Where did 2009 go? I think I was so busy running round like a headless chook that I missed it. Upon reflection much has happened to us, the Carroll family, over the last year. The biggest thing would be the addition of our fourth child, Lucas William Carroll born on 19th August weighing in at a healthy 3.65kg. Here he is...and yes, he's another stunner!
Some more news...
Like all our children, Lucas is a joy to behold. I will admit we were more than a little apprehensive about adding another to our brood, simply because we are tired and over-streached as is (yes, he was a big surprise). However, he is a much wanted and adored little bub and brings us all such happiness. He's a very easy going little chap who adores his brothers, smiling and laughing raucously at them as they blast past him, for they pay no attention to their 'chubba-brother' and find him rather boring (or smelly, as Samuel keeps telling me!). He does crave our attention at times and tells us so if we leave him too long without loving, playful contact. I wish you could all get to have a squishy cuddle with him because he really is the most gorgeous little dough ball who whoops with delight at being held.
So we have three walking boys in our clan now...Jacob is walking in a walking frame! Not all the time but he can do it, knows he can do it and can go at an amazingly fast speed when chasing his brothers around the house or in the back yard. He's so much happier to go in it than when it was first introduced to him several months ago - as Grandpa can attest. It was a battle to get him using it but we simply needed to find the right walker for him which his fantastic physio did. He can push to stand from sitting on a chair with a bench/table in front of him and can stand at a waist high table unaided for quite a length of time now. (In case you're not aware, bearing weight on your legs in kids 2yrs and over is incredibly important otherwise the hips can get out of alignment which would then require an operation). He also loves to ride on various push along bikes we have in the garden. His hearing and talking is coming on leaps and bounds. I had no idea that when he was given cochlear implants that we would need to teach him to hear as well as talk and it's been a huge learning curve for us all but we all so appreciate the sounds around us much more these days...and I try to remind myself of this when I have four screaming kids going at the same time! Jacob is able to communicate to us what he wants very well these days and manages to get a loud voice at times (particularly when asking for cake and ice-cream!). His CP does effect his speech and breathing so it is hard for him to talk at times but with practice he will get better and better.
Samuel needs absolutely no practice at talking! At home he is a beautiful little chatterbox who has a wild imagination and tells us fantastically creative stories every day. At the moment 'magic land' features regularly where it seems you can get up to all sorts of mischief! At pre-school (where Samuel & Jacob have been attending two days per week for just over a year), he is a thoughtful, quiet, sensitive little boy who has very much hidden behind his twin brother's out-going and confident personality. Who'd have thought this is how our identical twin boys would have developed? It's certainly surprised me. It does seem though that Samuel has grown a little more in confidence with this new school year and we have enrolled him in a third day on his own to help increase his confidence and the possible anxiety that he is currently showing. He overwhelms me with his intelligence and his teachers are blown-away by what he comes out with when he does actually talk. He is so old for his years...has he forgotten that he's only just turned 4years old?!!! Watch this space for the next PM of Australia!
Alex...oh, Alex...exactly where do I begin, I say with a big grin on my face, for that is how I think about my darling curly-haired, blue-eyed beauty. Our lives changed once Alex was on the move...walking at 10months (and the blogging, amongst numerous other things, stopped). From that moment on he had two speeds - fast and go-faster. He's been a bundle of energy...a jumping, running, climbing, adventure and danger/thrill-seeking mischevious...well, for want of a better word...bugger! (Oh, and how the aussies love the word bugger!). However, alongside this very active and physical dynamo of a kid has been a behavioural issue that's been creeping in. Hitting, biting, nipping, screaming with his brothers (amongst other things), instigated by Alex but totally unprovoked. At it's peak (and the peak has gone on for several months!) 'baby Lucas' came into the fray and so we thought it simply the challenge of a new addition to our infant brood. Time has passed, along with copious amounts of toddler training books having been read, parenting courses attended, family clinics frequented, GP's brains picked and extensive internet trawling, all in the hope of improving our parenting skills which Bren and I (particularly me, being the primary carer) viewed as being at fault. The 'halleluja moment' came in December when I was sitting with one of Jacob's carers at his pre-school. She suggested that Alex's behaviour might be a sensory issue. That was it! The beginning of the biggest change you could possibly imagine. I read and researched everything I could on sensory processing and found that Alex fit the bill for a sensory processing disorder (SPD), being hypo-sensitive. Christmas was the biggest celebration for us as a family in more ways than one. Not only had we found what was troubling Alex but Samuel seemed to fit the category of having a hyper-sensitive SPD. This made so much sense to us and it meant we could seek help, research and educate ourselves in order to help our children.
So where are we up to? Well, if you read up on SPD you'll find that it's occupational therapists who diagnose this disorder. Alex has been seen by three; Samuel by one. Both boys have the disorders as we thought, Alex at more of a severe level. Now we're in the throes of setting-up regular appointments with OT's, speech pathologists (Alex's speech isn't clear for his age, even though I can understand him!) and also paediatricians. What has also come to light in the last ten days is that we need to get Alex assessed for autism (?and other behavioural disorders) as there is a large cross-over with SPD's and autism and he has been showing a few autistic symptoms. We are extremely lucky to have him booked in with two leading Australian behavioural-paed's in the coming months. Our pre-school OT also explained a common link of gluten and autistic tendancies. In brief, we have put Alex on a gluten-free diet (as a family we are 80% gluten-free and hope to be 100% in the coming weeks) and the improvement in his behaviour within 5 days has been astounding. Alex is calmer, more communicative, much less hyper, talking more and so much clearer and he wants cuddles again!!!...surely this is coincidence? Supposedly not, as you can have a dramatic behavioural change this quickly, particularly if the child has a high gluten-intolerance. Hmmm....that's possibly why Alex has always been so bloated at the end of each day and we just thought it was because he was/is a chubba! So watch this space for more news.
and as for Bren and I?...exhausted, wrinkly, grey-haired, stressed-out worried parents...and loving it - and perhaps we drink a bit too much wine at times - BUT there will be NO MORE CHILDREN!!!!!! We love 'em all to bits but enough is enough and we've shut-up-shop!! Goodness knows how lucky we are to have the four we have.
So, I've finished my third glass of red, it's late and lots needs to be prepared for the morrow. I leave you with a promise that I will update this blog when I can.
Love to all and here's a pic of our boys at their best -
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