Almost a year

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Well it's been such a longtime since I last wrote. I've had a crazy time at work which has really meant I've had very little time for anything really!

Last October we took Matt to the Bobath centre for a couple of weeks of treatment. That place is fantastic: they really got some fantastic results, loosening Matt and they really seem to understand how best to handle and treat him.

They set up a program for him which we have been following ever since.

It's been almost a year but Matt's head control is improving, he is learning to sit well (with help). We are very keen to ho back again this year too.

Our local health service have been fantastic too; Lisa, Sue and the team have built on the suggestions made at Bobath and they really get on very well with Matt.

James is growing up fast too, a very cheeky little boy. Emily is almost 6 now and very excited to have her first wobbly tooth!!

Well, this was something of a test post from my iPhone; if it works, maybe ill write more often!


Adz

Matt eating

This will have to be a very short post as I am sooo busy right now :-)

Matt has been really difficult with eating for a couple of months now. It takes over an hour to feed him, he won't eat anything (but desert - yoghurt!). A while back he learned to drink from a cup, but now he uses that as a way of preventing you putting any food in his mouth!

Well we have tried numerous tactics, sometimes feeling extremely cruel.

We have even had the community feeding team in to advise on what to do - 8 or 9 people stood round him with a clip board, watching him eat.

We've now decided that if he refuses to eat, we'll just let him get hungry. It's really tough for us to do this to him because he can't communicate as well as James, or Emily - but we think its time to give it a shot.

So, last night, he went to bed having refused both lunch at dinner.

And he refused to go to bed because he was hungry...

So, we got him back downstairs and he wolfed down his dinner without any problems. He had the naughtiest look on his face - mischevious, he knew that he had lost a minor battle. Or maybe he thinks he won it.

Either way the experiment continues today.

He refused lunch so we let him go hungry.

But he ate dinner... so this technique seems to be working.

The best news is still to come though: As a treat, when he eats well, we give him chocolate buttons. They are larger than the standard cadbury ones so he could hold them if he wanted to.

Today he actually picked his food up and fed himself!

This feels liks such a huge milestone for Matt: its a small step on a journey to him having some independance.

Gem managed to capture it on her phone camera. Not fantastic quality but a huge moment for us.




And the next attempt

Holidays

We've been having a lot of holidays lately which is unusual for us! We spent a week on the Isle of Wight in a Caravan; Gemma went away for a long weekend with her friend Jules; and she is away again this weekend on a Hen weekend.

It was great to get away to the Isle of Wight for a break. The weather was terrible but we still managed to do quite a bit, visiting dinosaur worlds and a family favourite, Black Gang Chine.

The Chine is very hilly and it was hard work pushing Matt around in his new ten-tonne pushchair. We got the new chair about a week before the holiday and Gemma pulled something in her back just in that first week - it is so heavy to lift!



I've since discovered a way to dismantle it when loading into the car but even then you are left with 2 heavy pieces of chair. Still it's a solution and it works!



We later went to Carrisbrooke Castle which the kids really enjoyed. I think James quite liked the cannons and they all loved the donkeys. Shame it was spoiled slightly when the cafe complained because we fed Matthew food which we had brought with us. He certainly would not have been able to eat anything which they had for sale!!

Gem went away with her friend last weekend (and this). It really is amazingly difficult to look after James, Emily and Matthew and to somehow find time to perform the huuuuge list of physio and educational tasks we're supposed to help Matt with.

In fact, on the one occassion I was able to fit it all into a day, Matthew just got so tired that he fell asleep, completely exhausted. But its been great to actually spend some time with the kids for a change! Matt and I played 'catch' while he was in his standing frame. I took a video on my mobile phone - but it's a naff phone and the quality is awful!



I shall be upgrading to an IPhone as soon as I can...

Thank goodness my parents live close by and can lend a helping hand, they have helped out loads. Emily is sleeping over there tonight so I just have the boys to look after: but it's the boys who tend to wake up in the night! :-)

My turn for a holiday next weekend: My best friend's stag weekend. It'll be fun, but bad news for my liver!