THE STORY SO FAR:
Mummy started to realize that I was on my way in the early hours of Saturday March 25. However, I made her wait a further 2 days when the hospital decided that it was time to speed things up. Mummy was "induced" on Sunday evening, had her waters broken on Monday afternoon, was given a hormone drip 2 hours later, and FINALLY I was born 5 hours later at 11:40pm on Monday March 27. I weighed 8lb 1/2 oz and was 50 cm long.
The hospital let Mummy and I go home the next day, after I'd had some tests for a "possible slight heart flow murmur" and Mummy and Daddy had been shown how to change and bathe me properly. We're still waiting on the Heart Murmur thing...hoping it will fade away in the next couple months. I came home on the evening of Tuesday March 28, but then had to return to hospital on Thursday March 30. I was suffering from severe Jaundice due to Mummy and I being "AB-O Incompatible". Thankfully, they seem to have caught it in time, though when I was tested initially the doctors took me away very quickly and Mummy and Daddy were told that there was a good chance I would need a blood exchange and that we would be in hospital for a long period of time. Instead, they were able to get my "Bilirubin levels" under control with UV Light Therapy and IV fluids. We were released to come home Monday April 2, and returned to hospital the next day for a blood test to ensure that the levels had stayed down in my 24 hours at home. Though it was a very scary and unexpected experience, those 5 days certainly created an airtight bond between my parents and me, and they are thankful for me every moment.
Auntie Debby lived with us for the first month at home. She looked after Mummy so Mummy could look after me and now I'm going to have a new cousin at the end of November...maybe it's contagious!! Congratulations to Auntie Debby and Uncle Mario! Daddy had to do a bit of work in Greece, but that's all finished and now we've started life together as a family. Together we're learning everyday!! Mummy and I have just started going to a Baby Massage Class once a week. She's learning not only how to give me a massage but also some helpful reflexological tips (big word for such a little fellow, huh!).
I started smiling at 6 weeks old. There's a great picture above!! Don't I look cute!?! Now I'm getting better at using my arms and legs. I can lift them all at the same time if I really concentrate on it! At 8 weeks, I began to find my "voice", and I've not stopped making noises since!! I enjoy having "conversations" with anyone who'll talk back to me!! The first time I laughed, I was 12 weeks old and looking at my Dad pulling funny faces!! It's a cute laugh, Mummy says, because it's kind of a yell that turns into a laugh.
August was an exciting month full of "firsts" for me!! I started swimming lessons and love being in the water!! I start kicking even before mummy puts me in the "phase 1" swim position and I even enjoy going under the water. I also went camping for the first time. We went to Devon for 5 days where we stayed at a campsite at Wimbleball lake and travelled around a bit to meet relatives for the first time! I was feeling my gums being pushed by the teeth underneath quite a bit, but managed to keep smiling and laughing through it! The first little white sign of a tooth appeared around the middle of the month but as of yet none have made a full appearance! Mummy's also been packing away alot of things in the house as we're hoping to move in the next few months.
September has been the start of the "next phase" of my life as Mummy has had to go back to work (she tells me every day that she'd rather be at home with me!). I am being well looked after though!! My care schedule is as follows: Monday - Nana Chris (and visit to Great Nana Philpott) Tuesday - Nursery Wednesday - day with Daddy!!! Thursday - Nursery Friday - Nana and Grandad Swallow (with a visit to the Greats of the same name!) I was dedicated at Gold Hill Baptist Church on September 3, 2006. This was my parents' way of promising to raise me as part of a church, showing me God's love for me, and teaching me about Jesus's sacrifice for me on the cross.
It's been great spending time at the nursery, but Mummy has quit work to be able to spend more time with me!! We've also put our house on the market and mum & dad keep dragging me along to other houses to find one for us to live in. I like to "babble" alot now, and I'm enjoying trying different foods...though I prefer the home-made stuff to the stuff in jars and packets!!
My bottom two teeth have arrived!!! They “broke through” at the same time when I was 33 weeks old. I can still feel them pushing their way out, and not looking forward to the next ones, but overall I’ve managed to stay a pretty happy baby! Mummy and I have gone back to swimming each week, but we’re doing it on our own now instead of in a class. We’ve also started going to a “Toddler Playgroup”. I’m on the young end of the age-range, but I find it fascinating watching the older kids playing!! I love to be on my feet these days, and am thinking about going straight to walking and skipping the whole crawling thing!!!
Those top two teeth are really playing me around!! I've been bothered by them for a couple weeks now and they still haven't "cut through"!! However I've discovered something that takes my mind off the pain but certainly doesn't give my mum a break...I CAN CRAWL!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm 9 months old and on holiday in California getting to know my first cousin, Wesley Moogan. I'm having a great time with my Auntie Debby, Uncle Mario, Grandad Evans, and Wesley!! I've been able to meet loads of other great people too!
Back in England at 10 months old and everythings changing!! Mummy has gone back to work part time (for the RSPCA)and so I am spending Mondays with my Daddy, Wednesdays with my friend Marie, and Fridays with Nana Ann & Grandad Swallow. My Great-Nana Philpott is not very well, so Mummy is taking me to visit her often. Nana Chris and Great Auntie Pauline say that she smiles the most when I'm around!! Also, we're going to have a new house soon! I think there's still a few last details being sorted out, but Mummy & Daddy say we'll be moving to "Stokenchurch" next month! Mummy has spent a bit of money getting things for my new nursery and she says it's going to be really nice when we get there!!
Wow, alot's happened since I last wrote! I'm now 13 months old! I had a great birthday with lots of family around. We have moved to our new house and it's great! Nana Chris and Auntie Pauline have made my room wonderful! The walls are blue and the curtains, sheets, and other things are made out of a "Jungle Babies" material. Great-Nana Philpott passed away in March. I'm glad I got to meet her before she left us. Also, my sister Kai got very sick very suddenly and also is no longer with us. Things have been very up and down in the last few months for Mummy and Daddy but we're hoping we can settle down in our new home now.
15 months old and Mummy keeps saying words at me over and over again!! I've just started walking on my own and she's already trying to get me to speak words. She may not understand me, but I'm actually talking to her ALL the time. Daddy is working alot but I still get to spend every Monday with him which I love. Mummy has started taking me swimming every week again, and we're spending more time out in the garden as she and Daddy are getting it "Tyler-friendly".
19 months old and I've got the walking thing down to a "t". I'm also running and climbing whenever and whereever possible!! Give me something to stand on and I'll give you a performance of song and dance. HOWEVER, want me to speak in your language? Forget it! I'm far too happy using my own language...too bad YOU can't understand ME!!! Everything's going well for me and my family. Daddy is working 2 jobs...gardener by day and Door Supervisor (aka Bouncer) by night. Mum's still working 3 days a week at nursery. I get to spend time with Nana Ann and Grandad Swallow each Friday and Nana Chris comes to play with me a few times a month when Mummy is singing at church. I still enjoy both creche at church and nursery on Thursdays. I'm looking forward to next month when I get to see Grandad Evans, Auntie Debby, Uncle Mario and Cousin Wesley again!!!
November and December 2007 were exciting with a visit from Grandad Evans, Auntie Debby, Uncle Mario, and cousin wesley! See, Grandad Evans just turned 60, Mummy just turned 30, and Great Nana Evans is turning 80 next month. I even got to be with wesley on his first birthday at my house in December!! Mum and Dad went away for mummy's birthday and Mummy spent her first night without me!! Bet she was sad, but I was quite happy with Nana and Grandad Swallow and then Nana Evans for a day! Nana Evans and Auntie Pauline came over to be with us on our first Christmas Day in our new house, and then we spent Boxing Day with all my Swallow family!
January 2008 was spent in Maryland, USA, with mum's friend Dana and her new daughter Madison. we spent a day in washington DC, went shopping and swimming, met some of Madison's friends, and just about left their house in one piece. I'm still not talking too much in mum's language...don't understand why mum and dad don't just learn my language!!! I love to run and climb and still really enjoy my weekly day with Nana and Grandad Swallow. Plus, Daddy got a promotion at work and is now "Head Doorman" at the nightclub!!
February and March 2008 were my last couple of months as a 1 year old and I continued to be a happy little chap! I had lots of visitors for my birthday, including Great Auntie Rita and Great Uncle Les who drove up from Exeter to be with me on the day. I still enjoy my one day a week at nursery and one day a week with Daddy.
May 2008 was an important month for our family as Daddy spent his last month as a bouncer and finished up most of his gardening contracts so he could start working for the Metropolitan Police as a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO). I now don't get my one day a week with Daddy, but he's around alot more when I'm awake so it's okay. I also get one more day with Mummy as she's reduced her working hours to 2 days a week.
June and July 2008 didn't have as much sunshine as I'd have liked, but Mummy let me play outside as much as possible. I've got a playhouse and a toy car and a swing and a sand table and a slide and a bucket and spade and... we had sports day at my nursery and I got to run in the egg and spoon race while Mummy handed out ribbons to all the kids who got first place.
August 2008 was a fun month. My toddler group visited a couple of new places that I hadn't been before...a secret garden and a paddling pool. Also, Mummy and I went camping for a long weekend with Timber and 20 other Newfoundlands (and their families too of course). we also visited mummy's Great Auntie Rita and cousin Brian who I hadn't met before. I got along really well with Brian who was really nice and played games with me.
In October 2008, Mummy took me to a "drop in" Speech & Language Therapy session. She'd been telling the Health Visitor that she was worried about my speech but the others still weren't really worried. This lady wasn't too concerned but did agree to put my name down for a "group speech therapy" course. Christmas 2008 was great! I think I'm starting to understand about holidays :) We had Nana and Grandad Swallow and Nana Chris with Auntie Polly around on the day to play.
I turned 3 in March 2009 and had a joint birthday party in the church hall with my friend James, who turned 3 two weeks before me. I also started my first group speech therapy session. At the end of the course they weren't worried about me but agreed to put me into another one to keep Mummy happy :) Then, at the end of that one they agreed that I was going to need to have individual speech therapy sessions.
Summer 2009 we went to New Wine for the first time... it's a camping holiday with lots of other Christians. I went to a children's session in the morning and in the afternoon Mummy or Daddy took me to a play session. We also went on holiday with Nana & Grandad Swallow to Centre Parcs in Sherwood Forest. They took me to different play sessions and we went swimming in a huge swimming pool that even went outside! My favourite bit was riding around the park in a trailer on the back of Mummy or Daddy's bicycle :) This summer we also joined a new Church Family at Kings Church, High Wycombe where they do a great creche that I like... I tried Sunday School but wasn't quite ready for it. I went to the lake a few times with Mummy but spent alot of time with Nana Chris this summer :)
In September 2009 I started Nursery at my local primary school. My 2 teachers were really nice, but they noticed that I was needing much more help than the other children getting used to "school". I loved being there, it's just that we were supposed to sit still for soooo long and pay attention soooo much :) They asked a lady to come and assess me and she gave them some suggestions to help me.
In October 2009, Mummy and I went to California to spend some time with Wesley, Auntie Debby and Uncle Mario. While we were there Auntie Debby turned 30 years old and Mummy's friend Shannon got married. Plus, we got to go to DISNEYLAND which I LOVED! Christmas 2009 was fun... we had a full house with Nana & Grandad Swallow, Nana Chris with Auntie Pauline, and Great-Nana Evans with Uncle Paul. I got lots of great presents, but my favourite was my new red bicycle!
In March 2010 I had a visit from a Community Paediatrician who tried to get me to play games her way. I tried to get her to play them MY way, and after the visit she recommended that I get some extra help. I then turned 4 at the end of the month and a week later started Nursery at a new school where Mummy and Daddy have wanted me to go since we moved to this area! By this time I was already visiting Rachel, my very own Speech Therapist, each week. Last month, Timber had a problem with his tummy, called "Bloat", but he got better very quickly. Right now we have a foster dog called Ruby who Timber REALLY likes (I hear it's something to do with the season?).
Summer 2010 was spent in a tent... which I love! We camped at New Wine again and we camped at a really beautiful part of England called the Lake District. I got to ride my bike quite a bit, and guess what? Mummy and Daddy bought a bicycle trailer so I could get to ride in one again :) By this time we also had a new dog! After many foster sisters coming and going, Timber decided that he wanted to keep Ruby :) She really likes swimming and I even got to try out my new wetsuit a few times and spent most of the day in the water by the end of the summer.
I started full time school in "Reception class" in September 2010. By the end of last term my Headteacher had sent in an application for me to get a "statement"... this means that the school will get extra money to give me more help. We had to wait for almost 6 months to find out how much money they would get, but we got it and at a good amount :) Mummy also took me to a hearing test where they told her that I wasn't hearing well in one of my ears and showed signs of fluid trapped in that ear. But I had a great first term and really like my teachers and school friends. Mummy and Daddy got to go to school once a week also for a Training Course for parents of children with Autism... we've not yet determined that I have this but they found the training very helpful for understanding me and why I do what I do.
Christmas 2010 was a full house again... my big present was a "Work Bench" just the right size for me. My Final Statement came through the first week of January so that the school can now start putting things in place to give me the help I need. I've really started to get better in alot of things. Mummy and Daddy are doing some different types of tests for me to see if I am eating the right things. They tested my wee to see if there were signs that some nasty stuff was getting to my brain and it came back that there was something possibly getting there... it comes from me not digesting gluten properly. Then I had a "finger prick" blood test (the man told me that I was better than most of his adult patients!) and that showed that I have a mild/moderate intolerance to gluten, but thankfully not what they call Ceoliacs Disease.
Early 2011 was when we went "Gluten Free" at home. Mummy and Daddy are really pleased that the diet helped my poos (sorry to talk dirty) get better straight away. They're also hoping it will help me in other ways, but that will take longer. The lady who helps me at school is Karen... she's really nice and I've liked spending time with her since I started at this school but now she is able to spend alot more time with me and help me be a good student. There's another lady who is coming to school once a week to help the teachers and Karen know how to best help me, but we're still waiting for 2 other people who will come to school each week, one to help me with my speech and one to help me with my skills and behaviour... until the new person comes I am still getting out of school once a week to play with Rachel and she is really happy with me and what I am showing her can do.
During Spring 2011 the other 2 people that are going to help me started coming to school each week and both seem happy with my progress so far. I turned 5 years old in March and had a small family party at home to celebrate. Just after my birthday, Nana and Grandad Swallow took me on a trip to Devon to see Auntie Rita and Uncle Les. This Spring I've also started going to Water Training with Mummy, Timber and Ruby. Daddy has to work sometimes and I'm now old enough that I can stay in the water all day with the dogs, and I love it!
In June 2011, Mummy and I travelled to Calfornia to spend time with my new cousin, Baby Tabitha, and Wesley. I enjoyed spending time with Wesley and he was really nice and let me play with his toys. I like Baby Tabitha and told Mummy several times that I would like a baby please... she keeps saying No :( I got to watch lots of cartoons on the long flights there and back and we were fortunate to get seats that allowed me to move around a bit without bothering anyone around me. Auntie Debby and Uncle Mario were really great and did lots of Gluten Free cooking for me.
I enjoyed the rest of the school year and had an exciting summer... more water training, watching Daddy graduate as a policeman, time in our blow-up pool at home, walks in the woods with the dogs and camping with lots of other Newfoundland owners! I enjoyed some days with Nana and Grandad who like to take me on adventures and Auntie Polly moved up to live with Nana Chris and it was fun getting to spend more time with her.
I was happy to go back to school in September and people noticed that I had been doing alot of growing... not just that I was taller, but that I was wanting to play with my friends more, talking to others more and looking at people when we were talking. With the re-start of school came the re-start of my one-to-one support, speech therapy and occupational therapy. I've got homework every week now which mummy and daddy help me with and I'm starting to read. At school I go to Scripture Union, Yoga and Music clubs. On Sundays we go to church and I like Sunday School.
Towards the end of 2011 Mummy decided to make my diet even weirder than it already was by taking out things which contain normal cow's milk and things that contain milk. I do still get to drink some milk, but only the stuff that comes from Guernsey cows. I know it sounds strange but there were a few good things that came from it... I don't have smelly farts anymore (sorry about the language), I've started using full sentences when I talk and I don't "flap" as much as I used to. I still like to jump and dance around but I now have alot more control over what I do and when!
We had a nice Christmas and this was the first year that I got really excited about it all and wanted Father Christmas to come! Daddy had to work a lot but we got to spend some time together as a family, including Christmas Eve at Nana and Grandad's, Christmas Day at Nana Chris's and New Year's Bank Holiday at Brighton Beach (and boy, was it cold!).
In January I had the annual review for my Statementing and you wouldn't believe how pleased everyone was with me! I have progressed so much academically that I am actually starting to up to the others! In fact, everyone is noticing how much I'm progressing and I love it when people are happy with me :) Mummy's got another couple of things up her sleeve to try with me, there are lots of people praying and with the continued support at school and therapy God is healing me!
During Spring 2012 I continued with my various therapies and weird diet but I also got to see a Doctor who specializes in children with Autism and how they can be treated biomedically. I've got to give him some of my hair, blood, wee and poo so he can see what's going on inside me... then he can help fix those things that aren't right. I also now can't have any milk at all for a while, nor any additives or artifcial sugar. ALSO, some really great news... I saw my Community Paedeatrician in April. This time last year she told Mummy that she would put me forward for Autism testing whenever she was ready to do so. This year she said, "you could back me into a corner and I wouldn't put your child forward for testing"!!! (By the way, Mummy didn't actually want her to, she was just being expressive!)
A good thing that happened in June 2012, which sounds silly I know, was that I caught a cold and it went away in just a few days! In the past, a cold would have turned into an ear infection without a doubt, but this time I was able to fight the cold... just goes to show that something is going right! In July I got to spend time with my cousin, Wesley, who I love very much. Auntie Debby came to visit along with Wesley and Baby Tabitha and we had a lovely time together doing all sorts of things.
Summer Holidays 2012 were fun! I spent lots of time with Auntie Polly and with Nana & Grandad as well as a few whole days with Mummy or Daddy. I went to London and played on a huge Pirate Ship (Diana Memorial Playground) one day and read books on a Library Boat (Book Barge, Grand Union Canal) on another. Grandad and I worked on my new TreeHouse and Mummy and I went camping to Watermead with the dogs. One new thing this summer, I started playing with the other children at the playgrounds. I would start playing with them all on my own without any prompting or intervention and kept playing for over 20 minutes!! This made Nana & Grandad and Mummy & Daddy VERY proud of me :)
I was happy to go back to school in September 2012 and there I had a new LSA (Learning Support Assistant) who is very nice. Mummy is very pleased because she was practicing reading with me over the summer holidays and now I'm reading my homework books which are the next level up from last year!
I've been doing better in school assemblies and at Christmas 2012 I had a line in the Christmas play which I stood up to say clearly and loudly. The parents must have been impressed because they clapped for me! :) Just before Christmas I saw "Dr Danny" again (Dr Daniel Goyle), who was pleased with my progress but had a couple of ideas of helping me even more... he's really good at understanding me and what I'm feeling. I had a lovely Christmas, at Nana Chris's again because Daddy had to work, and received some lovely presents.
2013 started out cold and actually stayed cold for quite a while... I'd asked for snow at Christmas but by the end of January I was asking for it to go away! We found out which school I am going to go to next September, Disraeli Primary School in the Social Communication Unit, and Mum & Dad seem pleased with the decision.
It was my 7th birthday in March 2013 and I changed my mind... originally I'd asked for a party at the cinema with my friends from school but then I decided I'd rather have a party at home with family (Nana & Grandad, Nana Chris, Auntie Polly, Auntie Mavis, Uncle Paul & Great Nana, Uncle Les & Auntie Rita). It's still cold, but I'm looking forward to going camping at the farm in Norfolk again! :)
