Swimming with Kids

Last week Mr B had a few days off so on Friday we decided to take the kids swimming. Due to the age restrictions I can’t take all 3 on my own, so with Mr B being off I thought it would be a good idea.

I feel really guilty that this is the first time that Little D has been swimming. It’s really awful how time slips away and before you know it months or years have gone by and you haven’t done things you’ve wanted to.

Anyway, at first D was hanging on to his Daddy for dear life, his little chin wobbling with fear and generally just unsure of what the hell was going on. I had Miss C for the first wee while then we swapped and I took him deeper in the water and bobbed him about a bit and he was soon splashing, sticking his face in the water, playing with his sisters and constantly kicking me in the stomach.

Miss C was actually buzzing out of her tights! It’s been over 18 months since she’s been (bad Mummy) and she loved it. The kid has no fear. It’s brill but scary.I’m glad she’s like that though, and I’m going to enrol her in swimming lessons as soon as she is old enough. Being able to swim is such a life skill that I think it’s really important that kids learn as soon as they can. I was also told by the Physiotherapist that swimming could help to strengthen her muscles and help her hypermobility so I really want to try and take her more often and help those wee bendy ankles, knees and hips.

Miss B started swimming lessons in 2012 and she is amazing. She is almost finished all the levels and her couch was talking to her about starting the junior lifeguard programme which she is quite keen to do. She has a lot of activities so we will need to have a look and see what it involves and where she can fit it in.

I can tell you though that taking 3 kids swimming was so tiring. Just getting the 2 wee ones out of the pool, showered, dried and dressed was mental. We went at 9am and it was quiet, so no lack of family changing room or showers and everyone was shattered afterwards that we had a really chilled afternoon.

Hope you all have a good week.

Cx

Egg Allergy

I’ve posted about Miss Cs food allergies before and a few of them snuck up and gave us a surprise. When I started weaning her brother I was particularly vigilant to make sure there were no reactions. All allergies react differently, it could be a rash, hives, vomiting, gas, the trots and some cases even anaphylaxis.

When I was weaning I would give the same food at least 2 days in a row to see if there was any reaction. The first food that caused a reaction was lentils. I had made a lentil and vegetable puree and after he ate it he had a rash around his mouth which looked a bit like prickly heat. I gave him more the next day and he instantly got the rash again.

A few weeks later I had made his sister some dairy free scrambled egg made with almond milk and within 5 minutes he was refusing to eat, his skin was all red and blotchy and he was scratching like crazy. I stopped giving him the egg and watched him for 5 mins to see if that was the only reaction. He seemed to be getting itchier and all of a sudden his breathing seemed laboured. I decided to give him some antihistamine and phoned Mr B who was working locally just incase I had to take him to the hospital. As soon as I gave him the Piriton he was sick but thankfully it seemed to do it’s job and his breathing went back to normal after 10 mins and the rash started to fade.

I wasn’t sure what it was that he had reacted to, it could have been the eggs or the almond milk and I knew from experience that I would have to give him eggs again without the almond milk to rule it out. I left it a few weeks and gave him scrambled egg with cows milk and he had the same reaction. I treated it with Piriton again and he was fine.

We have been avoiding egg and to be honest, we haven’t really had that much of an issue. Most of his food is made from scratch by me and if I do need to buy anything then I just need to check the ingredients.

Yesterday I made his sister scrambled egg for lunch and as always, I made sure that everything I used was kept away from his plate and utensils. All was well, she ate her egg, he ate his sandwich and his peach. Miss C decided to help her brother and gave him a few bits then started dancing round about him. I was clearing up when I noticed he was scratching his chest so I went to have a look and saw that he was red and covered in hives. I couldn’t figure out what had happened then realised that Miss C must have had remnants of egg on her hands when she touched the fruit. Again, within a few minutes his breathing started to become laboured and he was clawing at himself. I gave him some Piriton and cleared everything away and cleaned his chair and tray just incase there was anymore there.

When you are dealing with your kids allergies you usually know what to look out for and what kind of reaction to expect. Certainly with Miss C we know what happens when she reacts to different foods but we have never had any kind of reaction like this. I need to make sure I always have a bottle of Piriton in my bag at all times and I am going to speak to the allergy specialist who we are going to see on Friday for Miss C and enquire if we can get him tested to make sure we are managing his needs properly.

Here are pics of yesterdays reaction:

Cx

 

I’m back

Well, it’s been almost a year! Have you missed me?

There has been so much going on since I last blogged that I actually don’t know where to start. My last update was about us being a family of 5 and my birth story. Little D is now 14 months old and life has been a whirlwind since his arrival. He isn’t a great sleeper and hasn’t been since birth so the last year has been rough. Most nights we are lucky to get more than 7 hours, and that’s only been in the last 2-3 months. I’m pinning my hopes on the clocks going forward and him sleeping past 05:30am so we can get some actual sleep!

I have literally had no time to do anything for myself for the last year but I’m slowly starting to feel a bit less hectic and more organised so I really want to try and get back to some regular blogs and putting my thoughts down and recording some of the chaos and madness that goes on in my life.

I am officially a stay at home Mum and juggling 3 kids all at very different stages and running the house is challenging and manic and amazing all at the same time. I am really going to try and keep it going this time and as always, I will be honest about everything. Over the last few months, I’ve posted a few things that people have said to me offline “Oh you should take that down” but I believe in being honest and not sugar coating things. Parenting is hard. End of! My three are amazing and funny and frustrating and infuriating all at different times. Some days by the time Mr B comes home from work I am a wreck, then others it’s been a great day and I’m in full on 50’s housewife mode. There are highs and lows every day and if I can share that and make one person feel that they are not alone then I will be happy.

I’m going to leave you with an up to date look at my wee monkeys.

Miss B is 9.5 and is a full of energy and sass. She is still doing really well at school and has loads of hobbies. This year she took up the flute and she is really good.

Miss C is 2.5 and my little toddling tornado. She is full on and one minute she is bawling, screaming and horrible then two seconds later she is adorable and cuddly and loving. In my house I usually just say #toddler.

Little D is 14 months old. Like I said, he still isn’t a great sleeper but he is better than he was so I can’t complain too much. He is almost walking and loves playing his big sisters. His favourite things at the moment are Teletubbies and eating. He eats EVERYTHING!!!!!

And here is me. I’m probably about a stone heavier than I was the last time I blogged, and I have been more tired that I ever thought possible but here I am.  Still standing, just 🙂