Week 6

Wednesday 26th November

Lisa, the community paediatrician came to see Mum and Dad again today to talk about my resuscitation plan. She says she is making good progress on it and has arranged for me to see the ambulance man in charge at home next Monday. I’m not sure what we need to meet the ambulance man for, but I hope he lets me ride in the ambulance with the flashing lights going as that sounds like fun. Lisa was on her day off today so I think it was really nice of her to call in. She was wearing a lovely pair of pink jeans which I think Trinny and Suzanna might question - but then again they would have a field day on Mum and Dad too but I don’t like to mention it in case I upset them.

The Health Visitor also came to see me today. She had to check me over from top to toe, including weighing me again, she says I am 7lb 13oz now although I’m not sure if that’s exactly right as she used a different set of scales to the normal ones. She also gave me a nice red book for Mum and Dad to track my progress in, which includes all sorts of things like a chart to track my weight and height and a record of when I need to have my immunisations.

Sue (health visitor) says she will be helping to look after me when I go home, which is nice. She then said Mum looked like she needed a hug and flung her arms around her which made Dad think she was mad as a brush but both of them liked her a lot regardless (and I give Mum enough hugs so I don’t know why she said that anyway). Me, Mum and Dad are very lucky as lots and lots of people have offered to help to look after us all as they know it will be hard for all of us -  especially me as I won’t get the same level of attention I do here from the hundreds of nurses!

Thursday 27th November

I slept very well last night for 8 hours straight through. So, when Dad woke me up in the morning to do my physio, I had built up loads and loads of secretions on my chest . Dad and the physio Tina did there best, but I struggled to move them all day which kept making me cough and choke, so in the evening they decided to remove my patch (its a bit like a plaster and it controls secretions) from behind my ear and give me a go on a nebuliser. The nebuliser was like standing in a steam room and helped me to deal with my secrections much better. I’m not sure if they will need to put my patch back on, but I hope not as it hurts when they change it every couple of days.

Dad went to the shops and bought some juggling balls today, I think he thinks he is a clown. He did some juggling for me and my friend Henry, but to be honest neither of us were very impressed, I think he needs some more practice. He says he can juggle fire if he has the right type of juggling clubs, but I don’t think that’s a good idea because he has already set the fire alarm off twice already.

Later on in the evening I felt quite a bit better as I was coughing less and was finally able to get to sleep on Mum while she watched Eastenders - what a load of rubbish that programme is, am glad I fell asleep.

Mum and Dad also planned another trip home. This time we will go on Saturday but leave in the afternoon and then stay overnight! I am quite excited about this but will definitely be having words with Mum or Dad about those furry cats. I don’t want to wake up to find I’m sharing my Moses basket with one or both of them as there’s barely enough room for me what with all the teddies Mum insists I sleep with.

not my best angle... thanks Dad.

Friday 28th November

Once again, today was very exciting. Mum and Dad decided my Auntie Claire should get some practice in taking care of me as she is going to help Mum out here and there when we are at home. So after lunch Auntie Claire turned up and Mum ran through some things she’d need to know about me including how I like my physio done but I didn’t hear Mum mention how I like feeding so this kind of worried me - thank goodness the nurses were still around as backup.

So off went Mum and Dad to go shopping leaving me with Auntie Claire who kept fussing with me and moving me about when I was trying to sleep but all in all she was quite good at taking care of me. The only problem arose when I was busy practising my newly discovered coughing technique and all did not go according to plan. I didn’t quite move some secretions where I had wanted and they got stuck in the back of my throat causing me to change colour and Aunty Claire to get a bit worried. She bravely sucked them out and didn’t get scared so I think I’ll be happy with her at home.

Finally managed to get Dad off the matt so I could have a go...

Anyway,  Mum and Dad returned a couple of hours later after all the excitement had happened - typical. To make up for leaving me they had bought me two really cool pressies. One was a mobile that hangs over my basket or pram and the other was a play mat thing in the shape of a huge ladybird with hanging caterpillars - a bit surreal but I loved it anyway and played on it for a whole hour after tea. I think Dad maybe enjoyed it a bit too much for a grown-up and wouldn’t leave the crinkly caterpillars and squeaky flies alone.

Another thing that was exciting today was I learnt how to use my hands much better and after half an hour or so of trying I finally managed to grab hold of my Tigger in my bed. Once I had hold of it I pulled it towards me and put it in my mouth, which was very energetic for me. The ear tasted quite good, so I think I’ll eat a few more soft toys tomorrow.

Tiggers taste grrrrrreat :-)

Saturday 29th November

Well today was the day we headed home again and are staying the night! I was very excited and woke up early.

Everyone at ACORNS said they would miss me and waved me off. I was a bit too excited on the way home and got a bit flustered in the car so needed some suctioning. Dad found some services and got rid of a really annoying bit in the back of my throat which helped me to relax and go off to sleep.

Once we arrived my cats came to see me again and sniffed my car seat but since I made a bit of noise they decided to stay away. I hope they like me and we get to be good friends. My next door neighbour Simon also popped his head round to say hello. He has a little girl four weeks older than me but about twice the size - I think she’ll be useful to know if I get into any trouble with bigger kids. Simon said I should be nice to George (his daughter) as she will be able to introduce me to lots of other girls which will be useful to me apparently - not sure why, maybe they will be able to feed me too?

Aunty Claire popped round in the evening to have a cuddle. I like sleeping on her as I can tell she’s a very sleepy person too.

Mum, Dad and I are all off to bed now. I like their bedroom (not as much as mine) and am allowed to  sleep in my Moses basket next to their bed, but I don’t think I’ll get much sleep as Mum keep fussing with my blankets and checking I am OK and Dad doesn’t half snore. What with all the fussing and snoring and me coughing I am going to be very tired in the morning.

Sunday 30th November

What a night, I hardly got a wink of sleep. Mum kept fussing over me and Dad kept snoring and checking on me. When I woke up in the morning Mum seemed a bit tired so Dad offered to take me for a walk to see the ducks. We went all the way round the village but I didn’t see any ducks at all, I think this might of been because the lack of visibility from my pram.

I had a bath later on in the big grown up bath, I was a bit scared at first but soon learnt to love it as you can splash around a lot more than in my baby bath at Acorns.

We decided to head back at around 7 O’clock because we thought the staff at Acorns might be missing me, turns out they were and I got loads of cuddles when we got back.

Monday 1st December

Today I had a very good sleep all morning because I was still very tired after the weekend. This afternoon Mum and Dad nipped home to see the ambulance man (Dom), I said I didn’t really want to go as I was still very tired. Mum and Dad said he was very nice though and really really helpful. Dom said I’ll be able to go home in a special ambulance called the ‘Pandulance’ (i.e. panda ambulance), which is a special ambulance for children with a children’s bed, soft toys and TVs, which sounds brilliant even though it has a strange name. Mum apparently asked Dom how he could say ‘Pandulance’ with a straight face.

I began to feel a bit rough later today, I have a sore chest and felt a bit sick. I have also been coughing a lot and had loads and loads of secretions. The doctor (farmer Pat) came to see me this evening and said I have Bronchilitis, which was probably caused by a virus. I don’t need any tablets or medicines, just lots of sleep, some suction and a bit of oxygen now and then and he suggested I may want to go to the Childrens Hospital but suggested I would get just the same level of care here, so Mum and Dad decided I should stay where I am comfortable. I wish I could get some more sleep but my coughing keeps me awake. Hopefully I should get better in a day or two, fingers crossed. Doctor Pat also came to see me last thing, although he seemed much more interested in the bottle of wine Mum and Dad were drinking than me.

Finally, can someone please teach my Mum a few nursery rhymes, she only knows about three and I’m sure they aren’t supposed to have that many la la la’s in them. Better than Dad though, he doesn’t know any and worse still he is tone deaf - that’s when I pretend to be asleep.

mum singing..not impressed..

dad singing.....bring back mum

Tuesday 2nd December

Well today I was very poorly indeed. My chesty cough was a lot worse and in the morning I was very upset and couldn’t get comfy at all. This upset Mum and Dad and even the nurses were very worried. Then Dad finally managed to relax me enough so that I could fall asleep so I slept for four hours due to my exhaustion.

Its then typical that while I was asleep all the action happened. Mum and Dad had to attend a meeting about me where everyone involved in my care turned up to discuss looking after me when I go home. I was supposed to be there but they decided since I was settled that I should stay in my room - great. I had this perfect opportunity to be the centre of attention for 12 female doctors, nurses and physios and I slept through the whole thing!

Anyway I woke shortly after the meeting had finished and mum told me all about it - I then started to cry which they took as me feeling poorly but really it was because of missing all those ladies.

Bad news today is that because I am poorly the nurses, Mum and Dad all decided I shouldn’t go home for good on Thursday as planned. I don’t mind staying here infact I quite like it but I was getting to be friends with the cats at home and I have a feeling they will miss me - oh well, Mum and Dad will just have to break it to them gently while I concentrate on getting better.

Finally I promised I would mention one of my favourite carers - Sue H. She apparently reads my diary with her husband Steve (who admires my web development skills) - Sue is lovely to my Mum, Dad and me and we are really glad we have her and she reminds me a lot of Eeyore. Hi Sue and I promise to try to get better for you.... :-)

And finally a Message from my Mum: Mim, twins! I have just read your diary and cant believe it. I am so pleased for you and have my fingers crossed for a lovely healthy pregnancy. Take care xxx
[Samuel's Home] [Samuel's Diary] [Week 1] [Week 2] [Week 3] [Week 4] [Week 5] [Week 6] [Week 7] [Week 8] [Gallery] [Messages] [Tribute] [Donations] [Contact Us]