Weight: He hasn't been weighed for a little while but he seems to be getting a little chunky - not in a bad way, just filling out a bit!
Health: Things haven't been great to be honest. We started the milk ladder with half a malted milk biscuit on a couple of days running - his sleep went to pot, he vomited a few times and his reflux got worse. However, we're now thinking it might be coincidence as that was over three weeks ago and his reflux is still bad. He's not really been sicky but he sounds really chesty after he eats or drinks. He's had a really bad bout of hayfever or another cold this week, we aren't sure but I'm really suffering with hayfever so it wouldn't surprise me if that was the culprit. He's now fully weaned from the breast (and has been for four weeks) so I'm back on dairy but he's back to being fully dairy free. His behaviour has been a bit up and down since he weaned and I'm not sure if it's because he's feeling rubbish or just because he's not got milk as a way of calming down (I wrote a full post about it yesterday). I did ring the GP last week about his reflux but I got an older, less caring GP who basically said he'd grow out of it and that was it! I'm wondering if he's maybe outgrown his ranitidine dose but it shouldn't be such a drastic difference so I'm really not sure. We are seeing the Paediatrician on 30 July so will save all my questions for them! Obviously I always worry that it's EDS-related but he doesn't seem obviously hypermobile so hopefully not.
Sleep: Bedtime is generally pretty smooth and we've shuffled it back to closer to 7 pm instead of 6 pm in the hope that he might sleep later in a morning, no such luck so far! He's still waking very early but it's hard to tell why as he's had a cold/hayfever/cough for the last week or so which has been disturbing him, along with his reflux making things worse. He's now having two bottles of milk (watered down) during the night, one around midnight and one around 4-5 am but he often doesn't go back to sleep after the second one which is exhausting for everyone involved. I'm going to see how things go once his cold has gone (if it's a cold) and then get in touch with our Sleep Consultant to ask about timings etc. He's midway through another developmental leap too so it wouldn't surprise me if that's had an impact.
Development: Every day is something new! Today he surprised me again - we were reading a story from a collection storybook and when we'd finished Oscar started pointing at the book and blowing kisses. He wanted to read another story from the book about kisses which we've only ever read once or twice and not for a couple of months! His memory is impeccable which does cause us some little difficulties because he never forgets anything - for example, if you say no to something he won't just drop it, he'll ask again an hour later, a day later, a week later etc. It will be a big asset for him when he gets older though! He cottons on to things so quickly; I've started counting to three to warn him about things and try to get him to do things when he's asked so now, if I ask him to do or not do something he holds his finger up and goes "daa" (he can't say one yet). He's learning new words everyday, today's was "robot" and he picks up signs really quickly now too - he's even been teaching the staff at nursery. He's getting better at communicating his wants and needs to us, whether verbally or otherwise. He can build towers with wooden blocks, up to around six at a time and is getting better at balancing them. He's basically running everywhere now and kicks a ball by swinging his leg rather than walking into it. He generally tells us when he's done a poo so we're thinking about toilet training in the next few months but ideally he'll tell us before he does it before we start. He's getting better at using gentle hands with people, animals and books although he's still likely to smack/headbutt/grab my face if he's overexcited or doesn't get his way. We are going to start introducing a time out zone and see how that goes. He's coming on amazingly with his swimming - he can hold onto the side independently, kicks his legs, climbs out with a little help, supports himself with two woggles to float around the pool, jumps in from sitting and generally participates well.
Likes/Dislikes: He had his first time on a ride at a fair this weekend and LOVED it, so much so that he spent the next hour asking to go back on it and making a beeline for it! He really loves being outdoors, exploring anywhere and everywhere. Breaded fish is easily his favourite food and one of the few things that I can consistently get him to eat, he's pretty picky nowadays but we're getting by. He isn't keen on loud noises such as strimmers, motorbikes, dogs barking but he is slowly getting used to them with a lot of support. He loves taking selfies, brushing his teeth, playing in water and books too.
Nursery: He's still barely eating at nursery, although they said he's doing pretty well with his fruit lately. They're really impressed with his signing and they take him into the pre-school garden to play outside because he's too advanced for the baby garden now.
Me: My course is going well and I've passed my second assignment (after some minor alterations). I'm getting stuck in with my third now.
Universal Credit STILL isn't in place but we're managing and we've cut corners wherever possible.
I've been physically struggling and generally exhausted since weaning Oscar. I'm not sure if it's a hormonal thing, a hayfever thing or because I've been eating a lot of dairy, I'm going to give it another few weeks and if it doesn't improve I'll cut the dairy down again. It could also be because I'm not very physically active so I'm going to try and start getting some exercise again. I've been trying to take regular vitamins to see if that helps. I had a filling the other day on a tooth that didn't hurt and now it hurts when I bite down so I'm going to have to go back and see them about that. I've also got my first hand therapy appointment this week.
Both Ant and I decided to self-refer to be assessed for autism. The first step was a questionnaire whereby if you scored more than 26/50 you warrant an assessment. We both scored 40, although on different questions. I've sent mine off and am on a waiting list but it's a FIFTEEN month waiting list so nothing will happen any time soon.
We are starting the process to have a second child but it's not going to be very quick - I've drafted a full post about it which I'll post soon!
Wednesday, 3 July 2019
Tuesday, 2 July 2019
Bad Behaviour?
Since the beginning of the year I've really felt like I've "settled in" to parenting. I have a break from Oscar on my working days and Ant works hard to ensure I get lie ins wherever possible as I do the night shifts. I was starting to really enjoy my time alone with Oscar, especially as the weather improved and we could get out more. Now he's a little bit older he can engage more with play and activities, his attention span is a little longer, he can entertain himself reasonably well for short periods and his communication is coming along, all of which made it easier spending long periods of time alone with him.
However, in the last month (since I stopped breastfeeding) I've really noticed a shift in my mood, his behaviour and how I'm finding parenting. He seems to be a little more aggressive (sometimes because he's tired or overexcited) and more demanding - now he can ask for what he wants it frustrates him when he doesn't get it. Here are a few examples of his current behaviour:
However, in the last month (since I stopped breastfeeding) I've really noticed a shift in my mood, his behaviour and how I'm finding parenting. He seems to be a little more aggressive (sometimes because he's tired or overexcited) and more demanding - now he can ask for what he wants it frustrates him when he doesn't get it. Here are a few examples of his current behaviour:
- He asks for Baby Shark, I let him listen to it a couple of times then tell him that's enough and it's going away. He gets very upset/angry and tantrums for a short while then repeatedly asks again/tries to get my phone to get me to put it on. He then asks continuously throughout the day, each time with a meltdown when I say no.
- We went to a fair and let him go on a ride. He spent the following hour asking to go on the same ride again, could not be distracted by anything else and every time we put him down to have a run around he ran straight back in that direction, even from the opposite side of the fair.
- He throws his food, sometimes even the food he wants to eat. We have a place on the table for him to put food that he doesn't want, so he doesn't have to keep it on his tray, and this did work well for a while. However, now he's just gone back to chucking it on the floor and then either saying "gone" or pointing at the table where he should put it.
- He throws EVERYTHING. If you tell him he can't play with something and try to take it off him, he throws it, usually hitting me and hurting me! If he's done with something, he throws it. It's excessive.
- When he gets angry or overexcited he gets aggressive - he tries to smack, grabs/pinches your face, head butts. He's pretty good at using gentle hands when he's reminded though and is more likely to head bang against an inanimate object than hurt someone else.
Now, most of these things are within the realm of "normal toddler behaviour" and he's by no means a majorly difficult child. However, when I'm tired and in pain it all gets a lot harder. If I'm struggling in a morning I let him have the TV on more, which inevitably leads to him being more difficult in the afternoon. He's struggling with worsening reflux, teething and going through a developmental leap at the moment so I'm not entirely surprised by any of his behaviour and I'm sure it's just a phase but I'm finding it hard. I think part of it is that he relied quite heavily on breastfeeding to calm himself down and he's yet to learn other ways of doing so, especially as he isn't keen on cuddles.
What's worse is that I know I'm part of the problem. I can be inconsistent with behaviour management and sometimes I overreact. Suffering from chronic pain makes me overly sensitive to acute pain so if he throws something at me or scratches me or whatever I tend to yelp or shout, not at him but in pain. He then gets really upset and it's hard to address the issue because he's so upset. I'm hoping this is all a hormonal thing from stopping breastfeeding and it will balance out once I can get myself back on the pill. I'm also considering whether it could be related to the fact that I've put dairy back into my diet, maybe I have somewhat of a dairy intolerance too? If sorting my hormones out doesn't help then that will be my next port of call.
Here's hoping things settle down again soon!
Thursday, 13 June 2019
Birth Story (just a bit late)
Throughout my pregnancy I always felt like Pip would be late and I was absolutely okay with that. I enjoyed being pregnant and I was happy to wait as long as it took for things to get started. However, I really didn't want to be induced so as my due date approached I started trying natural methods to get things moving. My due date was Wednesday 1st November and in the week leading up to it I'd remained active and especially done a lot of bouncing on my birthing ball. On the Tuesday I went for a good long walk involving a lot of hills and still felt like nothing was going to happen. I'd had no Braxton Hicks or anything during my pregnancy so I really felt like it was still going to be a while. On the Tuesday night Ant and I went to bed to "try and get things started" and then went to sleep. During the night I woke up a couple of times to pee and noticed some minor cramps but I'd been woken up with pains a few times in the preceding week (they turned out to be gas pains) so I thought nothing of it.
On the Wednesday morning Ant got up and got ready to go to work. I stayed in bed as he starts work at 6 on Wednesdays but at 05:30, just as he was getting his shoes on, I felt a large, warm gush of fluid which was unmistakably my waters. I leapt out of bed and headed to the bathroom to try and minimise the mess and shouted Ant to tell him not to leave just yet. We were both pretty excited and I rang the hospital to let them know the situation. They asked me to go in so they could confirm it was my waters but told me that it was fine to take my time. I was having regular small gushes of waters leaking so I was 99% sure that it was my waters rather than just pee, especially given the amount.
We rang Ant's dad and stepmum and asked them to come and get us to take us to the hospital. I was kind of giddy about the fact that things were happening and was giggling when Ant rang them so they thought we were joking - if not for the fact that it was before 06:00 they probably wouldn't have believed we weren't. We took the opportunity to grab the last few bits for the hospital bags and I tried to have some breakfast, although I only managed a couple of mouthfuls of toast as it was way too early for me to be hungry. I grabbed a couple of paracetamol just in case labour actually kicked in and then Ant's parents arrived and we headed off to the hospital at around 07:15.
Ant and I went to the Pregnancy Assessment Unit whilst his parents went to get a coffee. They asked me to do a urine sample then popped me on a bed to assess me - temperature, blood pressure and the like. They took my history and as they were about to have a shift change the midwife started to do a handover. I suddenly came over very faint and nauseous and, despite the midwife thrusting a bowl in front of my face, I projectile vomited all over myself, right down my legs and across the bed. This happened a couple of times over the next hour and the midwife took some blood and asked if she could examine me to check my waters had actually broken. Upon inspection of my pad she decided she didn't need to examine me as it was very obviously waters but she asked the Registrar on call to come and see me. It was decided that, as I wasn't in labour, I would be induced the following morning at 08:00 but be kept in hospital until then because of the vomiting/fainting episodes. However, whilst that decision was being made I had a couple of contractions. I was surprised how strong they were right from the outset but apparently it's not uncommon for contractions to be more intense once your waters have gone and, as mine went before they started, they came on strong right away.
I was taken up to the ward at 09:20 and put in a private room right at the far end. Within a couple of minutes I'd heard the midwife outside complaining that she'd got to deal with me, complaining that I'd got to be isolated as I was vomiting and complaining that I shouldn't be there because I wasn't in labour (bear in mind that this was not the labour ward, it was the antenatal/postnatal ward which dealt with a variety of women in various stages of pregnancy and dealt with inductions). I couldn't help but think that she was being incredibly unprofessional and found it quite annoying as I was actually having contractions every five minutes by this point. She popped me on the monitor, decided that my contractions were weak and completely irregular and told me to stay active. I was still being sick regularly and she said if it carried on she would consider giving me something for the sickness and some paracetamol. At 10:30 I asked Ant to blow up my birthing ball for me, which I used for a grand total of one or two contractions and then decided it wasn't going to work as I had to keep dashing off to be sick and couldn't get in a comfortable position with it. Having spent most of the morning on the floor bent over the toilet the midwife finally relented and gave me some cyclizine for the sickness at 11:30 along with some paracetamol and a very small dose of Oramorph - neither of which even took the edge off the contractions.
By lunchtime the contractions were coming every 2-2.5 minutes and lasting for 1-1.5 minutes at a time with occasional breaks of 5-6 minutes - typically these breaks occurred when the midwife had come to check on me and every time she felt my stomach during a contraction she maintained that it was mild and I was still not in labour. In hindsight, I genuinely think my body just shut down every time she entered the room and that's why everything stopped. From reading one of my Hypnobirthing books it mentioned a fight/flight response when women are scared and I thought it was a load of rubbish until I thought about it very recently. She repeatedly told me that I was definitely not in labour and that it was going to get much, much worse so I needed to deal with it. Honestly she made me feel like a complete failure. I felt like I couldn't cope and there was no way I was going to actually be able to deal with labour if this wasn't even the early stages, especially as the sickness hadn't slowed down much even after the medication. At 13:00 she insisted I go for a walk but we didn't get very far before I had to return to be sick. She came back not long after and was very rude about the fact that I was lying on the bed resting in between contractions/vomiting episodes. I thought ALS was going to throw her out the window - he stayed polite but he was clearly very unhappy. I was absolutely exhausted by this point. Because I'd not managed much in the way of breakfast or had much to drink I'd essentially kept nothing in my stomach for over 18 hours and every time I was sick I was just bringing up bile. It got to the point where I was actually throwing up blood because my body was just bringing up whatever it could find, despite me trying to keep sipping water.
Around 13:30 I managed to get into a good rhythm of rocking whilst leaning on the rail on the door during a contraction, then lying on my side on the bed trying to catnap in between, with the occasional vomiting episode. We spoke to the midwife a couple of times but mostly she left us alone. She came in around 15:30 and again reminded me that I wasn't really in labour and nothing was happening which left me feel incredibly disheartened. Around 16:00 a different midwife popped in and within ten minutes she'd given me the confidence I needed to carry on - she was far more supportive, she showed Ant how to massage my back to take the edge off and she offered to run me a bath. I got in the bath very briefly but it made me feel too hot and faint, which made the sickness worse, so I got back out.
At around 17:00 I called the midwife back (sadly the original one came) as I was contracting every four minutes and they were lasting over a minute. She begrudingly agreed to examine me but told me that I probably wouldn't even be 1 cm dilated. To her (and my) surprise I was actually a good 5-6 cm dilated and it was time to go to the labour ward - thank goodness!
By 17:40 (after a long walk and a tense ride in the life) I was on the labour ward and was introduced to the midwife down there. I had to do a urine sample and I threw up a few more time - after some Powerade which startled everyone because it made the vomit green. The Anaesthetist came in to speak to me and I sent her away after politely declining an epidural. It all gets a bit blurry around here as I tried the gas and air which did help but then I had to lie on my back to be monitored. Once on my back I realised I couldn't cope and asked the to get the Anaesthetist back so that I could have the epidural. A few midwives then tried to get a cannula in so that I could be given some fluids alongside the epidural but because I was so dehydrated it was impossible. About 5 attempts and a lot of collapsed veins later (fuelled by gas and air) they gave up and asked the Anaesthetist to do it, she eventually managed to get one in my wrist but it was only a small one. She got cracking with the epidural and it was in by around 20:30. Ironically, because it took almost an hour to get the epidural sorted, by the time it was in I was actually coping a lot better so I probably should have just dealt without it but I was in "transition" right at the time I got down to labour ward so it was all just bad timing. Ant rang his stepmum and said that she could come in now I was comfortable so she could be there for the birth (you're allowed two birth partners) and she arrived around 21:00, by which time I was comfortable, talking and laughing. Somewhere during the epidural process the midwives changed shift and I remember apologising to the new midwife that I hadn't even noticed her being introduced - I wish I could remember her name as she was lovely. Unfortunately I can only remember the name of the nasty midwife!
I was examined again at 21:40 and was 7 cm. The midwife gave my cervix a good stretch and then suggested I get some rest as she would examine me again in 4 hours. She also put a catheter in at this point as I was unable to get up and about. I did keep most of the feeling in my legs with the epidural so I could change position relatively easily but it really masked the pain.
Time passed relatively quickly once I was comfortable and we mostly just chatted with the midwives and tried to get a bit of sleep here and there (but I was way too excited) and having a lot of rib pain. My contractions started to slow down a lot so I was put on a syntocinon drip to try and speed things up again at around 01:00 and examined again at 01:40 as planned. On examination I was exactly the same as before, which we expected, and the drip was gradually turned up every 15 minutes or so. I was due to be examined again at around 06:00 but they decided to examine me at 04:00 as the baby's heart rate was dipping with the contractions. We were seen by a wonderful Registrar who was just starting his shift and was the most cheerful person I've ever met, he really reassured us and despite the fact that things weren't going to plan I was perfectly calm. They decided to take a blood sample from the baby's head to check that he (we'd decided he must be a boy as he was causing trouble) wasn't in any distress. The blood results came back okay and when I was examined again at 05:30 I was 8-9 cm so they decided to leave me until 07:30 as long as the baby's heart rate was okay. We tried various positions and the midwives kept a close eye on the monitor until then.
At 07:30 I was examined again and was FINALLY fully dilated and the midwives changed over - I got two midwives at this point, one who was just coming back from a long break and getting back into the swing of things. Eventually I was given the go ahead to start pushing around 08:00. They usually give you a couple of hours for the baby to move down but they decided to get going straight away given the baby's heart rate dropping with each contraction. I sat on the edge of the bed to push and I felt like I was doing really well, the midwives were certainly happy with how I was doing and kind of just left me to it. However, the contractions slowed down to every 10 minutes and even with the drip being constantly turned up they didn't increase. The baby was also facing upwards which they said would make it harder.
Eventually, somewhere before 09:00 a decision was made to go to theatre and try to turn the baby and assist delivery with forceps. If that didn't work they would proceed to a Caesarean section so the epidural needed to be topped up to fully numb everything. The new Anaesthetist (with two assistants) came and explained everything and then got the epidural topped up before we headed round to theatre. Ant was taken away to get into some scrubs and I was wheeled into theatre. It took a good half hour before the epidural had actually kicked in properly - the Anaesthetist kept telling me I shouldn't be able to feel him touching my legs and I could still lift them up and down - which we are sure is all down to my EDS. Whilst they were waiting for it to kick in they needed to get a larger cannula in in case I ended up needing extra fluids or blood. As I had been rehydrated overnight they expected that this would be quite easy but alas it took all three Anaesthetists and another 5 attempts to get a larger cannula in (they very kindly used local anaesthetic for each attempt). I remember repeatedly asking for Ant and being told he wasn't there yet - apparently the poor guy had been left in a room and just assumed that I'd had to have a general anaesthetic and he'd missed the birth.
Honestly, it was all a bit of a blur. There were three Anaesthetists, a Registrar, two midwives, a Consultant, Ant and possible a Maternity Care Assistant or two all around me, I couldn't even tell you what the room looked like! Finally the epidural was working, Ant was by my side, the cannula was in place and we were ready to go...
By this time the baby had come right down, turned himself around and the contractions had sped up. The Registrar performed an episiotomy, attached the forceps and told me to give a couple of pushes to see what happened - apparently my pushing was more than adequate as he came out pretty much in one motion at 09:54. The Consultant then told me that the forceps were probably unnecessary - such a shame they didn't give me chance to try pushing again with him being in a better position. He cried instantly and Ant told me that he was, in fact, a little boy. Ant cut the cord and I remember being completely overwhelmed. He was placed on my chest for skin to skin and I just held him close, kissed him repeatedly and cried.
I was then told that my placenta was coming away and it needed to be manually removed, which I consented to. I assumed this was done with some sort of tool but according to Ant the doctor basically just put her entire arm inside and pulled it out! I ended up losing quite a lot of blood and the doctor started to sound quite worried but, as it turned out, it was only 800 ml so not enough to need a transfusion but enough to class as a postpartum haemorrhage. I remember this happening but I don't remember feeling panicked at any point and I don't think I started to feel ill either - honestly I was just so enamoured with my baby boy that I couldn't even think about anything else. She stitched me up and I was wheeled around to recovery.
In recovery the midwives filled in the paperwork whilst Ant and I just stared in awe at our beautiful little boy. I had some water and a couple of biscuits (the first thing I'd eaten in well over 24 hours) which was amazing. We tried breastfeeding but our baby, who had no name at this point, wasn't ready. We were taken up to the ward around 11:00 I think and it was brilliant - we were in a four-bed room but we were the only people in there for quite some time so it was nice and quiet. At 13:30 he took his first feed and it was incredible. I'm so lucky that he took to feeding so well as I know a lot of people have problems. My dad had driven down from Manchester the night before and stayed with family so he visited at around 14:00 and he helped me to top and tail the baby, who had done a GIANT poo, and get him dressed whilst Ant went to speak to his dad and stepmum (who ended up missing the birth after a whole night in the labour room with us). They then swapped out with my dad so they could meet their grandson.
After everyone had left at 16:00 I had my bloods done and was very anaemic so I was started on some iron (and some pretty nice painkillers). I was still bleeding quite heavily but that was to be expected. At our hospital, partners are allowed to stay overnight (which is a recent development) so I sent Ant home around 16:30 to get some food and some rest before we tackled our first night as parents.
I should mention at this point that I was still just in my hospital gown and basically lying on a puppy training pad where all the blood was collected. I think they'd wedged a pad between my legs too, I can't really remember. A wonderful Maternity Care Assistant came and helped me get myself sorted out and, honestly, she was worth her weight in gold. It doesn't matter how much dignity you lose through IVF and labour, it's still a little weird not being able to wipe your own mess up! She helped me get cleaned up and into some clean pants and a pad (and then a second lot when I got blood all over the first lot trying to get them on). She then helped me get up and into a chair and brought the baby round so he was within arm's reach. My dinner then arrived and, just at that moment, the baby needing feeding and I got totally overwhelmed and rang Ant to get him to come back. The poor guy had only had about 30 minutes sleep and half a meal because he was so tired he forgot to put the other half on his plate but he dutifully returned straight away, by which time I'd managed to feed the baby and get some shepherd's pie into myself... it was the tastiest shepherd's pie I've ever had but that might just have been because I was starving! At some point during the afternoon, the midwife from the day before visited and had nothing to say other than "So, how long did you manage to last before you had the epidural then?" in a stupidly judgy tone. Honestly, she was vile.
Visiting time was 18:00-20:00 so Ant's step-brother and his wife came to visit. My catheter was removed around 19:00 and then our visitors kindly kept an eye on our little bubs (and had lots of cuddles) while Ant helped me to have a shower. For some reason I hadn't packed shower gel because my idiot brain thought it would be like a hotel and would have some on the wall! At around 20:00, just after our visitors left I started bleeding more heavily and managed to do my first little wee. I'd been kept on fluids from 20:00 the previous night until about 18:00 that evening but due to the dehydration and blood loss there still wasn't much going into my bladder.
Overnight we tried to get some sleep and baby fed every few hours. He didn't really want to be in his crib between feeds so I'd feed him for half an hour or so then Ant would settle him for a bit then we'd swap and we basically just repeated that pattern all night. To be honest, although I was exhausted I didn't want to close my eyes and stop looking at him! Both baby and I were still on four-hourly observations, which typically didn't coincide with the feeds so sleep was very, very limited but the ward was beautifully quiet. At around 2:30 I passed what looked like a large blood clot which it was eventually confirmed was a retained piece of placenta, which was surprising considering my placenta had been removed manually. The baby's observations were stopped around this point as the midwife was happy with him but mine were continued. I did manage to pass reasonable amounts of urine overnight which made them far less concerned. Looking back, I was seriously dehydrated for a long time and lost a lot of blood (a fair amount during labour and quite a bit throughout the following 24 hours) but I don't remember ever feeling poorly or anything, but maybe that's because I'm used to feeling wobbly and a bit rubbish with the EDS!
Eventually, by around 07:00 the next day the baby was finally settled peacefully in his cot so I left him and Ant sleeping and went for some breakfast. I actually ended up having breakfast with a lady I used to work with who'd had her baby a few days previous but he was 5 weeks early and still having a little trouble feeding so they were still being kept under observation. It was nice to see a friendly face - we were also joined by a pregnant girl who was having a complicated pregnancy and had been an inpatient for a while. When I got back Ant and baby both woke up so they had some cuddles while I had a shower and got myself dressed.
At some point during the morning the Consultant who followed me up during pregnancy (and who I knew from my previous job) came to visit me and see how we had got on. At 08:15 the midwife decided she was happy with my observations and they were discontinued. At 09:15 the baby had his newborn hearing check, which he passed with flying colours and then various bits and bobs of paperwork had to be completed. We had a few checks on how we were getting on with feeding, both from midwives and from the Breastfeeding Support Volunteers - I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of support available. We had to watch a video about not shaking babies and sign a form to say we'd watched it! Later on that morning baby had his newborn check, the doctor visited me and gave us the all clear to go home once my stitches had been checked. We had some lunch, got the baby changed and bundled into his car seat and headed home, chaperoned by Ant's parents. I remember insisting on being the one who carried him to the car - I'd carried him into the hospital and I wanted to carry him out - but I definitely underestimated how far it was and how knackered I was. I managed it though!
Ant's brother was at our house, having been looking after the cats for us and we all had a bit of a catch up. Ant and his dad got the pushchair and the bouncer set up and then everyone left us alone to have some peace and quiet - we should have gone to sleep but we only had one episode of Stranger Things (season two) left so we watched that and settled into our new life as a family of three!
I've only JUST got round to writing this up and Oscar is now 19 months old so I'm sure it's a bit sketchy (I made notes a few days after I had him but they were quite vague. The more I think about it now, the more I'm quite unhappy with my birth - particularly because I feel like I was failed by the first midwife and things would have gone very differently if I'd had more support and been sent down to the labour ward for pain relief and fluids when I should have been instead of her insisting I wasn't in labour. Next time, and I really hope there is a next time, I will know how to be a better advocate for myself and Ant will also know more of what to expect and what we are within our rights to ask for. All in all though, I was relatively unscathed (aside from the major bruising to my arms, the collapsed veins and the slightly unnecessary episiotomy) and have a healthy baby so I can't complain too much!
On the Wednesday morning Ant got up and got ready to go to work. I stayed in bed as he starts work at 6 on Wednesdays but at 05:30, just as he was getting his shoes on, I felt a large, warm gush of fluid which was unmistakably my waters. I leapt out of bed and headed to the bathroom to try and minimise the mess and shouted Ant to tell him not to leave just yet. We were both pretty excited and I rang the hospital to let them know the situation. They asked me to go in so they could confirm it was my waters but told me that it was fine to take my time. I was having regular small gushes of waters leaking so I was 99% sure that it was my waters rather than just pee, especially given the amount.
We rang Ant's dad and stepmum and asked them to come and get us to take us to the hospital. I was kind of giddy about the fact that things were happening and was giggling when Ant rang them so they thought we were joking - if not for the fact that it was before 06:00 they probably wouldn't have believed we weren't. We took the opportunity to grab the last few bits for the hospital bags and I tried to have some breakfast, although I only managed a couple of mouthfuls of toast as it was way too early for me to be hungry. I grabbed a couple of paracetamol just in case labour actually kicked in and then Ant's parents arrived and we headed off to the hospital at around 07:15.
Ant and I went to the Pregnancy Assessment Unit whilst his parents went to get a coffee. They asked me to do a urine sample then popped me on a bed to assess me - temperature, blood pressure and the like. They took my history and as they were about to have a shift change the midwife started to do a handover. I suddenly came over very faint and nauseous and, despite the midwife thrusting a bowl in front of my face, I projectile vomited all over myself, right down my legs and across the bed. This happened a couple of times over the next hour and the midwife took some blood and asked if she could examine me to check my waters had actually broken. Upon inspection of my pad she decided she didn't need to examine me as it was very obviously waters but she asked the Registrar on call to come and see me. It was decided that, as I wasn't in labour, I would be induced the following morning at 08:00 but be kept in hospital until then because of the vomiting/fainting episodes. However, whilst that decision was being made I had a couple of contractions. I was surprised how strong they were right from the outset but apparently it's not uncommon for contractions to be more intense once your waters have gone and, as mine went before they started, they came on strong right away.
I was taken up to the ward at 09:20 and put in a private room right at the far end. Within a couple of minutes I'd heard the midwife outside complaining that she'd got to deal with me, complaining that I'd got to be isolated as I was vomiting and complaining that I shouldn't be there because I wasn't in labour (bear in mind that this was not the labour ward, it was the antenatal/postnatal ward which dealt with a variety of women in various stages of pregnancy and dealt with inductions). I couldn't help but think that she was being incredibly unprofessional and found it quite annoying as I was actually having contractions every five minutes by this point. She popped me on the monitor, decided that my contractions were weak and completely irregular and told me to stay active. I was still being sick regularly and she said if it carried on she would consider giving me something for the sickness and some paracetamol. At 10:30 I asked Ant to blow up my birthing ball for me, which I used for a grand total of one or two contractions and then decided it wasn't going to work as I had to keep dashing off to be sick and couldn't get in a comfortable position with it. Having spent most of the morning on the floor bent over the toilet the midwife finally relented and gave me some cyclizine for the sickness at 11:30 along with some paracetamol and a very small dose of Oramorph - neither of which even took the edge off the contractions.
By lunchtime the contractions were coming every 2-2.5 minutes and lasting for 1-1.5 minutes at a time with occasional breaks of 5-6 minutes - typically these breaks occurred when the midwife had come to check on me and every time she felt my stomach during a contraction she maintained that it was mild and I was still not in labour. In hindsight, I genuinely think my body just shut down every time she entered the room and that's why everything stopped. From reading one of my Hypnobirthing books it mentioned a fight/flight response when women are scared and I thought it was a load of rubbish until I thought about it very recently. She repeatedly told me that I was definitely not in labour and that it was going to get much, much worse so I needed to deal with it. Honestly she made me feel like a complete failure. I felt like I couldn't cope and there was no way I was going to actually be able to deal with labour if this wasn't even the early stages, especially as the sickness hadn't slowed down much even after the medication. At 13:00 she insisted I go for a walk but we didn't get very far before I had to return to be sick. She came back not long after and was very rude about the fact that I was lying on the bed resting in between contractions/vomiting episodes. I thought ALS was going to throw her out the window - he stayed polite but he was clearly very unhappy. I was absolutely exhausted by this point. Because I'd not managed much in the way of breakfast or had much to drink I'd essentially kept nothing in my stomach for over 18 hours and every time I was sick I was just bringing up bile. It got to the point where I was actually throwing up blood because my body was just bringing up whatever it could find, despite me trying to keep sipping water.
Around 13:30 I managed to get into a good rhythm of rocking whilst leaning on the rail on the door during a contraction, then lying on my side on the bed trying to catnap in between, with the occasional vomiting episode. We spoke to the midwife a couple of times but mostly she left us alone. She came in around 15:30 and again reminded me that I wasn't really in labour and nothing was happening which left me feel incredibly disheartened. Around 16:00 a different midwife popped in and within ten minutes she'd given me the confidence I needed to carry on - she was far more supportive, she showed Ant how to massage my back to take the edge off and she offered to run me a bath. I got in the bath very briefly but it made me feel too hot and faint, which made the sickness worse, so I got back out.
At around 17:00 I called the midwife back (sadly the original one came) as I was contracting every four minutes and they were lasting over a minute. She begrudingly agreed to examine me but told me that I probably wouldn't even be 1 cm dilated. To her (and my) surprise I was actually a good 5-6 cm dilated and it was time to go to the labour ward - thank goodness!
By 17:40 (after a long walk and a tense ride in the life) I was on the labour ward and was introduced to the midwife down there. I had to do a urine sample and I threw up a few more time - after some Powerade which startled everyone because it made the vomit green. The Anaesthetist came in to speak to me and I sent her away after politely declining an epidural. It all gets a bit blurry around here as I tried the gas and air which did help but then I had to lie on my back to be monitored. Once on my back I realised I couldn't cope and asked the to get the Anaesthetist back so that I could have the epidural. A few midwives then tried to get a cannula in so that I could be given some fluids alongside the epidural but because I was so dehydrated it was impossible. About 5 attempts and a lot of collapsed veins later (fuelled by gas and air) they gave up and asked the Anaesthetist to do it, she eventually managed to get one in my wrist but it was only a small one. She got cracking with the epidural and it was in by around 20:30. Ironically, because it took almost an hour to get the epidural sorted, by the time it was in I was actually coping a lot better so I probably should have just dealt without it but I was in "transition" right at the time I got down to labour ward so it was all just bad timing. Ant rang his stepmum and said that she could come in now I was comfortable so she could be there for the birth (you're allowed two birth partners) and she arrived around 21:00, by which time I was comfortable, talking and laughing. Somewhere during the epidural process the midwives changed shift and I remember apologising to the new midwife that I hadn't even noticed her being introduced - I wish I could remember her name as she was lovely. Unfortunately I can only remember the name of the nasty midwife!
I was examined again at 21:40 and was 7 cm. The midwife gave my cervix a good stretch and then suggested I get some rest as she would examine me again in 4 hours. She also put a catheter in at this point as I was unable to get up and about. I did keep most of the feeling in my legs with the epidural so I could change position relatively easily but it really masked the pain.
Time passed relatively quickly once I was comfortable and we mostly just chatted with the midwives and tried to get a bit of sleep here and there (but I was way too excited) and having a lot of rib pain. My contractions started to slow down a lot so I was put on a syntocinon drip to try and speed things up again at around 01:00 and examined again at 01:40 as planned. On examination I was exactly the same as before, which we expected, and the drip was gradually turned up every 15 minutes or so. I was due to be examined again at around 06:00 but they decided to examine me at 04:00 as the baby's heart rate was dipping with the contractions. We were seen by a wonderful Registrar who was just starting his shift and was the most cheerful person I've ever met, he really reassured us and despite the fact that things weren't going to plan I was perfectly calm. They decided to take a blood sample from the baby's head to check that he (we'd decided he must be a boy as he was causing trouble) wasn't in any distress. The blood results came back okay and when I was examined again at 05:30 I was 8-9 cm so they decided to leave me until 07:30 as long as the baby's heart rate was okay. We tried various positions and the midwives kept a close eye on the monitor until then.
At 07:30 I was examined again and was FINALLY fully dilated and the midwives changed over - I got two midwives at this point, one who was just coming back from a long break and getting back into the swing of things. Eventually I was given the go ahead to start pushing around 08:00. They usually give you a couple of hours for the baby to move down but they decided to get going straight away given the baby's heart rate dropping with each contraction. I sat on the edge of the bed to push and I felt like I was doing really well, the midwives were certainly happy with how I was doing and kind of just left me to it. However, the contractions slowed down to every 10 minutes and even with the drip being constantly turned up they didn't increase. The baby was also facing upwards which they said would make it harder.
Eventually, somewhere before 09:00 a decision was made to go to theatre and try to turn the baby and assist delivery with forceps. If that didn't work they would proceed to a Caesarean section so the epidural needed to be topped up to fully numb everything. The new Anaesthetist (with two assistants) came and explained everything and then got the epidural topped up before we headed round to theatre. Ant was taken away to get into some scrubs and I was wheeled into theatre. It took a good half hour before the epidural had actually kicked in properly - the Anaesthetist kept telling me I shouldn't be able to feel him touching my legs and I could still lift them up and down - which we are sure is all down to my EDS. Whilst they were waiting for it to kick in they needed to get a larger cannula in in case I ended up needing extra fluids or blood. As I had been rehydrated overnight they expected that this would be quite easy but alas it took all three Anaesthetists and another 5 attempts to get a larger cannula in (they very kindly used local anaesthetic for each attempt). I remember repeatedly asking for Ant and being told he wasn't there yet - apparently the poor guy had been left in a room and just assumed that I'd had to have a general anaesthetic and he'd missed the birth.
Honestly, it was all a bit of a blur. There were three Anaesthetists, a Registrar, two midwives, a Consultant, Ant and possible a Maternity Care Assistant or two all around me, I couldn't even tell you what the room looked like! Finally the epidural was working, Ant was by my side, the cannula was in place and we were ready to go...
By this time the baby had come right down, turned himself around and the contractions had sped up. The Registrar performed an episiotomy, attached the forceps and told me to give a couple of pushes to see what happened - apparently my pushing was more than adequate as he came out pretty much in one motion at 09:54. The Consultant then told me that the forceps were probably unnecessary - such a shame they didn't give me chance to try pushing again with him being in a better position. He cried instantly and Ant told me that he was, in fact, a little boy. Ant cut the cord and I remember being completely overwhelmed. He was placed on my chest for skin to skin and I just held him close, kissed him repeatedly and cried.
I was then told that my placenta was coming away and it needed to be manually removed, which I consented to. I assumed this was done with some sort of tool but according to Ant the doctor basically just put her entire arm inside and pulled it out! I ended up losing quite a lot of blood and the doctor started to sound quite worried but, as it turned out, it was only 800 ml so not enough to need a transfusion but enough to class as a postpartum haemorrhage. I remember this happening but I don't remember feeling panicked at any point and I don't think I started to feel ill either - honestly I was just so enamoured with my baby boy that I couldn't even think about anything else. She stitched me up and I was wheeled around to recovery.
In recovery the midwives filled in the paperwork whilst Ant and I just stared in awe at our beautiful little boy. I had some water and a couple of biscuits (the first thing I'd eaten in well over 24 hours) which was amazing. We tried breastfeeding but our baby, who had no name at this point, wasn't ready. We were taken up to the ward around 11:00 I think and it was brilliant - we were in a four-bed room but we were the only people in there for quite some time so it was nice and quiet. At 13:30 he took his first feed and it was incredible. I'm so lucky that he took to feeding so well as I know a lot of people have problems. My dad had driven down from Manchester the night before and stayed with family so he visited at around 14:00 and he helped me to top and tail the baby, who had done a GIANT poo, and get him dressed whilst Ant went to speak to his dad and stepmum (who ended up missing the birth after a whole night in the labour room with us). They then swapped out with my dad so they could meet their grandson.
After everyone had left at 16:00 I had my bloods done and was very anaemic so I was started on some iron (and some pretty nice painkillers). I was still bleeding quite heavily but that was to be expected. At our hospital, partners are allowed to stay overnight (which is a recent development) so I sent Ant home around 16:30 to get some food and some rest before we tackled our first night as parents.
I should mention at this point that I was still just in my hospital gown and basically lying on a puppy training pad where all the blood was collected. I think they'd wedged a pad between my legs too, I can't really remember. A wonderful Maternity Care Assistant came and helped me get myself sorted out and, honestly, she was worth her weight in gold. It doesn't matter how much dignity you lose through IVF and labour, it's still a little weird not being able to wipe your own mess up! She helped me get cleaned up and into some clean pants and a pad (and then a second lot when I got blood all over the first lot trying to get them on). She then helped me get up and into a chair and brought the baby round so he was within arm's reach. My dinner then arrived and, just at that moment, the baby needing feeding and I got totally overwhelmed and rang Ant to get him to come back. The poor guy had only had about 30 minutes sleep and half a meal because he was so tired he forgot to put the other half on his plate but he dutifully returned straight away, by which time I'd managed to feed the baby and get some shepherd's pie into myself... it was the tastiest shepherd's pie I've ever had but that might just have been because I was starving! At some point during the afternoon, the midwife from the day before visited and had nothing to say other than "So, how long did you manage to last before you had the epidural then?" in a stupidly judgy tone. Honestly, she was vile.
Visiting time was 18:00-20:00 so Ant's step-brother and his wife came to visit. My catheter was removed around 19:00 and then our visitors kindly kept an eye on our little bubs (and had lots of cuddles) while Ant helped me to have a shower. For some reason I hadn't packed shower gel because my idiot brain thought it would be like a hotel and would have some on the wall! At around 20:00, just after our visitors left I started bleeding more heavily and managed to do my first little wee. I'd been kept on fluids from 20:00 the previous night until about 18:00 that evening but due to the dehydration and blood loss there still wasn't much going into my bladder.
Overnight we tried to get some sleep and baby fed every few hours. He didn't really want to be in his crib between feeds so I'd feed him for half an hour or so then Ant would settle him for a bit then we'd swap and we basically just repeated that pattern all night. To be honest, although I was exhausted I didn't want to close my eyes and stop looking at him! Both baby and I were still on four-hourly observations, which typically didn't coincide with the feeds so sleep was very, very limited but the ward was beautifully quiet. At around 2:30 I passed what looked like a large blood clot which it was eventually confirmed was a retained piece of placenta, which was surprising considering my placenta had been removed manually. The baby's observations were stopped around this point as the midwife was happy with him but mine were continued. I did manage to pass reasonable amounts of urine overnight which made them far less concerned. Looking back, I was seriously dehydrated for a long time and lost a lot of blood (a fair amount during labour and quite a bit throughout the following 24 hours) but I don't remember ever feeling poorly or anything, but maybe that's because I'm used to feeling wobbly and a bit rubbish with the EDS!
Eventually, by around 07:00 the next day the baby was finally settled peacefully in his cot so I left him and Ant sleeping and went for some breakfast. I actually ended up having breakfast with a lady I used to work with who'd had her baby a few days previous but he was 5 weeks early and still having a little trouble feeding so they were still being kept under observation. It was nice to see a friendly face - we were also joined by a pregnant girl who was having a complicated pregnancy and had been an inpatient for a while. When I got back Ant and baby both woke up so they had some cuddles while I had a shower and got myself dressed.
At some point during the morning the Consultant who followed me up during pregnancy (and who I knew from my previous job) came to visit me and see how we had got on. At 08:15 the midwife decided she was happy with my observations and they were discontinued. At 09:15 the baby had his newborn hearing check, which he passed with flying colours and then various bits and bobs of paperwork had to be completed. We had a few checks on how we were getting on with feeding, both from midwives and from the Breastfeeding Support Volunteers - I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of support available. We had to watch a video about not shaking babies and sign a form to say we'd watched it! Later on that morning baby had his newborn check, the doctor visited me and gave us the all clear to go home once my stitches had been checked. We had some lunch, got the baby changed and bundled into his car seat and headed home, chaperoned by Ant's parents. I remember insisting on being the one who carried him to the car - I'd carried him into the hospital and I wanted to carry him out - but I definitely underestimated how far it was and how knackered I was. I managed it though!
Ant's brother was at our house, having been looking after the cats for us and we all had a bit of a catch up. Ant and his dad got the pushchair and the bouncer set up and then everyone left us alone to have some peace and quiet - we should have gone to sleep but we only had one episode of Stranger Things (season two) left so we watched that and settled into our new life as a family of three!
I've only JUST got round to writing this up and Oscar is now 19 months old so I'm sure it's a bit sketchy (I made notes a few days after I had him but they were quite vague. The more I think about it now, the more I'm quite unhappy with my birth - particularly because I feel like I was failed by the first midwife and things would have gone very differently if I'd had more support and been sent down to the labour ward for pain relief and fluids when I should have been instead of her insisting I wasn't in labour. Next time, and I really hope there is a next time, I will know how to be a better advocate for myself and Ant will also know more of what to expect and what we are within our rights to ask for. All in all though, I was relatively unscathed (aside from the major bruising to my arms, the collapsed veins and the slightly unnecessary episiotomy) and have a healthy baby so I can't complain too much!
Wednesday, 5 June 2019
19 month update
Weight: He hasn't been weighed for a little while but he seems to be growing nicely. - I'd estimate he's somewhere between 10.5 kg and 11 kg.
Health: Things didn't improve massively on the ranitidine after two weeks so the GP increased it to the maximum dose. That really improved things and he no longer sounds really chesty after meals. He has vomited a couple of times but nothing drastic. We saw the GP again yesterday and he's suggested that we keep it at that dose and keep him on the Piriton too (as he keeps waking up unable to breathe through his nose during the night). So he's now having both regularly and will continue to do so until we see the Paediatrician at the end of July. Otherwise he's doing pretty well and now the reflux is under control we are due to start the milk ladder in the next couple of weeks.
Sleep: Things aren't great at the moment, we are having a lot of very early wake ups. However, he is now fully night weaned. He hasn't had any milk at night for over a week now - he's been having a bottle of almond milk around 4 am which we will need to get rid of in the next few months but one thing at a time. He has one feed now, during his bedtime routine and we are planning to stop that over the weekend and then he'll be fully weaned. Hopefully now he's back on the Piriton his sleep will improve somewhat but he had a dose last night and was still up before 5:30 so I'm not too optimistic.
Development: He's at such a wonderful age and surprises us with something new every day - the other day he dipped the bubble blower into a bottle of bubbles and actually managed to blow the bubbles! His communication is really coming along - he has a large number of signs now (please, thank you, more, again, help, hat, bag, drink, milk, water, eat, change, bath, medicine) and he can make animal noises (dog, cat, pig, owl, snake, lion, sheep, goat, cow, horse, dinosaur [along with raising his arms in a scary way] - he will do the sign for quack when he sees a duck, bang his chest for a gorilla, snap for a crocodile and flap his arms for a chicken). He's starting to say more words although not many of them actually sound like works. He says mama, daddy, owl, badger, hoover, go, yeah, no, bath, digger and papa (for Grandpapa) relatively well and the rest are coming along. His climbing is really coming along and he can get up steps and slide down on climbing frames at the park now. He can also climb onto the sofa by himself. He's really helping with dressing and undressing and is having a good go at getting his shoes on by himself. He's developed lovely pretend play (feeding and giving drinks to his toys, pretending to be on the phone etc). He can drink reasonably well from an open cup now. He loves scribbling and is pretty good at using a spoon and a fork. He always insists on tidying before bed and understands what goes with what i.e. blocks go in the bag, books go on the shelf. My grandma bought him a toy hoover last week and he hasn't played with anything else since! He can point out at least 50 different things in books when I name them so his understanding is far better than his speech. He did start holding his nappy and whining to us when he was pooping so we thought he might be ready for toilet training but it only happened for a few days and then stopped so obviously just a fluke.
Likes/Dislikes: He is very much an outdoor toddler and would be out there all the time if he could. He loves helping with chores - hoovering, tidying, putting shopping away, sweeping etc. He really enjoys books and likes pointing out things and listening to what they are - we read at least ten a day. He really doesn't like being unable to do things for himself, fiercely independent as ever! He's developed a fear of animals recently - he likes them in pictures or videos but he was very scared of them at the farm the other day and he seems to be scared of the cats too - when they come in to the room he asks me to make them go.
Nursery: He's getting on really well at nursery although he's not eating much there either. They're pleased with his development and he's very happy there. I realised the other day that when he naps there he doesn't even have a dummy because we don't send one!
Me: My course is going really well and I passed my first assignment with flying colours. I'm just writing my second one now.
I'm not sure if it's a hormonal things because I'm weaning Oscar or if it's just because he's growing up but I've been incredibly broody lately. I can't stop thinking about being pregnant again, having another baby and expanding the family. I'm also just generally thinking a lot about the future, Ant's gym being set up, moving to a bigger house one day... all dreams for now.
I've cancelled my gym membership to save some money as, by the end of the year/beginning of next year, Ant should have his own studio so I can train there for free. I've had some horrible health problems this month - I had an episode of mastitis that very nearly turned into sepsis and I ended up in the surgical assessment unit overnight as they thought it had turned into an abscess that needed draining. I don't think I've ever felt quite so poorly, it was incredibly unpleasant.
We've reapplied for universal credit again after finding out that I shouldn't need to work full time for it. It also means I won't have to do overtime (as that would take me over the threshold) so we can have more family time and focus on the house. We are absolutely skint right now, aside from our savings, so I've been feeling pretty low but we can get through anything together :)
Health: Things didn't improve massively on the ranitidine after two weeks so the GP increased it to the maximum dose. That really improved things and he no longer sounds really chesty after meals. He has vomited a couple of times but nothing drastic. We saw the GP again yesterday and he's suggested that we keep it at that dose and keep him on the Piriton too (as he keeps waking up unable to breathe through his nose during the night). So he's now having both regularly and will continue to do so until we see the Paediatrician at the end of July. Otherwise he's doing pretty well and now the reflux is under control we are due to start the milk ladder in the next couple of weeks.
Sleep: Things aren't great at the moment, we are having a lot of very early wake ups. However, he is now fully night weaned. He hasn't had any milk at night for over a week now - he's been having a bottle of almond milk around 4 am which we will need to get rid of in the next few months but one thing at a time. He has one feed now, during his bedtime routine and we are planning to stop that over the weekend and then he'll be fully weaned. Hopefully now he's back on the Piriton his sleep will improve somewhat but he had a dose last night and was still up before 5:30 so I'm not too optimistic.
Development: He's at such a wonderful age and surprises us with something new every day - the other day he dipped the bubble blower into a bottle of bubbles and actually managed to blow the bubbles! His communication is really coming along - he has a large number of signs now (please, thank you, more, again, help, hat, bag, drink, milk, water, eat, change, bath, medicine) and he can make animal noises (dog, cat, pig, owl, snake, lion, sheep, goat, cow, horse, dinosaur [along with raising his arms in a scary way] - he will do the sign for quack when he sees a duck, bang his chest for a gorilla, snap for a crocodile and flap his arms for a chicken). He's starting to say more words although not many of them actually sound like works. He says mama, daddy, owl, badger, hoover, go, yeah, no, bath, digger and papa (for Grandpapa) relatively well and the rest are coming along. His climbing is really coming along and he can get up steps and slide down on climbing frames at the park now. He can also climb onto the sofa by himself. He's really helping with dressing and undressing and is having a good go at getting his shoes on by himself. He's developed lovely pretend play (feeding and giving drinks to his toys, pretending to be on the phone etc). He can drink reasonably well from an open cup now. He loves scribbling and is pretty good at using a spoon and a fork. He always insists on tidying before bed and understands what goes with what i.e. blocks go in the bag, books go on the shelf. My grandma bought him a toy hoover last week and he hasn't played with anything else since! He can point out at least 50 different things in books when I name them so his understanding is far better than his speech. He did start holding his nappy and whining to us when he was pooping so we thought he might be ready for toilet training but it only happened for a few days and then stopped so obviously just a fluke.
Likes/Dislikes: He is very much an outdoor toddler and would be out there all the time if he could. He loves helping with chores - hoovering, tidying, putting shopping away, sweeping etc. He really enjoys books and likes pointing out things and listening to what they are - we read at least ten a day. He really doesn't like being unable to do things for himself, fiercely independent as ever! He's developed a fear of animals recently - he likes them in pictures or videos but he was very scared of them at the farm the other day and he seems to be scared of the cats too - when they come in to the room he asks me to make them go.
Nursery: He's getting on really well at nursery although he's not eating much there either. They're pleased with his development and he's very happy there. I realised the other day that when he naps there he doesn't even have a dummy because we don't send one!
Me: My course is going really well and I passed my first assignment with flying colours. I'm just writing my second one now.
I'm not sure if it's a hormonal things because I'm weaning Oscar or if it's just because he's growing up but I've been incredibly broody lately. I can't stop thinking about being pregnant again, having another baby and expanding the family. I'm also just generally thinking a lot about the future, Ant's gym being set up, moving to a bigger house one day... all dreams for now.
I've cancelled my gym membership to save some money as, by the end of the year/beginning of next year, Ant should have his own studio so I can train there for free. I've had some horrible health problems this month - I had an episode of mastitis that very nearly turned into sepsis and I ended up in the surgical assessment unit overnight as they thought it had turned into an abscess that needed draining. I don't think I've ever felt quite so poorly, it was incredibly unpleasant.
We've reapplied for universal credit again after finding out that I shouldn't need to work full time for it. It also means I won't have to do overtime (as that would take me over the threshold) so we can have more family time and focus on the house. We are absolutely skint right now, aside from our savings, so I've been feeling pretty low but we can get through anything together :)
Thursday, 2 May 2019
18 month update
Weight: He hasn't been weighed for a little while but he seems to be growing nicely.
Health: Things have been hard this month. We saw the GP a few weeks ago because of Oscar's poor sleep and constant congestion and they started him on Piriton for two weeks and we had to keep a symptom diary. One of the side effects is drowsiness so, while he sleep did improve somewhat, we aren't sure whether it was because it improved the congestion or because of the side effects. We had some fabulous nights where he slept for 8 hours straight and he stayed in bed until 7 am then it went downhill and back to average nights. Yesterday we saw the GP again and he took Oscar back off the Piriton and put him back on ranitidine for reflux as our symptom diary identified that he gets ruttly and chesty after eating which is a sign of reflux. Hopefully this helps. It's a constant worry to me that he might be showing early signs of EDS. He probably isn't but it's hard not to think about.
Sleep: We are in a bit of a difficult patch again at the moment but we have still come a long way. Bedtime is pretty smooth, he goes to sleep without even asking for milk and he generally doesn't even ask for milk at his first couple of wake ups. I've only fed him once before midnight in the last fortnight. Sometimes I feel like we're getting nowhere fast but when I look at how far we've come it's definitely good progress. We are about to start trying to progress the night weaning even further and I'm hopeful that it will go reasonably smoothly. Here's hoping one day we will sleep well again! We are hitting a bit language development leap this week so it could be a few weeks before things settle down again.
Development: He's really coming on with his development. He's getting more confident at things like climbing and going down slides (although still would rather just roam around the park). He can comfortably get himself downstairs on his bottom now although prefers to walk down with a hand held. He's copying everything we do now - imitating using a phone, combing his hair etc. He loves helping with cooking/baking and is great at following instructions. His speech isn't great - he knows what he wants to say and he tries to repeat everything but his words don't come out right. He can say "owl", "oover" (for hoover) and that's about it. He makes lots of animal noises and is fabulous at pointing out objects or animals in a book when asked. He's not bad at feeding himself with a spoon but he doesn't get much practice as he doesn't eat a lot still. He has a couple more signs and can now sign "again" and "help". He's getting far more confident in new situations and was an absolute superstar when we visited my dad's for the weekend recently. It hadn't occurred to me until I read last month's update but he's stopped smacking now so our tactics must have worked, or he's just grown out of it.
Likes/Dislikes: He absolutely loves to be outdoors. He's happiest when he's out playing on the garden or roaming around somewhere. We've bought him a sand/water table and a little lawnmower than blows bubbles and now it's hard to get him to play inside at all! He still really loves balls and everyone continues to be impressed by the fact that he can throw, despite the fact he's been doing it for nearly a year now! He doesn't like being told what to do so, as much as he loves the water, swimming lessons can be a bit of a challenge for Ant at the moment. He isn't keen on holding our hands when out and about although he is getting better at it. We've bought him a little dinosaur backpack with reins - at first he wouldn't wear it, now he loves it but gets so distracted playing with the straps that he doesn't walk anywhere!
Nursery: Parents evening went really well and they were very proud of how well he's transitioned to his new Key Worker, Sharon. She's really lovely and she's working hard at expanding his diet. She understands his communication well and is helping him with his words as much as she can. He also spent the afternoon with Nana and Grandpapa a few weeks ago while Ant and I had a date which was lovely!
Me: My course is going well, although the discipline to study isn't always there, and I'm almost ready to hand in my first assignment.
We are struggling financially at the moment as nursery drains a lot of my earnings - roll on when we get some free nursery hours! This is compounded by the fact that today I spoke to the IVF unit in Sheffield to ask about costs for a second transfer. We were told around £1000 when we had Oscar. When I looked on Sheffield's website it said £650 and Guy's website said £1400 so I rang to ask which one. Turns out we have to pay BOTH plus another £400 for the drugs so we are looking more at £2500! Added to that is the fact that it's at least a three-month wait for a referral and I've got to have stopped breastfeeding first so I'm feeling a bit down about that. However, we have Oscar and if we never have another one I'll make my peace with it. £2500 is a lot of money, especially if it doesn't work and we could have spent that money making memories with the child we already have.
I'm desperately trying to get back into fitness again but it's so hit and miss because of childcare and me struggling with illnesses etc. I'm trying to cram in some overtime at work again in the next month but that obviously means even less time to do other things.
Health: Things have been hard this month. We saw the GP a few weeks ago because of Oscar's poor sleep and constant congestion and they started him on Piriton for two weeks and we had to keep a symptom diary. One of the side effects is drowsiness so, while he sleep did improve somewhat, we aren't sure whether it was because it improved the congestion or because of the side effects. We had some fabulous nights where he slept for 8 hours straight and he stayed in bed until 7 am then it went downhill and back to average nights. Yesterday we saw the GP again and he took Oscar back off the Piriton and put him back on ranitidine for reflux as our symptom diary identified that he gets ruttly and chesty after eating which is a sign of reflux. Hopefully this helps. It's a constant worry to me that he might be showing early signs of EDS. He probably isn't but it's hard not to think about.
Sleep: We are in a bit of a difficult patch again at the moment but we have still come a long way. Bedtime is pretty smooth, he goes to sleep without even asking for milk and he generally doesn't even ask for milk at his first couple of wake ups. I've only fed him once before midnight in the last fortnight. Sometimes I feel like we're getting nowhere fast but when I look at how far we've come it's definitely good progress. We are about to start trying to progress the night weaning even further and I'm hopeful that it will go reasonably smoothly. Here's hoping one day we will sleep well again! We are hitting a bit language development leap this week so it could be a few weeks before things settle down again.
Development: He's really coming on with his development. He's getting more confident at things like climbing and going down slides (although still would rather just roam around the park). He can comfortably get himself downstairs on his bottom now although prefers to walk down with a hand held. He's copying everything we do now - imitating using a phone, combing his hair etc. He loves helping with cooking/baking and is great at following instructions. His speech isn't great - he knows what he wants to say and he tries to repeat everything but his words don't come out right. He can say "owl", "oover" (for hoover) and that's about it. He makes lots of animal noises and is fabulous at pointing out objects or animals in a book when asked. He's not bad at feeding himself with a spoon but he doesn't get much practice as he doesn't eat a lot still. He has a couple more signs and can now sign "again" and "help". He's getting far more confident in new situations and was an absolute superstar when we visited my dad's for the weekend recently. It hadn't occurred to me until I read last month's update but he's stopped smacking now so our tactics must have worked, or he's just grown out of it.
Likes/Dislikes: He absolutely loves to be outdoors. He's happiest when he's out playing on the garden or roaming around somewhere. We've bought him a sand/water table and a little lawnmower than blows bubbles and now it's hard to get him to play inside at all! He still really loves balls and everyone continues to be impressed by the fact that he can throw, despite the fact he's been doing it for nearly a year now! He doesn't like being told what to do so, as much as he loves the water, swimming lessons can be a bit of a challenge for Ant at the moment. He isn't keen on holding our hands when out and about although he is getting better at it. We've bought him a little dinosaur backpack with reins - at first he wouldn't wear it, now he loves it but gets so distracted playing with the straps that he doesn't walk anywhere!
Nursery: Parents evening went really well and they were very proud of how well he's transitioned to his new Key Worker, Sharon. She's really lovely and she's working hard at expanding his diet. She understands his communication well and is helping him with his words as much as she can. He also spent the afternoon with Nana and Grandpapa a few weeks ago while Ant and I had a date which was lovely!
Me: My course is going well, although the discipline to study isn't always there, and I'm almost ready to hand in my first assignment.
We are struggling financially at the moment as nursery drains a lot of my earnings - roll on when we get some free nursery hours! This is compounded by the fact that today I spoke to the IVF unit in Sheffield to ask about costs for a second transfer. We were told around £1000 when we had Oscar. When I looked on Sheffield's website it said £650 and Guy's website said £1400 so I rang to ask which one. Turns out we have to pay BOTH plus another £400 for the drugs so we are looking more at £2500! Added to that is the fact that it's at least a three-month wait for a referral and I've got to have stopped breastfeeding first so I'm feeling a bit down about that. However, we have Oscar and if we never have another one I'll make my peace with it. £2500 is a lot of money, especially if it doesn't work and we could have spent that money making memories with the child we already have.
I'm desperately trying to get back into fitness again but it's so hit and miss because of childcare and me struggling with illnesses etc. I'm trying to cram in some overtime at work again in the next month but that obviously means even less time to do other things.
Friday, 5 April 2019
17 months old
Weight: I had him weighed last week and he was 10.05 kg (22 lb 1 oz) and tracking nicely just above 25th centile now which is great, especially given his earlier difficulties. He's just about grown into his 12-18 month clothes now and his feet are a 3.5 so still dinky.
Health: We've had a month with very little in the way of illness for the first time since he started nursery - don't worry, we've not had an easy month, he's made up for it in other ways. However, other than a perpetually snotty nose it has been lovely to see him in good health. He may be starting to get his second set of molars as he's chewing on everything, dribbling a lot and his chin is getting a bit sore but they don't seem to be bothering him too much yet. He's had his first dentist appointment and they were happy too.
Sleep: We ended up seeing the Cranial Osteopath earlier than planned due to a cancellation and he basically thinks the pressure in his head has come from getting so many teeth in such a short space of time. The first session didn't improve his sleep at all but after the second one we had a run of six nights where every other night he slept for six hours straight - usually around 10-4. Sadly that didn't last and our third session hasn't made much difference. We are heading for a leap next week too! He goes to sleep really well and naps well so that's a start I guess. In the last couple of weeks we've started the night weaning (from me, not from milk altogether) process. He now has his milk in the nursery before going into the bedroom and generally doesn't even ask for milk in bed before going to sleep with a story and a cuddle. We're also not giving milk at his first wake up which has generally been okay, he's cried a little but nothing major except for the night before last where he lost his mind for 20 minutes and it took me leaving and Ant stepping in with a bottle to get him back to sleep.
Development: Development is on fire as ever! He's running around everywhere and starting to get more confident on uneven surfaces - he's not a giant fan of walking on grass but he's really getting there. Much to my relief he still isn't much of a climber. He's coming on really well with his speech and says "mama", "dada", "no", "yeah" and "ta". In the last week he's started saying "ano" for piano and "owl" - no idea where the obsession with owls has come from but it's so cute when he says it. He's also been trying to say "badger" from one of his books. When he says "no" he wags his finger and it's just adorable. He is getting good at putting pieces into his animal puzzle, he matches them but doesn't always manage to turn them the right way. He loves copying things we do and we've caught him trying to unlock the door with the car key! He likes sweeping with the dustpan and brush, helping us hoover and load/unload the washing machine and clothes airer. He says "nee naa" when he sees any vehicle and does some animal noises, especially roaring for dinosaurs, saying "woof", "mmm" for cows and snorting when he sees a pig. He's pretty good at using a fork - not that he seems to want to eat what's on it. Ant has taught him to point at the floor when he wants to get down out of your arms and he's doing multiple signs, although I don't think there are any more than last month. He generally uses "yes" and "no" in context when asked a question but doesn't seem to understand "no" when we use it to tell him not to do something.
Likes/Dislikes: He is still very much in love with sausage rolls but his current favourite food is cream crackers with butter. He still loves dogs and regularly goes to our patio doors saying "woof woof" to see if he can see through the fence and spot next door's dalmatian. He loves dinosaurs and owls are his current obsession. Baby Shark is still a firm favourite and The Greatest Showman soundtrack always puts a smile on his face! He still loves building with his blocks too. He's not a fan of being denied milk or waiting for anything. He doesn't appreciate being removed from any situation that he wants to put himself in and hates being restrained still, even being held nowadays isn't popular with him. He loves giving big sloppy kisses to his favourite people and pretty much everyone gets a fist bump (or ten). He doesn't really like busy places and isn't majorly confident but he's fine as long as we are nearby - he loved running around the trampoline park!
Nursery: He's getting on really well at nursery and still really enjoying it. We have parents' evening there next week and Ant is having an evening off to have Oscar so that I can go and catch up with the nursery staff, as I don't really get chance to speak to them very often. I'm interested to see how they find his behaviour in terms of smacking and his tantrums but I know he certainly still isn't really eating much there either.
Me: I'm emotionally drained this week with the night weaning but we have been managing to get him to sleep without milk in bed to start off and get him back to sleep after his first wake up without any milk, despite a lot of protesting some nights. I'm really starting to wish my dad lived closer as, due to the situation with my mum, I don't have much parental input or support right now and it would be nice to just have somewhere to pop with Oscar when Ant is at work rather than being stuck on our own all the time. Ant's family are great but I'd like to have mine closer - plus it would mean we had more babysitters when we need them and Oscar would be closer to his grandparents.
I've started a course to become a teaching assistant after realising that I'm a little unfulfilled in my life. I realised that I never applied myself to a career because all I wanted was to have children. However, now I have Oscar I've achieved that goal and need to find new goals and new ways to challenge myself. I love the medical side of my job but there's nowhere for me to really progress and I really find child development fascinating. I figure education is probably the way to go with a plan to later specialise in special needs/learning difficulties - working at Derby School for the Deaf sounds intesresting and a job came up recently but obviously I'm not qualified yet!
Health: We've had a month with very little in the way of illness for the first time since he started nursery - don't worry, we've not had an easy month, he's made up for it in other ways. However, other than a perpetually snotty nose it has been lovely to see him in good health. He may be starting to get his second set of molars as he's chewing on everything, dribbling a lot and his chin is getting a bit sore but they don't seem to be bothering him too much yet. He's had his first dentist appointment and they were happy too.
Sleep: We ended up seeing the Cranial Osteopath earlier than planned due to a cancellation and he basically thinks the pressure in his head has come from getting so many teeth in such a short space of time. The first session didn't improve his sleep at all but after the second one we had a run of six nights where every other night he slept for six hours straight - usually around 10-4. Sadly that didn't last and our third session hasn't made much difference. We are heading for a leap next week too! He goes to sleep really well and naps well so that's a start I guess. In the last couple of weeks we've started the night weaning (from me, not from milk altogether) process. He now has his milk in the nursery before going into the bedroom and generally doesn't even ask for milk in bed before going to sleep with a story and a cuddle. We're also not giving milk at his first wake up which has generally been okay, he's cried a little but nothing major except for the night before last where he lost his mind for 20 minutes and it took me leaving and Ant stepping in with a bottle to get him back to sleep.
Development: Development is on fire as ever! He's running around everywhere and starting to get more confident on uneven surfaces - he's not a giant fan of walking on grass but he's really getting there. Much to my relief he still isn't much of a climber. He's coming on really well with his speech and says "mama", "dada", "no", "yeah" and "ta". In the last week he's started saying "ano" for piano and "owl" - no idea where the obsession with owls has come from but it's so cute when he says it. He's also been trying to say "badger" from one of his books. When he says "no" he wags his finger and it's just adorable. He is getting good at putting pieces into his animal puzzle, he matches them but doesn't always manage to turn them the right way. He loves copying things we do and we've caught him trying to unlock the door with the car key! He likes sweeping with the dustpan and brush, helping us hoover and load/unload the washing machine and clothes airer. He says "nee naa" when he sees any vehicle and does some animal noises, especially roaring for dinosaurs, saying "woof", "mmm" for cows and snorting when he sees a pig. He's pretty good at using a fork - not that he seems to want to eat what's on it. Ant has taught him to point at the floor when he wants to get down out of your arms and he's doing multiple signs, although I don't think there are any more than last month. He generally uses "yes" and "no" in context when asked a question but doesn't seem to understand "no" when we use it to tell him not to do something.
Likes/Dislikes: He is still very much in love with sausage rolls but his current favourite food is cream crackers with butter. He still loves dogs and regularly goes to our patio doors saying "woof woof" to see if he can see through the fence and spot next door's dalmatian. He loves dinosaurs and owls are his current obsession. Baby Shark is still a firm favourite and The Greatest Showman soundtrack always puts a smile on his face! He still loves building with his blocks too. He's not a fan of being denied milk or waiting for anything. He doesn't appreciate being removed from any situation that he wants to put himself in and hates being restrained still, even being held nowadays isn't popular with him. He loves giving big sloppy kisses to his favourite people and pretty much everyone gets a fist bump (or ten). He doesn't really like busy places and isn't majorly confident but he's fine as long as we are nearby - he loved running around the trampoline park!
Nursery: He's getting on really well at nursery and still really enjoying it. We have parents' evening there next week and Ant is having an evening off to have Oscar so that I can go and catch up with the nursery staff, as I don't really get chance to speak to them very often. I'm interested to see how they find his behaviour in terms of smacking and his tantrums but I know he certainly still isn't really eating much there either.
Me: I'm emotionally drained this week with the night weaning but we have been managing to get him to sleep without milk in bed to start off and get him back to sleep after his first wake up without any milk, despite a lot of protesting some nights. I'm really starting to wish my dad lived closer as, due to the situation with my mum, I don't have much parental input or support right now and it would be nice to just have somewhere to pop with Oscar when Ant is at work rather than being stuck on our own all the time. Ant's family are great but I'd like to have mine closer - plus it would mean we had more babysitters when we need them and Oscar would be closer to his grandparents.
I've started a course to become a teaching assistant after realising that I'm a little unfulfilled in my life. I realised that I never applied myself to a career because all I wanted was to have children. However, now I have Oscar I've achieved that goal and need to find new goals and new ways to challenge myself. I love the medical side of my job but there's nowhere for me to really progress and I really find child development fascinating. I figure education is probably the way to go with a plan to later specialise in special needs/learning difficulties - working at Derby School for the Deaf sounds intesresting and a job came up recently but obviously I'm not qualified yet!
Sunday, 3 March 2019
16 month update
Weight: I'm not sure as he hasn't been weighed this month. I did try and weigh him on our scales today which said 10 kg (22 lb) but I really don't think he's put on that much in the last few weeks so I'm going to get him properly weighed next week.
Health: We've had a rough month! He ended up with a really nasty cold that caused temperatures of 39-40.2 degrees for 5 or 6 days. He was full of snot and had about 3 or 4 days where his nose was just dripping blood, he was sneezing blood and was super miserable. I've never seen him so poorly, even when he had bronchiolitis. We didn't see any medical professionals and managed him at home but he basically just sat/lay on our laps for a week straight. He had about a week where he was better, then another temperature for a day, then a few days better and now he has yet another cold/cough, although considerably milder. It's a never-ending stream!
Sleep: We've had a really bad couple of weeks with sleep, especially since he was poorly. His naps are still pretty good but night times have been constant feeding sessions and very early mornings. In the last few nights we've ditched the sleeping bag, ALS has come back to sleeping with us (after a lot of time downstairs) and I've started breastfeeding him before bed instead of giving him a bottle of almond milk as we thought he might have been taking in too much air. It did help for a couple of nights and he actually had one solid stretch of sleep from 9-1:30 one night which was amazing - although I was poorly so didn't get to reap the benefits so much. However, he's now coughing every time he lies down so last night was horrendous again. Our Sleep Consultant has recommended we see a cranial osteopath as it's not normal that he wakes up often every 20 minutes and needs to breastfeed all night long so we are booked in for 29 March, here's hoping they can help! I'm skeptical but at this point in time we are willing to try anything!
Development: His communication is really coming along, he still doesn't stay much but lately he's been trying to repeat words - the day before his Key Worker left nursery we were talking about her (Freya) and he kept saying "Eya", he's tried to say things like "tower", "juice", "Lola" and other bits and bobs although it's very unclear at the moment. He's started properly saying "no" now and is very good at using "yeah" and "no" in context. He has multiple signs (milk, eat, please, thank you, see you soon, more) and will actually put two together, usually to ask for "more food". He's pointing with his index finger and really indicating his needs - he even tells us when he wants to go to bed, although whether he sleeps or not is a different question. He helps with dressing and undressing and is great at following simple instructions. He's brilliant on his feet now although a little uncertain on grass and prefers to run on concrete to try and give me a heart attack! At swimming he'll dip his face in, splash, kick and try to blow bubbles. He's not much of a climber but has started, in the last couple of days, trying to climb onto the sofa - he's not really tall enough yet but I don't think it'll be long. He builds towers with lots of interconnecting blocks (sometimes 10+), is doing really well with shape sorters and has learned how to use Pritt Stick at nursery. He can point to multiple body parts (toes, tummy, head and mouth) and can identify lots of items when asked to fetch them (pyjamas, socks, ball, various animal toys, blocks, shoes, books, wipes etc.). He can walk forwards and backwards and dances to music. He's lost interest in sitting on his potty so we aren't pushing it, as he doesn't seem aware of when he has dirtied his nappy let alone when he needs to and that's absolutely fine, he's still very young. He's trying to use a spoon and fork, sometimes successful - especially the fork (although getting him to eat what's on it is more of a challenge). He's trying to walk down the stairs and protests if we try and get him to go down on his bottom!
Likes/Dislikes: His favourite foods at the moment are sausage rolls and pasta in homemade tomato sauce (with whatever meat or veg I throw into it). He likes to refuse pretty much everything else on most occasions but at least I can just vary the contents of the pasta and get a reasonable diet into him. He loves music in any form and nursery rhymes especially loves Row, Row, Row Your Boat (he'll grab your hands and row, then scream). He loves looking at books still, long may it continue. He really likes being outside although tends to want to run into the road and has a good tantrum if he can't. He really likes dogs and is especially happy if kind passers-by let him stroke their dogs. He's getting more and more fiercely independent by the day and doesn't like being helped if he doesn't want to be. Nor does he like being told that he can't do something, no matter how dangerous that thing might be. He still loves his boob and it's going to be a real battle weaning him in a couple of months' time.
Nursery: He's done so well at nursery and they now even manage to get him to sleep on his bed on the floor on days where he has a nap. His Key Worker left last week which we are devastated about at she was the one who really settled him in, they had a great bond, he'd started saying her name and she understands Makaton signing. However, he's happy enough without her there and the others do a good job with him. It's definitely doing wonders for his development and they do so many craft activities I don't feel guilty for not having them at home haha.
Me: I'm battling a string of illnesses that he kindly keeps picking up and sharing with me. I'm generally knackered and weak and could really do with some decent exercise. Sadly, ever time I start to get back to exercising I end up ill and lose my stride. I don't get time to go to the gym around ALS' working hours except at weekends, but then we are usually taking OJ somewhere or visiting family so even then I struggle to fit it in and I'm not motivated to work out at home. I'm not eating well because I don't get chance to meal plan or cook what I've planned and I spend so much time making stuff for OJ (that he often doesn't eat, or I don't like myself) that I end up with a sandwich or something and then snack which isn't ideal. I keep trying to get back into good routines but to no avail!
We are starting to think about wanting to get trying for another (when OJ is around 2) so we need to get him weaned and get my periods back. Hopefully if the osteopath can help with the sleep a bit it will make weaning easier but ideally I'd like to be weaning around 18 months etc.
Health: We've had a rough month! He ended up with a really nasty cold that caused temperatures of 39-40.2 degrees for 5 or 6 days. He was full of snot and had about 3 or 4 days where his nose was just dripping blood, he was sneezing blood and was super miserable. I've never seen him so poorly, even when he had bronchiolitis. We didn't see any medical professionals and managed him at home but he basically just sat/lay on our laps for a week straight. He had about a week where he was better, then another temperature for a day, then a few days better and now he has yet another cold/cough, although considerably milder. It's a never-ending stream!
Sleep: We've had a really bad couple of weeks with sleep, especially since he was poorly. His naps are still pretty good but night times have been constant feeding sessions and very early mornings. In the last few nights we've ditched the sleeping bag, ALS has come back to sleeping with us (after a lot of time downstairs) and I've started breastfeeding him before bed instead of giving him a bottle of almond milk as we thought he might have been taking in too much air. It did help for a couple of nights and he actually had one solid stretch of sleep from 9-1:30 one night which was amazing - although I was poorly so didn't get to reap the benefits so much. However, he's now coughing every time he lies down so last night was horrendous again. Our Sleep Consultant has recommended we see a cranial osteopath as it's not normal that he wakes up often every 20 minutes and needs to breastfeed all night long so we are booked in for 29 March, here's hoping they can help! I'm skeptical but at this point in time we are willing to try anything!
Development: His communication is really coming along, he still doesn't stay much but lately he's been trying to repeat words - the day before his Key Worker left nursery we were talking about her (Freya) and he kept saying "Eya", he's tried to say things like "tower", "juice", "Lola" and other bits and bobs although it's very unclear at the moment. He's started properly saying "no" now and is very good at using "yeah" and "no" in context. He has multiple signs (milk, eat, please, thank you, see you soon, more) and will actually put two together, usually to ask for "more food". He's pointing with his index finger and really indicating his needs - he even tells us when he wants to go to bed, although whether he sleeps or not is a different question. He helps with dressing and undressing and is great at following simple instructions. He's brilliant on his feet now although a little uncertain on grass and prefers to run on concrete to try and give me a heart attack! At swimming he'll dip his face in, splash, kick and try to blow bubbles. He's not much of a climber but has started, in the last couple of days, trying to climb onto the sofa - he's not really tall enough yet but I don't think it'll be long. He builds towers with lots of interconnecting blocks (sometimes 10+), is doing really well with shape sorters and has learned how to use Pritt Stick at nursery. He can point to multiple body parts (toes, tummy, head and mouth) and can identify lots of items when asked to fetch them (pyjamas, socks, ball, various animal toys, blocks, shoes, books, wipes etc.). He can walk forwards and backwards and dances to music. He's lost interest in sitting on his potty so we aren't pushing it, as he doesn't seem aware of when he has dirtied his nappy let alone when he needs to and that's absolutely fine, he's still very young. He's trying to use a spoon and fork, sometimes successful - especially the fork (although getting him to eat what's on it is more of a challenge). He's trying to walk down the stairs and protests if we try and get him to go down on his bottom!
Likes/Dislikes: His favourite foods at the moment are sausage rolls and pasta in homemade tomato sauce (with whatever meat or veg I throw into it). He likes to refuse pretty much everything else on most occasions but at least I can just vary the contents of the pasta and get a reasonable diet into him. He loves music in any form and nursery rhymes especially loves Row, Row, Row Your Boat (he'll grab your hands and row, then scream). He loves looking at books still, long may it continue. He really likes being outside although tends to want to run into the road and has a good tantrum if he can't. He really likes dogs and is especially happy if kind passers-by let him stroke their dogs. He's getting more and more fiercely independent by the day and doesn't like being helped if he doesn't want to be. Nor does he like being told that he can't do something, no matter how dangerous that thing might be. He still loves his boob and it's going to be a real battle weaning him in a couple of months' time.
Nursery: He's done so well at nursery and they now even manage to get him to sleep on his bed on the floor on days where he has a nap. His Key Worker left last week which we are devastated about at she was the one who really settled him in, they had a great bond, he'd started saying her name and she understands Makaton signing. However, he's happy enough without her there and the others do a good job with him. It's definitely doing wonders for his development and they do so many craft activities I don't feel guilty for not having them at home haha.
Me: I'm battling a string of illnesses that he kindly keeps picking up and sharing with me. I'm generally knackered and weak and could really do with some decent exercise. Sadly, ever time I start to get back to exercising I end up ill and lose my stride. I don't get time to go to the gym around ALS' working hours except at weekends, but then we are usually taking OJ somewhere or visiting family so even then I struggle to fit it in and I'm not motivated to work out at home. I'm not eating well because I don't get chance to meal plan or cook what I've planned and I spend so much time making stuff for OJ (that he often doesn't eat, or I don't like myself) that I end up with a sandwich or something and then snack which isn't ideal. I keep trying to get back into good routines but to no avail!
We are starting to think about wanting to get trying for another (when OJ is around 2) so we need to get him weaned and get my periods back. Hopefully if the osteopath can help with the sleep a bit it will make weaning easier but ideally I'd like to be weaning around 18 months etc.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)