THANK YOU!!!!

I just want to start off by saying how thankful I am to every one who reached out to me last week. I woke up Wednesday morning feeling so defeated and broken.

Poor Casper is so up and down, one night he's fine and the next he's so upset and in pain - it's really heart breaking. 

As a parent there is nothing worse than not being able to help your bubba. I just want answers. I want to know what's causing this so I can fix it. 

Naturopath for Casper

I booked a consultation in with a naturopath that came highly recommended to me. I managed to get an appointment on Friday and we discussed everything that has been going on. Initially when I first booked the appointment she said to eliminate soy, wheat and nuts (I already don't consume dairy and eggs). This made me feel really overwhelmed. After discussing everything she decided this elimination diet would be plan B as she doesn't suspect an allergy or intolerance. 

She believes his digestive system/gut flora needs some extra support whilst it develops so she has prescribed us a certain strain of probiotics for him. Apparently the ones from the chemist are just generic and if you're wanting to use probiotics for a particular reason then you need to use the strain that's going to support that part of the body.

She is also making up a herbal medicine to help him break down his wind and pass gas more easily which will be a big relief for him.

 

She also explored my health, particularly during pregnancy as this can affect Casper's health. My iron and vitamin D levels were really low so she has sent me off for blood tests and put me on a new multivitamin. I was using Elevit but it's full of synthetic ingredients that don't do a lot for body, so now I am on one by Metagenics which is all natural.

Another factor is stress. Towards the end of my pregnancy I was quite stressed. There were things going on that I was trying to avoid due to being pregnant and not wanting to stress my body out however, of course I couldn't avoid them completely and this could be a factor into poor Casper's compromised gut flora.

Feeling Positive 

I am feeling more positive now. We will have a follow up appointment in two weeks to assess how everything is going for both Casper and I. I am really hoping this is what will set Casper on a better path so he's no longer in pain, the poor little man has been suffering since he was 3 weeks old. If you're interested in seeing a naturopath here in Adelaide, her name is Ashlee Yates at Body Institute. 

Restrictions Lifting - Seeing PEOPLE!

Now that restrictions are slowly lifting we have started seeing people again. This has made Otis soooo happy. We took him out to our favourite cafe for a babycino and when we arrived he excitedly said 'look Mummy, PEOPLE!' - my poor honey he's missed socialising so much. That same day we surprised him with a visit from my Nanna. 

Otis and my Nanna have a very special relationship. She used to come over every Thursday to look after him whilst I worked and they formed a beautiful relationship. Paul and I always joke that he loves her more than he loves us haha. 

He was so happy to see her and we went to the park to kick the ball and explore. It was really nice seeing her again, we had been face timing quite a bit but it's not the same. This was only the third time she had seen Casper in person too so she was over the moon to get cuddles from him and fell even more in love with him - as does anyone who meets him, he's such a sweet little thing.

Toilet Training Update

Otis's toilet training has gone so well. We rarely need to ask him if he needs to go anymore. Occasionally he will have a little accident if he's been too excited playing but generally he will just tell us when he needs to go. He no longer gets a lolly snake for a poo anymore (I think he's sick of them now haha), but he's still getting a smartie for a wee. To be honest we have just been lazy and haven't tried weaning him off them so we have said the remaining ones we have will be his last ones and then no more treats. We will just celebrate every wee and poo.

Hubby Going Back to the Office :(

We have found out Paul will be going back to his office in the coming weeks. This makes us all so sad. It's been amazing having him home with us these past 2.5 months. It's not always been easy, he doesn't have a home office, so he's set up in the lounge room which means Otis thinks he can just play with him any time of the day. Apart from that though, he hasn't needed to commute to and from work so he has more time in the morning and evenings for himself or for us. We knew this day would come though so for now we will soak up all the extra family time we are getting and I will need to start mentally preparing to have both boys by myself again. It's actually been really good for his mental health because he has had more time in the early morning to go to the gym instead of commuting to work, and his lunch breaks are spent with his family. 

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I worked it out the other day, I have only been at home by myself with both boys for 1.5 weeks!

The first 3 weeks Paul was on paternity leave, the week he went back to work our friends from the UK stayed with us for 2 weeks, they left and 1.5 weeks later Paul was working from home. I know isolation has been tough on many families but for us we have been blessed. We will never have an opportunity like this again. Paul has been able to see so much of Casper as a newborn, he missed out on that with Otis.

With all of the sleepless nights I have had with poor little Casper, it's been such a relief having Paul home. yes he's been working all day but he's still been able to help me. I don't know how I would have coped had he not have been around during these really hard months. 

Another BIG Thankyou! 

Again, THANK YOU for all being so supportive. I feel so lucky to have all of you. Some of you have been clients, some of you are social media followers, some are friends and some are family, but you have all been amazing. I think we are really lucky to live in a time where our support network is just a click away. Social media can be such a great platform of support, yes it has its disadvantages, but I find if you use it well and only surround yourself with positive and uplifting people then it's a great tool to have xx