September 2014 Babies Club

madeinamerica · 09-05-2016 8:26pm

That's fab Karmella! Good on you getting out there. I'm an oldie so haven't tried online dating but what I hear from my friends it sounds great. It must make it all a lot more efficient, perfect for the busy mummy! Hope you find a nice guy and have some fun along the way

lol e i e i o is one of R's favourite requests these days too. The power of a toddler, he had 8 of our friends singing that and baa baa black sheep (baaa!) at his demand last weekend.

comongethappy · 09-05-2016 8:46pm

Hey MIA, glad to hear you are feeling better! It's great R has so many words, AJ doesn't have nearly that many! I wouldn't be too worried about him being behind for his age!

Fair play Karmella! I hope things go well for you. I meet my hubby online so it can work out well! Best of luck!

AJ loves connecting things together for the moment and running. We are getting a few words but never to be repeated it seems! He has said outside and duck. His favourite is up or I did it

Isolt · 09-05-2016 9:04pm

Wow I haven't posted here in ages! So funny to read what all the toddlers are at, mine also loves to sing e, i, e, i, o!

madeinamerica · 07-07-2016 6:09pm

Hey ladies, how are ye all doing? I hope you and your kiddies are well. We've had a bit of bad news - just when I had gotten over the post-natal depression and was getting my life on track, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I just found a lump and had to push my doctor to take it seriously (first appointment she brushed it off as something from breastfeeding). I got the initial diagnosis at the end of May. I had a lumpectomy and 3 lymph nodes removed two weeks ago. Thankfully it doesn't seem to have spread to the lymph nodes or outside of the lump. Waiting to see the oncologist about drug plan on July 25th. At the moment we are doing fertility treatments because some of the drugs I'll be on will mean I can't get pregnant for about 5 yrs and chemo might wreck my eggs anyway. Oh the joy of injecting myself! Once I've all the drugs/chemo done, I'll have to get radiation for a few weeks. Probably will be nearly a year by the time it is all done.

It has been a lot to take in and we've had good and bad days. I'm still seeing my counselor, she has been a great help. Thankfully, my son R is too young to know what is going on. Our friends here have been a great support looking after him and bringing us dinner in the days after my surgery. I am now looking into moving home for the drug treatment part, as if I get sick from chemo or tired from radiation then we'll need help with R and my husband already has health problems so it might be just too much for him to handle by himself.

On the up side, R has been flying it with words and has really come on after no speech for so long! Can't believe he will be two in a couple of months.

Karmella · 08-07-2016 8:05am

Oh my - it never rains but it pours !!!! I'm so sorry to hear this, but it sounds like you caught it early which is really good. Well done for pushing the doctor to check it out, a girl I work with had to do this aswell - she just knew something wasn't right.

Probably not a bad idea to try and come home if you can, you'll definitely need all the help & support you can get. Great that you have a good support network there too though.

Sending positive thoughts your way, hope it all goes well.

Glad R is doing so well now too. I had C's development check yesterday and she was very impressed with him. Although he isn't putting words together so we need to work on that.

comongethappy · 11-07-2016 12:18am

I am so sorry to hear about the cancer MIA! It's great though that you have a great support network for your surgery. It would be great if you could come home for support while on chemo. Thoughts are with you and hopefully all will work out for the best. Delighted to hear R is doing well.

Great to hear C got on well at his developmental check up Karmella! AJ has his next week, I would say we will be referred for speech therapy as he is a bit behind. Did anyone else get a 5 page questionnaire to fill in? From talking to my old colleagues in Dublin not all places do.

73trix · 19-07-2016 8:48pm

Sorry to hear your news MIA but it's really positive that you caught it early and wishing all the very best for your full recovery. It's lovely to hear R is doing well.

As regards my chap, he is well in the system now, has started his SLT, altho in reality, we are waiting on parent training programmes rather than therapy as such.We were given some things to work on at home. I would so love him to start talking. He hasn't progressed beyond mam, dad and hi, bye and he's 2 in Oct but he has devel delay

COGH, we got a 3 page questionnaire.

comongethappy · 20-07-2016 1:35pm

Hi All!

Hope you are keeping well since your last update MIA! I know you were worried about R's speech before, but they only expect a 22 mo old to have 15 - 20 words and a couple two word phrases. Mad at the difference!

73trix, fair play, at least he is in the system and hopefully you will get an appointment soon. The waiting list is 2-3 months in Wicklow.

I had AJ's check on Monday. One of the communication questions was if I pointed at pics in a book, could AJ say what at least one was. I tried everyday for 2 weeks, to the point one night he ripped the book out of my hands and threw it across the room. The pretty young health nurse asks and he names 3

. However communication was borderline so we are being referred, he has about 15 words, maybe 20 but won't use them often. Like he has said water and drink but would only say it the odd time, more often he will point and grunt or babble. All else good though, he's 98th for weight and height

pastry2010 · 23-08-2016 2:15pm

Hi All,

Just checking in and saying hello! coming up to the 2 year mark now for most of us! I see a few were talking about developmental checks, Joshua not talking very much either, mostly sounds, the odd word but nothing consistent, I've tried everything, talk to him non-stop he's aware of what I'm saying but he just gets very frustrated now with things he can't tell me he wants. We have been referred to speech therapist with a waiting list of 6 months so I'm hoping in those months he'll start yapping! He is hilarious though I can tell he will be a funny kid but I'd say a bit quiet too! We are also going through a bad phase of sleep he used to be so good and now refusing to go to sleep, my other half was driving around for an hour and half a few days ago..tried removing nap it actually was worse so I'm trying different things, change dinner time until later, going for a walk later in the evening *sigh* after 2 months I gave in and bought Dozol today ðŸ™ðŸ¼

pastry2010 · 23-08-2016 2:20pm

madeinamerica wrote: »

Hey ladies, how are ye all doing? I hope you and your kiddies are well. We've had a bit of bad news - just when I had gotten over the post-natal depression and was getting my life on track, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I just found a lump and had to push my doctor to take it seriously (first appointment she brushed it off as something from breastfeeding). I got the initial diagnosis at the end of May. I had a lumpectomy and 3 lymph nodes removed two weeks ago. Thankfully it doesn't seem to have spread to the lymph nodes or outside of the lump. Waiting to see the oncologist about drug plan on July 25th. At the moment we are doing fertility treatments because some of the drugs I'll be on will mean I can't get pregnant for about 5 yrs and chemo might wreck my eggs anyway. Oh the joy of injecting myself! Once I've all the drugs/chemo done, I'll have to get radiation for a few weeks. Probably will be nearly a year by the time it is all done.

It has been a lot to take in and we've had good and bad days. I'm still seeing my counselor, she has been a great help. Thankfully, my son R is too young to know what is going on. Our friends here have been a great support looking after him and bringing us dinner in the days after my surgery. I am now looking into moving home for the drug treatment part, as if I get sick from chemo or tired from radiation then we'll need help with R and my husband already has health problems so it might be just too much for him to handle by himself.

On the up side, R has been flying it with words and has really come on after no speech for so long! Can't believe he will be two in a couple of months.

So sorry to hear this my dear, you poor thing really hope you are doing well. Xx

Alf Veedersane · 23-08-2016 2:22pm

Until March we were having a horror show with the little one though it felt like it wasn't as bad as it actually was. She'd go down at 8 and sleep til 7 but she woke every 1.5 - 2 hours so I would go to bed in her room and my OH would go get some sleep in our room and then we'd switch at maybe 3am. Like ships in the night.

Bit the bullet and got in touch with a 'sleep doctor' that was recommended to us and, well it wasn't rocket science but having a plan to address the issue made it so much easier to do. By night 5 things had turned 180 and now my OH and I share our bed again and Littl'un sleeps from 8pm to 7am.

Littl'un's form improved immeasurably as well. She wouldn't be awake much when she did wake but it was still broken sleep and she was tired. About a week before we addressed the issue, it really started to show. She was very quiet going to creche and seemed tired when we collected her. Now she runs in and runs out.

Not that it cost all that much but it was certainly money well spent.

pastry2010 · 27-09-2016 3:50pm

Hi Everyone,

Just wondering how everyone's little ones are doing? We are having a few issues here, J isn't talking properly yet, some of his behavioural patterns are causing concern and I don't know if I'm over reacting but I've decided to get the ball rolling. I've booked into the GP this week to get a referral to get his hearing checked, I have him on a waiting list with the HSE for speech therapy which is apparently 6 months long and he's only on it 2.5 months. For screening for Autism it's 9-18 months, Everywhere I read it's telling me that if it's Autism catching it early is key but in this stupid country to get help you have to wait until it's too late or pay through the nose for it, don't get me wrong whatever he needs I'll find a way to pay for it so it looks like I'll have to go private (I've no health insurance).

Anyone here having any experience with similar?

Px

madeinamerica · 28-09-2016 5:00am

Pastry I'm so sorry to hear you're having these issues with getting help. We thought we were on that road with R as he didn't say a word for so long and I still worry about it, so I know some of those feelings. As we were on the US system then, I can't give you much help but I was just thinking, is there like an Irish Autism Society or something that can give parents info about this and support? Those types of groups can often be brilliant to help navigate such things as they usually are set up or run by parents that have been through the same thing.

Best of luck with it and do follow your instincts, you know your kid better than anyone.

comongethappy · 13-11-2016 5:34pm

Hello everyone, how are you keeping? Just wondering if you are back home and how you are doing MIA?

madeinamerica · 14-11-2016 11:12am

Hey! Thanks for asking.

Yeah we came home at the end of august and i started chemo a week later. To be honest it has been a hellish few months. I reacted really badly to the chemo, was very sick and weak each time and was hospitalized for over a week in October with sepsis as my immune system just fell apart. The doc delayed the chemo until it recovered enough to continue. So I've just finished the first drug (4 rounds of it) and on Thursday I start 4 rounds of the next drug. Each round is 2 weeks, so 8 weeks left. Hopefully. i've no idea how I'll react to the next drug, don't really want to think about it. I'll have 4 weeks of radiation starting sometime in January.

As all that was going on with me, life was going on still! R turned 2 (yeay!), we moved back into our tiny one bed apartment, husband trying to get his own little company settled in Dublin, R starting a new creche, R getting all the new Irish bugs and ending up in hospital twice with pneumonia, R talking the ears off us which is a relief since he was so delayed. R handled the whole move without a bother and it is lovely that he gets to see our families now.

It's been a tough few months really. I was mainly useless lying on the couch and feeling like total **** so my husband basically is a working single Dad AND a carer of a cancer patient. our old friends stepped up and helped us out when I was really sick at the start, things like bringing dinner or minding R for an hour to give my poor husband a break. my mil sil and my brother have given us brilliant practical help too. i'm very pleasantly surprised by my in laws, they arrive with groceries and dinners for freezer, clean the apartment, wash clothes, mind R, and just take care of us all for a day or two. my parents have been difficult and it has caused rows. Their version of 'helping a cancer patient' is to stay with us in our 1 bed apartment and behave as guests expecting tea and meals made for them. They were here at the weekend and we are both just wrecked from it. They did lend us their car when we came back first, so they aren't monsters! But they just don't seem to get what situation we are in.

Anyway, how are all ye doing? How are your little two year olds getting on?

Comongethappy, how are you feeling about what's happening in the States? I'm hearing lots of fear and worry from my friends there.

Karmella · 14-11-2016 3:16pm

Wow MIA that does sound hellish alright and fair play to you all for getting through it as best ye can. Sounds like ye have a great support network which is vital. Best of luck with all the treatments and wish you all the best for recovery!!
A girl I work with was out for a year getting treatment, and she and her hubby & teenage son all moved to her mother's for the duration!

My little two year old is a gem

He is half mad and fierce amusing altogether!!
Drives his older brother demented still. Some days I come home from work and feel like walking back out the door - the noise!!!!
He is babbling away, still a lot of gobbledygook but there are words & phrases creeping in alright! Loves music and dancing and singing and would run for Ireland.
He's been in his own bed for about 3-4 months now, just refused to sleep in the cot anymore!
He got his first proper haircut on Saturday- his brother was getting one so I chanced it. He was so good I couldn't believe it!

Life wise it's been tough the last few months. Well up and down I guess really. Work has been stressful all year but has calmed down a bit recently. My ex has been challenging to say the least, and I've officially started separation proceedings to protect my house and the kids from his debts and spiralling alcoholism.

And then my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer last month.

He had lost a lot of weight and had a cough that wouldn't go away, so had an X-ray & then got called for a ct scan so we knew it was potentially serious. Went in for a biopsy at the start of October and collapsed after it, hit his head and was admitted. He's still in there

In the last few weeks he's deteriorated so much physically and mentally that he has to go to a nursing home. It's just heartbreaking to see this proud man who 6 weeks ago was as sharp as a tack, reduced to a shadow of his former self

He's 78. My mum passed away from cancer 14 years ago - very quickly - 2 months after diagnosis- and here we are again. He hasn't long I'd say as there is no fight in him at all.

The only shining light - besides my two boys - is the absolute dote of a man I've been dating for the last 6 months. He's been a real rock. So sweet and supportive and caring. He's a divorced father of 2 so he gets me and all my baggage - and I get him too

comongethappy · 14-11-2016 9:45pm

Aww MIA so sorry to hear about your reaction to the treatment, really hope the 2nd round goes better for you. Glad to hear you have a great support network around you here though and that after R's sickness he is now flying. Nothing worse than having them in hospital.

Karmella, I am sorry to hear about all the stress with your ex and your father's illness

but happy that you have a new supportive love in your life and that the boys are are doing well

AJ doing well now, was in hospital with a rash all over, fever, and vomiting but it seems it was just viral. He had a few ups and downs the first week but seems to be on the mend now. Starting to talk more which is great, but the only two words together is all done or all gone which they don't count so just keeping an eye on it. Mad about the states, the increase in racist and homosexual attacks is so depressing, I don't know why people all of a sudden think they have the right to spew their hate

I am going for Thanksgiving next week with AJ so will be interesting to see.

comongethappy · 24-12-2016 7:23pm

Just wanted to wish all you ladies and your children a Happy Christmas!

MAI, hope your second round of chemo was a bit easier and you are able to enjoy the holidays x

Karmella, I hope your dad is doing OK in the nursing home and not in too much discomfort. X

Karmella · 26-12-2016 10:24am

Happy Christmas to ye all and your little toddlers!!

We had a lovely day yesterday at my brother's house, all the cousins were playing and my toddler was entertaining everyone singing jingle bells ha ha.

It's been a tough couple of weeks as my poor dad passed away on the 12th. But it was a relief for him really as he had deteriorated so much. Thankfully he didn't suffer for very long and he's at peace now.

comongethappy · 26-12-2016 10:46am

Ahh Karmella I am so sorry for your loss. It is always hard, especially around the holidays, but I am glad your family got together xxx

FurBabyMomma · 24-01-2017 11:32am

Hi folks. It's been so long since I've posted here and I can't believe how much has been happening in your lives. MIA I'm particularly sorry to hear about your cancer, I hope you're well on the mend, and about your dad Karmella.

A is flying it, she is running rings around the lot of us. I had a baby boy 9 months ago. He had severe silent reflux so for the first few months of his life he slept from 2-4am and screamed the rest of the time. I came close to losing my mind tbh. But he's outgrown it now and off his medication so since Christmas he's been like a different baby and we've really been enjoying him.

I hope you and your little ones are all keeping well xxx

pastry2010 · 11-05-2017 10:43am

Hi Lovelies,

Hope all is well with you, so nice to have a bit of sunshine these days! Let the little ones run riot out the backgarden! How is everything @MadeInAmerica & @Karmella? Hope you both are doing ok. You are so right Fur Baby Momma so many things happen over the 2.5 years, congrats on your new baby! I am toying with the idea of having another but we are atill waiting on Early Intervention for J, he will need constant occupational, speech therapy and physio and I just don't know if having another one is a good idea right now. Our chances of having another child with ASD is 30 - 40% (higher if it's a boy). I am totally in love with my son but I would be lying if I said it has been a walk in the park.

We have a lot to think about.

Px

73trix · 11-05-2017 7:25pm

pastry2010 wrote: »

Hi Lovelies,

Hope all is well with you, so nice to have a bit of sunshine these days! Let the little ones run riot out the backgarden! How is everything @MadeInAmerica & @Karmella? Hope you both are doing ok. You are so right Fur Baby Momma so many things happen over the 2.5 years, congrats on your new baby! I am toying with the idea of having another but we are atill waiting on Early Intervention for J, he will need constant occupational, speech therapy and physio and I just don't know if having another one is a good idea right now. Our chances of having another child with ASD is 30 - 40% (higher if it's a boy). I am totally in love with my son but I would be lying if I said it has been a walk in the park.

We have a lot to think about.

Px

Hi ladies. It's nice to see this thread pop up again. I second pastry and fbm and extend good wishes to Mia and Karmella. Congrats to you FBM. Sounds like you had a rough time with #2. I believe it's v stressful. Glad to hear you are out the other side.

Pastry, v sorry to hear your little one is having issues. My little chap is also going thro EI and assessment of Need. It's quite challenging at times so I can understand where you're coming from. I'm expecting #2 in Sept - yep another Sept baby club but will Def be Sept this time cos I'm goung to be let go over this time. We also agonised over going again but here we are. Just hoping that lightening won't strike twice! Little man is making progress all the time but he's not at the level as his peers and has some ASD traits so we will get the Assessment done and hope that if he does end up on the spectrum, it will be mild, as everyone hopes. I move in and out of believing it. He contradicts himself alot!

Hope all the other Sept 14 mammies and sbabies are well.

comongethappy · 11-05-2017 10:50pm

Hi All! Great to hear from people again! Pastry seems like you are doing everything you can for your little man, and all the work you are putting in will pay off loads. I can only imagine how stressful it all can be, but I can see a huge difference in my husbands cousin whose parents fought for early intervention and my nephew whose parents didn't. 73trix hope your pregnancy is going well! MIA and Karmella, how are you keeping? And everyone else?

2nd is due in July, going for a placenta function scan tomorrow as she is small in stomach and weight, hopefully all working well and she will either have a spurt later or be a petite baby. AJ is very clingy and possessive of me, denies there is a baby and hates me talking to anyone else. It will be interesting when no 2 comes!

Karmella · 12-05-2017 7:52am

Lovely to hear updates from ye. I've nothing to report really

The last 6 months have just been a blur and flew by, I was crazy busy at work - but that has calmed down again thankfully.
I can't believe it's May! My older boy is nearly finished senior infants and I need to start thinking about pre-school for the little man, although he can't start the free scheme til January - I'm thinking I'll see how much it would be to send him somewhere a couple mornings a week until then. He badly needs to be socialised.

I'm good though, miss my dad every now and then but have plenty distractions!

Hope all the pregnancies go well, and that ye can get the services ye need for your toddlers with the EI assessments etc. I can only imagine how stressful it is.

Comeongethappy I'm sure your little one will come round when baba arrives.

September 2014 Babies Club

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