Planning for 2013

WOW!  The past year has zipped by at a VERY rapid rate of knots! It's time to plan and purchase for 2013 already!

Flossy will be year 4, Bugsy year 2, Chicky Pre-Primary (US K equivalent) and Possum will be 2yo.

So here is what we have planned for a super fun year -

Flossy age 8, year 4 -
Galore Park Junior Maths book 2* & 3
Kumon Word Problems Grade 3* & 4
Khan Academy
Logic workbooks & games
IEW SWI-A*
Galore Park Junior English Book 2*
Classical House of Learning History & Literature (SOTW4)

Bugsy age 7, year 2 -
Rightstart C
Kumon Word Problems 2
Khan Academy
Logic workbooks & games
All About Speling 2* & 3
Explode the Code 6, 7 & 8
I See Sam Readers*
Writing With Ease 2

Chicky age 5, Pre-primary -
Rightstart B
Kumon Word Problems 1
Logic games
All About Spelling 1 & 2
Explode the Code 1, 2 & 3
Handwriting Without Tears My Printing Book
I See Sam Readers*

Possum age 2 -
Speech Therapy
Occupational Therapy

Together -
Auslan using various resources from Bilby Publishing

Engineering is Elementary which i will flesh out to include cultural study for Bugsy & Chicky as their 'program' for the year.  We will spend 2 weeks on each book, which will include the engineering project and geography/culture for the country.

Lego Mindstorms, Snap Circuits 750 & other STEM programming activities as listed here.

Come & Look with me (art appreciation)

Various art and crafts as instigated by the children

Nature study

Music appreciation (classical)

Swimming, surf club & Scouts

NOTES -
Bugsy & Chicky will not 'tag along' with Flossy for SOTW4 this year.  I think it is too heavy for them at their ages/maturity and Flossy will follow her own course of study mostly independently for the year.  Bugsy & Chicky will instead have a STEM focus for the year and Flossy will join in as her science.

Yes, we are changing up our maths.  Flossy completed the entire Miquon line up as per our maths scope and sequence posted here.  You learn a lot about a program when you complete it from start to finish that you wouldn't know without using it in it's entirety.  Whilst i love Miquon and what it has to offer i have learned that it isn't going to be the right fit for Chicky and i think Bugsy is far enough into it that it's time for a change for him.  He's set off on the right foot as Miquon is such a solid foundation that it's the right time to change him.

We are also dropping Latin.  This has been a really tough decision for me.  I can see and completely understand the benefits that Latin has however it is taking up a significant portion of my time working with Flossy and understanding it all.  Possum needs to learn more Auslan as he doesn't talk.  So we will be switching Latin for Auslan for the time being.  I already have Latin Prep from Galore Park which is what we were going to do after Getting Started with Latin.  I will now shelve this and hand it on to Flossy to complete independently maybe in year 5 or 6.

Items marked * are programs that we have been working on this year which need completion.  As we school year round we start new books as and when required, not necessarily at the beginning of the year which means that some books hang over to the following year :)

Tentative plan for 2014 is an Australian History year for everyone before beginning the 4 year history cycle again in 2015.

Possum Update

Big drum roll for Possum.....

at 1 year and 10 months...

Possum now weighs...

10kg!!!

What a long time coming that has been!  We had a review with the paediatrician this past week and he was satisfied that Possum is finally putting on some weight even though it's very slow.  We now have a green light to start some dairy and gluten food trials again.

We also had a review with our feeding team which consists of a speech therapist, occupational therapist, dietician and physiotherapist.  They were all VERY impressed with his progress.  He is biting and chewing his foods better.  He is not as scared of foods as he was.  He is more willing to try things even if he spits them out.  They were satisfied to the point of saying they now feel his food preferences reflect a more normal fussy toddler than a child with feeding issues and they don't see a need to see us again.  He's also drinking plenty of water both from a straw and a sippy cup, this was another of his issues.

All the hard work is paying off!

He's such a happy boy.  I had to share these photo's taken today :)

Amber xx

Checking in

Busy, busy, busy!!  Possum has been sick with an ear infection going on 3 weeks, poor baby.  He's been quite brave and we seem to finally be getting back on top of it, thank goodness because the sleep deprivation from comforting him all night has been taking a huge toll.  I don't know if i make sense half the time LOL.

In spite of all this school continues to cruise along.  I say cruise because we have been taking a bit of a lighter approach.

Bugsy has completed Kumon Word Problems Grade 1 and i will hold off on Grade 2 until he has completed more of Miquon Blue.  Flossy worked on them concurrently however i can see the benefit of waiting just a little before starting this one.

He has also completed the dark green I See Sam Readers and his reading is going swimmingly!  3 more levels of I See Sam to go and he will be done, then will come the challenge to select school related reads for him.

Flossy has worked hard to finish Miquon Yellow.  There are some challenging questions in that book!  Miquon Purple is next and i'm sure she will find it just as challenging.  Then to decide what to do next. I though i had that mapped out but now i'm having second thoughts.  I will just see how she goes with this book and decide closer to the end i think.  Very proud of her and she is proud of herself knowing how close she is to completing the series.

Chicky is motoring along with reading, phonics and handwriting.  For maths we are working on counting to 100, she makes it to 12 no worries but we have a long way to go LOL.  I am hoping by teaching her to write the numbers she will see them easier which might help her to remember their names.

Possum apart from being unwell with his ear infection and trying to cut his molars which are taking forever to come through is good.  He's started using more signs, yay!  So far i have seen sleep, food, baby, teddy bear, bath, cat, dog, bye and i think that's it.  I'm so pleased we are finally getting somewhere on the communication front.  Last night we actually had a little game and conversation and he signed in context.  It was enough to melt your heart!  He is walking everywhere with confidence now too and his understanding seems to have come on in leaps and bounds!

It's all coming together

After my last post about loosing my groove i've been trying to find a new one.  I'm pleased to say it's all coming together again, yay!  Hoping for smooth sailing until the end of July now, fingers crossed.

Kids are again trucking through their work.  Today Chicky completed her Get Set for the Code Book B.  I imagine she will work through the next one quite quickly now.  She has really come on with her phonics and handwriting.

Don't you just love the expression!

Possum is coming along beautifully.  After his first sign a few weeks back he's now also signed dog and teddy bear.  I'd really like food, drink and finished but he's got other ideas LOL.  I shared a few weeks back that he had taken his first steps, well i'm proud to say that he is now toddling around the place (i don't think i shared that in our last update?).  So at 21m he is walking independently, very exciting to finally see him toddling around the place!  Just to make my heart melt he has learnt to give kisses and big cuddles too :)

I am REALLY enjoying my new camera!  I've been taking photo's most days, mostly candid ones, here are a couple of my favourites.

I studied photography in highschool and i am finding most of the principles are coming back to me however i had no experience in digital editing so i'm enjoying learning something new there.  A friend suggested that i pick up Understanding Exposure as a refresher and i'm glad i did, lots of nuggets in there :)

Lost our groove & an update

We hit the ground running at the start of the year and worked really hard and really solidly. Our days seemed very fluid with only the occasional speed bump. Lately though we have lost our groove. It doesn't take much to throw you completely off track. At the start of the year Possum was napping in the morning. He'd go to bed around 10am and wake around lunchtime or shortly after. This gave me a great solid block of time to really get stuck into the one on one subjects with the kids. Now Possum has moved his nap to the afternoon. He's going to bed around 12.30pm and that means I'm juggling every morning. The big kids are not in the right frame of mind to focus in the afternoon so we really have to focus in the morning. Unfortunately I am finding Possum is a big time sap and I'm struggling to keep everyone on track. Sometimes my day just capitulates into fun and games and no formal school at all. I have to keep reminding myself that homeschooling is a marathon not a sprint and this season of busy toddler, will pass.

In spite of all of that we have been making some forward progress. Bugsy has completed Handwriting Without Tears, My Printing Book and has made the big transition into Writing With Ease 1.

Bugsy has also completed Miquon Red so will be moving into Miquon Blue.

Chicky has been reading more of the I See Sam readers. We've instituted a 'reading time' where everyone except Possum is required to read allowed to everyone else. It's really helping promote the reading culture and Flossy has even declared that she is finally enjoying reading allowed. Bugsy has started putting on voices for different characters now that he isn't struggling with decoding each and every word.

Possum is finally walking, woohoo!  I posted a little while back that he had taken a couple of steps and he kept that up but preferred to crawl until last week when he suddenly took off!  In very exciting news he slept through the night for the first time ever last week, hopefully there are more nights like that to come.

Jasper (our dog) is feeling much better 4 weeks on from his surgery.  We still have to keep him quiet and he is still crated much of the day but the vet has advised that we can begin to give him more yard time over the next 2 weeks so that by the time he is 6 weeks post op he should be back to his normal self.

We rescued a baby rainbow lorikeet last week.  Whilst out for a morning walk we came across a baby with a broken wing.  We threw a jumper over it and took it to our local vet who was going to assess it for suitability for rehabilitation and send it on to a wildlife carer.

I got a new camera a Canon 550D with a lovely 'fast' 50mm prime lens.  Photography was a passion of mine in high school and is something i would love to have devoted more time too.  I've got some photo shoot ideas in mind for my kiddies.  Here are a couple of snaps from day 1.  See the difference between these and those ones of Bugsy above (the one of Possum is with the new camera).  Doesn't it take a much nicer picture than the point & shoot, swoon.  Lucky i know how to use it properly, no auto settings for me :)

Hopefully i will be back to regular blogging shortly.  I've got an award to pass on!

Possum Signed!

Just a quick note. I had to share that Possum signed his first sign this evening! Proud Mummy moment :-)

He signed 'sleep' several times. We were getting ready to pick Flossy up from Cubs and I was putting on his jumper as it's cold and he signed 'sleep' and looked at me and I said 'sleep' and he immediately signed it again with a huge grin. He did it several times over the next 15 minutes including once we got to Cubs to pick Flossy up.

I'm so excited! This is his first attempt at proper communication! He babbles plenty but doesn't have any words yet. Woohoo! All our hard work is paying off!

Washing Baskets

Do you use your just for washing?  I've heard library books take up residence at several peoples houses, sometimes toys.  At my place it seems the baby gets the basket :-)

Here is Possum on his first trip to the beach.  What better place for the baby than a washing basket bed under the sun shelter.

Here is Possum helping me hang the washing.  What better viewing place than the washing basket complete with comfy pillow so he could see what i was up to.

Here is Possum helping to squish all my clean washing.  What better place to snuggle than clean washing.  This was taken this evening.  I wonder if he remembers me putting him in there as a tiny tot or if it just looked like fun.  He played in that basket for a good 15 minutes whilst i cleaned up the kitchen from dinner.  So cute!

'Knock em Out!' Smoothies

When i first got my Thermomix i was making quite a few smoothies, it was summer and it was a great thirst quencher.  As i got busy i stopped making them so much and left it for weekends or once in a while treats.  As Possum has struggled with his weight gain quite a few people had mentioned to me about making smoothies to help him along.  That was all well and good but the little lad had only just worked out how to drink water from a cup and i didn't want to mess with that.  So i was patiently waiting until he worked out one of the other cups.  It wasn't happening, then to my surprise one afternoon he picked up one of the kids Thermos water bottles which have a flip top lid and straw and he drank from the straw!  Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather!  He sat and drank and spat water out and had a great time until the water bottle was empty.

Next time i was at the shops i was on the hunt for a toddler friendly drinking cup with a silicone straw, BPA free, with no fancy stop leak valve or anything.  Do you know how hard it was to find?  I went to 5 different shops before finding the perfect cup in Woolworths.  Home i went to make smoothies :-)

Possum loved his smoothie!  As did the other kids.  They will now be a regular feature on our menu.  Most likely for afternoon tea.

When asking the kids for a name for these smoothies they came up with 'Knock em Out!' Smoothies which is really cute :-)  They know the smoothies are packed full of goodies to help their 'good bugs' fight off the 'bad bugs'.  Love that they are so keen to take good care of their bodies!

Here is what we had ~

Knock em Out Version 1

2 bananas

1 heaped tablespoon raw cocoa powder

1 heaped tablespoon coconut oil

large handful almonds

large handful baby spinach

large handful frozen blueberries

1/2 small tub vanilla soy yogurt

sugar to taste

soy milk

Knock em Out Version 2

1 heaped tablespoon coconut oil

1 heaped tablespoon raw cocoa powder

2 bananas

large handful frozen blueberries

4 broccoli florets

1/2 small tub vanilla soy yogurt

large handful almonds

1 tablespoon linseeds

large handful baby spinach

raw sugar to taste

coconut water

My method is simple and you could use any variety of ingredients to suit yourself.

First mill all of the seeds, nuts, grains on 10 for about 45sec.

Add all of the fruit and other ingredients except your thinner (soy milk, coconut water etc)

Mix on 10 until smooth and pasty, about 30 seconds.

Add your thinner and mix on 10 for a few seconds then re-evaluate and continue to add and mix until it reaches the consistency you desire.

Taste test and add sweetener to taste.

Serve in a large glass with a straw.

My receipts above made enough for 4 serves.

There is no end to what you can put in these smoothies.  Enjoy!

Hand Hygiene

With winter rapidly approaching here and the cold and flu season already started it's important to refresh ourselves and our children on the importance of good hand hygiene.  Research shows there is a significant reduction in the transfer of 'germs' when good hand hygiene is implemented.  Having a child who has compromised respiratory function (Possum) makes it doubly important to our family.

Here is an article on the importance of hand washing and a guideline on when to wash.

Here is the poster that we have in our bathroom to remind everyone of the correct way to wash your hands.

We also have antibacterial hand lotion available on the kitchen counter at all times.  Whilst we use it regularly it is no substitute for hand washing.  If your hands are soiled they must be washed and dried properly to thoroughly remove germs.

I hope this has prompted you to remind your own children about the importance of good hand hygiene.

Things have been a little quite around here ...

I can assure you that is because we have been BUSY!  That and my internet connection dies in the evening :(  Thought a change in service provider would solve all my problems, sadly, they have returned! Looks like i will have to change my blogging habits.

So what have we been up to?

I've been busy in the kitchen mostly.  Some of the recipes have made their way onto the blog some more need refining and then i will post them too.  At the moment i am working on chickpea chocolate biscuits, or maybe that should be chocolate chickpea biscuits.  I'm using some 'different' ingredients as I am trying to fill up Possum (he eats like a bird) and also put some weight on him so we are going for high energy foods.  If he had a full tummy he might actually sleep, that would be bliss!

We ended up taking some time off school over Anzac Day and the following week as my niece came to stay then we had a bunch of appointments both in the city and at home.  We are back to regular programming this week although we are heading to the city Wednesday as i am talking the kids to the symphony cushion concert.  Should be loads of fun!

Anzac Day was great.  The kids enjoyed the march followed by wreath laying.  Then everyone went into the town hall for an hour long presentation.  There were various speakers speaking about their experience at war, playing the last post, hymns, prayers, songs, poems etc.  It was a really lovely way to honour those who fought for us and one of the best services i've been to.  Afterwards everyone had a sausage sizzle for breakfast before heading home.

It's never too early to buy books for next year, right?  Here are some new Anzac books that have arrived.  Many thanks to Jeanne @ A Peaceful Day for recommending these new titles.

Flossy has been busy reading.  No surprises there it's her favourite pastime.  She's recently found the author Michael Morpurgo and is really loving his books.

Bugsy has been busy riding his bike!

Chicky has been busy with her reading and maths.  She read her first I See Sam reader this week!  She's been working more in Miquon too.  Mini Math Monday should be back next week if i can tare Chicky away from Miquon long enough to fit in some living maths!

Possum has been playing and trying to take a few more steps.

Rusty has finished up his local work and has now gone to the city.  It will be hard with him working away but we have been there before.  Hopefully this time it won't be for very long.  We have plans afoot for our move back to the city later in the year.

Sadly our much loved Jasper was hit by a car last night.  He is in surgery as i type having his shattered pelvis and fractured hip repaired.  I'm busying myself waiting for the vet surgeon to call and let me know how it went.

Well, back to the books with the kiddies before packing to go to the city for the concert.

Possum ~ 100 days in NICU

What will tomorrow bring?

Yesterday Bugsy taught himself to ride his bike.  Today Possum taught himself to drink out of a straw.  What will tomorrow bring?

Bugsy's bike has been out of action for quite sometime with a flat tyre.  Rusty fixed it a couple of weeks ago and Bugsy immediately wanted the trainer wheels off.  He's been scooting around for a week or so after i showed him how and had Rusty lower the seat.  Yesterday we we down to the park in the afternoon and Bugsy bought his bike.  He was scooting along when Rusty suggested that he might try and pedal if he liked.  So he tried and off he went!  He was so very proud of himself and Rusty and I were pretty proud too.

Today all the kids were playing together when i hear Flossy saying, "He's drinking it!"  I was thinking "What?!"  Off i dash to find that Possum had picked up Bugsy's drink bottle and was drinking from the straw.  He's never drank from a straw before, he's always bitten it.  He drank lots of water then had a hissy fit when it was empty and taken away.  This is a massive achievement and means that we can look for a straw cup for him and perhaps introduce some protein packed smoothies to help with his non existent weight gain.  Hopefully he will enjoy them.

So, i wonder, what is install for us tomorrow =)

Possum's First Drawing

Enough said :-)

Possum Newsflash!

My heart is bursting, I just had to share ...

today Possum ...

at 1 year, 6 months, 1 week and 2 days ...

 took 2 steps independently!

An absolutely amazing achievement for my little man born at 25 weeks weighing just 865g.

Preparing for Anzac Day

Anzac Day is a day of remembrance in Australia.  It is a day to remember the soldiers who have fought for our country.  It is not a day to glorify war.  The day is observed nation wide as a public holiday and there are many dawn services and marches held around the country.  Anzac Day is commemorated on April 25.  You can see what Wiki has to say about Anzac Day here.

We have always 'done something' for Anzac Day.  We've attended the dawn service or gone to the diggers breakfast or watched the RAAF flyover or simply visited our local war memorial.  This year with Flossy and Bugsy joining Scouts we will be attending the dawn service and they will march with their group.

This year, for the first time i've felt the need to get them ready, to get myself ready.  A couple of years ago i read this lovely post by Jeanne at A Peaceful Day.  She has reviewed a number of picture books about Anzac Day.  At the time it was too late for me to purchase these books for Anzac Day as the post was only a couple of days in advance.  I promised myself that i would come back in 2011 and buy some of the books.  Sadly with Possum in hospital right before Anzac Day in 2011 the year also passed me by, but not this year.  This year i again read through Jeanne's list and went in search of many of the titles.  Sadly some of them are currently OOP.  I was able to purchase a few including -

Anzac Day Parade
My Grandad Marches on Anzac Day
My Mother's Eyes
Simpson and his Donkey
Why are they Marching, Daddy?

I also came across The Donkey Who Carried the Wounded.  It's not on Jeanne's list but I picked that up too.

I've put the books in our Morning Basket and plan to read from them every morning in the lead up to Anzac Day.  Hopefully we can add a few more next year.  Have you got any recommendations?

Amber

Another Busy Week

Another busy week here with more books completed!  If they keep up their pace they will sail through this years curriculum and well into next, eek!

Possum keeping himself busy while we do lessons.

The Tupperware cupboard is always more interesting than toys :)

I meant to include this work sample when Bugsy finished AAS1, but i forgot, oops!

Flossy & Bugsy busy building Snap Circuits which have featured heavily this week.

Bugsy & Flossy using Scratch for the first time, lots of fun!

Bugsy completed Explode the Code 3 1/2 and did a great job.  He is certainly more solid with silent e words the he was after finishing level 3.  He will move into 4 which we are loading onto the iPad, he's very excited.

Sample of Bugsy's work from the final pages of Explode the Code 3 1/2.

Flossy completed Life of Fred Apples 2 weeks ago and i forgot to take a pic.

This week she completed Life of Fred Butterflies.  This has all been review for Flossy but she is enjoying the story line.  I have to say that i feel Life of Fred is so light there is NO WAY it could be an entire curriculum without a significant amount of work from the parent/teacher.  In saying that we are enjoying it and will continue to use it as a fun, engaging supplement.

Amazing Babies

I have the pleasure of knowing these families personally.  Have your tissues ready.



Baby Blake was one of Possum's neighbours in NICU.




Tracey was the guest speaker at this years HeartKids Heart to Heart Ball.  Unfortunately i was not able to attend and see the speech in person but as soon as it was available i watched online.

I have the pleasure of working with both Bronwyn (Baby Blake's Mum) and Tracey through Miracle Babies Foundation.  They are truly amazing, inspirational women!

2 Big Days for Possum

DAY 1 - Possum's First Haircut

Possum had his very first haircut today and went from this .....

OK, this one was taken a few weeks ago but you get the idea.

to this :-)

Sorry for the grubby face.  The tape leaves a 

nasty residue which seems to last for days :(

He was very brave, no tears at all and he didn't seem to mind the noise of the clippers.  We did Bugsy's hair first so we could gauge if he was going to meltdown with the noise but he was fine.  It was easiest not to try and hold him still but to let him down standing at the edge of the bath.  It's one of his favorite places to be!  He was well rewarded with a bath afterward to get rid of all the little bits of hair stuck to him.

My boys sporting new haircuts.

DAY 2 - Oxygen Therapy to be Ceased Immediately

That is what the respiratory pediatrician said to me today at Possum's review.  Wow!!  Way to go Possum!  He's been so busy growing and getting stronger since his heart surgery which happened to be 1 year ago today.

In February we had a sleep study and the results said that Possum maintained a mean oxygen saturation of 97% overnight with the lowest recording being 91%.  This is amazing considering during his first study his mean was 91%.  He had 50 episodes of central apnoea but the longest episode was only 8.6 seconds so they are not of any concern, and very normal in children who were born as early as Possum was.

It's very exciting.  Hopefully Possum will adjust well and begin to sleep better at night not having the cannular to deal with and oxygen blowing up his nose.

The Dr was quick to point out that this year will be very testing on Possum's overall health.  He will not receive the RSV jabs this winter, nor will he have the respite of oxygen at night.  We will need to remain vigilant about only socializing with healthy people and avoiding crowds over the winter months.  A small price to pay to keep my little boy healthy.  I'm so glad that we homeschool and don't have to deal with all the classroom bugs!

Attacking Communication

Ever feel like your waging a war?  I do continually with Possum.  The latest battle front is communication.  Possum had his 12m corrected growth and development review back in January and whilst he did VERY well over all, his communication skills are behind.  He is now 17m old and his hearing and language skills were evaluated as being equivalent to a 10m old.

Possum doesn't have any words.  He can't identify objects if you asks 'Where's the block?'  He doesn't point to things he wants.  He will shake his head if he doesn't want food in the highchair.  He will put his arms up to be picked up.  He has finally started clapping and waving although it's more the realisation that he can actually do the gesture than using it in context.

So we are launching an attack.  I've been using some signs with him for quite a while and he hasn't really responded yet but now we are going to up the ante.  I can see that he is becoming frustrated at times that we have no idea what he wants.  He needs a way to communicate with us.  I'm hoping that with everyone on board with signing he will start signing back soon.

I picked up a book, The Makaton Vocabulary (Auslan Edition) at the library and ordered a couple of DVD's online, Sign Baby and Hands Up and Sing.  Everything is here and we have made a start.  All of the children enjoyed the first couple of run throughs of Hands Up and Sing.  The big kids have each picked up a few signs after only 2 viewings.  Possum however doesn't sit still long enough to see anything LOL.  We will see where it takes us.

We are meeting with a speechie in the next few weeks and i will be interested to see what her 'plan' is.

Possum's Sleep Study

Possum had yet another sleep study at the children's hospital in the city to check on his night time oxygen saturations.  Once his over night levels are high enough he will be able to come off oxygen at home.  We have our fingers crossed that this study will show that he is coping well enough to come off.

The studies are tough on the little ones.  They are hooked up to all manner of things and they just don't understand.  Possum was quite upset whilst they were sticking everything on him :(  However he soon calmed down once offered a breast feed and went off to sleep.

Possum all wired up and asleep.

He woke several times over night, nursed and went straight back to sleep.  Much better than the last study!  Last time he cried on and off from 7pm until after midnight when he finally fell asleep properly and then slept in 40 min cycles until 6am when it was time to go home.

He woke up for good at 5am so we got up and started our day.  I was hoping that he'd last until 6am because we had a 10am appointment with cardiology so although i know they kick you out by 6.30am i wasn't really keen to get an early jump on the day.

We headed off on a big walk and then stopped at Miss Maud's for breakfast once they opened.

Possum enjoying some green potato rosti and corn puffs for breakfast.

We walked on to a local park hoping that i could let Possum loose to burn off some energy.  Sadly the playground was closed for maintenance and the grassed areas had just been watered.  Doesn't pay to get such an early start.  We did spy some birds though.

Two rainbow lorikeets squabbling over a branch.

These birds whilst beautiful to look at are an introduced species.

We walked on further and found a nice grassed area outside an office block and the grass was dry.  It was right by a busy road.  I wonder what the commuters thought of Possum and I playing on the grass so early in the morning.

Such a cutie with no tape on his face!

We got back to the hospital for our 10am appointment with cardiology and they surprised me with an echo.  Possum had a sedated echo in December and i thought that was it for a while.  But no they decided they had better double check if possible incase the sedative had given some incorrect readings on the pulmonary pressures.  Possum was a star!  I breastfed him whilst the tech did the ultrasound and he went off to sleep whilst having the echo.  Couldn't have asked for better.  I think the early start and so much fresh air had worn him out!  The cardiologist was VERY pleased with the results which showed that everything was fine and they don't want to see us for 6 months, woohoo!

Possum sleeping in the buggy after the echo.

After a big couple of days we hit the road for home.  Now we just have to wait to hear from the respiratory paediatrician to find out if Possum did well enough to come off nocturnal oxygen.  I'm cautiously optimistic :)

Warm wishes

Amber