Hello

[lebel]

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

Merry Christmas everyone

Been so busy lately what with all being down with various bugs (probably swine flu -minor league kind- and winter vomiting. Nice), the bedroom ceiling being flooded and general mayhem.
Haven't had a winter like this for years !
Still, all back on track now and geting in to the Christmas spirit - mince pie and glass of bubbly anyone?

Happy New Year

Tis me Fizzy with a shortened name. How did you all cope with Christmas??? I for one was absolutely DELIGHTED to go back to work today. Three frenzied and overexcited boys was too much even for me. Am worried that a fresh onslaught of snow tonight will mean I am stranded with them again!

The LP is doing great wolfing food down his chops ( although still not putting on any weight!) and we have managed to get him to put his feet on the floor and with a lot of support he will deign to stand for a few seconds! I was really proud of myself for getting him what I thought was an ace xmas pressie of a projector to be all lovely and soothing at bedtime and of course he hasnt even noticed it!!!

Hope you and yours are doing ok - flooded ceilings and swine flu does not sound fun marmoset.

And now advice needed - The LP has got loads of teeth - maybe 10-12, but he has developed an obsession with grinding them and they are already tiny as it is. Not only that but the noise drives me mad. Has anyone got experience of this - why and how do I make it stop.......

Happy New Year FnD - like the new, funky name!
Christmas was fun here but the snow meant we couldn't do anything or go anywhere so school was very welcome - ds1 couldn't wait to go back to see his friends.
DD has started grinding her very tiny teeth too - I think she likes the sound.
Ds1 did it too and occasionally still does but it doesn't seem to have made any difference to his teeth (which are pretty good - he won't eat sweets or drink fizzy juice.) With DD, I just try to dstract her if she starts - can't think of anything else to do but someone else might have a good trick.
Good that LP eating well and bearing weight - how is he on the DS growth charts now?

Glad to see or hear everyone had a good Christmas. Another thread has got me thinking...how about adding each other as friends on facebook, don't worry if that's not a good idea it was just a thought. That way you can chat as well as see how everyone is progressing. If you fancy it look for tracy "splat" davis. If not will see you on the next post here. Take care xx

Oh and by the way Happy new Year everyone!!!!

Happy New Year everyone

marmoset - sounds like you had fun there for a while!!!

FnD - love the new look Sam grinds his teeth constantly but tends to do it more when he's got teeth coming through. I don't know whether it's got anything to do with special needs children but my cousin (who has Prader-Willi syndrome) still grinds her teeth and she's 31 now. She has the strongest teeth though so it clearly hasn't had any adverse effects.

Pleased to hear that LP is standing now, even if it is with loads of help. We have completely the opposite problem with Sam. We have to strap him in tight if we want him to sit for any length of time LOL. He got some foam puzzle tiles for the floor for Xmas and as soon as we put him on them he shot across the floor, straight for the cabinet with the telly on & pulled himself up

devientenigma - hi there. Would love to add you on facebook but my work computer won't allow facebook and our one at home has blown up and we probably won't be getting a new one until funds have picked up a bit unfortunately

Happy New Year everyone

marmoset - sounds like you had fun there for a while!!!

FnD - love the new look Sam grinds his teeth constantly but tends to do it more when he's got teeth coming through. I don't know whether it's got anything to do with special needs children but my cousin (who has Prader-Willi syndrome) still grinds her teeth and she's 31 now. She has the strongest teeth though so it clearly hasn't had any adverse effects.

Pleased to hear that LP is standing now, even if it is with loads of help. We have completely the opposite problem with Sam. We have to strap him in tight if we want him to sit for any length of time LOL. He got some foam puzzle tiles for the floor for Xmas and as soon as we put him on them he shot across the floor, straight for the cabinet with the telly on & pulled himself up

devientenigma - hi there. Would love to add you on facebook but my work computer won't allow facebook and our one at home has blown up and we probably won't be getting a new one until funds have picked up a bit unfortunately

Oops, sorry about that

Hello again
Dev - have just tracked you down on facebook and demanded you be my friend!

marmoset - is the snow still with you? we live on the top of a hill and still can't get our car up! all getting a bit tedious now!
The LP was losing even more weight (had dropped to the 0.4th of the "normal" one and the 25th of the DS one. Am getting him weighed this week and have high hopes for him as we have discovered custard and chocolate cake .

Supersoph tell us how the weather is with you - go on, make us all

Afternoon all.

FnD - LOL at discovering custard & choccie cake ... scrum Do you really want me to tell you about our weather???? For us it's actually quite chilly - it was only 12 degrees yesterday morning It's still sunny though. We have had some rain but nowhere near as bad as previous years. That's it, won't tell you anymore in case you all stop speaking to me

Dear All
Snow and ice has gone - phew. Actually quite sunny just now and a balmy 5 degrees, Supersoph so feels really warm..... (ok, not really but I'm trying to stay positive )LOL about the telly - my ds would watch it all day if he could get away with not going to school. Whisper it but it's very handy....

De - v good idea but I'm not on Facebook as yet so will need to look into that one.

FnD - that is good news on the weight front. My ds1 fell off the DS chart for a long time though back on it now - he is still a skelf but very wiry and there is no filling him. When we were trying to add calories we put spoonfuls of olive oil and double cream into his food which add a lot of cals. I also looked for very high calorie puds and Milky Bar desserts were the best (or worst, depending on who eats them!). Custard and choc cake (preferably mashed together) still go down very well.

Hey marmoset great to hear from you Get thyself onto facebook so we can be friends (while school still hasn't twigged that I can access it )

Hello all
Time for a catch up!
Just had a rubbish day at work that has made me question whether I can work for an organisation that supports people with ld if all it does is make me despair for my sons future. havn't got the energy to deal with it today.

Other than that everything is great

How are you all doing?

Hey FnD sorry to hear that you're not enjoying work, hope it picks up soon.

Had an unexpected day off yesterday as all the schools in the archipelago were shut because of horrendous storms. The lightning was incredible but lots of places were flooded. Tenerife, El Hierro & La Palma got it a lot worse than we did so shan't complain too much It also meant that I got quite a few jobs done that I would normally do over the weekend ... bonus.

Have organised a girlie night out on Sat. We're going to a really nice restaurant & I always stay over at a friend's house when we get together so even better

Sam's all snotty & coughy(!!) still but it's a lot better than it was. I hate colds. But apart from that everything's OK at the mo.

Hope your night goes Super Soph!!!

Understand where your coming from FnD.

Marmoset....you on facebook yet??

As for us life continues to be as the proffs put it challenging and complex!!

Half terms coming up and it's full of busy.

We have an appointment for 2 of the kids at Jordans opticians in Ayr for VPD.

Another hospital app, can't remember if it's the heart, lungs or ears.

The social worker has alos offered us a weekend at Calvert trust!!!!

Never been so busy in years. Let the meltdowns commence!!

Hope you are all well anyway.

Take care x

Hey devientenigma you sound as though you'll be rushed off your feet. I had a bit of a panic this morning as I couldn't remember when Sam's next hospital appointment is or what for. I tend to get perturbed when I suddenly realise that it's been a while since we went LOL. I don't think he's got another one till April but will have to look on the calendar when I get home.

Quick question if anyone can help. Sam's developed this nasty habit of throwing himself backwards with full force when he's put in his highchair. He sometimes does it when he's picked up as well (but that's normally just before he's put in his highchair). It's worse just before he's due to eat (he does like his food ) & as soon as food arrives he stops. He then does it again when he's finished everything & we take the bowl away. Can anyone suggest a way we can stop this, or lessen it?

Hey Supersoph - hope you had a fab night out. We are all in the middle of a D&V bug - loving every moment !

As for Sams lunges - if they are something similar to what the LP does - rocking with massive force when sitting in a chair type thing (so of course he could have the effect of banging his head). I was told that this is a proprieceptive(sp) response- sensory stimulation.

In the LPs case he would do it when picked up or when in his highchair or chair and following interaction which he liked. I was told to respond to his rocking with another physical response like banging my hands on the table. He then started to copy the hand banging instead of the rocking. Hadn't really thought about it until yesterday but the rocking has pretty much stopped in the last few weeks...

The approach is called intensive interaction (should be googleable). Part of it, I think is about finding the sensory stimulators the child needs/ wants and helping to find alternatives.

Anyway others may have far more useful advice .

Dev hope you are buckled up and ready for what sounds like a hectic half term -hope it goes ok x

Marmoset where are you - hope you ok! x

Hey FnD Yep, I had a great night out thanks - seems like ages ago now. Thanks for that info on LP's lunges. It sounds a bit like Sam although he tends to do it now only when he doesn't want to be in his chair and when he's waiting for his food. Impatient little tike .... must take after his mother

Have had some funny weather here this week, which meant that the Government shut all schools yesterday so we had an unexpected day off, which was nice. However, we're housesitting at the mo so had to dash over to our place to check that all was OK. Fortunately everything seems to be in its place so that's good. Our friends are back today so have plenty of wine in the fridge & DH has already prepared dinner for this evening so just got to bung it in oven. Love dinners like that

Hey all - long time, no thread Just thought I'd see how everyone is and what's going on at the mo.

Sam had his 2 year check today and it was fine. He's still vomiting occasionally after his lunch but he is now 22.3lbs, which is still low for a child with DS, but at least he's gained weight since the last check. He's tall for a child with DS though - 33.1 inches. His quarterly check with the doc at the hospital where he has all his therapies is tomorrow. He's coming along quite nicely though with his mobility. He can nearly go from the crawl to the standing position on his own and he was walking quite well holding on to his therapists hand on Monday. Little by little we're getting there

Not much else to report really, just the usual round of working, working and more working - hey ho!

Hey Supersoph!
Sam sounds AWESOME! he's doing great isn't he - his walking is v impressive! Hope the quarterly check was just as positive.

The littlest prince is swimming along (literally). He can get wherever he wants with his swimming crawl but is not interested in standing or walking! He is getting fitted for piedro boots tommorrow. Obviously whilst I appreciate they are important in helping him develop his physical strength and skills, I am of course at this point more interested in what colour he will get!

LP still shows absolutely no interest in signing but is learning far too much from his older brothers about how to bundle - he is becoming a force to be reckoned with. These people that stop to talk to him in shops because he gives them a cheeky little grin and wave have NO idea of the true monster-ness of him

Hey FnD - you made me laugh talking about LP being able to bundle as Sam is exactly the same. He loves nothing more than piling on top of DS1, while laughing hysterically and trying to pull his nose, ears, whatever happens to be at hand Our boys really are cheeky monkey's .... but can still look angelic

His quarterly check went really well and it was interesting as well because there were 3 trainees in with the doctor so she was explaining everything in detail. She's requested he goes for an eye test because he has a tendency to look down his nose and to the side every now and then. I think this is probably due to low muscle tone though rather than him having a problem with his sight.

But, onto more important things ... what colour are the boots?

Coo-eee Supersoph and anyone else out there -come and help me....

The LP is getting well agressive with his rocking - do you remember you said Sam was doing the same a few months back? has he stopped and if so how?

I think LP is doing it as a means of communication rather than cos he likes the sensation - but when he is on my lap and doing it, it can hurt and I am worried he will end up doing himself serious damage if I cant break the habit - partic when he is in his highchair. What tips do you have?

By the way - just checked out the photos on your profile Supersoph - the 2 year old looks great and VERY tall!

Hey FnD, sorry to hear about the rocking. Sam does still do it but nowhere near as much as he did. Yes, it does blinkin' hurt when he cracks my collar bone with the back of his head so I sympathise.

When Sam's on my lap he mainly does it because he wants to get down or be somewhere else. The same with his high chair. When he does do it in his highchair & I'm not free, I get DS1 to go over to him and tell him "no" and gently hold his arms and then give him a hug. Then DS1 does a silly walk or dance and it takes Sam's mind off it. When I'm there I say "no" really firmly and hold him so that he can't do it again. Once he's stopped I'll then say something like "do you want to play with your toys?" and point to his playpen then put him in.

Admittedly this doesn't always work and I'm absolutely convinced that it's Sam's way of communicating that he's bored/annoyed/frustrated/wants to be somewhere else, etc as he can't say what the matter is.

I have spoken to other parents about this and it does seem to be a communication thing that they do eventually grow out of once they can tell you what they want, either through signing or speaking.

On a different note. Sam's physio said that there's absolutely no reason now why he shouldn't start walking on his own. He is now strong enough in his torso and legs it's just that he's lazy ..... and, believe me, he is. The cheeky look that he gives when he pretends he can't stand is something else I did explain to the physio though that it probably runs in the family as I was 2.5 yrs before I even moved and that was to get up and walk. DS1 was 16 months. How embarrassing LOL