well today its time for a daddy blog, and Thomas has kept us so busy over the past 1 1/2 months of his life that we have barely had time to blog, as I write this I am waiting for his bottle to sterilize and it is 1:40am (Yes Twenty to two! ) and me and Jen have finally had an night out at the cinema for the first time in the past 6 months.

At the moment I am spending a fair amount of time on a client site and it has made me realise a few things… as did a conversation I had with Jen tonight.

Over the past 16 months of Thomas’s life, we have been on such a rollercoaster from his collic, From the snow which made getting him home from the hospital a nightmare, to the first steps he has recently taken between his Mummy and Daddy ti star the path of walking. However one of the most vivid memories after his birth, is about his collic, due to this we felt like terrible parents who couldnt cope with the pressures of a new born baby, however the reality was once we had seen a doctor we managed to get it sorted within just 72 hours (A lifetime when your not sleeping) and him act just like a baby should – sleeping 18 hours a day.

Another really painfull memory is the 8 days in Tameside Hospitals New Childrens ward due to Bronchilitus, a time when we feared we may lose him as he was a very poorly boy.

Now enough of the sad ones before I cry, a couple of the best memories I have are below:

1. Thomas Trying to sit up – I saw that first look of pure determination, as I cheered him along he tried with all his might to sit up, but couldnt quite manage it! For that small moment I had a glimpse into his soul and saw a reflection of his Daddy’s sheer determination
2. Coming home from work: Every Night I get greeted with an ear to ear smile and the infamous words of Dada – Dada – It never fails to cheer me up!
3. Hugs and Kisses – Daddy Hug and Daddy Kisses before we put him to “bo-bos” (Bed) and his daddy talk – its just a few minutes but its a few minutes we both treasure!

Until Next time

Nath

My Baby Is ill – Part 1 can be read here

It was all sureal I was in an ambulance with my poorly baby on my knee, we went directly to the childrens A&E where Thomas remained on oxygen and was given a chest X-Ray,and a blood sample were taken.  After around an hour in A&E we were moved up to the childrens unit where Thomas had a canular put into his foot for an instant course of blanket antibiotic the doctors were very worried about him, they didnt want to take any chances or waste any time. The chest X-Ray confirmed that Thomas had Bronchilitius which is the baby version of bronchitus causing the lungs to become infected reducing the amount of oxygen they can provide hence why he needed so much oxygen support.  Bronchilitus is very common in under 1′s especially in the winter months some babies dont need hospitilisation as they are just left with a bad cough that can last up to 8 weeks. But Thomas had a particular bad case of it which was made worse by a mysterious 2nd infection identified by his blood test! The concerning thing was that the doctors didnt know what the 2nd infection was so Thomas continued on the antibiotics and further tests were carried out.

During this time Thomas was given a drip for hydration and nourishment, he was too ill to eat himself the doctors wanted him to concentrate on breating and not have to worry about anything else. It was so upsetting to see my baby lay in a hospital cot with wires coming out of him and an oxygen mask over his face.  I stayed with Thomas every minute of every day and night we were in hospital. The next day the doctor came in she mentioned wanting to give Thomas a Lumber puncture is a needle put into the lower back through to the spine in order to take a sample of fluid from his spine. Fluid from the spine can be tested for all kind of conditions including meningitis -At that moment it hit me that the doctors had considered that the unknown 2nd infection could be meningitis.  I broke down in tears when this dawned on me I felt knumb inside and so helpless. Nathan went in with Thomas for his Lumber puncture, I was advised that it is not a nice procedure to see, my mum and Nathan convinced me to wait outside.

My Baby Is ill – Part 3