Tuesday, 29 April 2014

Spring into action!

It's been a busy but brilliant couple of weeks since I last posted an update on here. The long Easter weekend was spent with Uncle's, Aunts, Cousins and grandparents as we descended on the London branch of the family. On Good Friday us men were left to fend for ourselves (and the kids) whilst the ladies took a well earned break and treated themselves to afternoon tea at the Savoy!

In typical male fashion, weeks of meticulous planning for the 'men and kids' day took place... okay so we spent 10 minutes deciding we can't decide what to do, jumped in the cars and 'winged it' ending up at a farm in Lee Valley which proved to be a great success.

Needless to say there were lots of animals which gave me the chance to do some much needed practice with Makaton signing – something I do struggle to use (and remember). I keep persevering but it really doesn't come that naturally to me if I'm honest. Bud knows far more than I do which is great testament to the time and effort Karen puts in with her.

She wasn't keen on any of the animals at first as she would point to them and shout, "No!" before turning her head in the opposite direction in a rather stroppy manner. It was funny to witness but I was mindful that I didn't want her to be in fear of them so kept her at distance until she felt more comfortable with the environment. It took a Grandad and an Uncle to convince her it was okay and before long she was feeding a pony some grass and stroking it's nose!

In less positive news Rosie has recently re-introduced her vicious face grabbing, hair pulling and general attacking of the face. Whilst it seems nobody is exempt from the wrath of the Bud, the majority of it is felt by Karen and Rosie's friends of similar age – especially 'Layna' who spends a lot of time with Rosie. They'll be playing together nicely then suddenly Rosie will grab her hair. Thankfully, 'Layna' doesn't make a fuss and will just wait for adult intervention then carry on playing. Karen received a swipe the other day which scratched the surface of her eye causing a lot of discomfort so we are having to be extra vigilant at the moment. I'd like to say it's a show of affection as we previously thought but it's obvious now by her face that she knows it is wrong, it's clearly a form of attention seeking but how to resolve it is giving us a few headaches (and Karen sore eyes!).

Jumping back to better news again...  For the past few weeks Rosie has been getting herself into a crawling position, holding it for a while then falling back to her bum. A couple of days ago she was in this position again and suddenly attempted to crawl which ended up being a kind of half crawl half bum shuffle – I really can't explain it very well so I've included a video below!

Then only yesterday to our amazement she crawled properly for the first time, again there is a video of her doing this below. She was very pleased with herself and rightly so – it's a wonderful achievement and one which we're all very proud of especially as we thought she would bypass this stage altogether.



New Crawl from The Future's Rosie on Vimeo.

Rosie's first crawl from The Future's Rosie on Vimeo.







Wednesday, 2 April 2014

Every little step...

Well I'm happy to say we've survived March again – without doubt THE most chaotic month of the year in our house. Thankfully all birthdays passed off without too much trouble other than the obvious dent in the the monthly budget – Down's Syndrome Awareness Week also kept us very busy and proved another huge success!

Unfortunately we've been less successful in encouraging Rosie to bond with 'C3PO' (her new walking aid). There's possible blame on our part due to having such little time to persevere, although the whole thing feels a bit too cumbersome for her to manage at the moment which isn't making it any easier. However...

....Rosie seems to have taken a whole new lease of life without C3PO! Whilst out on a family walk to one of our favourite places, Quarry Bank Mill, I took Rosie out of her pushchair, held both her hands and we walked together – it wasn't very fast and we took as much time as needed but she went further than she's ever gone before. Previously she'd been going maybe three or four steps before plonking herself back on her bottom!

The more we walk with her now the more co-ordinated she's getting with her legs, which is giving her more confidence. Her feet are also beginning to point more in the direction of five minutes to one, rather than a quarter to three! She's a long way off supporting herself but another breakthrough came yesterday when she walked across the living room floor with Karen holding just one hand! Will she be walking soon? I'm not so sure but watch this space... it's certainly looking more promising!

As many of you will know (and already be tired of hearing no-doubt) The Future's Rosie has been shortlisted in two categories for the 2014 MAD Blog Awards – 'Blog of the year' and 'Best Writer'. Thank you so much for those of you that nominated and for everyone who show's their continued support it means a great deal to me. Blog of the year is a judged category but Best Writer is up for public vote, which is where I need your help (again!)...

I find canvassing for votes very difficult as I worry it gives the impression I'm trying to pat myself on the back which couldn't be further from the truth. To win would be a marvellous honour, yes, BUT more importantly would help the blog reach a wider audience.

Last year it was fortunate enough to win 'Best New Blog' which in turn raised the profile and gave me opportunities to share the word via articles on BBC News and National Press. The blog now reaches more people as a result and I believe that an increasing amount of new parents have stumbled upon it whilst searching online – some finding it a help in the early, delicate days of trying to 'come to terms'  with a diagnosis of Down's syndrome with their child.

If you would like to vote for 'The Future's Rosie' as 'Best Writer' you can do so by clicking the link below, anyone can vote so if you wanted to ask your friends too I won't be offended ;)

http://www.the-mads.com/vote/