Sick Chick

Watching TV with Atlas

I've got quite good at predicting when Felix is going to have a bad night. After two days of an increasingly snotty nose, and a day of sticky eyes, last night was definitely going to be a long one. I got in to bed as early as possible, knowing that I would be woken up soon. An hour later, I heard that all-too-familiar barking cough coming from Felix's room, through the baby monitor. Thank goodness we bought him a double bed (I highly recommend it for anyone who has the space). I grabbed a few pillows to prop myself up, climbed into bed with him and lay him on my chest. Felix doesn't usually like cuddles when he's trying to sleep; he likes his own space. That's how I knew he was feeling lousy, because he snuggled into me and fell asleep. If I kept him upright, it eased the coughing a bit and he seemed to breathe easier but, as soon as I lay him down, it started again. Hence, my night was spent sitting up. I

More drawing

managed to doze off around 5am but was woken shortly after by a little voice saying, "Mum" and a sticky, snotty little face pressed against my cheek. As tired as I was, it was a beautiful way to be woken up. I asked Felix to go and get a book, so he sat next to me and looked at his books while I tried to doze off for a few more minutes.

Not long after I got up, I heard the news that another precious little Trisomy angel had passed away. Little Corbin, who had Trisomy 13 and was only given a 1% chance of surviving until birth, died after a few short months on earth. He defied all the odds, and brought unimaginable joy to all who knew him. His Mum is incredible and, despite her enormous loss, is celebrating his life; the life she was told he would never have. What an inspiration! Another reminder to treasure every moment we have.

Cheeky boy

Despite not feeling well today, Felix still enjoyed his food. He has very specific routines when it comes to eating. He has porridge for breakfast every morning, and he sits on our bed when he eats it. I do the spoon feeding (for anyone who had visions of a quilt covered in porridge). He likes to play on his ipad when he's having breakfast and lets us know how annoyed he is if we've forgotten to charge it. At 11.30am every morning, he has a very early lunch. He has a special mat which he spreads out on the floor by himself (making sure the corners are nice and straight) and he sits on it and waits for me to bring him his food. He quietly eats his lunch, has a drink and then brings me his plate when he's finished. I usually take the opportunity to quickly fold the washing or drink a hot cup of coffee while he's occupied.

Nice squiggly lines 

We were running late at dinner time tonight, so Felix looked a bit confused. We usually all sit at the dining room table with Felix in his high chair so, when he was hungry but we weren't ready yet, he straightened his mat out on the floor and said, "eat". Then he walked over to the baby gate outside the kitchen and shook it before heading back to his mat again. He picked up his drink bottle and stood it up nice and straight on his mat and said, "eat" again. He dropped plenty of hints that he was ready to eat NOW, and looked very satisfied when his dinner was ready. It was really cute to watch him communicating his needs to us, using some words and some gestures. The way he thinks through problems and solves them in his own unique way is so clever. He amazes me every day.

Speaking of words.... Felix is using a couple more spoken words just in the last two days. He has completely dropped the sign for 'Dad' (which has been his most used sign) and now uses the word "Dad" all the time. It seems so weird to hear him saying it instead of seeing him sign it for a couple of years. He has also just decided to start calling me "Mum" consistantly. He has said "Mum" every now and again before, but he says it all the time now, which kind of makes me melt just a little bit. I asked Felix, on Friday, if he wanted to get in the car to pick up the kids from school. He looked at me, smiled, and signed "brothers". He may not have all the spoken words yet, but he sure is such a clever little guy!