Most days, as I prepare lunch, Anna gazes out of the French doors, happily watching the activity in the garden. That probably makes it sound more exciting than it actually is especially as the activity normally consists of watching the neighbourhood cat prowling his estate (which, according to the cat, includes our garden), watching our next door neighbours scarecrow swaying in the wind or watching the twirly, whirly, swirly things (I have no idea of their correct name) hanging off our apple tree. However, although it may not sound exciting to us, Anna thinks it is wonderful and this daily routine normally results in Anna chatting away for the whole time that she is doing it. (If I could translate, Anna would probably be saying 'I want to go outside' over and over again as I am finding it increasingly difficult to get her indoors whenever she is outdoors!).
4 weeks ago (it has taken me that long to get round to writing this post!), I was making lunch as normal and Anna was carrying out her stakeout of the garden. Anna was chatting away and we were having a good conversation (I always chat back to Anna) when suddenly, Anna said 'birds' really clearly. I was thrilled but even more excited when I looked up to congratulate her. Not only was Anna saying 'birds' but she was also pointing to 2 fat birds that were sat on our lawn. I rushed over to show my enthusiasm and, probably just for my benefit, Anna pointed to the birds again and said 'birds'!! My little girl could not only say the word 'birds' but also knew what it meant and was using it in context!!
At this point, I picked Anna up and started dancing around the kitchen with her, telling her what a clever girl she was. I was so excited that I even text each of Anna's grandparents and her Daddy, just to tell them how clever she was.
Since then, Anna has also pointed to her shoes and said 'shoes', pointed to trees and said 'trees' and has also pointed to a photograph of her Uncle John and said 'Ug Jo' (which is a good enough attempt so I am counting that one as well!!). Predictably, each time that Anna says the correct word and points to the object, I am still dancing around the house with excitement.
Anna just looks at me, wondering what all the fuss is about!
Tuesday, 22 April 2008
Friday, 18 April 2008
Becoming the Norm
After another few days of coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath earlier this week, Anna was admitted into hospital again on Tuesday. This is the second time this year.
Although the medical profession is not able to diagnose Asthma for children under 3 years old, the doctor suggested that it is looking likely that Anna is developing the condition.
Yet again, I am looking for a reason as to why this might be happening. We don't have a smoke-filled house or any pets around. In fact, I won't allow anyone to hold Anna if they have been smoking within the last hour (the midwife suggested 20 minutes exclusion time but I add another 40 minutes to be on the safer side). It is true that I don't dust and polish every single day (where is the time??) but it is also true that our house is not exactly drowning in a sea of dust. I followed all the guidelines during pregnancy. I never ate anything with any trace of nuts (which has been linked to childhood asthma etc) so why has this happened to Anna? The doctors tells me that it is just unlucky and there is nothing else we could do but it doesn't really help. It also doesn't help that, as a matter of procedure because Anna has been in hospital twice this year, they will now send a respiratory specialist nurse to the house in a couple of weeks. They say that it is just a follow-up to make sure that Anna is OK. However, I also have a sneaky suspicion that it is also to check up on us, to make sure that we don't have the smoke-filled house and other environmental issues that might contribute to Anna's health. I know that it is something that they do to everyone so I am trying very hard to not take it personally (but as you would expect from me, I am taking it personally... can't they just tell from looking at me that I am doing everything to try and protect my daughter.) I am also getting some relief from the fact that Anna's little friend called Ethan, from our swimming class, has also been in hospital twice this year with exactly the same thing and, like Anna, Ethan has parents who try to do everything right.
When I kept pestering the doctor to tell me what I could do to stop this happening again, his only comment was 'I'm afraid that you may just have to get used to this uncertainty and the hospital trips' (Ethan's Mum was also told the same thing). So not the greatest news. Again, I questioned whether I should be taking Anna to all of these clubs, groups (I have now started playgroup...hooray!) and classes but everyone seems to be of the same opinion - that I should continue to take her. I think they are all right. For the first time since she started her classes, I actually got to sit on the side and observe Anna at swimming the other day (rather than be the one who holds her and tries very hard to distract her from wriggling out of my grasp and swimming to the other side of the pool!!). I knew that Anna had a constant smile on her face whilst swimming but, until I had a chance to see for myself, I hadn't realised just how excited and happy and animated she becomes whilst in the water. She doesn't stop bouncing up and down with excitement (no wonder I am exhausted by the end of our swimming class on a Friday afternoon). It is exactly the same with Anna's music classes where she doesn't stop dancing for a full 45 minutes. If I did stop her going, it would feel to Anna like she was constantly restricted indoors, like she feels when she is in hospital. Plus, there is nothing to suggest that she might not have caught these viruses (which then travel to her chest, causing the breathing problems) in town or walking to the post office so stopping the clubs would be useless anyway. I have looked into asthma reducing products such as asthma protection covers for mattresses and special hoovers that might to help in reducing asthma attacks. However, the day after we came out of hospital, I read that leading medical research has shown that they have no evidence to suggest that they actually do any good. (I am still debating whether to invest in something though... it can't do any harm!)
I think we just have to get on with our lives and continue to enjoy it. I must try to stop continuously worrying about when the next virus may strike and, if and when these blips do come along, we will deal with them, pick ourselves up and try to get on with the fun again. There is a small silver lining in that most children grow out of it by the age of 5 year old. So only 4 years to go!
Although the medical profession is not able to diagnose Asthma for children under 3 years old, the doctor suggested that it is looking likely that Anna is developing the condition.
Yet again, I am looking for a reason as to why this might be happening. We don't have a smoke-filled house or any pets around. In fact, I won't allow anyone to hold Anna if they have been smoking within the last hour (the midwife suggested 20 minutes exclusion time but I add another 40 minutes to be on the safer side). It is true that I don't dust and polish every single day (where is the time??) but it is also true that our house is not exactly drowning in a sea of dust. I followed all the guidelines during pregnancy. I never ate anything with any trace of nuts (which has been linked to childhood asthma etc) so why has this happened to Anna? The doctors tells me that it is just unlucky and there is nothing else we could do but it doesn't really help. It also doesn't help that, as a matter of procedure because Anna has been in hospital twice this year, they will now send a respiratory specialist nurse to the house in a couple of weeks. They say that it is just a follow-up to make sure that Anna is OK. However, I also have a sneaky suspicion that it is also to check up on us, to make sure that we don't have the smoke-filled house and other environmental issues that might contribute to Anna's health. I know that it is something that they do to everyone so I am trying very hard to not take it personally (but as you would expect from me, I am taking it personally... can't they just tell from looking at me that I am doing everything to try and protect my daughter.) I am also getting some relief from the fact that Anna's little friend called Ethan, from our swimming class, has also been in hospital twice this year with exactly the same thing and, like Anna, Ethan has parents who try to do everything right.
When I kept pestering the doctor to tell me what I could do to stop this happening again, his only comment was 'I'm afraid that you may just have to get used to this uncertainty and the hospital trips' (Ethan's Mum was also told the same thing). So not the greatest news. Again, I questioned whether I should be taking Anna to all of these clubs, groups (I have now started playgroup...hooray!) and classes but everyone seems to be of the same opinion - that I should continue to take her. I think they are all right. For the first time since she started her classes, I actually got to sit on the side and observe Anna at swimming the other day (rather than be the one who holds her and tries very hard to distract her from wriggling out of my grasp and swimming to the other side of the pool!!). I knew that Anna had a constant smile on her face whilst swimming but, until I had a chance to see for myself, I hadn't realised just how excited and happy and animated she becomes whilst in the water. She doesn't stop bouncing up and down with excitement (no wonder I am exhausted by the end of our swimming class on a Friday afternoon). It is exactly the same with Anna's music classes where she doesn't stop dancing for a full 45 minutes. If I did stop her going, it would feel to Anna like she was constantly restricted indoors, like she feels when she is in hospital. Plus, there is nothing to suggest that she might not have caught these viruses (which then travel to her chest, causing the breathing problems) in town or walking to the post office so stopping the clubs would be useless anyway. I have looked into asthma reducing products such as asthma protection covers for mattresses and special hoovers that might to help in reducing asthma attacks. However, the day after we came out of hospital, I read that leading medical research has shown that they have no evidence to suggest that they actually do any good. (I am still debating whether to invest in something though... it can't do any harm!)
I think we just have to get on with our lives and continue to enjoy it. I must try to stop continuously worrying about when the next virus may strike and, if and when these blips do come along, we will deal with them, pick ourselves up and try to get on with the fun again. There is a small silver lining in that most children grow out of it by the age of 5 year old. So only 4 years to go!
Monday, 7 April 2008
Counting Sheep
Anna is starting to show a real awareness of things around her. For quite a while now, she has been able to retrieve a number of toys if you ask her to. For example, if you say to her 'Anna, where is Rosie [Anna's favourite doll]?', Anna would be able to go and get it from the toy box and bring it back to you. She can also do the same with her Night Garden cuddly toys (Iggle Piggle, Upsy Daisy, the Ninky Nonk and Makka Pakka), her red cube, her milk cup, her water cup, her toy hoover and, worryingly, the remote control. We still don't have the TV on during the day except for the 30 minute Night Garden programme (if we happen to be indoors and not busy) but Anna has become quite attached to the buttons on the remote control!
We were playing the very same game on Saturday as I said 'Anna, where is the remote control?' Anna then scanned the room, saw it on the coffee table and walked over to get it before bringing it back to me (I am not using my daughter to go and fetch me things.... honest!! The TV wasn't even on!) We did this with a number of her toys (as mentioned above) before I thought I would try some trickier objects, not even thinking that she would be able to do it. The first one that I said was 'Anna, can you get me the toy pig?' Anna has a toy farm with accompanying animals but they had actually got mixed up with her zoo animals so it was an even more difficult challenge for her! At first, I thought she wasn't going to find it but she then noticed the pile of animals and started rummaging through them. To my absolute amazement, she found the pig and brought it to me! I thought it must have been luck so I tried with the horse and she did exactly the same thing, bringing me back the horse (followed by lots of hugs and excitement from me, much to Anna's amusement!). Anna also successfully found the cow, the chicken and the farmer as I asked for each one in turn. I don't have a clue how she has learnt the animal names. Admittedly, we do play with the farm quite a lot and she also has quite a lot of books with farmyard animals so I suppose it is a shining example of how children learn through play and own discovery.
However, we did have trouble with the sheep. Anna brought me back a giraffe, polar bear and lion but no sheep. It is strange as Anna has seen more sheep than any other real farmyard animal (although she has also met cows and chickens before at Auntie Eileen's farm). She has been introduced to the sheep on Nan Barwell's (Goo Goo's) farm on several occasions. In fact, on
Sunday, she came up close and personal with a week old lamb that her Great-Uncle Phil was holding so that Anna could say 'Hello' (Thank you for taking the time to show the lambs to Anna, Uncle Phil. It was fantastic!). We also saw lots of sheep when we went to Chirk Castle at Easter. I'm not sure that she is linking the real animals that she has seen to her toy farm animals though. She probably hasn't figured out what sheep are yet as she spends most of the time, when we are playing with her toy farm, chewing the sheep's wool off his head! I am just thankful that she didn't try that with the real lamb that we met on Sunday!
Thursday, 3 April 2008
A Future Career?
It is strange what conversations you find yourself having in these baby classes. For example, Freya's mum and I were speculating on what Freya and Anna may choose as a career when they are older, based on the traits that they have now. (I am aware that this speculation will probably change a million times between now and Anna's interview with her careers advisor!)
Apparently, according to the mum's in our music group, Anna is displaying all of the signs of becoming a music teacher!! Why?
Well, Anna has a worrying tendency to place herself at the front of the class at the beginning of each lesson. In fact if Sue, the music teacher, isn't quick enough, Anna will even attempt to sit on the teacher's chair. Throughout the whole lesson, Anna will then face her class full of children and demonstrate how to play the instruments while dancing extremely enthusiastically to the music. This career conclusion was discussed without me mentioning that I was a teacher myself. However, I couldn't stay quiet for long as one of the fellow mum's asked what I did for a living. 'I'm a Teacher' I mumbled under my breath. The decision was confirmed. 'Anna must have the teaching gene passed down from you' they all cried. 'I hope not' was the only thing that I could reply. (I don't think teaching is bad but I'm not sure it is the best career option for stress-free living!)
Without realising that we had the career conversation, Sue, the music teacher, approached me at the end of the lesson and said 'I wouldn't be surprised if Anna starts playing an instrument when she is old enough. I think it may come easily to her'. I was rather surprised as, although both James and I love music (it is always playing in our house and in the car), neither of us would find it easy to pl;ay an instrument. However, the teacher went on to say that Anna is already displaying an awareness of rhythm and beat and that she always taps her foot, nods her head or claps her hands whenever a piece of music is played, even without realising that she is doing it. Apparently, these are all signs that 'music is in her blood' and that all musicians have this sub-conscious reaction to music. (There used to be a teacher who I worked with who was also a fantastic drummer. He would always tap his foot in staff meetings and when I asked him why, he said that he could always hear music in his head and he was just tapping the drum beat with his foot. It also helped the rather dull staff meetings to go a little quicker if you could hear Led Zeppelin in your head!)
However, evidence has now been found that casts doubt on these predictions of Anna becoming a
music teacher! Anna has a new found interest and it looks like hairdressing might be the chosen career path. Whenever Anna sees a hairbrush, she soon has it in her hand and is trying to find her next unsuspecting 'client' to practice her hair styling skills on. It isn't long before Anna is 'brushing' your hair and yanking at the roots. Unfortunately, she doesn't always get the right side of the hairbrush and so you have a giant whack on the head as the back of the hairbrush comes down on top of your head. I think Anna may need some practice with the 'customer care' element of the job before she can start applying for jobs!
Apparently, according to the mum's in our music group, Anna is displaying all of the signs of becoming a music teacher!! Why?
Well, Anna has a worrying tendency to place herself at the front of the class at the beginning of each lesson. In fact if Sue, the music teacher, isn't quick enough, Anna will even attempt to sit on the teacher's chair. Throughout the whole lesson, Anna will then face her class full of children and demonstrate how to play the instruments while dancing extremely enthusiastically to the music. This career conclusion was discussed without me mentioning that I was a teacher myself. However, I couldn't stay quiet for long as one of the fellow mum's asked what I did for a living. 'I'm a Teacher' I mumbled under my breath. The decision was confirmed. 'Anna must have the teaching gene passed down from you' they all cried. 'I hope not' was the only thing that I could reply. (I don't think teaching is bad but I'm not sure it is the best career option for stress-free living!)
Without realising that we had the career conversation, Sue, the music teacher, approached me at the end of the lesson and said 'I wouldn't be surprised if Anna starts playing an instrument when she is old enough. I think it may come easily to her'. I was rather surprised as, although both James and I love music (it is always playing in our house and in the car), neither of us would find it easy to pl;ay an instrument. However, the teacher went on to say that Anna is already displaying an awareness of rhythm and beat and that she always taps her foot, nods her head or claps her hands whenever a piece of music is played, even without realising that she is doing it. Apparently, these are all signs that 'music is in her blood' and that all musicians have this sub-conscious reaction to music. (There used to be a teacher who I worked with who was also a fantastic drummer. He would always tap his foot in staff meetings and when I asked him why, he said that he could always hear music in his head and he was just tapping the drum beat with his foot. It also helped the rather dull staff meetings to go a little quicker if you could hear Led Zeppelin in your head!)
However, evidence has now been found that casts doubt on these predictions of Anna becoming a
music teacher! Anna has a new found interest and it looks like hairdressing might be the chosen career path. Whenever Anna sees a hairbrush, she soon has it in her hand and is trying to find her next unsuspecting 'client' to practice her hair styling skills on. It isn't long before Anna is 'brushing' your hair and yanking at the roots. Unfortunately, she doesn't always get the right side of the hairbrush and so you have a giant whack on the head as the back of the hairbrush comes down on top of your head. I think Anna may need some practice with the 'customer care' element of the job before she can start applying for jobs!
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