Starting today... 2st to lose.

[owlets]

Whilst shopping with my super slim friend over the weekend I realised just how fat I feel - and getting on the scales provided proof. I've put on 2 stone - 1 stone of which has come on very recently ( think a month or two?!).
Other than looking lumpy and increasingly featureless, my legs are achy and I don't feel like I've woken up properly ever.
So, I'm going to start on the diet today. The plan is to eat lots of veg and fruits, lean meats, and limited carbs. I'm going to have 3 decent sized meals a day, and not snack unless I'm truely hungry.

I'm going to weigh myself and post on here every Tuesday. Anyone who wants to join in please do!

Starting weight; 11st 13.
(Target weight 10st so 1st 13lbs to lose)

lol at you two. i know you sneaked that blue one in because it was the only colour she didn't use, lamb...

busy weekend here. children were predictably grotty yesterday, and dd2 sounds and looks like she needs a week off now. i sent her to school, but tbh wouldn't be surprised if they send her back again! it is snowing massively here, and supposed to snow all day. v purty, but going to amke my chores today a bit lively...

painting is more srteching i think... but it always makes my arms ache, so it must do something!

How dare you! @ more snow! (not really but quite close to the colour of my dining room now!)

Right that's enough silliness. I've just remembered ds has a Paed appointment tomorrow so might not be able to fit Jillian in after all ....

It's more the moving furniture around and clambering on and off the dining room table than the stretching, though any benefit may have been minimal I do agree.

Lol, I actually looked back at my post and almost posted a just for good measure!

Can you log decorating on MFP?

Lamb, that's the beauty of BFBM though, you can just select a couple of circuits and squeeze in some exercise, even on busy days. They're only 6 minutes each - gwan, give it a go! Good luck with the Paed appointment.

Madwoman, sorry for grotty children and also very at your snow. They promised us some yesterday, but we got nowt but rain. Got any more tidbits on the shadier side of the life of bears?

I could have used a genuine for this post actually, as ds1 came home from school in a terrible state. Nothing majorly bad had happened, they changed his PE day and forgot to tell them in advance, so not only was his routine changed, but all the kids that have sports clubs at the end of the week didn't have their PE kits, including ds, who has never once not had his kit on the right day before in the whole time he's been at school. He flatly refused to borrow some kit, then refused to watch the lesson, as it would remind him of the fun he was missing. His poor teacher looked exhausted and exasperated to say the least. I think its the first time she's had to handle him in that state. He also got really upset at lunchtime apparently because some children were playing cricket with a rounders bat and of course that's just plain wrong. He gave the afternoon a minus 10 in his feelings diary!

He is such a state at the moment, losing it (either major crying sessions or meltdowns) at the tiniest things and really hard to live with. None of us can work out what's wrong though. We've wracked our brains and he says he doesn't know either. It took a good hour of cuddles from me and my mum, then another hour of using my laptop to do maths whizz and mathletics to calm him down. He's now having his DS time, so back to back screen time, but then that's the only thing that seems to genuinely calm him down and allow him to relax.

His ASD teacher isn't in this week due to training as well. She emailed me Friday to say he hasn't been bringing many worries to her sessions and hoped it was an indicator of his general mood and attitude - so I had to burst her bubble and tell her how bad things have been at home. She mailed me back this morning and the only thing she can come up with is he that he does keep mentioning and getting upset about secondary transition (he's only in y5 fgs).

oh blimey. would getting that out in the open and talking transition so early make him worse or calm him down? can you visit?

-10. poor chap. tomorrow is another day.

i do have one more bear tidbit to share. grizzlies give birth standing up, leaning slightly backwards and using their elbows to prop themselves up on any handy piece of forest furniture. i guess that's harnessing the power of gravity for you...

We've all, me, dh, teacher, ASD teacher been reassuring him and trying to get him to focus on enjoying now and not worrying about it. Also tried approaching it from things are never as scary when they happen as the worry about it beforehand etc.

We can't tell him much, because we don't know where he's going to go. We have the LEA transition meeting on 19th March, then the deadline for the LEA to say whether or not he's getting a statement on the 26th. We can't visit schools early than that, as we won't be able to inform them of whether or not he's got a statement.

I am totally about which school would be best for him and hoping the transition meeting will help with that. At least if he gets a statement we'll get to name a school, so he won't have all that uncertainty and waiting to hear if he gets in etc to deal with.

We also need to have a conversation with his best friends' mum about where she is thinking of sending him, as we have to factor that into it all as well. Problem is, they won't even have to apply until next September, whereas it will all be confirmed for ds1 by then, statement or no. If his best friend is off to grammar school, then its one less thing to factor into the decision, but if he's going to the local school then ds is adamant he's going there too.

Bear's sound very sensible when it comes to giving birth then - although not sure my legs would have taken the strain personally. Vertical is definitely better though - ds2 was my easiest delivery and I was upright clinging onto the headboard for his birth.

Have you noticed this thread is almost full - 957 posts and most of its us gabbing away!

We'll need a new thread soon!

This is one of the things I find so hard moose, knowing what is going on in ds's head. You want to help but they just can't tell you .

I'm loving this new feature 'Bear sex laid bare'. Keep it coming madwoman! When I was 8 we had topic books at school, we had to think of a topic to specialise in, I chose hedgehogs but then had to try to keep this going for the full year! I found it many years later and it was very amusing to read the teacher's sarcastic comments that went completely over my head at the time. I want to start a new one about bears.

I cannot think for the life of me where ds gets some of his traits from.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
That was gabbing wasn't it?

I did BFBM this morning, well circuits 1, 3, 5 and 7 and actually quite enjoyed it! You don't get time to get bored or anything, she's straight on to the next bit, but it's never too much. I'll do the even numbers on Thursday, and might do the whole thing at the weekend.

Paed appointment went well I think. She basically told me what I already knew. It was to go through the draft report into ds by the CASBAT team. They concluded that he was very complex, fitted some of the criteria for ASD but not others so they have referred him on for an assessment for PDA which I'm pleased with. Nervous about it though. Should hear from CAMHS in about 6 weeks apparently, which is no time compared with how long we've had to wait for other referrals and appointments.

Hope you're both ok (given up trying to pretend there's anyone else out there!)

Yay! So pleased you enjoyed it. I really enjoy BFBM as well. The pace is just right imho. I particularly enjoy circuits 1 & 5 - nothing like all that kicking and punching to work your frustrations out.

I haven't managed to fit in a workout yet today. It was Mum's first day out driving since her op abut 9-10 weeks ago and she wanted to go out to lunch. We only got back in time to pick up the boys. Planning to do a workout later when they're all in bed, but it will probably end up being a short one, as I've usually run out of steam by then.

I was quite good at lunch. Had fresh tomato soup (not the creamy one, tomato and basil) with a granary roll and about 5 chunky home made chips.

Glad the paed appointment went well. Do you feel PDA is a likely dx? I don't have a clue about the dx procedure and criteria for PDA, is it more questionnaires and meetings or a single or multi-disciplinary assessment?

Any more progress with school integration?

I have ds1 sitting here telling me his morning was a 0 and his afternoon minus 2 today, but refusing to tell me why, as its too upsetting. By contrast, ds2 was APE of the day - which is a good thing, as its a kind of mini-award for attitude, presentation and effort. His teacher came out to tell me he was an absolute superstar all day. They are just so different, ds1's cup is always half empty, whereas ds2's is always half full.

periodically someone pops up... but then they disappear. ho hum.

dh has finally got the message that i am low carbing. and hasn't turned up with a tub of ice cream for, ooo, a week now. it's probably because we're skint, but i do think it has just occurred to him that i am serious about losing weight. (it's taken a while...) last night i got home from brownies and he had left a pot of bolognaise on the stove, and said 'i didn't do you any pasta as i wasn't sure whether you just wanted leaves with it' yay!

i do still wonder whether someone will suggest pda for ds1. this morning, with 6 minutes left before the bus, he went upstairs to sit on the toilet for ten minutes, brush his teeth, wash and get dressed (!) and sat on his bedroom floor with a book instead. he's going to give me a stroke, i'm sure. i've got dd2 at home as well as she's full of cold, which makes her wobbly as heck, and she'd been up all night with a reaction to nyquil so there was no way i could take him to school. he went without sitting on the toilet. soooooooooooooooo, i have no idea whether he's going to have a monumental accident at school, or what. he won't use the washroom there, so will try to hold it all day. ffs. next psych appt on monday. at least 6 weeks isn't too bad, lamb. i can't believe how fast it all happens here.

we had exactly that discussion with the kids yesterday, moose. i'm not even sure ds1 does cup half empty. it's more like dumping the cup upside down and folding his arms.

soooo, no boot camp today as i'm stuck here with dd2. might have to get davina out. am going to call the ohsyio first. still haven't done it (referral a week ago and have been putting it off) but now i have a really sore lump on the palm of my hand as well, and dh freaked me out totally by saying it might be a blood clot (esp from where my arm has been stiff and sore for ages). tried to go to the walk-in last night but it was full. so need to check that out. can't decide whether to exercise and keep my fingers crossed, or get it checked first.... votes?

Good to hear your dh is finally on board. Mine was, but has now become bored of being supportive and started suggesting burgers and chips etc when I'm too tired to cook.

I used to refuse to use school toilets Madwoman. Used to come screaming in the front door, straight up the stairs and into the bathroom every afternoon without fail. To start with it was because they were always disgusting and awash with - well you get the picture. Then in secondary, it was because the toilets were where all the cool, scary girls hung out, putting on the make-up they would then be made to remove the minute they set foot outside.

Re the exercise/hand/arm dilemma. I vote for geting it checked first! With high blood pressure and odd bumps appearing it can't be a good idea to attempt exercise until you're completely sure its safe. Definitely not worth the risk.

Ds1 still hasn't told me what's upset him and he's now pacing flapping and hair tossing - not good at all. He literally cannot sit still, I'm exhausted from watching him. He's definitely happier now he's had DS time, but still really out there in terms of behaviour. I'd keep him off for a few days, but bizarrely he still wants to go to school.

Mm, tricksy. Can you take him somewhere in the car and talk obliquely at him? Sometimes it's easier to spill what's bothering you if you are looking in a completely different direction to the listener, and you know they can't see you?

I went to the physio and got an immediate appointment. Two hours of all sorts nut he thinks it is just a tennis elbow type thing, but with some nerve irritation as well as the muscular stuff. He says the hand lump thing is something different and I need to go back to the doctor for that, but is going to do twice weekly physio for the elbow, and maybe some acupuncture if it doesn't respond easily. So, bit happier, I think. The physio would surely know enough to whisk me off if he felt it was sinister, I'm sure. Will get it checked though, it flipping hurts!

I hear you about the school loos... You weren't taking laxatives to prevent you withholding though....

Finally got him to tell me and it was nothing major. He missed out on going on the maths computer games at break because his maths teacher sent him to tell his class teacher how well he'd done in maths and show her his book. Then he couldn't integrate into the playground game that was going on because his best friend was on the computer inside. The other boys were playing Star Wars (ds's current obsession) but he refused to be a 'baddie' and pointed out they weren'r playing 'properly', basically got into an argument and refused to even try and play, so ended up spending break time on his own. He felt like he'd been punished for doing well in maths.

A couple of weeks back he would have shrugged this off, but its like he just can't cope with anything adverse or out of the ordinary at the moment. For want of a better phrase, he seems extra autistic in a whole host of ways.

He was really enjoying school up until Christmas, then things started to go downhill and over the past few weeks they've gone from bad to worse. I'm a tad suspicious that since the SA has been completed, the extra effort and support he was getting might not have been as forthcoming as it was when they were expecting to be assessed, iyswim. Which kind of proves my point in the application, that that level of support is just not sustainable long term, without additional staffing hours allocated to ds1.

I want to keep him off for a couple of days of rest and quiet, but dh thinks he needs to be kept in his normal routine - especially with us going to this blooming party on Saturday. Talk about bad timing there - I should've known we couldn't have a night out without things going pear shaped with ds1.

Anyway - enough of my woes.

Glad you went and got your arm checked out. I would hope the physio would have a good idea if something is potentially dangerous or not. Is there any chance it could be a Ganglion? Dh has one on his wrist and the doc said its fine to just leave it alone, as long as it isn't painful. Apparently in the old days they used to smash them using the heaviest book they could find - the doctor did offer, but dh politely declined that course of treatment.

A lot of the stuff online talks about them being on wrists, but they can occur in other places - my friend had one on her foot and can be painful if they are lying on a nerve.

A veritable hive of useless health related info I am!

Oh, I didn't mean to be dismissive about your ds's toiletting issues. Sorry if it came across like that. Your post just reminded me of my toilet aversive past, iyswim.

I can totally understand what an issue it is when combined with laxatives. It must be both incredibly worrying and wearing for you. I know I was worried enough when ds1 was just bedwetting at the age of 8, let alone having to deal with the rest of it.

On a lighter note, my school toilet aversion stood me in good stead really, as I built up impressive bladder control and was later famous for being able to go 13 hours straight at music festivals (whilst drinking copiously) without having to visit a dreaded portaloo! I think some of my err .. capacity must be genetic though, as dd is similarly camel-esque in her habits.

.. but again, I get that its a totally different situation for your ds.

lol, i didn't read you as dismissive - it was just my attempt at humour.

ganglion was my first thought, tbh, which is why i wasn't really too concerned about it last week. i had a scout about and although it's in a non-traditional place, it's still theoretically possible. there's bruising around it though, which is a bit odd. it was only when i showed dh last night and he freaked out a bit and said it needed checking as he thought it might be a blood clot that i went all 2+2=5 (my mum had a series of strokes at 32, and at 41 i always feel slightly hypochondriac when a doc asks me about my family history...)

this bloomingparty?

this blooming party?

this is the highlight of your year, my love.

your chance to show off your skinny arse cargos.

does ds know? do you think that's what's stressing him out, he knows you're going out at the weekend?

Phew! I worry sometimes how things come across when typed. Glad I didn't offend anyway.

Its genuinely sad isn't it that getting out for one night is the highlight of my year. If I'm totally honest, the real highlight will be two nights at a music festival in May though. Its always freezing at night, but worth it for all the retro bands from my yoof that they always have.

Yes, ds does know. We've been slowly preparing him and on the surface he's quite happy with it, but he's not happy that Mum has redecorated the living room for the first time since before he was born and he's staying there, so that's extra stress for him to deal with.

Have sent a note in to his teacher stating how anxious and over emotional he is, as she appeared to have not been involved in his feelings diary stuff yesterday - no note in his diary and she didn't come out to speak to me, even though he was clearly in distress and had been since morning break. I really think the level of support he's getting in school has been reduced. Hopefully I will be able to get them to see the connection between reducing support and the state he's in. I think they got a bit complacent because he was doing so well and had started to think I must be an over-anxious Mum. I hate being validated in these sorts of situations.

Its ds2 I've got problems with this morning. I have been meaning to book a doctors' appointment for ages, to get him referred for OT assessment for his wobbly joints, but it never seems to make it to the top of the list. His ankles keep giving out and now his knees and hips are popping out as well. Poor boy woke up in agony this morning - couldn't put his foot to the floor. Turns out his knee bent backwards and then his ankle and hip collapsed yesterday - and he didn't think to mention it to me. I think he's over-stretched something as a result. I've sent him in to school and called the GP, but no appointments for two weeks, so I have to call every morning at 8.30 to see if there's any cancellations, which is a right pita when I don't drive and need a lift to get him there. The receptionist did say that if he's still in pain when he comes home from school I can call for a triage appointment, but I'm not convinced they'll see him, as they won't class it as urgent. I'm assuming all they can do is refer to OT anyway.

Might wander onto SNs and ask if anyone has any advice.

On a more positive note, I have weighed in this morning and I am still 152, so 10 stone 12 pounds! Definitely sticking to fruit and veg and avoiding bready, carby stuff between now and the weekend. That's if we end up going.

I shall be BFBM-ing later and have added a daily 10 minute triceps workout with weights I found on YouTube to my repertoire as well.

Yy, there is a long running EDS thread that has lots of folk on it I think. Tbh they seemed to be all tinies when I popped on a while back, but there are probably older kids in the thick of it that I didn't spot! Has he had any physio for it before? Can he put a tubigrip on his knee or does that press on the sore place?

Can't your mum sit at yours at the weekend? You must go. the outfit would be wasted on the local dog walkers....

(and dh cooked carb free again last night whilst I was out. For him too... Lol lol lol. It was ready when I got back in, having not discussed it at all yay on 152!)

Thanks madwoman. I started a thread and then Sparkle invited me onto the EDS thread, not sure if I belong there really though, as ds2 hasn't even seen a dr and he's nowhere near as bad as most of their dcs.

No, he's never even been seen for it. Not sure how much a tubigrip would help, as its ankle, knee and hip that are dislocating and he has pain at the top and bottom of his leg as well, probably from overstretching when it dislocated. Poor kid. I feel so guilty for not getting him seen sooner.

Mum would sit at ours, but she can't stay overnight as she has back and hip problems herself and needs her own bed. The party is a good 2 hour drive away so not really doable there and back in one night. Will have to pay for the kennels anyway as well now, even if the dogs don't actually go. Its a bit of a mess really. Praying ds1 has had a better day today.

You're dh is earning lots of brownie points with all this cooking healthy food. I am very impressed. Dh can cook, but tends to go for whatever's easiest and that's usually something full of carbs, fat and salt. He's a big fan of 'nursery' style comfort food as well, so cheese and potato pie, bread and butter pudding etc.

Just picked the boys up and whilst ds1 has had a better day ds2 not a happy boy. His ankle has been painful all day and he's had to sit out playtimes. He limped home on it though.

Called the GPs and asked to speak to the triage doc. Who has somehow managed to scrape up an appointment for him on Friday morning - much better than waiting two weeks. She advised us to take him to A&E to have it checked, but it doesn't seem bad enough to drag him down there. The achilles tendon is sore to the touch and he has some restricted movement but no bruising or swelling, so I have it raised at iced at the moment. I think its a mild sprain to be honest, so nothing A&E would do about it anyway.

Are you sure there's no partial dislocation? Might be worth getting him checked out? I know it's a pita and will throw Ds1 out after a good day...

There have just been two almighty booms here. They must be avalanche blasting the valley, but I've not heard it so close to town before. Really loud. Sounded like a freaking bomb or train crash, so I'm going to have to try and calm myself down as it really freaked me out! So loud! blimey!

Although we're surrounded by mountains, they don't normally blast near the townsite, just out in the ski hills. We've had a huge dump of snow over the last few days, so it makes sense, but ooooo-errrrrrrr!!

Oh Christ. And another one!

What the actual feck!

He says it feels a bit better since its been elevated and iced and he's just walked to the toilet on it with only a small a limp, so I think its ok.

Am waiting for dh to come home at the moment, so can't get to A&E anyway, but will ask him to have a look and see what he thinks. He can always take ds to get it checked while I get the other two to bed if necessary.

Ooo, did you see in the news that people have been reporting weird sonic type booms all over the world? Its being passed off as an atomospheric/weather thing I think. More likely to be avalanche stuff round your way though I suppose.

Do come back and let us know you haven't been abducted by aliens or anything!