December 2007 - Not Quite Two, Already Terrible ;)

[claraquack]

Just checking that this worked....

Insy - a little late I know but it sounds like alot of small children I teach...I need more time to go back and read things properly

I have a cough driving me mad which means I am so tired as I seem to be awake half the night coughing.

Evie fell asleep at 5 pm tonight so fingers croseed she doesn't wake up early

Had a really nice day in the sunshine and had the 1st ice-cream of 2010

Cazzy poor you, I hate having a cough especially when it stops me sleeping.

Shame about the house BT Hopeyou find an even nicer one soon (and get a good price for yours).

Beckle I completely agree btw, if he is then it getting picked up on by the right people (who actually know what they are talking about)can only be a good thing

Clairey - it just sounds to me like your ds is incredibly bright and the other mums are just jealous!
My dd2 is also very obsessed with colours at the moment, whenever she talks about something she mentions it's colour - eg "I've got a pink spoon, your cup is yellow" etc.
And they both insist on always having the right coloured bowls etc. heaven forbid we get it wrong!

Evie hasn't a clue about colours

ds2 doesn't have a clue about colours either
clairey fwiw I know a little boy who is same age as ds1 who did the whole colour matching pattern thing at this age, as well as being hyperactive, he's now almost 4 and very bright and seems to have a huge talent for maths/numbers, he's still very active and can be a bit tricky to play with but is lovely.

update on ds1 is that I did take him to doctors to have ears checked and they are apparently chocker with wax, not sure why but we've been given some oil to put in them for 3 days and have to stick cotton wool in his ears overnight but hopefully it'll clear some of it. When doc asked him if his ears hurt or he had difficulty hearing he just said 'oh yes but this one is better (pointing to right ear) so I turn my head and if it hurts I just lay on it (putting head on chair with left ear down)' why of why didn't I just ask him that ages ago??? feeling now very stupid

but why would you think of asking him insy? That is so great that you have solved the problem and it is so simple - you must be really pleased

clairey - that mother obviously has very little knowledge of what autism is and i would be furious. DS is also into colours and matching and OF COURSE this is normal toddler behaviour

BT - sorry about the house but hopefully it is fate and an even better one will turn up and make ypu glad you didn;t get that one

Well DS1 has decided that he wants to do potty training now which is just great when I have a 2 week old to look after as well - I'm trying to dissuade him for now - is that awful?!

cazzy - I always get a bad cough when pg and it is so awful, isn't it? I think you just cannot cope with lack of sleep when pg. Last time I went to the GP and got antibiotics for my cough and they cleared it up immediately - might be worth a try?

DS2 is 3 weeks old tomorrow Apart from the fact that he will only sleep on either my or DH's chest, he is so easy to look after, feeding well (boobs no longer sore) and I know I'm biased but he's just SO handsome . Even DS1 has taken to him now and gives him lots of kisses and tells me to feed him when he cries, very cute

Clairey, you may be interested to learn more about "schemas" which are patterns of learning that young children often exhibit. My mum is an international expert in these of all things!! She has written books, done lots of research, lectures and speaks at conferences. I've done a quick Google search and came up with this website which has a brief intro into the concept. However one of the schemes not mentioned here is "Ordering" i.e. lining things up in rows, matching sizes, etc. This is also something my DD1 was obsessed with. While DD2 is a "transporter". earlyyears.blog.co.uk/2009/01/28/schema-fascination-5466300/
I would also tend to agree that he sounds very bright, potentially in the "gifted" category as he had early language skills as well as you've noted good colour skills. Gifted kids tend to be highly sensitive and can be quite obsessive. This is not autism and I would be extremely angry with anyone who suggested such a thing on the basis of one incident and had no professional or personal knowledge of the topic! Anyway will stop blathering on now...

Poor ds1 Insy but at least you know now and hopefully the oil will work. I would never think of asking that either.

Buzzy thanks for the link, can definitely identify dd in some and ds in others.

Skid at ds1's (that was funny to type!) potty training timing, I think I would be putting him off too! I also think we need more pictures of ds2, just so we can give you an objective opinion on how handsome he is of course.

I had a cuddle with a tiny baby today, was a bit scared actually!

Insy - don't feel bad, I don't know if you remember but towards the end of my pregnancy I was suffering from hearing loss and itchy ears, first 2 GPs I saw gave me ABs, said I had an ear infection, it took the 3 GP to figure out I was suffering from glue ear, and sent me off to the ENT dept at the local hospital to get my ears syringed (that was fun, it made me really dizzy, lucky DH was off so could pick up from the hospital lol)! Thought it was caused by extra fluid produced in pregancy!

clairey fwiw, dd goes balistic if i dare to put red plastic teaceup on yellow saucer etc etc.
and to this day i have to wear the right colour socks for my clothes, even if they are going to be invisible to everybody during the day, and CANNOT STAND to wear black socks with brown boots or shoes. and i'm normal. well, more-or-less. I read in the paper at the weekend (i think) that the american psychological diagnostic manual may be altered to remove autism as a diagnostic label, which suggests that actually some of what is thought of as 'autistic' behaviour was 'normal' all along. Coming from a family where every man is obsessed with either trains, buses, lawn-mowers, coffee-makers I get really cross when people bandy about labels like this. isn't there room for a range of personalities and behaviours in our society?

ah. i seem to be ranting.

will crawl back under my stone and be quiet again...

Hi everyone. I have a bit of a request to make. In particular to clairey as you have just been through something similar - and, it seems from here, survived.

A very good friend of mine here is in an awful verbal/emotional/mentally abusive relationship (she says not physical but I am not 100 per cent convinced of this) and is trying to escape. Because of where we live, and the fact that he controls EVERYTHING she does, including ALL their finances, this is not an easy thing.

Anyway, me and my DH are the only people who know as it is very important that her bastard h doesn't know she is trying to get away (she has two very small children) in case he stops her accessing any of their accounts. She needs the money for things like plane tickets and to live when they get back to their home.

To cut a very long story short, she has started a blog. But so far no-one has found it - she can't tell too many people as so few know about her situation. I thought it would be nice to try and get some support for her through it. This is mainly aimed at anyone who has been in a similar situation or knows anyone who has.

Here is the link here

I may start a separate thread. I can support her as much as possible with practicalities but it would be great if she could hear from people who had been through something like this - and survived.

Thanks so much, I really hope this isn't inappropriate. I just want to help her as much as possible.

Oh Clara for your friend but well done her for starting a blog .. has she left him yet?

Clara I've bookmarked her blog and will read through it when I get a chance to be able to concentrate on it. Where is she from originally (just so I don't witter on about stuff that isn't relevant)

The dc had their first ever haircuts today! have put a few pics on fbook, ds looks quite different

oh how awful for your friend clara I can't really comment as i have never been through anything similar but i really hope she manages to leave him and to make a new start

love the photos clairey - does ds spend a lot of time in the fridge?!

yes - i love the photos too Clairey...your children are really beautiful/handsoem

You kids are so gorgeous! And I think my ds would love your train setup!!

Clara - so sorry about your friend, what a terrible situation she is in. I hope she finds what she needs to leave him soon.

Arcadie is getting very impatient now!

Cazzy ds likes to be called beautiful I think he is rebeling against the haircut today, he has loads of bracelets and necklaces on!

Skid no, it's usually full of wine Stupid built in one that takes up cupboard space (I have my own big fridge) and stinks. That was one of the many times I was cleaning it to try to get rid of the smell (actually don't know how he could bear to sit in it the smell is that bad)

Thanks everyone for your thoughts about my friend. Clairey, she is American, which makes it harder as they don't have the same sort of social support that we do. But she does have a home in the States which she should be able to live in when she leaves him - which hopefully will be in the next few weeks.

Must go and check out the FB pics now....

clara what a horrible situation for your friend, I hope she manages to get out soon, I have no advice but it lookied like there was some good practical stuff being posted on her blog.

clairey very cute photos, never mind ds's being envious of train track, I'm envious of it, where did you get that spiral tower thing from? its ace!

BT I don't remember about your ears but it sounds like what ds could have, it would explain away alot of his 'behaviours' He's got a hearing test at the beginning of May, he says his ears don't hurt now after using the oil but I haven't actually seen anything come out of them and I'm not sure his hearing is any better on the plus side he's now lacto free and his appetite has doubled

Ey up.

40 +1

BT is spot on correct.

I need some beauty sleep but will come back and post asap.

oh god what did kelbel turn into .... anyway have you seen on FB she had her baby early...he is soo cute.

Hi - sorry forgot to say I have name changed, this is claraquack. Will change back again at some point. It's quite fun having two personas though.

Good luck Arcadie - will keep an eye on FB for your news!

oh gosh - I don't stand a chance do I ....

have had a pretend easter Sunday lunch as we are away in the lake district next week...lamb, new pots and veggie tales!

we are off for a walk if I can summon up the energy to burn off the vast amount of chocolate I have consumed.