Snow week

Over a week since my last post!

It's been good to have a little blogging holiday after the elimination diet assignment and then the donor daddy drama. I thought it time to have a catch up though.

Despite my lack of blog posts, the week has still had some significant events. First of all I wondered if BB had Chicken Pox. His friend H has a really bad case of it and last Thursday BB came out in spots and had a super high temperature. He was very clingy, and also off his food for several days which is most unlike him. The spots were many but tiny, and only 20 or so actually became little blisters - and then they faded away to nothing. His temperature has been fine since Saturday, and his appetite returned to normal at the start of this week. Apparently it is possible that it could have been Chicken Pox in a super mild form, I also wonder if my immunity could have helped him as I am still breastfeeding on demand (and demand was definitely greater when he was sick). I guess we'll never know, even if it was Chicken Pox it is likely that he will get it again, due to the mild form and the possibility my immunity coming into play. At least he is well again. His poor friend H is still suffering, bless him.

DD came to visit at the weekend. All is good to go ahead next cycle, if we can manage to be in the same place at the right time. PP is happy with things. We have discussed the idea of moving closer though. DD would like to be closer to us, but PP needs to stay in London for work. In a few years, once I am back at work I am more than happy to move closer to London, but at the moment it is out of the question, we just can't afford housing any closer than we are already. In the mean time I think they are planning to move to our side of the city so that it is a bit easier for them to come and visit.

Speaking of money, I have also moved into a financial position where I am no longer on any benefits at all. This is a combined result of working and my 'assets' (ha ha). In reality it means that I am currently £50 a year worse off, which is the irony of the benefit system (my Aussie friends always joke that benefits are a 'lifestyle choice' in the UK), but hopefully my business will continue to grow and I anticipate I will be better off in the not too distant future. It certainly feels good. I am really grateful for the support I have had from the 'system', to move from being employed, through maternity leave, to self employment which can sustain our family. It couldn't have happened in many countries.

With regard to the diet I have been having a rest. The result of drinking wine was not weight gain but pain in my joints, enough to put me off. It is only white wine and green grapes that I have tested though and a concerned friend suggested I try some red, thanks to a late Christmas pressie, I am putting that to the test, but I anticipate the results will be even worse, as I have noticed red wine makes my knees hurt in the past.

I am planning to go back to eating stage 1 foods for a week starting on CD1. This is because I am not in the right frame of mind for it at the moment, but I do believe that foods I ate at that time were great for me and my fertility, so I figure I will be on that day. I do believe it is a good eating plan for fertility, and it will mean I cut out caffeine and drink lots of water and all the other things. After 7 days on stage 1 I will retest milk, grapes, grapefruit, melon, and then, with any luck, DD and I will be able to coordinate another attempt at creating a sibling for BB.

I have also started investigating the adoption and fostering routes too. Although seeing your own genes in a child is amazing, I really feel that I could love an adopted child just as much as I do BB. To me it doesn't matter what the genes are, our family is great little collection of interesting people already, so some different genes could only add to our wonderful mixture as far as I am concerned. With regard to fostering, it is something I have always had in mind. I did volunteer work with some 7-9 year olds in a special school about 20 years ago, most of whom were fostered, then as a secondary teacher I discovered an innate aptitude for working with troubled teenagers. One of my sisters works in social care with foster kids and their families, and I do believe I would be good at working with young mums, helping them to deal with the issues of being a teenager and a parent. There is also a new initiative in our county which they call concurrent adoption. This is when young children/babies are placed with a foster carer that may eventually become their adoptive parent if things work out that they can't return to their birth parents. Whilst I realise that could be a huge wrench if the child does get returned to their family, it is also something that I feel I could do.

In a way then, PP's panic has given me more options than I had before. I have signed up to attend information sessions on both adoption and fostering in the coming months.

I have saved our most fun news 'til last. It has been snowing here. Although cold, everything looks beautiful. BB did get to see the snow last year, but neither appreciated or remembered it. This year he LOVES it. this video shows him when he was just getting used to the idea... now he doesn't want to come inside, and a trip in the car requires an snowy adventure both before and after!


Hello, and thanks for stopping by. My name is Emma and I am a lifestyle entrepreneur, writer, teacher, coach and mentor. I am passionate about eating real food, learning, travel and health. I get to spend my days with my amazing son who has chosen to learn from the world rather than at school. We write to share the life we love and to help others create a life they love too.

4 comments:

  1. Oh how I love the snow & am glad Elena does too! Great video!

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  2. Love the video - he looks like he is really enjoying the snow - very jealous as we don't get snow here :)

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  3. Oh look at him! He really looks like he's taking it all in.
    As for your other adventures, whatever you choose and do, you WILL be as fab as you have been as a mum to A and in everything else you do. I wonder if where I live might be a wonderful place for you - much closer to London ;-) Full of friends and cheaper housing (not as cheap as where you currently live mind!) lol! I can but hope eh?xx

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    1. Yes it is in my plan to come in your direction so look out! I do have lots of friends that way, and sister, and it's nice... At the moment I am thinking it will be a couple of years before we move though as I will ned to have a job and a mortgage again and I don;t plan on doing that while I have wee ones!

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