Growing up fast

Sunday 25 August 2013

Having talked about it over and over whilst we were on holiday, within a couple of hours of getting home, Little S’s bed was fixed up and that evening she was no longer sleeping in her cot – instead she was in her bed like a big girl!

And two days later, I’ve taken down her cot – so there’s no way back now :)

And in two and a half weeks, Little S starts nursery – now that’s a big big step … for us anyway.

She’ll be fine but we’ll be on shpilkers (it’s Yiddish – I think) – what if she falls over? Or gets pushed by another child? Or goes blue? Or gets breathless and needs oxygen?

Well, <takes a deep breath> she’ll be fine … won’t she?

I know all Jewish parents have these worries when they let their little darlings into the big wide world (ok, it’s only nursery but you know what I mean), and we certainly did with big brother J and big sister T, but this feels different. No. This IS different.

But it’s also the same – Little S WILL be fine, unless something happens, as with all kids. It’s just that the something that happens might be bad. And so, if something happens, they’ll call us and we’ll deal with it.

What else are we going to do?

A wonderful week

Friday 23 August 2013

We’ve been staying in the Cotswolds for the past week, in a gorgeous nature reserve, just outside of Cirencester.

Our cottage looks directly onto the quiet of an English lake, a view from the balcony of ducks, trees and water – of serenity, sunsets and swans.

We’ve had a great time – swimming in the spa swimming pools, playing tennis, cycling, visiting Bourton-on-the-Water and a Roman Villa.

And Little S has loved it – couldn’t get enough of the water, of walking around, of freedom, of spending time with the rest of the family, of playing, of smiling.

We took oxygen with – a couple of canisters – but didn’t use it all .

And it’s all felt so normal :)

I like hopistal

Monday 12 August 2013

This time we were at GOSH with both Little S and her big sister T.

Little S was great, almost enjoying herself – not even complaining about the ECG and the Echo that she has to ensure – there was no blood test so that probably put her in a better mood!

And having T around was also fun, especially since the waiting area has a Wii with Mario Kart on it!

Little S weighed in at 12 kg and managed to come up with 74% for her sats, higher than most previous visits.

We were seen by a different consultant to normal – hopefully another sign that Dr D sees that there is not much to worry about at the moment – although Dr D did pop in to say hello and to let us know that the previous blood tests yielded a BNP of 13,000, much lower than the 30,000 that Little S recorded at the start of the year. Dr D doesn’t get particularly excited about BNP levels but it was another small chink of light, another glimmer of hope.

And they’ve upped one of the medicines now (Captopril) from 0.5 ml slowly up to 1.0 ml, basically because Little S is growing up and getting bigger!

So we come back in three months now – daring to hope in the meantime that Little S stays as healthy and happy as she currently is.

Petrified

Friday 9 August

At first, I was afraid, I was petrified / Kept thinking, I could never live without you by my side

Whilst on holiday in Brighton, we decided to go swimming in the local swimming pool - a not uncommon activity for us on our visits to Brighton, but one that we hadn't done since Little S had been in hospital in December. In fact, earlier in the year we had been told that swimming wasn't a great idea for her at all as she may not be able to cope with the cold water, or the colder air especially when getting out of the pool.

More recently we were told that we could give it a go, but as we entered the pool with a very excited Little S, I was petrified - really worried that any second she was going to go blue or get breathless or collapse or all of the above.

Of course, being our little miracle, she was fine - in fact she was a lot more fine than I was!

Saturday 17 August

Buoyed by this experience, we tried again when on holiday in the Cotswolds - in an indoor swimming pool, an outdoor swimming pool and even at an inland beach (the largest in the country apparently).

And each time, although I was worried stiff (maybe a bit less after the third or fourth time), Little S loved it, and wanted to get on with swimming on her own, without armbands!

So it seems, unlike her older two siblings who hated going into the water at her age, that Little S is a bit of a water baby - maybe I should be a bit less worried and a bit more amazed!