Now I'm not doing a monthly blog update for Oscar it seems like time is just flying and I'm forgetting to document things so this is going to be a LONG one.
We had his 2 year Health Visitor review on New Year's Eve and he was 11.65 kg (25 lb 11 oz) but she wasn't able to do his height as it was a home visit. We have a Paediatrician appointment on 4 Feb so I'll have to wait until then. He's still comfortably in 12-18 month trousers and his coat/puddlesuit although he's in 18-24 month tops. His feet don't seem to have grown in a while and they're still a 4.5, how dinky!
Development
The amount of development we have seen since he turned 2 is insane - it's like he's growing up before our very eyes - so much so that I'm going to split it into categories so I don't forget anything:
Speech
Considering that, just before his birthday, I was concerned about his speech as he wasn't even putting two words together, there's certainly no need for me to be concerned now. He speaks mostly in short phrases and repeats pretty much everything he hears. His pronunciation can still be difficult but we usually get the gist. He can use up to 6 or 7 words in a sentence ("Chase Mummy Daddy all around big blocks) was one I heard recently. He is trying to count although it often goes "one, two, eight, ten" but he can count to at least five if he's really concentrating and he does point to things as he counts so I think he understands that each number relates to one thing. He's randomly started saying "Monday, Tuesday" as well today too since the days of the week are mentioned in a Goldilocks and the Three Bears book that we've been reading lately. He says "hi" now to greet people which sounds super sweet and just generally some of the things he comes out with are hilarious. His memory is brilliant and he often tells me what he's been doing while I've been at work. He uses his pronouns well when referring to himself "me, my, mine" but hasn't got "you" yet. In the last week or so he has really developed an interest in colours and can correctly identify brown, black, white, green and blue most of the time with reasonable attempts at red, yellow, pink and purple.
Gross Motor
He lags behind a little bit in this area but he's still just about keeping up. He doesn't really run yet, more of a fast walk, and he's not much of a climber although I suspect a lack of interest is playing a part in that. He has been able to throw since he was about 6 months and it's been a good few months since he learned to kick a ball properly, with aim so his skills are there in the areas that interest him. He can go up and down stairs easily enough - the only thing that stops him sometimes is that his legs are so short so he prefers to crawl up or bum shuffle down but he will go up on his feet with a little coaxing and a hand to hold, he doesn't even question it if we come to steps outside!
Fine Motor
He's really competent with a spoon and fork and can scrape out a bowl pretty well. He can stack blocks and do jigsaws with ease although getting him to play with a variety of toys lately is getting harder, he has very specific toys he wants to play with continuously for days or weeks and then it will switch to something else. He can "draw" and will copy lines or circles. He's always been imaginative with his drawings and will tell you what it is - he has done since about 18 months of age.
Self-Care
He's really coming on in this area too - he loves brushing his hair (now he finally has enough) and is mostly willing to have his teeth brushed (and has a go himself). He's pretty good at feeding himself and can drink from an open cup, although he prefers to use a straw. He's very recently started doing a really good job of dressing himself too. For over a year he's been able to help get his arms in sleeves and the like but today, after his bath, he put his pull-up on independently, then his trousers and had a good go at doing his vest and top himself (I got them ready and handed them to him with the neck open and he put them over his head and got his arms in). I feel like nursery should get the credit for this one as it isn't something I've taught him!
Social/Emotional
This is the area where he really struggles - recently he has just started going up to other kids and hugging them which is a little weird! He seems to withdraw in situations that are overwhelming - such as nursery - and then really lets loose when he's in a safe space, such as home. Over Christmas we had a really busy, loud couple of days at my dad's house with the foster kids and he was pretty good, other than needing some quiet time multiple times. However, for the couple of days after Christmas, when we finally had full days at home, his behaviour was off the charts difficult! He has good pretend play and he understands greeting people and saying bye but he struggles with his emotions. He's starting to be able to voice his feelings, at least when he's scared, so hopefully that will help.
Health
I think we've finally cracked the dairy intolerance - the only thing we haven't tried is actual milk but to be honest I'm not that bothered about that. He has had some screaming episodes in the night with yoghurts but only certain brands so I don't think that's related to the dairy. Otherwise his physical health is pretty good at the moment - fingers crossed.
Eating
Eating is a hard topic for us - he's still incredibly picky and what he likes often changes from day to day. Generally his "safe" foods are cous cous, finger rolls, popcorn chicken, cereal, crackers, peanut butter and he's recently developed a love for scones. He also likes all the general stuff like biscuits, chocolate and kiddy snacks (although mostly just oaty bars and coconut rolls nowadays). He doesn't really like crisps, except the occasional Pringle. He did eat a Yorkshire pudding at Christmas and apparently he eats fruit at nursery. He is getting better at using his "no thank you" spot instead of throwing food, although it often still ends up on the floor. He'll try new things but "eurgh" is one of his new favourite reactions to even mention of new foods!
Sleep
Not long after his birthday we moved him into his own room despite expecting the worst. For a week or two I slept on his floor and then I'd just go in when he woke up and stay with him until morning. On days where I got up to go to work he would sleep later in a morning so we figured the early starts were just because he could see me. Then I got a stomach bug one night - I spent half the night lying on his floor vomiting and the next day we literally just lay on the sofa chilling as much as he would allow. That night he slept through and the next. For a week or two we had a few days of perfect sleep and a few days that were hit and miss. The last time he woke up during the night was 27 December, when he got his head stuck under his bookcase like an idiot. Since then he's gone down every night at 19:30 (bar one where he just wouldn't go down) and we've had to wake him up at 7 am (occasionally he's woken before but generally not). I still lie with him to get him to sleep but that's not an issue and I like having a little cuddle with him, although mostly he doesn't want me touching him. He's napping anywhere between 12:30 and 13:30, usually earlier if we force a nap with motion in the pushchair, and we wake him at 14:30 if he's not already awake. Generally if he falls asleep at 12:30ish he'll wake up naturally just before 14:30. If anything I'm a little concerned that he is suddenly needing so much sleep and generally just wants to be a bit lazy, I'm hoping spring and more outside time will perk him up a bit. I have no idea what miracle happened or how we got to this point but it is amazing - it took me a couple of weeks to get used to the idea of not having him close by and I still wake up at every little noise on the monitor but things are definitely looking up. Now if only I actually felt refreshed by the sleep!
Nursery
We have parents evening next week but I did have a bit of a chat with his nursery manager today as she's filled in the assessment form for the Community Paediatrician referral and I had a few questions. Basically they have no concerns, other than his eating, but they weren't aware he could speak more than one word at a time as it's not something they've seen yet! I've taken some videos to send to his electronic log so they know where he's at when he's at home. Generally though he's doing great. He really loves it there and is coming along nicely. She did mention that his eating is hit and miss and something they give him one day that he loves he might absolutely hate the next.
Likes and Dislikes
His likes change regularly but he tends to have a pair of things that he'll carry around, one in each hand - recently it has been two Lego dinosaurs, a big plastic hippo and a baby plastic hippo, a green spoon and a yellow spoon... you get the picture. He still loves The Greatest Showman songs and Baby Shark. He's favourite things to watch are Peppa Pig, Bing, the Julia Donaldson adaptations (current favourites are The Highway Rat and The Snail and the Whale) and anything with dinosaurs (especially Jurassic World or Lego Jurassic World). He suddenly loves being snuggled in a blanket which is weird for a kid who spend the first two years of his life refusing to be covered up by anything. He always has to have his sleeves rolled up which is kinda cute. He is dinosaur mad and currently obsessed with his new tiger wellies - as soon as he gets them dirty he wants to come home and clean them. He really likes cleaning - mopping, sweeping, you name it. He idolises his daddy and wants to be just like him - today he pulled his nappy down around his ankles and was pretending to stretch in it like a resistance band, waddling around the bathroom saying "stretch band".
He absolutely hates people getting up in his space and having to share his toys. He doesn't like the wind either. He struggles with patience but we've found setting timers seems to work reasonably well. He doesn't like having his nappy changed but we are hoping to work on potty training in the spring so hopefully that'll resolve that one. He has very strong opinions but there isn't much he just outright dislikes.
Autism?
We've had our suspicions for a long time although I can't really identify where they started and I probably should have written about them. We see a lot of similarities in him to us when we were kids and obviously we both have our issues. I saw the GP back in November about his eating and general behaviour issues - mostly things like running around in circles when he gets overwhelmed, seeming to hate other children his own age and either running away or hitting them if they get near him, having to roll his sleeves up, not liking certain textures, his eating habits, liking things a certain way, masking his behaviours when in public or nursery and really letting loose when he's at home. I could go on.
They brought his 2 year review forward and the HV came to see us on NYE. She spent a good two hours with us and he had a real meltdown during that time so Ant had to take him upstairs while I talked to her. She was more than happy with his development from the questionnaire but she also gave us a social/emotional questionnaire to do. The cut-off for concern was 50 and he scored 105 so she wanted to refer him on for a Community Paediatrician to assess properly - she was 99% sure that referral would be accepted. In the meantime, we had to fill in another questionnaire and get nursery to do one too. I imagine he will be assessed and they will dismiss it because he is so well balanced at nursery but that's because he masks and also because he thrives on routine - if he's having a hard day things settle down once we get to his bedtime routine because it's predictable and he feels safe.
Anyway, in the meantime, she has referred us to an Early Support Group at the SureStart Centre run by another woman who has an autistic child. It's a six-week course on a Tuesday afternoon (fortunately my day off) where they cover all sorts of topics. They phoned me this week to say that they would like to do a home visit to get to know us first and let us know more about it so they are coming next Wednesday - I'll try to do an update about that so that I have references to look back on, I do put quite a lot on Instagram but I haven't yet posted about the whole autism thing as my mum has Instagram and I don't want her getting involved just yet.
Phew... that's a LOT. I'm sure there's plenty more that I've missed but that's basically where we are at now. I'll do another post about what's going on with Ant and I - business and IVF stuff mostly - but that can wait for another day!
Thursday, 16 January 2020
Thursday, 21 November 2019
Ding Ding... Round 2!
Well… where do I start?
We finally had our appointment with the Consultant to get the IVF ball rolling on 5 November. Oscar stayed with Nana and Papa while we went to Sheffield and he had an absolute blast by all accounts.
Essentially, it was a bit pointless Ant being there despite them having demanded he attended. The Consultant asked what our plans were, said he would like to get a baseline scan (which I had expected to be done at the appointment) and then would refer us to the fertility clinic. He did ask us what our plans were if this failed i.e. did we want to do another cycle and then checked my AMH (ovarian reserve) just in case that is something we decide to do. He did warn us that we wouldn’t be seen in the fertility clinic until the new year most likely but, as we weren’t wanting to get started until springtime, that wasn’t a problem for us and was something we had anticipated.
Fast forward a couple of weeks and I’ve received my appointment for the scan on 3 December. That should be a nice easy one as it’s on my day off anyway and I can go alone. However, we then received our appointment for the fertility clinic for the afternoon of 12 December. First thoughts were that it was a pleasant surprise to have received an appointment before Christmas but that it’s on my working day which makes it difficult for us to get there without me having a day off – either I have to leave work early enough to go back and pick Ant up or we have to take two cars. There’s also childcare as an issue because we knew Nana and Papa were at work that day. As it turns out, I’m actually on annual leave that day anyway because I’m going to a concert. Typically, the concert is in Sheffield. Now, initially that sounds perfect… appointment in Sheffield, hang around for concert. Except the appointment is with Ant and the concert is with a friend so my friend would have to get herself to Sheffield (and she’s due to give birth about two weeks before) and Ant would have to get himself home… starting to get less straightforward.
I moved the appointment to 19 December to avoid any stress and asked if Ant really needed to be there. Turns out he does, we have to sign and be witnessed signing the consent form to thaw the embryo. Therefore, we can’t do 19 December as we have no childcare. It definitely wasn’t this hard last time. Let me just add, I’m not the sort of person who requires childcare to get on with my daily tasks. If I have an appointment, I just take Oscar with me and I think it’s important that he learns how to behave in these situations. However, I’m not insensitive enough to roll up to a fertility clinic with a toddler – there are no rules against it but there is kind of an unspoken rule that you just don’t do it.
So that brings us to yesterday! The nurse had emailed me to let me know about the need for us both to attend and offered to move the appointment to the new year as we wouldn’t be able to start before Jan/Feb anyway due to Christmas closures. Fortunately, Nana and Papa were at our house at the time so we worked out a day that worked for all of us, meaning they could have Oscar while Ant and I had our appointment and it still leaves us plenty of time to aim for a spring cycle. So our appointment is now 8 January on one of my days off work – at least working part time is providing a little flexibility I guess. I’d love to say that the nurse is so accommodating because it’s going to be a privately funded cycle but, the truth is, she’s the same nurse we dealt with last time and she was always willing to move mountains to make our lives a little easier so I’m 100% grateful to have her on our team!
We know that the cycle is about five weeks (not including three weeks of pills first) so we are aiming to transfer somewhere between the end of April and middle of May which will give us a mid-Jan/mid-Feb 2021 due date if we are successful. We’ve put a LOT of thought into the timing as anything earlier would have meant risking missing our friends’ wedding in September 2020, then we could have tried to squeeze between that and Oscar’s birthday in November 2020 or between his birthday and Christmas but allowing for the fact that babies can be three weeks early or two weeks late (not including planning for an actual premature baby) it would all just have been too risky. We figure if we aim for mid-Jan at the earliest we should at least be clear for Christmas, although obviously there are never any guarantees.
Part of me is SUPER excited to get things moving but also terrified… if this fails then potentially that’s it and all hope is removed. The Consultant also mentioned at the appointment that because of my cycle being long he doesn’t think I ovulate – now, I remember this conversation happening last time and I think we checked and I just ovulate later in the cycle BUT it’s still a concern, just in case we did decide to get Ant tested and go down the route of trying naturally (assuming luck is in our favour and he doesn’t carry the gene).
So right now things are a little bit up in the air but we are hopeful moving forward. I’ve gone back onto the pill which should hopefully bring some predictability back to my cycles and get my body ready for the treatment ahead. I’m a little concerned that last time I was in pretty good shape physically and had a LOT less stress in my life (no mentally ill mother to worry about, no sleep deprivation, no highly strung toddler, no financial issues… you get the picture) but I’ve got a few months to do what I can to give myself the best possible chance. Obviously, I’m currently eating a chocolate bar and drinking a can of full-sugar energy drink while typing this so maybe I should try harder but I’m FULL of cold and needed a boost!
Friday, 8 November 2019
24 months - TWO whole years!
Once again I'm terribly late writing this but this will be my last monthly Oscar update - they'll get a bit ad hoc now!
Weight: I haven't had him weighed in a while but he seems to be growing. He's finally gone into 18-24 month clothes, although we've had to go back to 12-18 month trousers as the bigger ones are just falling down!
Health: We are really progressing well with the milk ladder - he managed step 1 of malted milks and step 2 of muffins with no issues (other than the fact that he demands biscuits and muffins now and refuses to eat at all when he doesn't get them). We tried step 3 which includes cooked cheese such as sauces or pizza, custard, chocolate and yoghurts - he outright refused pizza but he has been having a little bit of custard over the last few days with seemingly no ill effects, time will tell. Otherwise his health has been okay, although the query of autism is coming up more and more. He gets overly fixated on things (at nursery he carries a doll around in each hand for the whole 5 hours he's there), he has major issues with food and throws everything, he likes to eat soil or stones, he often smacks or bites me especially if he's not seen me in a while and we had serious self-regulating issues when we tried to get rid of his dummy. I plan to approach the GP next week to see what we can do - if nothing else I need some help with the food side of things. He choked on a coin on his birthday and that was the last straw with everything going in his mouth!
Sleep: His sleep isn't great at the moment - he's back to asking me to "stay" at night which is just too cute to refuse and he gets very upset if I don't oblige. He has also had a few nights where he's really faffed about, last night it took an hour because he really wanted his Mad About Dinosaurs book (a current obsession) reading over and over again, then he said he needed a drink, then a wee, eventually he crashed and slept through bar one wake up for a couple of ounces of milk. Most nights he wakes up once or twice, occasionally more. He still tends to wake early although we have been putting him to bed no earlier than 7, sometimes as late as 8, and occasionally get lie ins until around 6:30. It could be a bit of separation anxiety, stress from moving room at nursery (despite not being upset there at all), 2 year sleep regression or just because he's learning so much.
Development: His speech has absolutely exploded in the last month - he's regularly putting two words together now such as "mama knee", "oh no", "all gone", "did it", "big digger" etc. He asks for people by name now and his first proper name was "Maymee" for "Amy"! He has great pretend play and feeds his baby or makes me cups of tea. His physical development is coming on and he's starting to try to catch balls although rarely successful just yet. He is doing really well at swimming (when he wants to participate) and blows bubbles, kicks, pushes off from the side, climbs onto and jumps off the float, holds on to the side and turns towards us, tries to monkey walk - he just is mostly grumpy as lessons are in afternoons so we are planning to move to a morning session. He's taking a real interest in numbers and can identify a fair few of them if he's focusing, the same with shapes. Colours are slow to come but he seems to have got brown randomly! He can pretty competently use a spoon and fork and is starting to use a knife with a little help - we haven't given him one at meals but he likes to use them with Play Doh or help to cut up his food. He finishes the rhymes in his Mad About Dinosaurs book, saying the last word of "teeth" or "claws". His memory is brilliant and he will tell me what he's done during the day when I get home from work. He's just about tolerating a blanket at night and for the first time tonight he's actually using his duvet, although I'm sure it won't last!
Likes/Dislikes: Food wise he seems to have found a love for baked beans, with cous cous still a firm favourite. Night time crackers have been replaced by Cheerios for now but to be honest he loves any cereal. His favourite TV show at the moment (much to my dismay) is Peppa Pig and he loves watching the songs from Moana on YouTube, along with a video called Here Comes a Digger. Book wise he had a book from Emma for his birthday called Lost and Found which is about a penguin and he really likes it but his firm favourite is Mad About Dinosaurs - it has little rhymes about all different types of dinosaurs and he will ask for it to be read five or six times in a row! His favourite toys are a plastic dinosaur that he had in a set for his birthday and has named "Big Roar" and his baby, which we bought him for his birthday after much controversy. He loves pink things, again much controversy! He still loves balls - throwing and kicking anything to be honest. He likes feeding animals such as the ducks at the park and tries to get the cats to come to him, he is finally starting to be gentle with them too. He really doesn't like shadows at the moment and is pretty scared of fireworks. He doesn't like it if he's having a strop and you try to get toys out to distract him and he doesn't like spills e.g. if he spills something on him or if someone else has a wet patch on their clothes. He isn't a giant fan of other children and actually spent most of a friend's little boy's birthday fending toddlers off with a toy chair!
Nursery: He's moved up to the 2-3 year room at nursery this week and is absolutely loving it - he runs in without hesitation in a morning and can't wait to find his "baby". I think he must feel a little insecure as he can't cope if he hasn't got a baby in each hand - at home he likes to take his baby everywhere but is happy to put her down while he's playing etc. I'll be interested to see how he gets on with the more social side of things and whether they are noticing any autistic traits.
Me: I did my fourth assignment amendments and it passed but I have barely started on the fifth - it's been such a busy month with work, Ant's business, Oscar's birthday, family stuff etc. I did apply for a job yesterday at a school but I don't have the qualifications or experience so I'm not expecting to even hear back from them. I'm really stressed about money, especially with Christmas coming up, but things could always be worse.
We had our IVF appointment on Tuesday and are set to be seen in the fertility clinic in the new year. I've started back on the pill and I'm due to go for a scan in Sheffield on 3 December as the final part of the fertility checks. Oddly he said from my blood tests that my long cycle might mean that I don't ovulate so would have struggled naturally but actually I think I remember last time him having to do extra blood tests that showed I just ovulate late - I'm pretty sure I ovulate!
Weight: I haven't had him weighed in a while but he seems to be growing. He's finally gone into 18-24 month clothes, although we've had to go back to 12-18 month trousers as the bigger ones are just falling down!
Health: We are really progressing well with the milk ladder - he managed step 1 of malted milks and step 2 of muffins with no issues (other than the fact that he demands biscuits and muffins now and refuses to eat at all when he doesn't get them). We tried step 3 which includes cooked cheese such as sauces or pizza, custard, chocolate and yoghurts - he outright refused pizza but he has been having a little bit of custard over the last few days with seemingly no ill effects, time will tell. Otherwise his health has been okay, although the query of autism is coming up more and more. He gets overly fixated on things (at nursery he carries a doll around in each hand for the whole 5 hours he's there), he has major issues with food and throws everything, he likes to eat soil or stones, he often smacks or bites me especially if he's not seen me in a while and we had serious self-regulating issues when we tried to get rid of his dummy. I plan to approach the GP next week to see what we can do - if nothing else I need some help with the food side of things. He choked on a coin on his birthday and that was the last straw with everything going in his mouth!
Sleep: His sleep isn't great at the moment - he's back to asking me to "stay" at night which is just too cute to refuse and he gets very upset if I don't oblige. He has also had a few nights where he's really faffed about, last night it took an hour because he really wanted his Mad About Dinosaurs book (a current obsession) reading over and over again, then he said he needed a drink, then a wee, eventually he crashed and slept through bar one wake up for a couple of ounces of milk. Most nights he wakes up once or twice, occasionally more. He still tends to wake early although we have been putting him to bed no earlier than 7, sometimes as late as 8, and occasionally get lie ins until around 6:30. It could be a bit of separation anxiety, stress from moving room at nursery (despite not being upset there at all), 2 year sleep regression or just because he's learning so much.
Development: His speech has absolutely exploded in the last month - he's regularly putting two words together now such as "mama knee", "oh no", "all gone", "did it", "big digger" etc. He asks for people by name now and his first proper name was "Maymee" for "Amy"! He has great pretend play and feeds his baby or makes me cups of tea. His physical development is coming on and he's starting to try to catch balls although rarely successful just yet. He is doing really well at swimming (when he wants to participate) and blows bubbles, kicks, pushes off from the side, climbs onto and jumps off the float, holds on to the side and turns towards us, tries to monkey walk - he just is mostly grumpy as lessons are in afternoons so we are planning to move to a morning session. He's taking a real interest in numbers and can identify a fair few of them if he's focusing, the same with shapes. Colours are slow to come but he seems to have got brown randomly! He can pretty competently use a spoon and fork and is starting to use a knife with a little help - we haven't given him one at meals but he likes to use them with Play Doh or help to cut up his food. He finishes the rhymes in his Mad About Dinosaurs book, saying the last word of "teeth" or "claws". His memory is brilliant and he will tell me what he's done during the day when I get home from work. He's just about tolerating a blanket at night and for the first time tonight he's actually using his duvet, although I'm sure it won't last!
Likes/Dislikes: Food wise he seems to have found a love for baked beans, with cous cous still a firm favourite. Night time crackers have been replaced by Cheerios for now but to be honest he loves any cereal. His favourite TV show at the moment (much to my dismay) is Peppa Pig and he loves watching the songs from Moana on YouTube, along with a video called Here Comes a Digger. Book wise he had a book from Emma for his birthday called Lost and Found which is about a penguin and he really likes it but his firm favourite is Mad About Dinosaurs - it has little rhymes about all different types of dinosaurs and he will ask for it to be read five or six times in a row! His favourite toys are a plastic dinosaur that he had in a set for his birthday and has named "Big Roar" and his baby, which we bought him for his birthday after much controversy. He loves pink things, again much controversy! He still loves balls - throwing and kicking anything to be honest. He likes feeding animals such as the ducks at the park and tries to get the cats to come to him, he is finally starting to be gentle with them too. He really doesn't like shadows at the moment and is pretty scared of fireworks. He doesn't like it if he's having a strop and you try to get toys out to distract him and he doesn't like spills e.g. if he spills something on him or if someone else has a wet patch on their clothes. He isn't a giant fan of other children and actually spent most of a friend's little boy's birthday fending toddlers off with a toy chair!
Nursery: He's moved up to the 2-3 year room at nursery this week and is absolutely loving it - he runs in without hesitation in a morning and can't wait to find his "baby". I think he must feel a little insecure as he can't cope if he hasn't got a baby in each hand - at home he likes to take his baby everywhere but is happy to put her down while he's playing etc. I'll be interested to see how he gets on with the more social side of things and whether they are noticing any autistic traits.
Me: I did my fourth assignment amendments and it passed but I have barely started on the fifth - it's been such a busy month with work, Ant's business, Oscar's birthday, family stuff etc. I did apply for a job yesterday at a school but I don't have the qualifications or experience so I'm not expecting to even hear back from them. I'm really stressed about money, especially with Christmas coming up, but things could always be worse.
We had our IVF appointment on Tuesday and are set to be seen in the fertility clinic in the new year. I've started back on the pill and I'm due to go for a scan in Sheffield on 3 December as the final part of the fertility checks. Oddly he said from my blood tests that my long cycle might mean that I don't ovulate so would have struggled naturally but actually I think I remember last time him having to do extra blood tests that showed I just ovulate late - I'm pretty sure I ovulate!
Wednesday, 9 October 2019
23 months
I am SO late writing this, almost a whole week - oops!!
Weight: I tried to get him weighed but the clinic was cancelled - I weighed him on our scales and he was 11.5 kg and then last week he was down to 11.1 kg (after being poorly).
Health: We saw the dentist today and he confirmed that Oscar indeed has a full set of teeth before the age of 2! He's been okay reflux wise. We got to step 2 of the milk ladder - he tolerated full malted milk biscuits with no issues so we moved onto the next step. We gave him three cheesy puffs and the next day he developed diarrhoea so we stopped... however he then got sick and then passed his symptoms onto Ant and then onto me so we don't think it was the dairy. Otherwise things have been good.
Sleep: He goes to sleep pretty well and happily waves me off at bedtime so he can settle alone. He was sleeping pretty well, waking only once and sleeping until 6 or 7 am until he got poorly a couple of weeks ago. He then started waking at 3 or 4 am and not going back to sleep. He's slowly improving now and is getting up around 5-5:30 am but he's fidgety from around 3 and often has to have a snack to settle him down. The dentist mentioned today that his teeth are starting to get misaligned so we're going to have to ditch the dummy ASAP which no doubt will have a major impact on his sleep for a while.
Development: He's doing really well with his speech - he's still not quite stringing two words together but he can use lots of words in context and you can just about have a simple conversation with him. He can communicate his point most of the time and is making a few more consonant sounds. He's pretty good at undressing now and can remove trousers and long-sleeved tops by himself most of the time. He was showing a real interest in the potty before he got poorly and today he sat on it for the first time since his illness and actually did a wee just before bed so that may be in the pipeline soon. He's gone through a bit of separation anxiety lately but now he's back to full health he seems to have gotten over it. He's getting good at kicking a ball and aiming it and is trying hard to "draw" things. He can get himself up and down stairs on his feet, holding the bannister although he prefers to hold a hand.
Likes/Dislikes: He still loves his cous cous and cream crackers - they've been the staple of his diet for a while now but since he's been poorly they're about all he's eaten. He's digger crazy but also partial to buses and dustbin lorries. We let him watch way too much TV while he was poorly, especially as we ended up poorly too, and he's absolutely obsessed with Monsters Inc and The Jungle Book - anything is better than that damn Bing bunny - and I think we watched Monsters Inc at least once a day for about 12 days straight. He hates the wind which is making it harder to get outside but at least the rain doesn't bother him. His favourite books at the moment are The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child - he's cuddling his Gruffalo at night instead of Peter Rabbit at the moment. He likes stomping in puddles too.
Nursery: He's really happy at nursery, although I still feel very out of touch with them. He's due to move up to a new room, in a totally separate building when he turns 2 but they move them in batches so they said it won't be until probably around December and they'll do it gradually. He already goes into the bigger garden and has had the odd few hours in the 2-3 year old room so I think he'll be okay. We've had our approval for 15 hours free childcare when he's 2 although it doesn't start until the term after he turns 2 so will start in January. He only does 15 hours so for 38 weeks of the year our childcare will be free and we will only pay for school holidays.
Me: I've submitted my fourth assignment and had it back so just have a few amendments to be made. I would have been further ahead but we've had a hell of a month with my mother and then with us all being ill. Oscar got a stomach bug, then passed it onto Ant (who ended up in hospital with severe dehydration) and then I got it, recovered for a day and got it again. It's been a hell of a busy, stressful month.
We ended up missing our IVF appointment because I was poorly so it is now set for bonfire night - very frustrated by that but nothing we could do about it!
Weight: I tried to get him weighed but the clinic was cancelled - I weighed him on our scales and he was 11.5 kg and then last week he was down to 11.1 kg (after being poorly).
Health: We saw the dentist today and he confirmed that Oscar indeed has a full set of teeth before the age of 2! He's been okay reflux wise. We got to step 2 of the milk ladder - he tolerated full malted milk biscuits with no issues so we moved onto the next step. We gave him three cheesy puffs and the next day he developed diarrhoea so we stopped... however he then got sick and then passed his symptoms onto Ant and then onto me so we don't think it was the dairy. Otherwise things have been good.
Sleep: He goes to sleep pretty well and happily waves me off at bedtime so he can settle alone. He was sleeping pretty well, waking only once and sleeping until 6 or 7 am until he got poorly a couple of weeks ago. He then started waking at 3 or 4 am and not going back to sleep. He's slowly improving now and is getting up around 5-5:30 am but he's fidgety from around 3 and often has to have a snack to settle him down. The dentist mentioned today that his teeth are starting to get misaligned so we're going to have to ditch the dummy ASAP which no doubt will have a major impact on his sleep for a while.
Development: He's doing really well with his speech - he's still not quite stringing two words together but he can use lots of words in context and you can just about have a simple conversation with him. He can communicate his point most of the time and is making a few more consonant sounds. He's pretty good at undressing now and can remove trousers and long-sleeved tops by himself most of the time. He was showing a real interest in the potty before he got poorly and today he sat on it for the first time since his illness and actually did a wee just before bed so that may be in the pipeline soon. He's gone through a bit of separation anxiety lately but now he's back to full health he seems to have gotten over it. He's getting good at kicking a ball and aiming it and is trying hard to "draw" things. He can get himself up and down stairs on his feet, holding the bannister although he prefers to hold a hand.
Likes/Dislikes: He still loves his cous cous and cream crackers - they've been the staple of his diet for a while now but since he's been poorly they're about all he's eaten. He's digger crazy but also partial to buses and dustbin lorries. We let him watch way too much TV while he was poorly, especially as we ended up poorly too, and he's absolutely obsessed with Monsters Inc and The Jungle Book - anything is better than that damn Bing bunny - and I think we watched Monsters Inc at least once a day for about 12 days straight. He hates the wind which is making it harder to get outside but at least the rain doesn't bother him. His favourite books at the moment are The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child - he's cuddling his Gruffalo at night instead of Peter Rabbit at the moment. He likes stomping in puddles too.
Nursery: He's really happy at nursery, although I still feel very out of touch with them. He's due to move up to a new room, in a totally separate building when he turns 2 but they move them in batches so they said it won't be until probably around December and they'll do it gradually. He already goes into the bigger garden and has had the odd few hours in the 2-3 year old room so I think he'll be okay. We've had our approval for 15 hours free childcare when he's 2 although it doesn't start until the term after he turns 2 so will start in January. He only does 15 hours so for 38 weeks of the year our childcare will be free and we will only pay for school holidays.
Me: I've submitted my fourth assignment and had it back so just have a few amendments to be made. I would have been further ahead but we've had a hell of a month with my mother and then with us all being ill. Oscar got a stomach bug, then passed it onto Ant (who ended up in hospital with severe dehydration) and then I got it, recovered for a day and got it again. It's been a hell of a busy, stressful month.
We ended up missing our IVF appointment because I was poorly so it is now set for bonfire night - very frustrated by that but nothing we could do about it!
Wednesday, 4 September 2019
22 months
Weight: He won't be weighed for a little while now but he seems to be growing nicely.
Health: Things are quite settled at the moment - he's off all reflux medication and doesn't see to be having any major issues, although he does still vomit occasionally when he bends down. We stopped the Piriton but he seems to be struggling with congestion still, particularly at night and when he first wakes up so he's back to having that before bed again. I'm struggling with allergies too, especially when I first wake up, so I'm wondering if it's the same allergen. I think he finally has all his teeth now, though it's quite hard to get a good look. We are still questioning a diagnosis of mild autism but it's something that won't be considered until we have his 2 year review or see the Paediatrician again.
Sleep: We have had some big changes to sleep lately - he seems to have two patterns overnight. Either he wakes between 12 and 2 am, has half a bottle and sleeps until around 5:30 or 6 am (even 7 am on rare occasions) or he sleeps through to about 4:30 am and then that's it for the night. However, we are taking things one step at a time because we have now fully changed his cot into a bed. We did move it away from our mattress for a few nights but he kept falling off so we put our mattress back against it until we get a guard rail. He's very happy with his "big boy bed" and absolutely loves his digger, which he sleeps with every night. A couple of weeks ago I started to notice he was getting distracted by me and taking a while to go to sleep so I tried telling him I'd be back in a few minutes and he settled himself down. Since then he's gone to sleep unattended every night and it's been a couple of weeks now so fingers crossed it lasts.
Development: He's trying hard with his colours and seems to be able to identify yellow most of the time. He's showing an interest in numbers and counting but his language is holding him back somewhat. He's really trying to say lots of words and has well over 50 now but only maybe 10 that are understandable without context. He's climbing really well and getting quite adventurous - he's been tackling really big slides and the big play areas at soft play. We've had a few bumps and scrapes in the last week now he's getting braver. He uses signs in multiple contexts e.g. asks for "help" but also uses it to ask if he can help us. His understanding is great and he can follow reasonably complex instructions. He's trying to help more with dressing and undressing, especially with his shoes and jacket.
Likes/Dislikes: Nothing much has changed here - he loves vehicles (especially diggers), books, music and being outside. His current favourite books are Zog, Stick Man and Superworm. He is still a little cous cous addict and also loves Malted Wheaties (his current favourite cereal from Aldi). He likes a cuddle now and again but they're still reasonably hard to come by and don't last for long. He still loves TV and likes to sit in the corner of the sofa with his Peter Rabbit blanket over him - it's the only time he'll tolerate a blanket on him! He dislikes loud noises, especially when he can't see where they are coming from. He also dislikes having his arms and legs covered up. We've had a couple of days this week where it's been cooler and he's needed trousers and a jumper instead of shorts and a t-shirt and he's been trying to roll the sleeves up and pull his trousers up to his knees.
Nursery: He is slowly starting to eat a little more at nursery, especially fruit which I often can't get him to eat at home. He's coming along really well and they're trying hard to work on his speech with him. They've noticed he really comes into his own when the other kids go for a sleep and he gets some one to one time with the staff. He definitely prefers adults to children. They've been letting him go and play in the 2-3 year old garden as he's outgrown the one he's in and he loves it!
Me: I've started my fourth assignment but I'm really slacking at the moment as we've had a LOT going on.
We are due to have our first appointment to discuss the next IVF process in a couple of weeks, Ant is in the process of getting a loan to set up his own fitness studio, my mum was recently sectioned (and now has been discharged), I'm struggling with my energy levels and generally it's just been a very busy few weeks, especially with it being summer and having lots of plans with friends and family.
My bloods came back okay - or at least I didn't hear otherwise - but I've not heard anything about the referral to the Chronic Fatigue Service. I'm really struggling with allergies, particularly when I first wake up and I've had to use my inhaler a couple of times in the last few weeks. I've been getting out of breath just trying to read stories to Oscar. I'm also struggling with my bladder, a lot of the time I feel like I can't empty it properly and need to go as soon as I have been. I can't be bothered with dealing with the GP again so I'm just going to put up with it!
Health: Things are quite settled at the moment - he's off all reflux medication and doesn't see to be having any major issues, although he does still vomit occasionally when he bends down. We stopped the Piriton but he seems to be struggling with congestion still, particularly at night and when he first wakes up so he's back to having that before bed again. I'm struggling with allergies too, especially when I first wake up, so I'm wondering if it's the same allergen. I think he finally has all his teeth now, though it's quite hard to get a good look. We are still questioning a diagnosis of mild autism but it's something that won't be considered until we have his 2 year review or see the Paediatrician again.
Sleep: We have had some big changes to sleep lately - he seems to have two patterns overnight. Either he wakes between 12 and 2 am, has half a bottle and sleeps until around 5:30 or 6 am (even 7 am on rare occasions) or he sleeps through to about 4:30 am and then that's it for the night. However, we are taking things one step at a time because we have now fully changed his cot into a bed. We did move it away from our mattress for a few nights but he kept falling off so we put our mattress back against it until we get a guard rail. He's very happy with his "big boy bed" and absolutely loves his digger, which he sleeps with every night. A couple of weeks ago I started to notice he was getting distracted by me and taking a while to go to sleep so I tried telling him I'd be back in a few minutes and he settled himself down. Since then he's gone to sleep unattended every night and it's been a couple of weeks now so fingers crossed it lasts.
Development: He's trying hard with his colours and seems to be able to identify yellow most of the time. He's showing an interest in numbers and counting but his language is holding him back somewhat. He's really trying to say lots of words and has well over 50 now but only maybe 10 that are understandable without context. He's climbing really well and getting quite adventurous - he's been tackling really big slides and the big play areas at soft play. We've had a few bumps and scrapes in the last week now he's getting braver. He uses signs in multiple contexts e.g. asks for "help" but also uses it to ask if he can help us. His understanding is great and he can follow reasonably complex instructions. He's trying to help more with dressing and undressing, especially with his shoes and jacket.
Likes/Dislikes: Nothing much has changed here - he loves vehicles (especially diggers), books, music and being outside. His current favourite books are Zog, Stick Man and Superworm. He is still a little cous cous addict and also loves Malted Wheaties (his current favourite cereal from Aldi). He likes a cuddle now and again but they're still reasonably hard to come by and don't last for long. He still loves TV and likes to sit in the corner of the sofa with his Peter Rabbit blanket over him - it's the only time he'll tolerate a blanket on him! He dislikes loud noises, especially when he can't see where they are coming from. He also dislikes having his arms and legs covered up. We've had a couple of days this week where it's been cooler and he's needed trousers and a jumper instead of shorts and a t-shirt and he's been trying to roll the sleeves up and pull his trousers up to his knees.
Nursery: He is slowly starting to eat a little more at nursery, especially fruit which I often can't get him to eat at home. He's coming along really well and they're trying hard to work on his speech with him. They've noticed he really comes into his own when the other kids go for a sleep and he gets some one to one time with the staff. He definitely prefers adults to children. They've been letting him go and play in the 2-3 year old garden as he's outgrown the one he's in and he loves it!
Me: I've started my fourth assignment but I'm really slacking at the moment as we've had a LOT going on.
We are due to have our first appointment to discuss the next IVF process in a couple of weeks, Ant is in the process of getting a loan to set up his own fitness studio, my mum was recently sectioned (and now has been discharged), I'm struggling with my energy levels and generally it's just been a very busy few weeks, especially with it being summer and having lots of plans with friends and family.
My bloods came back okay - or at least I didn't hear otherwise - but I've not heard anything about the referral to the Chronic Fatigue Service. I'm really struggling with allergies, particularly when I first wake up and I've had to use my inhaler a couple of times in the last few weeks. I've been getting out of breath just trying to read stories to Oscar. I'm also struggling with my bladder, a lot of the time I feel like I can't empty it properly and need to go as soon as I have been. I can't be bothered with dealing with the GP again so I'm just going to put up with it!
Monday, 12 August 2019
Speech Delay?
Oscar's speech is somewhat of a concern to us at the moment, mostly in terms of pronunciation. I'm pretty confident that he doesn't have any issues with language as he understands what we say, he points to thinks and tries to name them and repeats what we say. The words he can say he uses in context and he signs quite proficiently to make his needs known. He has started creating his own signs which, with a lot of pointing and guesswork, we are starting to figure out. I'm not sure where he's getting them from and often can't see the link - for example, he touches his two index fingers together to sign"play dough". Just in the last few days he is starting to really try and repeat words, although none of them sound like what he is trying to say.
I'm going to use this post to detail, for my own benefit, where he is at the moment so that I can see his progress and get things in some sort of order for his 2 year review with the Health Visitor.
WORDS HE CAN SAY WELL:
Mama
Yeah
No
Owl
Papa
Nana (Jenny)
Pepper
WORDS HE CAN PARTLY PRONOUNCE
Ball, book, bin, bird, box, bath, bear, Bing, bounce, bus - he says "ba" for all of these
Banana - "nana"
Shoes - "oo"
Gone - "ga"
He's very recently started saying "mo" for moon and mouse too
WORDS HE STRUGGLES WITH (AND WHAT HE SAYS INSTEAD)
Daddy - "gaggy"
Help, please, van, car - he says "ba" for these too
Bye, done, ta - "ga"
More - "nor"
Lawnmower - "nor-no-ner"
Hedgehog - "ge-goh"
Badger - "ga-ger"
Digger - "giga"
He struggles to make vowel sounds other than "ah", "oo" and "ow". He only has "b", "g", "n" and "m" as consonants but they sometimes get mixed up too - for example, he says "ba" for everything but then says "ga" for bye which should be easy for him.
He makes a lot of animal noises and they mostly sound like what they're meant to although he does say "ba" for "quack" and "mmm" for "moo".
He also says "gmm gmm gmm ba" for Stick Man, gingerbread man, Postman Pat... sometimes with more or less "gmm" noises but always basically with his mouth closed, like he's really having trouble forming the words.
Nobody else understands much of what he says and they don't understand the signs either but he gets by. We don't leave him with anyone except nursery and occasionally Ant's parents (Jenny is quite good at understanding him). He's having a lot of tantrums and that's probably because he's frustrated that he can't say what he wants to and we often don't understand him.
He says "ba" for pretty much everything, usually accompanied by a sign or pointing so we know what he's getting at. Unless he comes on phenomenally in the next six months I'm expecting he'll need some sort of speech therapy. He comes on in fits and starts but his pronunciation doesn't improve - he said virtually nothing by 18 months except "daddy" and "owl", not even "mama", but then he had a spurt of learning lots of words. It slowed down again but he's currently trying to repeat every thing and getting a lot more communicative, however his pronunciation still hasn't improved. I'm determined to advocate for him as I genuinely believe knows the words and is of average, if not above average, intelligence so I don't want to see him struggle and give up.
I'm going to see his Key Worker at nursery about it tomorrow so will be interested to see what she says!
I'm going to use this post to detail, for my own benefit, where he is at the moment so that I can see his progress and get things in some sort of order for his 2 year review with the Health Visitor.
WORDS HE CAN SAY WELL:
Mama
Yeah
No
Owl
Papa
Nana (Jenny)
Pepper
WORDS HE CAN PARTLY PRONOUNCE
Ball, book, bin, bird, box, bath, bear, Bing, bounce, bus - he says "ba" for all of these
Banana - "nana"
Shoes - "oo"
Gone - "ga"
He's very recently started saying "mo" for moon and mouse too
WORDS HE STRUGGLES WITH (AND WHAT HE SAYS INSTEAD)
Daddy - "gaggy"
Help, please, van, car - he says "ba" for these too
Bye, done, ta - "ga"
More - "nor"
Lawnmower - "nor-no-ner"
Hedgehog - "ge-goh"
Badger - "ga-ger"
Digger - "giga"
He struggles to make vowel sounds other than "ah", "oo" and "ow". He only has "b", "g", "n" and "m" as consonants but they sometimes get mixed up too - for example, he says "ba" for everything but then says "ga" for bye which should be easy for him.
He makes a lot of animal noises and they mostly sound like what they're meant to although he does say "ba" for "quack" and "mmm" for "moo".
He also says "gmm gmm gmm ba" for Stick Man, gingerbread man, Postman Pat... sometimes with more or less "gmm" noises but always basically with his mouth closed, like he's really having trouble forming the words.
Nobody else understands much of what he says and they don't understand the signs either but he gets by. We don't leave him with anyone except nursery and occasionally Ant's parents (Jenny is quite good at understanding him). He's having a lot of tantrums and that's probably because he's frustrated that he can't say what he wants to and we often don't understand him.
He says "ba" for pretty much everything, usually accompanied by a sign or pointing so we know what he's getting at. Unless he comes on phenomenally in the next six months I'm expecting he'll need some sort of speech therapy. He comes on in fits and starts but his pronunciation doesn't improve - he said virtually nothing by 18 months except "daddy" and "owl", not even "mama", but then he had a spurt of learning lots of words. It slowed down again but he's currently trying to repeat every thing and getting a lot more communicative, however his pronunciation still hasn't improved. I'm determined to advocate for him as I genuinely believe knows the words and is of average, if not above average, intelligence so I don't want to see him struggle and give up.
I'm going to see his Key Worker at nursery about it tomorrow so will be interested to see what she says!
Wednesday, 7 August 2019
21 months
Weight: He was weighed on 30 July and was exactly 11 kg (24 lb 4 oz). His weight was on 25th-50th centile which is the highest it's been for a while! He was 80.8 cm tall (9th centile) and head circumference was 49.5 cm (just under 98th centile) so clearly he's got my height and his daddy's head.
Health: Things have been up and down. We saw the Paediatrician on 30 July and he's not concerned about the chestiness as he thinks it's just secretions and not reflux. Given that, we are weaning off the ranitidine. He's down to just an evening dose at the moment and then once that's weaned we will try him off the Piriton and see how he goes. I'm writing this a bit late (7/8/19) as we've had a busy weekend but I think he might be coming down with something today. He's seemed alright all day but he woke up from his nap with a low-grade fever and it's come and gone all afternoon. This evening he was tired during his stories/snack and didn't even drink his milk, he didn't want a bath and he fell asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow, even before I'd finished his story, which is unheard of! His temperature was around 38.5 at bedtime but he seemed happy enough so I didn't give him any Calpol, just keeping a close eye on him. We are starting to question whether he may be on the autistic spectrum due to some of his behaviours and the epic tantrums/head banging he's having but I'll do a separate post about that I think as it'll take a while to explain.
Sleep: Bedtime is still pretty smooth (although last night took a long time and I had to pick him up and rock him which he's never liked before). He generally has one bottle in the night, around 3 and then wakes for the day anywhere between 4:30 and 6:30. He has been waking to ask for his bottle around half 12 but if I tell him to lie down while I go get it he's often fallen back asleep by the time I get back and then ends up actually having it around 3 so not too bad. He's randomly started wanting to get up in the night now and it can lead to some serious upset when I don't let him but it's only happened a couple of times so hopefully it's a short-lived thing. He generally naps well and has around 1.5 - 2 hours anywhere between 11 and 2:30. When he's at home it's usually asleep just after 11 but on nursery days he falls asleep en route home at around 12:30. He's also decided his little TY Peter Rabbit toy is now his comforter and he goes everywhere with him, it's very cute.
Development: He's picked up a few fears lately - one of which was the bath, but after a LOT of patience and work on water play we seem to have cracked that one. His speech isn't coming on quite as quickly as we might like but he is trying to say new words, his pronunciation is just not great. He signs really well and can get his wants/needs across. He's starting creating his own signs and we have no idea where they're coming from - we only manage to guess what they are from the context but nobody else will have a clue! He's tryingt o run and is getting better at climbing. He can blow bubbles with a bubble wand and uses a spoon and fork quite well. We are trying to work on counting and colours at the moment - it's hard work due to the lack of speech but I'm still introducing the concept.
Likes/Dislikes: He LOVES diggers at the moment and playing with "big kids", anyone 6 or older generally. He refuses to acknowledge children his own age. His favourite food is cous cous, pretty much the only thing he'll eat these days although we are working on it. He's at his happiest when he's out and about exploring - he'll walk through woods and such for well over an hour just looking around and toddling along. He loves animals although mostly from a distance. He has a bit of a TV obsession which we are working on (he had way too much TV when we were both poorly a few weeks back and it's been hard to wean down) - he loves Bing, Waffle the Wonder Dog and the Julia Donaldson TV adaptations. He still really loves books and loves pointing things out in them as I read - current favourites are Here We Are (with a big page of animals), A Busy Day for Birds and Room on the Broom.
Nursery: He doesn't eat at nursery, except for one random corned beef hash but his behaviour is apparently impeccable. I'm waiting to speak to them about his development/behaviour issues (he bit me the other day) but they're generally happy with his development and just want to work on his speech.
Me: My course is going well and I've passed my third assignment so I'm over halfway there now - I really need to get started on my fourth!
I'm struggling health wise and have been to the GP. She's requested some bloods and I'm going to be referred to the Chronic Fatigue Service as there's no local EDS specialist. I'm having a lot of pain in my hips at night and generally feeling exhausted. My hand therapist gave me a splint for my little finger (which she had to make as my fingers were too small) and I go back on 6 September to discuss it and see what issues I've been having etc. I think I have a condition, linked with EDS, called dysautomnia which explains most of my symptoms. Oddly enough I was fine while pregnant and mostly fine while breastfeeding but I assume my blood pressure is back down to being stupidly low now I'm back to "normal".
Health: Things have been up and down. We saw the Paediatrician on 30 July and he's not concerned about the chestiness as he thinks it's just secretions and not reflux. Given that, we are weaning off the ranitidine. He's down to just an evening dose at the moment and then once that's weaned we will try him off the Piriton and see how he goes. I'm writing this a bit late (7/8/19) as we've had a busy weekend but I think he might be coming down with something today. He's seemed alright all day but he woke up from his nap with a low-grade fever and it's come and gone all afternoon. This evening he was tired during his stories/snack and didn't even drink his milk, he didn't want a bath and he fell asleep almost as soon as his head touched the pillow, even before I'd finished his story, which is unheard of! His temperature was around 38.5 at bedtime but he seemed happy enough so I didn't give him any Calpol, just keeping a close eye on him. We are starting to question whether he may be on the autistic spectrum due to some of his behaviours and the epic tantrums/head banging he's having but I'll do a separate post about that I think as it'll take a while to explain.
Sleep: Bedtime is still pretty smooth (although last night took a long time and I had to pick him up and rock him which he's never liked before). He generally has one bottle in the night, around 3 and then wakes for the day anywhere between 4:30 and 6:30. He has been waking to ask for his bottle around half 12 but if I tell him to lie down while I go get it he's often fallen back asleep by the time I get back and then ends up actually having it around 3 so not too bad. He's randomly started wanting to get up in the night now and it can lead to some serious upset when I don't let him but it's only happened a couple of times so hopefully it's a short-lived thing. He generally naps well and has around 1.5 - 2 hours anywhere between 11 and 2:30. When he's at home it's usually asleep just after 11 but on nursery days he falls asleep en route home at around 12:30. He's also decided his little TY Peter Rabbit toy is now his comforter and he goes everywhere with him, it's very cute.
Development: He's picked up a few fears lately - one of which was the bath, but after a LOT of patience and work on water play we seem to have cracked that one. His speech isn't coming on quite as quickly as we might like but he is trying to say new words, his pronunciation is just not great. He signs really well and can get his wants/needs across. He's starting creating his own signs and we have no idea where they're coming from - we only manage to guess what they are from the context but nobody else will have a clue! He's tryingt o run and is getting better at climbing. He can blow bubbles with a bubble wand and uses a spoon and fork quite well. We are trying to work on counting and colours at the moment - it's hard work due to the lack of speech but I'm still introducing the concept.
Likes/Dislikes: He LOVES diggers at the moment and playing with "big kids", anyone 6 or older generally. He refuses to acknowledge children his own age. His favourite food is cous cous, pretty much the only thing he'll eat these days although we are working on it. He's at his happiest when he's out and about exploring - he'll walk through woods and such for well over an hour just looking around and toddling along. He loves animals although mostly from a distance. He has a bit of a TV obsession which we are working on (he had way too much TV when we were both poorly a few weeks back and it's been hard to wean down) - he loves Bing, Waffle the Wonder Dog and the Julia Donaldson TV adaptations. He still really loves books and loves pointing things out in them as I read - current favourites are Here We Are (with a big page of animals), A Busy Day for Birds and Room on the Broom.
Nursery: He doesn't eat at nursery, except for one random corned beef hash but his behaviour is apparently impeccable. I'm waiting to speak to them about his development/behaviour issues (he bit me the other day) but they're generally happy with his development and just want to work on his speech.
Me: My course is going well and I've passed my third assignment so I'm over halfway there now - I really need to get started on my fourth!
I'm struggling health wise and have been to the GP. She's requested some bloods and I'm going to be referred to the Chronic Fatigue Service as there's no local EDS specialist. I'm having a lot of pain in my hips at night and generally feeling exhausted. My hand therapist gave me a splint for my little finger (which she had to make as my fingers were too small) and I go back on 6 September to discuss it and see what issues I've been having etc. I think I have a condition, linked with EDS, called dysautomnia which explains most of my symptoms. Oddly enough I was fine while pregnant and mostly fine while breastfeeding but I assume my blood pressure is back down to being stupidly low now I'm back to "normal".
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