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Behold - CRAFT MUM (not)

Dylan has a project every month to do for school. He has to read a book, take a test on the book, write a report on the characters, setting and plot of the book, and usually do some art work by way of drawing to depict his favourite scene.

This months art project - a "Diorama".

I am NOT a craft type person at all, so this was a fairly horrific project for me.

Anyway- the book was Roald Dahl's "Georges Marvellous Medicine". The scene was where George has given his Grandmother a drink of said medicine, and she grows very very tall and bursts through the roof!

We (jointly) got a box and we "wallpapered" it and "carpeted" it with paper. Then we stuck dolls house furniture in to make it appear like a living room. We made figures out of clay ... Dylan did this part... then painted them... then stuck hair on using wool.....then stuck the grandmothers head on the top of the box so it looked like it had burst through.

Needless to say, we are not artists, lol.

Pediatrician Visit

So we went for a follow up visit to the Pediatrician yesterday. I *love* the new Pediatrician, he is extremely supportive and on the exact same page as I am.

First he cleared her ears of infection and gave me yet more drops for her constant eye infection (result of blocked tear duct).

We then talked about the MSPI (milk soy protein intolerance). He agreed with me that it is likely she could just be intolerant to Soy and not Dairy given that she did not improve until the Soy was cut out of my diet. He drew me various graphs to show how symptoms will diminish over time and how they will increase again if these foods are reintroduced.

It's brilliant to find a DR that actually knows all of the latest information on this matter and also support it. The two previous ones I'd seen were very dismissive. I begin to wonder if in the early days, the 'reflux' was actually not reflux at all but more chronic symptoms of this :-( My poor lovely girl :-(

The DR said I can try to reintroduce dairy SLOWLY after another week is passed. He's given me a plan of action, what to introduce & when, and says if I have any questions about this at alll I can CALL him rather than trek down to the office, yay for DR's on the end of the phone!

Interestingly, I asked him about the hypoallergenic formula - and his response was 'Yes, you absolutely could feed her that, but in my opinion you're doing the best thing for her, giving her all the benefits of breastfeeding, and you should stay on the diet' which I thought was really really brilliant - very encouraging and supportive.

Cor..

She's gone down for a nap IN HER BED. This is a first. Normally she refuses and will only nap in the swing, but recently has been waking up thanks to noisy boys running around. Today I put her into bed once she was asleep and she didn't wake up when I put her down. Fingers crossed it lasts longer than 20 mins!

Eclipse

As in Lunar. Tonight. The boys really loved it. We took Dylans telescope outside and looked closely at the moon. I took a photo, not brilliant, but nevertheless it was fun to watch & do.

Bliss

Coconut Bliss, to be exact. The cappucino flavour. The best ice-cream I've tasted in a LONG time..... wow..... I would eat this by choice let alone 'necessity'.

More on MSPI

Thank you so much for the supportive and also very informational comments on this MSPI thing. Rather than respond directly to everyone because I'm having some mail troubles right now where mail from me is being marked as spam :( I will make some comments here.......

First, this thing with Soy Lecithin and Soybean Oil being mostly OK because it doesn't contain the proteins. I hope this is true for us based on the fact that Tab doesn't seem to be a 'severe' allergy person, there's no blood in her diapers, etc, however there were many days where I ate little Soy other than OREOS (in large quantities) and she continued to react.... so for now I will avoid it and maybe try introducing it in a week or two.

Second, we have an appointment with the (fabulously supportive and knowledgable about all this) Pediatrician on Friday which I will discuss this more and want to ask how long this is likely to last with her, whether she will likely grow out of it? (PLEASE LET HER GROW OUT OF IT). I think I read that they usually do around 12-18 months?

Third, thank you so much for the acceptable food recommendations. I've been to Whole Paycheck today and bought a bunch of Amys Soy/Dairy free foods which are fantastic. The exceptionally good thing about this brand is that you can search their products via their website and ask them to show you soy/dairy free products only.

I also bought some Enjoy Life cookies / brownies which are YUMMY. They will fix a craving or three.

While browsing the frozen section Dylan suggested some rice-icecream and I said something along the lines of 'urgh no thanks' and a passing woman volunteered that I should try the coconut milk based ice cream. I have some in the freezer now ;-)

Yesterday I bought some Cascadian Farms frozen potato chips.

Haagan Dazs sorbet seems to be quite allergen friendly?
Ingredients: Water, Strawberries, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Pectin, Chokeberry Juice Concentrate, Elderberry Juice Concentrate, Natural Flavors

Lunch has become dairy/soy free bread with olive oil and balsamic, ham, and fruit.

Anyway - that's all my sweet/junk food tooth talking. When I feel restricted I generally crave all that I can't have so it's good to fill the cupboard with a few nice things.

Mostly we eat freshly prepared food at home..... pasta's, fresh sauces, chicken, vegetables (no more store bought gravies), etc. That's not too much of a problem although breakfast is proving difficult. Eating out is going to be problematic. We eat out *alot* and I basically wont' be able to eat much of anything other than very plain meats/vegetables/salads without dressings. PAH.

MSPI

I'm feeling really badly about this. I feel bad that I've made her live through 7 miserable months of discomfort and pain because I didn't know any better. I also feel badly that I might in some way have *caused* the MSPI by eating that Nutrisystem diet full of soy protein and then breastfeeding her .... I don't know if it does actually work like that but if it does, maybe this is my fault :-(

Meanwhile, 3 days off Soy, 3 weeks off Dairy, no gas, no discomfort, proper poo from her.

Milk / Soy Protein Intolerance

Allergies and food intolerances are an absolute minefield. Very very hard to diagnose, full of 2nd guesses, full of questions, and not remotely full of answers.

Since Tabby has been tiny we've thought something was up. She's been constantly uncomfortable, gassy, full of diarrhea, unable to rest or sleep, and prone to screaming fits when her tummy is clearly hurting her. The worst symptoms generally come at 3am when she wakes for a feed. She's in a lot of discomfort at this point, she's gassy, and she can't go back to sleep without help. We're all exhausted.

In the early days we thought Colic. Later we thought maybe something I'm eating, maybe teething, maybe certain vegetables after she started solids, then we got sidetracked by the RSV, jet lag, antibiotics, etc, you name it, things have come along to knock the diagnosis off track.

I half heartedly considered giving up dairy a few times but never did it properly.

Anyway - with her Pediatricians blessing and encouragement (I can't recall posting about her last Pediatrician on the 1st of this month, anyway she weighed in at 16lb and 6oz and 26 inches long) I focussed in on a potential dairy intolerance and completely cut it out of my diet 3 weeks ago.

I didn't see much of an improvement in the first week and then she went onto a 10 day course of antibiotics which completely upset her stomach and gave her terrible diarrhea and gas. Following this she had another week of it clearing her system (I do wonder if she's allergic to that given the rather extreme gastric reaction). We have since had a 'clear' week with me off the dairy but without too much improvement in her.

With giving up dairy I inadvertently increased my soy intake - namely by having a soy based non dairy butter spread and also a vegan treat which had soy in the icing. If anything I would say she got worse, so I finally decided to cut out Soy completely as well. Babies who are milk protein intolerant are often soy protein intolerant too.

I had no idea how hard it would be to give up Soy. Soy is in EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING. Unless it's a fresh fruit, vegetable or meat, you can basically kiss it goodbye. Soy is used as a filler, emulsifier, vegetable oil, in nearly everything on the shelves in the supermarket. To cut it out is extremely difficult, and very very depressing. I almost cried yesterday walking around the supermarket trying to find something to eat. Tuna for sandwiches? Forget it - there's soy in the vegetable broth that they put in the 'water' it's packed in. Bread mostly contains dairy, if not probably contains soy. Oven chips ? forget it. Dressings, mayonnaise, etc, Nope. NOTHING.

Anyway - 3 days into a dairy AND soy free diet, she has actually had 2 relatively peaceful nights, no gas, no discomfort.

I don't know how long I can keep it up. I might give in and start her on hypoallergenic formula. Or I might try pumping loads out and stash enough to take her through to 1 yr? I don't know. Argh.

My little Valentine

I wish

That Tabitha would sleep through the night. She is improving a little, mind you. She has gone through until 4am the last couple of nights. Unfortunately though, we are back to the struggle-to-get-back-to-sleep from that point which requires lots of bum patting, rocking, and sofa visiting.

In true Chinese Torture fashion last night I went to bed at midnight - utterly exhausted and hoping for a 4 hour stretch of sleep. At 2am I was woken by Harry prodding me and announcing that his bed was wet. While fully toilet trained during the day he occasionally has accidents at night. I had to get up and change his bed linen. Back to sleep for 1.5 hours and then wake to feed the baby. Argh!

He's definitely trying..

Here's what I got for Valentines Day :-)

Improvements

G offered to take Harry to school yesterday lunchtime then look after Tabitha for the afternoon so that I could clean the house. Not the most relaxing of ways to spend precious free time but the place has been getting me down and with no time or energy to do anything about it - something had to be done.

So, I got to spend 3 hours with the ipod blasting, getting the place looking like home again instead of a building under siege by plastic toys. It looks good.

At 4.30 I then went off for an evening SKIING with mates. Brilliant. We got up there about 6.30 after we'd picked everyone up & it was great to get back out there after 2 years ( I was pregnant last winter). My ski pants actually fit me better than they did 2 yrs ago and my ski boots which were new that year are v comfortable.

We did 1 green run then went onto more adventurous runs. Of the 4 of us, 2 were great skiiers (black run capable) the other two (myself included) more happy with Blues. I felt like I was the most challenged of the 4 and definitely pushed myself in order to keep up at times. There was alot of powder and lots of moguls on the slopes. The weather was OK but then started hailing, not too bad though. We did a couple of hours of non stop runs which was amazing but also very exhausting! We then stopped for a drink and during the 20 mins we were inside the weather took a turn for the worse and when we came out it was blizzarding. We did 2 more runs then headed for home, having to drive for an hour in treacherous snow conditions down the mountain freeway.

Absolutely knackered this morning but it was well worth it!

Dylan -9 years old!

Dear Mr Dylan,

Astonishingly, I now have a 9 yr old son. One who is not only so grown up to look at, but one who is beginning to be interested in what he looks and smells like. I'm not entirely sure how that happened so quickly.

Last night you moved downstairs to your new bedroom for the first time. You have had mixed feelings about moving down to your new room. The lure of your own TV offset against not wanting to be further away from your mummy and daddy. The big boy vs the young boy. When you've asked me for advice on 'when' you should move, I've been unable to offer any positive opinion about it. We need to move you kids downstairs because there's not enough room upstairs. I don't want you to be downstairs because it's so far from me. Finally you decided to go. We spent the day moving your furniture and belongings and the room looks wonderful. You slept happily down there without issue. I felt like you'd moved out and couldn't sleep at all!

Over the last year you've definitely matured emotionally. You don't agonize quite as much over things as you used to, although you definitely do have a tendency to do it a little too much. You are very afraid of making the wrong decision, always have been since a tiny little boy. As your mum, I find this quite upsetting, because I don't want you to make life harder on yourself. I want you to be confident, I want you to be happy with your choices. It is hard to see you torture yourself over small things and big things alike. Hopefully you will grow out of this, you are already to some extent.

I worry alot about you because being the mum of a 9yr old boy is very new territory for me. I have never had a 9 yr old boy before :-) I worry that I am too hard on you, that I will mess you up in some way by handling things badly. I'm sure every parent has these same worries, but I do worry about it. But I think I must be doing something right because everyone that meets you compliments you and says what a lovely sensitive thoughtful boy you are, how loving and kind you are to your siblings, how intelligently you can hold a conversation, and what a wonderful boy you are that I must be SO proud of. And I am - I am SO PROUD of you.

This year you became a big brother again and despite your initial reaction when finding out that you were going to have a sister of 'Oh no my life is ruined!', you absolutely adore her. You are a really loving caring brother and you are acutely aware of her needs and love to hold and cuddle her.

Your interests remain firmly in various Nintendo and XBox machines. We have to limit your time on them although you're still more than happy to read a book which is good! I was just reading back over your letter last year and recalled that we were having trouble convincing you to do your homework. I'm thankful to say that you now knuckle down every night to get on with it - there is A LOT of it too, Maths and English every evening and monthly book reports too. The only thing we struggle a little with is the book report but you're getting there. When I say struggle, it's perfectly within the realms of your capabilities it's just that you prefer not to do it :-)

It's impossible to sum up an entire year in a few paragraphs big boy but I am so incredibly proud of you and the young man that you are becoming. As you grow you become less physically dependent but more emotionally complicated. You're still young enough to want a cuddle now & again but I can see that this won't last forever, almost like a ticking clock counting down to a point where you won't need your mummy in the same way anymore..... terribly terribly sad for mummy but also very exciting to see you discover your world and become a strong person making decisions for himself.

I love you, my big 9 year old man.

Mum (Mom) xxxx

Cute Stuff

You would think

You would think that being told that I am floundering right now, that I am very unhappy, that I am exhausted from not sleeping more than an hour at a time, that I am single parenting except for maybe 25 minutes per day, that I am really struggling especially as he has been out 3 nights out of 5 every week since we got back, that Tabby has been crying all evening until 11pm every night since we got back, that Tabby being so ill and cranky has worn me down, that I just want to curl up in a corner and cry, you would think that he would do something about it, wouldn't you.
Instead, he is going out. Again.

RSV Breathing

Here's what Tabby looked like when she was struggling for breath with RSV / Bronchiolotis. Scary.

Tabby talking.

While in hospital, having just taken a turn for the better, Tabby, although in G's arms, cried when I left the room. This is not unusual - she is, far more than her brothers ever were as babies, a mummies girl. She looks for me wherever I go and if I dare leave the room she gets hysterical.

Anyway - when I returned to the hospital room 30 seconds later she reached out her arms and said MUM! quite deliberately.

The boys didn't say the word MUM until, well, probably somewhere post 1 yrs old. DADA was their first word. I'm really thrilled and touched that my little girl is so attached to me that I'm her first word :-)

She said it again a couple of times after leaving hospital but with one jet lag or illness after another she stopped until Sunday when she decided that this was the day to start talking.

ALOT.

Since then we've had a constant barrage of MUMUMUMUM and RARARARARA (which Harry is determined means "Harry"), day and night!

Here's a little video of it......

I don't believe it

The SQUIRREL is back.

Last year we tried to rid ourselves of a squirrel which broke into the roof space above our living room. It was a persistent bugger. At one point we accidentally boarded it INTO the roof thinking it had gone and it tried to dig its way to freedom through the living room ceiling. When we finally did get it out we boarded up the hole it had made, only for it to return and scratch incessantly at the board every single day.

We called the Exterminators but it was going to cost $500 to get them to come and remove it. You are not allowed to kill the bloody things either.

I finally managed to get rid of it by going outside onto the deck and shouting FUCK OFF at it whenever I saw it. I think it saw sense at that point.

Anyway - bloody thing is back SCRATCHING at the hole again.

Edge

That edge there, I'm nearly over it at the moment.

I dropped Harry at school today and some of the mums asked me about what had happened in the UK. While telling the story, I burst into tears.

I think there has been just too many things going on over the last few weeks for one person to handle and stay sane. Tab's illness, leaving the UK, Tab's 2nd illness, then a really very scary situation with G the other night and his diabetes.

I'm off dairy right now which is hard. I find when I'm restricting my diet that I miss out on the 'comforts' of normal eating and when I can't indulge those comforts when I really need to, it brings me down. I can't have a morning coffee, an afternoon tea, bread, you name it - it contains dairy.

Tabs antibiotics have also upset her stomach so she is hurting and passing lots of painful wind and crying and awake every hour or so all night long. I haven't slept in 2 weeks now, a week of jet lag and now this.

Oh and the stupid message board thing. And my laptop blew up.

Bah Humbug.

Brilliant

To add to all the insane crap going on right now, I've been accused of being a fake person on an Internet message board I'm a regular poster on! Apparently I'm not real, inventing my family, inventing things happening in my life, who knows what else?

I'm pretty sure I'm real..... I hope my family reading this are too! :-)

I can't take any more bad stuff!

This little minx is sick again - this time a double ear infection! Will it never end?

AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON WHAT HAPPENED TO G LAST NIGHT AFTER A NIGHT OUT DRINKING!