Living the good life!

So here we are, living the good life at long last.  We're in the luxurious position of being able to ask for nursing help whenever we want.  The trouble with luxury is the amount of decisions you have to make.  I mean, do we want one full night sleep this week or two; shall we have someone for two short work days on the weekend or enjoy one long day?  Choices, choices - what to do!  It seems like I've spent a week looking at my agenda and calculating rates.  Well at least we are finally all arranged and sorted for July.  

Being a parent makes me wish I had managed to get promoted when I was serving in the RAF.  I just can't believe how organised you have to be, and I don't seem to be able to master it at all.  So maybe, if I would have made it to the lofty rank of Group Commander, I just might have had enough practise to have mastered the military precision it takes to get one child ready for a trip outside.  

I remember quite a few years ago watching in awe as my friend Jaquie got herself ready for work and her two kids ready for school - it was amazing! They were out of bed, washed, dressed, fed, lunches packed, individual changing bags packed (extra clothes, pampers, etc.), Jacquie was all neat and presentable and everyone was off and into the car within an hour!!!!  If I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes, I would be calling myself a liar.  

Other mums keep reassuring me that practice makes perfect, hmmmm, I will have to trust them on this, but so far ... well, let's just say I need more practice! 

I'm feeling really impatient as I can't wait for the delivery of Noah's new furniture.  As mentioned previously, we've got on order his bath, a buggy, a car seat that can turn, making it easier to load Noah and all his equipment into the car, plus a box and a bed. All of these things will make a dramatic improvement to our situation and so I wish they would hurry up and deliver them yesterday!  :)

You've all seen how much Noah loves his bath from the previous post, but this last week he's had stomach flu so it would have been so nice to be able to wash him properly. Plus it's nice for him to be able to float and we all know warm water around a sore tummy is very soothing.

All this beautiful weather, I just want to be able to put him in a buggy and go outside, instead of all the construction work we have to do with the current car seat / pram set up that we have, Noah is almost growing out of the thing and he only just fits , so he's not that happy with being squished into it.  My back will be very happy when we get delivery of the higher and roomier box plus it will be great to see Noah be able to roll about freely in it. Hopefully we'll hear something back from the council next week about when it all gets delivered.

Something I'm really dreaming about is finally being able to snuggle next to Noah on his bed in our pyjamas and read him a bed time story.    How cool will that be - VERY COOL!   

Talking about cool, have you checked out the GretaBonteKoe website?!  Only 19 sleeps till we're on holiday! :)  I've been busy shopping for holiday clothes (of course!!) and found the cutest sun protection factor 40+ swim suit for Noah with a matching hat - he's going to look so cute, very pale but very cute! The Hema has also been raided for some cool dude rompers and shorts and grampy Bazzard has also been put on the alert and is busy shopping back in Wales. So I wouldn't be surprised if Noah needs a bigger suitcase than Thijs and I put together, but that's the price of being a dedicated follower of fashion! 

Keeping Noah cool in this weather is quite tough.  He doesn't have enough sweat glands to keep himself cool, he has to wear his corset which makes him very warm, and of course he won't drink anything just yet, so the shopping wasn't all about fun.  Thijs and Arie, (one of Noah's nurses) were busy putting up a ventilator fan/light above Noah's box today and that helped a lot with keeping the area around him cool.  I had a good idea of trying and find one of those battery operated mini fans so that we can take that with us when we go out with him in his buggy.  It's either that or the PGB has to pay for a "punt wallah" to follow him around! (You may remember the punt wallah that the Seargent Major is always screaming at for falling asleep at the end of every episode of "It ain't half hot mum!")

While we're on holiday it will be Noah's birthday, and as mentioned we're going to Burgers Zoo in Arnhem.   If people want to meet us on that day please leave a comment/message or call us and we'll arrange something.

Noah continues to do great with his development.  Even though he's been sick this week, he's still a big lad.  He has officially been recorded, (from our visit to the hospital), as 78cm and 11.2Kg. We've noticed this weekend that 4 new teeth are starting to erupt in his mouth.  On the top it's the two canines (hoektanden) and on the bottom 2 molars (kiezen).  He has 8 teeth broken through so far.  It looks like Noah wants to get this teething thing over and done with as quickly as possible.

Noah is getting quicker and more adept at grabbing things, you have to be VERY quick with suctioning him now, otherwise you have entered the Noah's championship tube wrestling arena!  This boy has a really strong grip and does not want to let go - I'm sure Lilo has been giving him tips!  There is no way Noah will lie down anymore, he wants to sit up and oversee his domain even when his head is drooping with sleepiness. Noah is finally back to being the happy baby he was when he first came home.  It's really wonderful.

The biggest and best improvement by far is that Noah has been managing a steady 7 hours a day off his machine (with breaks in between) plus we've been lowering his oxygen and he's been managing on 0.2l/min as opposed to his 4l/min that he was on prior to his canule being replaced from 3.5mm with the larger 4mm.  He's far more alert and playful plus really curious about the world around him.  

Thijs has yet again spoiled me with a lovely dinner tonight.  We are trying to be a bit more healthy and so we had grilled Haloumi cheese with spiced vegetable cous-cous.  Yummy! Since I have an ENORMOUS sweet tooth, Thijs made a really tasty desert out of fresh Apricots, marzipan and puff pastry.  (Some of you may know what a huge chocolate monster I am, so the fact that this desert is made from fruits makes it healthy in my book!).  I surprised myself and totally enjoyed it!  Thijs bought a new dessert wine to try out, Monbazillac, and it really complemented the dish. We're thinking of adding a recipe of the week blog entry for your amusement. Let us know what you think of that idea.

  

Without further ado, I shall now shut up and leave you with a video of our Ginger Nut / Gember wortel for you to enjoy.  

Bye for now,

Louise