November Notes

Roy has his own potty in the bathroom seeing that Sheena is learning, but he'd prefer to roam the room rather than sit. He's 17 months now. I am so glad I finally got his hair cut short.

Up Up and Away

Roy is up and walking. Both my kids started walking on family holidays - must be all the excitement of being in a new place.

Roy is still on his allergy elimination diet, but continues to have very bad ear infections, and laboured breathing. Today, he had a blood test, and ear, nose and throat swabs to see if it is a particular bacteria that needs a more specific antibiotic, because normal antibiotics are not working. The allergist changed his prescription formula to a different brand, but I think his breathing has gotten worse. Very hard all this allergy stuff, especially when we have made such little progress. He rarely looks so pale since he has gone onto the prescription formula, and his eczema has cleared up, but the other symptoms remain.

He is loving the outdoors, and bolts outside whenever the door is opened. He is still fascinated with light-switches, and always asks his dad to play with them when he gets home from work by pointing up at them. Funny how they associate different activities with different people. Hubby gets swamped by Roy and Sheena when he gets home, and they both want a big cuddle and get upset if they have to take it in turn.

Boys and their Bikes

Roy was looking a bit nervous about his first bike ride, but he loved it once out. I think he was nervous of getting the helmet put on as much as anything. He is going to a bike show in a couple of weeks, getting well groomed future days in the saddle.

Cook Up

Roy's afternoon: sleeping from 12-3.45 and still going.

Mum's afternoon: cooking horribly bland allergy sensitive meals suitable for a 1 year old. I should be more positive about it, but this is hard work using the limited ingredients, and lets face it the food is bland +++.

I have, however, found a brand at the supermarkets called Orgran. All of their products exclude everything that Roy is not to have, except some of them contain citrus, so he can't have those ones. Their products include an egg alternative, a gravy mix, and bread crumbs made from corn so at least I'll be able to bind some recipes together.

The EleCare formula must be very high in calories. He's only having 400mls a day, whereas on the goats milk he was having 600mls. He's not really eating as much either, but he is definitely sleeping well.

Dieting Do's and Don'ts

Roy has a lot more spark and is more animated since he was put on Bactrim antibiotics after 2 ear infections in a row. He is more ready to smile and laugh, and more energetic as he races about the place on all fours. He is keen on getting his teeth brushed (handy), very keen on food, and his goats milk. He'll quickly tell you if his needs are not being met just so, and if his sister takes a loved toy away he'll get equally upset. He has taken to walking his scooter around the house whenever his sister is not scooting around on it herself. He is fascinated with light switches and tries to reach them even though he's over a foot away from reaching them from ground level. He is sorting rings onto a post, and is sorting shapes with a bit of help.

He has seen an Allergist for all of his allergy symptoms. He is to go off milk, soy, wheat, rye, yeast, and citrus for 2 weeks - including his be-loved goats milk. The allergist has given us some EleCare Hypoallergenic formula to substitute milk -ugghhh. Smells yuck, but it is worth a try. Goats milk made such an improvement when I switched him onto it at 12 months, but he still turns a dreadful sickly color like in the second picture which we know is not right. His digestive system is also not right yet, so it will be an interesting.

Ace little Aviator

Roy has full-blown tonsilitis and an ear infection. He has had it for 5 days, but I think it is over its worst. He's been on antibiotics for 4 days, so it has probably kicked in. He has not been up to much except having lots of cuddles and an extra nap during the day while he fights the bug.

When he is 100% he is now very close to walking, but it may be a month off still. Hard to tell at this stage. He has great laughs with his sister, and they have giggles/cackles over dinner or lunch in their own little pre-school wonder-world.

Unfortunately I have not taught Roy as much sign language as I would have liked. It is harder with 2 kids on the go, and Roy is more eager to explore than pay attention to watching me sign a lot of the time. I am doing a bit more of it now. The GP who gave us the script for the antibiotics said Roy's right ear was in a terrible state, and that we might have to get grommets re-done. Signing will help Roy a lot if his hearing is poor, so it is worth pursuing. I am being a lot more conscious of reading into his left ear so he'll hear me better.

Balloons are the best.

Roy is loving balloons at the moment. He grabs onto the knot and crawls with them all over the house. He has a major bottle attachment, and refuses milk from a cup, or even a bottle with a hard spout. He'll happily drink water from a firm spout, but with milk, he still likes a cuddle and a teat. I am still working on getting a referral to see an Allergist. Apparently there are less false-positives now he is over 12 months. Doctors shunned the tests previously, but I need to push for it. He definitely has protein issues No Soy or Cows Milk, Goats milk is adequate, but not perfect.