June

It is June already and that means that in a couple of weeks Thurston turns 4 years old. I know everyone says they can’t believe how fast time flies with their little ones, but it’s so true. I still cradle Thurston in my arms to get him to sleep, just like I did when he was a baby, and sometimes it feels like only 4 weeks ago that he was a newborn with a mop of jet black hair instead of a school-age boy with a head of blonde waves.

He’s certainly kept me on my toes this week and I’m fairly shattered! The sleep pattern really is all over the place at the moment as it is so humid and uncomfortable. The current pattern seems to be: Thurston finishes nursery, falls asleep for 5 minutes in Alex’s car, comes home, falls asleep in his dinner until about 6pm then stays awake and won’t go back to sleep til 9pm ish then is up several times a night before finally getting up for the day at 5am. I’m not a fan. Sometimes he will also nap on the way to nursery when I walk him there in his buggy, but more often than not now, he will sit and look through a Peppa Pig book. I love watching him look through a book, as it’s another milestone that I was looking forward to. He looks so serious and thoughtful while he looks at his little storybook, it makes my heart melt.

Another problem caused by the hot weather is that Thurston is covered in a bumpy rash all of the time. I’m not sure if it is a heat rash or a reaction to sunscreen but it’s a shame because I don’t think there’s a lot I can do about it. I kept him home from nursery for a day in case it was a virus and although he slept all afternoon, I don’t think he was poorly, so I will have to just treat the rash instead. A day later there was a bit of relief with a great big thunderstorm. As with all types of wet weather, Thurston was absolutely thrilled! I kept him indoors as it was a full-on thunder and lightning, walls of water, tropical storm, but he would have been in his element if I’d have put his wellies on him and flung him outdoors!! My 8 year old was not at all impressed by the thunderstorm and to be honest, was a bit scared. Thurston on the other hand (along with his other brother) cheered and shouted “hooray” everytime the thunder cracked in the sky! He really does love the rain!

We were due to start a course of Speech Therapy this week with a new Speech Therapist but she was unwell and had to cancel which was a bit of a shame as Thurston was looking forward to it. Hopefully Thurston will be able to make this week’s appointment instead. I’m itching to know what he makes of the new lady! Since we had an unexpected Thurston-free afternoon, Alex & I went shopping for his birthday presents. I always find his birthdays a little bit bittersweet and emotional, so I had been putting off birthday shopping. Birthdays are a bit tricky because obviously it’s lovely to celebrate Thurston and all of his amazing achievements, but it can be hard to be reminded of his age and how far behind he is. Since childhood milestones are generally measured by age, it tends to make birthdays somewhat of a sore point for anyone who’s kid is delayed developmentally. This year is a bit harder even, because Thurston is starting school in September which is obviously really nerve-wracking for me, and looking at all the other children who are about to start school, I just can’t quite see how Thurston is going to fit in. We’ve got a meeting scheduled in for July so I will start a list of questions for that and then hopefully I will feel better. After moping for 10 minutes in the car about how I don’t really like birthdays, Alex made me snap out of it and we went and bought him a car load of presents that I’m really pleased with. I can’t wait for his birthday now, he’s got one surprise in particular that I know is going to make him so happy!

With the Jubilee this week, I’ve been very busy making sure everyone had their Jubilee costumes and party food sorted for school parties and picnics. Thurston’s nursery had a Jubilee picnic (though I found out Thurston had less of a picnic and opted for a relay race with his 1-to-1 instead!). There was a “Futuristic” theme so Thurston went in his Wall-E costume which was ridiculously cute! He looked amazing and was really happy coming home with his Jubilee medal and crown, or “queen” as he called it!

Speaking of Thurston’s ‘alternative’ language, I was slightly red-faced when I took the kids to the park this week. As it happens, Thurston cannot pronounce ‘park’, so when we got there he shouted “big cock, I love big cock”!! Brilliant. The other mums looked slightly concerned, but I couldn’t stop laughing which I’m sure annoyed them even more! Even when I picked him up to leave he carried on “more cock, more cock please”!!

We went out after the park for a big lunch at Chiquito’s. We’ve taken the kids there before several times, but Thurston’s usually only had fries or most times, has been asleep so we hadn’t ordered off the menu for him before. I usually check the allergy information of a restaurant before we go but as it was an impromptu visit, I hadn’t done my research. Alex pointed out that it said on the menu just to ask if you had any queries about allergies so we assumed they knew what they were talking about. When the waiter arrived I asked him if there was any dairy in the chicken bites. He shrugged, screwed up his face and said “what in chicken bites? Doubt it” and didn’t move. I guess I was supposed to base my decision on whether or not to risk Thurston throwing up for 24 hours on this detailed information, but much to his annoyance we made him go back to the kitchen to double check. It just goes to show that some restaurants really need to work on their allergy policies. They are dicing with peoples’ health and it’s really dangerous. I won’t be going back to Chiquitos, I will stick to places who make food fresh so that they can leave out ingredients where possible and they know exactly what goes into it. The best places I have found so far are mostly small, independant places as they know precisely what ingredients they have used and are really helpful. Also, Wagamamas has a pristine allergy policy and everything is made fresh to order.

We’ve just got back from our first time taking the children to Ikea for a day out. We had lots of grand plans for beach walks and al fresco dining this weekend but the rain has pretty much wiped it all out. So we decided to take a little road trip on the spur of the moment. The kids did very well in the car, mostly thanks to The Muppets Movie soundtrack. Thurston was absolutely fascinated by Ikea, especially the showroom with all the little lounges, bedrooms and kitchens. Mind you, he raced through them at such high speed that it wasn’t exactly the leisurely Sunday I had envisaged. He looked so happy that he was allowed to open and shut all the cupboard and drawers and climb on all the sofas! He also ploughed his way through yet another portion of chips and then chose a little blue plastic armchair to take home. Zeke chose a lovely storybook about vegetables (which is the only kind of story he really likes) and Louis got a desklamp to do his work under. All in all, I think it was a success. I’m not really in a hurry to do it again though, I need a great big Nap!

Thanks for reading

Hanj x

Bizarre Solutions to Peculiar Problems

My son is *always* asleep on my arm. I have proof:

While he is asleep, one arm goes dead and so I am forced to sit and think/ daydream about holidays to Paris. When I’m glued to the groove I have created in the sofa is when I usually think of solutions to whatever baffling problem thurston has recently acquired. Some things are simple ‘baby-proofing’ ideas but sometimes a bit of blue sky thinking is required.
Having noticed his penchant for my iPhone and losing 2 iPhones to Thurstons need to give them a bath, I extravagantly splashed out on an iPod touch for him. I uploaded videos to it thinking that if we are in a waiting room or cafe without wifi he can watch Timmy Time or Pocoyo on his iPod. I felt quite proud of myself until i was told in no uncertain terms that only “mummy mycod” was acceptable. Now when presented with the iPod touch it gets a big slap and I get frisked for my phone. So maybe my alternative solutions don’t always work but at least I got a new iPod!!

As well as feeding difficulties, thurston (like a lot of autistic children) has sensory issues around food which makes him fussy to the extreme. He likes food which are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside which basically translates to fishfingers, chicken nuggets, chips, waffles, toast, baby crisps, gingerbread men and hash brown. Not exactly a balanced diet for a 3 year old. I picked up a really good tip from Wagamama. If u cover anything in Panko breadcrumbs and deep fry it then you’re almost guaranteed at least a taste from your fusspot toddler. You can get Panko breadcrumbs from Tesco in the ’Ingredients’ range and so far it has led thurston to try fresh chicken and fish, carrot, butternut squash and sweet potato. Plus the deep frying gives much needed extra calories to children who have trouble gaining weight. It also feels so nice to give him a meal that didn’t just go straight from the freezer to the oven. In fact the only downside is trying not to eat any yourself if you’re a mum trying to lose weight!

Birthdays, parties and family get togethers can often be stressful for the thurstonator. I’m still coming up with battle plans and ideas to keep him calm when there’s lots of people and chaos around him. These are the things that have worked and that I will definitely keep a note of for next time!
Birthday cakes for people with multiple allergies can be a nightmare. One year we bought a dairy & soy free cake from the supermarket but it tasted like sawdust. Luckily I (well, my mum) found a fantastic alternative. The recipes in Red Velvet & Chocolate Heartache all contain a vegetable ingredient and they are surprisingly incredible. The one we used was a courgette cake made with rice flour, so it was even edible for gluten-free guests. So far, thurston hasn’t shown an interest in cake (although he did eat some of my granola bar today which made me giddy with prospects of new snack potential!). However at least with the wholesome, all natural courgette cake I don’t have to follow all my nieces and nephews around with the vacuum like a loony!!

When thurston turned 3, I learned a valuable lesson about how to help him enjoy parties. I realised the only way to let him enjoy parties and gatherings is to leave him be. He finds his own way to have fun; standing in the garden by himself in the pouring rain while everyone waves at him from indoors; chasing disco lights at a wedding; watching playbacks of himself on a video camera. Once the pressure is off and he isn’t made to join in with pass the parcel or singing happy birthday, thurston ends up entertaining all our friends and family by coming up with his own version of partying. He knows best!

If anyone has any more tips or strategies to share, let me know!!

Hanj x