Spica four, the hell of DDH

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Emma

Monday morning came around and before I knew it we were walking the corridor once more. The same corridor we have walked down four times previously. This time I was saying goodbye to Erin for a few more hours. The reality hit home as we entered theatre and Erin screamed and told her anaesthetist that she would not be going sleep. She clamped her chubby little hand over her mouth to resist the gas that would put her to sleep once more. She knew what was coming and it broke my already splintered heart yet again.

Three long hours later I took my little girl from the nurse in recovery, yet again she was bound in purple from tummy to toes. The resignation in her eyes was nearly more than I could bear. She has already been through so much, more than a two year old should have been.

This time the pain of a salters osteotomy is clear to see and hear. Erin is in pain, her eyes show this, as she fixes in the distance.

Day one passes in a fitful doze for Erin. Life isn’t so peaceful for mummy who is now sharing a ward. I have no bed, just a reclining chair which launches me across the ward every time I move. I have no blanket.

Day two began positively, Erin’s pain was under control and I was hopeful that we would be making a quick escape and be home sooner than planned. However it began to change. Erin’s temperature spiked and It became clear that something was changing.

Day two night time. A bad fitful night, temperature and body spasms took hold of my little girl. It was upsetting to see and I felt quite helpless.

Day three, with a very high temperature I could see our early get away slipping through my fingers. Then the vomiting started resulting in me swearing a bit too loudly for a childrens ward. As a spica mum we are quite paranoid and competitive about keeping our casts clean. I had visions of leaving with mine stinking on day three! Pead doctors were called but long before they arrived I diagnosed the problem myself. Erin’s ear has perforated for the 3rd time in nine weeks. This is the likely cause of infection and the reason for the temperatures.

So here we are for our third night, Erin in bed and me on a chair, wineless! Living the high life with my girl.

My holiday heaven!

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Emma

I had my dad and brother over for lunch today as mum is having a weekend away, it got us talking about our favourite holiday. In 2008 we went to Orlando and spent two weeks doing Disney. It really was a magical place and we have vowed to return!

It was a family holiday and nine of us went together. Going on holiday with family does have its up and downs and at times we all needed a bit of space from each other! But nevertheless there are plans to do it all again.

Next time we plan on staying at one of the Disney hotels for a week to make the most of the parks. Staying on site has some great perks like being first in the parks. Plus eating in the Disney restaurants with the characters was one of our real highlights last time.The kids got out the photos today and it made me really want to be planning the trip! However, we can’t at the moment and we plan to go in 2014 before Erin starts school. We took Dylan just before he started school and he does remember lots of it so will do the same with Erin. Erin is going to so deserve it afterall she has been through.

My two look so young in this picture!

Obviously being off work this year has seriously dented my savings but I am going to start a monthly saving plan in order to get some money in the Orlando fund! We will start by checking out flights to Orlando in order to get the best deals. There is such a price variation to Orlando it really is worth keeping an eye on flight prices. Last time we did a flight to Chicago and then on to Orlando but now we have our three children plus a fourth if my brother decided to come again this time I want direct flights. Last time the flight went really quickly and wasn’t as bad as I feared it would be. I think it just takes a bit of forward planning like having plenty of snacks and activities to hand.

I can’t wait to get back there , just writing this post has bought back all the fabulous memories!

This is a sponsored post.

Preparing to go back to hospital…

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Emma

It’s 7.30 am on a bank holiday Monday morning, we should be slumbering in our beds dreaming of how we will spend this extra day off with the children. Instead my mind is wandering. It’s wandering to this time next week, to a long white sterile corridor that we are waiting to walk yet again this year.

This time next week I will be signing consent forms that put my youngest back in spica, only this time there is a long operation that will see her cut, rotated, pulled and pinned. To say I’m scared and apprehensive is a total understatement. Nothing (not even the previous 18 weeks in spica) can prepare me. I’m scared about how much pain Erin will be in. I’m scared that she is going to be scared.

I think more than anything though, I am scared that this will not be the end. This operation is the final nail in the hip, it should correct the socket enough for mother nature to take over and finish the job. But the voice I hear, the voice that is stopping me enjoy the bank holiday Monday is ‘what if…’

Then I look at Erin and emotion gets caught in my throat. She is walking again now and really enjoying life, she is developing her personality which will be halted by the spica. I know what caring for a toddler in a spica is like and it may *only* be six weeks this time. But Erin is seven months older than when this treatment started. She has told me that she doesn’t want the cast back on. And who can blame her.

So today will be spent at soft play, Erin’s day to play with her brother, sister and god brothers. For after today Erin is under house arrest to ensure that she is fit healthy for the operation. Erin doesn’t have a good immune system and the GP wants her at her best. Therefore we shall enjoy time in the garden this week, whilst packing up for our hospital stay.

The one saving grace is that I know the hospital well, I know what to take and what I need to survive the week. Therefore I will be taking myself some microwave meals to feed myself, copious about of magazines (if anyone wants any books reviewing – quick send them this week!!). Thankfully kenco millicano have sent me some of their new single coffee sticks which will keep my caffeine levels topped up as I can’t cope with hospital vending machine coffee. Thankfully the parents room provides decent mugs and milk! Organix have also sent some tasty meals for Erin. I find she never really enjoys the hospital meals – except toast! I also know that until she is eating they won’t let us home. Therefore I will take a few of the mighty meals that I know Erin enjoys, so that we don’t have to stay any longer than needed.

Be prepared helps a little, it gives me a focus. I have started packing the hospital bag, the different sized nappies as I have only idea what position Erin will be cast in this fourth time in a cast. I am hoping it is not as wide as spica number two. But that will be left to the decision of her consultant – who knows what he is doing. I do place my trust in him and his team. Afterall we have no choice – we want to kick DDH into touch once and for all this time.

Reasons to be cheerful – drunk post!!!

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Emma

I am seriously smiley this week.

1. My beautiful little girl Erin, is totally and utterly enchanting. I have always loved aged 2-3 it is a totally beautiful age. Erin is finally where she should be. She walks, she giggles, she dances, she attempts to jump and she talks. What more could a mummy want. It is only a glimpse of what will be as in 9 days she is back in spica. But we are living for today and today she can move freely. Without anything holding her back.

2. It’s a bank holiday weekend. An extra day off school for the other two, a day when the husband doesn’t leave the house befoer 7am and not return until 6.30pm. A family day. Full stop.

3. I have wine on the go, can’t you tell!

4. I have Cybher to look forward to next weekend, drinks with great friends and a weekend for me. whoop da whoop!!! I can’t wait to see lots of special people and chill out. Many of my real life friends don’t get how i’m really friends with people I rarely meet and only talk to via the puter, but these friends are real friends, no matter the distance.

5. I have new shoes for forementioned conference- that is enough on its own – right?

Reasons to be Cheerful at Mummy from the Heart

Developmental milestones for a toddler in hip spica #DDH

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Emma

Watching your precious son / daughter growing up has to be one of the best privileges that there is. I am enjoying my time with Erin so much at the moment and as she is my third (and final!) I try to savour each milestone.

Milestones have meant something different to me this time though. With Chloe I rushed her on to each new stage, as an excited first time mum I was competitive with the textbooks and baby magazines I devoured. I measured her progress and deemed that yes I had a physically and intellectually gifted daughter! I ticked off the age she sat, walked, babbled, jumped and could balance three blocks on top of each other. When the health visitors appeared for reviews I was never worried, I made Chloe perform these tasks expecting the health visitor to call Mensa there and then to announce a new child prodigy.

I was a little more laid back with Dylan – he was much later to walk (15mths) but I was never concerned and he met all his milestones at pretty much age related stages. With both Chloe and Dylan I have loved the age 2-3 it is such an exciting time, with speech developing and physical capabilities changing weekly if not daily. The terrible two’s were not so bad, Chloe was capable of throwing a great tantrum and once launched a door stop across the room but generally they could be avoided. Dylan was a contented toddler and was happy doing his thing.

Yet with Erin those milestones have not come so easily, reluctant to ever weight bear or attempt to walk she never hit that milestone like her peers at nursery. Obviously we now know that her dislocated hip was causing her those problems. Yet that wasn’t where it ended, Erin’s speech was slow to develop but as a wise speech therapist told me, language is learnt through experiences and Erin’s experiences have been limited due to her mobility restrictions. The spica cast not only bound Erin’s body but metaphorically it bound Erin’s vocabularly at the same time.

The last 5 weeks since Erin has been walking once again has seen her development go into overdrive. It has been wonderful to see her physical and emotional development really take off. She is now talking in sentences that can be understood by those who spend time with her, she giggles, she finds things funny and she dances.

Erin is hitting the milestones later than the books say but nevertheless she is hitting them. I am sad that this development will be on another temporary hold over the next two months as she goes back into spica but I now know that when that cast comes off she will again go into overdrive.

Having a child in spica is tough and it does affect them in more ways than the physical mobility. This is an area that I don’t think is recognise and acknowleged by those taking care of Erin’s physical needs. Doctors, nurses etc all recognise the physical but not the emotional impact.

However this video shows that the milestones do come and that your child won’t be held back forever.

Happy Feet from Warners Bothers Review

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Emma

I do love it when a few things collide together. Dylan has been doing a project on Antartica at school and really enjoys Geography (oh and History and R.S- here’s thinking he is going to be a Humanities boy just like his mum!). Therefore when we recieved the latest Warner Brothers DVD gift set and it was Happy Feet 2 and March of the Penguins the timing could not have been better.

What with this miserable weather that is keeping is housebound, I had the perfect afternoons entertainment. Dylan loved March of the Penguins, which follows the jouney of the penguins to their breeding ground. The photography is brilliant and the factual details make it educational. Viewers are capitavated by the whole story and it taught Dylan more than a book would have!

Also in the pack was Happy Feet 2, not quite so factually correct but a great family film that had Dylan laughing out loud and enjoying another Warner Brothers creation. Happy Feet is available now from all the usual retailers and it is a great way to spend these rainy afternoons we are all experiencing.

Up Up and Away Charley Bear Review

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Emma

Erin has a serious CBeebies addiction. It really couldn’t be helped as being in spica somewhat confined us and as such she has become the channels biggest fan. However it’s not all bad by any means as she can now sign a bit thanks to Mr Tumble, she sings the theme tunes which has developed her vocabulary. Today as she watched Balamory I smiled whilst Josie Jump attempted to teach Erin to jump. She can’t do it just yet, her little bendy legs just don’t have the ability, Erin gets knocked down by a gust of wind at the moment, but it doesn’t stop her from trying!

As a treat for Erin I recently took her to Cbeebies Live which was a great day out and I thoroughly recommend the show for preschoolers ( I also throughly recommend the NIA as a venue for helping with access etc for a disabled non walking child) . Therefore when Charley Bear flew into her life she was beyond excited.

Little Charley Bear Up Up and Away is a fab toy for those aged 2 and up. Little Charley is cuddly and dressed as a pilot. He can sit in his plane whilst you fly him around listening to the key phrases you will recognise from the TV show. This has given Erin lots of imagination stimulus and other children seem to make a beeline for it as soon as they spot it in the toy box!

Charley Bear Up Up and Away costs about £25.00 in most toyshops and Erin keeps going back to him again and again.

I was gifted Charley Bear for the purpose of the review, although the thoughts and opinions are all my own.

Need help finding a property?

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Emma

Moving house is always an exciting time, full of stress and requiring the organisational and managerial skills of a top CEO but usually all worth it in the end! We last moved house almost two years ago, I can’t believe that we have already been here that long! I adore this house and it is our final house until the children leave home! We had a plan with regards to house buying and pretty much stuck to it. We bought our first little (tiny) 2 bed mid terrace when Chloe was six months old, we stayed for three years. As we moved to our three bed semi I found out I was pregnant with Dylan that week, the timing was perfect! At this house we built above the garage and turned into a four bed which did us great until we had Erin. Now we are here, in my forever home, nestled in amongst protected trees I have shown off the view from my back door many a time.

Finding your dream home has now got easier thanks to Find a Property’s new apps. The iPad app is a free download available via itunes and lets you easily and quickly search for the house of your dreams. The search can be modified according to location and specific requirements like double garage or how many bedrooms you need. We used the Find a a Property website when we were searching and this app makes it more mobile for you to search. You can search in your lunch break, sitting in a cafe or at home, basically wherever you use the Internet.

The Find a property blog gives you quick access to the three apps, one for iPhone, iPad and Android in addition to a wealth of further information about moving home. It really should be the first place you look to find that dream home. Find a property helps connect you with your dream home whether it’s to buy or rent.

This is a sponsored post.

Pretty shoes for my pretty girl!

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Emma

After months in a spica cast and not being able to wear shoes Erin is like Imelda Marcos when it comes to shoes. She notices everyone else shoes and wants to wear shoes all the time. I totally put my hands up aswell and couldn’t wait to start buying her some. We wanted pretty shoes, little pumps and dainty features. As soon as Erin was back up on her feet and starting to walk there was no stopping us.

Therefore when bubox knew we were hunting shoes they were quick to ask what size Erin was and within days we had received a beautifully presented gift.

These twinkle toe dress shoes from the new Step Up range are perfect for Erin during this transitional time. Designed for those first steps the shoe is extremely flexible and it’s light-weight sole provides durability and protection for first walkers as they master the art of walking indoors and outdoors. Plus they are pretty! Therefore they certainly ticked our requirements. The shoes cost £29.99 which is what I spend on shoes for the children as I like to know that the shoes they are wearing are looking after their growing feet.

Erin has now been wearing them for a couple of weeks and they give her great support and stability. I like that they are different from what her friends wear too. Once Erin is more confident walking I will be back to buy from the i Walk range. Erin loves her shoes and has even mastered putting them on and taking them off. At two and half it really is special for us to see Erin walking. She can’t yet run and jump and the recent gusts of winds still knock her off her feet. However she is getting there and hopefully after the next operation to correct her hip socket she will continue to make great progress with her walking.

I was gifted the shoes for the purpose of the review although the thoughts and opinions are all my own.

112/366 Strong winds and a duck called Greg.

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Emma

This weekend was our much longed for retreat to Center Parcs. The expectations were high and the car was laden down with warm clothes and Erin’s homemade rocky road. We had seen the weather was not going to be kind but had already decided that it wouldn’t matter that nothing was going to spoil the weekend.

The children were impressed with the lodge and couldn’t wait for the grandparents and uncle Sam to join us. Once settled in, water and fed we went for a walk around the forest. We stumbled across the Aerial Challenge course that we had chosen as our activity and Chloe immediately began to doubt her own courage. I, myself tried not to look worried!

After a bacon butty in the morning, Dylan headed off to archery with Grandad and he really enjoyed it. Chloe and Sam took off together and went swimming and exploring the Forest. Erin was just revelling in the freedom she now has post spica and loved touching nature and befriending a duck she decided to call Greg!

The afternoon activity was our aerial challenge which consisted of being 80ft in the air, clambouring from platform to platform. This consisted of side stepping the rope spidersweb, tightrope walking and stepping from moving plank to plank. Chloe was ahead of me which I respect so much as she didn’t have the benefit of watching someone she knew do it first. However I wanted her in front of me so I could see her. This meant that for every obstacle she crossed I had to man up and do it! I could hardly bottle what she had done!!

At times I froze, it wasn’t easy, why is it that my 16 year old self would have flown through the course with no hesitation, laughing whilst being gobby at the same time but the 36 yr old me saw danger at every step. The final part was a zip wire, that was the ultimate finale and all three of us loved that section! We zipped across the lake to the landing pad. It was a challenge it wasn’t easy and I am really proud of us for encouraging each other to do it.

I rewarded myself witha nice glass of white followed by a few gins. My dad questioned why I drink gin out of the same size glasses he drinks beer from!! I told him it was a fine art Iv’e been practising over time!

The following morning we all slumbered in our beds, even Erin didn’t awake till just gone 9. Unfortunately an hour or so later reality hit when the ranger came calling. He broke the news that a tree had landed on my dads car causing plenty of damage.

Therefore dad was left to sort that little mess out – thankfully he is such a calm man that he made sure it didn’t ruin the rest of the day for everyone else. We headed back to the pool for a final swim before packing up and heading home. It has been great to give Erin some fun and new experiences before the spica comes calling again.

Overall, even though the weather wasn’t on our side the children had a great weekend and that is all I wanted!

Emma and 3

Spica four, the hell of DDH

My holiday heaven!

Preparing to go back to hospital…

Reasons to be cheerful – drunk post!!!

Developmental milestones for a toddler in hip spica #DDH

Happy Feet from Warners Bothers Review

Up Up and Away Charley Bear Review

Need help finding a property?

Pretty shoes for my pretty girl!

112/366 Strong winds and a duck called Greg.

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