Silent Sunday 29/9/2013

Baby Fashion - NappyKind Baby Leg Warmers Review

With Autumn fast approaching and a 9 month old who has learnt the art of crawling I've not only had to grow eyes in the back of my head but I've also been on the look out for something to protect Munchie's knees and to also keep her feet warm whilst wearing Bob & Betty. 

After posting a few tweets about Munchie and her antics I was contacted by NappyKind asking if I've ever tried baby leg warmers before, the answer was no I hadn't tried them so off I went to have a look at their website.  I was surprised by how many cute and colourful designs there were and how reasonably priced the leg warmers seemed, so after having a good look through all the different styles my curiosity got the better of me and I ordered a pair of green spotty ones for Munchie to try.

The leg warmers arrived within a few days but unfortunately they were damaged, so after contacting NappyKind via Twitter they arranged for a replacement pair.  The new pair arrived very quickly and to my surprise they had also included a second pair free of charge.  I washed the leg warmers (I wash everything before Munchie wears it) on a normal 30 degree cycle and they came up really well, they kept their shape and also remained nice and soft.  But the real test was to come.....

We had a very busy day planned on Monday so it seemed the ideal opportunity to give the leg warmers a try.  They are quite long at 33cms which for us is ideal as they fit comfortably over Munchie's BnB whilst still covering the tops of her legs.  After a morning of crawling and kneeing on a range of different floors the leg warmers hadn't slipped down and had also stopped Munchie from getting red knees. 

Later that day we had an appointment at the hospital,while we were waiting to be seen Munchie played on the floor with the toys, but like any active 9 month old she couldn't keep still for long so was off again kneeing and crawling all over the place.  The leg warmers started to get a little grubby looking but I blame the waiting room carpet for that more than the quality of the leg warmers but they did start to become a little bobbled on the knees which after just one wear I was a little disappointed about.  She wore them for the remainder of the day and had a number of people comment on how cute they looked.

 
Over all I was pleased with the leg warmers, they are a great idea and a fab fashion accessory. They are practical for little ones on the go and make nappy changes so much quicker but I have a feeling they wont last very long on babies who are crawling as the bobbling on the knees had gotten worse by the end of the day but for less mobile babies or those who are walking they are likely to last a lot longer.  This hasn't stop me from purchasing more though as I think these fun colourful leg warmers are perfect for Autumn, great for protecting knees and look super cute.

Silent Sunday 15/9/2013

Getting On With It

Its been 8 weeks since Munchie started wearing her boots and bar, the last two months have been one hell of a rollercoaster ride with so many ups and downs, twists and turns but throughout my beautiful, amazing, happy girl has kept smiling (with the exception of the first few days but we’ll forget about those).

During the run up to getting Bob & Betty I remember lots of people telling me how adaptable babies were and how after awhile the BnB would become a part of her. I didn’t believe a word of it, I couldn’t see past all the negativity I felt, all the anger I had inside and the frustration of not being able to fix the problem.  But I have to say they’re right, babies are adaptable they do accept the situation and move on.  Why can’t adults be more like this?

Munchie has accepted Bob & Betty and is taking them on her journey, she’s the one in charge not them and she won’t let them stop her doing what she wants.  She’s on the move and nothing is going to get in her way, we’re not talking the odd little movement here but full on crawling, with Bob & Betty being dragged behind her.  I’m so proud of my girl, so proud that it hurts at times, her determination and shear pigheadness is so apparent even at this young age. 

Watching Munchie trying to navigate a tight space is inspiring, she’ll be crawling full steam ahead then all of a sudden the BnB will get stuck, so she tries a few times to force her way through but if that doesn’t work, she regroups, backs out, and simply goes round.  No tears of frustration or shouts of anger she just gets on with it.  And this attitude is rubbing off on me, we just get on with things, we can’t change the fact that Munchie has Talipes but what we can do is make the best of it and to see the positives instead of the negatives.  I’m not fooling myself, I know that there are still lots of downs ahead of us but the ups will give me the strength to deal with those downs. 

Baby Lead Weaning - Tuna Croquettes

Munchie loves all things fishy especially tuna so when I found this recipe for Tuna Croquettes in the The Baby-led Weaning Cookbook I thought it would be worth a try.

 

2 large potatoes (I used the insides of 2 jackets potatoes we had left over from tea yesterday)
185g (6½oz) tin tuna (in oil or spring water)
Juice of 1 lime (approx 1 tbsp), or to taste (I used 2 tbsp of lemon juice, which we had in the fridge)
25g (1oz) unsalted butter
25-50g (1-2oz) breadcrumbs (preferably stale or toasted) (I used to slices of toasted wholemeal bread, chopped up in the food blender)

The recipe is simple, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 and lightly grease a baking tray.

Peel and boil the potatoes, once cooked drain (or in my case scoop the insides out of two jacket potatoes) and place in a large bowl, add the tuna and butter and mash together, next add the lime (or lemon) juice and mix well.

Shape the mixture into small sausages (wetting your hands will help to stop it sticking), then roll each one in the bread crumbs and put on to the baking tray. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, until browned and cooked through.

Serve warm, with vegetables.  (I served them with sweetcorn, another of Munchie’s favourites)

Once cooked they can be stored in the fridge for a few days or frozen.

The croquettes are quick and simple to make, I made 16 from the above ingredients.  Shaping them is a little messy but wetting your hands works well to stop the mixture sticking to you. 

Munchie loved them, they were just the right size for her to hold and where full of texture.

I found them slightly dry, which would explain why they broke up so much whilst she ate them so next time I’ll either add more lemon juice or perhaps include a beaten egg in the mixture. I’ll also add sweetcorn in the next batch which I think will add a little more flavour.  But over all they were a big hit and I’ll certainly be making them again.

Silent Sunday 8/9/2013

Silent Sunday 1/9/2013

Nice And Comfy

Munchie is growing fast and over recent weeks has become increasingly uncomfortable in her rear facing car seat, she’s no longer the 7lb 8oz new born baby we brought home in the Besafe iZi Go but a very active and wriggly 8 month old. The Besafe has severed us well over the last 8 months, but with the introduction of Bob & Betty things started to get a little cramped and with the extra inches the BnB add to Munchie’s height it was time to look for a new car seat.

As Munchie is under 9kg and with the additional safety features a rear facing car seat brings a front facing seat for me, wasn’t really an option. So after lots of research and chatting to a few Mums whose babies also have Talipes, I’d narrowed it down to either the Britax First Class Plus or the Maxi Cosi Opal, but this of course was all subject to how well Bob & Betty fitted and how comfortable Munchie was.  So with a list of requirements as long as my arm we set off to Kiddicare in Peterborough to do some shopping.   

When we arrived at the car seat centre we were greeted by a very friendly sales guy called Franco, after listening to my very long wish list and seeing Munchie in her BnB he asked what type of car we had and whether it had long or recessed seat belt buckles, as if long then nether seat would be suitable. So after a trip out to the car park to check the car (which was fine) he then demonstrated both the Maxi Cosi and Britax to us. I had the poor guy switching both seats from front to rear facing and back again, changing the strap heights, showing me how the covers came off, putting them back on again, putting Munchie in, taking her out, measuring the gap between her bar and the back of the car seat, asking which car seat they sold more of and why, was he fully trained by both companies, my questions and requests just kept coming. But Franco took them all on his stride; we even went out to the car to try both seats in there.  If I’m honest, you could tell which one suited Munchie from the start, but I had to be sure as hopefully this car seat is going to last us until she’s 3, 3 and half and will see her through the remainder of her time with Bob & Betty. 

Trying out the Britax for size

After one more go of fitting the seats ourselves and a few more questions we decided to go for the Britax First Class Plus. It’s slightly wider and a little longer than the Opal which means Bob & Betty fit well, this in turn means Munchie’s legs aren’t squashed up against the back seat of the car so her overall seating position is a lot more comfortable, the shape of the seat also holds the bar level which means her boots don’t dig into her ankles.  It’s easy to fit and feels extremely secure, it’s a lot higher than her original car seat which also means she can look out the window (she loves a good nose). 

Ready for the journey home

 

It is a little tricky to get her in and out of but I think this will come with practise, tightening and realising the harness is a little awkward as the button is quite far back and the bar does get in the way but again with a little practise I don’t think this will be an issue.  Overall we are very pleased with our new car seat and as the saying goes the proof is in the pudding – Munchie slept all the way home which for her, is unheard of!

Silent Sunday 25/8/2013

Hate is A Strong Word

Munchie has been in her boots and bar aka Bob & Betty for 4 weeks, I'm slowly getting use to them but have to admit that I don't like them, but do accept that they will be apart of our lives for quite some time. Over the last few days its dawned on me that this journey doesn't end when she stops wearing Bob & Betty full time infact it's just the beginning of another long long journey.

People, well family and friends treat Munchie differently since wearing B&B, I'm not sure they know they're doing it but they talk to her like she's stupid, yes granted she's only 7 months old so doesn't know the differance but it's always "oh bless her" or "oh the poor thing". Stop it, please just STOP pitying her, just treat her normally. This is difficult enough as it is without being made to feel pitied, I hate the fact that we, she is going through this, that our lives now include this hideous contraption, that I'm scared of having play dates or going to baby groups because I'm afraid she's going to hurt a child with the bar. I'm an adult and am covered in bruises because of them, just imagine what it could do to another baby.

I hate that I can't hold my baby the way I want to, I hate that when she cries I don't know if its because Bob & Betty are hurting her, I hate that she can't wear all the georgouse clothes she has, I just hate it all so very much. I hate that I spent two days this week chasing the hospital just so I could get someone to check her foot because I'd been worried sick that there was something wrong (thankfully there wasn't anything wrong, but it still hasn't stopped me worrying), I hate the whole situation.

I wish I had the words to express my feelings without them being clouded by the hate that I feel, I wish I had the strength to truly accept this situation and move on, I wish I had the confidence not to care what other people say, but above all I wish that my beautiful baby girl didn't have to go through this.

Bob & Betty

Its been just over two weeks since Munchie had her boots and bar fitted, aka Bob & Betty.  It’s been tough going with sleepless nights, an unhappy baby and lots of tears, but I feel that finally the cloud has began to lift and my girl is back to her happy, smiley self. 

During the first few days of having Bob & Betty we questioned whether we’d done the right thing as Munchie who is normally such a happy baby and rarely cries became so sad and forlorn.  You could see the confusion on her face as she tried in vain to move her legs freely and to sleep on her side. She became so frustrated and upset with not being able to sleep in the position she found most comfortable and reassuring to her, that she would cry and cry for hours and became inconsolable at times,  it broke my heart seeing her so sad especially as I knew the reason why.  For those first few nights the only way I could get my girl to sleep was to cuddle her on my chest,  she would sleep that way for a few hours then wake and cry until finally falling back to sleep for a few more hours.

I was very conscience of making the time in her boots just as much fun as out of them, so we spent hours on the floor playing games with them, smiling and singing whenever we went near them and did the same thing whilst out of them too. But no matter what I did for the first few days the time out of her boots was the only time she smiled, you could see the sense of freedom returning and she would shrike with excitement at being able to put her foot in her mouth (I think I would do to if I could still do that). 

The days past and so did the nights (but much more slowly) and you could see Munchie getting use to Bob & Betty, she began to accept her new accessory but night times were still such an issue.  We tried so many things to help get her comfortable enough to sleep on her own from co-sleeping which resulted in my hubby sleeping in the other room and me being covered in bruises to supporting Munchie on her side until she would fall asleep to trying her in a travel cot.  All of these things worked for a few hours but no more and in the end we found that a combination of a cot bumper, a sleep sac and persistence worked best for her.  Munchie now takes her naps as usual and her night sleeping has improved greatly with her going down for 5-6 hours at a time.  She’s learnt to sleep on her side by grabbing the rails of her cot and using this to balance herself  (I have a very resourceful 7 month old!).

The support we receive from the hospital varies; the level of knowledge regards the fitting of the boots and bar is mixed.  Some nursing staff seem to know very little and look to me to answer their questions as appose to the other way round so I tend to double check everything the less knowledgeable staff do with the more experienced members of the team before leaving.  However the responsibility of making this treatment work lies well and truly at my door, it’s my responsibility to ensure I fit the boots correctly each time and that Munchie has no more than an hour boot free time a day.

I do worry that I’m not doing it right or that her foot isn’t improving as it should so every few days I take pictures in order to compare the shots to ensure there is progress.  This journey started five weeks ago and the improvement so far has been remarkable, I can only hope it continues.

 

 

Happy and smiley just as my girl should be xx

 

 

Positive....

After feeling down in the dumps about Munchie’s upcoming treatment, I gave myself a good talking to and set about doing something positive, something constructive to help me and my husband come to terms with Munchie’s pending b&b and the journey ahead of us.

Last Friday, after reading through the STEPS forum I’d come across a lovely lady inviting another user to contact her if she ever needed to talk , so I took the bull by the horns and sent a cheeky email introducing myself and asking if she knew of any groups in our local area.  After a few emails over the weekend we arranged to meet on Monday for coffee and a chat. 

I’m so grateful to this lovely lady for taking time out of her day to meet me and my daughter.  Her little boy is 15 months and is so full of life and mischief; he’s now in this b&b for nighttimes only and the experience hasn’t slowed him down one jot.  Seeing him and hearing her story has elevated so many fears about development and how to cope with day to day life with the new accessory.  She was even kind enough to bring along his boots so I could see them – thank you x

It's time to be positive, time to look forward, time to be grateful for the progress Munchie has made and to realise how lucky we are to be in a position where one day my beautiful baby girl (Yes I am very biased) will be running, jumping and playing just like everyone else.



Progress

Moving Up A Gear

The last few weeks have gone surprisingly quickly, we've become use to Munchie's cast (which we've named Peggy), use to picking her up and feeling the cold, hard weight against my hip, and we've even become use to her using Peggy as a battering ram against the sides of her cot. But what I haven't been able to get use to is the constant explaining I have to do each time we go out or the funny looks we get, but above all I haven't been able to get use to the overwhelming sense of feeling so alone.

I've started to follow a few Mums on Twitter who are on similar journeys, signed up to the STEPS forum and started to look for groups/organisations in my local area. I'm trying to find companionship, trying to ease this sense of loneliness, trying to be strong and think solely of my daughter's needs and to find ways of making our journey the best it can be for her. But every now and again, just like now I want to hide, to look for something or someone to blame.  I can't stop thinking about next week, can't stop over analysing, can't stop focusing on all the negative experiences I've read.

The part of the treatment we were dreading the most, the bit I couldn't bring myself to think about becomes a reality next week. We are currently on Peggy #3 and this will be Munchie's final cast which in itself is great news but in reality it means the treatment is moving up a gear and in my mind becomes even more restricting and far more challenging for my beautiful daughter. Next week, she goes from her cast to wearing boots and a bar for 23 hours a day out of 24. We have no idea how long this will last, it's normally 3 months from what I've read but Munchie isn't a normal case, so who knows how long it's going to take.

I'm trying so so hard to be positive, saying over and over again "it's not about me, it's all about her and her future", thinking of all the wonderful things she'll be able to do when the treatment is over. But right now I feel so negative, like a big black cloud is hanging over me taking away the sunshine, making me feel jealous of my friends and their babies with their perfect feet. Questions are spilling out of my head again making me feel dizzy, making me want to hide.

All I can hope for is that my amazing, smiley, happy little girl copes with this new journey just as well as she did with getting the cast.

Prizes, Prizes...

How is it that everyone around me and I mean everyone seems to win prizes or are the chosen customer to get that extra discount or receive a complimentary gift??  Since being on maternity leave I must have entered over a hundred competitions and giveaways and the grand total of the prizes I've won so far is...... zero, nothing, nowt, diddly squat.  Now I wouldn't mind so much if it wasn't for the fact that those around me seem to have lots of luck. A friend of mine who is also on maternity leave and entering the same competitions has won thousands of pounds worth of prizes, granted some are a little naff but others are amazing.  She's won a holiday, a weekend away, designer shoes, a make over, jewellery, countless toys and list goes on and on. 

I'm clearly doing something wrong, but what? I was at our local NCT fate the other day and as you do bought a strip or two of raffle tickets as did a number of the other girls I was with and no word of a lie, 4 out of the 5 of us won prizes and you've guessed it I was the one whose ticket wasn't drawn.  Again this could be coincidence but there's more, I'd signed up for the usual baby weaning guides as did a couple of the other mums, we all received the complementary spoons and vouchers, etc but the others also received cool bags and highchair toys along with a letter stating that they were the lucky few to be chosen at random for more gifts.  Hey, what about me?  Have I been unknowingly blacklisted from winning anything????

Do people have more luck than others? I'm starting to think so. What do you think? Have you won anything lately?

And We're Off

It's been two days since Munchie had her cast fitted, it's not the prettiest of things and its a bit cumbersome but she's taken to it so well. People are right when they say babies adapt quickly, she's sitting up, resting her hands on her knees in the old man style that she does, playing, rolling over and most importantly she's still the gorgeous, funny, smiley and happy little girl she's always been.

The cast fitting was traumatic for both me and my husband but not for Munchie, she appeared to be completely unfazed by the whole thing, happily munching on 'Sophie' whilst the Consultant and nurses set about their work. It didn't take long, no more than 15 minutes but it seemed like an age to us. The nurses were great, very reassuring and informative but above all took the time to listen to our fears and answer our questions.

Obviously things have changed slightly, it's a bit of a struggle to get Munchie into her car seat, I can no longer get her into the high chair (on the look out for one with a removable tray), she can't go swimming or have a bath and there is a whole bunch of clothes she can't wear. But it's not going to stop us, I've had the scissors out redesigning some of her baby grows, we've adapted bath time to wash, massage and cuddle time, and I'm looking for an activity to replace swimming.


We'll take one day at a time and face each new challenge with a smile.

I've been wanting a new baby monitor for sometime and after wadding through a pile of Internet reviews and asking for recommendations from my friends and the lovely people I've met on Twitter, I finally opted for the Summer Infant Baby Touch Digital Video Monitor.  Its fab, the picture quality is amazing in both day light and low light and the sound is crystal clear.  Its given me peace of mind now Munchie is in her own room, I can check on her without disturbing my light sleeper of a monkey and when I can't sleep in the middle of night I can watch my baby girl sleeping soundly or in her case noisily.

Questions

Questions, I have so many questions.  They come spilling out so fast that I can't keep up and I'm scared I'll miss something or not find the answer

• Will it work?
• Is it the right thing to do?
• Will she be in pain? (From what Ive read it says not but how do they know that for certain)
• Will it scare her?
• How much will this slow down her development? Will she catch up?
• Will she still be able to sit up and roll over?
• Can she still kick her legs?
• How will we change her nappy?
• Will the cast rub?
• Will the shoes and bar rub?
• How will she sleep? She's such a wriggler in her sleep
• What will we do about our night time routine ? - Munchie has a bath every night and this is her signal that is time for sleep.  Oh she loves her bath
• Will she still be able to sleep in her grobags?
• How will we get her weighed?
• What clothes will she wear?
• How will she fit in her car seat? Will she be uncomfortable?
• How will she fit in her high chair? It has a fixed strap in the middle so how will I get her legs in?
• We regularly go for walks with Munchie in her BabyBojorn, how will this work? - I don't think it will
• What about our planned holidays?  Can a baby travel on a plane when their leg is in a cast? What about when she has to wear her boots, how will she fit comfortably on my knee, will they even allow her on the plane?
• Is it viable to even consider taking her on holiday until this is over?
• When will it be over?
• How will she cope with it all, how will we cope with it?
• What about going to nursery?  What about going to the creche? None of which she has done yet but can she still go?  Will I want her to go?
• Will I be able to go back to work?
• Will I overcome this burning desire to hide her away? - I have to as its not fair on her to be stuck in all the time.
• Will people stare?  They stare and smile for all the right reasons at the moment but will this change? Will they think I've hurt her? 

And it goes on and on and on......
 
The Aerosmith song, Amazing ,keeps going around in my head and I can't stop singing the same few lines over and over again.....  

Life's a journey, not a destination

And I just can't tell just what tomorrow brings

 I don't want tomorrow to come, I want the clock to stop, I want the world to stand still, but that's not going to happen is it. This isn't what we planned, this isn't how it was meant to be, but it is what it is and its going to be the hardest journey we've ever been on.

Forewarned

I write this as my beautiful girl sleeps peacefully in her cot blissfully unaware of what faces her tomorrow, the coming months and even years. There's an old saying "to be forewarned is to be forearmed" but in my case I'm not so sure.

After a weekend of debate between me and my husband, a little bit of putting our heads in the sand and a lot of tears. We contacted a leading talipes specialist at Chelsea and Westminster hospital to seek a second opinion. On the recommendation of STEPS (a national charity supporting children and adults affected by a lower limb condition such as talipes www.steps-charity.org.uk) we emailed the Consultant a history of Munchie's treatment so far plus a number of photographs of her foot. We heard back within a few hours, which was amazing. However it wasn't the news we wanted to hear, the Consultant agreed with the treatment recommended last week and gave us more information about the cast and what was likely to lay ahead. The what is likely to lay ahead is something I/we are truly struggling with, I thought my world turned upside down when I found out about the cast but this, this has blown my mind and has brought my world crashing down around me.

The Consultant last week, briefly mentioned that after the casts, Munchie may require boots and a bar. But I was so stuck on the cast at the time that this information didn't really sink in. After speaking with the second Consultant and doing a lot of research, the boots and bar are a critical part of treating talipes but they are also the hardest part of the treatment. They have to be worn 23 hours out of 24 for a minimum of 12 weeks then at night thereafter for anywhere between 1 to 5 years depending on the severity of the condition. If the boots aren't worn the the foot will relapse and the whole cycle needs to start again.

My instinct is to protect my girl, to hide her away from what lies ahead but what kind of Mum would that make me? I have to think long term, I have to think of my daughter's future not the here and now. My little girl is 6 months old, she won't remember the next few months but she will remember if her foot doesn't work as it should. So I have to be strong, keep my fears away from my little one, encourage her, hold her, love her and most of all get her through tomorrow and beyond without losing the smiley, happy, inquisitive baby we are so lucky to have.

Unexpected

I've truly loved the last few weeks, everything seemed to fall into place. Munchie was sleeping better and longer, she had become so much fun, even learning to sit up and I felt confident as a mum for the first time I could remember. We went on our first family holiday and she was an absolute star, even despite our unexpected extra week's stay due to the French air traffic controllers strike.

We've been back in the UK for a day and I'm in a complete spin. Munchie was born with positional talipes of both feet, with her left foot being the one of concern. This issue, problem, condition (it was given a few names by those who saw her) wasn't picked up on any of the scans and we were lead to believe that it would correct itself in time but as a procortion were referred to the Child Debelopment Centre (CDC) for physio.

The physio was very light and involved stretching her foot into the correct position, something which I had to do daily and as often as possible.  We'd been back and forth to the CDC since Munchie was 5 weeks old but with no real improvement the physio referred us to see a pedeatric consultant. We saw the consultant at 12 weeks who informed us that we had nothing to worry about and that her foot would correct itself and to continue with the physio. He requested we return in 3 months for a follow up appointment.

Well that appointment was today, after a two hour wait in a very hot and stuffy waiting room, we this time saw the lead consultant. Who, after a very quick examination of her foot informed me that the best option will be a cast to hold Munchies foot in place.  This would be a full leg cast which would need replacing each week and he couldn't say how long this would last. I'm normally a very questioning person, not scared of asking questions but I felt like I'd been hit with a sledge hammer and whilst trying to hold back the tears and keep a level tone all I could ask was whats changed and
what happens now. She's grown he informed me and the what happens now is that next Wednesday my beautiful, funny, smiley, active little girl gets a full leg cast.

I know this is for the greater good and that the most important thing is for my little girl to have the best foot she can but I can't stop getting upset and feeling that its my fault. I can't sleep thinking about it, for kicking myself for not asking more questions, wondering what if I'd done more physio and imagining what next Wednesday is going to bring. The result of which has led me to write this post, my first ever blog post. I don't think anyone is going to read it other than me but getting it down and out of my head will hopefully help me prepear for the journey ahead.