Taking It All In...

I have not blogged for a while... Things with Riley have gotten better, but worse...

I guess I have just been trying to take it all in and make sense of all the medical jargon being thrown at me...

When we were in hospital the doctors seemed reluctant to use the word Epilepsy, which made me feel better, but at the same time frustrated because there was still no reason for his seizures.
We went to see a paediatric neurologist a few weeks ago, and after examining Riley for not even 10 minutes he concluded that it was indeed Epilepsy and that he would need to take an anti-convulsion medication for 2 years. He prescribed a liquid medication called Epilim, which we have to slowly ween Riley onto by 1ml a week, until he has reached 4mls twice a day. When he has been on 4mls for a week, he needs to have (another) blood test to check his liver function, as Epilim can effect that.
It can also make him drowsy, although we have not seen any of that yet, but he is only on 2mls twice a day at this stage. I was very worried about this because I did not want him falling behind. 2 years is a lot of learning time for a two year old. By the time he stops taking his medication, he will almost be in Kindy. My worries seem unwarranted at the moment though and if I notice any changes I will speak to the doctor and we will try a different medication.
The poor little boy is on 2 different medications now, Epilim and Ferrous Sulphate, which is helping with his Iron definciancy. He is so good though and most days he takes them both without complaining. Zane is feeling left out though, whenever I give Riley his medications, Zane asks for 'some'. Very cute, but after 2 weeks of saying ' No, this is for Riley'. (When I start preparing Riley's medicine,) Zane says 'Riley's'. He learns so fast!
I have finally sent Riley back to Child Care after about 8 weeks of him not going. I did it more for him than me, I would have been happy to have him home with me all the time, but Zane was learning lots of new things and it was noticable that Riley was missing out. Zane is doing a beautiful job of feeding himself with a spoon, and his speach has come along a great deal since he started Child Care. Even though Riley does feed himself and use a lot of words, it just seemed that Zane was advancing a bit quicker. So off Riley goes, back to child care, although this time around he does not cry when I leave and seems to enjoy it a lot more than he did the first time around.
In the new year they will be going into the 'Toddler Room' and I am hoping that teaches them even more than they currently learn in the 'Baby Room' because they are some of the oldest children in there at the moment.

John has been working in Fruit and Veg for the past 2 weeks and it's so much easier on me and the kids, we have gotten ourselves into a good routine, and they get to spend the afternoons with Daddy, which gives me a bit of time on my own (which I have been spending very productivly at the gym!) I am afraid though that his time in Fruit and Veg won't last, as the company he works for seems to be trying to make his life as hard as possible... With any luck he will be there for another week, so we can enjoy our newfound routine... Fingers crossed it becomes permanent though!

As we approach Christmas and the New Year, my life becomes bedlam. Zane and Riley's Birthday's are on the 12th of December, and Emily's is on the 19th of January. This year though, in between all the usual parties and get togethers, will be doctors appointments to top it off! I can't wait until March, when it is all over and we can get back to normal life!