Sunday, June 8, 2008
Hats!
Need I say more? The boys, particularly Samuel, love wearing hats so here is a selection for you to view...
Monday, May 26, 2008
So much news:so little time
Seems to be the story of our lives at the moment...just not enough time to get anything done! Can't believe it's been a month since my last post.
So what's been happening...well, the boys have pretty much been ill with colds, ear infections and asthma continually for over a month. Looks like the asthma is a family trait as it's taken hold of Alex too (so much for us just putting it down to S&J being premmy). We've had a couple of trips to hospital to get them checked all out but luckily they haven't been kept in. S&J are now on asthma preventer medication for the rest of winter. Hopefully it won't take long to get into their systems cos we all need a good nights sleep! Can't tell you the last time we had one night where all three kids slept through...Bren and I look like we've aged another ten years!
We finally got round to moving Alex out of our bedroom and in with S&J. All three are now in the bigger back bedroom where it's quieter and a little warmer. A&S have woken each other up a couple of times but J sleeps like a log; being deaf can have it's bonuses at times!
Took J to Randwick Children's Hospital last week to a CP clinic there. J had casts done for making his AFO's and will hopefully go for his first fitting in 4 weeks time. AFO's are basically open fronted ankle boots which you wear for standing or any feet weight-bearing. It should make such a difference to J cos he can't stand properly without them. He also had a hip x-ray as his hips are prone to dislocation due to the type of CP he has. Luckily at this young age hip dislocation isn't painful but you don't know if it's happened without an x-ray...I didn't get round to asking what happens if they are dislocated. He will need 6-monthly x-rays to monitor his hips. The CP Dr. said he can see J is doing well but the prognosis is that J won't walk and will be wheel-chair bound. You know, they have to give you the worst case scenario and this came as no shock to both Bren and I. Quite honestly, I believe that if Jacob wants to walk he will. I'm not saying that he'll be able to walk totally unaided (might need a walking frame) but he's such a patient and determined little boy that he will achieve anything he wants to. So if walking is a big deal to him then he'll do it. He has and will continue to set his own goals and only time will tell just what those additional goals might be. I look forward to seeing him reach his full potential; he's already made us so proud.
A&S have been attending the local occaisonal care on days when I need to take J to appt.'s that benefit one-on-one time with me. S has begun to settle in well and the centre now take him for upto 4 hours at a time. A continues to get upset throughout his stays and I have to remind myself that he's still only a baby (has just turned 10months). Have had all the boys weighed and measured during the last week. A is only 0.5kg lighter than J; S is about 2kg heavier than J. A is 77cm long, J is 90cm and S is 96cm. A's statistics are off the chart and have been for a while, J is average and S is slightly above average. Do I ever worry about A being such a big boy for his age?...have you seen his mum and dad?!!!! :-)
I'd best go and see what the boys are upto. They were watching Sesame Street on morning TV but there seems to be a bit of fighting going on...yep, we're now at the stage of mauling each other and wanting to play with everyone elses toys...at least they're all hitting those developmental milestone!!
Monday, April 21, 2008
"Honkey Donkey"
Tonight, Samuel was sitting on my knee, Jacob was sitting on Bren's knee and we were all singing songs together. We finished, "do your ears hang low" at which point Bren pointed out why Jacob was looking so shell-shocked was that we used to sing the song and do the actions with S&J all the time when they were little but today would have been the first time he'd actually heard the song!
Samuel then asked me for "honkey donkey"! Well, I couldn't work out what he meant. Bren and I just sat looking puzzled at each other and kept asking Samuel to repeat what he was saying..."honkey donkey, honkey donkey... and then we realised - Humpty Dumpty!!! but of course!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Blue Beard!
Samuel & Jacob had a great time painting yesterday after their tea. Most days they do some crayon drawing but yesterday I decided to get the paints out. Luckily it's washable paint (who would chose any other?!) and they had great fun painting themselves as well as the table!
Alex got a few splodges dropped on him whilst he crawled underneath Jacob's high-chair, picking up and eating all the food Jacob had dropped during his tea. I reckon Alex was a dog in a previous life.
Winter seems to be upon us now. We didn't get a summer this year so it's a bit of a shock to have to wrap-up in jumpers alreay...I mean it's only 16-20ºC which is very cold for this time of year.
It means we're indoors a lot now so I'll guess we'll be having a lot more art and cooking sessions.
Alex got a few splodges dropped on him whilst he crawled underneath Jacob's high-chair, picking up and eating all the food Jacob had dropped during his tea. I reckon Alex was a dog in a previous life.
Winter seems to be upon us now. We didn't get a summer this year so it's a bit of a shock to have to wrap-up in jumpers alreay...I mean it's only 16-20ºC which is very cold for this time of year.
It means we're indoors a lot now so I'll guess we'll be having a lot more art and cooking sessions.
Happy Birthday Auntie Nonie
Happy Birthday dear Auntie Nonie.Hope you have a wonderful day and get spoilt rotten!
The boys absolutely LOVED having a birthday cake in your honour...a fresh cream cake and once the boys had all had a bit and I took the rest of the cake away, Samuel cried!
They were all as 'high as kites' later on once the sugar kicked in!!!
lots of love from us all
xxxx
(Doesn't Alex look the healthy one, tucking into a bit of watermelon rather than cake? Actually, this photo was taken the other day. He was very tired at cake time and therefore a bit grumpy so there were no good photos of him).
Friday, April 18, 2008
Happy Birthday Gramps!
When I get older, losing my hair...Happy Birthday Gramps!
Hope you have a fantastic day.
love you loads
S,J&A
xxx
Hope you have a fantastic day.
love you loads
S,J&A
xxx
Monday, April 14, 2008
My Boys
Haven't been able to update our blog for a couple of weeks as we've been experiencing problems with our Internet access. Our ISP finally seems to have got it's act together and so we're now back online!
Have been busy, as always. Boys have been ill yet again...colds but not as bad as last time and they haven't had much recurrence of their asthma this time which is great. Samuel is constantly asking for his nose to be wiped though; Alex just comes up to me and rubs his snotty little nose all over me - lovely - and Jacob just lets his nose run!
I have had a little change to my daily routine though. I've started a weekly session of pilates at one of my friends houses once a week and as well as it being some 'me time' we just have such a laugh. I've also been very busy with my new role/s having joined our local branch of the Australian Multiple Birth Assoc. I've been somewhat over-zealous and ambitious and have signed on as Vice-President (most definately a rushed decision on voting night!) and as Premmie Support Rep. I've been feeling somewhat over-whelmed with the VP role as I had no realistic idea of how much independent work would be required - it's a fundraising role - BUT it's a great challenge, something to get my teeth into, my brain working and a chance to meet some great people along the way. I've already been so inspired by many of the new committee members, particularly our Newsletter Editor. I've therefore set-to and written an article for next months newsletter and thought I'd share it with you. For those of you who know me well, you'll know I wear my heart on my sleeve and this article does indeedshow that.
Here goes...(sorry, it's long!) -
“Hi, I’m Katrina, mum to twins, Samuel & Jacob (26mths) and Alex (9mths). We had a complicated pregnancy with the twins which led to Jacob being profoundly deaf in both ears and having cerebral palsy” ... and here I go again. What I should be saying is “I have 2yr old twins and a 9mth old baby, they’re all beautiful, a real handful at times but a total bundle of joy”. Why do I always have to break into telling everyone Jacob’s deaf and has cerebral palsy?! He’s Jacob, he’s beautiful, he’s a very loving little boy, he has a wicked sense of humour, he’s extremely mischievious, independent, determined and just so very, very patient (a rare attribute for a 2 yr old!). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not at all embarrassed about the disabilities Jacob has; I’m so very proud of the achievements he’s made to date and how he’s already overcoming the fact that he is different to a lot of other kids his age. I'm still trying to work out why I have to blurt this out as soon as we meet new people. I know I don't want people to judge him, categorise him, treat him as a 'write-off', stare at him, feel sorry for him...the list is endless! I guess it's part of me wanting to protect him and possibly now a habit I've got into...now you all know, so I won't have to blurt anything out when I do in fact meet you! I guess the main thing is, I'm extremely proud of Jacob and I do want to show-off just how well he's doing.
So yes, I am the mum of 3 gorgeous boys who fill my days (and nights sometimes!). It is certainly busy being the mum of multiples and also a parent of a disabled child. Jacob was born profoundly deaf and after 6 or so months there were signs of a physical disability presenting itself. Jacob has spastic quadriplegia with very low muscle tone (hypotonia). He can now sit un-aided and has done so for several months but regularly falls over and most of the time cannot get up on his own. Four months ago he began shuffling round on his bottom, a gigantic milestone for him as it's given him much independence and there is now far more interaction with his brothers, particularly his twin, Samuel. In fact, they quite often play 'chasy' with Samuel bum-shuffling exactly the way Jacob does. Their relationship is continuing to change now Jacob can hear, as he has cochlear implants in both ears. The first was implanted in Sept. last year and the other was Jan. this year. He wasn't hearing anything prior to the implants and he's now showing that he's hearing LOADS e.g. waves when we say goodbye, claps when we tell him he's a clever boy, turns to his name being called. We've never known if Jacob would talk (the CP plays a major role in this as he may not have enough control over the muscles in and around his mouth) but the last few days have shown us some miraculous results...accompanied by many tears! He is saying “eee-ow” when being shown a picture of a cat, “oarrrr” when shown a picture of a lion and just after his tea tonight he looked at me and said “moe” and I have interpreted that as “mum/mam” (even if it wasn't, he can now say “m” which is a start!). Not only that, but he'd knocked off both his coils (part of the cochlear apparatus which needs to be attached to the head in order to hear) yesterday when we were dancing and singing and he asked us to put them back on by putting his hands over his ears and making a vocal noise. Now this out of everything is worth celebrating because any parent of a deaf child who has begun using some form of hearing aid will tell you that until your child actually wants to hear it's a bit of an up-hill struggle.
Well, there you go...oh, and my 3 other boys (not forgetting my husband, Brendan!). They are simply amazing too. Samuel is a chatty, very affectionate, beautifully sensitive, Thomas-the-Tank-Engine-loving, cranking pants sometimes(!) little boy and Alex...well, I reckon he thinks he's a triplet cos he's just about doing everything his brothers are doing, oh, and not to be outdone by Jacob he said “ma-ma” at tea-time for the first time today too!! Brendan, well I reckon I'm the luckiest gal in the world...you'll meet Brendan sometime soon I hope and you'll then know why.
I often think how incredibly lucky Jacob is being a twin. Not only does he have that special twin bond but he has a brother to watch and learn from which I know makes him even more determined in everything he tries. Can't wait to hear what Jacob's next word is going to be...I just hope he doesn't attempt what I said tonight when I dropped something on the kitchen floor!
Have been busy, as always. Boys have been ill yet again...colds but not as bad as last time and they haven't had much recurrence of their asthma this time which is great. Samuel is constantly asking for his nose to be wiped though; Alex just comes up to me and rubs his snotty little nose all over me - lovely - and Jacob just lets his nose run!
I have had a little change to my daily routine though. I've started a weekly session of pilates at one of my friends houses once a week and as well as it being some 'me time' we just have such a laugh. I've also been very busy with my new role/s having joined our local branch of the Australian Multiple Birth Assoc. I've been somewhat over-zealous and ambitious and have signed on as Vice-President (most definately a rushed decision on voting night!) and as Premmie Support Rep. I've been feeling somewhat over-whelmed with the VP role as I had no realistic idea of how much independent work would be required - it's a fundraising role - BUT it's a great challenge, something to get my teeth into, my brain working and a chance to meet some great people along the way. I've already been so inspired by many of the new committee members, particularly our Newsletter Editor. I've therefore set-to and written an article for next months newsletter and thought I'd share it with you. For those of you who know me well, you'll know I wear my heart on my sleeve and this article does indeedshow that.
Here goes...(sorry, it's long!) -
“Hi, I’m Katrina, mum to twins, Samuel & Jacob (26mths) and Alex (9mths). We had a complicated pregnancy with the twins which led to Jacob being profoundly deaf in both ears and having cerebral palsy” ... and here I go again. What I should be saying is “I have 2yr old twins and a 9mth old baby, they’re all beautiful, a real handful at times but a total bundle of joy”. Why do I always have to break into telling everyone Jacob’s deaf and has cerebral palsy?! He’s Jacob, he’s beautiful, he’s a very loving little boy, he has a wicked sense of humour, he’s extremely mischievious, independent, determined and just so very, very patient (a rare attribute for a 2 yr old!). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not at all embarrassed about the disabilities Jacob has; I’m so very proud of the achievements he’s made to date and how he’s already overcoming the fact that he is different to a lot of other kids his age. I'm still trying to work out why I have to blurt this out as soon as we meet new people. I know I don't want people to judge him, categorise him, treat him as a 'write-off', stare at him, feel sorry for him...the list is endless! I guess it's part of me wanting to protect him and possibly now a habit I've got into...now you all know, so I won't have to blurt anything out when I do in fact meet you! I guess the main thing is, I'm extremely proud of Jacob and I do want to show-off just how well he's doing.
So yes, I am the mum of 3 gorgeous boys who fill my days (and nights sometimes!). It is certainly busy being the mum of multiples and also a parent of a disabled child. Jacob was born profoundly deaf and after 6 or so months there were signs of a physical disability presenting itself. Jacob has spastic quadriplegia with very low muscle tone (hypotonia). He can now sit un-aided and has done so for several months but regularly falls over and most of the time cannot get up on his own. Four months ago he began shuffling round on his bottom, a gigantic milestone for him as it's given him much independence and there is now far more interaction with his brothers, particularly his twin, Samuel. In fact, they quite often play 'chasy' with Samuel bum-shuffling exactly the way Jacob does. Their relationship is continuing to change now Jacob can hear, as he has cochlear implants in both ears. The first was implanted in Sept. last year and the other was Jan. this year. He wasn't hearing anything prior to the implants and he's now showing that he's hearing LOADS e.g. waves when we say goodbye, claps when we tell him he's a clever boy, turns to his name being called. We've never known if Jacob would talk (the CP plays a major role in this as he may not have enough control over the muscles in and around his mouth) but the last few days have shown us some miraculous results...accompanied by many tears! He is saying “eee-ow” when being shown a picture of a cat, “oarrrr” when shown a picture of a lion and just after his tea tonight he looked at me and said “moe” and I have interpreted that as “mum/mam” (even if it wasn't, he can now say “m” which is a start!). Not only that, but he'd knocked off both his coils (part of the cochlear apparatus which needs to be attached to the head in order to hear) yesterday when we were dancing and singing and he asked us to put them back on by putting his hands over his ears and making a vocal noise. Now this out of everything is worth celebrating because any parent of a deaf child who has begun using some form of hearing aid will tell you that until your child actually wants to hear it's a bit of an up-hill struggle.
Well, there you go...oh, and my 3 other boys (not forgetting my husband, Brendan!). They are simply amazing too. Samuel is a chatty, very affectionate, beautifully sensitive, Thomas-the-Tank-Engine-loving, cranking pants sometimes(!) little boy and Alex...well, I reckon he thinks he's a triplet cos he's just about doing everything his brothers are doing, oh, and not to be outdone by Jacob he said “ma-ma” at tea-time for the first time today too!! Brendan, well I reckon I'm the luckiest gal in the world...you'll meet Brendan sometime soon I hope and you'll then know why.
I often think how incredibly lucky Jacob is being a twin. Not only does he have that special twin bond but he has a brother to watch and learn from which I know makes him even more determined in everything he tries. Can't wait to hear what Jacob's next word is going to be...I just hope he doesn't attempt what I said tonight when I dropped something on the kitchen floor!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)