How to walk down the stairs without making a sound.....

Starting from the landing, quietly but gently place your left foot on step 1 as close to the wall as possible. Place one hand on the  handrail and rest your free hand on the wall so to take the majority of your weight. In one swift, controlled move, place your right foot on step 4 (or 5 if you can manage it without breaking your leg).... all whilst holding your breath and repeatedly chanting 'please don't hear me please don't hear me' in your head!

Needless to say, G isn't sleeping too well still. It took her around 2/3 weeks to get over her multiple infections, and whilst we enjoyed 5 days of good health we did only manage two nights of sleep.As always, it was too good to last and she is full of cold now! 

G usually goes to bed pretty well, but when poorly she prefers me to 'sit by door' while she nods off. Her head bobs up every 2-3 minutes to check that I'm still keeping guard, but there comes a point when the breathing deepens and it's safe to start making a descent. That's the hard part. She seems to be able to hear a pin drop from a mile off, so my size 8's stomping down the stairs aren't easy to disguise!

'SPEAKING!!'

G is hilarious at the moment, I could just sit and listen to her all day. Her mannerisms and sayings are a mixture of mummy & daddy, with a few other key influences thrown in for good measure. 

'Hello.....speaking' she says assertively when answering her peppa pig phone, (with obligatory hand on hip).

'Ninne go wee wee' she orders Winston as he's shoved out of the back door.

'Bean time, fruit bar time, tuna time, egg time, home time' literally anything that she is remotely exciting about has the word time at the end! 

'Chocolate cake please, thank you' how is our child so incredibly polite?

'Daddy get off' she giggles as he tickles her relentlessly. I'm pretty sure he uses a few more expletives when we try and tickle him! 

'Mummy come back soon' she says sadly as I drop her off to the childminders, full of cold, having only woken 20 mins previously. Heart melts. Heart brakes. Hate being a working mummy sometimes.

How does our 21 month old have such a good memory? Such a wide range of vocabulary? Such a run of ill health the minute winter comes a knocking. Thankfully we have a whole host of people who regularly keep G in their prayers.

What's next for us?

•We have a gastro appointment on Tuesday, along with an appointment with the allergist/dietician. On my 'hot topics' list are:

-G's recent eczema outbreak

-G's awful bowels (still, 19 months after her 1st intolerance was discovered)

-Alternative milk options. Oat and soya are a definite no no, as were almond hazelnut and other varieties of nut. Nasty neocate formula forever?! 

•Tomorrow is designated decoration day. Given that she gave the asda Christmas display tree a thumbs down (infact it was a 'no like it'), I'm not sure how she'll take the Christmas make-over that we have planned for the lounge tomorrow. 

• 'Church time' in the morning. Yet another opportunity for me to chase her up the aisle and surgically remove her from the electrical items! That aside, a reminder of how amazing, how loved, and how miraculous she is.

Oooooo and I finally did it, after over a year of battling, we've finally got an Ear Nose and Throat referral. Don't mess with a mummy on a mission. She WILL win! 

'Poorly Soddige'

For someone who's immune system is supposedly 'normal', G sure is having her fair share of illnesses. I think she's getting our fair share too.

G really has been a poorly sausage. She hadn't been right for a good few weeks or so, and after four visits to our local GP (2 of which were for a very persistent facial rash), we ended up being sent to the paediatric ward of our local hospital. A temperature of 40degrees which neither antibiotics or calpol would touch, and the Dr was baffled. 

Friday night in the paediatric ward is somewhat different to Friday night in a&e.  Kitted out with toys, a television, some very pleasant nurses, and with only 1 other child in admission, it was a far cry from the drunken cattle market of a&e. Id go as far as saying it was quite pleasant. G on the other hand would not! She hadn't stopped screaming from the moment we arrived at the doctors at 5pm. Upon entry to the hospital car park, the pitch did go up a notch or two. Then when we finally walked in to the paed ward, G had settled for none other than an ear-piercing, glass-shattering shrill. 

'What toys does she like?' asked the play specialist politely. 'None when they're in a hospital' came my rather abrupt response. Shake shake, rattle rattle, 'grace, what's this...' She soon gave up! 

After poking, prodding, and an x ray, it turned out G had a chest infection on top of the already diagnosed ear infection and tonsillitis. 

I don't know about you, but any of those alone would have me curled up in bed in the foetal position!

By this point it was 10pm and the registrar wanted G hooked up to IV drips and to have a series of blood tests. Now at this point you may think we are crazy, but we chose to take her home. Her temperature had dropped, she had started drinking water, we'd been given strong antibiotics, and I knew that she'd continue to be distraught if we stayed. After some careful negotiation, and the promise that we'd return her ASAP if she deteriorated, we were finally on her way.

'See ya' she shouted merrily as we left the hospital near on midnight. 

Five days on, and G isn't that much better but her temperature is back at a consistent 37degrees. I've had several battles with guilt, as I'm sure every working mother does when their child is ill. 'Why am I doing this?!' I'd ask myself.

My working week is now over, plenty of mummy G time is on the cards, and possibly a further trip to the drs (don't tell her!). At the very least I want that Ear Nose & throat referral. The mystery rash has also spread and is looking more and more like eczema as the days pass by. 

She is also a shadow of her former self, as she always is when gets ill. Good job she likes cake so much!

Here's hoping and praying that she starts to improve soon. I'd happily take her place.