Tiddler's Paediatrician appointment last week went ok. She is, apparently, 6 months delayed in her gross motor skills, but on course with her fine motor skills. Intellectually, he said that it's too early to tell how her development will pan out as intellectual growth kicks in from about now onwards. I know we would say this, but I am pretty sure she is doing ok intellectually.
After my wobble following Physio the other week, I asked him whether he thought a standing frame at Tiddler's age was quite (too) young? He said no- she wants to stand, she is trying to stand... she needs us to give her a helping hand. Standing will also really help build up her muscle tone as she wil have to work against gravity. Ok. Fair enough. I trust our Dr completely so thats good enough for me.
However, its not as straightforward as this. The other night, I spent a lovely evening with a couple of close friends. One of which had had a couple of shandies. They asked abut Tiddler, I partially updated them- telling them about the boots that she was to wear and how much she had hated trying them on. Cue drunken slurry rant interspersed with : "I am not being horrible..." and "Don't take this the wrong way...."
Basically, this friend told me to just let Tiddler enjoy her childhood, that the Drs were talking "bullshit", that T would walk when she was ready etc and why are they (and we) rushing her. The fact is, she is not the only person who has said similar to us. I know she wasn't exactly sober, but I wouldnt dream of saying the things to her that she said to me. I wouldn't ever volunteer my opinion on how she should bring up her child. I sincerely hope I wouldn't anyway, drunk or not.
What are we supposed to do? If Tiddler is 6 months delayed with her gross motor skills then without a leg up- excusing the pun- she is potentially faced with being a very late walker. There is no suggestion at this time that she won't be able to walk. So surely we are letting her down if we don't give her all the assistance she needs, albeit at this young age. Obviously we have to trust the medical profession. We have to have faith in them and we do, although at times it makes me sad that Tiddler is so entrenched in the "system" and sometimes I just want to scoop her up and run away from all the meddling/ exercise/ regimes etc.
Things are difficult. They will continue to be difficult. Our life would be easier without contradiction, and this includes that from well- meaning friends and family. They are not with us 24 hours a day, they do not see her abilities and frustration like we do. We must trust medical opinion. I just wish family and friends could keep their comments to themselves as voicing them puts us in an impossible position.
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
Monday, 7 November 2011
Orange, customer service and a lonely router...
A little over 2 months ago, I spent 2 hours in an Orange shop. 2 hours I will never get back. I signed up to their broadband and phone service, was given a router there and then and was informed I need do nothing else.
We waited.
And waited.
No communication from Orange, no shiny new landline no internet connection.
Fast forward 2 months to late last week, and it seems that Orange customer services practice telepathy. When I tweeted that I was having a problem with their call centre, the @orangehelpers stepped in on their white chargers. They didnt ask me what the problem was though.... and they didnt actually talk to me.... then, after I supplied the answers to their brief questions, they came back with a "we cant find your account" No? Correct. I could have told you that and saved us all a bit of time. It seems the store never actioned my order, but gave me the router anyway... (for a small fee)
I had originally called the call centre, and was told that as I had placed an order in store, the call centre couldnt help me. Neither could they supply me with a phone number for the store.
"Can't you look at the receipt?"
Well, yes love I could but why should I ransack my belongings for a receipt from 2 months ago... isnt this Orange reneging on the deal? Shouldn't they be doing the rummaging? Isn't 2 hours of my life enough? Is there literally nothing that customer services can do to complete this deal?
It seems not, it seems that the Orange stores are separate boats cast adrift from the mother ship. A and B don't talk to each other. Craziness. A highly inefficient business model if true but surely not, surely I have been at the rough end of lazy customer disservice...
So, does anyone have any ideas for what to do with the brand new router in my hands?
We waited.
And waited.
No communication from Orange, no shiny new landline no internet connection.
Fast forward 2 months to late last week, and it seems that Orange customer services practice telepathy. When I tweeted that I was having a problem with their call centre, the @orangehelpers stepped in on their white chargers. They didnt ask me what the problem was though.... and they didnt actually talk to me.... then, after I supplied the answers to their brief questions, they came back with a "we cant find your account" No? Correct. I could have told you that and saved us all a bit of time. It seems the store never actioned my order, but gave me the router anyway... (for a small fee)
I had originally called the call centre, and was told that as I had placed an order in store, the call centre couldnt help me. Neither could they supply me with a phone number for the store.
"Can't you look at the receipt?"
Well, yes love I could but why should I ransack my belongings for a receipt from 2 months ago... isnt this Orange reneging on the deal? Shouldn't they be doing the rummaging? Isn't 2 hours of my life enough? Is there literally nothing that customer services can do to complete this deal?
It seems not, it seems that the Orange stores are separate boats cast adrift from the mother ship. A and B don't talk to each other. Craziness. A highly inefficient business model if true but surely not, surely I have been at the rough end of lazy customer disservice...
So, does anyone have any ideas for what to do with the brand new router in my hands?
Sunday, 6 November 2011
Thank you, thank you- Liebster Award
Wowsers, thank you! Where do I start? So I have been awarded the Liebster Award by the ever so kind hearted Cheetahs in my Shoes. This is an award to those blogs with under 200 followers with "good content" that warrant more support. Well Mrs Cheetah, thank you very much. I had kind of lost my blogging mojo, so this award gave me a much needed boost. Thank you!
LIEBSTER AWARD RULES
- Show your thanks to those who gave you the award by linking back to them. – Hello Jenny!
- Reveal 5 of your top picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog. Keep reading....
- Post the award on your blog. Check.
- Enjoy the love and support of some wonderful people on the www! Well I have definitely been doing that and I look forward to meeting more of you... don't be shy introduce yourself if you stop by!
The Secret Life of an Unknown Housewife Sarah blogs about family life with candour and come across a very compassionate caring person. She is a truly interactive blogger and I urge you to go along and say
Thea and Nates Mam - This blog written by Mum of 2, chronicles life as a family with a child with additional needs and the interaction between both siblings in this situation.
Not The Tiger Mum - Ok so I have no idea about followers, its possible there are more than 200 followers but sod it I am including it. This blog is humourous and touching all at the same time. As a "Running Mummy" there are also plenty of references to fitness and running and how this can be juggled with a family life and work commitments.
Cats Yellow Days These are the days when Cat does something beyond the "eat/wash/feed/sleep cycle". Cat blogs about family, current affairs and a smattering of current affairs. A really good read!
Mum2babyinsomniac Great blog from a new mum, written with both honesty and humour. This blog is well designed and I really like the writing style.
There! Enjoy!
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Paediatrician Tomorrow
Tomorrow Tiddler has her appointment with the Consultant Paediatrician.
This time we have had the longest gap ever since her last appointment- 3 months. She has changed a lot and I know he will be blown away. As I type "I know he will be blown away" there is a voice telling me to "shut up, when will I learn" etc. Each time I build us up the fall when we are knocked down is greater and it hurts a damn sight more too. We were super positive but the Physio appointment last week pissed on my parade somewhat.
I am worried about her head banging, this is new and with her history I wonder whether we will be asked to reconsider an MRI scan. She has already had one, but she wriggled through it. Any future scan would have to be done with a general anaesthetic, hence we asked them to hold off when it was arranged back in May.
I wonder what her weight gain will be? Her feeding is still patchy, and she is still small although at the last weigh in she had jumped a centile!
It will be interesting to see what he thinks about her physical development... is she still delayed by the same number of months? As of last night, her unique travelling movement has morphed into commando crawling. We are totally blown away by this- we were told she probably wouldn't be able to crawl.
Both myself and OH really respect and like Tiddler's consultant and I am looking forward to it as I know he will give us a bit more black and white in our world of grey and unknown.
This time we have had the longest gap ever since her last appointment- 3 months. She has changed a lot and I know he will be blown away. As I type "I know he will be blown away" there is a voice telling me to "shut up, when will I learn" etc. Each time I build us up the fall when we are knocked down is greater and it hurts a damn sight more too. We were super positive but the Physio appointment last week pissed on my parade somewhat.
I am worried about her head banging, this is new and with her history I wonder whether we will be asked to reconsider an MRI scan. She has already had one, but she wriggled through it. Any future scan would have to be done with a general anaesthetic, hence we asked them to hold off when it was arranged back in May.
I wonder what her weight gain will be? Her feeding is still patchy, and she is still small although at the last weigh in she had jumped a centile!
It will be interesting to see what he thinks about her physical development... is she still delayed by the same number of months? As of last night, her unique travelling movement has morphed into commando crawling. We are totally blown away by this- we were told she probably wouldn't be able to crawl.
Both myself and OH really respect and like Tiddler's consultant and I am looking forward to it as I know he will give us a bit more black and white in our world of grey and unknown.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)