This week is full of important birthdays for us. On the 19th my baby is becoming a legal adult....Chelsie will be the big 1...8. I can't believe that. I remember holding this tiny little bundle. She was 7lb born and she had loads of wrinkly skin....she looked like a little old man. And in a few days she'll be old enough to vote and more importantly to her go out and hit the pubs with her mates....well those that are old enough. Her friend set up a facebook event thing and I was shocked to see so many of her good friends saying they weren't gonna go....I couldn't understand it. So I mentioned it to her and she had to point out to thicko me that those who weren't going weren't 18 yet.
Then we have Evelyn who's birthday is also the 19th.....she is Micks lovely mum. I can't remember her exact age...I think its something like 78. We never know what to buy her as she says she has everything she could want or need.....so like my mum we always end up getting her bon marche vouchers. Not very original but at least its something we know she'll want and will use.
And finally on the 16th we have our grandaugher Kaylas 3rd birthday on the 16th. I love bargains so I had already brought her birthday and christmas presses by the end of January. We were going to give her the smaller of the 2 for her birthday but Mick asked if we could give her the bigger one as it was stored in the bedroom in a box and it kept falling down and hiting him. Its a boy doll called Sam....and he is massive. Mick doesn't like him as he says he is scary looking. I don't think he is...I just think that they don't like the size of him. So now I just have to wrap him up. Mick is working on wednesday so we won't be able to take her pressie up then....so we either do it today or I end up walking up there with the massive doll resting on the pram on weds.
Monday 14 March 2011
Sunday 13 March 2011
Time flies even when your not having fun!
I can't believe its been a week since I last posted. Its been one of those weeks.....again.
Firstly on last Sundays evening Alex and Gabbie were out playing on the trampoline. Alex run in yelling Gabbie had hurt her foot. This is probably going to sound unfeeling but I just said yeah. She is always hurting her ankles and feet and its never been anything serious. She hopped in crying. I have never seen her like that before. She took her sock off and it became obvious that we'd need to get her medical treatment. So we had to ask Chelsie to look after Noah and Alex.....changing her plans. I helped Gabbie into the car. She wasn't able to put any weight on her foot so it was her hopping and hanging onto my neck for dear life. First there was the trip to the petrol station....the whole time with her sobbing and moaning in the back of the car. Then the 20 miles to Colchetser A&E. Mick dropped us off at the door and went to park the car. So in we go...more hopping and neck hugging. I booked her in and noticed the sign saying waiting times estimated to be between 2 and 3 hrs. Must admit my heart sunk. But luckily for us Colchester hospital has its own small children's A&E so we only waited about 45 Min's to be seen. The lovely doc gave her some painkillers and got her a wheelchair. Its one of those lovely NHS ones that they use that you pull the patient in rather than push. We were sent off to x-ray. She was quite quickly seen and we were sent back to A&E. The doc looked at the x-rays and was happy there was no fracture. They have given her a pair of crutches though and she was told to rest her foot.....much to her disgust as she'd just been picked for the gifted & talented hockey team.
So Gabbie being Gabbie she decided that rather than have a day off on Monday she'd go to school. I just waited for the inevitable phone call from the school and at about 2.30 pm it came. Gabbie had fallen down some steps and her ankle was killing her so could she come home. I said yes. I was asked if I was going to go and pick her up. When I said no I got a rather snotty Oh back. The thing is we do literally live 2 minutes from the house and I haven't got a car and I do have Noah. I don't know if they were expecting me to go there with Noah in a pram and give Gabbie a piggy back, back whilst still pushing the pram. She got home fine anyway.
The rest of the week has pretty much just been snot filled. That's my snot. My sore throat went and became a sinus infection and cough. Its pretty much disgusting when I wake up. I spend the first 10 minutes coughing and blowing my nose trying to get to the point where I can breath. I have now moved on from flu tablets to decongestant ones. I wonder how many calories you burn up from an hour of coughing.....I wonder if I could get it to count towards my slimming world body magic award.
I can't remember if I mentioned before but Mick my lovely hubby and my Mum are both town councillors. Both had decided not to stand again in the may local elections. Mainly down to Noah's problems. But these last few weeks he has definitely gained quite a bit of sight so they have now decided they want to stand. I did think that it was coming. Micks been a cllr for 8 yrs and mum for 4. And for the most part they enjoy it but just recently its been horrendous. When it comes up to an election year all the different parties start getting at each other. Mum and Mick are both independents and so try very hard not to get involved. At the moment the council is very reminiscent of the playground. Mick wants me to stand as well. I have said I would....more as a seat filler than anything else as I don't have much desire to be a cllr. Don't get me wrong if by some miracle I got in I would give it 100%....its just not my biggest desire right at this moment.
My biggest desire right now is to just feel human for longer than an hour at a time.
Firstly on last Sundays evening Alex and Gabbie were out playing on the trampoline. Alex run in yelling Gabbie had hurt her foot. This is probably going to sound unfeeling but I just said yeah. She is always hurting her ankles and feet and its never been anything serious. She hopped in crying. I have never seen her like that before. She took her sock off and it became obvious that we'd need to get her medical treatment. So we had to ask Chelsie to look after Noah and Alex.....changing her plans. I helped Gabbie into the car. She wasn't able to put any weight on her foot so it was her hopping and hanging onto my neck for dear life. First there was the trip to the petrol station....the whole time with her sobbing and moaning in the back of the car. Then the 20 miles to Colchetser A&E. Mick dropped us off at the door and went to park the car. So in we go...more hopping and neck hugging. I booked her in and noticed the sign saying waiting times estimated to be between 2 and 3 hrs. Must admit my heart sunk. But luckily for us Colchester hospital has its own small children's A&E so we only waited about 45 Min's to be seen. The lovely doc gave her some painkillers and got her a wheelchair. Its one of those lovely NHS ones that they use that you pull the patient in rather than push. We were sent off to x-ray. She was quite quickly seen and we were sent back to A&E. The doc looked at the x-rays and was happy there was no fracture. They have given her a pair of crutches though and she was told to rest her foot.....much to her disgust as she'd just been picked for the gifted & talented hockey team.
This is her foot just after she hurt it.....being the kind caring mother I am I made sure we had a photo for face book before we went to the hospital.
This is it now the bruise has started to come out....its much more bruised than this now.
The rest of the week has pretty much just been snot filled. That's my snot. My sore throat went and became a sinus infection and cough. Its pretty much disgusting when I wake up. I spend the first 10 minutes coughing and blowing my nose trying to get to the point where I can breath. I have now moved on from flu tablets to decongestant ones. I wonder how many calories you burn up from an hour of coughing.....I wonder if I could get it to count towards my slimming world body magic award.
I can't remember if I mentioned before but Mick my lovely hubby and my Mum are both town councillors. Both had decided not to stand again in the may local elections. Mainly down to Noah's problems. But these last few weeks he has definitely gained quite a bit of sight so they have now decided they want to stand. I did think that it was coming. Micks been a cllr for 8 yrs and mum for 4. And for the most part they enjoy it but just recently its been horrendous. When it comes up to an election year all the different parties start getting at each other. Mum and Mick are both independents and so try very hard not to get involved. At the moment the council is very reminiscent of the playground. Mick wants me to stand as well. I have said I would....more as a seat filler than anything else as I don't have much desire to be a cllr. Don't get me wrong if by some miracle I got in I would give it 100%....its just not my biggest desire right at this moment.
My biggest desire right now is to just feel human for longer than an hour at a time.
Sunday 6 March 2011
Sneezing is the way forward
I seem to go through stages of where I sneeze a lot. There's the normal reasons like cold, dust etc....sometimes even sunlight will do it. But then there are the times when I just sit and sneeze loads for no obvious reasons. My sneezing at the moment is down to this cold. I know my cold isn't any worse than anyone else's its just its the first cold I have had for about a year. Its like a shock to my system. I am having to take flu and cold capsules. Beechams I think. They're the day and night ones. Apparently the day ones contain caffeine and the night ones don't...not sure that I have noticed any difference when I have been taking them....but I do look forward to not having to take painkillers for breakfast.
Poor little Noah is suffering with his cold still. he is like me and can sneeze a lot. But unlike me he tends to do it a lot with food in his mouth. Sneezed out pureed carrot is not pleasant. But he does have quite an impressive splatter range. And he seems to find it funny. Or its my feeble attempts to catch it before I end up wearing it that he finds funny. When I put a bib on him its easy enough just to hold the bib up to cover his mouth....but due to his habit of grabbing bibs and trying to chew them (even with a full mouth) I haven't put a bib on him for a few days. That's another thing I had forgotten about babies....when you first start weaning them you need about 3 pairs of hands.
Poor little Noah is suffering with his cold still. he is like me and can sneeze a lot. But unlike me he tends to do it a lot with food in his mouth. Sneezed out pureed carrot is not pleasant. But he does have quite an impressive splatter range. And he seems to find it funny. Or its my feeble attempts to catch it before I end up wearing it that he finds funny. When I put a bib on him its easy enough just to hold the bib up to cover his mouth....but due to his habit of grabbing bibs and trying to chew them (even with a full mouth) I haven't put a bib on him for a few days. That's another thing I had forgotten about babies....when you first start weaning them you need about 3 pairs of hands.
Saturday 5 March 2011
Late post
I don't know why but our post is getting later and later all the time. The latest its been recently was about 4pm. Or even stranger our post will come in 2 or 3 deliveries. I remember way back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth that a 2nd delivery was normal. Not sure why we're getting an 2nd or 3rd now though.
Anyway the late delivery brought us the letters for Noah's appointments. We have to take him to Clacton hospital on the 15th for his liver scan....and yet again he can't eat for 6 hours beforehand....though he can have clear liquids. Seeing how well the water went down last time I don't think he'll be wanting a lot of that. Then on the 17th he has to be seen at Colchester hospital. Not sure whats that about. We were told he had to have blood tests but this says to see a paediatric nurse.....I guess we'll find out when we get there.
In the same lot of posts I got a letter from table table. We've eaten at their restaurants a few times. They were writing to tell me that they no longer were doing nectar points. But they did send me a voucher for a buy one get one free dinner for this month. There is a table table restaurant on the way home from Clacton so we plan to call in there after Noah's scan.
Lastly we got our package from comic relief. Not having a Sainsburys close by we can't easily buy red noses so we tend to order them on line. There's 3 designs so I ordered 2 of each and a giggler. A big red nose type thing that laughs when you hit it. I got that for Noah as he's obviously a little too small for the noses. Alex had been hinting for a pirate nose and so he's very happy that he managed to get one. I just hope that it lasts long enough for him to wear it to school on the 18th.
Anyway the late delivery brought us the letters for Noah's appointments. We have to take him to Clacton hospital on the 15th for his liver scan....and yet again he can't eat for 6 hours beforehand....though he can have clear liquids. Seeing how well the water went down last time I don't think he'll be wanting a lot of that. Then on the 17th he has to be seen at Colchester hospital. Not sure whats that about. We were told he had to have blood tests but this says to see a paediatric nurse.....I guess we'll find out when we get there.
In the same lot of posts I got a letter from table table. We've eaten at their restaurants a few times. They were writing to tell me that they no longer were doing nectar points. But they did send me a voucher for a buy one get one free dinner for this month. There is a table table restaurant on the way home from Clacton so we plan to call in there after Noah's scan.
Lastly we got our package from comic relief. Not having a Sainsburys close by we can't easily buy red noses so we tend to order them on line. There's 3 designs so I ordered 2 of each and a giggler. A big red nose type thing that laughs when you hit it. I got that for Noah as he's obviously a little too small for the noses. Alex had been hinting for a pirate nose and so he's very happy that he managed to get one. I just hope that it lasts long enough for him to wear it to school on the 18th.
Lost posts
Grrrr....I just sat here typing out a long post about all of last week and then I pushed the wrong button and it was gone.
Bit of a busy week....hence the lack of posting. The main part was that we heard back from Dr Turner about Noah's MRI. She said that it was clear (big relief) but they were having someone who specialises in children's MRI's checking it just to be sure. The blood tests that were done did however show something. One showed that at some point he had been exposed to a very common virus. Which if we got it would more than likely give us no symptoms at all....in fact most people never know they've had it. But if a baby gets it un utero it can cause a whole host of problems....even miscarriage and still birth. It can affect head size, liver, hearing and quite a few other things. I told Dr Turner that I was ill a few weeks before I had him. She asked if they could check my blood from when I booked in when I was first preggers. I'm surprised they still had some as it was a yr ago.....but if that come back clear they could then test me now to see if I have been infected between now and then. Of course it wouldn't tell us when he was infected though. Also the bloods showed that one of the liver tests weren't quite normal. So she is sending him for a liver ultra sound scan and more bloods. She did keep saying that if this was down to the virus he is suffering only very mildly. And after googling I have to agree.
Of course it may all just be a co-incidence and he has just had the virus after birth and he is suffering from DVM as was diagnosed. We know he is gaining some sight as he will now sometimes follow things with his eyes. It has to pass very slowly but he does see. Dr Turner had spoken with Mr Beckinsale (opthamologist) and they had spoken about Noah going to GOSH for more tests....but I am hoping now he is showing some signs of improvement that he may delay sending him there and waiting for a bit and seeing just how he progresses.
We're all suffering with colds....and sore throats round here at the moment so not a lot is happening. Just lots of snuffling and coughing and spluttering. I have the worst sore throat and now relying on painkillers just to be able to swallow....guess it might help me lose some weight this week at fat club Mum told me to go to the docs but like an idiot I decided to wait and see how I was over the weekend....I think its tonsillitis so possibly not the best decision I have ever made. I guess this is one situation where Mum does know best.
Bit of a busy week....hence the lack of posting. The main part was that we heard back from Dr Turner about Noah's MRI. She said that it was clear (big relief) but they were having someone who specialises in children's MRI's checking it just to be sure. The blood tests that were done did however show something. One showed that at some point he had been exposed to a very common virus. Which if we got it would more than likely give us no symptoms at all....in fact most people never know they've had it. But if a baby gets it un utero it can cause a whole host of problems....even miscarriage and still birth. It can affect head size, liver, hearing and quite a few other things. I told Dr Turner that I was ill a few weeks before I had him. She asked if they could check my blood from when I booked in when I was first preggers. I'm surprised they still had some as it was a yr ago.....but if that come back clear they could then test me now to see if I have been infected between now and then. Of course it wouldn't tell us when he was infected though. Also the bloods showed that one of the liver tests weren't quite normal. So she is sending him for a liver ultra sound scan and more bloods. She did keep saying that if this was down to the virus he is suffering only very mildly. And after googling I have to agree.
Of course it may all just be a co-incidence and he has just had the virus after birth and he is suffering from DVM as was diagnosed. We know he is gaining some sight as he will now sometimes follow things with his eyes. It has to pass very slowly but he does see. Dr Turner had spoken with Mr Beckinsale (opthamologist) and they had spoken about Noah going to GOSH for more tests....but I am hoping now he is showing some signs of improvement that he may delay sending him there and waiting for a bit and seeing just how he progresses.
We're all suffering with colds....and sore throats round here at the moment so not a lot is happening. Just lots of snuffling and coughing and spluttering. I have the worst sore throat and now relying on painkillers just to be able to swallow....guess it might help me lose some weight this week at fat club Mum told me to go to the docs but like an idiot I decided to wait and see how I was over the weekend....I think its tonsillitis so possibly not the best decision I have ever made. I guess this is one situation where Mum does know best.
Wednesday 23 February 2011
Brown stuff
This morning I awake to what sounded like digging in the garden. I thought that perhaps Mick was burying Gary the goldfish....I did think it was an odd thing to do but you never know. Mick brought Noah up and said....the drain out the back is over flowing. So the digging noise was him trying to clear the sewage in the garden. We're in a council house so when the office opened I called them. They asked for someone to be in all day. Noah was due to have his 3rd lot of jabs so I had to call mum and ask her to take him. Of course it was pouring with rain. She has a car but cant get his car seat in and out so decided to walk him there in the pram. Luckily we live behind the hospital where the doctors surgery is so it isn't to far....but I did feel a pang of guilt as she struggled up off the road pushing the pram and trying to keep her brolly up. I fully expected her to be gone an hour....but she was home after about 20 minutes. Noah was soundo again. She said he gave a very brief angry cry when he was injected (3 times) and then that was it.
The men from the council finally turned up a little after 2. They cleared the blockage quickly. Though when they lifted the drain cover you could see the 'brown stuff' all the way to the top. They were asking me if I used the more expensive padded luxury loo roll. I did say that with 7 of us in the house I couldn't afford to. In fact we use the quite cheap stuff from lidls. It doesn't matter what make it is we do tend to go through more than a roll a day. Anyway turns out it was me that caused the blockage. I had brought and used some 'flushable' toilet cleaner wipes. They certainly are flushable, as in they go down into the drain. And then they stayed there and blocked it. I didn't even use that many. Anyway they were lovely about it and made me promise not to flush them again. Lesson learned.....just because they say they can be flushed it doesn't mean they should be.
The men from the council finally turned up a little after 2. They cleared the blockage quickly. Though when they lifted the drain cover you could see the 'brown stuff' all the way to the top. They were asking me if I used the more expensive padded luxury loo roll. I did say that with 7 of us in the house I couldn't afford to. In fact we use the quite cheap stuff from lidls. It doesn't matter what make it is we do tend to go through more than a roll a day. Anyway turns out it was me that caused the blockage. I had brought and used some 'flushable' toilet cleaner wipes. They certainly are flushable, as in they go down into the drain. And then they stayed there and blocked it. I didn't even use that many. Anyway they were lovely about it and made me promise not to flush them again. Lesson learned.....just because they say they can be flushed it doesn't mean they should be.
Tuesday 22 February 2011
R.I.P Gary
Sadly Gary the fish is no longer with us.....he is swimming in the big fish tank in the sky. He was Alex's fish and Alex was upset when he found out....but then Chelsie gave him some chocolate cake and he cheered up. I wish we could be cured of upsets with chocolate cake....life would be so much easier.
What a chunk!!!
The health visitor has just been and weighed Noah. She comes here to do him so that we don't have to explain his problems in a room full of other people. At the baby clinic you can't guarantee which HV you'll get. Though I don't think I would be bothered about it now. She is very pleased with how he is doing. She thinks we are doing all the right things with him. I told her that I was worried that I didn't think I was doing enough. I feel as though perhaps I need to do more.....but she thinks we're doing ok. We always have a little chat about things before she weighs him so she knows how we are getting on with things. She says that we are coping with everything a lot better than a lot of other people she meets. I think because I don't feel the need or have the inclination to sugar coat things when I tell people about Noah. If they talk to him when he is in the pram I just tell them....he is blind so he doesn't know you are talking to him....so just lightly touch his face or hand and he'll know. Mick doesn't agree with how I say it but to be honest I just don't have the energy to worry about everyone else's feelings as most of the time having to say that to someone is bloody hard on me. Anyway Elaine our HV says a lot of people just won't admit it to other people that there is something wrong with their baby. I really don't understand that. I mean I would love to bury my head in the sand and deny there's a problem....but my job as his mummy is to do the best for him and make sure he gets all the help he needs and pretending he is 'normal' won't get him what he needs.
Anyway the main reason for the visit was to weigh him.....and the chunky monkey is a whopping 20lbs 8.5 Oz's. That puts him above the 98th centile line.
Anyway the main reason for the visit was to weigh him.....and the chunky monkey is a whopping 20lbs 8.5 Oz's. That puts him above the 98th centile line.
Monday 21 February 2011
Apple & Pears
We have a hit on the food front with fruit....well the two we've tried so far. I tried the pear first and that went down very well. After a few days I added some baby rice to it and Noah gobbled it down. So today I decided to try apple. And he seemed to love that more than the pear. I decided to make up a fair bit and freeze it. First I gently simmered the fruit till it was soft. Then with my hand blender I just pureed it. I stuck it in some ice cube trays and froze it. When it was frozen I put it into tubs that I've labelled. I used to do that with Alex and he used to love apple and pear together. In a few days I'll try some veg. At the moment he's just having one ice cube size block a day.....perhaps a little bit more if its mixed with baby rice.
I was talking to my niece in law about weaning the other day and she mentioned that with her youngest she did baby led weaning. Having read up on it I did think that a blind, lactose intolerant baby probably wasn't going to do to well with that.
I remember with the others when they were weaning we used to have to hide to eat naughty things so not to feel guilty about it. I guess if you try and look for the positives in this then at least with Noah we don't have to do that. Mind you at the moment he seems quite happy to sit and chew on his hand....fingers...thumb.....bib....toys.....anything that he can get into his mouth including our fingers.
I was talking to my niece in law about weaning the other day and she mentioned that with her youngest she did baby led weaning. Having read up on it I did think that a blind, lactose intolerant baby probably wasn't going to do to well with that.
I remember with the others when they were weaning we used to have to hide to eat naughty things so not to feel guilty about it. I guess if you try and look for the positives in this then at least with Noah we don't have to do that. Mind you at the moment he seems quite happy to sit and chew on his hand....fingers...thumb.....bib....toys.....anything that he can get into his mouth including our fingers.
Saturday 19 February 2011
Emotions again
I thought I was getting a grip on my emotions. I thought coming to terms with what was happening would lessen it all. I know Tuesday was incredibly hard but I really did think I had coped. On Wednesday Noah and I went to a new Asda that's opened in town. As it was just the 2 of us I had the basket resting on the pram. He was soundo. I'd purposefully gone out after his 11.30 feed. Halfway round the shop I just happened to glance at him and he was still soundo and he looked just so content and relaxed. And I felt like I could just burst out crying there and then in the middle of the shop. I felt quite wretched and almost panicky. I didn't cry I just gave myself a mental shakedown and carried on with the shopping. When I think about it I don't think I have really cried about this much at all. Perhaps when we get a true diagnosis I'll be able to.
Long legs
My mum brought Noah some pj's a part of his Christmas present. She got him 3-6 months because by Christmas he was just over 2 months. Due to the vast amount of babygro's he has he hasn't worn them recently. I put them on his last night. He's 4 months now and they are too short for him. He sleeps in a baby grobag so the length doesn't really matter. He has so many clothes that he has hardly worn. He took forever to grow big enough to look okay in 0-3 month clothes and then all of a sudden he is huge. He seemed to have quickly, very quickly outgrown 3-6 months. Though in some 6-9 clothes he is just to big already. Looks like we'll be buying 9-12 month soon.
More doctors
On Thursday mum and I took Noah to see the community paediatrician. The health visitor had refereed us in an attempt to get the referral we needed to allow the teacher specialising in visually impaired children to visit.
The lovely lady doc (who's name escapes me right now) did a full developmental check on Noah. In the things that rely on vision to help them develop he is obviously very behind. But the fantastic news is that the things that don't require vision for he is spot on or even ahead. She was impressed with his strength and his desire to sit up and to stand. She is not worried about his weight as she thinks once he does become mobile he will lose some of it. I also told her that I was trying him with tiny amounts of food and she was okay with that. He hates baby rice and to be honest I don't blame him as it resembles wallpaper paste and I don't imagine that it tastes a whole lot better. but I cooked him some pear and pureed it and he is enjoying that. But the best part was that she filled in the referral form. So hopefully in the not to distant future we should get some help. I told the doc I felt as though I didn't know what I was doing. And she told me I did and that I was doing good. It was good to hear as I think every day I worry that I am doing things wrong and that it will delay Noah in someway.
The lovely lady doc (who's name escapes me right now) did a full developmental check on Noah. In the things that rely on vision to help them develop he is obviously very behind. But the fantastic news is that the things that don't require vision for he is spot on or even ahead. She was impressed with his strength and his desire to sit up and to stand. She is not worried about his weight as she thinks once he does become mobile he will lose some of it. I also told her that I was trying him with tiny amounts of food and she was okay with that. He hates baby rice and to be honest I don't blame him as it resembles wallpaper paste and I don't imagine that it tastes a whole lot better. but I cooked him some pear and pureed it and he is enjoying that. But the best part was that she filled in the referral form. So hopefully in the not to distant future we should get some help. I told the doc I felt as though I didn't know what I was doing. And she told me I did and that I was doing good. It was good to hear as I think every day I worry that I am doing things wrong and that it will delay Noah in someway.
Friday 18 February 2011
MRI
On Tuesday Noah had his MRI. I don't think either Mick or I got much sleep Monday night for worrying. On Tuesday morning Mick got Noah up as normal. As he was being sedated he wasn't allowed any milk, but Mick was allowed to offer him water up until 7.30 am. Judging by the look on his face he wasn't impressed. We did have a fair bit of moaning about this but very little crying. We got to the hospital with plenty of time. He had to have a set of obs done and we found out he was now over 9kgs. I still cant believe he has gone from one extreme to the other with his weight. Then we were asked to take him down to the treatment room for his canula (in case they needed to use the contrast dye) and blood tests. I had to put him on one of those bench bed type things that are covered with a roll of paper. It took about 10 minutes to get all the blood needed as they don't syringe it out like they do with adults....they have to let it drip out of the canula. By the time we were done Noah had screamed for the whole time and the paper was soaked in his sweat. They asked us if he had a dummy. But by that time there was no way a dummy would have helped. All he wanted to was to be hugged.
Straight after they then had to give him the sedation powder. they mixed it with blackcurrant juice to make it more palatable. They syringed it in to his mouth and he was a little monkey. Somehow he managed to keep it in his mouth, whilst still moaning and then spit it out. So it took a fair while to get it in. Eventually it was all in but he decided to try and fight it. Luckily I know how to hold him so that he relaxes and I just stroked him and talked quietly till he went off.
They then walked us down to the MRI suite. Noah was in a huge bed and looked so small just covered with a little lilac blanket. The whole time his obs were monitored by a machine. The nurse placed him on the slidey table part of the machine and then they put tiny little ear plugs in and padded out round his head with soft grey pads. Then a cage type thing went over his head. Now for me that was the worst point. I don't quite know why. The scan took about 20 minutes and then back to the children's wing we went. They were hoping that he'd wake up quite quickly but of course what we want and what we get are rarely the same thing. He slept for 3 hrs. When he woke up he had a bottle of milk...and then the bad news he had to have another blood test. Back to the treatment room we go. But this time Mick had to hold him down and emotionally I was wiped out. Luckily this time it only took a few minutes and we were told as he'd also done them a wee sample we could go home.
So about 3.30 we finally left. And as the whole time we'd been there we'd had nothing to eat or drink we headed straight for MacDonald's. I dread to think how many syns we ate as we really did pig out. Noah was pretty much out of it for the rest of the day, only waking for a few feeds. But by Wednesday other than the bruises on his hands you wouldn't know as he was back to his happy, gorgeous little self.
Hopefully we'll get the results some time next week.
Sunday 13 February 2011
I must admit I am quite addicted to Face book. I was even posting just before I had Noah. I know some people hate it but I have found it to be invaluable in bringing together our rather fractured family. I don't mean my direct family, but our extended one. My mum is one of seven. Only one of her brothers live in Harwich. One is in Kent. One is in Scotland. One in Germany and two in Australia. As well as the aunts and uncles there are rather a lot of cousins. Some of these cousins I have never met and some I haven't seen since we were tiny. But we now talk. Sometimes its just comments on status updates or photos and sometimes its a proper chat using the rather unreliable chat facility.
My three girls are on it and probably talk to relatives far more than I do. One time we were out for a drive and Charlee said....a strange man started talking to me on face book. As you can imagine that would strike fear into the heart of any parent. Strange man we replied....yes he was in an airport and said he would see me soon. More worrying.....then I had a thought.....was his last name P...... Yes she replied. It was one of my uncles from Australia. They were flying over to visit and he was on the 'net at the airport and she happened to be online at the same time.
I do tend to post a huge amount of photos of Noah on there. I know some people don't like to put up pics of their children but I personally think its nice for our family to see a snapshot into our lives. And with so many people rooting for Noah its nice for them to see how well he is doing. He had an awful lot of people praying for him and asking after him when he was in SCBU and not gaining weight.
Talking of Noah we finally have a date for his MRI. This Tuesday. Luckily Mick was already off work that day. He isn't allowed to have milk after 2.30 am...then no water after 7.30 am....we have to be at the hospital at 9.30 am and he is booked to have his MRI at 11.30. He is not going to be a happy baby. Good job he has plenty of body weight to fall back on. Though he will only be missing one feed. I just hope and prey that we'll get some answers quickly.
My three girls are on it and probably talk to relatives far more than I do. One time we were out for a drive and Charlee said....a strange man started talking to me on face book. As you can imagine that would strike fear into the heart of any parent. Strange man we replied....yes he was in an airport and said he would see me soon. More worrying.....then I had a thought.....was his last name P...... Yes she replied. It was one of my uncles from Australia. They were flying over to visit and he was on the 'net at the airport and she happened to be online at the same time.
I do tend to post a huge amount of photos of Noah on there. I know some people don't like to put up pics of their children but I personally think its nice for our family to see a snapshot into our lives. And with so many people rooting for Noah its nice for them to see how well he is doing. He had an awful lot of people praying for him and asking after him when he was in SCBU and not gaining weight.
Talking of Noah we finally have a date for his MRI. This Tuesday. Luckily Mick was already off work that day. He isn't allowed to have milk after 2.30 am...then no water after 7.30 am....we have to be at the hospital at 9.30 am and he is booked to have his MRI at 11.30. He is not going to be a happy baby. Good job he has plenty of body weight to fall back on. Though he will only be missing one feed. I just hope and prey that we'll get some answers quickly.
Sunday 6 February 2011
More questions than answers
When I think about how things might be with Noah I invariably end up with more questions than answers. I'm guessing as each stage of his live comes along we will somehow find away to get things done.
Today's worry is about weaning. I made the mistake of reading a forum about it. They state that one of the signs that a baby is ready to wean is that it watches you eat. At the moment that's not going to happen so how do I know for sure that he's ready. I do know right now that he isn't and that milk is more than enough but in the next month or so that might not be the case. Add to that his intolerance's and reflux it all seems like a massive mountain to climb. I will do what I had to do with Alex and make all his foods. Alex was also lactose intolerant. Occasionally if we were out for longer than planned I would sometimes give him a jar. I remember very carefully scouring the back of a jar and still somehow missing it and the result was me eventually wearing most of it as it reappeared with some force.
If I wasn't already sporting quite a bit of grey hair I am sure all this worry would be enough to turn me grey....or perhaps I am a lot more grey underneath all this hair dye that I think I am.
Today's worry is about weaning. I made the mistake of reading a forum about it. They state that one of the signs that a baby is ready to wean is that it watches you eat. At the moment that's not going to happen so how do I know for sure that he's ready. I do know right now that he isn't and that milk is more than enough but in the next month or so that might not be the case. Add to that his intolerance's and reflux it all seems like a massive mountain to climb. I will do what I had to do with Alex and make all his foods. Alex was also lactose intolerant. Occasionally if we were out for longer than planned I would sometimes give him a jar. I remember very carefully scouring the back of a jar and still somehow missing it and the result was me eventually wearing most of it as it reappeared with some force.
If I wasn't already sporting quite a bit of grey hair I am sure all this worry would be enough to turn me grey....or perhaps I am a lot more grey underneath all this hair dye that I think I am.
Saturday 5 February 2011
No notes
On Monday we took Noah to colchester to see the paediatrician. It was in the new children's wing....and very nice it is too. We got there about 15 minutes early and were the first there. Noah got weighed and came in at a whopping 19lb 6oz. Then we had to go and sit and wait. They were trying to locate his notes. They knew they were back in colchester after being at Harwich on the previous Wednesday and they were supposed to be being delivered but there were no signs of them. Eventually the doc turned up and we still had no notes. She went off to see if she could find the faxed letter so that she had some idea as to why she was seeing Noah. In the mean time a young woman pulling a pink cart walked in, dumped something on the reception area without telling anyone (no reception cover that day) and walked off. We mentioned it to the nurse and lo and behold they were Noah's notes....and the nurse was so annoyed.
So we eventually saw the doc....a very nice lady. She'd seen Noah in special care...I didn't recognise her but then he did see so many. She basically did some checks on him like reflexes...which he just laughed at....asked some questions and looked into his eyes. Se agreed he needed the MRI and said it would be within the next few weeks and that she would call me when she had the results. He also has to have a whole heap of blood tests. The MRI will be done under sedation as there is no way he'd lay still enough for it to be done. She'll then see him in 3 months time....so again we wait and wait and then for fun wait some more.
So we eventually saw the doc....a very nice lady. She'd seen Noah in special care...I didn't recognise her but then he did see so many. She basically did some checks on him like reflexes...which he just laughed at....asked some questions and looked into his eyes. Se agreed he needed the MRI and said it would be within the next few weeks and that she would call me when she had the results. He also has to have a whole heap of blood tests. The MRI will be done under sedation as there is no way he'd lay still enough for it to be done. She'll then see him in 3 months time....so again we wait and wait and then for fun wait some more.
Friday 28 January 2011
Not the best news
Noah had an opthamologist and orthoptics appointment on Wednesday. We thought we'd seen an improvement. The doctor didn't see that. So gutted was putting it mildly. The doc was fuming that Noah hadn't had his pediatrics appt. He needs this so that he can be referred for his scan. We need the scan to see if there is anything else going on. The doc got his nurse to fax the hospital there and then. He told us if we hadn't heard anything in 2 weeks to call his secretary and he'd sort it. Well yesterday I got a phone call from the hospital offering us a pediatric appt for Monday morning at 9.15am. So at least things seem to be moving. The doc did talk about other tests that he thinks Noah will have done and mentioned that he thought he'd probably have to refer Noah on to Great Ormond St Hospital (GOSH). Obviously GOSH is the best of the best but its making it more official that they think that possibly its not DVM. The one positive that was said was that Noah is a smiley baby and blind babies generally don't smile. Orthoptics also raised some issues with is eye reflex's but until she's seen him a couple of times she can't really come to a conclusion. So again we wait.
I'm trying to be as positive as possible but its just not easy at the moment. The emotion on Wednesday when it all sunk in was anger. I was really surprised by that. But then I look at my gorgeous little boy and I feel so privileged to be his mummy....he really does make me feel better every time I look at him.....he is just so happy and he already has a lovely little sense of humour. And his laugh does honestly fill my heart with joy. I am just so afraid of letting him down.
I'm trying to be as positive as possible but its just not easy at the moment. The emotion on Wednesday when it all sunk in was anger. I was really surprised by that. But then I look at my gorgeous little boy and I feel so privileged to be his mummy....he really does make me feel better every time I look at him.....he is just so happy and he already has a lovely little sense of humour. And his laugh does honestly fill my heart with joy. I am just so afraid of letting him down.
Tuesday 25 January 2011
Stupid milestones
When I was pregnant with Noah I signed up to several baby sites...when I put in his birth date they started sending me emails saying....your 2 week old baby and what it should be doing. I got one today...your 16 week old baby. I opened it and in it was saying your baby might start crawling soon. That really got me because I know Noah won't be attempting anything like that soon. He can sit up for a few seconds unaided and is incredibly strong so I'm sure he'll be doing it for longer soon. But he won't be crawling as for him there is no need. He can't see his toys so he won't make any attempt to get to them. I am trying to teach him to roll over but when I do and he is on his tummy he just lays there and then gets annoyed and starts yelling.
He's not gonna hit most of the normal milestones and most of the time I have accepted that....but today it was just something else to rip my heart out.
He's not gonna hit most of the normal milestones and most of the time I have accepted that....but today it was just something else to rip my heart out.
When dinosaurs roamed the earth
Alex often comes out with random comments and generally they are quite funny. The other day he turned to me and said "you know in the olden days when Chelsie was little.....was it in black & white?" Chelsie is all of 17 yrs old....well ok she is 18 in march but I hardly think that makes her ancient. And if it was olden days when she was born.....what the hell was it when I was born. I always used to take the mick out of my Mum when she said...when I was little.....I always responded with...when dinosaurs roamed the earth.....its obvious that my darling son seems to think that I am that old now. Time to get the hair dye out again methinks.
Thursday 20 January 2011
Injection...what injection
So yesterday I had to take Noah for his 2nd lot of immunisations. As usual he fell asleep in the pram almost straight away. We had a short wait in the clinic and then we were called into the nurses room. He was sound so I took him out of the pram and asked if she wanted me to pull his trousers down. He's still snoring his head off. We had a bit of a wait waiting for a 2nd nurse to come through. As they do 2 injections they like to do them at the same time. Eventually the 2nd nurse comes through and takes one look at Noah and says....aww it seems a shame to wake him up. The first nurse says I don't think we're going to. So they do all the checks on the injections and come over. I have Noah on my lap snoring away and I pin his arms to his sides just in case he does wake up. The nurses bend down and the first one counts...1, 2, 3 and on 3 they inject him. I felt him stiffen up and he gave a yell for all of about 3 seconds and he went back to sleep....if he ever woke up properly. I think its safe to say he wasn't that bothered.
Today Mum wanted to go to the Range to see if they had a vase the same as one we have for her freshly decorated living room. I have brought a lightweight stroller that lays back for when we are out and about in other peoples cars. When we got to the Range Noah was again soundo in his car seat. He wasn't best impressed with being taken out of his car seat and put into the stroller. I've used the stroller quite a few times with him and not had a problem. But from the moment we walked in the shop he was upset. Not screaming but crying and moaning. I couldn't understand why. We ended up having to hold his hand all round the shop....not an easy feat when the stroller is one that faces the front. The only time that Noah calmed down was when he was holding our hands. Normally in shops he is fine and all I could think that it was was because he was facing away from us he couldn't hear us talking and he was getting scared of all the noise. When Mick got home from work I told him what had happened. He said it was because it was a warehouse type of shop. As one of the guys he looks after who is blind has a very similar reaction in similar shops. Sadly I don't think that there is a lot I can do to help him with this and I am hoping that he'll get used to it eventually as so many shops these days are the warehouse type.
Up until then I had been doing well for a good few days. I don't forget that he can't see but when he is his happy, smiley self its so easy to forget that he has problems. I guess because at this age it has very little effect with his day to day life. We've altered somethings to help him but they have become such routine that you don't think that they are any different from what anyone has with their babies. So today was almost a slap in the face and I am guessing a sign of things to come. Luckily he seems to have got over it a lot quicker than I have. We went back to Mums and he was just playing and chatting away. And of course smiling.....his lovely, lovely gummy dribbly smile that melts my heart every time I see it. From now on it isn't worrying about what he wont be able to do....its concentrating on what he can do.
Today Mum wanted to go to the Range to see if they had a vase the same as one we have for her freshly decorated living room. I have brought a lightweight stroller that lays back for when we are out and about in other peoples cars. When we got to the Range Noah was again soundo in his car seat. He wasn't best impressed with being taken out of his car seat and put into the stroller. I've used the stroller quite a few times with him and not had a problem. But from the moment we walked in the shop he was upset. Not screaming but crying and moaning. I couldn't understand why. We ended up having to hold his hand all round the shop....not an easy feat when the stroller is one that faces the front. The only time that Noah calmed down was when he was holding our hands. Normally in shops he is fine and all I could think that it was was because he was facing away from us he couldn't hear us talking and he was getting scared of all the noise. When Mick got home from work I told him what had happened. He said it was because it was a warehouse type of shop. As one of the guys he looks after who is blind has a very similar reaction in similar shops. Sadly I don't think that there is a lot I can do to help him with this and I am hoping that he'll get used to it eventually as so many shops these days are the warehouse type.
Up until then I had been doing well for a good few days. I don't forget that he can't see but when he is his happy, smiley self its so easy to forget that he has problems. I guess because at this age it has very little effect with his day to day life. We've altered somethings to help him but they have become such routine that you don't think that they are any different from what anyone has with their babies. So today was almost a slap in the face and I am guessing a sign of things to come. Luckily he seems to have got over it a lot quicker than I have. We went back to Mums and he was just playing and chatting away. And of course smiling.....his lovely, lovely gummy dribbly smile that melts my heart every time I see it. From now on it isn't worrying about what he wont be able to do....its concentrating on what he can do.
Sunday 16 January 2011
Too tired to stand
On Saturday I decided that the boys and I would visit my bro J and sister in law B. They have been living in their house for 3 months and this is only my 2nd visit. They don't have kids but J is one of Alexs godfathers and they have both agreed to be good parents to Noah. They are big gamers and have all the up to date stuff. Which is what made Alex want to visit. He knew Uncle J had an xbox 360 and he is obsessed with the girls one. J and B also have a kinect. I'd never seen one but a couple of the girls had played it round their friends. J had joked he'd wear Alex out. I really didn't think that'd happen. But after an hour of playing Alex just turned to J and pitifully asked....can I play a game where I can sit down. I'd love to get one. We have a wii downstairs that we've had for ages and have the board for, but the kinect took it all to a whole new level. But I think we are going to have to save up for one so might be a while before we can afford one.
Saturday 15 January 2011
Emotions
Since we've been told about Noahs problems its safe to say we've been on a roller coaster of emotions.
The logical part of me correctly says that it may only be temporary and with help he should catch up with everything and that there are worse things to have.
The emotional side of me feels as though a bombs gone off in my head. One minute I can make jokes...mainly to make others feel better....then I am in turmoil. I look at my beautiful little man and I feel my heart break all over again. The unspoken questions are always there, just below the surface. What will he be able to do if he doesn't gain sight, how will I be able to help him cos I really just don't know how to, will he go to a normal school, will he have friends, how can I protect him when he gets older, is this my fault??? A million questions waiting to be asked and no answers.
And then I get a grip, and I look at my gorgeous little boy and I am thankful that he is here and I know he is surrounded with love and we will all do what we can to make his life full and happy whatever the situation.
The logical part of me correctly says that it may only be temporary and with help he should catch up with everything and that there are worse things to have.
The emotional side of me feels as though a bombs gone off in my head. One minute I can make jokes...mainly to make others feel better....then I am in turmoil. I look at my beautiful little man and I feel my heart break all over again. The unspoken questions are always there, just below the surface. What will he be able to do if he doesn't gain sight, how will I be able to help him cos I really just don't know how to, will he go to a normal school, will he have friends, how can I protect him when he gets older, is this my fault??? A million questions waiting to be asked and no answers.
And then I get a grip, and I look at my gorgeous little boy and I am thankful that he is here and I know he is surrounded with love and we will all do what we can to make his life full and happy whatever the situation.
Prom
So this year it's Charlee's prom. Chelsie had her prom 2 years ago and despite sorting her car and there being a few hiccups with people agreeing to pay and then not wanting to etc it all went very smoothly. Chelsie choose her dress from ebay....it was one that was made in china and shipped over. It was a very pretty, pale blue one that looked quite similar to wedding dress in the photos where you couldn't see it was a baby blue colour. The car they had was a 1950's gorgeous pink Cadillac. It was a stunning car.
Now with Charlee there has been nothing but hassle with the car. I said I didn't want to organise it as I had the baby and there was a large group of them originally so plenty of parents to sort it. But due to arguments and disputes the group got smaller and smaller until there is now just Charlee and her date Jake (not her boyfriend). The car she is now going in is a friends. The friend Tracy is also a hairdresser so she's doing her hair as well. We ordered her dress for her yesterday. She had an orthodontist appointment so before she went we sat here looking on the web. Despite the fact she appears to eat her own body weight in chocolate every day (cadburys should sponsor her) she is still a size 6-8. She didn't want the traditional big dress...so her dress is a Lipsy one that is fitting and quite short. She also goes a lovely colour when the sun is out so with a tan and some killer heels she'll look stunning and very likely a lot older than 16. Mind you if I had her figure now I'd probably want to wear something nice and tight.....though some of my clothes are quite tight....but sadly that's due to the expanding waist size and not because they're meant to be.
Now with Charlee there has been nothing but hassle with the car. I said I didn't want to organise it as I had the baby and there was a large group of them originally so plenty of parents to sort it. But due to arguments and disputes the group got smaller and smaller until there is now just Charlee and her date Jake (not her boyfriend). The car she is now going in is a friends. The friend Tracy is also a hairdresser so she's doing her hair as well. We ordered her dress for her yesterday. She had an orthodontist appointment so before she went we sat here looking on the web. Despite the fact she appears to eat her own body weight in chocolate every day (cadburys should sponsor her) she is still a size 6-8. She didn't want the traditional big dress...so her dress is a Lipsy one that is fitting and quite short. She also goes a lovely colour when the sun is out so with a tan and some killer heels she'll look stunning and very likely a lot older than 16. Mind you if I had her figure now I'd probably want to wear something nice and tight.....though some of my clothes are quite tight....but sadly that's due to the expanding waist size and not because they're meant to be.
Introducing us
As the name suggests I am a mum of 5. I have 3 beautiful girls Chelsie 17 (nearly 18 as she likes to remind me), Charlotte or Charlee as she calls herself is 16 and Gabrielle AKA Gabbie is 13. My two little men are 7 yr old Alexander and my baby Noah 3 months.
I am Helen 37 and I am married to Mick who is 56....quite an age gap but we have been together since I was 18 so I think we're doing quite well. The rabbits are smokey and fudge and Gary the fish is Alexs.
Both Mick and I are what you would call cuddly or as we put it short and fat and go to slimming world. The only child who's build is anything like ours at the moment is Noah and I suspect that's more to do with his age than genetics at the moment. We've been going to SW for a year now. I found out about 2 weeks after we joined I was pregnant. By the time I had Noah I had only put on 4 lbs. My first weigh in after having Noah I had lost 19.5lbs....funnily enough I won slimmer of the month. Sadly due to Noah having some health issues I didn't keep on so well with the weight loss. My way of dealing with stress is to eat. First of all he couldn't gain weight and any weight he did gain came off. When he was born he spent 5 days in SCBU due to low blood sugar. I'd had gestational diabetes and he did suffer because of it. Then he lost 14% of his body weight. Not good when you are tiny. So 1 1/2 days after his discharge from SCBU he was admitted to the childrens ward. I was made to feel so bad as I was trying to exclusively breastfeed. They kept asking if he was my first child, when i replied no 5th the comment that always followed was....oh so you do know how to breastfeed. By the time we got home he was on boob and bottle. After 2 weeks he still wasn't gaining weight and the health visitors were worried enough to insist he saw a doctor that day. The duty doctor at our clinic was amazing. He did want to refer him back to the hospital but he listened to what I had to say. Noah threw up....a lot. I had told them at SCBU and the childrens ward but no one seemed to take much notice. The doc prescribed him infant gaviscon and asked the HV's to weigh him for the next 2 days and then a decision would be made....and the weight gain was amazing and he hasn't looked back since. My poor babe had reflux. Though he was better I thought he was still bringing up to much milk (thank the lord for leather settees) and I mentioned it to our GP and she prescribed a lactose free formula and the vomiting stopped. So I still combi feed as he has to have the gaviscon with just booby milk anyway and at 12 weeks he weighed in at a very chunky 16lb 12. That put him on the 98th centile line on the growth charts. At his worst he was on the 2nd centile so quite an improvement.
Sadly that's not the end of his problems. At his 6 week check up we mentioned to the HV that he looked out the corner of his eyes and didn't seem to fix and follow. She referred him to an opthamologist and on the 29th December he said he thinks he has Delayed Visual Maturation (DVM). His eyes are structurally fine but at the moment he just can't see. He does respond to bright light and will, if able to spend hrs starring out of windows. But other than that nothing. If it is DVM he should hopefully gain some sight by 6 months. But the odd thing with DVM is that it can't be truly diagnosed till after sight has been gained. So really just a waiting game now. He has to see the opthamologist again on the 26th. I think he wants to see if there is any change. His HV is trying to sort out help for him now as he is already very developmentally delayed. Most of a babies development does seem to depend on sight. He is a very happy little fella though. He chats away for hrs. Just figured out how to suck his thumb and if you tickle his face and play with him he smiles loads and laughs away. I long for the day when my little man just looks at me and smiles. Its possible that might not happen as the blindness might be permanent.....but for now all I want is that smile.
I am Helen 37 and I am married to Mick who is 56....quite an age gap but we have been together since I was 18 so I think we're doing quite well. The rabbits are smokey and fudge and Gary the fish is Alexs.
Both Mick and I are what you would call cuddly or as we put it short and fat and go to slimming world. The only child who's build is anything like ours at the moment is Noah and I suspect that's more to do with his age than genetics at the moment. We've been going to SW for a year now. I found out about 2 weeks after we joined I was pregnant. By the time I had Noah I had only put on 4 lbs. My first weigh in after having Noah I had lost 19.5lbs....funnily enough I won slimmer of the month. Sadly due to Noah having some health issues I didn't keep on so well with the weight loss. My way of dealing with stress is to eat. First of all he couldn't gain weight and any weight he did gain came off. When he was born he spent 5 days in SCBU due to low blood sugar. I'd had gestational diabetes and he did suffer because of it. Then he lost 14% of his body weight. Not good when you are tiny. So 1 1/2 days after his discharge from SCBU he was admitted to the childrens ward. I was made to feel so bad as I was trying to exclusively breastfeed. They kept asking if he was my first child, when i replied no 5th the comment that always followed was....oh so you do know how to breastfeed. By the time we got home he was on boob and bottle. After 2 weeks he still wasn't gaining weight and the health visitors were worried enough to insist he saw a doctor that day. The duty doctor at our clinic was amazing. He did want to refer him back to the hospital but he listened to what I had to say. Noah threw up....a lot. I had told them at SCBU and the childrens ward but no one seemed to take much notice. The doc prescribed him infant gaviscon and asked the HV's to weigh him for the next 2 days and then a decision would be made....and the weight gain was amazing and he hasn't looked back since. My poor babe had reflux. Though he was better I thought he was still bringing up to much milk (thank the lord for leather settees) and I mentioned it to our GP and she prescribed a lactose free formula and the vomiting stopped. So I still combi feed as he has to have the gaviscon with just booby milk anyway and at 12 weeks he weighed in at a very chunky 16lb 12. That put him on the 98th centile line on the growth charts. At his worst he was on the 2nd centile so quite an improvement.
Sadly that's not the end of his problems. At his 6 week check up we mentioned to the HV that he looked out the corner of his eyes and didn't seem to fix and follow. She referred him to an opthamologist and on the 29th December he said he thinks he has Delayed Visual Maturation (DVM). His eyes are structurally fine but at the moment he just can't see. He does respond to bright light and will, if able to spend hrs starring out of windows. But other than that nothing. If it is DVM he should hopefully gain some sight by 6 months. But the odd thing with DVM is that it can't be truly diagnosed till after sight has been gained. So really just a waiting game now. He has to see the opthamologist again on the 26th. I think he wants to see if there is any change. His HV is trying to sort out help for him now as he is already very developmentally delayed. Most of a babies development does seem to depend on sight. He is a very happy little fella though. He chats away for hrs. Just figured out how to suck his thumb and if you tickle his face and play with him he smiles loads and laughs away. I long for the day when my little man just looks at me and smiles. Its possible that might not happen as the blindness might be permanent.....but for now all I want is that smile.
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