Corwin and Rowan had a great day yesterday! I wasn't sure how Corwin would be as he is too young to understand what Christmas is all about, but he was super excited to open his sack full of presents and understood straight away that each was to contain a gift! He had so many..lots of Peppa Pig toys, books, and Go Diego Go toys. He kept saying 'wow!' (his new word) and shrieking 'Peppa' and Dodo (Diego). Rowan hadn't a clue what was going on but enjoyed all the cuddles from relatives and the wrapping paper!

Here are some photos!

Happy Christmas!

abi x

Happy Christmas!!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I am posting a link below to a petition for Media Awareness for CHD. This includes the UK. Please sign it if you can spare a minute. You will need to copy and paste the link. Please pass on the link to anyone you feel may support this.Thank you.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/media-awareness-for-chd/sign.html

Hello. Here is a photo of my purr..fect little man all dressed up for a fancy dress party! He looked so cute!

Just another small update and a chance to post some bonfire night photos! They are not great I am afraid. We just had a few fireworks at home and Corwin loved them! He was mesmerised for over half an hour! He looked so cute with his wellies and fleece duffel coat over his PJs!
It is not long now until Corwin starts Preschool - January! He will have one to one support to help him with his mobility and his language mainly. In a couple of weeks I am meeting with his Preschool leader, his support assistant and his Special needs inclusion teacher at his preschool setting. He has become very clingy of late so I worry that the transition to preschool may not be easy! He will only go two mornings a week with view to increasing that after the summer - then he will have just one year before he starts school!
He is doing so well lately with his language, he repeats the initial sounds of some words really well, like 'd' for dog and says 'pee' for please!
Rowan is doing well also and is nearly 7 months! He is showing no signs of crawling as he has no interest in looking at the world from his tummy - he just rolls straight off and happily kicks on his back. He is just about sitting!
I will update again soon,
Abi x

Brotherly love!

Just wanted to share these photos. Corwin is very good with Rowan and Rowan smiles and laughs at Corwin lots! It is lovely seeing them start to interact.

Corwin's Clinic Appointment

Corwin had a cardiac clinic appointment today and it went very well. He had the usual Sats check ( Oxygen levels in blood), blood pressure, weight check...then ECG and the Heart Echo. He cried like crazy for each and every one of these as he was taken from one room to the next. The final room was to speak with a registrar and even though the room had cosy table and chairs only he screamed through the entire consultation. I was hoping after 6 months since the last appointment he would be fine , but he was worse than ever before. He did enjoy walking around the waiting and play area with his frame though and he got lots of attention from the staff! He is such a show off! The registrar spoke to our consultant and gave us feed back from all his tests ( we usually speak with the consultant but were happy he had seen the echo and results). The registrar said Corwin was stable and that there was no plan to do anything at the moment.His SATs were 80%. We will see them in 9 months (a record length of time) and maybe a cardiac catheter will be considered then to go in and take a good look at his heart. For those who don't know , a catheter is procedure where a fine tube is threaded into the heart , for children under a General Anesthetic. It is a bit like the key hole of cardiac surgery. For Corwin it will be diagnostic only but sometimes catheters are used to close small holes, open holes , stent arteries etc. Normally they would enter the catheter through the top of the leg , but this time I am guessing they will enter Corwin through his neck. It is a straight forward procedure.

Anyway, things are stable, so we can relax for 9 months!

Well done Corwin!

abi x

Just had to share these photos of Corwin tucking in to a chocolate lolly! A colleague of Tom's visited Corwen in Wales! He had no problem finishing it all off!

Corwin also went to his cousin's fancy dress birthday party as Postman Pat and so we 'dressed' his walking frame as the van!

abi x

Corwin had an appointment with his general paediatrician yesterday to check on his general health and development - just one of the four clinics Corwin is under! The Doctor basically oversees all of Corwin's treatment for everything. His cardiologist only really looks at his heart whereas his paediatrician looks at 'Corwin'. He seemed pleased that Corwin is making steady progress in all areas and listed all the 'help' Corwin is having - Physio Therapy, Speech and Language Therapy and a Special Needs Teacher from the Early Years team who spends over an hour a week with Corwin at home. It would be so difficult for me to go to back to work with all the appointments we have! Corwin is still not walking , now 2 years 4 months (see chart at the bottom of this page!) but is using his walking frame with ease. He is not saying any words but plenty of sounds and is definitely communicating but in his own little language with a lovely little sense of humour! We like to look at what he can do rather than cant. He weighs about 28lb / 13kg and is 82 cm tall.
His little brother Rowan is growing fast and Corwin showers him with kisses and gives toys to him - he is a very caring, affectionate big brother.

I just love the photo of them above. They both look so cute ready for bed. Corwin looks young for his age so it is hard to believe there is two years between them from this photo!

abi x

Summer Break in Norfolk

Hello! We took the boys for a mini break to Norfolk. The weather was kind to us considering what a shocking summer we have had , yet again! We only went for two nights but managed to squeeze in two swims in the hotel pool, two visits to Great Grandma, a long play at 'Play Barn' farm and an afternoon at the beach. Corwin had lots of fun on the tractors and he enjoyed the sand but kept eating it! He loved holding our hands and paddling in the sea. He was absolutely exhausted after just three days. He managed just short naps in the car and missed his long afternoon sleeps and it shows he really needs them still to 're-fuel'. He looked quite a poorly boy on the way home and now has a cough and runny nose :( Am sure a few days with some long sleeps will have him back to his self soon.

Above are some photos!

abi x

Two Years on...

It was two years ago today that Corwin had his first heart surgery.He has come so far.
Well done my little man! xxx
The slide show above starts from two years ago...to today.

abi x

At Last some nice weather so Corwin was able to use his walker in the garden! He loved kicking his Peppa Pig ball around , something he wouldn't be doing on his own without his walker. It was a lovely 'proud Mummy and Daddy' moment that I had to share!

abi x

I have nothing much to report really. Corwin is doing well with his walking frame, although the novelty has worn off and so he is ignoring it and crawling lot. I don't want to force it on him so leave it round the house and gently encourage him to stand up to it himself.

He is taking to Rowan more and more. He will shake toys over him and give him his dummy. He does get a little jealous if visitors hold Rowan , or if I take photos of Rowan!

The photos are of Corwin and Rowan. They are looking more and more alike, but not ever so much. It is fun to dig out the photos of Corwin and compare.

The first of each two is Corwin. He is two months older than Rowan in the smiley photo , but it is the only open mouthed smile I can find of him!

abi x

Just wanted to share some nice news that Corwin is walking really well with a new frame. He tried it for the first time with physio today and after about 15 mins he was walking everwhere with it. He was so excited! He is really ready to be independent and is becoming very strong minded. He can pick it up slightly to turn it round, infact he is a bit too good that he is scaring me as he goes far too fast and there are plenty of things for him to knock into in my house! I cant slow him down. There is also a tiny step onto laminate flooring in his playroom , but he slows down and carefully steps up or down it (see photo)...one day he might forget He did go too fast with it and banged into the patio doors...however the second time he remembered and stopped way ahead of the doors! eeek he is going to keep me running round after him now!

Only downside was that it absolutely exhausted him even though he was not on it long. I am unsure how much to let him use it as he does not know his limits yet. He went to bed a very tired, grumpy, crying boy.

abi x

Fundraising event

On Monday my family held a fundraising event for 'Little Hearts Matter'. We held a 'not so serious' wine tasting evening, at the prestigious Stapleford Hall, including a 4 course meal , raffle and quiz. We raised a fantastic £5145 ! You can click on the link to the right to learn more about Little Hearts Matter', a charity that supports families of children with single ventricle conditions. We have made lots of friends through the charity, met lots of children that have given us hope for the future and learned lots about living with a child with such a complex condition. We know the charity will continue to be a support as Corwin has further surgery , starts school, grows into his teenage years and hopefully beyond. The charity is a great support particularly for women who are pregnant and given the diagnosis and need to find answers and support quickly.

Thank you to all my family, especially Dad for your efforts, it was a great evening!

Photos above from top - Corwin's Granny speaking, Tom and I, Corwin's Grandpa speaking, Corwin's Grandad drinking!, Corwin's uncle Adam handing out one of the many wines and Tom and Corwin's Nanna.

abi x

Happy Second Birthday Corwin!

It was Corwin's birthday on Friday! He had a small party involving party food at a village hall then moving to his Granny and Grandpas' garden for outdoor play! We were very lucky with the weather! Granny and Grandpa's motorised tractor was a big hit with the children, with only one child becoming run over! Corwin's favourite presents included a sandpit, swing, water table, train set and some peppa pig toys!

Cant believe he is 2 already! He is looking quite a grown up boy despite not walking or talking yet. He is eating well, sleeping well and is an absolute joy to be around - lovely company!.

Happy birthday my special little man!

abi x

I just wanted to add this lovely photo my brother took of Corwin kissing his baby brother Rowan! Corwin has been very good with Rowan and has not seemed jealous at all. He kisses him often and looks very concerned when he cries.

Corwin recovered from his gastroenteritis , after which myself and Tom got it! Corwin also had a mystery rash and needed two visits to the doctors, some pirotin and ointment, but he is fully recovered now.

I cant believe Corwin will be two on Friday! I will be posting lots of photos soon!

abi x

Introducing Corwin's little brother!!

Corwin's little brother, Rowan Everard Meynell, was born on April 18th, 5 weeks early, weighing 5lb 14oz. Was a surprise to us all! I went into labour naturally but had to have an emergency c section as he was breech and showing signs of distress. We had been told to expect a c section, but not to soon!

He is doing very well!

Corwin is poorly though with gastroenteritis which has really knocked him out. He has paid little attention to his little brother, so hard to know what he thinks until he is well again.

I will have to post some photos of Corwin and Rowan together soon.

abi x

Cardiac Clinic Appointment

We had a cardiac Clinic appointment yesterday and all went very well. Corwin's heart is still the same , no worse with the valve leak possibly slightly improved. They seemed very pleased and are happy to leave it another 6 months before seeing him again which is the longest they have left him! We dont have any appointments until we see his urologist in August, just physio and a visit from an Early Years team at home. We should have a nice break from hospitals just in time for us to concentrate on family life with a new little addition next month!

abi x

HAPPY EASTER!

Happy Easter!

love from Corwin

xxx

Corwin's first word!

Corwin is now saying his first word! He has been babbling sounds for a while but never seemed to attach a sound to anything to create a word until now.

His first word is Peppa Pig! - A children's TV Program. He says P-P-P and points at the TV, or fetches us one of his many Peppa Pig books and says P-P-P! He seems very pleased with himself for saying it!

I managed to film him saying it to his Daddy.

Abi x

Great Grandad

Corwin's Great Grandad passed away this week. He loved his computer and would often read this blog to catch up on Corwin's progress so I wanted to add this photo for him.

Abi x

Little we knew that morning that God was going to call your name,

In life we loved you dearly,in death we do the same.

It broke our hearts to lose you, you did not go alone.

For part of us went with you, the day God called you home.

You left us peaceful memories, your love is still our guide,

And though we cannot see you, you are always at our side.

Our family chain is broken, and nothing seems the same,

But as God calls us one by one, the chain will link again.