What a day! It's 1pm and I feel as though I have been fed through a mangle already.
The day started normally ... except that she refused to eat any breakfast. This is not uncommon and usually has little effect .... but today it kicked her into very high anxiety. An hour later we were trying to prevent a bad meltdown. We thought of hunger and asked her .... yes .. she wanted Subway. Soon after she was able to inhale a full 12" sub and she was a new girl. The rest of the morning went well with therapy ... Kat had some very good results.
Kat began a road awareness exercise and found that Kaylia has no awareness of cars - where they are etc. Now how do we tackle that one??
After lunch she wants 'slee-poo-poo' ..... cup cakes .... shower ... and so on. I have two lots of visitors expected in the next half hour .... I have no objection to cancelling the rest of the day!
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4pm
I felt like calling today "The Silent Scream" .... but that was the name of an '80s anti-abortion film ... can't use that.
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7pm
We've been out to buy a couple of second hand recliner chairs for the lounge room .... Teddy has been wee-ing over the old one and we can't get it clean. Since it was over Kalamunda way, we decided to go to our favourite kebab place ..... never again! The place is clearly closing down .... no drinks, no straws ..... and the take home leftovers were put into a paper bag!
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While we were out I found that a very welcome deposit has come into the bank .... the family allowance! It will be a big help to pay the tax bill that we're struggling with ..... thus helping to reduce my stress.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
#672 Friday 17 August
Yesterday was busy! No blog entry. AJs flight was more than an hour late .... but she got here! I think she likes the place .... and I think the place likes her too. Kaylia just carried on as if nothing had changed ... but we can still expect some problems due to the change in circumstances ..... Eg at 8:30pm she decided to jump in the shower ..... despite being told "no - it's bedtime!" .... she was told off and then it was into bed without any choice.
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The Lovan experiment continues ..... yesterday she had the higher initial dose and no top up was needed during the day! This is an interesting development .... especially if it continues.
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I put on my plumber's hat on Wednesday night .... Kaylia left the tap running and the blocked drain in the bathroom meant that the room flooded. I finally tracked down the blockage to a mess of roots in a 'J' junction ..... an old clay one that's broken. I cleared the roots and the blockage is fixed but the junction will need to be replaced .... quite a big job with a lot of digging .... and then I have decide just how much of the old clay pipe system to replace with plastic fittings and pipe. I'll wait till it's all dug up first. Plumber's are very expensive for any task ... so I'm glad I'm still able to do this myself as it's quite a big job .... I think the bill would be around $1,000 .... the parts needed cost about $100 but it will be about a day of labour. I had years of watching Dad working as a Building Inspector .... then more time watching Jacomo at work during the years at Balgo Hills .... This where all that learning time pays off!
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The clothes dryer also decided to be 'norty' .... the fan belt had stretched. A new belt for $20 is much better than $300 for a new dryer!
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Today? Continue introducing AJ to the Kaylia world .... kangaroos, local traffic routes etc
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4pm ..... in the middle of therapy. Kaylia is really firing! It's been another day where no top up of Lovan has been needed. This is excellent.
If this turns out to be the new standard dose of Lovan, then we can hope that it continues like this for the next 6 - 12 months. We'll watch the results for the next week to see.
.
Lately she has been trying to persuade us to go swimming at all hours! In the morning she tries to put ALL her bathers in her school bag .... at 8pm she will bring out her bathers. Maybe she has a future career as a negotiator ..."I hear what you say but let's do this." ...... or sales .... she rarely accepts "no" as an answer!
.
The Lovan experiment continues ..... yesterday she had the higher initial dose and no top up was needed during the day! This is an interesting development .... especially if it continues.
.
I put on my plumber's hat on Wednesday night .... Kaylia left the tap running and the blocked drain in the bathroom meant that the room flooded. I finally tracked down the blockage to a mess of roots in a 'J' junction ..... an old clay one that's broken. I cleared the roots and the blockage is fixed but the junction will need to be replaced .... quite a big job with a lot of digging .... and then I have decide just how much of the old clay pipe system to replace with plastic fittings and pipe. I'll wait till it's all dug up first. Plumber's are very expensive for any task ... so I'm glad I'm still able to do this myself as it's quite a big job .... I think the bill would be around $1,000 .... the parts needed cost about $100 but it will be about a day of labour. I had years of watching Dad working as a Building Inspector .... then more time watching Jacomo at work during the years at Balgo Hills .... This where all that learning time pays off!
.
The clothes dryer also decided to be 'norty' .... the fan belt had stretched. A new belt for $20 is much better than $300 for a new dryer!
.
Today? Continue introducing AJ to the Kaylia world .... kangaroos, local traffic routes etc
.
4pm ..... in the middle of therapy. Kaylia is really firing! It's been another day where no top up of Lovan has been needed. This is excellent.
If this turns out to be the new standard dose of Lovan, then we can hope that it continues like this for the next 6 - 12 months. We'll watch the results for the next week to see.
.
Lately she has been trying to persuade us to go swimming at all hours! In the morning she tries to put ALL her bathers in her school bag .... at 8pm she will bring out her bathers. Maybe she has a future career as a negotiator ..."I hear what you say but let's do this." ...... or sales .... she rarely accepts "no" as an answer!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
#671 Wednesday 15 August
Teddy goes for a haircut today .... he doesn't know it yet. It means that he gets a long car ride .... so he will think it's good!
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After the problems that school had yesterday I am trying an experiment today .... an increased morning dose of Lovan with top ups at 11am and 1pm. Since Lovan is quick acting for Kaylia, we should see an immediate change .... school should have a cheerful, happy child all day. I hope it does work because the anxious version of Kaylia is not pleasant for her or for the school.
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Evening
The experiment produced an interesting result .... the higher initial dose seemed to bring a longer lasting effect and she didn't need any top up till just before tea time. School says she was happy all day.
This seems to contradict the effects we were seeing from the higher dose when we used it about a year ago. It could be the changing body mass. It shows the importance of constant observation.
.
After the problems that school had yesterday I am trying an experiment today .... an increased morning dose of Lovan with top ups at 11am and 1pm. Since Lovan is quick acting for Kaylia, we should see an immediate change .... school should have a cheerful, happy child all day. I hope it does work because the anxious version of Kaylia is not pleasant for her or for the school.
.
Evening
The experiment produced an interesting result .... the higher initial dose seemed to bring a longer lasting effect and she didn't need any top up till just before tea time. School says she was happy all day.
This seems to contradict the effects we were seeing from the higher dose when we used it about a year ago. It could be the changing body mass. It shows the importance of constant observation.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
#670 Tuesday 14 August
Office celebration!
Thanks to all the well-wishers ..... many on Facebook! I feel privileged to have so many people who are thinking of me. The birthday tea at Nandos was great! A 'freebie' .... courtesy of the Nandos loyalty club.
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Kaylia stuck to her usual routines today .... no allowance for a birthday from her!! She had a bad day at school again. When I picked her up in the afternoon she was very agitated and anxious. I gave her a full Lovan tablet as soon as we got into the car and after a while she was happy again. We think that perhaps her basic dose of Lovan needs to be increased due to her growth. She's becoming a big girl now.
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As soon as she saw me at school, the cry was "dentist"!! It always seems kinda weird that a child actually wants to visit the dentist ..... what have we done to her?
Thanks to all the well-wishers ..... many on Facebook! I feel privileged to have so many people who are thinking of me. The birthday tea at Nandos was great! A 'freebie' .... courtesy of the Nandos loyalty club.
.
Kaylia stuck to her usual routines today .... no allowance for a birthday from her!! She had a bad day at school again. When I picked her up in the afternoon she was very agitated and anxious. I gave her a full Lovan tablet as soon as we got into the car and after a while she was happy again. We think that perhaps her basic dose of Lovan needs to be increased due to her growth. She's becoming a big girl now.
.
As soon as she saw me at school, the cry was "dentist"!! It always seems kinda weird that a child actually wants to visit the dentist ..... what have we done to her?
Monday, August 13, 2012
#669 Monday 13 August
Dentist day today. It's a favorite day for Kaylia .... she was very well behaved while waiting her turn ... once in the treatment room, she flopped round - very happy. The dentist was pleased with her teeth .... no holes .... Kaylia wanted to keep the little mirror! Once we left the premises, Kaylia wanted "more dentist"!
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The dentist was a huge fear figure for me at her age .... the fear has stayed all my life. I'm so glad that it's not the same for her.
Once we got home we both 'crashed' and slept for a while ... not surprising after last night. Then it was down to Nandos for tea. Nandos give 'club members' a free meal on their birthday! I'm looking forward to tomorrow night!
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Tonight is a uni night for Naomi so it's just Kaylia and me.... we've been for a drive for a while, made popcorn ..... Now it's bedtime.
.
The dentist was a huge fear figure for me at her age .... the fear has stayed all my life. I'm so glad that it's not the same for her.
Once we got home we both 'crashed' and slept for a while ... not surprising after last night. Then it was down to Nandos for tea. Nandos give 'club members' a free meal on their birthday! I'm looking forward to tomorrow night!
.
Tonight is a uni night for Naomi so it's just Kaylia and me.... we've been for a drive for a while, made popcorn ..... Now it's bedtime.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
#668 Sunday 12 August
It's raining! It makes for a miserable day ... even though the water is very welcome.
.
This morning Kaylia refused to sleep in .... so we miss out. The joys of 'aut'.
We've been tidying up .... started getting Zoe's room ready ... we found a suitable bed yesterday so we assembled it this morning. Then it was swimming pool time .... this didn't work well .... too many restricted areas (swimming classes etc)
Kaylia doesn't have any understanding that today she is not able to go to the section of pool that she was able to go to yesterday ..... in her world this "does not compute"! ... so she gets upset. Naomi had to cut short her swimming session today. .... so it was down to Midland Gate for shops. She has a set routine there too. We first go to Boost for a 'shake' .... then to the Red Dot store where she can buy a cheap toy ... usually a dingle-dangle ...... then we went to Big W to look for some shoes and clothes (the never ending story!).
Then it was over to the office for some 'down time'. She loves being there. 'Out of hours' time is very quiet and calm for her. ..... then we drove home for some "ABC4kids" ..... the weather means that there's no signal from the aerial ..... but I can connect the iPad to the TV and run the ABC iView app .... voila! ABC4kids!
.
It's now evening ... she's been doing the blanket thing .... she 'collects us' under a blanket on the couch. She really likes the 'togetherness'.
.
...... An hour later and she's in a melt down ..... she was cycling through all her routines ... many are completely ridiculous and some we can't do because of weather .... and we can't set a precedent of giving in. Her disturbance builds and builds. It's at times like these that we feel really alone .... that no one in our circle knows or understands what we go through.
.
I've dosed her with everything we know works .... Now we wait it out and try to help her with calming actions ..... breathing etc. She's beginning to calm .... she's pacing the room with her dingle dangles ..... she's stopped the screaming and throwing herself around .... Phew!
.
This morning Kaylia refused to sleep in .... so we miss out. The joys of 'aut'.
We've been tidying up .... started getting Zoe's room ready ... we found a suitable bed yesterday so we assembled it this morning. Then it was swimming pool time .... this didn't work well .... too many restricted areas (swimming classes etc)
Kaylia doesn't have any understanding that today she is not able to go to the section of pool that she was able to go to yesterday ..... in her world this "does not compute"! ... so she gets upset. Naomi had to cut short her swimming session today. .... so it was down to Midland Gate for shops. She has a set routine there too. We first go to Boost for a 'shake' .... then to the Red Dot store where she can buy a cheap toy ... usually a dingle-dangle ...... then we went to Big W to look for some shoes and clothes (the never ending story!).
Then it was over to the office for some 'down time'. She loves being there. 'Out of hours' time is very quiet and calm for her. ..... then we drove home for some "ABC4kids" ..... the weather means that there's no signal from the aerial ..... but I can connect the iPad to the TV and run the ABC iView app .... voila! ABC4kids!
.
It's now evening ... she's been doing the blanket thing .... she 'collects us' under a blanket on the couch. She really likes the 'togetherness'.
.
...... An hour later and she's in a melt down ..... she was cycling through all her routines ... many are completely ridiculous and some we can't do because of weather .... and we can't set a precedent of giving in. Her disturbance builds and builds. It's at times like these that we feel really alone .... that no one in our circle knows or understands what we go through.
.
I've dosed her with everything we know works .... Now we wait it out and try to help her with calming actions ..... breathing etc. She's beginning to calm .... she's pacing the room with her dingle dangles ..... she's stopped the screaming and throwing herself around .... Phew!
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