flown by but this blog and our iPad full of photos helps us keep everything fresh in our minds. It's fun looking back at the earlier blogs and photos and seeing just how much Carl and Ella have changed in a year.

1st Celebration - The Boresjos and Copperdells

On the Saturday before their birthday, Nanna, Grandad, Uncle Chris, Auntie Catrin and Cousins Anna and Katie met us at the Harvester in Old Windsor for a birthday lunch followed by Nanna's birthday cake back at home.

We dressed them up in lovely clothes which were later going to get covered in cake!

After perusing (or should I say playing peekaboo with) the menu, 

Ella and Carl had a children's meal between them. They behaved very well and ate most of their food.

Back at home they were entertained by their cousins

before being seated for cake, candles and the Happy Birthday song. Just look at the expression of intense concentration on Carl's face. He knows that Nanna cake is right in front of him and nothing else matters!

Two birthday cakes, one made of chocolate and one made of courgette (which sounds strange but was really yummy) were made by Nanna. Both went down very very well with everyone.

2nd Celebration - Babies, Friends and Godparents

The next day, we had both sets of Godparents, a few friends and their children round to the house for the baby party. It was lovely, crazy chaos. Again we dressed them up in smart clothes

Again lots of lovely people came to help us celebrate their birthday

And again there was lots of lovely cake, candles were blown out and a round of Happy Birthday was sung

Special entertainment was provided near the end of the party by Daddy with his special guitar.

Think everyone had a good time...

and two people were definitely ready for bed by the end!

As were we!

3rd Celebration - The Big Day Itself

The actual birthday began with cake for breakfast (and why not?)

followed by cards and presents being opened

We went to Odds Farm for the day. It was the first visit there for all 4 of us and we thoroughly enjoyed it. A slightly rainy Tuesday meant that there were very few other people there and we made the most of the breaks in the rain to see the outdoor areas. Indoors we enjoyed feeding the sheep and goats. Carl found it hilarious when they tried to nibble his toes!

They also had their first real experience of soft play at Odds Farm. We stuck to the 'under 2's' section this time but there was plenty of fun to be had. Ella in particular took a real liking to the wind machine. She loves the breeze in her hair when she's outside anyway so this seemed made for her.

Later that day, presents were played with

and finally Birthday Pyjamas were put on before bedtime.

4th Celebration - Nanny Maureen and Uncle Danny

We had a lovely lunch across the road at The Toby Carvery two days after Carl and Ella's birthday with Uncle Danny and Nanny Maureen. Unfortunately I can't seem to find any photos. Perhaps we were all too busy talking and playing with them. They were thoroughly spoiled of course and they loved the attention. They must have thought it was a very exciting week all in all having so many friends and family visit and give them wrapping paper to play with!

Final Celebration - Aunty Clare and the Walsh boys

A couple of weeks later in half term we had our final visit of the birthday season when Aunty Clare, Uncle Maurice and the four Walsh boys came up from Dorset to visit. Again I don't seem to have any photos unfortunately. We had a bit more cake but this time it was a Halloween cake.

The Best Year Ever

Thank you to ALL the lovely friends and family members who over the past 12 months have visited us, supported and encouraged us, laughed with us, cried with us, sent cards, gave us gifts, came bearing lasagnes and shepherds pies, babysat, entertained Carl and Ella, changed nappies, made bottles etc etc  Thank you all for being there for us and continuously reminding us of how lucky we and our much loved, wonderful, beautiful children are. They and we are blessed to have you all in our lives. It's been an AMAZING year; thanks for being part of it (and for still reading this blog!). We cannot wait to see what the next 12 months has in store.

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11.5 months update (bit later than planned!)

Update on Carl's medical situation

We had great news at Carl's recent doctor's appointment. His chest now seems to be clear and he appears to be in good health generally. The doctor was happy for Carl to go back to groups and nursery, although still to avoid anyone with known infections.

I can't tell you how glad I was to hear that. 4 weeks without socialising much was really, really tough. We had some playdates and met some friends individually but it's lovely to be able to return to our favourite groups.Being able to go back to nursery on Mondays is also very welcome and gives me a chance to get things back on track at home.

Within a couple of days of going back, both Carl and Ella had streaming noses and lots of sneezing etc. but the brilliant thing was that they both dealt with it in the same way. Previously something like that would have knocked Carl for six and he would have become clingy and lethargic but not this time. I think the break has really given him time to build up some strength and now his immune system is doing a good job.

Back at nursery

Both Carl and Ella were really happy to go back to nursery. We popped in a few days earlier to see everyone again as it had been quite a while and although Carl had a small moment of shyness, he quickly got back into his stride. Ella was in her element. She sat on the mat and was surrounded by other children in no time and was happily laughing with them.It made it much easier then to take them in the following Monday and leave them for the whole day without worrying.

Movement and general development

Carl's commando crawl which has got him through the last couple of weeks got faster and faster and has just been replaced by a more 'normal' crawling style. Here's a picture of his Great Nanny Dot at the age of almost 92 showing him how to do it properly!

He suddenly out of nowhere got confident with standing and began pulling himself up on anything to hand, furniture, our legs, walls, toys etc.. He has more confidence than skill so ends up falling a lot but seems to have a rubber head and just rolls over and gets back up. When we hold his hand he walks along with us and enjoys playing with walker toys very much. We often find him standing up in his cot in the morning and standing at the stair gate which goes across the playroom door.

We were beginning to think that Ella was just going to skip the crawling stage and move straight to walking but just ten in the week before her birthday, that changed. Tentative crawling one evening led to full blown crawling (not commando style either) the next day. I actually think that it was Ella that taught Carl the correct crawling position!

Within the same week as she learned to crawl, Ella too was pulling up on the furniture and on our legs and just loves to be on her feet. She's not quite as adept as getting to the standing position but would happily stay vertical for hours if she could. She doesn't fall as often as Carl but she cries each time. Sometimes she just brushes against something but cries. I think it's more the shock than anything physical. It's been lovely for Ella to know that she can come over to us if she wants/needs to of her own accord. She comes over for cuddles now and often happily sits on our laps for long cuddles which she didn't used to do. 

We have a camera running in the playroom and it's interesting watching them play when we aren't in the room. Most of the time they play nicely together and far less hair pulling goes on these days thank goodness but there are occasional spats. They often copy each other which can be cute to see.

They tend to follow each other round the room and of course the most interesting toy in the room is usually the one the other is playing with. Carl often snatches Ella's toys away from her but now that she can also crawl, she is gaining more confidence in snatching toys back or moving away. Once we enter the room, the play generally stops as both babies crawl over at speed and fight to climb up onto us. We therefore try to balance the time between being in with them and helping them with walking play etc alongside staying close by but being out of the room to encourage them to play together.

Birthday blog to follow soon.....

11 Months Old - Birthday Countdown.....

Not long now until our little babies become a year old. It's mad how quickly time flies by.When I look back at the early entries on this blog and see how tiny they were in SCBU, it feels like just a month or so ago.

Carl Medical Update

After our holiday we got some blood test results back for Carl. It seems he has some immune system issues which would explain why he keeps on getting sick and takes a long time to recover from the illnesses. It also showed his vaccinations hadn't worked properly so he needs to redo these. The doctor has advised us to keep him away from infection as much as possible for a month to give his immune system a chance to recover and start strengthening so no nursery, no groups and avoiding anyone known to be ill. In addition he's taking preventative antibiotics and will probably be on these all winter.

So far, so good to an extent. He seems to have avoided any major viral infections but has had some stomach bugs. Nowhere near as bad as it previously was though and he's full of life and energy for the most part. It's hard not going to our usual places and it was hard not being able to see our nephews/cousins when they were here due to illness but if it helps then it will have been worth it. We see the doctor again near the end of September and I'm hoping to get the all clear to return to normal life again after that.

General Progress

Carl

Carl now weighs 8.31 kilos / 18lbs 5oz. He is just under the 25th percentile. He is looking healthier and far less scrawny these days. He has learned to 'crawl' so is able to work his way around the ground floor of the house as he likes.

It's not a typical crawl but more like pulling himself along on his belly but he goes very fast. He exerts lots of energy doing this and also in trying to pull himself back into a sitting position from lying down. You can see the effort it takes and I joke that he's going to have an incredible 6 pack of abs soon. He loves standing up but obviously still needs our support. He is looking as if he will try to hold on to furniture in the not too distant future too.

He has begun taking the loaded spoon from me and feeding himself with it and is doing very well at that. We've noticed that he may be left handed as this seems to be the dominant one although he does use both for feeding. Carl holds his bottle totally by himself now which makes milk feeds so much easier as I can give him his and rest him against a beanbag while feeding Ella.

Ella

Ella now weighs 9.0 kilos / 19lbs 13oz. She is just under the 75th percentile which is a huge achievement considering she was hovering around the 9th for so long. She won't be in 9-12 month clothes for much longer so I need to get on and sort out the next size up very soon. She has teeth coming up and coming down and has some bad teething days at times.

She is getting more confident with floor play now and doesn't just stay seated anymore. She goes onto her tummy and rolls between her tummy and her back very well. She can get around the room this way quite easily. When on her tummy she pushes up on her hands very well but doesn't seem able to move forwards. She can turn a complete circle though so this is very helpful for selecting the toys she wants to play with now. She seems very frustrated that her brother can crawl but she can't yet but I think this is really spurring her on to try.

She doesn't like to take the loaded spoon and cries for me to do it. When I hold out she does eventually do it but cries a lot so I think she's just not ready.

She doesn't like to hold the bottle herself either. She is very independent in lots of other ways but wants to be fed still.

Ella loves to clap. She claps along to the clapping parts of songs like 'Wind the bobbin up' and always claps at the ends of songs and when she sees something she likes. She is also very partial to the baby she sees in the mirrors around the house and can happily sit for ages chattering away to that baby!

Playroom

We have finally finished moving Dan's office out into the garden and converting his old office into a playroom for the babies. I am so pleased with it and they seem to love it too. We bought foam floor mats so it's a much softer landing for falls and bumps and we've been able to put lots of bigger toys out which we couldn't do when we just had the space between the sofas. It's perfect timing too now that they are becoming mobile. Uncle Danny arrived with a walker recently which they're enjoying sitting in and we were given a pop up tent which acts like a secret room for them. We had a playdate today with the lovely Poppy and her mum, Rachael and it was so nice seeing them all playing in the room so well. At the moment I'm sitting on beanbags but a small sofa has been ordered which will be a bit more comfortable and also act as another guest bed if needed.

The babies do play together well most of the time but sometimes it can be a bit too much of a rough and tumble. They love each other to bits and that shows physically at times. Carl loves to pat Ella and stroke her hair but Ella is far less gentle and tends to grasp Carl's hair and pull hard. He screams very loudly but never moves away from her even after she's let go. The word 'no' is being used quite a bit these days and they are definitely starting to have a sense of what it means (I think!)

Carseats

We have just made the move to the next size up in carseats. We went for the Britax dualfix as these can be both rearward and forward facing, should last until they're about 4 and can turn around so we can buckle them up facing the door before spinning them round which is much better for our backs. They seem very comfortable in them and they came with huge mirrors to see the driver through. Hopefully the last big expense for a while...