I was listening to the carols playing in the shopping centres the other day and the song "Grown Up Christmas List" came on. For those who don't know the song it's about the things you wish for when you are an adult - "no more lives torn apart, that wars would never start, and time would heal all hearts" is a line from the song. It's always been one of my favourites and it gets me thinking about the "grown up" things that I now wish for each Christmas.
I'm sure you all know by now that my sister and I are not in contact with each other. I have mentioned a few times about her problems and about the many times my family has tried to offer her help and been burned from that generosity. I think I have also mentioned that she has two kids - my nephew A and my niece C (who are ages 12 and 10). What I don't think I have gone into much detail about is that fact that myself and my mum and dad (the kids grandparents obviously) do not get to see A and C, and we haven't for about 18 months now.
It is something that really makes us sad because obviously we love and miss them. Because of my sisters history it is hard to trust what she says. So all we know is that for whatever reason the children went to live with their father around June 2009 and my sister now does not have contact with them. Whether that is her choice, or whether she legally is not allowed access because of her behaviour/psychological state we don't know. At the time that their dad R took them in he said to my parents that he wanted us in their lives and that we should feel free to call, visit etc. He then proceeded to move and not forward an address and to change all his ph numbers. For 18 months we have not known even what suburb they lived in. My sister claimed to not have an address. We have not been able to see them or send them a birthday present. Finally through various means we have tracked down an address for them. We were able to send them Christmas gifts and a card this year and we hope to get a response. But you know what? It turned out that all this time my sister did have the address and was pretending she didn't so as to deny us the contact. Lord only knows what she is thinking at times.
So that brings me to my four Christmas wishes on my grown up Christmas list:
1. That Joel, Xavier and I continue to be a happy healthy family so that Xav will never know what it is like to have such a disjointed family. I never want him to doubt that he is loved and I never want him to feel like he is alone. I worry that with the lack of contact A and C have with their mum and with us, that they must wonder whether anyone cares for them. I hope their dad is doing his best to fill the void.
2. I really want to see my niece and nephew and to know that they are happy. We have it on good authority that they are doing very well. A has always had a severe weight problem and since moving in with his dad apparently he has lost almost 30kg. I am so proud of him. I would love to hear their voices and be able to send them gifts on their bdays and easter etc. I want Xavier to meet his big cousins who were so excited to meet him when he was born. They havent seen him since he was about 4 months old.
3. I want my sister to come to her senses and get some help for herself and get her life back on track. I hope someday she will. I can't say that I will ever be able to be close with her or that i will ever want her in my life again. But i do genuinely wish her the best and I pray she finds what she needs.
and finally 4. It pains me to see people who have been able to have children easily not realise how wonderful a gift they are. Especially when all of you wonderful people are here fighting to bring home your miracle who you haven't even met yet. Other people already have their miracles and yet they don't fight for them, to make sure that they are secure and happy. I wish so hard this Christmas that 2011 will bring your baby into your arms in whatever way is appropriate.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
A bit of everything...
Hi everyone. As always I am very sorry for the absence of my posting. Life gets busy for me sometimes and I feel as well that I don't always have something worthwhile to say. Please know that I do log on every day and read all YOUR blog entries and so I am always up to date in what is going on in your world, even though you might not be up to date with mine haha.
I have so much to catch you all up on. Xavier is going so so well after his surgery in Sept. He is coming along in leaps and bounds, running around now. You wouldn't know he ever had trouble with his sight, other than he is still learning to use his fingers rather than his whole hand to do certain things. For example if he is wanting to pick up a small piece of food he will try to pick it up in a fist and put it into his mouth. If you tried to do the same you will see it is very difficult! We are trying to teach him that if he uses his fingers to pick up smaller things it works a whole lot better. We are doing different activities with him to encourage this - like drawing on a chalk board with a piece of chalk etc to try to get him to use his finger tips more. We have also started taking him to a speech therapist because the paediatrician said he is a little delayed in his language skills, which he feels is also related to the vision problems. The speech therapist agreed she thinks the same thing. She said part of learning to talk is converting what we see into words to describe it. Because there was a time when his vision was limited obviously there is going to be a gap there. He is making good progress with this as well and we are really proud of all he has overcome.
Xavier's daycare have said he has come along so much they feel that next year he should go up to the next room level. This is to do with his age as well as it is the 2 year old room and he will be 2 in Jan, but there was talk at one stage that because he was so behind with his walking etc and was not mobile that they were going to delay moving him up until mid year in 2011. With all the progress he has made though they have changed their tune and said it is definitely time to move him into the room with the bigger kids. I know it's just daycare but I am still so proud of him for proving them wrong, and for being the sweet stubborn boy he is and not backing down. He just keeps plugging away at everything until it clicks. It never bothers him if he doesn't get something right away, he just maintains his happy demeanour and keeps working until one day he can do it. Joel and I both say that of course it worked out that he was the embryo that "stuck" during our IVF journey. It is just like our boy to grab on and say "right I am here now, I am NOT going anywhere". Joel says he is just like me and that makes me happy.
We had a bit of a scare with Xav recently and had him in the emergency room. We wondered if he was outgrowing his cot (crib I think they are called in the states) and we thought we would try him with sleeping in a toddler bed. I found one that was an absolute bargain on ebay and I assembled it and we put it in his room for a few nights so he could see it. Then on Thurs night we decided we would see if he would sleep in it. Joel and I sat in the room with him and Joel read him a story while i stroked his forehead as he lay in bed. The story Joel picked up was one about an octopus that Xavier just loves and at one stage Xav got excited by one of the funny pics in the book and sat up to see it better. He then leant forward and put his hand out to touch the book but misjudged it and toppled over the side of the bed onto the floor. He started crying, and while we were ready to kiss and cuddle him we were not too concerned about the severity of the fall as this toddler bed was so low to the ground. Still we thought it probably would have given him a little bump and a fright. He was cuddling into Joel having a cry when to our astonishment and shock he passed out. My first thought was that he had suffered a larger knock to the head than what I thought, and that he had a head injury/concussion. Joel and I both tried to rouse him by shaking him and tapping his face and yelling his name. I ran to the phone to call an ambulance but as I went to run I heard him cry again and Joel yelled to me that he was awake. It felt like forever but he would have only been out maybe 10 seconds. He seemed fine when he woke up but we rushed him to the Emergency room. The doctor there was very nice and checked him thoroughly and was so nice to us. He said there is no way Xavier had a head injury of any kind and especially since the height that I described him falling from was barely off the ground. He said Xav had a breath holding spell. Apparently when babies and toddlers get a fright or get upset or angry or shocked about something it is a common reflex that they hold their breath, and if a person holds their breath too long obviously they are going to pass out. The doctor said the fall most likely gave Xavier a fright and while he was crying he got worked up and held his breath and fainted. He said he has seen many kids do it just from their older sibling taking a toy off them or something. They get angry and start crying then all of a sudden they faint. I was very glad that it was something so minor. I have done some research into it and asked a few friends and to my amazement it is VERY common and a number of my friends have experienced it with their own kids. I think when you have a child more doctors should warn you about it. It's weird that it is supposed to be so common yet I had never had it mentioned to me before.
Last of all, my mum came over for coffee tonight and got more than she bargained for! Joel had gone to bed early as he had a really busy day at work. It is very very hot here is AUS at the moment as we are a few weeks from summer and Joel hates the heat and will often sleep with not much on! My mum and I were sitting at my kitchen table drinking coffee and chatting. I was facing the bedroom and my mum was sitting opposite me with her back to the bedroom. Joel must have gotten up to go to the bathroom (which you have to walk through our kitchen to get to) and in his half asleep state had not realised that my mum had come over. All of a sudden I am sitting there chatting to my mum when a stark naked Joel appears behind my mum! He was all bleary eyed and still asleep, then all of a sudden a look of shock registered on his face and he turned around and ran back into the bedroom. I started laughing in shock and my mum turned around to see what I was laughing at and just caught sight of Joel's naked bum disappearing into the bedroom. She realised what had happened and joined in my laughter. Joel came out a few minutes later fully clothed and embarrassed. Mum told him not to worry as it was nothing she hasn't seen before hahaha.
It's nearly 1am here so I am yawning as I write this. I better sign off! Sorry for the novel and I will try to be a better blogger and write soon. xoxoxoxox to you all!! Jo
I have so much to catch you all up on. Xavier is going so so well after his surgery in Sept. He is coming along in leaps and bounds, running around now. You wouldn't know he ever had trouble with his sight, other than he is still learning to use his fingers rather than his whole hand to do certain things. For example if he is wanting to pick up a small piece of food he will try to pick it up in a fist and put it into his mouth. If you tried to do the same you will see it is very difficult! We are trying to teach him that if he uses his fingers to pick up smaller things it works a whole lot better. We are doing different activities with him to encourage this - like drawing on a chalk board with a piece of chalk etc to try to get him to use his finger tips more. We have also started taking him to a speech therapist because the paediatrician said he is a little delayed in his language skills, which he feels is also related to the vision problems. The speech therapist agreed she thinks the same thing. She said part of learning to talk is converting what we see into words to describe it. Because there was a time when his vision was limited obviously there is going to be a gap there. He is making good progress with this as well and we are really proud of all he has overcome.
Xavier's daycare have said he has come along so much they feel that next year he should go up to the next room level. This is to do with his age as well as it is the 2 year old room and he will be 2 in Jan, but there was talk at one stage that because he was so behind with his walking etc and was not mobile that they were going to delay moving him up until mid year in 2011. With all the progress he has made though they have changed their tune and said it is definitely time to move him into the room with the bigger kids. I know it's just daycare but I am still so proud of him for proving them wrong, and for being the sweet stubborn boy he is and not backing down. He just keeps plugging away at everything until it clicks. It never bothers him if he doesn't get something right away, he just maintains his happy demeanour and keeps working until one day he can do it. Joel and I both say that of course it worked out that he was the embryo that "stuck" during our IVF journey. It is just like our boy to grab on and say "right I am here now, I am NOT going anywhere". Joel says he is just like me and that makes me happy.
We had a bit of a scare with Xav recently and had him in the emergency room. We wondered if he was outgrowing his cot (crib I think they are called in the states) and we thought we would try him with sleeping in a toddler bed. I found one that was an absolute bargain on ebay and I assembled it and we put it in his room for a few nights so he could see it. Then on Thurs night we decided we would see if he would sleep in it. Joel and I sat in the room with him and Joel read him a story while i stroked his forehead as he lay in bed. The story Joel picked up was one about an octopus that Xavier just loves and at one stage Xav got excited by one of the funny pics in the book and sat up to see it better. He then leant forward and put his hand out to touch the book but misjudged it and toppled over the side of the bed onto the floor. He started crying, and while we were ready to kiss and cuddle him we were not too concerned about the severity of the fall as this toddler bed was so low to the ground. Still we thought it probably would have given him a little bump and a fright. He was cuddling into Joel having a cry when to our astonishment and shock he passed out. My first thought was that he had suffered a larger knock to the head than what I thought, and that he had a head injury/concussion. Joel and I both tried to rouse him by shaking him and tapping his face and yelling his name. I ran to the phone to call an ambulance but as I went to run I heard him cry again and Joel yelled to me that he was awake. It felt like forever but he would have only been out maybe 10 seconds. He seemed fine when he woke up but we rushed him to the Emergency room. The doctor there was very nice and checked him thoroughly and was so nice to us. He said there is no way Xavier had a head injury of any kind and especially since the height that I described him falling from was barely off the ground. He said Xav had a breath holding spell. Apparently when babies and toddlers get a fright or get upset or angry or shocked about something it is a common reflex that they hold their breath, and if a person holds their breath too long obviously they are going to pass out. The doctor said the fall most likely gave Xavier a fright and while he was crying he got worked up and held his breath and fainted. He said he has seen many kids do it just from their older sibling taking a toy off them or something. They get angry and start crying then all of a sudden they faint. I was very glad that it was something so minor. I have done some research into it and asked a few friends and to my amazement it is VERY common and a number of my friends have experienced it with their own kids. I think when you have a child more doctors should warn you about it. It's weird that it is supposed to be so common yet I had never had it mentioned to me before.
Last of all, my mum came over for coffee tonight and got more than she bargained for! Joel had gone to bed early as he had a really busy day at work. It is very very hot here is AUS at the moment as we are a few weeks from summer and Joel hates the heat and will often sleep with not much on! My mum and I were sitting at my kitchen table drinking coffee and chatting. I was facing the bedroom and my mum was sitting opposite me with her back to the bedroom. Joel must have gotten up to go to the bathroom (which you have to walk through our kitchen to get to) and in his half asleep state had not realised that my mum had come over. All of a sudden I am sitting there chatting to my mum when a stark naked Joel appears behind my mum! He was all bleary eyed and still asleep, then all of a sudden a look of shock registered on his face and he turned around and ran back into the bedroom. I started laughing in shock and my mum turned around to see what I was laughing at and just caught sight of Joel's naked bum disappearing into the bedroom. She realised what had happened and joined in my laughter. Joel came out a few minutes later fully clothed and embarrassed. Mum told him not to worry as it was nothing she hasn't seen before hahaha.
It's nearly 1am here so I am yawning as I write this. I better sign off! Sorry for the novel and I will try to be a better blogger and write soon. xoxoxoxox to you all!! Jo
Sunday, October 3, 2010
The sunshine after the storm
I really feel like finally the clouds have shifted on our run of bad luck with Xavier's health, and the sun is now peeking through. He had his second eye surgery on Weds just gone (the 29th) and it has so far been a success. You might remember we thought one of the muscles had popped its stitching from the first surgery and was now lying unattached somewhere behind the eye. Xavier did not have his full range of eye movement and was quite obviously struggling to see. The surgeon was expecting a big invasive operation where he would have to go in behind the eye and try to find this muscle in amongst everything, pick it up, rework it and attach it. I was also concerned about the reaction he had after waking from the last surgery. He was very difficult to rouse and I had a nervous hour long wait while I waited for him to stir. For about 36hrs after the surgery I felt he was extremely groggy and not "with it". They assured me he was fine and that it would pass which it did. I just felt it was a very extreme reaction.
This time we had a different anesthetist and I spoke to him about my concerns. He looked at Xav's records and said he thought it was unlikely that the anesthetic had caused the prolonged grogginess. He thought it was more likely that the pain relief he was given during the surgery (which happened to be morphiene) was the culprit. So they did the surgery using a different drug and sure enough he pulled through just fine, woke up properly and recovered at home a lot better and a lot quicker. So obviously he had quite a strong reaction to morphiene.
As for the surgery itself it went wonderfully. When the specialist got in there he saw that the muscle we thought was unattached was actually right where it was supposed to be. All that had happened was another muscle that was worked on in the first surgery had healed funny. It had formed a huge heap of scar tissue which was so big that it had jammed the eye into the wrong position. We were thinking Xav couldn't move his eye because the muscle was not there to move it, but all that was happening was that it was caught and being held in the one position. All the doctor had to do was take away the scar tissue and that was it. We now have a much straighter eye, and a much happier little boy. All resulting from a surgery that was nowhere as big as we thought it would have to be. It is a fantastic relief.
We see the doctor for post operative check on Oct 20 but already I can see a big improvement in the eye and in my son all over. You all might remember that Xavier has been very behind on his motor skills because his vision has been lacking? He is turning 2 in Jan and has been seeing a baby physio because he still isn't walking. Well the day after the operation he just all of a sudden took off and started walking, and has been doing really well. We are overjoyed. Thanks so much for everyone's prayers they have obviously helped so much. And sorry this post is late - I have been laid up with a cold and have been taking things easy. I'll post again soon.
Love to all xoxoxoxo
This time we had a different anesthetist and I spoke to him about my concerns. He looked at Xav's records and said he thought it was unlikely that the anesthetic had caused the prolonged grogginess. He thought it was more likely that the pain relief he was given during the surgery (which happened to be morphiene) was the culprit. So they did the surgery using a different drug and sure enough he pulled through just fine, woke up properly and recovered at home a lot better and a lot quicker. So obviously he had quite a strong reaction to morphiene.
As for the surgery itself it went wonderfully. When the specialist got in there he saw that the muscle we thought was unattached was actually right where it was supposed to be. All that had happened was another muscle that was worked on in the first surgery had healed funny. It had formed a huge heap of scar tissue which was so big that it had jammed the eye into the wrong position. We were thinking Xav couldn't move his eye because the muscle was not there to move it, but all that was happening was that it was caught and being held in the one position. All the doctor had to do was take away the scar tissue and that was it. We now have a much straighter eye, and a much happier little boy. All resulting from a surgery that was nowhere as big as we thought it would have to be. It is a fantastic relief.
We see the doctor for post operative check on Oct 20 but already I can see a big improvement in the eye and in my son all over. You all might remember that Xavier has been very behind on his motor skills because his vision has been lacking? He is turning 2 in Jan and has been seeing a baby physio because he still isn't walking. Well the day after the operation he just all of a sudden took off and started walking, and has been doing really well. We are overjoyed. Thanks so much for everyone's prayers they have obviously helped so much. And sorry this post is late - I have been laid up with a cold and have been taking things easy. I'll post again soon.
Love to all xoxoxoxo
Sunday, September 19, 2010
My little cake fiend
Xavier has discovered cake in a big way! You might remember it was Joel's birthday back in Aug when Xav was sick. We weren't able to go out and celebrate so we had a little dinner at home and I made a mud cake. My little miserable boy who at that time was eating like a bird, decided the cake tasted pretty good. It was good to see him eating something so I didn't mind at all that it was full of sugar and butter. You have to have fun at a birthday party right??!!
Today I made a chocolate cake for my SIL birthday dinner. We went over for Thai food and I offered to make the cake and bring it along, even though she is a fabulous cake baker and I am pretty mediocre, because I don't think anyone should have to make their own birthday cake! As I was putting the icing on the cake Xavier spotted it and realised what it was. I guess he was remembering that it was the same yummy stuff that he ate when Daddy had a birthday not too long ago. He was dying to have a bite and hung off my leg while I iced the cake. He tried to reach up and grab at the cake several times and when I tried to divert his attention to something else he threw a huge tantrum. I even got Joel to make him a sandwich in case he may have just been hungry. He pushed the sandwich away and went straight back to where I was icing the cake, sat on the floor at my feet, and howled.
Later that night at my SIL house we finished dinner and finally it was time for cake. My little boy's face lit up when the cake was brought out and he was finally allowed to have a piece. He ate every last crumb with a look of ecstasy on his face. It was hilarious. I guess I have a little sweet tooth on my hands!
PS> I have updated Xavier's pic on my blog just to the right of this post. He is growing up so fast!
Have a great week all! xoxoxoxo
Today I made a chocolate cake for my SIL birthday dinner. We went over for Thai food and I offered to make the cake and bring it along, even though she is a fabulous cake baker and I am pretty mediocre, because I don't think anyone should have to make their own birthday cake! As I was putting the icing on the cake Xavier spotted it and realised what it was. I guess he was remembering that it was the same yummy stuff that he ate when Daddy had a birthday not too long ago. He was dying to have a bite and hung off my leg while I iced the cake. He tried to reach up and grab at the cake several times and when I tried to divert his attention to something else he threw a huge tantrum. I even got Joel to make him a sandwich in case he may have just been hungry. He pushed the sandwich away and went straight back to where I was icing the cake, sat on the floor at my feet, and howled.
Later that night at my SIL house we finished dinner and finally it was time for cake. My little boy's face lit up when the cake was brought out and he was finally allowed to have a piece. He ate every last crumb with a look of ecstasy on his face. It was hilarious. I guess I have a little sweet tooth on my hands!
PS> I have updated Xavier's pic on my blog just to the right of this post. He is growing up so fast!
Have a great week all! xoxoxoxo
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Surgery has been postponed
Xavier is still quite unwell. His sores are gone but last Fri he started having high fevers and we ended up back at the doctor surgery. The doctor said that he now also has an ear infection. So for a few days we had sores and an ear infection to cope with, but now thankfully we are minus those horrible sores, thankyou Lord!! lol
Xav is having to take a course of oral antibiotics now for the ear, and as a result his surgery has been postponed until September 29. My poor little man is feeling quite unwell indeed and I am taking him back to the doctors for the third time tomorrow as he was quite miserable this afternoon and started running a slight fever again. I rang the doctor to try to get an app tonight but they were solidly booked so we are going in the morning.
Don't have heaps of energy to type a lot tonight so I'll sign off here, thanks so much for the comments and prayers. Love to all of you xoxoxo
Xav is having to take a course of oral antibiotics now for the ear, and as a result his surgery has been postponed until September 29. My poor little man is feeling quite unwell indeed and I am taking him back to the doctors for the third time tomorrow as he was quite miserable this afternoon and started running a slight fever again. I rang the doctor to try to get an app tonight but they were solidly booked so we are going in the morning.
Don't have heaps of energy to type a lot tonight so I'll sign off here, thanks so much for the comments and prayers. Love to all of you xoxoxo
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Catching up with everyone
Wow the time has flown since I last posted. I just want to apologise that once again I have been very slack with updating and with commenting on everyone's blogs. I would like everyone to know that when this happens I always feel very guilty that I haven't been able to sit down and write to everyone. But I always do find the time to read all your blogs and catch up on your news. So while sometimes I am silent, I still care a lot and I am still up to date in your lives.
It has been totally crazy at our house. We have been awaiting a surgery date for Xavier to have his eye re-done. On Tues I got a call from the hospital that he would be operated on next Weds on Sept 1. The next day (which was Weds just gone) he woke up covered in these funny spots all over his face. I had no idea what they were - they didn't look like measles or chicken pox and besides which he has been immunised against all of those. They were like tiny pimples with yellow tips. Straight to the doctor we went and it turns out he has Impetigo (school sores). Because they are highly contagious Xavier is kind of under house arrest, which means so am I. So no daycare for him and no work for me. Everything that he touches has to be cleaned straight away for fear of Joel and myself catching it or of him reinfecting himself. This means all towels, face washers, bed linen, stuffed toys etc all have to be continually washed and disinfected. On top of having my little boy needing my attention because the poor little lamb feels awful (the sores itch and make him feel achey/feverish) it is also tough work keeping everything hygenic. I had to call the hospital and imform them that he has Impetigo. They said if the sores are gone by Mon (he is not contagious once the sores are gone) then I can take him to the doctor and ask for a medical clearance. If I can get a signed medical clearance form on Monday then the surgery will go ahead. If not, then the surgery will be postponed. To tell you the truth I don't mind either way. Whatever is meant to be, will be. If we have to wait then never mind.
The other thing that this has also affected is Joel's 29th birthday which is on Sat. We had a big dinner planned with both sides of our family but we have now cancelled it. While we were both looking forward to it of course we don't mind having to cancel for our little man. We are now going to get take away pizza just the three of us, and I will bake a mudcake. Then when Xav goes to bed Joel and I will watch a movie. I have the best present organised for Joel but I will tell you all after I give it to him in case he sees the blog lol.
Lots of love to all of you. May you all have fabulous weekends and thanks for continuing to put up with my erratic posting xoxoxoxo
It has been totally crazy at our house. We have been awaiting a surgery date for Xavier to have his eye re-done. On Tues I got a call from the hospital that he would be operated on next Weds on Sept 1. The next day (which was Weds just gone) he woke up covered in these funny spots all over his face. I had no idea what they were - they didn't look like measles or chicken pox and besides which he has been immunised against all of those. They were like tiny pimples with yellow tips. Straight to the doctor we went and it turns out he has Impetigo (school sores). Because they are highly contagious Xavier is kind of under house arrest, which means so am I. So no daycare for him and no work for me. Everything that he touches has to be cleaned straight away for fear of Joel and myself catching it or of him reinfecting himself. This means all towels, face washers, bed linen, stuffed toys etc all have to be continually washed and disinfected. On top of having my little boy needing my attention because the poor little lamb feels awful (the sores itch and make him feel achey/feverish) it is also tough work keeping everything hygenic. I had to call the hospital and imform them that he has Impetigo. They said if the sores are gone by Mon (he is not contagious once the sores are gone) then I can take him to the doctor and ask for a medical clearance. If I can get a signed medical clearance form on Monday then the surgery will go ahead. If not, then the surgery will be postponed. To tell you the truth I don't mind either way. Whatever is meant to be, will be. If we have to wait then never mind.
The other thing that this has also affected is Joel's 29th birthday which is on Sat. We had a big dinner planned with both sides of our family but we have now cancelled it. While we were both looking forward to it of course we don't mind having to cancel for our little man. We are now going to get take away pizza just the three of us, and I will bake a mudcake. Then when Xav goes to bed Joel and I will watch a movie. I have the best present organised for Joel but I will tell you all after I give it to him in case he sees the blog lol.
Lots of love to all of you. May you all have fabulous weekends and thanks for continuing to put up with my erratic posting xoxoxoxo
Monday, August 2, 2010
This post is overdue...
Hi everyone! Better late than never, here I am back in the swing of things. I do apologise its just been a bit of a rough few weeks. As well as the issues I spoke about last time, we have so much stuff going on, so here's a quick update in bullet points:
Xavier's eye specialist Dr H recently returned from holidays and we had an appointment with him. The paperwork was filed for Xavier to return to hospital for another operation - I am just waiting for the hospital to call me with a date. It should be in the next month or so.
When we saw the paediatrician back in May to discuss Xavier's delayed motor skills he asked me during the visit whether there was any medical problems in the family history. I mentioned that as a baby/young child Joel suffered from chronic ear infections and had to have several surgeries to insert grommits etc. He was in pain quite a lot and his speech was quite delayed due to not being able to hear at full function. Even now he suffers from ear and sinus pain from time to time, especially when he gets a cold. The paed said in that case, even though his speech/communication doesn't appear to be delayed we may as well send Xavier for a hearing test just because of the family history. We did that a couple weeks ago and the test actually showed that he wasn't picking up lower frequency sounds as well as he should. So they then did a pressure test on the ear which they put a device in the ear which measured the vibrations of the ear. It should be vibrating a certain amount for normal hearing ability. The test showed he has reduced vibration which indicates fluid in the ears (which was Joel's problem). Because things like that can be caused by something as simple as a cold or teething, and that can in turn have affected his hearing for the test, we are being retested again in September to compare results. If they are normal then we have nothing to worry about. If they are the same again then we will have to see the audiologist and have further tests done. My poor little munchkin always at the doctors. I must say though he is so laid back nothing seems to bother him. He's a brave boy.
And my gosh I sound like a hypochondriac but I have actually been really sick for about 3 weeks with a mouth infection. I started to get what I thought was a virus/ stomach bug a few weeks ago. My stomach felt churny and I felt like I had a slight fever. It didn't seem to go away and I started feeling worse and then my mouth started hurting. I have got a wisdom teeth which only partially came up through the gum (it is trapped by another tooth) and it has been like that for years and never been an issue. But it started to hurt and then my gum started swelling up around it. I never put two and two together and associated my "virus" with my mouth. I called the dentist and couldn't get an appointment for two days and I thought that would be fine as it wasn't hurting too much. But by the time the appointment came the infection had gotten a lot worse. The gum had swollen into a huge ball onto of the tooth. And my whole mouth felt sore as if I had burnt it. Also a section of my tongue was also starting to swell. I was given some antibiotics and was told to come back when the infection went away because he can't touch the tooth while it is infected. I have been so sick with this infection and have only just started feeling better thank goodness. I have not been a happy camper at all.
Stacey asked me to post a pic of my bunnies so here we go:
Xavier's eye specialist Dr H recently returned from holidays and we had an appointment with him. The paperwork was filed for Xavier to return to hospital for another operation - I am just waiting for the hospital to call me with a date. It should be in the next month or so.
When we saw the paediatrician back in May to discuss Xavier's delayed motor skills he asked me during the visit whether there was any medical problems in the family history. I mentioned that as a baby/young child Joel suffered from chronic ear infections and had to have several surgeries to insert grommits etc. He was in pain quite a lot and his speech was quite delayed due to not being able to hear at full function. Even now he suffers from ear and sinus pain from time to time, especially when he gets a cold. The paed said in that case, even though his speech/communication doesn't appear to be delayed we may as well send Xavier for a hearing test just because of the family history. We did that a couple weeks ago and the test actually showed that he wasn't picking up lower frequency sounds as well as he should. So they then did a pressure test on the ear which they put a device in the ear which measured the vibrations of the ear. It should be vibrating a certain amount for normal hearing ability. The test showed he has reduced vibration which indicates fluid in the ears (which was Joel's problem). Because things like that can be caused by something as simple as a cold or teething, and that can in turn have affected his hearing for the test, we are being retested again in September to compare results. If they are normal then we have nothing to worry about. If they are the same again then we will have to see the audiologist and have further tests done. My poor little munchkin always at the doctors. I must say though he is so laid back nothing seems to bother him. He's a brave boy.
And my gosh I sound like a hypochondriac but I have actually been really sick for about 3 weeks with a mouth infection. I started to get what I thought was a virus/ stomach bug a few weeks ago. My stomach felt churny and I felt like I had a slight fever. It didn't seem to go away and I started feeling worse and then my mouth started hurting. I have got a wisdom teeth which only partially came up through the gum (it is trapped by another tooth) and it has been like that for years and never been an issue. But it started to hurt and then my gum started swelling up around it. I never put two and two together and associated my "virus" with my mouth. I called the dentist and couldn't get an appointment for two days and I thought that would be fine as it wasn't hurting too much. But by the time the appointment came the infection had gotten a lot worse. The gum had swollen into a huge ball onto of the tooth. And my whole mouth felt sore as if I had burnt it. Also a section of my tongue was also starting to swell. I was given some antibiotics and was told to come back when the infection went away because he can't touch the tooth while it is infected. I have been so sick with this infection and have only just started feeling better thank goodness. I have not been a happy camper at all.
Stacey asked me to post a pic of my bunnies so here we go:
The white one on the left is Bonnie she is 6 years old. We originally had her with Albert, a 2 year old who looked just like her and then he had to be put to sleep due to a brain tumor. We were terribly upset. So we have now got Jimmy who is the one on the right (his colouring is called seal point). Jimmy is only 1 year old and he is like a silly playful puppy. He is just beautiful. Because Bon is so much older she is a much quieter bunny and often looks at him jumping around with a look on her face like "what in the world are you doing now???". But its amazing how they really seem to love each other so much even though they are so different. Bunnies don't have a grieving period like humans and often when they lose a mate they fret and become so depressed and all they want is the comfort of another body to snuggle with. When Jimmy came into our home that was certainly true for Bonnie as when Albert died she did go very quiet and just slept a lot. She was introduced to Jimmy and all she wanted was to sit up against him and have someone near her again. It was so very sweet. And poor Jimmy came from a situation where he was owned by a young girl who bought him from a pet shop as a baby bunny. She kept him in a cage and fed him commercial rabbit mix which is generally full of dried corn and seed and sugar and things that are bad for bunnies. People don't often do this out of meaness, a lot of vets and pet stores just give out totally wrong advice. People dont realise rabbits need several hours of free run exercise time a day and that their staple diet should be hay, with some fresh veggies and I also like to give a small amount of a high quality pellet so they get all their vitamins and minerals. When Jimmy came home he didn't know how to eat hay. He had only recently came to the rescue and they had been introducing it to him but it was still very new to him. I had to work very hard to get him eating a good amount of it, and Bonnie helped him too by showing him how it was done. Anyway that's the buns and they give us so much joy.
And lastly - we have an almost 3 year old dalmatian called Benji. His doggy mum Charli just had her second litter of puppies (Benji was one of the first litter). There were 9 in the litter and Joel, Xav and I went to see the pups last night (they are only 2 days old). And uh oh I have to say Joel and I both fell in love with a little girl puppy. The puppy has the tip of its ear missing. It was quite a difficult birth and had to be vet assisted, then ended up being a c section. Apparently this little one came out still in the sac and the vet had to cut it open. They think perhaps the ear was nicked in the process. She is just adorable and the ear thing has given her a real character. Joel and I have such a soft spot for the underdog. We will always like the cat that can't see or the dog with the missing leg. I think its why we like this little girl with the tip of her ear missing. Don't be surprised ladies and gents if we have a new puppy in the mix soon - we are both a bit smitten.
Well ok I better head off. Just want to say before I sign off - thanks to each and every one of you who leave comments for me here. You dont know how much they mean to me. It's fantastic to have so much support. And a special hello to Dianne who it's very nice to hear from again after the arrival of her little girl!
Have a great week everyone xoxoxoxo
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