Chugga Chugga Choo Choo.....

A little toy train that we have gotten for Ian from HK airport, just before boarding the plane.  Ian loves it!

A Quilt For Ian - Part 2

(A long overdue post...)

I have actually finished making the quilt in December last year, but have never gotten to take a photo of it.  Here is the finished product.

Just to recap, this was the first post on Ian's quilt: http://hellolavender.blogspot.com/2009/11/quilt-for-ian-part-i.html

Ian's Development

It was highlighted by the PD in late Febuary that Ian might have to undergo a development assessment, because she noted that he did not talk much during those visits.  After a long time, we finally got an appointment with NUH via a polyclinic's referral.

Today, we went without Hubby to Jurong Medical Centre for the appointment.  It was the furthest place that I had driven alone without a guide.  We set off very early at 9.30am, and to my surprise, even though I had driven very slowly, we reached there within 30mins.  But it was lucky to arrive early, because the super limited carpark was full.  We waited for around 15mins before someone moved.  By the time we reached the clinic, it was just in time.

The nurse took his weight (13kg) and height (92cm).  He had lost weight. :(

The doctor interviewed me on the milestones of Ian.  Just a summary for record:

• Able to say more than 50 words.
• Unable to say 2 words together. (However, now I just remembered that he can say "I want".)
• He cannot say 3 syllables eg. "banana" becomes "nana", "W" is pronounced as "double" without "u".
• Able to point out the things he wants.
• Able to stack more than 6 blocks.  The doctor asked him to do a live demo and he managed to stack all the 10 blocks.
• Able to recognise all the uppercase alphabets.
• Able to recognise simple shapes and colours.
• Able to hold a pen and draw circles.  (Sometimes, he managed to draw straight lines.)
• Understands his body parts.
• Able to read certain words, eg. body parts, farm animals
• Able to count to 10 and recognise the numerals 1-9.

The doctor tested him with pictures of objects, such as airplane, car, chair, apple, dog, cat.  Ian was able to name most of it.  However, when the doctor asked him what the object is used for, Ian was stunned.

The diagnosis was that Ian's overall development was ok, except that he should be talking more than present.  At his age, he should be able to say 2 words together.  We will need to bring him for a hearing test, and also a session with the speech therapist.

Supplements, Supplements

Ian was diagnosed with bronchitis in mid-April. We had seen his doctor repeatedly every 2-3 days for the first week, before the doctor concluded that his cough had developed into bronchitis.  (While the little terror was at home for the 2 weeks, he had smashed my new iPhone screen!)

On the last visit for a review, his doctor suggested that we stop his childcare for a couple of months to build up his immunity, before sending him back.  He was also prescribed Singulair (small sachets of white powder to be mixed into his cereal), with the hope of strengthening his lungs a little.

In the meanwhile, he is now on a whole range of supplements:

• Probiotics/Colostrum
• Multivitamins
• Vitamin C for an extra boost
• Fish Oil

Here are just some of the supplements that our family is taking, with the bulk belonging to Ian.

Unfortunately, he does not like the taste of the Childlife Multivitamins liquid.  Hence, I had to mix it into his formula or cereal in order to hide the taste.  On the contrary, he loves the gummy bears!  I do not have to remember to give him, because he will ask for them everyday!

I am also giving him an Echinacea supplement on a bi-monthly basis.  Hopefully, all these measures will help to build up his immunity and stop the frequent visits to his PD.