Friday, September 29, 2006

cast communique 2

Yesterday we went for a check-up at the Royal, with our pretty Spanish Orthopedic surgeon. She is happy that Zack is making good progress and we will be back on the 19th of October to have his cast removed, and another x-ray done. The cast hasn't moved, which means that it's in a good position. Zack hasn't been in pain (that we can see) since last Saturday, so all is well.

I've been working like a mad thing this week, so we haven't had as much time together as Zee would like. It's always a toss-up between being too involved with your child and teaching it to play independently. But that is now done, and we are all looking forward to two weeks of quality time with his Great Aunty Shirley. She arrives tomorrow morning from South Africa.

In an attempt to get on top of the weaning issue, we have bought three books :
Gina Ford (evil queen of baby routines)
Annabel Karmel (baby food guru)
NCT - first foods and weaning


We hope to establish some good eating habits with the help of these. It all seems like an enormous challenge - I really don't want to be fighting with Zack about getting him to eat... it seems that you either have an "eater" or a "sleeper", is it possible to have both ?

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

six months means half way to 1

Zack is now six months old. what happ'ned ?

He has been joined in the last week, by three new friends :

Alexandra Andrews born last Tuesday. Congratulations to Yunhui, David and little Eppie


Timothy Bray on Sunday 24th Sept - Congratulations to Jenny & Richard

and Stephanie Bayley Dickinson also, on Sunday 24th Sept. Congratulations to Theresa and Dave.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

cast comunique 1

Had an appointment at the Royal London's fracture clinic with the orthopedic surgeon. She tried to put the wind up me saying that Zack might need to go for a general anaesthetic today so that they can fit a new cast. That was completely out of the blue ! (I'm not sure why people do this... read on). Two staff members looked at his X-rays and then we were whisked off to the plaster room where they replaced his 'half cast' with a complete one. We even got to choose the colour and design - in an NHS hospital. Sadly the football motif was the only one not in stock (yeah, Keith and I, the last of the great footie fans), so I went for blue which won't show up the poo. The new cast goes as high up the leg as possible and back down to the toes (like the previous one). It is bright royal blue.

We went for an X-ray once the cast was hard, to see how the bone was sitting and whether or not they were going to have to consider the G.A. It didn't take long and we were back at the fracture clinic where they looked at the X-ray and decided it was all good to go. No need for the full body cast, no need for the G.A. Hhhmmm.... not sure what was going on this morning ?! Perhaps they make it their mission to scare the pants off you, so that if you are abusing your child, you don't do it again/ you stop. Lovely.

One of the girls from my NCT class lives a block and half from the hospital and we haven't seen one another over the summer, so Zack and I popped into Sandy's place for a visit with her and little Cloe. Cloe and Zack are exactly one month apart in age (she is one month older). We had a fun time - Cloe is a delight - just as full of smiles as Zack. It was wonderful to be in a home with lots of laughter and giggles, considering how delicate I'm feeling.

I had a wisdom tooth extracted yesterday at noon - it only took 1 minute and 20 seconds to take out (I was amazed - I'd been watching the clock), and I was free to go home. Corne had been looking after Zack, so I headed back to pick the bub up. By last night my mouth felt like it had been hit with a baseball bat. And we had to be up and heading for the bus by 8:15am this morning. Yes, it's been a bit rough at Chez Guthrie of late.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

I feel awful : zack in plaster


Zack rolled over off his changing unit yesterday morning, and fell onto the floor. I was standing right there, and had just turned to put his nappy in the bin. He cried and cried - he let me hold him for more than an hour while the crying came and went. I wasn't sure if he'd just concussed himself, or if there was something more serious because he could move his arms and legs, hands and toes, his head from side to side, and was quite lucid. A little later, I tried to see if he would stand supported on my lap, but he wouldn't put any weight on his left leg, and I thought it was looking a bit swollen (it is so hard to tell as his legs are so chubby), so I went off to A&E at the Royal. The girls there were very sweet, and said that it happens often. I felt just awful - so guilty for changing his nappy, AND I'd been saying that he needed to be watched on raised surfaces. Boy oh boy.

Initially they thought it might just be sprained... all the while telling me how often this happens. But once we'd been for a few xrays, they could see that he'd fractured his femur above the knee. Plaster is what they do and Zack now has a cast from his hip to his toes. Poor little guy! I feel just terrible, and keep contemplating all that he'll be missing out on in the next 6 weeks. He's been SO mobile lately, wriggling around, flipping himself over at every opportunity. Well, that's how it happened, but still... I feel just awful about it.

I was saying to Keith, that the upside is that Zack did it while I was looking after him, and not Keith. We both laughed, but it's true - I would have been angry and annoyed at Keith, whereas Keith is being very supportive. Still, I feel awful about it happening. I can't even say, "I wasn't there." I was. If I didn't feel guilty about being a mummy, I do now.

Zack is doing OK - despite being in pain last night, he slept well, and was chipper and his usual self this morning. He's frustrated that he can't roll over, so I'm spending more time 'supervising' and assisting play, but we'll take it a day at a time. Poor little chap.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

zackapoopalopalous



We have had our first family holiday in Greece - on the island of Skiathos. Zack made his entrance, and hence the title of this entry, with a big BANG. He made the biggest poo in Zack-history, as we landed. I was wearing a white blouse. Once inside the terminal building, the queue to the ladies loo was a mile long, and there weren't any baby changing facilities, so I found a corner in the arrivals hall and stripped the boy down, and between Keith and I we managed to clean him completely. I am now a good boy scout - I am ALWAYS PREPARED! Only snag was that I usually expect my trousers / skirt to get trashed in the event, but this was a first for the upper garment of the mother. Thankfully our suitcase soon came off the carousel and I could slip out of the yellow number, and into something fresh. Oh the joys !

Despite advice to the contrary we pursued feeding Zack 'solids' while away on holiday: he had apple cereal most days (not always for breakfast tho), and some water. The package holiday people supplied a travel cot for the little 'un, and it was fine - except that he was right next to our bed, so we woke up with every noise he made. It wasn't the most restful time I must confess - Keith and I slept best when the other had taken Zack off for a walk. Note to self for future holidays : we MUST have a separate room for baby !



Greece's weather never fails to deliver so we all got a bit of sun, and I was a faithful lotion applier, and am very proud of myself. Zack is barely a different shade from when he departed, unlike Mum who has a bit of a tan and plenty freckles. Yes, freckles are something I want to save Zack from - well, certainly the kind of "sun damage" freckles that I have. He took a bit of convincing to wear his sun-glasses (Baby Banz) but we finally got him into them one afternoon and he seemed quite happy. The only hiccup was the nose pieces pressed into his face, and he had marks when we took them off - he doesn't really have a bridge yet, his nose is quite flat.



The trusty McLaren pram/buggy came everywhere with us... on and off every conceivable form of transport (except our scooter), and I confess it's looking a little dusty and bashed. It's quite resilient though, and everything still functions - we even dragged it backwards through the beach-sand (you'll find that it's easier to do this than to try and push). We discussed the merits of prams very briefly with Jackie and Claudio (mates that were already out there on holiday) - Claudio's boss has told him that she went through at least twenty different prams with her two boys. I find that very difficult to believe, but even if it's true, who in their right mind would spend in excess of £3000 on prams ? Maybe she would like to part with the 18 or so that she didn't like - I'm sure we can find a noble cause ? ! !