Baby, Baby

Emma, Chris and Jack were brilliant. I’m so glad I spent a couple of days with them; I know they’re not *really* my family, but it’s close…
 
So much to talk about. Jack has to wear a harness for 23 hours a day. He has a clicky hip – no idea what the medical term is for that, but he has to wear a canvas contraption that holds him in the shape of a frog! He isn’t uncomfortable in it, but the two half-hour periods per day when he can be free and have a kick about are amazing. He’s so good, though… all the time I was there he cried for about three minutes tops altogether!
 
I think Emma had gone through some mental anguish about the clicky hip, but by the time I went up there, she’d come to terms with it and was quite laid back about the procedures. She’d made online contact with another young mum whose baby has the same condition and they swap emails and stories about the babies and how they’re getting on. 
 
I’d forgotten how long it takes to go anywhere when there’s a baby to consider. Gone are the days when Emma and Chris could say, “Ooh, let’s pop out to wherever.” They now have to pack enough stuff for a fortnight’s holiday just to go to a pub for lunch!
 
Emma’s old school friend had also recently had a baby and been in touch too. This is a sad, sad story though, as her friend’s baby has foetal alcohol syndrome. The friend quite blatantly drank and smoked weed throughout her pregnancy and the result is the worst possible. One of my students has this too, so I know what is likely to happen with the friend’s baby and none of it is good. Foetal alcohol syndrome isn’t really talked about much and people still say that “one drink a day won’t hurt.” One drink a day CAN hurt. It may not, but it can.
 
There’s an argument to say that drinking whilst pregnant is child abuse and having worked with a young lad who is the living result of it, I agree and then some.
 
Anyway, after the visit I drove back here and tried to send a text to Emma to let her know I was home safely and to say “thank you” again to her. Except I’d left my ‘phone at her house and her number was stored on that ‘phone… so I couldn’t even call to let her know.  Finally, I contacted her by email and she’s going to post it to me tomorrow. My whole life is on that ‘phone; I do hope she manages to catch the post (the Post Office closes at midday on Saturday and by the time she gets Jack ready for another major outing…) and gets it off to me!
 
Spoke briefly again with Lauren. She’s out with her (older) daughter’s partner tonight trying to get a little runaround car for the time she’s in the UK. I’m going to meet up with her properly on Sunday and catch up on everything. I have truly missed our talk sessions, but I have a feeling she’ll have moved on so much that most of our common ground will have disappeared. 

Yet again that moving finger is writing…