Unpredictable Weather

The boys have been on holiday from school for just over a week now and the weather has been unpredictable at best. We have gone from blistering heat and sunshine to monsoon-like rain and thunderstorms in a matter of moments. One minute the children are playing in the garden on the swing and slide and the next they are hot-footing it indoors to snuggle under a duvet.

This type of weather really causes a dilemma in how to dress them for a day out. It’s fairly impossible to plan for all eventualities of British weather in one kids’ outfit so I think the key is layering. One online company who are very understanding of the British weather is Boden . They have a beautiful range of kidswear at mini Boden which is really great looking but also really useful.

Thurston was very lucky to be sent one of their Towelling Hoodies in Ocean Skull. The outside of the hoody is 85% cotton and the inside is lovely and soft made of 100% cotton. The Towelling Hoody is a really useful piece of clothing as it is a great cover up at the beach or after the swimming pool, without being too hot and sweaty for the summer months. The towelling fabric is really lightweight and comfortable and the hood is really useful particularly for kids like mine who are very anti-hats!

This hoody has been brilliantly useful for playing in the garden in the evening or wearing on the stroll home from the beach. It’s also been really handy on those days where the weather is not particularly warm but too warm to wear a normal hoody or jumper. Thurston has found this hoody to be really comforting and cosy when he has started to felt cold which has meant that we have been able to squeeze a few more minutes out of an outing or just being outside, whereas usually he would have become upset and we would have had to cut our day short.

This Towelling Hoody is a really versatile item that gets loads of wear over the warmer months but is also perfect for layering up during the cold months of the year too. You can’t go wrong really. There are loads more gorgeous pieces in their new Autumn range on the website so that is definitely worth a browse. I’m really hoping I can get Thurston this Duffle Coat for when he starts school in the Autumn!  The kids will end up looking better than I do!

Thanks for reading!

Hanj x

Summer and Broccoli

Last Friday, my very nice husband Alex (here is his blog www.neveranythingon.wordpress.com) turned 32. Last year when he turned 31, he had come out of hospital a day earlier from his 1st spinal surgery. Since then he has had a day surgery steroid epidural, and this January, he had a major operation to fuse his spine with various pieces of metal and donated bone. I’m so happy with how well he’s done from last birthday to this birthday, he really deserves some recognition for being able to keep smiling, hardly ever complaining and most of all, managing to still do as much as possible with all of the children while he was in so much pain. I’m not sure I could have done it! We celebrated with an Olympic themed party, the opening ceremony, an Indian takeaway and a very large homemade chocolate cake (recipe from The Primrose Bakery Cookbook!). Luckily, Thurston slept through the whole thing so we had a lovely time with the older children which was much needed.

The whole time Alex was laid up with his back, he had been planning to have a tattoo done of the Eiffel Tower. It means such a lot to us as we spent our honeymoon in Paris almost 7 years ago, and it was one of the only holidays we had as a couple without children. The other one was a completely bizarre trip to Cologne in Germany with a very strange family!! Paris was incredible and has such lovely memories for us, I’m hoping to take the children there next year when I (reluctantly) turn 30! A couple of weeks ago, Alex finally had his tattoo done. He booked in with our good friend Dan Frye in his amazing tattoo studio in Margate (www.signsoftime.co.uk), and he did a fantastic job! I took the kids for lunch with some more lovely friends and my sister while he had it done, and he looked so happy when he came and joined us. It might sound silly to be so excited over a tattoo, but when you’ve been forced to be in pain and have some fairly gruesome scars to show for it, I think it’s a really great feeling when you can finally choose what you actually want on your body!

Since it is now the Summer holidays, we have been fairly busy, since every mum knows that the key to surviving the school holidays is “DO NOT STAY IN THE HOUSE!”. I took the children to the brand new Tracey Emin exhibition at the Turner Contemporary in Margate which we completely loved. I am a massive Tracey Emin fan anyway being a Margate-girl myself and it is so exciting that she has put together this exhibition just for our little town. Thurston actually slept the entire time which was a bit disappointing as he has enjoyed all our previous trips to the gallery. I know a lot of people get very nervous about taking Autistic children to art galleries or museums, but I would strongly encourage people to give it a try, as you might be pleasantly surprised. Thurston likes any exhibits with video installations, and was really interested in Turner’s paintings of volcanoes and even commented that they looked “hot”! A lot of galleries and museums are free entry or simply ask for a donation, so you are not losing anything by giving it a go.

Since we do live by the seaside, a lot of our Summer holidays is based on the beach. From June until September, my house is covered with a layer of sand that I never seem to be able to get rid of completely! At the moment, I would have to admit that going to the beach is not something I am very confident with doing by myself just yet. Thurston is completely inspired by the beach which is wonderful, but also means that he will see that he has complete freedom and no boundaries, and make a run for it, whether it is to the next beach on the coastline or through the water to France. He takes up so much of my energy and attention at the beach that it makes it really difficult for me to focus on my other 2 children. In the school holidays, I do struggle with a little bit of guilt at not being able to divide my time fairly among them and I think they must find it very frustrating too. Luckily for me, last week a friend of mine was renting a beach hut near my house with her family and invited me to join them for a day. I took the kids down by myself as Alex was working, and I’m so glad I did as the kids had the best time. We dumped our stuff at the hut and the kids made a beeline straight for the unusually warm water. Thurston was in his element splashing in the water and was so brave walking into water as deep as his chest. Louis and Zeke played with my friends’ children and their Dad who was so incredibly helpful pulling them around in an inflatable boat singing the theme song from “Jake and the Neverland Pirates”. Thurston even sat in the boat for a while, and was so delighted, I wish I could have captured the look on his little face. The children were so well looked after that I felt more than happy leaving them to play while I went back to the hut to warm Thurston up. It was a perfect Summery day!

Even though it is the holidays, Thurston’s therapy is still ongoing. He graduated his little ‘school starters’ group which was brilliant, and really helpful for him. He is now on a 6 week block of speech therapy to try and start him on some new techniques that he will continue with when he starts school in September. He was a little bit frustrated at the first appointment last week as Louis and Zeke had to come with us and were allowed to play in the playground of the Child Development Centre while he was hard at work. He did really well though and worked very hard. His ability to focus on a task has improved so much over the last year and he sat for 20 minutes without sitting on my lap. It’s still quite hard to see him struggle with concepts that come so naturally to most children. Every single aspect of language needs to be taught to him manually and at the moment, it does seem like an enormous task. The new technique involves colour coding the type of word to try to eventually enable him to have a proper conversation. It uses visual aids which are colour coded eg. pink for a person, green for a describing word, blue for a thing etc. It seems quite complicated at the moment, but hopefully he will get the hang of it and we will soon be able to have a chat! Once his session had finished, I sent him to the playground with his Dad and brothers while i sorted out some paperwork. I helped the assistant to compile a “manual” about Thurston to tell anyone who comes into contact with him at school all about his likes and dislikes and how to talk to him. It made me realise how much of an advocate I am for Thurston, and how much more involved in his school life I will need to be to find out how he is doing. One of the best parts of kids starting school is when they tell you what they have been up to (once they have stopped telling you they can’t remember or that it was boring and they did nothing all day!). It does make me incredibly sad to think that I won’t have that with Thurston and I will have to rely on what the teachers and assistants tell me instead. This is particularly worrying now that he has learned to tell me to “shutup”. Whenever he doesn’t want to talk to me (or wants to make everyone laugh) he yells “shutup, shutup mummy shutup”. I can just picture it now when we are leaving school “did you have a nice day Thurston?” “shutup mummy!”.

Another delightful habit the boys have taught him is to make a fart noise whenever they ask him what noise his bottom makes. Aren’t boys great? They have clearly cottoned on to the fact that you can make Thurston say whatever you want and he is now their own personal parrot, ready to amuse them whenever they are bored. Mind you, I suppose it is some way to compensating them for all the times he has whacked them on the head or smashed their toys. This last fortnight, Thurston has also taken to carrying a large head of raw broccoli wherever he goes. Thurston has never been attached to a particular toy or cuddly animal but “Broccoli” is now a firm best friend and they cannot be parted. At first he was satisfied with toy vegetables until he came to the supermarket with us and realised that actual vegetables were much more realistic! After screaming for 2 aisles after the fruit & veg section for “Broccoli”, I made Alex turn back to go and get some in the hope that this was the start of a healthy eating initiative. He held “Broccoli” all the way round the supermarket and was catatonic when I broke the news that the cashier would need to scan it. Since then, “Broccoli” has been everywhere with us. He eats breakfast with “Broccoli”, watches TV with “Broccoli”, takes “Broccoli” in the garden, cuddles “Broccoli”, packs “Broccoli” in a little lunchbox to keep him safe. After about a week, “Broccoli” began to turn yellow and fall apart and generally looked pretty grim. I tried to entice Thurston with a possible new friend “Onion” but he was having none of it. A fresh “Broccoli” was bought and secretly swapped overnight and now “Broccoli” has had a lovely makeover and looks beautiful. I wonder how long I will keep having to buy replacement broccolis for………

 

Thanks for reading!

Hanj x

Happy Dinosaur

Thurston was really lucky to be sent a beautiful SunSafe UV Dinosaur suit from Next a little while ago. The weather was not on our side at all and so it has sat folded up in his drawer ever since. I had started to wonder if he would even get the opportunity to wear it at all.
The kids broke up from school and nursery just before the weekend and ever since it has been glorious summery sunshine. Yesterday was the first time this year that I took the kids for a proper day at the beach instead of an evening stroll. It was the perfect chance for Thurston to try out his Dino suit!
The suit was really easy to get onto him and since it was a one piece, it was really comfortable for him to wear. He looked so adorable and was on the receiving end of many admiring glances. Several mums asked where I bought his little suit.
The UV suit is made of SPF 50 material and so is ideal for the beach. Thurston spent a really long time in the sea so I was really happy that the suit came with a hood to protect his little head as he refuses to keep a hat on.
The weather forecast is pretty good for the next week or so, so I am hoping that Thurston will be able to wear his Dino Suit a few more times this summer!!
Thanks for reading!
Hanj x

Sunshine and Skincare

It’s taken me a long time to find a sunscreen that suits Thurston. For a long time I used a ‘sensitive skin’ version of a well known brand simply because it brought him out in the least amount of rash. He was still very bumpy, red and itchy but I couldn’t take him out in the sun with no protection so I had to accept that he would have this reaction during the summer months.
The lovely people over at Green People sent me a bottle of their Organic Children sun lotion to see if it would be the one to finally protect Thurston without making him bumpy and angry! To my complete surprise, it has actually been amazing! It has all the SPF UVA/UVB protection that we are told to look for, and is also made of 81% organic ingredients. This means that there is a lot less nasty chemicals for young skin to react to. The sun lotion contains aloe Vera, avocado and chamomile, all of which have soothing properties which calm sensitive skin.
The Organic Children sun lotion is much thicker than the lotions I had previously been using which I found really reassuring. It really feels like they are getting a good coverage and that they are fully protected from the sunshine.
I think the Organic Children sunscreen has been fantastic. My kids have been spending long days at the beach and there is not a hint of redness or tan-lines, and definitely no rashes!!
Thanks for reading!
Hanj xp

Pop!!

Thurston has been having some kind of therapy since he was 6 months old whether it was speech therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, messy play therapy. He hasn’t always been a fan of therapy and sometimes he is definitely not in the mood for it, but if there is one thing at the Child Development Centre that is guaranteed to make him smile it is the Galt Frog in a Box!

The Frog in a Box toy is a classic Jack in the box style toy and it never fails to make Thurston laugh. He absolutely loves the element of surprise and despite the fact that he has played with it weekly for the last 3 1/2 years, he is always surprised when the frog leaps out of the flowery box! The Frog in a Box has had a really useful place in Thurston’s learning, particularly in his Speech Therapy sessions. At first, it was used to encourage him to join in with conversation “ready……..steady………..” and Thurston eventually felt brave enough to shout “…….GO!”. Then the little froggy helped Thurston to ask questions “where frog?” “frog where are you?”. His speech therapist moved on to attaching visual images to the frog to encourage Thurston to talk about verbs. “What has frog got?……Frog got drawing”. If there is one toy that helps Thurston with his confidence in speaking, it is the gorgeous Frog in a Box.

Galt very kindly sent Thurston his very own Frog in a Box recently and he was so pleased to finally have it at home. The one that he uses at the Child Development Centre is clearly used frequently by lots of children, and until we got our own one, I hadn’t realised quite how much the spring must’ve gone in the other one. We lifted the flowery lid of the box and the frog lept the whole length of our lounge which was hilarious to all 3 boys! Frog in a Box really encourages the children to all play together which is really lovely to see. As it is such a simple game, the boys are really great at playing it with Thurston and he thoroughly enjoys this interaction. He is still a bit nervous to lift the lid himself and so is happy to hand it over to Louis and Zeke so that he can watch the Frog bounce up in the air!

As well as the Frog in a Box, Galt sent Thurston a new toy to try. He got the Pop-Up Toy which is a really sweet, old-fasioned wooden toy with 4 little bouncing pegs to play with. The Pop-Up Toy was in instant favourite in our house as Thurston loves to bounce things and make things pop up! This sensory feedback is really important to Autistic children as it teaches them cause & effect, and this particular toy is great for practicing fine motor skills too. The Pop-Up Toy is perfect for encouraging hand-eye coordination which is great for Thurston as he struggles with staying focussed on a task and ends up being easily distracted. Thurston loves organising the little pegs into the correct coloured hole and it has been brilliant at teaching him his colours.

For educational toys that encourage kids to play old-fashioned games together, you cannot go wrong with Galt Toys. They are fantastic quality and will last through several children. The toys we received really helped my 3 kids to play together happily which is often quite difficult to achieve. We will carry on loving these toys for a long time!

Thanks for reading!

Hanj x

www.galttoys.com

@Galttoys (Twitter)

Thurston Loves

In my ongoing search for quirky kids’ clothes, I’ve stumbled across a brilliant website www.beauloves.co.uk! Beau Loves has a really unusual range of great kids’ clothes that are really wearable and comfy. I have a pet peeve of children’s clothes that make them look like mini-adults, and Beau Loves clothes definitely make kids look like kids.

Beau Loves very kindly sent Thurston a couple of things to try out, and this gorgeous Red Superhero Tee looked fantastic on him! The 100% cotton jersey fabric is thick and soft and withstood a whole day of toddler wear and tear without any problem!

Beau Loves also has one of the best ranges of dribble bibs I have seen, particularly for boys. We were sent 2 dribble bibs; Jolly Roger and Superstar Red. The designs are fantastic and the fabric is so much thicker and more absorbant than other dribble bibs I have tried. They are backed with a lovely soft fleece to protect the clothing underneath which works really well.

I love unusual clothing for the boys and this range is ideal for them. Currently they only make clothes up to 3 years old but I know that they are moving into bigger sizes later on in the year which will be great as I know Zeke would love the Superhero Hoodie. The clothes are really comfortable and durable which is really important with kids, as well as looking great.

At the moment, Beau Loves have a great sale on and I’m going to get this outfit for Thurstonand he will look completely adorable wearing it!!

Thanks for reading!

Hanj x

www.beauloves.co.uk

Tidying Toys

I live in a small terraced 2 bedroom house with my husband and 3 boys aged 8, 5 and 4. We certainly don’t have a lot of space but one thing we do have a lot of is toys! I am always searching for toy storage solutions and especially solutions that will last. I have bought all sorts of baskets and hampers before that just haven’t stood the test of my kids tipping them and getting in them and generally throwing them down the stairs.

I was incredibly excited when Trunki offered to help us out with our untidy problem and sent us 2 of their brilliant 4-in-1 Trunki Travel Toyboxes. I can honestly say they are the most fantastic and useful toyboxes we have ever had, ever!!!

The kids loved them the instant they arrived because unlike other toyboxes, the Trunki ones are actually play things in themselves. Once the kids have predictably emptied all of their toys onto the lounge carpet, the Trunki toybox can be tipped upside down onto it’s lid with wheels and is a brilliant ride-on toy. We were sent 2 toyboxes and Thurston was particularly thrilled to find that you can join them together to make a toybox train! He sat on top and shouted “all aboard” while he rode his train all around the house.

The Trunki toyboxes are really spacious and one box is big enough to house Thurston’s entire extensive collection of Disney Cars toys, which is pretty huge! The toyboxes are easy to wipe clean and so they stay looking lovely, fresh and new. They stack very neatly and look really tidy in the corner of our room. Louis and Zeke love that if you flip the lid over and sit the toybox on top, you can make a lovely rocking boat for your toys.

Generally, throughout the day the house can be very chaotic and messy, especially at weekends and the school holidays. It’s great that with these fun toyboxes, the boys (even Thurston who is allergic to helping!) find it a piece of cake to pull their toyboxes around the room and throw everything in. Tidying up really is a piece of cake for them with these toyboxes. Another thing that I really love about them, is that there is no heavy lid meaning that no little fingers can get trapped in them.

The Trunki 4-in-1 Travel Toyboxes really are a brilliant invention and I will be buying more to house our ever-growing collection of Muppets and Megabloks. I am hoping that they bring out a Gruffalo toybox to match their Gruffalo Trunki! Fingers crossed!

Thanks for reading!

Hanj x

http://www.trunki.co.uk

@Trunki (Twitter)

Boys

I have 3 boys and people often comment telling me what a ‘shame’ it is that I don’t get to dress up a girl in dresses and the like. I have to say, this has never been a problem for me. I really love dressing my little boys and have tried really hard to find clothes that are comfortable and stylish for them without them looking like mini-men or being covered in too many cartoon characters. Obviously, being kids, they do like the odd Muppets/Peppa Pig t-shirt, but for the most part, they take their appearance very seriously and are very style conscious considering that they are 8, 6 & 4!

Due to Thurston’s sensitive skin and hypersensitivities, i do try where possible to dress him in organic clothing to avoid any flare-ups. I’ve found a fantastic website for really wearable organic kidswear www.boysandgirlsshop.com. The people at Boys & Girls are incredibly helpful and generous and offered my boys the chance to choose an outfit each from their website. It was quite challenging as they found it hard to narrow it down to 2 items each, Louis and Zeke wanted to order the whole range. They were also keen to choose individual outfits and not have anything matching!

My boys all have very different personalities and styles and so they ended up with 3 very different outfits which suited their needs. The package arrived quickly and came in lovely brown paper packaging which I love. It feels so much more special than that horrible plastic packing stuff. The kids are so thrilled with their new outifts.

First up Zeke went with a really comfortable sporty joggers (boys grey marl sporty track pant) and a gorgeous classic stripy top (aqua stripe skinny grandad top). The joggers are a great quality thick 100% organic cotton. Zeke has been fairly inseperable from them ever since they arrived. He is a very active kid who is always busy so these were a great choice for him. He has worn them to a theme park, the beach, the park and even on a school coach trip. They wash brilliantly and still look brand new. The little aqua skinny top is so gorgeous. The colour is bright and vibrant and looks fantastic on Zeke. Even though it is a long sleeve t-shirt, it looks really smart on Zeke and is really perfect for going out for dinner or to a party, as well as all the usual kid activities. Zeke is a poser and loves to put on a fashion show, he was thrilled with his package from Boys & Girls Shop and had a fabulous time road-testing his outfit!

When Louis was choosing his outift, I was pretty jealous. He went with a Bright As Day Swaeat Top which is so cool that I wanted it for myself! It’s a super-comfy gorgeous sweatshirt made of 100% organic loopback sweat. Louis chose some Green Skate Shorts to go with it which are really lovely too. They are quite long shorts which look great on Louis as he has supper-skinny legs! Louis’s outift looks amazing on him and he is in love with both items!

Thurston didn’t really want to look at the website with us because he was too busy building a Megabloks tower, so I took the liberty of choosing his for him! I went with another pair of shorts, the Aqua Scooting Shorts. The t-shirt I chose for him was my favourite item from the website, the Multi 70′s Badge Print Tee. As well as being 100% organic like all the other items, this tee is also Fairtrade which is really important to our family. I always like it when t-shirts are skinny fit instead of baggy as Thurston is so tiny that he is often swamped by baggy t shirts. He looks so cool in his Boys & Girls outfit and wore his t shirt on his birthday. It suits him perfectly and fits him perfectly, I couldn’t be more pleased with it. As he is another skinny boy, I love the length of the Scooting shorts which look awesome on him. The waistband is also really soft and stretchy so he is happy to wear them all day.

Me and the boys are so happy with their lovely outfits from Boys & Girls Shop and we’ll definitely be buying more from them in the future. The staff are really friendly and helpful, and the quality of the clothes is amazing. I think everyone should go and have a look on the website, you’re going to love it!

Thanks for reading

Hanj x

www.boysandgirlsshop.com

@boysgirlsshop (Twitter)

Fresh Pear

I’ve been on the lookout recently for strollers than can be used for my 4 year old as he has Autism and low muscle tone which means that he needs to have a stroller when he is tired, in crowded places or for long distances. I’ve found several pushchairs which have worked really well but all of them have been very big and cumbersome. I’m a big fan of Cosatto after we had the Cosatto Noodle highchair which was the only highchair Thurston ever sat in comfortably. All of their products are vibrant and exciting, and great if you love something a little different. Also, they are packed with helpful features and are fantastic quality!

Cosatto sent me one of their new Yo! strollers in the beautiful Pear Drop design. I had looked at Yo! buggies last year when I was looking for something after Thurston had outgrown yet another pram and thought they were gorgeous, but I had reluctantly dismissed them because Thurston has never been able to sit properly in umbrella-type buggies as they usually don’t have much support in the seat. However, I’m so pleased that we had the opportunity to try one as it has been brilliant! I would say it is nothing like a normal umbrella buggy. The seat is incredibly supportive and Thurston is happy, comfortable and well-cushioned while he is in his Yo!.

The other reason I’m usually not keen on strollers for older/larger toddlers is the steering can become really hard to handle once the baby is over a certain weight. The Yo! handles amazingly well and feels incredibly lightweight. Thurston currently weighs approximately 28lbs so although he is very tiny for his age, he is quite a large child to have in a buggy, and it is an absolute breeze to push, even up and down kerbs.

The bigger pushchairs I have been using (and loving!) are very large and heavy. They are great for all-terrain beachwalks or muddy weather etc, but it is invaluable to have a smaller stroller that is simple to put up and down and throw in the boot of the car. The Yo! folds and unfolds effortlessly, it just pops up and collapses down with a couple of buttons. I haven’t even caught my finger in it yet and that is unheard of for me. All my nails are still intact! It does fit in the boot of our Skodia Fabia with plenty of space for shopping, but I do have to remove the wheels. It’s the simplest click of a button to remove the wheels and then they just slot back in so absolutely no hassle. I think our boot space is unusually narrow so it is our car’s fault not the Yo!.

For shopping trips, going into cafes, restaurants etc, it really is unbeatable to have a compact stroller. It’s been really nice to nip in and out of places and not knock things over with my giant pram! I took Thurston to an art gallery and manouvred round the exhibition without a hitch. He fell asleep on the way round and the recline function was easy to get to grips with even though I hadn’t read that part of the instructions booklet yet. Once he was awake, the seat was easily popped back up again, and Thurston was very comfortable the whole time.

The Pear Drop Yo! is a really funky looking stroller. Green is my favourite colour so I’m really pleased with it. The Pear pattern is right up Thurston’s alley as he is obsessed with fruit at the moment and is very fond of his “Pear Car” as he called it! The hood is plenty big enough to shield him from the sun and is made from SPF 50 fabric which is really reassuring if the sun ever decides to come out! I like that the raincover comes in its’ own little duffle bag as I do hate raincovers and find that they always get in my way! The shopping basket on the Yo! is actually accessible which makes a huge change to the usual tiny basket you find on a stroller. It also came with shoulder pads, head hugger and a footmuff attached to a seat liner. The seat liner has the gorgeous Pear design to match the hood, and the footmuff has handy little pockets for chilly hands in the Winter. If you have a newborn, I honestly think the Cosatto Yo! could be the only buggy you’d ever need as it has everything and is equally supportive for newborns and older toddlers.

I honestly didn’t think that I would be able to find a small nippy stroller to suit Thurston’s needs, and had resigned myself to the fact that he just would not sit in one. I am so thrilled that I was sent the Cosatto Yo! so that I could find out that there is a stroller out there that works for Thurston. I absolutely love my Yo! and wouldn’t be without it now. Thanks Cosatto!

Thanks for reading!

Hanj x

www.cosatto.com

@Cosatto_Tweets (Twitter)

Soldiering on!

The last couple of weeks have been very varied to say the least. Last week I was struck down with horrible Tonsillitis on top of hayfever, on top of a cold. It was pretty nasty. When I say struck down, that’s not to suggest I actually lay down at any point, in fact, it was one of the busiest weeks I’d had for a long time and there wasn’t any time for me to have a rest. I know that all mums have the problem that they can’t really take a “day off” as such when they are unwell, and have to carry on regardless. I do think though that having a child with disabilities makes it even harder. If it was a case of taking him to a toddler group at the local children’s centre then obviously I would have just changed my plans and stayed at home with a DVD to entertain Thurston. Unfortunately, last week coincided with an appointment with a continence nurse, Thurston’s Physio and Occupational therapy group, a Team Around the Child Meeting for his transition to school, his parent teacher consultation at nursery and a Speech therapy session. I didn’t really have any choice in the matter and had to stick to all these appointments to make sure that Thurston didn’t miss out on any help or support. Of course, this meant that I was a complete wreck by the end of the week, not helped by the fact that Thurston’s sleep is dire at the moment. On average, he is going to sleep around 9pm, waking for formula at 10-11pm and getting up for the day between 1-3am! It’s not really enough to get by on, but even less so when you have infected angry tonsils!!

The appointments generally went well this week and everything seemed very positive. I was really reassured by the visit from the continence nurse. She decided that due to his age and diagnosis, Thurston’s lack of awareness in the potty training area was within the normal ranges. As with many milestones with Thurston, he is expected to get the hang of potty training at his own pace, even if it is later than neurotypical children. I’m so pleased i don’t have to push the issue as I really struggle with potty training at the best of times and I had absolutely no clue of how to approach it with an Autistic child. For now, we are going to carry on with pull-ups but encourage him to use the potty or toilet if he asks. The nurse also helped me to claim for free pull-ups for Thurston which is a service available to any child who is over the age of 4 and still using nappy products due to disabilities. It’s not really a topic that people like to discuss and it did involve a lengthy chat about Thurston’s poo-type where I had to choose from a brochure of pictures of other peoples’ poo! I hope one day Thurston will appreciate all the bizarre things I end up doing for him! Even though it’s embarrassing, I’d encourage anyone whose disabled child is delayed with toilet training to get in touch with a continence nurse. I feel as though a weight has been lifted just by talking to someone ‘in the know’ about it.

Thurston and I have been going to a ‘School Starter’s’ Physio and Occupational therapy group for 4 weeks now at the Child Development Centre. I’m so pleased with the progress he is making there and it’s really giving me confidence that he will be OK at school in September. His gross motor skills are coming along nicely and he is actually jumping on the trampoline really well with both feet in the air at the same time which is a triumph! To start with I dreaded going to this group to be honest. I’m not really a baby-group type person, and struggle with the enforced singing and nursery rhymes. However, I’ve started to really enjoy it now and it’s so lovely to see how proud the children are of themselves when they achieve something they couldn’t do the previous week. The parents there are the complete opposite of ‘competitive’ parents and it’s lovely and refreshing for everyone to be happy for another child’s achievements instead of comparing them. There’s no point in comparing them because they all have different disabilities and different strengths and weaknesses, and all the mums realise this and are happy for the other children regardless of their own child’s abilities. I think this is a really important lesson in motherhood, because even in children without disabilities, they all do things in their own time, and being competitive about raising children really can make motherhood miserable. I think everyone should come and visit our little group one day to see how it’s possible to be happy and proud of other peoples’ kids!!

The Team Around the Child meeting at the school was much easier than I expected and my voice held up for the whole time which was lucky! I’d written down some questions on my iPhone before we went in so that I didn’t get too flustered in front of all the people. There was our Key Worker (who has now OFFICIALLY closed our case so no need for her to be at the next one!), the Specialist Teacher, Welfare Officer, Inclusion Leader, Nursery Teacher, Head of Key Stage 1 and Thurston’s new one to one Teaching Assistant for September. It was lovely that Alex could make it too, as he was laid up from his 2nd spinal surgery last time and  I had to go it alone! All our questions were answered about his starting school in September and I don’t have any major worries about it at the moment. The only thing I might struggle with is encouraging him to eat fruit over the Summer so that he will be able to eat some at school snack times! His Organix gingerbread men might tempt the other children away from the grapes and carrots! I do worry that people think I don’t want Thurston to eat healthily when it’s completely the opposite. I spend most of my time worrying over his nutrition, and even took an Open University course last year to try and learn more so I could help him. I make sure he has his specially fortified formula and prescribed vitamins every day, but he really struggles with foods that aren’t dry and boring. I know this is true of lots of little ones with Autism and it is a worry. I try to make his chicken goujons and beefburgers homemade whenever possible, but I am really struggling with encouraging him to be more adventurous with his food. Since he has had medical issues with his swallowing as well, I do wonder if he will ever move on to different textures of food, and I’m not really sure where to look for advice.

Thurston had a great time at his Speech Therapy appointment and steamed through all of his tasks without a hitch. It did occur to me that since he’s been having Speech Therapy from the age of 1, that he has simply learned ‘how to do speech therapy’! I’m no expert, but I wonder if because he’s been doing the same tasks over and over for years in the same room, if perhaps he has actually just memorized the routine of the speech therapy sessions!! Most of his talking and phrases come from copying others, and is very echolalic, so maybe he has mastered speech therapy in the same way?! How sneaky!

After the busy and poorly week, I could have done with a weekend in bed, but instead I soldiered on to London for the day on Saturday to celebrate my best friend’s Hen Day. I took every tablet I could get my hands on, and it was definitely worth it! It was quite a relief to be away from the children for a day actually, and somehow even though we went all over London to Kentish Town, Bloomsbury and the South Bank, went bowling and to a circus, I feel like I got more rest that day than I had all week. We had a fantastic day and it all went without a hitch which I was pleased with as Maid of Honour! It was quite nice to just be me for a day instead of a mum, and chat about all kinds of nonsense with some lovely girls. The Cantina vintage circus on the South Bank was really magical and right up my street. I’m so glad I forced myself to go, and even though my tonsils didn’t thank me for it, my mind certainly did and I felt really invigorated afterwards!

The rest of this week has mostly been spent taking care of Thurston as he has been what I can only describe as ‘iffy and suspicious’! He hasn’t got a temperature or been sick or anything but he just looks ‘off-colour’. His eyes are sore and he has a mouthful of ulcers which are really upsetting him. It has also been 5 days now since he last did a poo so that can’t be nice! He has been really distressed and keeps sobbing whilst muttering “what’s goin on?”, it’s terribly sad.

Tomorrow he is going to spend the day with his Dad who is something of an expert at baby massage and so I am sure he can get the poop out of him!! I am going to take my Driving Theory Test which I have zero confidence that I will pass, but it’s worth a shot! Wish me luck!!

Thanks for reading,

Hanj x