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Roo

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Blog Entries posted by Roo

  1. Roo

    Disgraceful!

    By Roo,

    This is utterly disgusting: the guy has died under awful circumstances and they're worried about the fact he once played a gay man in a film....
    http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/stor...5001021,00.html
    What kind of sick world do we live in, where people can get away with this kind of prejudiced hatred???
  2. Roo

    So now we know...

    By Roo,

    Yesterday Miss Nellie erupted with a nasty rash all over her body, and even on her face, but otherwise she was 100% fine....
    After hunting the internet for information, I think I've found what might have been the problem all along: Roseola!
    Virus that effects children aged 6 months to 3 years.....check!
    Starts with rapid and very high fever.....check!
    Apart from fever, no other symptoms.....check!
    Child often has febrile convulsion.....check!
    Fever lasts from 3 to 5 days.....check!
    When fever ends child is irritable.....check!
    Child then also develops mild respiratory symptoms.....check!
    Then child gets covered in rash which blanches under glass and which is not itchy.....check!
    7-15 days after first symptoms child returns to normal...oh I do hope so!
    It's really reassuring to know what it might be: it's also good to know that there probably wasn't anything I could have done (I've been racked with mummy guilt that maybe I should have spotted the raging fever earlier, etc, etc). And as it was a virus, it's just a case of treat the symptoms and wait...
    So folks, beware Roseola...it's not very nice!
  3. Roo

    Scary day....

    By Roo,

    Tuesday morning, Nellie was lying on the sofa with a bit of a temperature, but nothing serious. Me and her daddy went in to do the regular check, and we noticed she was lying funny. We then realised she had her eyes rolled back, having a seizure, and her temp was sky high.
    This is the most frightening thing I have ever witnessed in my life: she was shaking and utterly limp and everytime she looked at me, she just looked straight through me as if I wasn't there. At points we could hardly hear her breathing, and at others it was like she was wheezing.
    After what seemed like an hour on the phone to the 999 people (but which was actually only 2 minutes) paramedic in car arrives with ambulance following. By this point, Nellie is back with us, but really doesn't know where or who she is. She then starts throwing up.
    We get put into the ambulance and taken to the hospital, where they triage us and decide she's not in immediate danger, but that they need to get her temp down (by this point it's at 39.5 and feels cooler: goodness knows what it must have been whilst we were at home.), so give her some ibuprofen and bung her in the a&e waiting room, where we sit in boiling heat for three hours while they try to find a bed for her: the staff were marvellous, but my goodness they really didn't have the facilities and yet again, just proved our experience that, despite some great staff, Watford hospital really is crap.
    Luckily I'd brought some water with me, so we kept giving her little sips, and from time to time Andrew took her out into the corridor to cool her down.
    Eventually we get seen, but they still can't find a source of the infection which is keeping her temp so high (the 90 degree waiting room might have something to do with it, no?). They then see three small spots (real pin pricks) which Andrew and I can't be sure we've seen before, and which don't pass the glass test [for anyone not in the know, if your child gets a rash, roll a glass across it, and if the spots don't disappear get them to an a&e asap, as it could be meningitis].
    So with that, they decide that they want her to see a consultant, as her temp is still up, and now with the spots and with no other obvious sign of flu/cold, etc they're thinking big infections....
    But thank goodness, at this point, Miss Nellie decides she's going to drop her temp, and starts whinging that she's hungry: after 2 bits of bread and butter and some squash (all fetched by a lovely kind nurse) she's really perked up and by the time the consultant arrives is clearly on the mend.
    Consultant decides that it's probably (probably?????!!!!!!) nothing nasty and we get to go home and get told to keep an eye on her. After a restless night (daddy checks until 1am, then we all sleep, and I get up at 3am when she wakes and we both come downstairs to sit on the sofa) she seems much better, although she is still running a temp I would normally not be happy with, but which seems positively freezing after yesterday: this is inspite of huge doses of calpol and ibuprofen (doctor sanctioned). She's also on hefty antibiotics.
    Today, she has been almost back to normal, although her temp is still a little bit up. So nice to have my little girl back again , fighting fit.....I hate it when she's sick and I hope never to have to go through that again.
    I must say at this point a great BIG huge thanks to the ambulance control crew and the paramedics who kept us talking on the phone, and then who so patiently and calmly sorted her out while I just sat there terrified. The nurses and doctors were great too, and were very thorough. To Watford hospital I say, sort out your facilities as it's causing your poor staff endless amounts of trouble in an already stressful job.
  4. Roo

    Cats

    By Roo,

    Miss Nellie wrote her letter to Father Christmas.
    Miss Nellie was specific in her requirements: she wanted a 'cat and nuffing else'.
    Hmmmmm.....well seeing as Nellie lives in a busy town, in a terrace house with a tiny garden, this just wasn't going to happen.
    Santa had to think long and hard about how he could achieve Miss Nellie's requirements and he came up with this:
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/images/...=kids&img=1
    In a moment of rash over-enthusiasm, he also came up with this:
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fur-Real-Friends-F...938&sr=8-35
    Miss Nellie is absolutely over the moon, but Santa might not be invited back.
    Christmas pics (sent out with her thank-you cards, hence the wording!):

  5. Roo

    It's time.....

    By Roo,

    .....for another Against Malaria plug!
    This time, those clever boys (Mr Roo and others) at Against Malaria have teamed up with the Sun (and GMTV) to help Josie Russell raise money to buy nets for Nigeria www.netsforjosie.org .
    This is SUCH a good cause, with even just ONE net (costing about £2.50) helping to save the life of one child (and often two children as they often sleep more than one child under a net).
    100% of EVERYTHING you give will go directly to buying nets, and you can even watch videos on the Against Malaria website www.againstmalaria.com of the nets being delivered.
    Go on. You know you want to.
  6. Roo

    Birthday

    By Roo,

    For Nellie's birthday we went to Bekonscot miniature village in Beaconsfield and had a lovely day out (even though it was freezing and cloudy!).
    It's one of those wonderful places that got frozen in time somewhere back in the early 20th century and has a gentle kind of enjoyment you don't often get nowadays (Nellie hasn't reached the cynical stage yet, so I can still get away 'fun' things!!!! ).
    Anyway after two goes on the little railway, a peek in the windows of some tiny houses, sandwiches in the 'picnic shelter' and a good run round the play area we returned home to play with Nellie's new cooker, eat loads of cake, do her jigsaws and to read a book about cats.
    The perfect day......and I think Nellie enjoyed it too!

  7. Roo

    Nearly two....

    By Roo,

    Well, next week Miss Nellie will be two years old. It seems like the time has flown by and I hardly remember what it was like to have a small baby (I also hardly remember what it was like to have a poorly small baby, which is even better!). In fact, time has so much flown by that everyone I know is now having their second babies.
    We've been 'hum-ing and ha-ing' over a second one for ages now, but neither of us is particularly keen on the idea. During a chat with my friend the other day, I suddenly realised why I don't want another child....
    The short of it is that, after everything we have been through, I have such a great bond with little Nell and I really don't think I could ever have such a good relationship with another child.
    We are quite happy in our little trio family, and as the old adage goes, 'if it ain't broke......'. So no more mini-roos for us.
    But with such a cheerful little girl as this one, why would I want to?

  9. Roo

    Long time.

    By Roo,

    Well, I haven't been here much recently: been doing far too much off-line to spend too much time online...
    Little miss is now 20 months old and is the height of a two year old (who'd have thought she was once such a little scrap, eh?). She's full of bounce and is still an absolute joy to be a mum to (I'm still really enjoying it).
    Suddenly she has changed from being a baby, to a little girl. I don't know where the time has gone.
    Some pics:

  11. Roo
    Having a fab day so far and it's not even 9am!
    Little miss woke up to a good three inches of the white stuff, and after watching out of the window, demanded to be taken outside shere she ran around with a big grin on her face.

    and one from the other day:

    [please excuse the war wound on her nose: she had a fight with some tarmac in the playground...looked far worse than it was, thank goodness! ]
  12. Roo

    You couldn't make it up...

    By Roo,

    Well, it's a week since the funeral (and the howling gales!) and things are definitely looking up. The roof is in a queue to be fixed (we developed a leak!) and the insurance have paid up without a squeak (how I love Liverpool Victoria insurance company!).
    Anyway, although all that is OK, the probate saga continues: so far, my nasty uncle has written my dad a 5 page letter accusing him of trying to get all my nan's money (cough! splutter!) my cousin has claimed my nan gave her the jewellry before she died (really?) and we have learnt more about my nan's legacy......
    [Now, I should just explain here that my granddad died 6 years ago, but that when he was alive he was a keen fisherman.]
    In the course of the family wrangling it has turned out that my uncle has kept the last fish my granddad ever caught some 8 or 9 years ago.
    Now, you might think that's fair enough, he's had it stuffed and mounted, but no, you'd be wrong. He has kept in the freezer! And what is worse, he has a big grizzle each time he goes to get an ice cube........
    But the real doozy is that my nan apparently loved doughnuts, and yes, guess what's going in the freezer with Freddie Fish?
    I've suggested to my dad that he ought to try for custody: after all half that fish and 3 of those doughnuts are legally his............ :blush:
  13. Roo

    Perfect Day.....

    By Roo,

    Well what a fun day today is: it's my grandmother's funeral and we can't go because we don't want to risk taking Mini Roo on a longish trek to the coast in weather like this.
    Now, to most normal people this would be a disaster, but to be honest with my weirdly disfunctional family it is a blessed relief: no seeing the nasty bit of work who likes to call himself my uncle, but who has been syphoning off my nan's cash for the last few years. Also no cousin, who within a day of my nan dying had been and 'collected' her jewellry box and it's contents! Oh, and no sobbing hysteria from those who never bothered to visit and didn't care a bit!
    And then there's the will, except there is no will, and of course my uncle doesn't want to go through probate as the tax man may find out just exactly how much he and his daughter have received in 'gifts' (tens of thousands) from my nan over the last few years. And even if he did there's basically nothing there, even though we know my nan wanted my dad to have something (not that he actually wants the money....it's tainted as far as he's concerned).
    Finally there's my poor dad, whose mum has just died, but who is wrestling with the fact that he cared more about the friend (who coincidentally died on the same day) than he did about his own mother, but is being forced to go through the charade of a funeral he has not been consulted about, with relatives who don't give a toss about him or nan, and in weather that is going to make his journey a nightmare....
    Families, eh?
  14. Roo

    Long time

    By Roo,

    Well, I don't seem to get much time here anymore: Little Nellie Roo is taking up most of it. She's such a wonderful little thing. She's now 15 months old and is a little girl and not a baby anymore. She's still very smiley and is great fun: I really cannot believe how lucky I am! :blush:
    She's been walking since 11 months, and is now into everything....no sofa is too high to climb on and no surface too slippy to slide on! She's also discovered the wonder of wellies and thinks puddles are great (she's also discovered that she can make her own puddles too, but the less said about that the better: maybe the counsellor will want to talk about it when she's older...... )
    Ah well....
    A couple of pics from christmas: she had a great time!

  15. Roo

    8 Months...

    By Roo,

    Well Nellie Roo is now 8 months old, and is doing grand: she's mastered the art of crawling at speeds that would make Schumacher proud and has recently moved on to trying to walk....she can now manage to get herself around the room by clinging onto the furniture. Oh, and we bought her one of those wooden truck things with blocks in and she can now zimmer frame herself around the house too (that's as long as she doesn't park it in a wall, of course! B) )
    Anyway, she's now 19lb 3pz, and is on the 50th centile range and so is officially 'average': it's so nice that she's no longer 'special'
    A couple of pics from our recent Scottish sojourn:


  17. Roo

    Ginormous!

    By Roo,

    It's official: Nellie Roo is hugemongous! Went to see the Health Visitor today and she is 13lb 5oz (for those of you who know about these things, that puts her close to the 9th centile...not bad for a scrap who was born without one as she was too small! For everyone else, translated that means she's a 1 in 10 baby as opposed to being a 1 in 2000 one as she was when she was born).
    Anyway, it's really good to know she is 100% back on track. It's been a day of good things as today she also decided to roll right across the lounge (in pursuit of her favourite giraffe, Muncher!). So funny to see her barrel rolling! :unsure:
    And the sun is shining....what a fab day all round!
    P.S. Guess who likes carrot? :unsure:

  18. Roo

    Lovely Day...

    By Roo,

    Well, it's a lovely sunny day in Roo land and Mini Roo is also being extra sunny and smiley (the pic was taken just now!).
    I actually managed to get half an hour in the garden yesterday. It is looking really lovely. We decided that as it is our first year here, that we'd just leave it and see what comes up before doing anything else. It had looked like quite a mature garden with loads of plants and shrubs, and now it's looking even better: we've got loads of primroses, dafs, tulips, snowdrops and crocuses coming up...it's really pretty!
    On a completely different note, World Swim has raised over 1 MILLION dollars <_< :unsure:

  19. Roo

    Fun....

    By Roo,

    Well yesterday saw the Roo taking the little Roo along to a sing song in our local hall....
    Despite feeling that I might look like a bit of a berk we had a great time.....it was actually quite liberating releasing my inner child (yes it does get locked up every now and then) and singing nursery rhymes with great gusto and doing all the actions. 25 babies and their mummies....wow! LOLOLOLOL
    Mini- Roo had a grand time and spent most of it kicking her little legs and laughing! :unsure: And it was definitely well worth it as the minute we left she went out like a light and snored for the next 3 hours....we shall definitely be going back!
    Latest mini-Roo trick is the ability to sit up unaided.....it's so sweet seeing her perched on the floor playing with her toes! <_<
  20. Roo
    Well Nellie is now 19 weeks, and is coming on a pace. She is now 10lb 5oz, is smiling at everything, rolling, pushing herself forward, and chattering away. She is such a giggle and really is the most lovely little baby. It is so nice not to have any more health worries: we've been enjoying every minute (yes, even the 3am ones!)
    Here's another pic: she really does love her bucket baths! <_< :unsure:

  21. Roo

    Spring Has Sprung

    By Roo,

    Well, this week has been great as Nellie has finally broken the 9lb mark, and is now 9lb 5oz!!!! <_<
    She's sooooo much fun now...is smiling at everything and anything (even managed to disrupt my post natal class first aid class yesterday by laughing and smiling at the poor girl giving us the resuscitation lesson!).
    The last few days have been grand: the health visitor has finally decided that she's perfectly fit and healthy (no, really? like we didn't know that...) but is just small, and so we no longer have to do weekly weighings. This has made me so much more happy.....I really don't like all the medical stuff, and would much rather go with the flow (unless of course anything is wrong).
    Went to the garden centre this morning and got some primroses and window boxes and Mr Roo planted them out...the house looks really cheerful! What with that and the big bunch of dafs I bought at the weekend, I'm feeling like spring is nearly here! :unsure:
    Some more pics...


  22. Roo

    Long Time..

    By Roo,

    ...no writey my blog!
    All is grand in the world of Roo and Little Roo....she's now had the second set of jabs, and was her usual calm and friendly self, even managing a smile for the girl who had jabbed her! :unsure:
    She's still a teeny little scrap (8 1/2lbs), but is really getting on fast: her latest trick is being able to sit up for a few seconds. Oh, and the other big trouble is she is beginning to be able to move herself...this morning when I lay her on her front she did that wriggle that soldiers do when trying to get under nets on assault courses, and moved herself forward.....oh gawd! the fun starts here! <_< :blink:
    We think because she's got hardly any fat (much though we'd love her to) she finds it much easier to do things like hold her head, sit up, etc.....
    The other glorious thing is that she now refuses to be put down on her back for too long as she wants to be sitting looking at everything around her. She is so much fun, and is all smiles and giggles (when she's not screaming blue murder! :blink: :blink: ).
    But I think within a few weeks she's is going to be trouble.....the minute she can move, her small size means she'll be off like a rocket across the floor.
    Anyway, here's some more pics of the little Nellie...


  23. Roo

    Hellooo...

    By Roo,

    Well I thought I did this yesterday, but somehow it mysteriously disappeared into the ether the minute I'd finished....I blame the fact I'm still not getting enough sleep!
    Well, little smellie is doing OK ....still not putting on enough weight to keep the health visitors happy (we reckon she puts it on in fits and starts...one week she even put on 8 1/2 oz in 5 days, but then seems to do nothing for a week or so after....BUT of course that doesn't fit the standard baby graphs......grrrrrrrrrrrrr! As if every child puts on weight equally....)
    Anyway, she is lovely and doing really well...she can now smile, laugh, is making lots of daft talky noises and looks you straight in the eye when you talk to her....
    Here'e some pics from over christmas....

  24. Roo

    Chrimbo....

    By Roo,

    Just a very quick blog to wish everyone a very merry christmas and a happy new year!
    Have been having a great time with Smellie: she loves fairy lights and christmas tree decorations so we've been having great fun: we even took her to have a peek at the locasl christmas tree festival whcih had over 100 decorated trees (she fell asleep! LOLOL).
    Also since her op, she has been putting on weight like nobody's business (averaging about 8oz a week now, but she's still only just over 7lb!) has started smiling and giggling, and has started making eye contact and following things with her eyes (which has led to me being late for everything as I spend so much time trying to make her smile!!).
    Am having a quiet christmas at home with only a few visits out to rellies....Yippee!
    Hope everyone has a wonderful christmas
    Love Roo
  25. Roo

    Gosh And Glue....

    By Roo,

    Well what a week we've had so far, but it's all been well worth it!
    Monday, we arrive at Great Ormond Street, where they immediately gave Smellie a set of blood tests, then we met the SHO and the assistant anaesthetist, before being left to our own devices...
    As she was first on the list the next day, I was able to give her her a last feed at 4am before leaving her to Nil By Mouth for the next four hours...this I was dreading as she generally comfort feeds, and I really didn't want her too upset even before she had the op...anyway, I was saved this terrible outcome by a lovely nurse who suggested that I give her a little glucose water because it knocks them out...
    How right she was: within 1/2 hour Nellie was out like a light and continued to sleep until 8am when I cuddled her up in a blanket and, still snoozing, carried her down to theatre.
    The anaethtist (lovely man.....very reassuring: apparently she is big compared to the babies they usually deal with!) let me hold her hand whilst he put her under, and she barely woke up before she was in the land of zizz again....
    After a little kiss and a big sob from mummy and daddy roo we left the room and let her go in, and after 1 1/2 hour we were called to come down to recovery where a little snoozy and croaky baby was a bit subdued, but perfectly happy and well!! :unsure: We were allowed to give her a big cuddle while they finished off the tests, and then her dad carried her back up to the ward where she had a big feed and then slept for the rest of the afternoon....
    The surgery that they did has been done amazingly well, and she only has 5 tiny keyhole scars, less than about 5mm each (four for instruments and one for a camera, apparently!) and because they used skin glue to close with, she hasn't even got any dressings on the wounds!
    Since it's been done she's been absolutely fine, and hasn't shown any signs of pain...have been giving her a quarter dose of Calpol just in case, but she is really A-OK....we think she must have been in quite a bit of discomfort before, as what we assumed to be colic has now utterly vanished, and she's even more calm than she usually is: she's even started gurgling and fidgeting away in her crib on her own
    I can't praise GOSH highly enough....from the medical through to the pastoral care they were absolutely marvellous, and went above and beyond the call of duty to be helpful, reassuring and just plain kind.....and whoever said the NHS was a waste of space, eh???
    I am such a happy Roo
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