Ok, so I have been spending a lot of time reading other blogs, and not posting on our own one... seems to be that I cannot update from my iPad (so much for fancy technology), and sitting down at the desktop for more than 10 minutes and thinking of things to type is too much to fathom sometimes.
We are currently on week 2 of school vacation. It has been JAM PACKED. Something to do almost every day. It has been quite nice to have the weekends with nothing to really do, just play and house work.
We had Jasper's 3 monthly blood counts done today. The results were ok.
Not down from last time, but not much up either.
Last time Jasper's platelets were 110, today they were 130. Slight improvement, but not much... better they go to 130, rather than to 90 though!! AND 130 is a pretty excellent count that any FA mom would love her kid to have.
I was going to do a comparison of other blood counts from previous months, but it seems that when I moved all my data from the desktop to the external drive, it all got corrupted, so now I have stuff all to compare and need to call the hospital for another copy of all our blood counts.
(I am aware I say "our" when referring to blood... it is ours, he is mine, I claim it!)
Molly came with us today. My dad offered to have her, but I wanted her with us as a welcome distraction in case the numbers came back worse than last time. Lucky she wasnt needed for that!
She has just turned 17 months old, and definately has my nose (nice one!), chin (not so lucky) and temper (totally horrified at this one!). She is very vocal and forceful with what she wants, and tantrums it out when things dont go her way... not with her dada..
NEVER with her daddy, only with her momma and brother. Screaming, hitting, bending backwards when being taken to get her diaper changed when she is in the middle of reading to the dog...
I can see I am going to have my hands full with this one.
I am so SO sorry to my mum and dad for my childhood behaviours and the events that led to me needing to see a psychologist at the age of about 7 or 8 (I stand by my conviction that this was my sisters fault!!).
This week, Jasper officially starts tee-ball with his first training on Thursday. Games start Saturday week. He is pretty psyched, and has his own glove, bat and uniform. Talk about super CUTE!!
I will update more with photos soon!!
Thanks for reading.
From the Crazy Farm
Brooke
Monday, October 10, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
USA Update
Well, better late than never, I suppose!! I do keep meaning to get to write about our trip, but something is always getting in my way... school run, sick baby, laziness or the necessity for sleep!!
This is our family photo before we left home. Brent was here as he house sat to mind the dog while we were gone.
Molly looks quite sprightly for being woken up at 8.30pm!
Our first stop was Sydney. Paul's dad and brother came to the airport to see us, and meet Molly for the first time.
Then it was time for the long haul to LA.
The kids were excellent. Jasper has always been a WONDERFUL traveler. I think it helps that we tell him that, so he does what is expected! He eats, watches TV, and sleeps sleeps sleeps! It is a really good thing. I was worried that Molly would be a nightmare, but she travels like her brother!
Between Sydney and LA, there was a baby across from us who cried, whinged and screamed most of the way - nice and relaxing - I just wanted to stand up and shout "it's not my baby!!". She was a dream!
Here is what the kids and I looked like when we landed in Boston... our final destination. Jasper looks SO happy and excited to be off the plane!
We spent one night in Boston (well, technically it was Swampscott) with a wonderful friend, Leighsa.. THANKS!! We were not very good company that night.. we tried and failed with a CAPITAL F!!!
That 12 hour time difference was not fun for any of us, especially Jasper.
After that first night we drove up to Maine (and by "we", I mean Paul). We stayed with another dear family, the Youngs. They have 3 great kids, and the youngest has FA like Jasper. They are the same age, and have the same FA complementation group. We got asked at one point if they were twins... kinda cute and freaky!
Here we all are at the desert of Maine. It was an interesting trip... who knew there was a desert there!!!
From the Youngs it was time for Camp Sunshine. It was great, as always to see our FAmily and catch up! 2 years was too long!!!
I have a million photos, but will only post a few..
Jasper and Paul both had their birthdays at Camp. Jasper was super excited... Paul was not so much when the "boys" got him up on stage during dinner to embarrass him!! They were both great days!
Here is Jasper blowing out his birthday candles at Camp. He is sitting on his favourite counselors lap, Tori.. well, one of his favourites!!
As usual, we have Jasper's mouth swab done for a study our favourite Germans are doing into the early detection of oral cancers. We always have a photo taken with Ralf and Eunike. This time, we took them Aussie chocolate!(they always provide delicious German chocolate for us!).
They always have an ice-cream sundae night at Camp, and this year there was a bit of a whipped cream fight... needless to say, Jasper got it right in the moosh!! (and loved every second of it!)
The masquerade ball resulted in the greatest turn around in history... Molly was SUPER tired (Camp does not encourage sleep at ANY time of the day or night!!). We dressed her up as a little Moo Moo, and took her up to the dance in her stroller thinking we would make an appearance and take her back to bed. WELL, she was having NONE of that!! Once she heard the music, she wanted out of her buggy and grooved away for HOURS!! it was very cute, and she slept extremely well that night!
There are a million more photos on FaceBook, but I think that will do for now!
After Camp we went to stay with our American sister and her mad crew... the Flynn/Gummoe family. With us there, we had 4 adults and 10 (yes, T E N) kids!! It is busy, but it worked!!
Here are some of the kids at Fort Williams - lots of old forts, and a lovely place to walk around and have a picnic lunch if you get the right weather (which we did!).
These are the FA kids that were with us.
(L - R) Wesley, Jasper, Julia and Jorja (twins) and Jordan at the front. The girls all belong to Doreen (my American sister).
Here are my 2 best girls - Jordan and Molly.
Gorgeous!
Ohm here is ONE more Camp photo... These are some of the people that mean the world to us.
We are in "couples", so left to right, Paul and I, Sean and Kristin (aka the YOUNGS), David and Samantha (our UK FAmily), and Shawn and Doreen (aka the Flynn/Gummoes). Our entire trip (all bar the first and last night) were spent with these wonderful people, and just thinking about them makes me smile!
We got to spend 4th July in America for the first time. The FAmilies in the photo above all got together with some of Doreen's neighbors and had a great BBQ, then we went to see some great fireworks.
Molly's Aunt Kristin bought her a beautiful dress in honor of the holiday, and she looked so beautiful!!!
Here is our gang at the fireworks (kids and all!)
Me and my babies!!
We did go to a theme park, FunTown SplashTown, but I didn't take the camera there... I went on scary rides. ME, on scary rides!! (WHAT was I thinking!)
We did try to go blueberry picking... epic FAIL! The season had opened, but the blueberries weren't ripe.
There was a LOT of Wal-Mart shopping. I mean A LOT! It is super cheap, so why not!!!
There is so much more that I could report on, but my brain is fried now, so I might try again later on another post!
Jasper has had more blood work since we got home. His platelets last time had dropped to 120 (normal range is 150 - 400), so this was a concern for us. It was the lowest they had ever been, and we were obviously concerned and wanted him rechecked.
Well, his latest platelets were 110. In the grand scheme of things, this is not a real change, but it is not a move in the upward direction, so back we go in October for more blood work!
Fingers crossed we get an upward movement.
All his other counts were ok. Red Blood cells were just under normal, but only fractionally, and it was all pretty consistent from last time.
Please leave a comment for Jasper if you can.. he likes to know people realise that he is "famous"!
thanks for reading.
Brooke
This is our family photo before we left home. Brent was here as he house sat to mind the dog while we were gone.
Molly looks quite sprightly for being woken up at 8.30pm!
Our first stop was Sydney. Paul's dad and brother came to the airport to see us, and meet Molly for the first time.
Then it was time for the long haul to LA.
The kids were excellent. Jasper has always been a WONDERFUL traveler. I think it helps that we tell him that, so he does what is expected! He eats, watches TV, and sleeps sleeps sleeps! It is a really good thing. I was worried that Molly would be a nightmare, but she travels like her brother!
Between Sydney and LA, there was a baby across from us who cried, whinged and screamed most of the way - nice and relaxing - I just wanted to stand up and shout "it's not my baby!!". She was a dream!
Here is what the kids and I looked like when we landed in Boston... our final destination. Jasper looks SO happy and excited to be off the plane!
We spent one night in Boston (well, technically it was Swampscott) with a wonderful friend, Leighsa.. THANKS!! We were not very good company that night.. we tried and failed with a CAPITAL F!!!
That 12 hour time difference was not fun for any of us, especially Jasper.
After that first night we drove up to Maine (and by "we", I mean Paul). We stayed with another dear family, the Youngs. They have 3 great kids, and the youngest has FA like Jasper. They are the same age, and have the same FA complementation group. We got asked at one point if they were twins... kinda cute and freaky!
Here we all are at the desert of Maine. It was an interesting trip... who knew there was a desert there!!!
From the Youngs it was time for Camp Sunshine. It was great, as always to see our FAmily and catch up! 2 years was too long!!!
I have a million photos, but will only post a few..
Jasper and Paul both had their birthdays at Camp. Jasper was super excited... Paul was not so much when the "boys" got him up on stage during dinner to embarrass him!! They were both great days!
Here is Jasper blowing out his birthday candles at Camp. He is sitting on his favourite counselors lap, Tori.. well, one of his favourites!!
As usual, we have Jasper's mouth swab done for a study our favourite Germans are doing into the early detection of oral cancers. We always have a photo taken with Ralf and Eunike. This time, we took them Aussie chocolate!(they always provide delicious German chocolate for us!).
They always have an ice-cream sundae night at Camp, and this year there was a bit of a whipped cream fight... needless to say, Jasper got it right in the moosh!! (and loved every second of it!)
The masquerade ball resulted in the greatest turn around in history... Molly was SUPER tired (Camp does not encourage sleep at ANY time of the day or night!!). We dressed her up as a little Moo Moo, and took her up to the dance in her stroller thinking we would make an appearance and take her back to bed. WELL, she was having NONE of that!! Once she heard the music, she wanted out of her buggy and grooved away for HOURS!! it was very cute, and she slept extremely well that night!
There are a million more photos on FaceBook, but I think that will do for now!
After Camp we went to stay with our American sister and her mad crew... the Flynn/Gummoe family. With us there, we had 4 adults and 10 (yes, T E N) kids!! It is busy, but it worked!!
Here are some of the kids at Fort Williams - lots of old forts, and a lovely place to walk around and have a picnic lunch if you get the right weather (which we did!).
These are the FA kids that were with us.
(L - R) Wesley, Jasper, Julia and Jorja (twins) and Jordan at the front. The girls all belong to Doreen (my American sister).
Here are my 2 best girls - Jordan and Molly.
Gorgeous!
Ohm here is ONE more Camp photo... These are some of the people that mean the world to us.
We are in "couples", so left to right, Paul and I, Sean and Kristin (aka the YOUNGS), David and Samantha (our UK FAmily), and Shawn and Doreen (aka the Flynn/Gummoes). Our entire trip (all bar the first and last night) were spent with these wonderful people, and just thinking about them makes me smile!
We got to spend 4th July in America for the first time. The FAmilies in the photo above all got together with some of Doreen's neighbors and had a great BBQ, then we went to see some great fireworks.
Molly's Aunt Kristin bought her a beautiful dress in honor of the holiday, and she looked so beautiful!!!
Here is our gang at the fireworks (kids and all!)
Me and my babies!!
We did go to a theme park, FunTown SplashTown, but I didn't take the camera there... I went on scary rides. ME, on scary rides!! (WHAT was I thinking!)
We did try to go blueberry picking... epic FAIL! The season had opened, but the blueberries weren't ripe.
There was a LOT of Wal-Mart shopping. I mean A LOT! It is super cheap, so why not!!!
There is so much more that I could report on, but my brain is fried now, so I might try again later on another post!
Jasper has had more blood work since we got home. His platelets last time had dropped to 120 (normal range is 150 - 400), so this was a concern for us. It was the lowest they had ever been, and we were obviously concerned and wanted him rechecked.
Well, his latest platelets were 110. In the grand scheme of things, this is not a real change, but it is not a move in the upward direction, so back we go in October for more blood work!
Fingers crossed we get an upward movement.
All his other counts were ok. Red Blood cells were just under normal, but only fractionally, and it was all pretty consistent from last time.
Please leave a comment for Jasper if you can.. he likes to know people realise that he is "famous"!
thanks for reading.
Brooke
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Medical Update and the Marvels of Kids
Ok, so I have good news in that Jasper's biopsy results came back, and they are all good!
His thyroid function is good, but his cholesterol is high. We are looking into what we can do about that... it has always been high, and the doctors are not sure why, so we are seeing a liver specialist at the end of July to see what changes we can make to reduce Jasper's cholesterol to be in the "normal" range.
We will also have more bloods done on the same day to check all Jasper's counts again. Fingers crossed his platelets have bounced back up, and his last counts were just a temporary blip on the radar!!
Well, today was the coldest day I can remember in a long time. We have had some really cold mornings, but it has been warming up nicely in the day, and by the time we do the school run in the afternoon, the jumpers have been put away and the sun is just delightful.. but today, the jumper was on all day, the scarf stayed on (for added warmth, and not just to be a fashion accessory), and the ugg boots replaced the covered shoes as soon as we got home!!
I am looking forward to heading to the summer weather of Maine in a few days as we jet off to America and Camp Sunshine for our 4th time.
Maine had BETTER bring the warm weather!
We are super excited to see all our FAmily again, and spend some quality time with some very special people.
Jasper is looking forward to turning 8 at Camp Sunshine, and Paul will turn "21" there too. Molly wont know what hit her with all the people that will be queing up to snuggle her!! Lucky she is learning to run.. I think she is going to need that skill!
I know this is Jaspers blog page, but I must share some of the things Molly can now do and say.. she is a genius in the making - I am not biased, I am just confident....
She is a good walker now, and crawling is a thing of the past.
There are 10 teeth in her mouth.. 4 of which are molars.. she got her first molar when she only had 2 bottom teeth at the front and one top front tooth... nothing like doing things the way she wants to, rather than by the book!!
Her favourite words are still JASPER and DADA. She knows who is who.. you ask her "where is daddy" and she looks at Paul. "Where is mummy" results in me being looked at.. same for jasper, poppie and grandy. She knows who her dog is too.
Cheeky girl also likes to drop things from her high chair, put her hands palm up and say "gone, all gone".
Other words she says are : hello, ta-ta (for goodbye), thank you, ta, eagle (sounds like ee-ga).. I am happy about the Eagle one,,, it is the name of my favourite footy team! She makes animal noises for dogs, cats, sheep, dinosaurs, sheep, and a range of others.
She loves to dance. She IS the dancing queen! it is very cute when she shakes her booty, and even better when the arms get pumped in the air.. I need to get the video camera ready!
Like most babies, she loves to hold the phone to her ear and say "hello who is it" in her own jibber jabber.
She knows when she has had enough of something, and shakes her head. she has started to tell me "no" as well.. if I growl at her for something, she growls back at me! (cheeky!)
If I tell her "sit on your bottom", she either sits or squats.
She is a total daddy's girl. It is sweet how she only wants him, and not me when he is home.
Molly LOVES the sound of her own voice (a bit like her brother, and MAYBE her mother), so she chats away all day in her own language.
She loves the shops too. I am not a lover of shopping, so I do NOT know where this gene came from. I think she just loves the social aspect of being out and waving hello to everyone, especially cars in the carpark!!
Oh, one story I must share about Jasper that had me giggling.. the other day on the way to school, they were talking on the radio about an interview that had been done with our Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and her partner, Tim Mathieson. The radio guy said "... and he isn't afraid to use the L word". Jasper asked me if they were going to say "legend". Once I explained that the "L word" meant LOVE, he was ok with that. I said they were talking about our PM and her boyfriend. He said "WHAT? She has a job and she isn't even married??" He was actually pretty put out about it!
Apparently he thinks that when he gets married, his wife wont work, because she will need to be home to look after all the babies... like THAT isn't a job!
Ok, so lots of typing, no photos this time.. I will update from America.. if I have the time!! Otherwise the next update will be late July!!
thanks for reading
Brooke
xx
His thyroid function is good, but his cholesterol is high. We are looking into what we can do about that... it has always been high, and the doctors are not sure why, so we are seeing a liver specialist at the end of July to see what changes we can make to reduce Jasper's cholesterol to be in the "normal" range.
We will also have more bloods done on the same day to check all Jasper's counts again. Fingers crossed his platelets have bounced back up, and his last counts were just a temporary blip on the radar!!
Well, today was the coldest day I can remember in a long time. We have had some really cold mornings, but it has been warming up nicely in the day, and by the time we do the school run in the afternoon, the jumpers have been put away and the sun is just delightful.. but today, the jumper was on all day, the scarf stayed on (for added warmth, and not just to be a fashion accessory), and the ugg boots replaced the covered shoes as soon as we got home!!
I am looking forward to heading to the summer weather of Maine in a few days as we jet off to America and Camp Sunshine for our 4th time.
Maine had BETTER bring the warm weather!
We are super excited to see all our FAmily again, and spend some quality time with some very special people.
Jasper is looking forward to turning 8 at Camp Sunshine, and Paul will turn "21" there too. Molly wont know what hit her with all the people that will be queing up to snuggle her!! Lucky she is learning to run.. I think she is going to need that skill!
I know this is Jaspers blog page, but I must share some of the things Molly can now do and say.. she is a genius in the making - I am not biased, I am just confident....
She is a good walker now, and crawling is a thing of the past.
There are 10 teeth in her mouth.. 4 of which are molars.. she got her first molar when she only had 2 bottom teeth at the front and one top front tooth... nothing like doing things the way she wants to, rather than by the book!!
Her favourite words are still JASPER and DADA. She knows who is who.. you ask her "where is daddy" and she looks at Paul. "Where is mummy" results in me being looked at.. same for jasper, poppie and grandy. She knows who her dog is too.
Cheeky girl also likes to drop things from her high chair, put her hands palm up and say "gone, all gone".
Other words she says are : hello, ta-ta (for goodbye), thank you, ta, eagle (sounds like ee-ga).. I am happy about the Eagle one,,, it is the name of my favourite footy team! She makes animal noises for dogs, cats, sheep, dinosaurs, sheep, and a range of others.
She loves to dance. She IS the dancing queen! it is very cute when she shakes her booty, and even better when the arms get pumped in the air.. I need to get the video camera ready!
Like most babies, she loves to hold the phone to her ear and say "hello who is it" in her own jibber jabber.
She knows when she has had enough of something, and shakes her head. she has started to tell me "no" as well.. if I growl at her for something, she growls back at me! (cheeky!)
If I tell her "sit on your bottom", she either sits or squats.
She is a total daddy's girl. It is sweet how she only wants him, and not me when he is home.
Molly LOVES the sound of her own voice (a bit like her brother, and MAYBE her mother), so she chats away all day in her own language.
She loves the shops too. I am not a lover of shopping, so I do NOT know where this gene came from. I think she just loves the social aspect of being out and waving hello to everyone, especially cars in the carpark!!
Oh, one story I must share about Jasper that had me giggling.. the other day on the way to school, they were talking on the radio about an interview that had been done with our Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and her partner, Tim Mathieson. The radio guy said "... and he isn't afraid to use the L word". Jasper asked me if they were going to say "legend". Once I explained that the "L word" meant LOVE, he was ok with that. I said they were talking about our PM and her boyfriend. He said "WHAT? She has a job and she isn't even married??" He was actually pretty put out about it!
Apparently he thinks that when he gets married, his wife wont work, because she will need to be home to look after all the babies... like THAT isn't a job!
Ok, so lots of typing, no photos this time.. I will update from America.. if I have the time!! Otherwise the next update will be late July!!
thanks for reading
Brooke
xx
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Molly's 1st Birthday and Jasper's Biopsy story..
I know I say it every time, but it has been AGES since I last posted... and it isn't like we have not been doing anything.. we have been super busy, and have lots to report, plus millions of photos to share!
Jasper is a boy scout, and they had a snake night a few weeks *maybe months* ago. He was terrified of the snakes, but said he would touch one, but not hold it... when the snake handler came around, Jasper said he would touch, and I said "just put it on his shoulder, that's touching!". He was so proud of himself!
Molly had her first play in a play gym called Wild Kidz. There is a special baby area that is gated, and the rest of the area is a free for all play area for big kids. She had a BLAST and loved it. When she was on the bouncy castle, her brother and his mate came and jumped all over to make her bounce! She looks like she is trying to escape from Jasper's bouncing, but she was having a LOT of fun!! Jasper also LOVES playing with the baby toys... thought this shot of him caught out would be another one to add to his 21st birthday collection of embarrassing photos!!
Molly has totally electric hair. It is just standing on end all the time. I brush it down, and as soon as it dries, it is straight back to standing on end. It is just part of her charm! Here is a snap of her with her hair brushed flat... she was not too happy with it!!
This one below is what happens when Molly is left to her own devices in Jasper's bedroom while I help him with his homework... tissues apparently are much better when OUT of the box! I had to grab the camera, and when I called her name, this is the guilty look I got!
Our princess is ONE!! Can you believe it?~ I can't. It still feels like yesterday that Paul was driving me to the hospital in labour telling me I was not breathing the right way... but it HAS been a year, and it has gone by super quick. Here we are at her birthday dinner. My parents came over for dinner. Molly was too tired to stay up to eat cake, but it was DELICIOUS
!
this second shot is Molly looking at the phone when her daddy called to wish her happy birthday. She had only just woken up, and was a bit confused as to where daddy was - she could hear him, but could not see him!
It is a tradition that my dad does with "wetting the baby's head". She was not sure what was going on, and unsure why she got wet hair, but the tradition continues!!
Nice sloppy kisses for Grandie through the trampoline net! mmmm delicious.
We went out for lunch with my friend Carly and her son, Liam. Carly doesn't like having her photo taken, so it is rare one here!!
Molly got to have ANOTHER birthday when daddy got home from work, just 2 days after her actual birthday.
We saved the big presents for then, and of course, Jasper HAD to help open them all!
Jasper had his sports carnival at the end of Term One. He is in blue faction. Taylor it is called. He got a 2nd place ribbon for the 70m sprint. Molly and I had a lovely afternoon in the sunshine!
The blue on his forhead was from the blue hairspray that looked awesome in the morning as a mowhawk, but after recess and the hat going on, it all went a bit pear shaped!!
Jasper just had his annual biopsy yesterday. It was a long time in coming with 3 reschedules in total, but it was the best one yet. He woke up really quickly and was eating. We were out in record time!!
As a suprise, I bought him a Mania Magazine. It is one he has wanted for ages, mainly for the boggle eye glasses that came with it! He had them on in the waiting room, then in the ward, then when he was wheeled into theatre!! Lucky they did the right operation, and did not try to fix his eyes!!
Within 30minutes of waking up, he was watching cartoons and demanding his icypole.
Driving to my folks to pick Molly up, I said "Jas, are you ok babe?" there was no answer, so I glanced back and saw this...
I think it warranted a photo (I stopped the car at a red light before snapping!) He was back at school the next day (today), and I only had to write a note to excuse him from sport. He said he wanted to do it, and was playing Octopus when I went to pick him up!! Back to normal!!
His blood counts are not so crash hot. His platelets dropped from 164 to 120. Normal range is 150 - 400. Now I know that 120 is a REALLY good number for a FA kid, but it is really low for Jasper. I think they are the lowest they have been, and it is a drop of 25%. His doctor was not too worried, but I am a natural born worrier... so I have emailed her today to get more bloods done in 3 months, rather than waiting the 6 month. I would rather know if we are starting steady decline sooner rather than later.
All in all, we have had a great start to 2011. We are off to America again in June, so it will be fantastic to see all our FAmily again, and celebrate Jasper's 8th birthday, and Paul's "21st" birthday at Camp Sunshine!!
Oh, here are my babies at Easter... 5am was NOT a good time to go egg hunting~
Brooke
xx
Jasper is a boy scout, and they had a snake night a few weeks *maybe months* ago. He was terrified of the snakes, but said he would touch one, but not hold it... when the snake handler came around, Jasper said he would touch, and I said "just put it on his shoulder, that's touching!". He was so proud of himself!
Molly had her first play in a play gym called Wild Kidz. There is a special baby area that is gated, and the rest of the area is a free for all play area for big kids. She had a BLAST and loved it. When she was on the bouncy castle, her brother and his mate came and jumped all over to make her bounce! She looks like she is trying to escape from Jasper's bouncing, but she was having a LOT of fun!! Jasper also LOVES playing with the baby toys... thought this shot of him caught out would be another one to add to his 21st birthday collection of embarrassing photos!!
Molly has totally electric hair. It is just standing on end all the time. I brush it down, and as soon as it dries, it is straight back to standing on end. It is just part of her charm! Here is a snap of her with her hair brushed flat... she was not too happy with it!!
This one below is what happens when Molly is left to her own devices in Jasper's bedroom while I help him with his homework... tissues apparently are much better when OUT of the box! I had to grab the camera, and when I called her name, this is the guilty look I got!
Our princess is ONE!! Can you believe it?~ I can't. It still feels like yesterday that Paul was driving me to the hospital in labour telling me I was not breathing the right way... but it HAS been a year, and it has gone by super quick. Here we are at her birthday dinner. My parents came over for dinner. Molly was too tired to stay up to eat cake, but it was DELICIOUS
!
this second shot is Molly looking at the phone when her daddy called to wish her happy birthday. She had only just woken up, and was a bit confused as to where daddy was - she could hear him, but could not see him!
It is a tradition that my dad does with "wetting the baby's head". She was not sure what was going on, and unsure why she got wet hair, but the tradition continues!!
Nice sloppy kisses for Grandie through the trampoline net! mmmm delicious.
We went out for lunch with my friend Carly and her son, Liam. Carly doesn't like having her photo taken, so it is rare one here!!Molly got to have ANOTHER birthday when daddy got home from work, just 2 days after her actual birthday.
We saved the big presents for then, and of course, Jasper HAD to help open them all!
Jasper had his sports carnival at the end of Term One. He is in blue faction. Taylor it is called. He got a 2nd place ribbon for the 70m sprint. Molly and I had a lovely afternoon in the sunshine!
The blue on his forhead was from the blue hairspray that looked awesome in the morning as a mowhawk, but after recess and the hat going on, it all went a bit pear shaped!!
Jasper just had his annual biopsy yesterday. It was a long time in coming with 3 reschedules in total, but it was the best one yet. He woke up really quickly and was eating. We were out in record time!!
As a suprise, I bought him a Mania Magazine. It is one he has wanted for ages, mainly for the boggle eye glasses that came with it! He had them on in the waiting room, then in the ward, then when he was wheeled into theatre!! Lucky they did the right operation, and did not try to fix his eyes!!
Within 30minutes of waking up, he was watching cartoons and demanding his icypole.
Driving to my folks to pick Molly up, I said "Jas, are you ok babe?" there was no answer, so I glanced back and saw this...
I think it warranted a photo (I stopped the car at a red light before snapping!) He was back at school the next day (today), and I only had to write a note to excuse him from sport. He said he wanted to do it, and was playing Octopus when I went to pick him up!! Back to normal!!
His blood counts are not so crash hot. His platelets dropped from 164 to 120. Normal range is 150 - 400. Now I know that 120 is a REALLY good number for a FA kid, but it is really low for Jasper. I think they are the lowest they have been, and it is a drop of 25%. His doctor was not too worried, but I am a natural born worrier... so I have emailed her today to get more bloods done in 3 months, rather than waiting the 6 month. I would rather know if we are starting steady decline sooner rather than later.
All in all, we have had a great start to 2011. We are off to America again in June, so it will be fantastic to see all our FAmily again, and celebrate Jasper's 8th birthday, and Paul's "21st" birthday at Camp Sunshine!!
Oh, here are my babies at Easter... 5am was NOT a good time to go egg hunting~
Brooke
xx
Saturday, January 8, 2011
First post for 2011
It has been a long time since I have posted... I forget that not everyone is on FaceBook!
Ok, so Christmas has been and gone, and we are well into January!
Before I get onto Christmas photos and what has been happening in our lives, we have been officially given the dates for Camp Sunshine 2011.
It will be happening at the end of June, which means that Jasper and Paul will both be celebrating their birthdays there... IF we can get there!
For those that do not know, Camp Sunshine is a place in America that is set up for families that have a deadly illness. Fanconi Anemia - what Jasper has - is considered such an illness.
It is hard to reconcile that in my brain - he is my boy, after all, but it is what it is, and we just need to deal with that.
What we are wanting to know is if anyone has Qantas Frequent Flyer points that they would be willing to transfer over to us. This would help immeasurably with the cost of travel to the States. We did not make it to Camp Sunshine in 2010, as Molly was too young for immunisations, so we are really wanting to get there this year... Especially as Jasper would celebrate his 8th birthday surrounded by people that know what we live with, having FA.
If you can help us, please email me at pbj.miles@yahoo.com.au and I can tell you how to transfer points. It is really pretty simple.
Ok, family update time...
Jasper is on school vacation for summer, and goes into second grade in early February. He will be 8 this year.. the time has flown!!
Molly is now 8 months old, and a real treasure. She has been sitting up for a couple of months now - as you can see from the photo..
She loves her big brother, and cant wait to get mobile to chase him around the house! As you can see below, she gets on all 4's (with a bit of help), and rocks away! It wont be long before she is tearing around the house causing her momma grey hairs!!
Here are my 2 Christmas angels just before Christmas. We put the antlers on Molly, and she spent the whole time trying to look at them, with the bells on them! Very cute!
Jasper was also an angel for his school nativity. The entire Year One's dressed the same, and they looked angelic, even if they did not behave angelic!!!
We spent Christmas in Busselton (about 3 hour drive south from us), with my family, so on Christmas Eve before we left, we let the kids open the presents under the tree from us and Paul's dad in Sydney.
Poppy Miles got Jasper a remote control helicopter (do you think he looks excited much!)
Poppy Miles got Molly a floating seat for the spa. she loves it! It gives her the freedom to kick and move around without being held all the time. She is a natural water baby, and loves her swimming lessons, as well as spa time at home!
Paul's mum also came to visit in early December, which was really nice. She could only stay for 4 days, but it was nice all the same! We had an early Christmas dinner celebration with her, and presents for the kids... (all of the kids!!). Brent came over (Paul's eldest son).
I managed to snap this pic of the kids together... Brent and Molly are still getting used to each other! It is funny to watch her analyse him! Jasper is the buffer in the middle... ALL the time! (a role he relishes!).
Miss Molly in the laundry trough.. it is her bathtub at the moment, as it is a long way to the ground in the bathroom!! She will need to move to the big bath soon... she is getting a little big for this sink!
We have had some super hot weather lately, and one day, we spent most of the day at my parents. They have a pool, so a bonus reason to visit! Jasper normally wont get in because the water is pretty cold, but on this day, I could not get him out!!! This is his "5 more minutes" pleading face... needless to say, I caved... how can you say no to this face!!!
I think that is about it. Paul and I are doing well, the kids are well and healthy.
We will soon have a veggie patch up and running, so are pretty excited about that!!
I will try and do better at updating in 2011 - but no promises!!
Jasper does not have any more blood work due til late April, and then it is his bone marrow aspirate (the operation he has annually).
Thanks for reading, and remember, if you can help with Qantas Frequent Flyer Points, or know someone who can help, please email me at pbj.miles@yahoo.com.au
Brooke
xxx
Ok, so Christmas has been and gone, and we are well into January!
Before I get onto Christmas photos and what has been happening in our lives, we have been officially given the dates for Camp Sunshine 2011.
It will be happening at the end of June, which means that Jasper and Paul will both be celebrating their birthdays there... IF we can get there!
For those that do not know, Camp Sunshine is a place in America that is set up for families that have a deadly illness. Fanconi Anemia - what Jasper has - is considered such an illness.
It is hard to reconcile that in my brain - he is my boy, after all, but it is what it is, and we just need to deal with that.
What we are wanting to know is if anyone has Qantas Frequent Flyer points that they would be willing to transfer over to us. This would help immeasurably with the cost of travel to the States. We did not make it to Camp Sunshine in 2010, as Molly was too young for immunisations, so we are really wanting to get there this year... Especially as Jasper would celebrate his 8th birthday surrounded by people that know what we live with, having FA.
If you can help us, please email me at pbj.miles@yahoo.com.au and I can tell you how to transfer points. It is really pretty simple.
Ok, family update time...
Jasper is on school vacation for summer, and goes into second grade in early February. He will be 8 this year.. the time has flown!!
Molly is now 8 months old, and a real treasure. She has been sitting up for a couple of months now - as you can see from the photo..
She loves her big brother, and cant wait to get mobile to chase him around the house! As you can see below, she gets on all 4's (with a bit of help), and rocks away! It wont be long before she is tearing around the house causing her momma grey hairs!!
Here are my 2 Christmas angels just before Christmas. We put the antlers on Molly, and she spent the whole time trying to look at them, with the bells on them! Very cute!
Jasper was also an angel for his school nativity. The entire Year One's dressed the same, and they looked angelic, even if they did not behave angelic!!!
We spent Christmas in Busselton (about 3 hour drive south from us), with my family, so on Christmas Eve before we left, we let the kids open the presents under the tree from us and Paul's dad in Sydney.
Poppy Miles got Jasper a remote control helicopter (do you think he looks excited much!)
Poppy Miles got Molly a floating seat for the spa. she loves it! It gives her the freedom to kick and move around without being held all the time. She is a natural water baby, and loves her swimming lessons, as well as spa time at home!
Paul's mum also came to visit in early December, which was really nice. She could only stay for 4 days, but it was nice all the same! We had an early Christmas dinner celebration with her, and presents for the kids... (all of the kids!!). Brent came over (Paul's eldest son).
I managed to snap this pic of the kids together... Brent and Molly are still getting used to each other! It is funny to watch her analyse him! Jasper is the buffer in the middle... ALL the time! (a role he relishes!).
Miss Molly in the laundry trough.. it is her bathtub at the moment, as it is a long way to the ground in the bathroom!! She will need to move to the big bath soon... she is getting a little big for this sink!
We have had some super hot weather lately, and one day, we spent most of the day at my parents. They have a pool, so a bonus reason to visit! Jasper normally wont get in because the water is pretty cold, but on this day, I could not get him out!!! This is his "5 more minutes" pleading face... needless to say, I caved... how can you say no to this face!!!
I think that is about it. Paul and I are doing well, the kids are well and healthy.
We will soon have a veggie patch up and running, so are pretty excited about that!!
I will try and do better at updating in 2011 - but no promises!!
Jasper does not have any more blood work due til late April, and then it is his bone marrow aspirate (the operation he has annually).
Thanks for reading, and remember, if you can help with Qantas Frequent Flyer Points, or know someone who can help, please email me at pbj.miles@yahoo.com.au
Brooke
xxx
Monday, October 4, 2010
Jaspers Latest Blood Results (and general family update)
When I say it will be a family update, that really means a Molly/Jasper update!!!
So, first and foremost, Jasper lost his 4th tooth!!! now ne is a goofy-gap kid and lisps when he talks!! We were at the beach, and it had been bleeding a few days previouly (and with my total fear of blood, it was a delight to behold!!). jasper was eating some watermelon, and his tooth started to bleed again... my friend told him to just pull it, so he goes "ok" and out it comes!! I was REALLY struggling to not throw my lunch up everywhere... there was a little bit of blood... gross. there are some photos below of his gap... it is HUGE!!!
So now, we are missing the bottom 2 and the top 2. The bottom 2 have the adult teeth coming in, but the top is empty!!
Here is a photo of Jasper and his Molly at the beach (Molly's first time!). The first photo is Molly at home getting ready! She is such a cutie, and a sweet little thing. The only thing missing from her world is a trip to Camp Sunshine!!!
Here are the kids... Jasper is splashing Molly... the water was freezing cold!!!
Here's Goofy!!
Paul got creative with some iron on transfers... there was another one of Molly in a "Camp Sunshine" top, but it has not uploaded for some reason?!!??!
So, first and foremost, Jasper lost his 4th tooth!!! now ne is a goofy-gap kid and lisps when he talks!! We were at the beach, and it had been bleeding a few days previouly (and with my total fear of blood, it was a delight to behold!!). jasper was eating some watermelon, and his tooth started to bleed again... my friend told him to just pull it, so he goes "ok" and out it comes!! I was REALLY struggling to not throw my lunch up everywhere... there was a little bit of blood... gross. there are some photos below of his gap... it is HUGE!!!
So now, we are missing the bottom 2 and the top 2. The bottom 2 have the adult teeth coming in, but the top is empty!!
Here is a photo of Jasper and his Molly at the beach (Molly's first time!). The first photo is Molly at home getting ready! She is such a cutie, and a sweet little thing. The only thing missing from her world is a trip to Camp Sunshine!!!
Here are the kids... Jasper is splashing Molly... the water was freezing cold!!!
Here's Goofy!!
Paul got creative with some iron on transfers... there was another one of Molly in a "Camp Sunshine" top, but it has not uploaded for some reason?!!??!
I got lucky when I had Jasper.. he is the sweetest most caring big brother a little girl could ask for!
So, Jasper had his bi-annual blood test today. We got prior warning from the hospital that they needed more blood than normal, so we could not just have a thumb prick... it would be a vein drain (like a normal blood test). There is not a lot of control Jasper can have with Fanconi Anemia, so he gets to choose a thumb prick or a vein drain. He ALWAYS chooses a vein drain.
I am lucky that the oncology department that looks after Jasper understands his fear of blood tests, and gave me plenty of notice for the change in plans. We got the EMLA cream out, and it worked a treat! He still cried and cried, but he sobbed through his tears that he could not feel anything!!! Cheeky tyke. It is just the anticipation and the build up to it all.
So, here are the results...
Height: 114.8 cm
Weight: 17.3 kg
These are both increases, and we are happy enough with this.
WBC: 6.10 (normal is 4.5-11.0) -
These cells are the body's defense. They fight infection.
ANC: 2.50 (normal is 1.50-8.00)
This is the body's ability to fight infections.
Platelet: 163 (normal is 150 - 400)
This is the clotting ability of the blood. A bone marrow transplant or regular blood transfusions are given when platelets are at or below 20.
RBC: 3.53 (normal is 4.0-6.0)
These cells carry oxygen.
HCT: 0.35 (normal is 0.35 - 0.45)
Measures the proportion of blood volume that is occupied by RBC.
HGB: 123 (normal is 115 - 155)
This is part of the cell that carries oxygen
MCV: 99 (normal is 75 - 92)
This measures how large or small the cells are (the higher the number, the larger the cell). It also can indicate how stressed the marrow is. The higher the number, the more stressed.
So, all in all, these results are FANTASTIC and we could not be happier!!
Jasper did really well with his blood test, and got a new NERF gun as part of my bribe to get it done with the minimum of fuss.
Molly is 5 months old today... where does the time go?!?!
I am sure to update some time soon... there is probably a lot to tell, but it is school vacation, and my brain is a little bit mushed!!
Thanks for reading!
Love
Brooke
Friday, July 30, 2010
Molly back in hospital...
On Wednesday, Jasper had an appointment at the Children's Hospital here (PMH) with the endocrinology department. It was a regular 6 monthly check. Good news is he is growing enough and putting on enough weight to be discharged from their department! Yippee!!
Molly has not been gaining weight. She has actually been losing weight. I went to see our local doctor on Wednesday last week about it, and he said to come back in a week. I went back the following Wednesday (this week), and he was happy that she had put on 15g - normally babies should put on a minimum of 100g a week at her age. He said to come back in 2 weeks.
I went to see my child health nurse the same day as I was not happy with the doctor's answers.
She was mortified at the doctor, and wrote me a referral for the emergency department at PMH. Not that you need a referral, but it helps them not think you are a neurotic mother!!!
Since we were at PMH for Jasper's appointment, we went to emergency once we had finished with him.
The doctor said that nothing about what was happening with Molly was good or normal. Basically, she had to be admitted to hospital to figure out what was happening... and by the way, could I collect a wee sample from her..
I remember doing this when Jasper was a baby, and that was easier... boy bits vs girl bits!!
She was really upset laying on the bed with no nappy and me hovering around her rear end waiting, waiting, waiting.
After about 15 minutes, I picked her up and cuddled her... she wanted to feed again (big suprise - that is a common thing for her after 3pm... constant feeding), so she was breast feeding, and I am trying to hold her with one arm, hold the specimen jar with the other and keep an eye out for the pee!!!
I wish we had the camera, it was quite a sight!!! THEN when she did pee, I nearly missed it, and she got it all over me and the floor!!
Jasper and I were in hysterics about it!! Lucky it was only on my ankle.. I had a towel thing under her butt.
Ok, so wee sample was given, and initial tests showed no UTI - excellent! They wanted to do further tests though.
Then came the bad news... we were being admitted, but there were no beds at PMH, so we needed to go to Joondalup hospital... it is closer to home, and the doctors we saw are PMH staff, so that was some comfort.
I drove Japser home to stay with Paul - lucky he is home at the moment! - then hightailed it to Joondalup hospital.
PMH didn't tell me that they had put Molly's wee sample in the paperwork folder... maybe they should have! It was under the pram, and ended up pretty squashed, but lucky for me it did not break!
They got a stool sample the next morning - which needed the camera!! Poor Molly had on 2 diapers - one that had plastic on the outside that we had to put on her backwards so all the "good stuff" did not soak in, and they could get what they needed, and a larger one on the outisde to collect any potential leakage! Nice picture, huh?
I told a nurse when she filled it, and she gave me the sample jar to collect... UM, NO THANKS!! I was trying to eat my breakfast, so left her to it!! Molly was full of smiles!
They weighed her at 1am on the Thursday, then later that morning, then again Friday morning.. turns out I am starving my baby!
Talk about feeling guilty. Seems my milk supply is not all it thinks it is, and she is not getting enough. This is pretty confusing because she sleeps so well, and if you are hungry, you are normally cranky and dont sleep... She goes for up to 7 hours at night, so I was pretty confused.
To make a long story longer.... I am back to being Daisy the Cow... I breastfeed her, top her up with a bottle (not that she really wants it, she is pretty happy after the breast feed, so it is force feed, but my lil piggy takes it!), then express for 10 minutes or so to make sure I am drained of all potential milk (this helps me make more for her next feed... all very scientific).
I have to wake her if she is asleep to feed every 3 hours in the day, and just whenever she wakes up at night.
I thought all this time consuming rubbish was behind us, but it cant be smooth sailing for us just yet!!!
I really want to keep breast feeding if I can, but we will see what happens. I know that at the end of the day, I need to do what is best for Molly, and that is what is best for me too.
She is such a content happy little baby, we just want her to be chubby too!!!
So we are home, and Jasper is totally excited. He missed me, as I missed him. Although, he tells me that daddy is now his best friend! (I think some good bonding happened while I was away!).
So to sum up, Molly is too skinny, but we are forcing her to chunk up - and she is happy to pig out every feed!!!
I need to take her back to the hospital to weigh her on their scales again next week, and we go from there.
I have borrowed some scales from the hospital where she was born (along with an expressing machine - what I call the torture chamber!), so I can weigh her before and after a breastfeed to see how much she is taking in from me, then top her up with as much as she will take from the bottle.
Bottle feeding is time consuming (the prep, heating, cleaning etc), and I am too bone arse lazy to do it for long. So in the words of a good Texan lady "go ninja boobs, do your work!!".
One good thing about being in the hospital when we were is there was a lady (and I use that term loosely Kelly) with her 6 month old darling in the bed opposite. We hit it off, and are now firm friends! It was really nice having someone there to whinge with and keep sane with!!
Signing off for now...
thanks for reading
Brooke
xx
Molly has not been gaining weight. She has actually been losing weight. I went to see our local doctor on Wednesday last week about it, and he said to come back in a week. I went back the following Wednesday (this week), and he was happy that she had put on 15g - normally babies should put on a minimum of 100g a week at her age. He said to come back in 2 weeks.
I went to see my child health nurse the same day as I was not happy with the doctor's answers.
She was mortified at the doctor, and wrote me a referral for the emergency department at PMH. Not that you need a referral, but it helps them not think you are a neurotic mother!!!
Since we were at PMH for Jasper's appointment, we went to emergency once we had finished with him.
The doctor said that nothing about what was happening with Molly was good or normal. Basically, she had to be admitted to hospital to figure out what was happening... and by the way, could I collect a wee sample from her..
I remember doing this when Jasper was a baby, and that was easier... boy bits vs girl bits!!
She was really upset laying on the bed with no nappy and me hovering around her rear end waiting, waiting, waiting.
After about 15 minutes, I picked her up and cuddled her... she wanted to feed again (big suprise - that is a common thing for her after 3pm... constant feeding), so she was breast feeding, and I am trying to hold her with one arm, hold the specimen jar with the other and keep an eye out for the pee!!!
I wish we had the camera, it was quite a sight!!! THEN when she did pee, I nearly missed it, and she got it all over me and the floor!!
Jasper and I were in hysterics about it!! Lucky it was only on my ankle.. I had a towel thing under her butt.
Ok, so wee sample was given, and initial tests showed no UTI - excellent! They wanted to do further tests though.
Then came the bad news... we were being admitted, but there were no beds at PMH, so we needed to go to Joondalup hospital... it is closer to home, and the doctors we saw are PMH staff, so that was some comfort.
I drove Japser home to stay with Paul - lucky he is home at the moment! - then hightailed it to Joondalup hospital.
PMH didn't tell me that they had put Molly's wee sample in the paperwork folder... maybe they should have! It was under the pram, and ended up pretty squashed, but lucky for me it did not break!
They got a stool sample the next morning - which needed the camera!! Poor Molly had on 2 diapers - one that had plastic on the outside that we had to put on her backwards so all the "good stuff" did not soak in, and they could get what they needed, and a larger one on the outisde to collect any potential leakage! Nice picture, huh?
I told a nurse when she filled it, and she gave me the sample jar to collect... UM, NO THANKS!! I was trying to eat my breakfast, so left her to it!! Molly was full of smiles!
They weighed her at 1am on the Thursday, then later that morning, then again Friday morning.. turns out I am starving my baby!
Talk about feeling guilty. Seems my milk supply is not all it thinks it is, and she is not getting enough. This is pretty confusing because she sleeps so well, and if you are hungry, you are normally cranky and dont sleep... She goes for up to 7 hours at night, so I was pretty confused.
To make a long story longer.... I am back to being Daisy the Cow... I breastfeed her, top her up with a bottle (not that she really wants it, she is pretty happy after the breast feed, so it is force feed, but my lil piggy takes it!), then express for 10 minutes or so to make sure I am drained of all potential milk (this helps me make more for her next feed... all very scientific).
I have to wake her if she is asleep to feed every 3 hours in the day, and just whenever she wakes up at night.
I thought all this time consuming rubbish was behind us, but it cant be smooth sailing for us just yet!!!
I really want to keep breast feeding if I can, but we will see what happens. I know that at the end of the day, I need to do what is best for Molly, and that is what is best for me too.
She is such a content happy little baby, we just want her to be chubby too!!!
So we are home, and Jasper is totally excited. He missed me, as I missed him. Although, he tells me that daddy is now his best friend! (I think some good bonding happened while I was away!).
So to sum up, Molly is too skinny, but we are forcing her to chunk up - and she is happy to pig out every feed!!!
I need to take her back to the hospital to weigh her on their scales again next week, and we go from there.
I have borrowed some scales from the hospital where she was born (along with an expressing machine - what I call the torture chamber!), so I can weigh her before and after a breastfeed to see how much she is taking in from me, then top her up with as much as she will take from the bottle.
Bottle feeding is time consuming (the prep, heating, cleaning etc), and I am too bone arse lazy to do it for long. So in the words of a good Texan lady "go ninja boobs, do your work!!".
One good thing about being in the hospital when we were is there was a lady (and I use that term loosely Kelly) with her 6 month old darling in the bed opposite. We hit it off, and are now firm friends! It was really nice having someone there to whinge with and keep sane with!!
Signing off for now...
thanks for reading
Brooke
xx
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