Im here too!!!!!
life carries on being hectic here - but all ok.
The littlest prince is doing good. I have ummmed and ahhhed but he has had his swine flu jab this week and so far he seems ok!
He suddenly looks really big, although when he is then in the company of 6 months old babies who are the same size, I realise what a titch he really is. He can now get on to his knees and in a ready,steady, go position for crawling but then reverts back to swimming instead . As he can manage to get around the room by sliding it doesnt seem to matter!

The work/home life balance continues to lurch from one hectic week to another and I wonder if I will ever do anything about that but having just had a week off for half term - going back to work has been a lovely bit of a break

I'm here. It's good to see he's pulling himself up to cruise the furniture. As for the crawling, I wouldn't worry about it.
Glad you hada good half term with your parents staying....did they babysit??? lol
Take care x

<<wails>> Where are you all???? You've all gone & left me haven't you? <<sniff>>

<<slinks off in huff &, shock, horror, goes to do some work>>

Hey, where are you all. I've been AWOL for ages as well though. Last week my mum and stepdad were here for half term and we all had a great time going out and about and generally enjoying ourselves and eating too much. The week before was dreadful though as we all got sick and DH was away so had to deal with it all myself ... not nice! All better now though, thankfully.

Sam is coming on in leaps and bounds at the moment. He now pulls himself up to a standing position at any opportunity and if you hold his hands and stand behind him he will actually walk forward, bending his knees properly and everything (previously he used to keep his legs rigid). He absolutely refuses to crawl though so all the therapists are at a bit of a loss at the moment (tee hee )

This morning was also very amusing. When he woke up I brought him downstairs, changed nappy, put him in his highchair and (as always) said "say Good Morning Tom" (his older brother) and I swear he said "hewo", it was so funny - bless!

Anyway, hope you're all back soon.

New photos on profile page (1st 4 are the new ones)

fizzyanddizzy - no idea what that post was about ... strange!

OK, bit more about Sam. He's sort of shuffle-crawling backwards - managed to get himself stuck under one of the cots at nursery the other week, silly thing. He's only ever quiet when he's eating or asleep It's his own little language and he very much likes to stand in his baby walker gesticulating madly at the telly, letting all the cartoon characters know what it's all about. LOL He can now sit himself up independently from laying down, which he finds very amusing and always gives himself a clap. He doesn't need to use his arm splints during OT any more, so that's a nice little milestone achieved

I think that's about it for now. I shall put some recent photos on my profile - will let you know when I've done it.

Talking of birthdays my PFB was 7 last week - can't believe where the time goes!!

Hello all
What was the post before all about?
Anyway Supersoph - How clever is your son??? he is v cool doing two languages- I am most impressed. Tell me what else he is doing nowadays - I love hearing what he is up to, makes me think my lp might be doing the same in a few months

dev sorry things are extra tough at the mo - have they picked up at all in the last few days?

Have just about recovered from the littlest prince's birthday celebrations - which he loved, but I actually found all a bit much - probably too much reminiscing of this time last year. Still running round like a headless chicken as normal trying to get everything done has got me back on track

Oh - and no more mention of Christmas - please!!!!!!

Welcome to the forum

www.parentsofdisabledchildren.co.uk

Welcome to the forum

Afternoon all.

Had lovely long weekend (Mon was a national holiday so no school), went out with girls on Sat & stayed with friend so nice long lie-in on Sun. Did nothing yesterday but lounge around & a bit of ironing. Building up my reserves for when DH goes away again

On Friday Sam had an interview for his Atencion Temprana (portage type thingy) at a wonderful little school in the village just up from us. He outdid himself and the girl said he was one of the most advanced "toddlers" with DS that she has seen. She was so wonderfully positive about his development and about him coping with 2 languages that it was like a breath of fresh air. He starts next week am really proud of him and us

Please don't mention Christmas, it makes me feel nauseous just thinking about it LOL!

Christmas shopping might finish me off at this rate! Still got Hallowe'een to do - ds2 is a major fan although ds1 not so keen. Last year, we walked past his childminder's house which was decorated with all sorts of spooky things and he got quite a fright and ran home. He's ok with me decorating our house because he knows it is fake but he wasn't taking any chances with theirs !
Glad you are making toothbrushing progress, de but how are you getting on with no sleep?

Hi all,
Glad to here everything is going well especially with work and all even if you are falling asleep lol.
Thanks for asking marmoset about the new school term. I'm afraid to say it's not going well. he's also stopped going to his carer on a Friday teatime. He's awake most nights as well as days, I don't know how he does it. Anyway on a more positive note we are now able (or rather he is) to put a toothbrush in his mouth. Fair enought theres still no toothpaste on. (unsure if you picked up on my threads on all this) The behaviour team are trying to work out a decent incentive, knowing how defensive he is.
Anyway in the middle of looking after kids,home and work etc have you started your Christmas shopping yet???
Take care everyone x

Hey fizzyanddizzy - I've no idea really what it involves yet, but I think it's a bit like your portage. I'll let you know on Fri after we've been for our "interview". DS1 did enjoy his birthday thanks and everyone loved his cake <<preen>>

I'm with you on the working & appointment thing. Like you say though, in 10 years time we'll look back on these days with rose tinted glasses I'm sure It actually isn't until I explain to people exactly what my week involves that I actually realise how much I do. I guess it's just become such an integral part of the week that I just don't think about it anymore. When I had friends round last week who I haven't seen for over a year they were all "wow, I don't know how you do it, blah, blah, blah" and I was all "pah, it's nothing" LOL We're such saints you know

evenin'

Happy Birthday supersoph's DS - 7 is proper grown up! hope he has had a lovely day.

Atencion Temprana sounds v sophisticated - what on earth will he be doing? at the moment the littlest prince is playing at portage. Lots of signing, playing and sounds.
Its hard getting all the appts in - thank god, the LP's are all on the same day and even then it feels like I am just rushing from one to the next. At the moment it is juggling everything and work that is the hardest part of having a baby with DS. No doubt in years to come I look back at these ddays and realise they were a piece of cake in comparison

marmoset The Dude really is a DUDE - huge respect with settling into big school and finding a friend who no-one will mess with!!!

Afternoon all. Have to go for an "interview" with Sam on Friday to start his Atencion Temprana, which I think is like portage (although not 100% sure what that is tbh ) Hopefully he'll start next week. It does mean that I'll have to cut his other appointments down to only twice a week but I just can't afford to have any more time off work

Sam crawled backwards on Friday and got himself stuck under one of the cots at nursery - bless him. Even though he seems to be going the awkward way about it at least he's moving around independently

DH is back from his week away so it was nice to get a lay in & cup of tea in bed on Sun morning Bit of a bummer having to share the bed again though! Am arranging a night out on Saturday & staying at a friends so I get some me time before he goes off again.

Talking of birthdays my eldest is 7 today. He took a cake to school which I made & he iced and decorated - so cute - although not allowed to say that now as he's a "grown-up boy" so I've been told

Hello fizzy , supersoph and de

The Dude has officially started high school which is a bit scary. It's a special unit attached to mainstream and he has a new friend who is twice his size which I can't wait to see! He has had a few weeks of transition and at first was scared of the bigger boys -some of whom are nearly 18- but has settled in now so we waved bye bye to primary school on Friday. /

de, how is your ds getting on with the new-ish school term? Work is ok but I am absolutely knackered and keep falling asleep on Saturdays 'like a pensioner', according to dh!

Here's to the raspberry blowing little ones - dd is at it too. Sure we could put an orchestra together. Birthdays here too - dd one in a couple of weeks.

Well Hello!!
Have had a v busy week and have just got home from work in time to blow up loads of balloons to get ready for the littlest prince's weekend of birthday celebrations!

Ssoph I hope you have recovered from your late night. Am loving that we are both greeted by small boys blowing raspberries. The LP has mastered the sound and I swear blows raspberries in context! He is now having portage weekly and is doing ace. If you say 'ready steady' he will (eventually) say 'ah go'!!!

marmoset quite right too on having a chinese mid week! what has The Dude been up to this week? and how is your DD coping with you being at work?

Hello Dev - hope you and yours are doing ok

Sorry for the gatecrash. Just want to say Hi to mamroset, sounds like youv'e settled back into work great. Hope you and all are fine. Take care everyone.

marmoset

Am feeling very tired today didn't go to bed until 1.30am as a friend who I haven't seen for 14 months came over & we just gossiped all evening. Obviously the couple bottles of wine we consumed didn't help Am going to bed as soon as I've got the kiddies tucked in tonight, LOL!

Did a wonderful dinner where you just through all the ingredients in a roasting tray & leave for 40 mins & voila, all done. Very yummy!

Sorry, too busy making piles of lasagne to post tonight. Under orders from supersoph.

No, not really - Chinese all round tonight.How naughty on a Wednesday night

Afternoon all.

fizzyanddizzy - Sam is making these sorts of sounds "ma,ma,ma" "da,da,da" "pu,pu,pu" and blowing lots of raspberries and making nonsensical noises which sound like a mixture of all three of the above. He also makes this wonderful noise that sounds like "oi eejit" every time you turn to leave him on his own ... and we don't even have any Irish relatives

The speech therapist does additional exercises on his mouth & lips and while they're doing that (they sit opposite a mirror) she says & mouths very clearly basic words like "ma-ma" "pa-pa". She is also doing "mum-mee" and "da-dee" so that he's hearing the basics in both languages. I think she also manipulates his lips when she's saying certain words.

marmoset - hey there. Now, I expect you to get straight into that kitchen over the weekend and start cooking to restock that freezer <<wags finger, then backs away hastily>> Because of course, that's exactly what I do after working a full week ..... Pleased to hear The Dude is enjoying himself and your DD settled into nursery, that in itself takes a weight off.

Well, went back on 1st Sept and it's been really busy but dd settled at nursery quickly which is great. The freezer is emptying steadily so next challenge is how to fill it up again ! I have a school meeting for ds1 tomorrow - aka The Dude - so need to be out the house early on my day off. Stamps foot in petulant manner .

YIPPEEE for the marmoset as well!
I only have one word for your ds, marmoset and that is.. dude!
Hope being back at work is going ok - how long have you been back? and how does it feel juggling everything? have you used up all the food you made and froze?

soph what sort of sounds is Sam making? and what is speech therapy doing with him?

just happened to come on MN for first time in ages - yes, I'm back at work and can't remember my name let alone what day it is . Lovely to hear your news, ladies - boys sound as if they are doing really well. My lovely ds has just had a night out bowling with friends and came home to demolish a bowl of custard before going off to listen to his music - door shut. Oh happy day - typical near teen behaviour!

fizzyanddizzy - hello again, great to hear from you. Pleased you've got the eating sorted and had to at images of your LO looking like he's swimming.

Sam's just got a new bodyboard thingy (will take some piccies) which he is most peeved about as I think he thought he'd got away with not getting another one. You have to strap him to it and he has to propel himself across the floor with his hands ... not happy I tell you His speech therapy started again yesterday so am really happy about that. He never shuts up from the moment he wakes to the moment he goes to bed .... apart from when he goes for speech therapy

Work is still pottering along as usual, although there have been some changes and the staff aren't too happy at the moment. Hey ho things will calm down soon I'm sure.

It's Open Day on Saturday which doesn't finish until 5pm and then I have to take DH straight to the airport as he leaves for Holland to inspect the British School of the Netherlands. He'll be gone for a week so if I'm a bit dazed and confused next week, bear with me

Anyway, have to go for now as must pick DS1 up from swimming. Great to hear from you.
Love Soph xxxxxx

SUPERSOPH YOU'RE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
me and marmoset thought you had deserted us for ever

Am glad Sam is well - and sitting up - v. cool! My littlest prince will be 1 next weekend - how the time goes! He is good - not sitting - on the floor he looks like he is swimming in his attempt to crawl and he has more teeth than either of his brothers did at that age!

We think we have cracked the eating issues - well the childminder has - turns out that he was like every other one of my children - just didn't want to eat with me

tell us more about what you have been up to - 'tis lovely to have you back!

Have decided that it's about time we resurrected this thread Where is everyone & how is everyone? Am not MNing anywhere near as much at the moment (unfortunately) but hopefully someone will get back to me

We are all pootling along quite well at the moment & Sam is due to restart his speech therapy soon so am very pleased. He has also started sitting himself up so am a very proud mummy at the mo

Hope you and yours are all well & look forward to hearing from you.

Love Soph xxxxx

hello ladies - glad you had a good time supersoph and that the hearing issue seems less serious than first thought. My ds has conductive hearing loss in one ear which basically means that he can hear pretty well but when he has a cold, it gets bunged up and we have to shout into that one. I haven't noticed any real problems with it - sometimes it is tricky to tell if he is doing that selective deafness thing that the male population seems prone to but I have a foolproof test - I simply utter the word 'ice cream' and he whips round in a nanosecond...

The sleep apnoea thing is more of a screening issue, along with the ears, eyesight, thyroid function. By the time our little lad had his sleep study at age 4 , he was becoming very ill. The docs were very laid back about getting the test done and didn't see it as urgent at all but i had a meltdown at a consultation, resulting in getting it done that night. His night time oxygen levels were so low that he wasn't allowed to sleep at home until the op was booked and recovery took another two weeks after the op. Now I tell everyone to get it screened for!

fizzy - bet he's loving the power of the throne chair!

Hey there fizzyanddizzy. Pleased to hear about his chair. Sam loves sitting in his high chair playing with his toys. It's also a table and chair so will be good as he grows up. Are you going away anywhere in August? The weather here at the moment is horrid. It's all cloudy and really really windy. Yesterday I had to keep a really tight grip on Sam's pushchair otherwise he would have taken off.

We're off to dog and cat-sit for some friends on the 27th for a couple of weeks. They're lending us one of their cars as well which is a bonus as ours needs work doing on it before it's MOT and we can't afford to get that done until August. More money we don't have (sigh).

Sam had his hearing test and they say he's only got slight hearing loss. When they did the test before he was so gunked up and it was just before he was hospitalised. They are sending the results to another specialist who we are going to see in August. Hopefully he won't have to have anything done about it as it is obvious that he can hear we will just have to make sure that we speak a little louder and clearer for him.

Anyway, think that's about if for now. Have to go to the SS office again next week but will fill you all in on that nightmare when I've got back!

Supersoph - you're back!!!!
glad you had a lovely time away. I cannot wait until mid august for a few weeks off.

Things are as frantic as ever here but Alex got a really cool new chair today with its own little table so he is sitting up much more and can play with his toys properly so am really pleased
Have a put a picture of it on his blog if you want to see!

Am off to go and brood about swine flu!

Afternoon all.

LOL at "bronzed and stress free" am definitely bronzed but not stress free but that's only because of a mare with the social security office. However I shall share that with you another day.

Well we had a wonderful week and Sam really loved the pool so that was even better. We only took a couple of piccies so will try and get them uploaded soon.

Unfortunately I can't advise on sleep as we haven't had any problems yet (fingers crossed). Sam's off for a hearing test tomorrow morning. Last time he had 50% loss in one ear and 30% loss in the other. Let's see what they say this time.

Speak to you soon

- and no flying involved! Still, we have had a few nice days IN A ROW!! Except today.

I know that docs don't whip tonsils and adenoids out at the drop of a hat these days but do insist on the study. Ds1's problem only showed up when asleep.

Off to see what dh has broken in the garage - lots of shouting and sound of broken glass coming from that direction!

oooh Marmoset you have made me feel tons better

I am going to ask about his adenoids (his dad had to have his out). Alex is a heavy breather and a bit of a snorer - and he does sleep a lot so wonder if he needs to catch up if his night is disrupted?

I think that supersoph is gallivanting around her island enjoying herself on holiday - which means she will return to us all bronzed and stress free.

Hello fizzy - no, this thread is alive and well! I work in higher education and everyone thinks we get the whole summer off but it doesn't work like that! Passes slightly melted cornetto to fizzy.

Glad the CDT meeting went well. My lovely lad has always had problems with eating solids - unlike the other kids with DS that we know. We once went to a party with about 10 kids with DS and they all ate cake except him!

I was often asked by the SALTs etc if he had choked and been put off eating etc but he never had. He survived on yoghurt and semolina for ages! Ear,nose and throat checked him out and said he was fine but later on we had a sleep study for a sleep apnoea diagnosis and his tonsils and adenoids were removed for that. His eating has improved steadily over the last few years and I wonder if they had been removed sooner, would have helped the eating sooner? So hard to tell.

I would recommend asking for the sleep study at some point, even if Alex is not a snorer - it turned out that my ds was not getting enough oxygen at night. Sleep apnoea seems to be more common amongst kids with DS and the classic symptoms like snoring don't always present. I wonder if supersoph has had any experince here or anyone else?

Where is everyone these days?!!!

Hello - thank goodness you returned, I thought I'd killed the thread!

What do you do marmoset if you don't mind me asking? to redundancies - it's all v unsettling right now so am pleased that all should be ok and deffo good news on more money before you go back. I'll have a mint cornetto, thanks

Alex had his first CDT meeting today - in the end it was only the paediatrican and physio and us but it was interesting. They are going to do more investigations on his eating and drinking to check there are no swallowing problems so am pleased that it is finally recognised that he is genuinely struggling with getting to grips with eating.
I gave them Alex's first person centred plan which i put together which they seemed to like

fab piccies, supersoph - hope you are having a ball!

fizzy - off to check out the blog now. Hope you are getting some time off work this summer. i just found out that i am due my holidays during ML and have just converted some ML to holidays as there is no way I'll be able to take all of my hols when I go back in September - we get quite good holiday entitlements in my work but hardly anyone ever takes all of them as there is too much to do . There are also going to be redundancies in the next few months - my department should be ok but I don't want to fall out with the boss at this delicate point in time! At least it means I get a bit more pay before I go back - funny how HR never mentioned this when I went off!!!! Ice creams all round, kids

Yes you have!!!!!
Hope you and your lovely boys have a fab time doing nothing but having fun.

Alex's new chair has arrived - it can be used on its own on the floor but also comes with a frame so he can sit at the table. Check out his blog below to see what it (and he) is like! As usual the chair worked perfectly when he sat in it for the OT and has not been quite so good every since!

http://alexgettingonwithlife.blogspot.com/

Now I don't mean to brag ... yeah, right LOL but have I got gorgeous boys or what?!

LOL marmoset I can often be found mooching round the frozen food aisles at our supermarkets too. The only problem is you do have to go back outside again!

Last day of term here for the kids. We've got INSET tomorrow though - bummer. However, we're off to the south of the island on Monday to laze around by the pool & generally do nothing & go to some fab restaurants ... can't wait.

fizzyanddizzy - go on, go and get your hair chopped, I dare ya

Super hair, supersoph

Yes, fizzy - i would love to report that i spent a glorius day in the garden but the baby doesn't like the heat and has been ratty all day so we spent quite a long time in - wait for it - the freezer section of Sainsburys. Ta-da! Marmoset breaks new record in finding new ways to live it up!

She is now bawling her little head off so better go and try a cool bath for her.

glad small boys are feeling better.

loving the hair supersoph - how ace to have hair that you can just get up and go. I really just need to go and get all mine chopped off.

Alex is finally starting to drink again - after drinking ridiculously small amounts over the last few (incredibly) hot days so am hoping he truly is on the mend. Its so difficult to get a handle on this chestiness business and I absolutely know that depending on which GP he sees - he will either be given nothing, be given antibiotics or be given a letter and a fast track to A&E...

work is v rubbish not helped by the weather (you had better be enjoying yourself in the garden *maternity leave marmoset* )

Morning.

Well, I survived the water park as Sam slept a little better Mon night & I only had to get up with him once last night so he seems to be getting better. Am still giving him his puffer though and some medicine to break down the phlegm on his chest. As usual he's shouting and smiling his way through

fizzyanddizzy - pleased to hear that your LO is feeling better.

marmoset - I know what you mean about going to the GP. Sam has already had bronchiolitis & pneumonia so I really hate it when he gets chesty. I haven't taken him to the docs yet though as this sounds different and the medicine seems to be working. Am still monitoring him though

Did I not put the link on here with the photos?

Here it is then

Well, everyone well here except the computer which went into meltdown, just in time for ds2's big school project! Luckily retrieved it and school printed it out and i can get back on mn with this laptop (property of work but hey!)

Hope both chests are better fizzy and supersoph - we did end up having quite a lot of anti-bs in the first couple of years but really haven't needed any for years now. in fact, ds1 gets fewer colds than the rest of us now - I think he's had all of them already . I think the little guys are just more susceptible to chest infections at the start. We ended up in hospital with bronchialitis twice so I always took him to the GP at the first sign of a cold until he was about 3 - luckily, the GPs were very supportive about that!

Everyone i have met this week has had a new hairdo - must be something in the air.i really must get something done about mine and abandon the scrunchy

Hello the supersoph - bad luck on Sam's cold [grrrr]. I held off on starting the anti-b's with Alex and am pleased as he seems much better - although still eating and drinking next to nothing!

Good result on the hair as well - I had my fringe cut again last week after 6 months of growing it out - with this heatwave am also regretting that as well [GRRRRR]

Even better result on the not paying for nursery for July - in fact all round!

Afternoon

marmoset - pleased to hear that everything's back to normal in your household. Unfortunately Sam is chesty again & has a cough. He still went to physio this morning & I haven't heard from Nursery, but I'm sure they'll be phoning me later saying he's got a temperature. Tomorrow's his last day at Nursery for 2 months. My friend is going to look after him on Wed, Thurs & Fri so we don't have to pay any money for July to the Nursery.

Sam was awake all night last night so am really struggling today. Am off to the water park with the whole of the primary department tomorrow so am going to bed at 6.30 tonight - LOL

fizzyanddizzy - The hair is doing fine thanks & I think I've finally got used to it It's soooo much easier to manage & getting ready in the morning takes no time at all, which is exactly what I wanted.

Hello
Alex has been to the GP today - who has prescribed antibiotics. Think I am going to give him till the morning to see if he picks up and can avoid starting the anti-b's.

He has been so good though - had portage yesterday and obviously felt so awful, couldn't breathe, eyes streaming but he sat there and concentrated and did everything he was asked!

Supersoph - yes how is your hair doing? I cut all mine off in November - and am now growing it back again have had to face up to the fact that I only like my hair tied up and scraggly!

marmoset - glad everyone is back to normal in your house! we have had our first near miss with swine flu, am sensing its only a matter of time!

Hello - all back to normal here now. Phew - fizzy - how is Alex? That sounds a nasty bug - hope he is ok. My ds1 used to get a lot of colds as a baby and they went to his chest until he was about 2 - hope Alex fought this one off without the need for antibiotics.
supersoph - are you enjoying your new hairdo in the sun?!

Hi fizzyanddizzy. It does seem like a while doesn´t it? Yes, we went back to the pool and it was completely accident free Will try and remember to bring camera in so I can upload some piccies. Hope your lot feel better soon, especially Alex. I remember when Sam was like that, it's horrible watching them struggle to eat, breathe, etc. Big, gentle hug for him

Had all my hair cut off last weekend. Bit of a shock to the system as it's been about 20 yrs since my hair was last this short. I did it because I was growing the colour out and because the weather's warming up and I've never been through a summer where I haven't had to put my hair up. Just don't want to be fannying around with it when it's hot.

marmoset - how are you and yours? Yes our DS1 is looking forward to going up to Primary and he is literally going "up" as it's on the top floor of the building

Hello you guys!
I feel like its been ages since we last caught up.
marmoset how is everyone in your household - all fully recovered, including your sofa?

and supersoph how goes it with you? did you go back swimming and was it incident free?

We are all ill in our house. Poor Alex is worse off - wakes up absolutely pouring gunk from his nose, cant breathe to drink milk and tonight has a temp of 39. Is in bed at the moment with no clothes on snoring away .

other than that all is great

Hello ladies - been swamped by a sickness bug in my house this week (literally) so hoping we're all clear now. It started with the baby - don't know where she picked it up!- and now everyone has had a dose. Poor ds1 was caught out and threw up on the sofa but decided not to tell me until i came downstairs, at which point he informed me with the dread word 'yuk' (yes - it could have been a lot worse).
Hoping it hasn't soaked in too much or there will be a smell of eau de puke in my house for a long time (new sofa - grrr).

supersoph - big boy at the Primary next year!! Is he excited?

fizzy - hope you have felt better this week!

Afternoon all. Am overcome with boredom at the moment. Just want the end of term to come round asap - only another 2 weeks to go, yippee

DS1's summer concert was yesterday. His final Infant Department concert as he's going up to Primary in September. It was very good and all the children seemed to enjoy themselves. Unfortunately the fire alarm was set off by the smoke machine they were using ... oops. There was an exam on as well and the teacher invigilating actually evacuated the room. Poor kids!

Sam's head is looking good now & there's hardly any bruising left. Will actually get round to putting him in his swimming ring tomorrow. I'll take some piccies

Hello!
I have nothing new to report have spent most of the week so far at work - hardly seen the boys at all and got to work tomorrow morning so no toy library. Feel v guilty. [grrr]

Quite right to go back swimming supersoph. Sam will no doubt have a great time - am glad to hear he is healing.

You are also quite right in thinking that actually we have precious little to worry about. Onwards and Upwards with our genius little soldiers

fizzyanddizzy - I know what you mean about demoralising. When I see Sam with children a month or so younger and they're crawling or walking I do get a bit down. However, what I then do is take stock, think how much he has achieved and feel very proud of him. Also I'm at the hospital 3 times a week and get to see all sorts of children who are much, much worse off than Sam & I give myself a mental slap and wonder what the hell I've actually got to worry about. It's not always easy though.

Sam's head is healing nicely so being the absolute idiots wonderful parents we are we're giving the swimming pool another go on Sat <<gulp>> Of course I will be wrapping Sam up in industrial bubble-wrap just to be on the safe side

Was very good last night - didn't go on the internet, cooked dinner instead What would I do at work all day if I MNed at home

Supersoph - what a clever brave pair of soldiers! I cant believe I have got to Alex being 8 months and not dropped him yet - which now means it will happen before the end of the week

Result also on home internet. I have found returning to work most inconvienient for my internet browsing.

Have spent the weekend filling in the DLA form and have found it really demoralising and after spending yesterday with his cousin who is only 8 weeks older but might as well be 8 years older for the differences in them, I have been brought back to earth somewhat. Oh well - thought I had been feeling too positive about it all for too long [grrr]

marmoset - I think he forgot about it 5 mins after the doc patched him up fortunately

I'm going to have to make sure I do the dinner first then

Oh supersoph - what a fright for you. Hope Sam isn't in too big a huff! My friend had a v similar expereince of turning away for a sec when her dd fell down the stairs! Luckily, all well but she still feels sick about it, 8 years on. You do need nerves of steel in this business

Home internet - now you'll be like me and no-one will get any dinner because you are on mn

Afternoon all.

I've scarred my baby for life We went to the swimming pool on Sat, Sam was sat on a sunbed & I turned my head for a second ... really, it was 1 second & he fell off the sunbed onto a concrete floor, head first The noise will stay with me forever, it makes me feel sick just thinking about it. Fortunately there was a private docs at the end of the road & she patched him up. He didn't need "real" stitches, just the butterfly ones. I'm a bad mummy.

On a positive note ... we now have internet at home - yay

Wow - double whammy supersoph (aka the jetsetter!) - I think the loan wimpering outweighs the pain wimpering any time! I actually go around my house telling everyone to brush and floss properly or face major dentistry bills later but clearly toothpaste won't solve all probs. My friend's dh went somewhere in eastern europe to get his teeth sorted as his GB dentist told him it would cost £30,000 here - yikes.

I'm the same fizzy - I tidy up before my cleaner comes round so that she can see the floor . I feel very decadent in keeping her on during my ML but I didn't want to lose her - I go out with dd and come back to a nice clean house. Some ladies lunch, some get their nails done, some go to the spa but me, I like a clean kitchen floor.

Yes, I really do know how to live...

Obviously I meant loan. It's Friday .....

Oh yes and the simple fact that we will be poor for the next 5 years while we pay off the load we needed to get the work done ... 11,000 euros <<swoon>>.

Afternoon.

LOL fizzy at you going to clean the house before the cleaner comes round My mum used to do this when we lived in Hong Kong and had an amah (sp?). Dad used to have to restrain her otherwise the amah would get upset with "Mrs"

Show us a piccie of the chair when you can. Sounds intriguing

marmoset - his treatment actually finished at the beginning of the year so the wimpering has nearly stopped It was very severe though - they had to put bone grafts and collagen in so all in all it took a year to sort out .... ouch!

I would like to say I am being as brave as the LP with my teething, but I would be lying so instead I will say 'big respect' going out to you Marmo on having had two out. I feel faint at the thought.

The seat they are getting Lp isn't bumbo like I dont think. They called it a corner seat and he sits on it like he would if sitting on the floor - so legs straight out. Have no idea what its like actually but will no doubt soon find out.

Right in my desperate attempt to find some time in my life, I have found a cleaner, who starts tomorrow so I need to go and tidy the house...

Thank you very much supersoph - those are perfect Hope DH not wimpering too much!

marmoset - will these do???

Don't envy you. DH has just had major reconstruction done on his "top set" and quite a few teeth out.

Don't like to mention that I have had two of my wisdom teeth out - can I have violins please?

Morning all.

fizzy - is his little chair like a Bumbo? Sam has a Bumbo and it makes him sit up quite straight. He still leans a little to the right, which seems to be his favourite side

Will deffo be keeping them on their toes this time

Regarding teeth - I only have my bottom 2 wisdom teeth and every now and again a bit more of them breaks threw the gum and it is piggin' painful. No wonder babies create when they're teething. Oh, and I'm 36 fgs!!

Blimey what a palaver Supersoph - if it's not one thing... Just remember you havn't got your name for nothing, keep hassling them and keep 'em on their toes

Alex had his physio / ot appt this afternoon although only the OT showed up. Most helpful though - she is getting him a little chair which will mean he can sit up on his own which will be great. He was most clever - although think he is teething again (as am I - thought I was too old for wisdom teeth!) so everything she gave him just went in his mouth.

Good result marmo on your DS1 feeling better. And good call on the echinacea - think that has stopped my sore throat in its tracks.

Portage again tomorrow - he will be at Uni before I know it

Hi marmoset & thanks for drops ... although I have no idea what echithingy is

Have just had a phone call from the hospital to say that Sam's OT is off sick indefinitely now! Have only just managed to get him another physio after a wait of 2 months - hope it doesn't take them that long for OT. <<blows raspberry>>

Saying that, I obviously won't and I reiterate the won't be waiting that long before I write a letter this time. See, I'm learning

Hello fizzy and supersoph - ds1 seems absolutely fine today (as they are when you keep them off school and suddenly the drippy nose and aches and pains clear up )He is going around saying 'oh dear, summer cold' a lot though.

Glad you had some good sleep fizzy - it really does make all the difference. I definitely have a link between gloom and sleep deprivation. Occasionally, I just go to bed at the same time as the boys but this does leave dh feeling a bit lonely downstairs

Lovely pics, supersoph

Sending positive thoughts and echinacea drops to ward off summer colds to one and all!

Afternoon all

fizzy - he is adorable isn't he, I think there are loads on my profile as well The body board thingy is for him to use his arms to push himself along ... well, that's what I understand anyway. That's why he's getting a new one with little legs, then casters because he's too big for it now. He also has arm splints (which he isn't wearing in the piccie) to keep his arms straight and a band that goes round his legs to keep them together.

marmoset - sorry to hear that your DS is poorly and yours too fizzy. I can feel a tickly throat coming so am going to dose myself up once we get home. I also had to give Sam his eye drops this morning as they were gunging (!!) up again.

Hope we all manage to nip whatever it is in the bud before it takes a full hold.

I am feeling tip top after a couple of nights of good sleep - almost dare I say it - cheerful!

supersoph I didn't really look at the body board so taken was I by Master Sam who is so devilishly HANDSOME. Really, I know I am a sucker for boys but he is just a lot lovely! Anyway, once I did look at the board, I couldn't work out what it's meant to do (prob being thick) can you tell me cos In have physio and OT coming round later to assess the LP.

marmoset - me and the biggest prince have coughs and colds and feel a bit grim, there is certainly something going round where we live.Hopefully thats all your ds1 has.

Hi supersoph - mainly a good day today but ds1 was a bit poorly at school with a cold and then sent home from the childminder early. He is flushed but no temperature although he is complaining about being 'sore'. I'm going to keep him off tomorrow - it isn't likely to be serious (ie swine flu!) as he's bouncing around upstairs just now but in the current climate, i'll keep him with me tomorrow.

Is fizzy still asleep? [runs for cover]

Morning all.

fizzy - actually it's just what I've called it. This is it. He doesn't use the towel now.

Hope you had a good sleep

How's everyone today?

Passes fizzy a hot cup of cocoa - night night!! Tip toes away to the sound of zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Hopes Sam does not go on manoeuvres tonight....

I LOVED weebles, now I just look like one

soph what is a body board??? Does it help with sitting? The paed did say that his tone was a bit low and he should practice sitting as much as poss - I can't imagine the little prince will ever sit alone. He is particularly delicious at the moment though. So good and So cute.

Marmoset sounds like you had a fab weekend. So nice to get to spend time with just one at a time. And v nice to be able to read! As for your dd, well I am boy biased but I think you just need to get used to the badness of girls!!!!

I have just got in from work and am going to bed. I seem to be living on tea and diet coke and cant find enough hours. Ho Hum.

Hi marmoset. Unfortunately I am more than old enough to remember weebles Glad to hear you had a great weekend. Sorry to hear about your DD hope she gets back to sleeping properly every night for you. Had to get up twice last night with Sam as he keeps trapping himself in the cot. Fortunately he doesn't wake up though so I sleep-walk in, put him the right way up and go back to bed

Hello ladies - well done fizzy's princeling and to Supersoph's Sam (anyone old enough to remember 'weebles wobble but they don't fall down?' Used to sing that to ds1 when he was practising sitting. No? Just me?)

Good weekend for us - ds2 was on a sleepover so it was nice to spend some time with ds1 once the baby had gone to bed, just the three of us. Love ds2 to bits but he is a 10 year old human tornado and it can be hard for ds1 to get a word in edgways so that was lovely.

I even read a book - yippee.

I am not going to write about dd who is in my bad books for reneging on our sleep deal. Ok last night but up 4 times [grrrrrrrrr] on Friday night. Back to the drawing board - Barbados will have to wait

Hey fizzyanddizzy how was the rest of your weekend ... and everyone elses? I hear the weather in England has resorted back to it's usual state. Was completely gobsmacked though about snow - what's going on?

Great to hear the paed was pleased with your little one fizzy. Sam's next appointment is in July. He's still only got his bottom two teeth though His sitting unaided is getting there, although he still topples sideways. He's getting a new "body-board" thingy from the OT soon as he's outgrown the other one - bless!

Hello all
What a long week!
SuperSoph am gobsmacked by the chocolate incident (that's well bad man!), they should indeed know better. Although it has put an idea in my head for how to tempt the littlest prince...

who was seen by the paed yesterday who seemed most impressed by his teeth, his fine motor skills and most notably his ability to put his feet in his mouth roll on next year's Britains Got Talent.

Hope you all have a good weekend.

marmoset - no nothing gets backdated here, unfortunately. The benefit starts from the day you hand the relevant form in sadly <<blows raspberry>>

Will wait and see how DS2 is with sweet things. However, if he's anything like DS1 I'm sure he'll love everything and anything. The good thing is that DS1 doesn't overdo it and does like fruit and some veg and does a lot of exercise. He would drink a whole bottle of orange Fanta if I let him though, hence we don't have fizzy stuff in the house. Well, there's diet coke but that's strictly to go with Daddy's Tia Maria so no-one's allowed to touch it

Supersoph - will you get any of that backdated? Usually not - it reminds me that I have to fill out that Child Trust Thingy form for dd but when dd was born, all the banks were in meltdown so I held off doing it then.

The chocolate mousse did in fact end up as art because he wasn't keen on chocolate then. All change now - he will eat as many Aero mousses as I am prepared to give him but still doesn't like sweets or fizzy drinks so I can wear my 'Smug Mummy' badge with pride. Same can't be said of ds2 whose teeth must be dissolving by now

Morning ladies .... SuperSoph strikes again (sort of)

Went to one of the many social security offices this morning to find out why we hadn't been getting the 100 euros a month towards nursery and the answer, because I hadn't filled out the form to say I wanted it! However, I didn't realise there was another form as the woman at the social security office you go to once you've had a baby told me I didn't need to do anything else. You'd have thought I'd have learnt by now that there's always more than one form to fill in

Anyway, we should now get the money, I'm just peed off with myself that we've been struggling along for the last 7 months without it. Hey ho, live and learn

marmoset - did any of the mousse actually get used for "painting"? It certainly wouldn't have done with my boys

Hi fizzy - best wishes to your friend for a speedy recovery - what a fright to get.

supersoph - 'better to rant than to stew' as the old proverb goes (well, if it isn't one, it should be ) I'm surprised that she didn't check first too. My ds1 used to dislike gooey textures and the play therapist used chocolate mousse as fingerpaint to help him get over it - a very successful ploy but she was v careful to check that it was ok, as it flew in the face of the council's heaalthy eating mantra.

Afternoon. Apparently SuperSoph is being used so had to keep the 73 on the end

fizzyanddizzy - great to hear about your friend

I'm going to have a semi-rant now if I may as I'm not that angry so not a full rant Went to pick Sam up from occupational therapy and his face and his top was covered in chocolate spread. The therapist had been putting it on his lips to get him to exercise his mouth. Then she'd put some on the end of a spoon to see if he takes food off a spoon properly.

Now, I'm not adverse to my kids having chocolate but the thing is she didn't even ask if it was OK until I got in there. She sort of turned, gasped and said "oh, he isn't allergic is he?" To which I replied "luckily for you, no!" She did look a bit sheepish. The thing is what if he had been allergic and what if I didn't want him to have chocolate at this age?

Sometimes I'm amazed at how stupid professionals can be!

Rant over, thank you

I think we should consider it official SuperSoph!

and as for you marmoset lovely weather and cakes baked for you by your son - I can't get any greener .

Still I am v happy. Have a friend who had a bad accident last Monday, but she has come out of her coma and it was so great to see her last night still poorly but hopefully on the road to recovery. YIPPEEEEE!

Have a good day you guys

Still lurking guiltily in the corner here....but it is due to get rubbish again soon.

No physio for us these days but I take my dd to a little baby group each week - she was very grouchy after today though as we did quite a lot of physical games to encourage co-ordination. Something I still can't manage half the time so here's hoping for a future sports star who can keep me in the manner to which i hope to become accustomed.

Meantime, going to ds1's school tomorrow for cakes which he baked today (although he denies doing so -luckily the teacher writes a little note in his home/school diary or I would get no info at all. Typical boy )

SuperSoph - I would go for it!

Morning ladies. Lovely to hear that your weather is still nice. fizzy - how's the mantra going? Is it working yet? It definitely does get easier once a routine's been established - honest <<passes over a valium>>

Sam's new physiotherapist is lovely and he was absolutely fine ... although I think I could probably pass him to Attilla the Hun and he'd have a great time He was completely knackered though by the time he'd finished as it's been a long time since he's had to concentrate for an hour!

Am liking the name SuperSoph - may have to change from just plain old Soph <<ponders>>

Will not spend today in an all day meeting thinking of you in your garden on what is going to be the hottest day so far [fiz is now repeating 'in with hate, out with love' somewhat hysterically]

Marmoset stays quiet as still on ML and had a lovely day in the garden.....

More to the point, how are you Supersoph and how did physio go today?
Beautiful day today - I picked the wrong month to go back to work ggrrrr.
All the little princes are good and my head is most fizzy and most dizzy with juggling everything that needs to be done! Will be fine, once I get into a routine

Afternoon ladies ... how we all doing?

Well done, Supersoph!

Hi all. Result this morning ... Sam's physio is restarting on Monday. I wrote a letter to the Supervisor, put it on his desk at 8.30 and by 8.45 he was back on the list .... amazing what happens when you make it official isn't it

marmoset - yes, I've got those thanks .. however, have to admit that I keep forgetting to take them home Shall put them in my bag this minute .... there, done

Hi soph - have you seen the free resources on the downs ed website? Might be useful for your home learning www.see-and-learn.org/language-reading/first-word-pictures/vocabulary/.

Hi soph - sounds like a good plan. And time does indeed fly, with a jet pack on .

I'm back. Thanks for all the good vibes. Unfortunately I haven't managed to get his speech therapy restarted as the therapist is completely convinced that he's far too young. He says that with NT children they wouldn't start speech therapy until they were 3 but Sam will start his at 2 because of the DS. However, we do have an appointment in November and he said that he will restart with the speech therapist then to carry on the exercises for his mouth. Why they can't do that now though I'm not sure. At least he knows he can't get rid of me though and I will keep popping in to see him as I don't want Sam to lose out just because we don't speak the language fluently.

He was very positive about the bilingual aspect though, which was nice because he didn't seem convinced last time iyswim. I gave him some information that I'd had translated and even though he may throw it straight in the bin he did thank me and said that he was interested in any information, etc etc.

So even though I didn't really achieve anything I feel better. Of course, I still understand that the earlier you start things the better but I'll carry on with his exercises at home & November will come round soon enough as we all know how time flies

Yes - I saw that. What a star!

Have you all checked out the pictures on this thread? "Baby - no longer- Eidsvold has been asked to appear"
Eidvold's DD (who has DS) surfs!
I wish I could surf too...

Ooh, slightlycrumpled - i am quite green !! Have a brilliant time

Hi fizzy - yes, I think I will have a word and try to sort that out. It's not too bad at the mo because the hospital is quite near but we're getting a brand new one far, far away in the next year or so and I can't be doing with it then. Did you not sellotape your children to the floor for portage?

soph - my ds1 used to have the most incredible bed head hair when he was tiny. He got bronchialitis one year as many kids do and was admitted to hospital and I have a lovely mental image of him sitting up on the trolley in his little vest and an explosion of hair on the back of his head as everyone cooed over him. Now he has the best behaved hair out of all of us!

Rock on SC - child free time AND doing something exciting. I am feeling giddy for you. I have the prospect of a child free evening but think I am just going to watch the last ever ER and go to bed!

Soph - big fat positive vibes coming your way. go get 'em

Marmoset I think that is really poor practice in terms of the appts, have you spoken to anyone about it? I wonder if a little friendly word in the PALS ears would do anything...

portage was as I feared. Carnage

Hi slightlycrumpled

I get ridiculously excited when I go out with friends without DH and the children. It's like letting a small child loose in a sweet shop, you just don't know what to do first People without children just don't understand

Morning.

soph good luck with speech therapist, fingers crossed for you. Go girl! Am chuckling at the thought of his hairstyles.

fizzyanddizzy Yay for rolling over.

marmoset Glad it isn't just us where the hospital appointments don't coincide. We can two different appointments the day after each other at the same hospital which takes nearly an hour to get there. Grrr.

Am off to London this weekend to see Dirty Dancing with a friend, girls only. Very excited! My friend is child free and she looks a little worried at just how excited I am to be away from home for a short time.

Morning all.

Nope, we're not entitled to anything else and, yes, it is unfair <<big pout>>

Well I'm off to see the speech therapist in an hour to try and get Sam's speech therapy re-started. Please send me all your positive vibes and good luck & lots of finger-crossing

fizzyanddizzy - well done to LO with the rolling over. Sam is nearly sitting completely unaided now and when he's in his play-pen and cot he does try to get on all fours. However, the majority of the time he just sticks his bum up in the air and keeps his head on the mattress and pushes himself around. It makes for some very interesting hairstyles

Hi fizzy - a CDT sounds brilliant. We do have something similar now as it's done via meetings at school but in the early days, it wasn't quite so co-ordinated. That sounds like really good practice in your area and should hopefully avoid you having to repeat the same info over and over again .

I have found most meetings like this are very friendly but I make sure that I take a list of things I want to know as there are so many professionals to hear from, you can forget your points and have a Homer Simpson moment (Doh!) on the way home if you forget to raise something.

We also had the early years education people involved from a very early stage and a funded full time nursery place in the local mainstream school from age 3 so it is worth checking out what education services they'll include in the plan as it develops.

Well done to roller boy

soph - that's a shame about the benefit. Roll on the summer hols. As ds is 12, we are now on annual reviews for various things (general paed,thyroid, hearing, eyesight). The NHS has a lovely habit of scheduling all of the check ups in different months and I keep meaning to try to consolidate them , although the fact that the check ups are there is better than a poke in the eye with that stick. Hopefully, it would make sense to all if your health people could schedule everything for you when you don't have to be at work.

Hello all.
Lebel - Hello again, am so pleased all is good with your baby's heart. She sounds so active! We are nowhere near sitting up without support, but we have mastered in the last week or two rolling over (and over!)

Soph what a bummer about the benefit, is there nothing else you are eligible for? seems most unfair especially when you are losing money because of all the appts [gggrr face]

marmoset - A CDT is a child development team(?). So the littlest prince has assessments by the OT, physio, SALT and paed over the next couple of weeks and then they will all come together with us at the beginning of July to put a plan together (I think!). Does your ds have these?

portage again tomorrow - this time with his brothers in attendance as it's half term. I fear it will be carnage

Hi marmoset - both the boys were born here and we haven't been resident in England for 9 1/2 years so can't get anything.

Great to hear you had a good weekend. We go on lots of saunters too

Hello all - hope you had a nice bank holiday. We had a weekend away which was very nice - first proper family walk for ages - everyone trailing along at various speeds

fizzy - hanen was good for making us think about how to help language along and a lot of it seemed like common sense but just set out in an articulate way. we had exercises to do and because a group of us did it, it was a nice way to meet other sn parents. we do use makaton a bit but my ds sees himself as a talker and has always resisted signing back! still, i think its pretty useful. i'm trying it out on dd too. what's cdt?

lebel - how brilliant is that?!

soph - i don't suppose you can get dla even though abroad?

Afternoon all. Presented Sam's certificate to social security this morning. We have to wait until January before we get any money and it's nowhere near as much as we were lead to believe. We can get 1000 euros a year, paid twice a month (Jan and July). However, it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, as my Dad says

lebel - that's great news.

I'm so looking forward to the summer hols as Sam won't be going to as many appointments as most people over here have August off. However, he is supposed to be going for something else during July but we'll wait and see.

lebel Brilliant news on the hospital front, it sounds as though she is doing really well. It is such a boost when you get a break from hospital visits!

Sorry I've not been back to this thread, RL kind of takes over sometimes!!

Well C's appointment at the hospital went well, they don't want to see her for the next 6 months, which is brilliant news :D She is now just over 12lb, so she's nearly on the 25th centile - whhooohooo ;-)

She turned 6 months last week and is now desperate to sit and stand up, she loves it and is doing really well, she has good muscle tone in her legs, which is a bonus xxx

Wow what a lot of useful info is on here today!
Have just had a look at the Hanen website - marmoset and sc can you tell us a bit more about what it did for your families? do they use makaton or is it more about the principles of listening?

Soph was thinking about makaton and you - and thinking that would surely be a good way to help Sam make sense of using Spanish and English?!?

Have had our first proper session at a specialist toy library today which went well. A lot of staff there which was helpful and I met the physio and SALT who wil be assessing him in a few weeks before the first CDT. sc and marmy - do your children have CDT reviews and if so how have you found them?

Our social worker has dismissed us, which my health visitor says is because I am trouble!

Thanks marmoset. The funny thing was that the actual therapist that Sam had at the beginning of the year was of the same opinion as me. That his therapy shouldn't stop because at least he was getting to do the exercises, and also he goes to a Spanish nursery and hears Spanish around him on a daily basis but when he's at home he's surrounded by English. This means that he probably hears just as much Spanish as he does English, which can only be a good thing. We'll see what happens next week.

We're doing a Hanen course and finding it very useful

Here it is - www.hanen.org

Hello all. Interesting to read the approach to SALT where you are soph. I would say that anything which encourages speech has to be worth it because so much of it is about the physical training of the mouth to make the sounds, regardless of language.

I'm not sure what everyone else has had but ours has been on and off over the years, mainly because of the very high turnover of staff but we've had some excellent input from time to time and of course, it is now handled through the school.

We use a 'whole communication environment' with ds1 - photos, makaton, speaking and some exercises (encouraging him to say 'pah' strengthens the lips to help with tongue control). Early on we did a Hanen course too which was helpful - will check the website address in a mo.

sc13 - thanks, hadn't thought of that. Will take a look if I need any more stuff How are you today?

Hello everybody! Soph73 it occurred to me while looking at ASD websites yesterday that a lot of the American websites have facts files, etc. to download in Spanish as well as English! Because of Spanish being the second language in the US. Perhaps that's the same with American websites about DS? You may skip having to do some of the translations

Also, forgot to say, we had an assessment appointment back in March, which must be like your DLA. They told us we would know and get his certificate within a month so that we could claim some money from the state. Well, we hadn't heard anything so I got my friend to ring them yesterday and she said that it was sent by registered post and if we hadn't received anything within the next couple of weeks to get back to her.

Anyhow, when we got home yesterday there was a little note for us to pick something up from the post office which was sent by the Canarian Government. Fingers crossed this is his certificate which means we can claim this money. I think the minimum we can get is 382 euros a month, which would be fantastic for us because this is what I'm losing a month in wages for having time off to take Sam to his appointments. We can't pick it up till Sat though as the letter is in DH's name so I can't get it and the post office is only open from 8.30 to 2pm during the week and we're both at work <<ggrrrrr>>

Sorry for that ramble!!!!

Morning all.

fizzyanddizzy - at the beginning of the year Sam started seeing a speech therapist, mainly to do exercises on his mouth to try and get him to put his tongue in his mouth properly and keep his mouth closed. We still carry on these exercises at home when we can. Then in March we had an appointment with the Speech Therapist in charge who told us that he really was a little young to have started the speech therapy and to make an appointment for Nov. However, he also said that we had to decide whether we wanted Sam to learn English or Spanish as there was no point in him having speech therapy in Spanish if he wasn't going to go to a Spanish school, etc, etc.

Fortunately I have spoken to a bilingual speech therapist on MN and she tells me that this is complete rubbish and she knows children with DS who are bilingual. I have also done lots of research and had some stuff translated into Spanish for this speech therapist who I will be seeing next Thurs, as I want Sam to restart his therapy.

At the moment Sam makes lots of sounds but doesn't seem to equate the mu mu mu sound with Mum or da da da sound with Dad but he is getting there bit by bit. He has different noise levels and different sounds for food, tired, toys, etc. I am going to be getting on the Makaton website today as I think that is the one that most people seem to use.

Hello one and all - esp kettlechip and sc13 - don't think i've said hi yet!

Totally agree with slightlycrumpled on the DLA front. It's not means tested for a reason after all - simply recognition that we do incur extra costs from time to time. In our case, mainly keeping the Ambrosia semolina factory in business for several years!

Now downing very watered down lime cordial - wow, I really know how to live

fizzyandizzy We get the middle rate DLA for Joshua, we thought about it for ages and ages longer than we should have really. Once I considered all of the extra hospital/ SALT/ physio appointments etc and the costs involved with them we decided to apply and got the middle rate straight away.

It did feel very odd though to be claiming financial help to be looking after our own child, but my goodness as much as I adore him he has battered our finances!

sc13 I forgot to say hello before, so... 'hello!'

Well hello all and especially Sc13.
I am STARVING. But apart from that I am about to have a day off work so can catch my breath and spend some time with the princes. The littlest of whom now has 2 teeth!!!!

Soph tell me some more about the SALT input you have had so far and what Sam is up to nowadays with communication???

marmoset you will be proud of me - am drinking a glass of water at the mo and trying not to think of the chocolate digestives in the cupboard.

By the way,what is peoples experience of DLA, am contemplating it but not sure.

marmoset Easy tiger, steady on the lime cordial!

soph Do you use any makaton? It has been a life saver in this house. Good luck with the speech therapy battle, sock it to them.

All okay here, although we have Joshua's annual review tomorrow for his statement. It should all be okay as we have been very happy with this year but I cannot stand struggle with the educational psychologist, she is a hard faced cow very business like.

Hi sc13 I have managed to arrange an appointment for next Thurs morning and I'm going armed with a load of research that I've had translated into Spanish. My friend is also coming with me (she speaks fluent Spanish) so we're going in both guns blazing if needs be Hopefully, even if I can't get the speech therapy restarted soon, it'll start again in November.

I like this thread so butting in although DS has ASD rather than DS. How's the SALT going by the way, Soph73?

<<passes playdough over>>

Steady marmoset - don't go overdoing it now you rebel you

I'm sure I had youthful vigour at some point ... must try and find it

Pass the playdough, soph!

There isn't anything else to the water challenge - as long as the glasses add up to 2 litres then that's it. It's supposed to fill you up a bit more, keep the brain hydrated and generally fill you with youthful vigour.

I'm finding it really boring, esp as it is bucketing down here on and off like a cold tropical storm!!!! Water, water, everwhere...I am thinking of branching out with a drop of lime cordial in mine

Mine that is, not yours marmoset .... sorry, that sounded rude

Hi marmoset. I have to say that that's what I normally drink with my meals. Is that all you have to do or is there a bit more to it than that? Shame it doesn't get rid of the laughter lines .... may have to dig out DS1's playdough and fill them in myself

Afternoon all - the secret of the water challenge is that it's really really hard to keep up!!!
However, I am manfully struggling on and trying to down 2 large glasses of water with each meal/as I cook. I have to say that I am beginning to feel a little bit more energetic, despite the wine and maltesers at the weekend .
Unfortunately, my 'laughter lines' (aka deep furrows brought on by child rearing) are still there....
Congrats on the tooth fizzy - was it hard won or did he teethe with minimum fuss [hopeful face]?

fizzyanddizzy - well done on finishing the books & congratulations to your LO I too need to know the secrets of the water challenge as am rapidly gaining the weight I recently lost <<blows raspberry>>!

Well am being punished for all the wine at the weekend - 2lbs on Quick marmoset tell me the secrets of the water challenge, drastic action is called for!!!

I have finally finished the vampire books and have my life back - even better my littlest prince has got his first tooth, I have my own mini vampire

Morning (just) all!

Pleased I'm not the only one who cracked open the wine over the weekend.

marmoset - are you still on the water? Are you looking/feeling any younger?

reducedfatkettlechip - hi

slightlycrumpled - well done DS2 - that's it now though, you won't be able to escape the cries of muuummmeee

Well I never. Here I am, slogging my guts out with the healthy living (which is a full time job, by the way - between drinking of all the water and making sure I'm never too far away from a loo - you were right sc) and some people have the cheek to crack open the wine? Well, if that's the way it is then ok, you've twisted my arm. Cheers, ladies, make mine a large white wine

ah bugger - end of v long week so having drunk far too much wine and therefore scoffed a pizza can only wish you luck marmoset and hope I inhale water through osmosis. Am off to collapse in drunken stupour. (and still havn't finished those bloody vampire books (bloody - geddit??? ))

marmoset I'm not sure about making you 21 again but you will be visiting the loo alot!

kettlechip hello, your name makes me hungry!

Hope you all have a good weekend.

Have a good weekend everyone - I'm starting that 2 litre water challenge today (too cheap to buy branded - it'll have to be tap). Will let you know if it beats biscuit cravings and gives me loads of energy to run a perfect home and 3 superbly behaved children whilst glowing with health

Can drinking lots of water make you 21 again?

am a bit late but welcome to all newbies anyway! Have ds1 aged 3.9 who has lang delay and mild ASD traits and ds2 who seems NT but is a 21 month old bundle of trouble!

Look forward to chatting with you soon

Hello all, fizzyanddizzy he started horseriding straight after his 5th birthday and loved it right away really.

Have been at work for the last couple of days but have tomorrow off, yay!

It is a happy day in the crumpled household as ds2 has finally mastered the art 'eee' sound, so for the first time I'm finally getting a proper 'mummeee'.

Hope you all have a good evening.

Sorry fizzy ... won't mention how fab they were then <<rolls away patting tummy>> Thank God for lycra.

and quite frankly, right now there isn't much I wouldn't do for a whole pack of chocolate hobnobs...

I prefer it when you two talk about fruit and veg. Am struggling with slimming world and talk of chips and biscuits is tipping me over the edge....

Marmoset - of course not .... as long as you pass some over here It's chips in a minute, yippee

Morning - I'm just waiting for Tesco delivery so stuck indoors on a lovely day here. Oh - he's just arrived

Would it be very wrong of me to break into the biscuits before I unpack anything else?

Mornin' all.
fizzyanddizzy - wish I had a morning off. It's study leave at the moment and practically the whole of Year 11 are in my Library <<ggrrr>> They haven't really grasped the concept of "study leave" however, it's mainly because the parents don't trust them to stay at home and do any work Fortunately there's an exam in here tomorrow afternoon so I shall be in the staffroom with my feet up.

The one good thing about today is it's chips for lunch - hooray

Enjoy your day, sounds like you're going to be busy!

Mornin!
day off here - YIPPEE!!!!!
middle son is already struggling with the changes this week so going to give him some time this morning, then portage this afternoon, then school governors meeting later, then more book reading (will I never be free from vampires????). Before I know it, it will be friday and I will be back at work. Grrrr. (wish mumsnet would do a Grrrr face).

What are you lot all up to - apart from throwing fruit and veg at each other

Oooo spring onions please, they're REALLY difficult to get over here

Finds she has run out of tomatoes - will spring onions do?

Gets ready to throw tomatoes at Soph

Well, that's just begging for trouble with your bowl out However, if you do earn millions can we come to Barbados with you, purllleeeeeaaaassssee! I have to be very smug here though as DS1 was about 10/12 wks old when he slept through and Sam was 5 wks old <<preen>> .... runs for cover

I'm sorry Soph but I am completely carried away with my sleeping success - I may even write a book on it, earn millions and retire to Barbados. [really asking for it now - teething bound to start tonight]

You know, my dd2 didn't sleep through the night till he was 2 and shook his cot to bits one night so I really mustn't tempt the fates LOL

fizzy - go to bed and put that light out at 10pm young lady! [seriously though, hope you get a good rest tonight]

Afternoon.

fizzyanddizzy - I used to feel that way when I first came back to work, but you do get used to it. It was very wearing though when Sam was ill and me and DH were up throughout the night trying to settle him. Touch wood <<knocks self on head>> it's all going fine at the mo, although he now has mild conjunctivitis so had to go to the docs this morning and get some drops. He sat on the counter in the chemists blowing raspberries at everyone ... it's his favourite pasttime It rained this morning - boo!!! Bit brighter now though

marmoset - maybe you should wait a few more nights first before you go off guruing You'd never believe I worked in a Library would you LOL!

Morning all on a very grey day!
marmoset hope sleeping is still going well. Thought of you Monday night as I had two of them taking turns to keep me up all night. ggrrrrr. They were all much better last night thankfully!

SC - am v impressed by 5 year old, horse riding - when did he start?

As I go into day 3 of work, am starting to realise this is now for good and am not really sure I have the energy. oh well. Have now started the last book so at least I will not have to stay up till silly o'clock feverishly turning pages

Have a good day, you guys. Soph hope its lovely and sunny for you at least cos its miserable here!

Thanks Soph - had another goodnight last night so will be setting myself up as sleep guru now on the parenting pages - yes, that'll definitely jinx it!!

slightlycrumpled ... always good when you find something that wears them out! Weather's perked up a little bit so may be OK with the washing (don't worry we can be boring together!)

Soph, boo for the bad weather. I have my washing out, tis a 'good drying day' here. (God I'm boring aren't I)

Horseriding is amazing at 5 he is the youngest there, but it is helping him so much. Both his confidence, he is totally relaxed around the ponies (unlike his mother who quivers at the size of their teeth!)but also his muscle tone is starting to improve. Plus the extra bonus - he is knackered afterwards!

Hope everyone has a good day!

fizzyanddizzy - glad you got the first day over with successfully. I really shouldn't boast about our weather. We thought it had changed into summer and then yesterday afternoon the clouds came out, the temperature dropped and it started to rain It'll probably be ghastly all day as I've got my washing out

marmoset - pleased to hear you've got the sleep sorted <<hopes she hasn't ruined it by saying it>>

slightlycrumpled - hi, my cousin has Prader-Willi Syndrome and she goes horse-riding and bounces around all over the place. She absolutely loves it

fizzy I could tell you how I'm doing it but then I would have to kill you.... Not really - it turns out that I have been far too soft on the little soul and just breaking the feeding cycle seems to have allowed her to sleep. You would have thought that i could have twigged this a bit earlier what with her being my third but sleep deprivation does terrible things to the brain! Fingers crossed for tonight. Enjoy your book

Thanks for the cheer slightlycrumpled - loving the image of the horseriding. My ds1 goes and loves it too - he also favours the 'sack of potatoes' position!

Hello all!

fizzyandizzy, glad day one was good, also that he was pleased to see you, such a lovely feeling.

Soph, am also very at the weather and walks on the beach.

Good weekend here, DS2 went horseriding, it's really good for him, he makes me laugh as due to his hypotonia he can't do the up and down thing in the saddle so his head wobbles so much I worry it may fall off!

Marmoset, Yay for sleep!

RESULT
without tempting fate for tonight - well done to Marmosets daughter!!! how have you managed it?

Hello all. Glad you and Alex got day 1 out of the way successfully fizzy

Just to boast - I have had 6-8 hours sleep in a row for the past three nights. Hurray - don't tell dd that I'm boasting or she'll change back. She may not be a wolf or a vampire but she is a night owl

Hello frasersmum123

Hello Soph
Well have survived first day with only a splitting headache to show for it! More to the point have almost finished book three so just one more to go - everybody who I spoke to work today, I could only view them in terms of whether they should be a wolf or vampire so the sooner I finish the books the better!

Alex seemed to do fine at the childminders today but also seemed very pleased to see me when I got home from work so that was nice

Fabby news on the bath front - I bet they had a riot in there together and as for your weather !!!

Morning all. Hope you all had good weekends. The weather here is glorious at the moment so we went for a nice walk along the beach yesterday. Went shopping on Sat and got Sam a bath seat so that he can sit in the big bath with his brother. They had a great time Sat & Sun evening, was lovely to see

Fizzyanddizzy - good luck at work today, enjoy as much as you can Hope you get the sleeping back on track. I have to wake Sam up every morning because we get up so blinkin' early <<ggrrr>> Did you get the books finished?

Hi frasersmum123

Fizzy unfortunately not but we are making progress. She was up twice but settled herself (with me lurking behind her door) after a few mins each time. Next step - her not waking and me not lurking. (Note to Mumsnet - we need a hopeful face thingy!!)

Bad luck on the early start today - was it the dawn chorus, do you think? Enjoy your vampires!

And good evening!
My smugness has come back and bitten me - have been up since 5am with a baby that now thinks its ok to wake up early - he'd best rethink that before Monday!

Hope you have all had a good day. Lebel - was wondering how your DD's check up went this week and if she is still enjoying nursery?

As I now count down the hours to work on Monday, I have stupidly gone and got myself hooked on those bloody books about vampires and teen angst. Am going to be up all weekend now trying to finish books 2,3 and 4 before Monday. grrrrr.

Soph - CRAWLING... now the fun really begins! Dried cereal is prob a v good idea
Marmoset did your long message mention how your baby girl slept right through and you had a great nights sleep??? (not sure how to do hopeful face!)

Hello and welcome to the board, I am more of a lurker than a poster but I do read nearly everything.

I have three children, DS1 is NT (but very stroppy!) 8 year old, DS2 is 2.2 and we have a probable diagnosis of ASD - delayed speech and no receptive language, and DD1 who is 7 month.

The boards have been a massive help to me, especially as I am new to allt his, and I do ask a milion questions but everyone has been so helpful!

I've just managed to delete a big long message by mistake grrrrr . Anyway, hi Arabica and good afternoon everyone!

Hi Arabica Think I'll start giving Sam some dried cereal to play with to see what he does with them, although I'm pretty sure he'll just crush them up in his hands and drop them everywhere while having a good giggle

Hi, welcome to the board. I have a DS who's a typical 8 year-old and DD, 3 in July, who has global developmental delay, no diagnosis. She moves around well but has no speech and is more like an 18-month old. She's not a great eater so we encourage her to play with her food a lot--our kitchen floor was covered in cheerios this morning!

Afternoon all.

fizzyanddizzy - I have the Annabel Karmel book and he eats everything suggested in that. His favourite a few months back were:-

pear & butternut squash
leek, pea & sweet potato
courgette & pea souper (courgettes, onions, peas, potato, chicken stock) the whole family loves this
cauliflower, sweetcorn, red & yellow peppers (all boiled in milk until soft, add cheese once it's cooked)

All of the above are blended into a puree & go down a treat. Sweet potato I put in with everything. When I'm doing casseroles I just take some out for Sam add a little bit of pepper & some herbs and blend.

Sounds like your LO is pure genius Sam tried to crawl at nursery yesterday - hooray. He also managed to undo his nappy and smear poo everywhere but hey ho <<snigger - at least it wasn't me clearing it up>>

fizzy - you have a star on your hands there!

Glad you have reliable childcare - my dd is booked for nursery when I go back later in the year but I know the people who run it so I'm not too worried about her. I am worried about my fried brain though!

A baby in the house again is lovely but the sleep deprivation not so good - i'm on another thread sharing sleep plans with a few ladies so hope to crack it soon .

Just had a FAB portage session!!! Alex is clearly a genius and is officially trying to read!!! at 7 months no less!! Is now exhausted by his antics and is resting before continuing his war against home furnishings with his weapon of mass destruction - sludgey food.

marmoset how are you coping with having a baby in the house again??? and a girl to boot! Both my younger boys are going back to the childminder that we had before I went on maternity leave this time which I feel fine about really but the not panicking about what might happen to them just takes getting used to (would have thought I would be used to it by now - 3rd time I have gone back to work after all).

Soph tell me what else young Sam likes to eat. I am completely at a loss with what to tempt the little prince with although am going to give the mash potato suggestion a go later.

Well, natch!

marmoset - he is the most adorable child I have ever come across .... in my completely unbiased opinion you understand

Fizzy - good luck for Monday. What childcare did you go for (sorry if I have missed a message on that?).

Sam sounds a honey bunny, Soph!

LOL marmoset - could just imagine Lawrence Llewelyn-Bowen (or whatever his name is) getting involved in that one

Sam is fine thanks. After his ginormous pout on Mon when I took him to Nursery, he is back to his big smiley, huggy, vocal self when he gets in there. He actually gave Suzy (the lady in charge of the babies) a hug yesterday. He put both arms round her neck and buried his face in her neck, even she nearly cried

fizzyanddizzy - I know what you mean about returning to work. I had to come back when Sam was just 4 months old, not a nice feeling. However, got back into the swing of things in next to no time. Mainly because his Guarderia (nursery) are fantastic.

PheasantPlucker - hi to you and your dds, sounds like you've got your hands full (understatement of the week probably)

Hi there! I have 2 dds, 8 year old dd has CP, epilepsy, hydrocephalus, learning difficulties, VI and global delay. She was born 3 months prematurely and had a massive brain haemorrhage as she was very unstable and ill, which led to her conditions.

am awaiting first portage visit - preparation is the wiping up of old food (have just noticed that the 's' on my keyboard is sticky...)am also having a fit of the vapours at the thought of returning to work on Monday!!!!

Good idea Soph - instead of mood boards, we could have 'food boards' - what goes with butternut squash sprayed up the wall?

How are all the little ones today?

Marmoset - maybe you should start one then we could all join in with handy hints and advice

Weetabix - a cereal AND a building material....

We ended up putting up tongue and groove panels at eating area and painting them gloss white - a lot easier to clean and you don't take the plaster off when you try to scrub! Where is the home improvement show based on hiding stained walls? Maybe the BBC will do one...

Aaaahhh, they were cute. I've not been brave enough to give Sam a spoon yet. He does try to grab it though. Maybe during the hols I'll let him practice when I'm at home all the time and can actually clear up after him

Ah well you can look a them on this dead thread
here

no obviously not

Oh yes weetabix... I agree bl**dy impossible to get off!!! And it stains. But if you get the consistency right is does stick to the spoon. However this does mean it has more 'flick ' potential. Enjoy!!

Emoticons might still be around.. [bwink] i think it was a b but can't remember

Afternoon all.
LOL at fizzyanddizzy Have you managed to clean up the weetabix yet? Why is that weetabix hardens like concrete???? Thank god for tiled floors that's all I say

bunnyrabbit - bother, I missed those as well!

Shame you missed the easter emoticons they were really cute with ears on.

Hi all,

WOW, I cannot believe all those replies , even getting the hang of the smilies now

Thanks all, I haven't tried her with weetabix yet, as I thought it best to hold off the wheat until 6 months (cos obviously something magical happens at six months, LOL!) She loves baby porridge, rice, etc

Portage is great, google portage, they have an official webpage, it is really interesting and I am so greatful for the support our worker has given us so far, she's lovely x

OMG. Have just discovered that more goes in if I let him hold the spoon. There is weetabix EVERYWHERE!

Hi Lebel & welcome, your dd sounds gorgeous.
I have two boys the youngest has Mild CP & asd.
Hope you find lots of support & advice on here.

hi lebel and welcome. I have dd who is 7 with cystic fibrosis, epilepsy, speech and language delay etc. etc.
you will find it a great place as my 9 year son i am addicted!

Hi Lebel, welcome . I have DD1, 3.5 with Developmental delay/epilepsy, DD2, 20 montha, NT, and DD2, 3 weeks.

Hi Lebel
Congratulations on your new arrival

My eldest son has DS and is now 12 and I have 2 other kids, a son of 10 and a daughter of 6m. It looks as if you are getting lots of useful help and advice and you'll get lots of support here.

Other tips - I don't know if you have info from the Down Syndrome Association and from the Down Syndrome Education Trust but they are good too.I have a couple of useful books which I ordered through the Trust - Gross Motor Skills in Children with DS and Fine Motor Skills in Children with DS published by Woodbine - really useful and easy to use.

Weaning is a long time ago for us! My son had no difficulty taking purees but we never got onto finger food and his diet now is still mashed. He is fairly unusual in this and its probably linked to probs he had with his tonsils- all of the many kids I have come to know with DS eat quite normally but if things do take a lot longer than expected, ask for specific help from the speech therapist as chewing etc is linked to speech development.

Now, would someone tell my 6m old that everyone else is sleeping through the night and to get on with it?!

Have just laughed reading the first few lines of the link, Soph - whilst my baby might keep his mouth closed, his brothers and dad are regularly to be seen sitting in a line on the sofa watching tv - all with their mouths wide open

Have heard good things about talktools and a TA at my oldest sons school went to a talk on it all recently and came back raving.

Portage isnt the same as physio (am v impressed by the amount of physio and OT Sam is getting). Its a service for pre-school children working with them and their families on identifying goals for development in all areas of their life and how to achieve them (I think!- will find out more on Thurs).
We were seeing a physio - every month - but they have now left and have heard no more! We can access one through the toy library though.

Here is the link I mentioned this morning. It has other links in it which you may find useful.

Hi Lebel

I have DS1 (9, nt), DS2 (8, asd) and DD3 (6, nt).

Welcome to mn x

Welcome to the SN board one and all!

I have a DS1 (5.8) with a DX (diagnoses) of ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) and a DS2 (13 months) - NT so far

Would be lost without mumsnet.

BR

Hi
welcome to Mumsnet

Hey fizzyanddizzy. We thought we were lucky with DS1 as he slept through at 12 weeks but Sam slept through at 5 so even better

Sam adores weetabix with fruit puree but he will eat anything that's put in front of him as long as it's pureed. We are starting him on food with little lumps in but so far he's not impressed

What's portage? Is it the same as physio?

Riven - so sorry to hear about your daughter.

Hello, I have two boys and my youngest (5yrs) has di-george syndrome, which has many similar traits to down syndrome.

Welcome to the SN board, you will get some good advice on here and more importantly support.

no, she ran away at 14 and lives with my in-laws. She suffered from 'big chip on shoulder'.

Hello Lebel
I have a 7 month old with DS ( and he has two older brothers who are 2 and 5). He is v. cute and smiley and he too has slept through the night since he was six weeks old for which we are eternally grateful!

I am fairly new here and had posted as well about weaning (hello Peanut and Soph) as he is not very interested in food (to put it mildly). My biggest winner at the moment is weetabix mixed with fruit puree and he is partial to sticking a rice cake in his chops. Whilst he is good at drinking good he is also v good at puking it all back up again

We have our first proper portage session on Thursday and are planning to use the local toy library. He should have his 1st CDT meeting this month - anyone with any tips?

Riven- your first child ran away?! Is that code for something?
Sorry to ask.

Er.. "Neurotypical" though I think "typically developing" is probably the more politically correct and inclusive term now. But that side of things is generally a bit beyond me!

Can I just ask - what does NT stand for?

Morning lebel. We're a pretty diverse bunch here, all shapes and sizes.

My eldest is 5. She has a couple of rare (and unrelated) conditions, the more severe one being rare enough that there is no UK support group. She has severe epilepsy, hemiplegia, a developmental age of about 8 months and very severe delay in social/communication. She is gorgeous. And very cuddly!

My youngest is 3. And the quintessential NT "threenager". .

We live in darkest Surrey with a small hairy dog.

Re: weaning - had to wean DD1 earlier than I would have liked on GOSH advice: I suppose the advantage of that was that I knew she didn't need it nutritionally and could concentrate on just making it fun/ stress free. And wipe-clean. Wipe-clean was a big help!

Morning lebel.

I'm new on the SN threads as well. You're in the right place for fantastic support

I have 2 sons. Tom is 6 years old and Sam is 1 year old and he has Mosaic Downs Syndrome. We live in Gran Canaria and have had fantastic support so far. We are waiting at the moment for a certificate so that we can claim some financial support from the authorities, however, things take an age to materialise over here.

We weaned Sam just the same as we did with Tom and he took to it straight away so I'm probably not the right person to be able to give advice. However, I will find some links and put them on here for you, which I found yesterday and are really helpful.

Look forward to keeping in touch with you

hi and welcome i have two grown up children, and jack 6y with aspergers, and chloe nearly two with undx condition,

Your DD sounds lovely. She sounds like she is coming on really well with her developement.

I've got 3 DS's aged (nearly)6, 3 and 5 months. My 3 year old has autism and dyspraxia.

hi welcome i have a ds who is 4 just

and he has HFA [high functioning autism]

its very supportive on here x

Thanks for all the messages :D Yes, we have got some great support, we've been lucky.

We have a key worker, she filled out our dla form, thank god for her, I broke out in a cold sweat looking at it!!

Peanut, I so know that feeling when they finish their first bottle!! LOL, she did it in hospital and I burst into tears ... I was tired!

Got to go back for a check up this week. We are taking all her old clothes, it's a big wrench, she's finally grown out of her 0-3month clothes, she's now 11lb! She was only 5lb 13oz when she was born, bless her x

Hi lebel, welcome to MN. I have 4 children, number 1 ran away, number 2 has aspergers, number 3 dyspraxia and number 4 severe brain damage (with cerebral palsy and epilepsy)

Hi, I have a son with down syndrome who is now 8 years old. He has a heart condition called tetraology of fallot, among other problems. He had open heart surgery at 18 months to alieveate some of his condition and willneed further surgeries. TOF as the problem is often referred isn't correctable.

hi, welcome to mn. i am 27, have four kids. ds1 is 10, ds2 is nearly 8 and has dyspraxia and possible hfa/as. dd's are 4 and 3.

Hi, Lebel and welcome
Your little girl sounds gorgeous. I have a 8 month old boy with DS and he is also very chilled and sleeps like an angel too.
He also had problems feeding because of a hole in the heart but is doing really well after surgery at 4 months I found it such a great feeling when he finished his first full bottle

It looks like your getting lots of support, we've had a couple of portage sessions so far which have been great also finding the physio really helpful.
We started weaning at 5 months and he took to it really well (although we had to convince him veg was just as good as fruit think he has a sweet tooth!)and we're working on lumps at the moment which he's still not sure about.
Look forward to chatting

Thank you! She'll eat anything that has been mixed with babyrice!! LOL, she seems to quite like mashe potato, I didn't blend it and she was OK.
We had real issues with her feeding before her op, she was only taking 2oz every 4 hours, but sleeping through the night from 9 days old, we didn't know about the hole until she was 8 weeks, they said they would operate when she was a year old, then went for another check at birmingham and they said "see you in 3 days" - since the op she'll drink7oz in one go, but still sleeps through
She started waking up earlier, so I started the weaning, she's OK again now.

She started nursery this week, only 2 mornings a week, but she is so chilled out about it all and her big sister is thrilled to have her at nursery with her.

Hello

I have 2 children, my eldest dd is 8 and youngest is 4, he has ds. He is really good fun, and I can't quite believe he is starting school in September. My son started on solids at about 5 or 6 months, he only really liked bananas and other fruit. He is still picky about vegetables and I have to hide them in food he will eat. However, how he eats depends on his tummy as he is very prone to constipation and when he is full he won't eat, which is understandable. I have just learnt not to offer too much and when he is going through a hungry phase I try to give him a bit of everything. He took longer than some children to move on from soft food as his chewing was not great, this can sometimes be an issue still. Hope this helps.

Thank you Madmouse, it is nice to find people who "understand", if that makes sense

Hello to you too and welcome!

My ds is 15 months and has mild cerebral palsy. You will find good support on here!

Hello, I am new here, just found you through a search engine

I have two daughters, L is 3 and C is 5 months and has downs. She had open heart surgery at 12 weeks to repair a hole in her heart.

I was looking for weaning advice, I have been giving her taste of purreed stuff for 3 weeks now, which she seems to enjoy

We just got our dla award through and the extra tax credits, they'll really help, we weren't expecting them, LOL!

We have portage and go to a support group for ds toddlers,

Hope to get chatting to some of you soon, xxx