babyblog

Diet

Having gained tons of weight since moving here I'm on a drastic Atkins diet for the next few weeks. Done 4 days so far and suffering the expected endless migraine and thirst that come with cutting carbs and sugar out of ones diet.

D had his last footy game today. G is sorting out junk to take to the tip from the construction project still ongoing downstairs. And then we're off to Seattle!

Welcome to America

One of the things you often hear American women refer to is 'my gynaecologist' so to keep up with the trend I went to see 'my gynaecologist' this morning for a 'well-woman' check up. An icky and unavoidable part of being a woman. Came away with a plastic water bottle with clinic name on it - like I'm going to use that in public??

This appointment was followed by a dermatologist visit to deal with my unbearably itchy arm and to ask about a couple of moles on my face that I didn't like (mainly for vanity reasons). Came away with cream for arm and minus 3 moles on my face. Amazing really .... pop along for one thing and come away having had moles surgically removed without so much as an 18 month-waiting-list-only-to-be-sent-away-because-it's-cosmetic to be found.

Quick on the Uptake

He's been taking a few steps along furniture but never shown any interest in the whole 'one foot infront of the other' thing until about an hour ago when I showed him that this particular walking toy doesn't tip if you push it. Within seconds he was zooming around the house at high speeds! It's not going to be long now...

Language

The parts of Harry's brain which control speech development suddenly seem to have unlocked overnight. He's babbling with such realistic tone and has started to say some definite words. I DOWN for lie down was repeated again yesterday, along with pointing and saying OOK! OOK! (look) whenever he's excited about something and wants to show me and many other realistic sounds developing on a daily basis. It's fantastic to hear.

In other developments, my neurodermatitis has flared up again and I just about scratched my arm off last night, thus making it even more itchy and unbearable. I think that I'll make an appointment with a dermatologist now that I'm here and can do that type of thing, and get some really strong cream to deal with it.

Christmas is soon! (argh!). I have been online shopping with a vengeance. It's so great to be able to buy everything online again. Half of the stuff I'm having delivered direct to the UK but the rest is arriving here thick and fast. God knows how we're going to transport it all.

Harry - 15 months

Again it's all about the standing my big 15 mth old boy! Your dad and brother just spent an hour building the above train table for you while you napped and I managed to capture the look of glee on your face when you woke up and found it! We wanted to get this for you for Christmas but decided to get it now as you love them when at friends houses and it's encouraging you to use those big chunky leggies of yours. Like we really need more toys cluttering upstairs before the wretched playroom is done! Tell that Dad of yours to hurryup would you?

When I put you down for your nap earlier you messed about for a bit and I had to come in a couple of times to straighten you out. The 2nd time you looked at me, lay down yourself (without me having to do it) and said "I DOWN". So cute and very surprising as your speech is still mostly limited to Mamama, Dadadad, Din Din, and sometimes 'I did it'.

You were sick a bit this month with a cold and a bit grouchier than usual - still obviously far better natured than any child in the history of children, but I felt sorry for you feeling a bit poorly. We had a projectile vomit incident which fortunately your father was around to deal with (I don't do sick!) and then you slept on his tummy on the sofa, something you rarely do these days, so Daddy was very touched.

Yesterday we went to an inflatable place and you bounced on a bouncy castle on all 4's for ages, so funny, you just loved it. You're really enjoying all the activity that there is to do here and I am enjoying your having the opportunities. We also enrolled you in the Pro Club daycare and you've been twice, enjoying it each time for an hour while mummy went to the gym and pretended to exert herself.

Food is becoming a bit of an issue this month, right on schedule. Forget me feeding you, absolutely blooming forget it. You turn your head away and go ballistic if I try. Pasta? Your previous favourite food? Yuk. Banana? Gross. Cheerios? Only if they're someone elses while we're out. Any food whatsoever on your high chair tray? FLOOR. It's times like this I miss the dog! Of course in the case of Daddy taking you to the Supermarket and offering you pink sugar coated sugary iced sugary biscuits then that's obviously fine and you'll eat millions and come home disgustingly dirty and hyper and full of rubbish... but we can rule out anything remotely resembling healthy, with the bizarre exception of green vegetables, especially broccoli, which you love and I naturally make the most of.

You also have an aversion to socks, having your bum changed, getting dressed, being in your stroller, and BoohBah. You love, however, being outside, being in the car, Teletubbies, putting things into other things, and push along cars and trains which you zoom around the house crawling and pushing as often as possible, especially if big brother races you which is of course the absolute business. And hugs... you're so cuddly and huggy, that's my personal favourite bit :o) I ask you for 'loves' and you immediately fling your arms around me and rest your head and say 'ahhhhhh'. Those are the best moments of all :o)

Love you little man

xxxxxxxxxx

Will this house ever be finished?

The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett

Living on 1 floor of the house

"Fall" - making this place feel exactly like home

No news is good news

In this case, meaning there is no new clot in my lungs. There is evidence of a previous clot - the Doc is assuming this is the one we know about and is confirming this with the radiologist. The pain I'm in is clearly caused by the scar tissue. My body is very run down and falling to bits which may be exaggerating the pain. Have been sent for more tests and things and told to rest and take lots of narcotic painkillers. Easier said than done when one has small people to think about!

Confess to being scared shitless sitting in the waiting room for the CT Scan results today. Convinced myself it was going to show evidence of lung cancer or similarly horrific things. Sat there shaking and trembling waiting for what seemed like an eternity. Noticed the receptionists look at me then look away quickly - this was clearly a 'sign' also.....ugh, dreadful state one gets oneself into really. Thank fuck it is nothing like that after all.

Have to go down tomorrow a.m after fasting for a load of blood work to be done.

Meanwhile I feel very crap, tired, in pain, anxious (bit less anxious) and generally rubbish. Not sure how to deal with it, other than rest and hope to feel better but it's very draining and tiresome. I want to be well. I like where I am, I like the friends I've made, I feel good about life overall and I want to enjoy it and not be ill. In a way I think all the stress I've been under and continue to be under is manifesting itself physically rather than emotionally.... does that make sense? In Canada when I was dealing with the emotional and mental upheaval that comes with emigrating my emotions simply couldn't cope and I ended up feeling incredibly blue about life unable to get myself out of that desperate state of depression. Here it is different in that I do not feel sad, I feel very positive, but my body seems to be telling me otherwise...... it is saying I CANNOT COPE WITH ALL THIS...... which I guess in some ways is preferable to feeling like you can't even leave the house but in others SUCKS because you can't even force yourself to do something if you're just too damn sore / tired/ weak.

More Poorlyness

Harry is better, now it's my turn.

When I had the Pulmonary Embolism (getting on for 7 yrs ago now) it left me with some excutiating pain in my left shoulder between the shoulder blade and the spine. At the time I couldn't breathe for pain, it was agonizing with every intake of breath, and for some weeks afterwards this remained the case until after a while it dulled to the type of pain I am constantly aware of, nagging and annoying, but something I can deal with and is basically only aggravated by breathing in very deeply or the occasional bout of flu or a bad cold. One Dr suggested the pain is probably due to 'scar tissue' in my left lung, the one which was damaged by the PE.

Toward the end of last week the pain flared up again and I thought it was probably heralding the onset of a cold seeing as the boys have been a bit sniffly, but the pain didn't get any better over the weekend and by Monday I thought I should perhaps get it checked out so went to the Doc. She sent me yesterday for a CT Scan.... very weird (nasty) experience involving being set up with an IV full of 'contrast' which makes you feel all warm and weird, and lying on a bed which moves in and out of a scanning tunnel thing.

They didn't call back yesterday so I'm assuming (and hoping) there is nothing immediately life threatening going on, but I am going to have to go back and see the Doc to figure out what is going on.

Poorlyness

Poor Harry isn't very well. We went out to a friends yesterday afternoon to play (as G is still engrossed in DIY) and he was very unusually antisocial, preferring to sit on my lap and cuddle instead of play. Then when we got home threw up everywhere (including all over a stuffed animal Dylan had from school that needs returning today), became very hot and feverish, and finally after some medicine fell asleep on his Daddy on the sofa.

We put him to bed and he had a very bad night waking hourly crying so we're all rather exhausted today. He seems a little better in himself this morning, but will see how the day progresses.

Passport Woes

As seems to be the norm with a UK trip imminent, Harry's passport has gone AWOL and needs replacing. All the more complicated by the fact that inside it is his US Visa giving him the right to be here... sigh. I have no idea how we go about fixing this but intend to send off the passport application tomorrow and then worry about the visa afterwards....... sigh.

I realised today that I'm living in a completely British bubble. The only Septic Tanks I talk to work in shops that I visit or restaurants I go to. All my friends are Brits and I now have Radio 1 in the car thanks to Sirius Sat Radio!

UPDATE: After I typed this I read some more information online about getting a new passport and also determined that we would have to reapply for a Visa for Harry, something that would have to be done in Vancouver and apparently there's a three month waiting list! My heart sank and then G walked upstairs having found it in the box marked 'Gareth's very important box of documents, please do not bury' which was buried at the back of the furnace room behind 20 boxes, inside a room full of boxes. PHEW!

LORD

David Rayne aka 'DR' died this week.

We met David in 1995 when he set up the health forum on the then new MSN network. A GP in North Yorkshire, he rapidly became a good friend, along with his wife 'Teacher' (Rosemary) and his two children Ed and Hannah. David was responsible for the first major health portal in the UK. He also came and set up a health area on UKChat for me when we launched it and was very well known online as "DR".

Silly anecdote....whenever I saw him he'd say LOKT (ello kt) and I'd say LORD (because LODR didn't work and he had a God Complex ;o)

David and Rosemary invited us to their home and on vacation with them, they came to stay with us in London, and we spent some great times usually involving several bottles of red wine and 20,000 cigarettes.

He was incredibly reassuring when I was pregnant and with the illness aftermath of said, and would always enquire how 'his' baby was doing after Dylan was born.

The last time I spoke to him was just after Harry was born and he was full of congratulations for us. I hadn't seen him online in a while and his son Ed called me last night to let me know that he'd passed away the night before.

Much too early for him to be gone, I feel desperately sad that he's no longer here, and I can't even begin to imagine how his family are feeling. I'll miss him dearly. He made a strong lasting impression on Gareth and I and we'll alwayws remember him for the great person and friend that he was.

Still slack on the posting front

Too bad, aren't I? I just find I'm so exhausted and busy at the moment that I never seem to have the time....... even if I'm sitting here at the PC for an hour I'm busy doing something else!

Life continues to be good, especially on the social front. I have made some great friends and we are getting together regularly, not just with the small people but also to go out and see movies and such like. I'm enjoying doing alot for Harry too, getting out and about, taking him to various activities. He's growing so fast. I was putting him in bed for a nap the other day and it struck me that I literally only have a few more weeks of him being a non walking non talking baby. He's standing, unaided , for 30 seconds or more. He's walking around furniture. He's beginning to make word-like sounds to make himself understood. There are precious moments left of him being a little dependent soul...... it's both stunning and heartbreaking at the same time.

G has been so busy the last few weeks too. He is working every spare moment downstairs to get the playroom ready for the boys..... last night he bought and planned all the electrics. Tomorrow we're going to check out the Seattle Home Show for ideas. It does make for slightly tiresome weekends, all this work, but I am looking forward to us going home for Christmas as a family break.