Just got back from a great few days camping in the New Forest. Whilst flicking though our photos I found this great photo where Joshua used one of his optimal Null Points to smile directly at the camera, Its usually very hard to get a great photo like this.
Today I was in the kitchen watching the kids play outside. I was watching when I realised they were trying to pick up a wasp (or bee) I rushed outside thinking they were going to get stung as Joshua was trying to pick it up with his fingers, whilst getting close trying to see. I rushed outside to warn Josh that he was actually trying to pick something up that would give him a sting only to find it was a lady bird.
Joshua has never been scared of tiny insects, he will literally put his face within a few mm to get a closer look, which is why I though he was about to get stung. Myself and Jen have warned him about getting stung and as he is 4 I know it is aware, although not yet been stung, that he needs to be careful. Amelia on the other hand hates them, just mention spider and she runs, really fast.
We had purchased an insect collector from Colchester Zoo but it was made of plastic and was soon covered in scratches resulting in poor visibility. I found it hard viewing inside so I can only imagine how bad it was for Josh. I will have to look online for alternatives, but to be honest Joshua would kindly hold a worm, spider or ant.
On a recent trip to a Zoo Joshua had the chance to get up close and hold a snake…You can see below Joshua used his null point to get a better look.
Photos taken from Joshuas Birthday’s capturing him blowing out the candles on the cake.
I was looking back through old home movies and found this night vision footage of Joshua few months old. You can see his eye movement, although due to the dark and being very sleepy his Nystagmus is much more noticeable. I hope that this will show others what Nystagmus can look like, if you havent seen it before.
I thought I would write a quick post about a product that I think is fantastic for all toddlers. At the age of 2 ½ Joshua is walking and running about all the time, which is great when in a safe and secure environment. However when we are out and about we take Joshua’s day sack, a backpack for toddlers with strap for the parents to hold. This is a fantastic idea as it enables you as the parents to keep control of your toddler’s movements when out in busy places like towns. They are nice and small, toddler size back packs which can hold toys, nappies, wipes etc. An alternative to toddler straps.
When it comes to Joshua’s Nystagmus this offers other benefits, it has saved josh from falling head first and tripping over on many occasions. It’s in new environments that Josh could potentially hurt himself and this is a great asset to help prevent such accidents.
Take a look:
http://www.littlelife.co.uk/html/toddler_daysacks/index.html
Over the last few days Joshua hasn’t been well at all. I thought I would write about some of my observations about how being ill affects Joshua’s Nystagmus.
He’s had a really bad cough and cold in which I have noticed he’s Nystagmus is far more obvious with he’s eyes moving side to side at a more noticeable rapid rate. This is probably the worst I have seen he’s eyes move in a while. Joshua is normally such a fun happy child, and although I know he has a cold and cough (this in itself will make him grumpy and not himself) but with his increased eye movement it is really affecting him. He has been falling over a lot more and getting extremely frustrated with himself, us and things in general. His balance has noticeably changed falling over, bumping into things (more than usual) which only adds to his frustration, although he does pick himself up and gets on with it. I’m sure he his getting used to all this and learning to cope the best he can.
Josh is also going through the potty training stage. Up until this week has been doing very well slowly but surely moving towards the ultimate goal of ditching those nappies, however this week has been a total setback.
I’ve been checking on Joshua during the night, more so than usual, to make sure he is ok. Each time I checked I kept finding him on the floor, asleep, it seems to disorientate him sum what more. So if you have a child that’s with Nystagmus, depending on what stage they are, i.e. recently moved from cot to cot-bed its worth checking them more often. It is possible that this is unique to josh but none the less something to watch out for as know body likes sleeping on a hard floor.
I hope he gets better soon.
Note: (Joshua is currently 2 years and 4 months old)