1 Year Ago Possum Came Home

One year ago today I walked out of the big children's hospital with my baby boy.  He was still a tiny baby, just 2.7kg.

This isn't his homecoming pic.  It was taken 2 days before discharge when he was 

transferred between hospitals but shows how tiny he was in the baby capsule.

His 100 day NICU roller coaster was over.  He had made it!  It was a VERY emotional time.  On the drive home I stopped several time and what is a 2 hour trip turned into an almost 4 hour journey.  I didn't have the radio on, i was listening for every little noise he made to reassure me he was OK.

My little Possum had already come such along way.  Born at 25 weeks weighing just 875g with legs skinnier than my index finger and paper thin skin, no one could predict if he would ever make it home.

 This isn't great quality, it's a picture of a picture.  The original was given to me by the nursing staff, taken just 4 hours after Possum was born.  It was the first time i had seen all of him, he was whisked away so quickly after he was born, and i was unable to visit NICU during those first post op hours.  I remember thinking how perfect he was despite all of the wires, probes, tubes etc.  It was a lovely gesture and a picture i have treasured.

What an amazing year we have had with Possum home.  It hasn't been without drama, his heart surgery was another scary time!  Fortunately we escaped the flu season with only one hospital admission, so only two admissions for the year.  Our friends and family have been wonderful in this regard, understanding just how fragile Possum's health is and making sure we cancel gatherings if anyone is unwell.  I believe this has made a significant impact on Possum's ongoing health and strength.

Look at him now!  Who would think such a strong little one had had such a rough start to life.  I am continuously amazed by his strength, determination and courage.

At 15.5m actual, 12m corrected Possum -
has 4 teeth, 2 up, 2 down
can roll, crawl and pull up to stand
can walk holding his trolley (follow the link for a You Tube clip)
babbles LOTS
is still on nocturnal oxygen which will hopefully cease in February
has been cleared of pulmonary hypertension
has no ongoing heart concerns
happily feeds himself finger foods
has just learnt to drink from a sippy cup
still breastfeeds about 6 times in 24 hours
is approx 9kg (will be weighed on the 13th)
loves to splash in the bath

Today, we celebrate!  Where there is life there is hope.

Amber xxx

Precious Beads for Miracle Baby Mums

I stumbled across Peek-a-boo ICU on Facebook recently.  I'm not even sure how i came across them but i'm glad i did.  After i liked the page one of the first things to pop into my news feed from them was a beautiful bead, you know, like the Pandora ones, but it what a Micro Prem Bead!  I followed the link a little confused and what did i find...

an entire range of beads and bracelets/necklaces dedicated to babies who have been through NICU!  They are just beautiful, each bead representing something different and unique to those who have been there.

I could not help myself, my cart was loaded up quick smart and the order placed.  I must add that i loaded up my wish list too as a few of the beads that i wanted were out of stock.  I'm anxiously awaiting it's arrival, hopefully before i go on holidays at the end of next week so i can post a pic :)  I was too excited to wait until it arrived to share with you.  Mum's of miracle babies, make sure you check them out!

PS - i did have a small glitch checking out but once i e-mailed their customer service it was taken care of quick smart and my parcel posted the following morning.

TMX Green Potato Rosti (GF & DF)

Adapted from EDC.

500g potatoes peeled and cut into quarters, nadine & sweet potato
1/2 onion peeled & quartered
1 clove garlic
Large handful of baby spinach leaves
200g GF flour
1 egg

Place all ingredients into TMX bowl and mix on 6 for 10 sec, scrape down edges, mix on 6 for 15 sec.
Fry tablespoon amounts in hot oil on the stove top.
They are ready when they are golden brown.

More iPad Apps we are LOVING!

Penultimate
For quite some time i have been looking for an app where you could write just like you would in a notebook, you could turn the page and keep on writing, even draw a picture and have it all saved into a neat little notebook.  I stumbled across Penultimate and it is everything i was looking for.  I've now got several notebooks set up, eg, Flossy's Spelling.  In this notebook she can write all her spelling words and sentences and it's all saved there for later.  Previously we had been using Whiteboard Pro for spelling words, but there was no 'neat' way of saving all of the work.  As we are moderated by our state it is important to me to keep a record of the work we are completing.

GoodPlayer
Last year i tried ripping some DVD's onto the kids iTouches, what a time consuming process, ripping, converting, transferring etc.  I eventually gave up, i think i only did 3!  I was speaking to my sister over the Christmas break and she suggested taking a look at Good Player.  It plays the files in their native format, no converting required!  Brilliant!  I've now downloaded a bunch of Magic School Bus movies from You Tube now to transfer lots of the DVD's we have in our library.

Drawing Box
Want an app that lets you feel like you are drawing on paper?  This is the one, don't skimp, pay the dollars, you wont be disappointed.  It has a wide variety of media to choose from, from paint rollers to calligraphy pens.  Our favourite function is the mirror image feature where it will mirror exactly what you draw.  LOTS of fun and is inspiring lots of creativity on paper too :)

Update on Bugsy's reading

We have completed the yellow set of I See Sam readers previously blogged about here, and let me say, WOW!  The change in his reading is spectacular!

It all just seems to be coming together.  His brain is finally clicking and he is no longer sounding out every single sound in every single word.  He's blending well and actually reading some words and phrases fluently!  He is gaining confidence at a rapid rate and picking up other books and wanting to read the titles and sometimes even some of the story.  Yay!

Menu Plan 2 Jan

We had a very busy week last week catching up with friends impromptu so i didn't get to cook much of what was on my list.  Not to worry it will feature on the menu this week :)

If you didn't see the update on Possum his poor tummy is struggling so he is going wheat and dairy free, again.  I will be trying out a bunch of recipes for him and use my TMX where possible.

Monday

Breakfast - GF & DF Pancakes - new recipe

Lunch - Pizza scrolls (TMX white bread recipe)

Dinner - BBQ rissoles with TMX mashed potatoes & steamed veggies
Pantry/fridge/freezer - TMX Fruit loaf

Tuesday

Breakfast - Fruit toast with TMX smoothies
Dinner Prep - TMX rice

Lunch - Pick n Mix

Dinner - Chinese style fried rice with spring rolls and sweet & sour sauce
Pantry/fridge/freezer - Indulgent granola - didn't get to try it out last week & TMX GF & DF green potato rosti (recipe to come)

Wednesday

Breakfast - Granola & yogurt
Dinner prep - TMX potatoes & eggs for salad

Lunch - Ham & cheese scrolls (TMX white bread recipe)

Dinner - Home made chicken nuggets with potato salad and GF & DF zucchini fritters
Pantry/fridge/freezer - GF & DF vanilla cupcakes probably do choc icing instead - new recipe

Thursday

Breakfast - TMX rice porridge

Lunch - Pick n Mix

Dinner - TMX spaghetti & meatballs
Pantry/fridge/freezer - TMX white bread

Friday

Breakfast - Cold cereal

Lunch - Sandwiches

Dinner - Home made sausage rolls (TMX filling)
Pantry/fridge/freezer - TMX sorbet

Saturday

Breakfast - GF & DF Blueberry Muffins - new recipe

Lunch - Pick n Mix

Dinner - Tacos

Sunday

Breakfast - TMX porridge

Lunch - Pizza scrolls (TMX white bread recipe)

Dinner - BBQ GF sausages & salad

Proud Mummy Moment

When your told your week old baby has had a brain heamorage you wonder what the outcome will be.  Despite doctors telling you they *think* everything will be ok, they never truly know and neither do you.  You wonder if moments like these will ever come.  I'm a very proud Mummy, my heart is bursting!  I had to share it with the world!

I can't work out how to embed the clip so please follow the link :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jzwb7n7Tg-s