Put me in a boat, send me to fish and drink like one.

Hey folks, it's been a busy year for me.  I honestly forget when I set aside time for myself and just did nothing for a while.

My boy is almost three.  He doesn't understand yet that listening to Dad is a fantastic way to spend an afternoon.  Ahh, how I look forward to a 13 year old lad, sitting inside a smelly bedroom and being quiet for a while.

(By 13 I will probably wish he'd be two again!)

Been doing a bit of day dreaming lately.  Missing the good ol' times of hanging out down the pubs and clubs like I used to do, or going away without worrying about whether a sleeping cot is able to fit into my tiny car boot.

It's all part of the package though and I'm looking forward to doing all the things I used to do with a grown adult son instead.

One thing I really miss doing though is fishing.  I hardly got the chance to do it before being a dad, but sitting off the end of a jetty with my two year just isn't on the cards yet.

Give it a few years until he learns water safety just a bit better.

I would love to own a boat one day (here comes the day dreaming again), taking a big mother of a boat out of boat storage and heading north along the coast, whacking it into a piece of ocean not normally seen by beach goers.

Pottering out to sea in the boat, which is more than likely called something like "Slice of Life" or maybe my usual silly like "It's a Floater".

Dropping in a line with an ice cold tinnie in reach, probably catching nothing but a cold, but not really caring at all.

Man, that sounds bloody good.

Well, I would rather catch something, so in this day dream I catch a whopper salmon that makes all the Fishmongers jealous!  Yeah, brilliant!

Hmmm, if only I was any good at scaling fish.

I hope my boy will like fishing.  Taking a boat out by myself does sound nice and relaxing, but I think I'd enjoy it much more if the wee lad decided he'd like to come too.

Anyway, it's all a pipe dream.  I think I'd need a decent lotto win to nab the boat of my dreams, or I could find myself a sugar mummy to buy me one!

Best idea I've had all night.. maybe.

Would love to hear your fishing stories if you have any good tales.  Drop me a line (Get it? Man I'm funny).

- tork

The Biggest Loser Husband Wife Weight Loss Off - Week 3

Another week down and it's an "oops" week.  Yeah, I've put on 0.5kgs and the wife is keeping hush hush on her weight loss.

Christmas parties! Worst ideas when trying to lose weight.  Good times though, great times!

I do have good news for you though.  It's giveaway time!!

The folks at The Biggest Loser Club are kindly offering all you lovely readers out there the chance to win a 3 month membership to the Biggest Loser Club.

I have got two of them to give away!  Enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

But let's talk about more on the weight loss scene.  I knew it was coming, the weight gain.  There was less exercise done this week.  Seems it's usually a pattern for me after a two week consecutive weight loss result.

I get a bit cocky perhaps, showing how it easy it is and just do a bit less exercise. I sweated it out Saturday though, running after the wee lad, kicking footy with mates.

I sweated more than Kevin Pietersen, facing his home media after losing the first Ashes Test.

(that's a lot of sweating!)

If I didn't put a big effort in on Saturday, it probably would have been worse.

My wife on the other hand has been eating better then me, but just feeling a bit crook over the week. Poor thing! Kind of doesn't help exercise wise.

Excuses excuses though.  I shouldn't have excuses!

The Biggest Loser Club is all set up to avoid this sort of weight gain, albeit very small.  They give you weekly recipes and on top of that, a shopping list of all the ingredients required.  Makes it really easy if you're able to abide by their suggested meals.

Inserting a big kick up the arse this week.  I promise to lose a bunch of kgs.  Tweet me and Facebook me to make sure I don't slip up! (and good luck if you are entering the giveaway)

How's your weight looking after your Christmas parties?  Do you have issues denying a plate of lamb on the spit like I did? Or is there another Christmas goody that has you beat?

Love to hear about it!

- tork

My Weight Loss Challenge plus a The Biggest Loser Giveaway

I'm excited to tell you all about my newest venture!

Losing weight!

I'm not going to do it by myself.  Hopefully I have all of my readers support!  But I've also been lucky enough to be approached by the team at the Biggest Loser Club.

I'm so lucky to be approached by Shannan Ponton and team for the Shannan Weight Loss Challenge.  It's an 8 Week Challenge where I'll receive recipes, workout plans and feedback from Shannan himself.

Yeah I've been lazy over the past few years.  I currently weigh 87kgs.

That might not seem much to a lot of people, but to me it's around 12kgs overweight.

I used to be fit, playing all sports you can think of, having plenty of time to exercise.  These days, I do no exercise. None, nada, zippo!

All I manage to get in is the run down the hall way with a crazy two year old, or a run after a bus when I miss it.

I need to change things up and fit in exercise somewhere.  I really don't know how.  Would be great to get some advice on what to do!

I really don't know how I can fit in some exercise, so I'm looking forward to 8th of April when the Shannan Ponton 8 Week Challenge starts to give me a helping hand.

I'll be doing a review each week on how I'm proceeding, but also, I have two of the Shannan Challenge to give away!

Here is some info on it:

The celebrity trainer from the hit TV Show, The Biggest Loser, will become your own personal trainer and have you looking fit, toned and fabulous with his exclusive online program. Shannan’s 8 week Fast Track Challenge incorporates his 20 years’ experience in personal training with his special brand of energy to deliver a weight loss program designed for men and women of all ages and body shapes.

As a member you will receive:

• Workout plans created by Shannan for every level, from beginner to advanced exercisers.
• Daily recipes and Shannan’s favourite meals to keep your diet and nutrition in check.
• Daily online feedback and motivation from Shannan to keep you going.
• Weekly video meetings where Shannan will offer tips and answer your questions in real time.
• Support from the Biggest Loser Club - including access to its scientifically proven weight loss tools.

In addition to the great program and tools, Shannan will keep you motivated throughout the Challenge with:

• Leaderboards to challenge yourself and other members so you can make friends and have fun along the way.
• Prizes to celebrate your weight loss and fitness achievements.
• Surprise workouts and maybe even the chance to workout with him.

Wish me luck in losing a whole stack of kilos in this weight loss challenge!

To register for Shannan’s 8 week Fast Track Challenge yourself, or to find out more, go to Shannan Weight Loss Challenge.

So I have two Shannan Challenges, valued at $149.00 each to giveaway!!  Competition will run for a fortnight.  Enter below and best of luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

When do kids reach the Terrible Twos? Isn't it Two?

So, I'm sitting there minding my own business, then my wife says "I'm pregnant!".

Fast forward nine months and I become a dad.

Fast forward two years and my little boy hits the terrible twos.

..hang on a minute.. my boy isn't two yet!  We're not supposed to be dealing with constant tantrums and crying when he doesn't get his way yet!

Damn it!

Yep, the little cub has definitely hit the terrible twos early.  Banging on doors when I close them "I want to be on the other side mother fucker!".  At least, that's what I interpret his red in the face, horizontal running man tantrum to be.

"No! I don't want to read books at the moment!  I wan't to stand on top of the couch or put magnets in the microwave, you grown up shaved monkey!".  Again, that's me interpreting his screaming dance as if his feet we're on fire, marching up and down on the spot.


Ahhh he's not that bad.  My favourite game is letting him run away from me, then waiting for him to turn around to run back towards me.  He runs at full pace, screaming at the top of his voice with laughter and headbutts me for a cuddle.  Love those parts of my days.

But I can see him getting his tantrums on.  I can see him understanding more and more with every day he gets older and therefore knowing what mischief he can get up to.

But how old was your kid(s) when they had their terrible twos?  Got any hot tips for me for beating the tantrums?

- tork

It's So Religious

I'm the first to say, religious people are nuts.

It's a blanket statement, where obviously not everyone is nuts, but I'm just seeing it more and more.

(..yeah, this is going to be an off the cuff Shrove Tuesday post here people hehehe)

Recently I caught 19 Kids and Counting. Here's a show about a family of 19 kids with the same mother and father.  Devoutly religious.  Kid after kid after kid.  They're doing what God wants them to. To create perfect kid after perfect kid.

In the last show I watched, the mother was asked "What advice would you give people who are struggling to have a child?".  Her answer was "Pray and God will answer".

*facepalm*

As a father who took a year to knock up his wife, the answer is actually "keep banging", you stupid over populater, you!

I mean, come on...

Take religion as a great method to teach your children values in life & society.  To love thy neighbour, to love thy brother, to love thy parents.

Don't take religion beyond stupidity from we know today of what is actual truth.

The Pope's had enough today too.  And in my Shrove Tuesday post "special", here is perhaps my best tweet you may ever see.

rant out.

- tork

Crap

Crap.

It's the first time this year that I have worn pants.

No, I'm not about to inform you about my new years nudity resolutions, I'm talking about how my pants are getting tight for me!

Check out my tweet...

Man...

It's not really common place for a guy to talk about their weight, is it? But I'm happy with a few extra kilos. At 84 kgs of man blogger, I'm fine with it. But the prospect of spending dollars on new clothes makes this penny pincher want to get his fat arse on a treadmill. Stupid reason, but that's the first thing that came to mind.. "blergh.. now I have to buy new pants".

I've always been a sporty guy. Tennis, Basketball, Caber Tossing (hehehehhe) but life/fatherhood doesn't factor time into exercise. It's easy to say "There's always time" but sometimes that's not true.

There is however, "always a way". A way to exercise and do that little bit more in my daily routine. I know playing with my boy, sometimes I stop with a "ooh, you're so heavy now, I need to sit down" but I should keep going with a few more throws in the air of Junior fat boy. I should do a few more runs of chasey down the hallway with the best screamer you'll ever see..

So I'm chucking in a few extra walks (and for longer), more carefree throws towards the clouds for my little tacker, and less of the fatty foods that taste too god damn good.

But there's always time for cake, of course. No one is superhuman! Cake is fucking awesome.

So what are your exercise tips? Got any good ones for a working parent?

- tork

Here We Go Again Calendar

So it's another year.  2013 for those playing at home.

I've so much to look forward to.  My boy turns two this year.  Hopefully his talking will improve this year as he is only saying a few words and mostly babble.

But he has crawled his way into a toddler bed.  They grow so quickly, don't they?

This year I'd like to aim at doing things I've always wanted to do.  I'm already a published author, albeit a dad joke book, I'm still claiming it!  Had a few sales, but would like to help out the local charities more with a few more sales.  Might have to watch this space for special deals on the book!

But there are loads of other things I've always wanted to do.  One is to be a song writer.  I was thinking about it this morning whilst listening to the radio.  Some songs are so crap.  Have you seen 1 pound fish yet?

*insert audible sigh here*

To have my own song would be coooool.  Terrible singer, but I could write a song easily!

Seen my video I made for this blog?  I made the music..  Not really a song, but it was so much fun.




Guess I need to find someone who knows how to make their own music, can sing, but is dyslexic. Hmmm..

Not your usual new years resolution to be a song writer, but that's not my only new years resolution!

Here's a few more:

- like all my facebook statuses because they are always awesome
- don't eat too much crap food
- read more with the boy, less playing, more reading
- hang out with adults more often


Let's have a good new year everyone.  Whatever you do this year, do it with style.

..and take my advice, take off your pants and slide on the ice!


What's your new years resolutions?

- tork

He's Not Heavy, He's my Son

Man... time sure does fly a wee bit.

My kid is closing in on the toddler age.  Freaky shit.  He's tall, he's talking, he's heavy!

Sure, he ain't the biggest kid his age, but sticking him atop of my shoulders sure as hell weighs me down!

I can't remember when my old man used to put me on his shoulders, I'm sure there were times he did.  I remember photos..  but I always have noticed other dads putting their kid on their shoulders.  I've always been, "yep, definitely looking forward to doing that one day".

Now that I can, shit... I don't know how people do it!  I haven't had the boy on my shoulders for at least 5-6 hours now, but my shoulders and neck are friggin' killing me.  It's a tough gig!  Maybe it gets easier the older they get and the less wiggle that is enforced due to the absolute excitement that is gained from sitting upon dad's shoulders.

The tallest view that anyone can ever get!

They do say that you can never get higher than sitting on dad's shoulders.

Well.. no one that spent an evening with Bob Marley could probably say that, but you know what I mean.

I do like the fact though that his mum is the place to go for the best hugs, but she doesn't get the shrills of joy that sitting on top of dad's noggin gives, where heights will never be reached again once the little fella discovers what Macca's means.

..give it a few more months and he'll be fatter *sighs*

Think I might need to do some old school wrestler training as per the great Batista.

Cos I ain't letting anything stop me have that boy upon my shoulders, even if he is a fatty :-)

- tork

fyi - maybe Batista shoulder muscles could be taking it too far. Boob Neck Tork is not a nickname I would look forward too hehehe!

I guess you can say, I'm eccentric.

I guess you can say, I'm eccentric.

I didn't even mean to start this post, but it sort of just happened. Weird stuff like this is just.. happening.

An idea will come into my mind and I just have to get it out there.

Not much I do makes any sense to people.  Then again, those things aren't shared to many.  Those weird ideas or thoughts that happen to appear in my brainy place somewhere.

Today, I took a newspaper that held my Suduko puzzle that I completed and matched it to the horoscopes beside.  I took the first number as how many rows I had to go down, the second as how many words I had to go across.  Then I circled that word.

I did it for the first two numbers of each square of nine.  Weird huh?

I posted it on Twitter...

The words I circled: Disappointment. So have they. Aren't you obviously too promising?


Couldn't believe it...  My eccentricity (aka weirdyness) stumbled on to something I found totally awesome.

Yep.. weird.

Perhaps being a father is slowly turning me into stranger and stranger.  Perhaps interpreted as more embarrassing by the day, evolving in to that embarrassing "ohhh.. daaadd.. " creature. But I'm embracing it.  I don't know what I'm going to think of next.

Especially on this blog, where I have felt stale in my writing..  I want to be you don't know what is going to happen next.


Buckets.

(hahaha, man, I'm so funny. Couldn't help myself)

Get used to this oddball Aussie dad, cos he ain't going anywhere yet..

- tork

This Aussie dad is a proud blogger

So I was having an off day after having looked at the recent Kid Spot Top 50 bloggers in Australia. Not one single male in the whole list.  And also reading their judging criteria, point two of their criteria states this:

• 2) Community

The judges also looked at how well the blogger engages with her audience with comments and questions, both on her blog and off-site on platforms like Twitter or Facebook.

How well the blogger engages with her audience, both on her blog and offsite platforms.

It's disappointing, being a popular parenting site. Anyway, thought I'd share with you a tweet I did via @Torkona3.

Just realised how bad my grammar was.. "what keeps my going"?  Bah! Stoopid keyboard ;-)

So even though I might not ever get recognition dad blogging, I've moved past the whole "oi, look over at me! I babble about parenting stuff too!" I'm doing it to reflect on memories for the future, for the odd bit of dollars to feed my family, and the free booze in the mail (thanks WineSelectors hehehe).

Am I bitter or jealous though? Sure..

Would I be happier with this sort of recognition?  Honestly.. nahh.  At least, not any more.

Like I said, what keeps me going is my passion in life as a father in Australia land. As long as time permits, I'll be pushing these buttons on my keyboard, trying to not let anything bother me.

But before I go, the Kid Spot Top 50 competition is still a great idea.  If there is anyone I would suggest you voting for, it's A Baby Called Max.  Vote for her here.  All the best Cherie!

- tork

Holy Crap I'm Turning 30!

Well... haven't I been a busy body!

I'm busy turning 30 years old!!  It definitely is a freak out age.  A time where you look back and look forward.

Have I wasted my life up until now? Will I waste it more later on?

Probably.. but I've had fun and hopefully will keep having fun!

I'm also working a lot, lot, lot more.  Time is restricted greatly to feed the four of us.  Me, Wife, Baby + Dog.  Generally not in that order either.

But turning 30 is a good time to relax and reflect.  Wonder when that mid life crisis thing is going to sneak up on me...

..again.


I'll be blogging more as soon as I can... Been motivated to write lots lately :-)

- tork

Christmas is over..

Another Christmas has come and gone.  Another month of Christmas stuff that all people go through.

Drives you crazy sometimes, but when it comes down to it, spending time with family folks is a great thing.  Especially when you have a new baby that everyone wants to see.

My 15 Gift Ideas for Dad this Xmas has been great use to a lot of people.  Too bad a lot of things I didn't get to cross off my wish list.

I got the Hardware Store vouchers, which is awesome. I also got the novelty t-shirts.  But that was it :-(

So, coming from a recent post of mine about Why Don't You Like Dad Blogs But Love Mum Blogs, I'm going to try and set some things straight about my list and dad blogs.

I'm going to try and gain these products via being a promoting arse monkey (nicest way I could put it) via this blog over the next year.  How am I going to do that?

Hmmm.. that's a bloody good question.

You're help would be greatly appreciated in flogging how great a blogger I am (wink wink, nudge nudge) hehehe.. but I will be searching around for some contacts perhaps over the next few months.

Lets see how I go.  Any help you might care to share on how I could go about these would be great.

- tork

All I Want For Christmas Is Sleep

I know just the present I want for Xmas..

Sleep!

Who's with me?

- tork

ps. like my sketch?

Why Don't You Like Dad Blogs But Love Mum Blogs?

*sob*

A Daddy blogger is a much unloved creature.


Recent twitter-twatter on Twitter brought up some interesting points thanks to Resevoir Dad's latest Great Aussie Dad Blogs, of which I am lucky enough to be listed as one (thanks dude!).

Here's a couple of points that dad bloggers would love to know the answer to...

1. Dad blogs don't get approached for product reviews.

For this dad blog of mine, I've never been asked to talk about any cool products, Australian or overseas.

Nothing. Not one product that would interest kids, mums or dads.

Why?

Is it because no one wants to be told about what a man thinks about products for kids and families?  In Australia at least, the overloaded majority of bloggers are mums.  You'd think the dad bloggers would stick out?  You'd think a guy's perspective, something different, would be of value..

Perhaps I am doing something wrong.

Well, The Reservoir Dad tends to agree with me. Now, here's an aussie dad blogger agreeing that us Dads don't get the opportunity to review products.  This guy has appeared on Australia's The Today Show, The Circle and numerous other formats of media to do with his website.

That's just crazy.  Sure he's had some pretty rad sponsors, but still..

2. Dad blogs don't get anywhere near as many comments as a mum blog.

Let's do a blog hop to a few fave mum bloggers of mine.

Veronica at Some Day We Will Sleep. She's great. Writes from the heart.  Puts herself out there daily.  Heaps of comments.

Kirri at Happy Mums At Home. A top gal. She came to me for help with Twitter and we've been bloggy buds ever since. Crap loads of comments!

Mrs M at Mums Word and Donna at Nappy Daze. Always visiting me, and love I it. They've got comments on every single post.

So why don't I get loads of comments? Am I not putting myself out there enough?

Maybe not.  You won't see a photo of me or my family on this blog, but you'll read everything that's on my mind (so far, just like this post!).

A recent post of mine, Celebrating My First Year of Blogging got me three comments from my regulars, of whom I love as much as a dog loves licking himself.  This post is a celebration! I offer to help others with blogging in it! I add an article which never got accepted on another site, of which I spent hours/days/week putting a lot of time into. I guess though, sometimes you put so much work into things, that doesn't always mean they are going to be read.

Anyway, Colin of SuperParents and Associate Woman has noticed the same thing too.  As a Perth dad blogger, I had difficulty locating comments at least on his last few posts (sorry dude, i'm the same hehehehe).

But with Colin putting himself out there and having great connections with loads of parents/mummy bloggers via blogging conferences, he still isn't being rewarded with the same that mum blogs get.

3. Dad blogs will never be as popular as mum blogs.

Search Aussie Dad blog on Google.com. (not .com.au)  There is my blog at the very top of the list.  Not once have I ever got a hit with that search term.

Now, search for Aussie Mum blog.

You'll find sites dedicated to aussie mums, as well as an award for the Aussie Mummy Bloggers with the X-Factor. Who, by the way was another of my faves, Glowless, who won an Apple iPad 2. (fyi, grats!)  :-)

Ooh.. An interesting point is that another daddy blogger said to me on Twitter that he was talking with staff from Nuffnang, a popular advertising tool for Aussie bloggers.  He was being ignored by the person, who was eyeing off the Mum bloggers.

This tweet was then followed up by one of my cool mum blog tweeters saying "she has never made any noises about being approached for product reviews, but is being approached often anyway".

Man...

Why am I whinging like a baby?

Well, hopefully I'm not having too much of a whine. Hopefully I'm just talking about something that is wrong in the Aussie Blogging World!

So, don't forget us guys out there.  Whether we're talking about our nasty wives (hehehehehe), our kids getting sick, our terrible Dad Jokes, add us to your blogroll and keep in touch with the dads!  We want that same level of support that mums have between other mums.

We also want to make extra money for our growing families via blogging.  Any extra support for my family that I can get like the mums would be fricken great.


Well, that's about all I have to say about that now.  So what do you think about all that I've said so far?  Why do you think there aren't many Aussie Dad bloggers?

Looking forward to seeing what you think.


I'll leave you with this...


Love your local dad blog!

Get your husband blogging!

Get your own dad blogging!


Visit Reservoir Dad's site and check out a few dads if you are in search for some!

;-)

- tork

My Greatest Post, In My First Year of Blogging

Well, it's officially one year ago that I started this blogging caper.

Sure, I sucked hard for a good number of months.  I am still learning the tricks of the trade whilst being shy as hell and fighting for a voice as a dad blog amongst a sea of mums.  It's terribly tricky!!

I've totalled up a measly $103 dollars in a year thanks to blogging.  Working so hard really gets you down for such a low amount.  An amount I was hoping to feed my family with. Failing is a pain in the arse.  I hope I don't give up.

But, I've produced greatness, at least, what I think is great.  Hopefully it will serve as a memory some stage down the track for me.

My favourite post.  My greatest one yet.  Finally, I am a Dad.  I hope you enjoy it if you haven't yet read it.

In the mean time, I'm trying my hardest on reviving old bloggy projects.  Finding the time is an S.O.B. though :-)

- tork

My First Ever Blog Post

Celebrating my one year blogging, here is the very first post I ever made.

Awe-inspiring!

Hello from me

- tork

Our Baby's Health: The Story Continues

We don't have it nearly as bad as other parents I've met during our times in baby hospital. It was the most depressing time of my life and I still feel so bad for all those parents with sick kids

But our boy is on the mend and this post is all about the exciting news I've been keeping from you. Too bad it hasn't come to fruition.

Here's the story so far:


My Baby Boy Can't Breathe Properly
Oh Boy, Will You Ever Speak?
Don't You Love a Misdiagnosis?
Why Doctors Can Sit on it and Rotate
The Oxygen Test: Do We Finally Disconnect My Son?
My Son Needs Oxygen Every Day. Or Does He..
When Baby Leaves Their Bassinet and Upgrades Rooms


So my little boy has been off his dependency to oxygen tanks during the day for a month or so. It has been great. He's still on it during the night though. This is the news that I want to tell you, that he is off it for good.. but I can't.


During my all nighter of watching him during his oxygen test, he apparently didn't do so well without the oxygen connection. He had a bad night, a restless one. He's teething.  He also has a Cough/Cold.  That doesn't help his sleep and also my persistant coughing during because of my flu didn't help, but that was taken into consideration (apparently). He dropped below levels when he shouldn't have, but I'm pretty sure I didn't do the test right.


It's hard doing it by yourself! It's hard staying awake and sane for 24 hours just staring at a sleeping baby. As cute and as interesting he may be, sleep needs to be chucked in somewhere.


Oh well, another 2 months of oxygen at night for my poor little boy, and another 2 months of us watching over him at night in case the oxygen cord is wrapped around him by accident. We have to wait until next year of course because it's Christmas and the doctors are busy.


Yay.


But we'll take it in our stride and remember all those kids we met in hospital that are still in hospital today. My little tacker was only in there for two to three weeks of his life, some haven't left after two years. My thoughts are often with those parents and I realise how lucky we are.

But it's not all bad news. I have fantastic news too.

Remember how my boy is supposed to have vocal cord palsy and we weren't sure if he is supposed to be able to speak?


In the last few days he has been talking!  Guess what his first word is?


"Da-da"!


You can stick vocal cord palsy up your ass you stupid doctors!!  :-)


I win the race to be the first word. Yes!




So we're currently seeing around five different doctors (including a speech therapist). Four have categorically said he does not have vocal cord palsy. The last one is the team that said he had it in the first place. They say he probably hasn't got it, but you think they'll ever admit to their mistake?


Pigs might fly out of Kim Kardashian's big fat ass when they do.


I guess talking isn't a good enough sign that he will ever be able to talk.  Go figure.


Thanks for all your support with your comments and tweets.  I love seeing them all and try to respond to each one.  Hopefully next time I am talking about it we'll be all disconnected for good.


- tork

When Baby Leaves Their Bassinet and Upgrades Rooms

We're going on around five months now with baby boy still sleeping in his bassinet in our bedroom.  He's yet to sleep at nights in his own cot.

He hasn't even used his own cot yet!  Maybe a couple of times during the day, but we really are taking our time before he's moved into the big boy room. His own room.

Why We're Taking Our Time

We're taking our time to move rooms with him basically because of his breathing problems.  We like being in closer reach at nights.  Well. My wife does at least.

"Can you check him too see if he's alright?"

"Can you get up and settle him?"

..boy do I regret sleeping on the side of the bed closest to the bassinet.

Anyway, the little tacker is getting too big now. Around the 8kg mark now, which is great. But it's getting time to cut the cord, pack his bags and send him out in this big world of ours.

That's what it's going to feel like, sending him far away. We'll be worried about whether he's sleeping on his face, we'll be worried about not hearing him crying. I'm also worried about how much sleep we'll get. Will he be restless in a new room? Will he sleep at all? I am dreading the half asleep/half awake zombie like walks we'll be doing down to his room to settle him. But, the time has come soon. He's got to go, even though he really isn't a trouble in our room. He's just too big to stay!

- tork

What were you like shifting your baby into their room?  How old were they?

Why Doctors Can Sit On it and Rotate

(c) Dreamstime.com

It's Officially Unofficial.

My boy does not have vocal cord palsy!

I've never heard a baby his age talk so much, although, I haven't been around a kid his age that much!

I have arguments with him..

Me: "Ga-wa wa wa wa gurgle"

Him:  "Hee hee hee"

Me: "Waa ga ga waaaaa!!"

Him: "Gurgle waaaaaoooooaaaaa Gggggg"

Me: "Ok, you win"


It is a beautiful thing.

Any other parents would be sick of him, laying on his back in his portacot, talking to himself all day long.

To us, it is like listening to Mozart for the first time, way back in the 1700's.  It's something beautiful that we've been longing to hear.

To the Doctors that jumped to conclusion of him having Vocal Cord Palsy and stressing us out for his first few months of life: you can go eat a big fat one my friends..

His "Lah's" and "Da's" are being said way before any other kids his age.

Phew!  So it's not official, as in, not out of the mouth of a doctor, but they are as useful as a 'No Graffiti' sign at a skate park. I don't need a doctor to tell us his cords work :-)

Now we are looking forward to getting the Oxygen off his face over the coming weeks.  Here's hoping that will happen too!

- tork

Don't you love a Misdiagnosis?

If I didn't know anything about your boy, just looking at him right now, I wouldn't think that there is anything wrong with him!

This is what two of our doctors have told us.

Fantastic!!

All the noises that our boy makes now is completely normal since our baby stopped breathing.  So did he ever have have problems?

Does he have Tracheomalacia?  Yes. That is for certain.  He's had trouble breathing and is noisy at night.  But, he is 100% better and rarely makes his striding noise anymore.

Does he have Vocal Cord Palsy? Doubtful.

This is what we've learnt:

All the noises our young little squirt makes is completely normal.  A child with vocal cord palsy wouldn't cry a lot (ours does), they wouldn't ooh or ahh (ours does), they wouldn't sleep quietly (ours ...mostly... does).

We've also learnt that the diagnosis given could have been because he was severly inflamed after the camera went down his windpipe.  The doctor said this could have make the cords temporarily stop working.

Didn't the doctor tell you this? Is what one of our doctors said. 

Great... That would have been good to know.

So it seems, our boy's condition wasn't properly investigated.  He was quickly wheeled out of his "procedure" without lengthy investigation. He also didn't have a second scope to re-interrogate the issue.  These two things we've found were supposed to have been done prior to any diagnosis of vocal cord palsy.

But no.  We were told during the most toughest time of our life whilst our boy was struggling for air with severely constricted and inflamed airways, struggling to get better and crying for air, told that we have a child with vocal cord palsy.

Stressing about whether he will pull through after his scope.

Stressing out for months wondering will he ever talk? Will he ever eat or drink properly? Will he have breathing problems for life?

The MRI scan we had, totally unnecessary.  That week and day was terrible, concerned that there is something wrong with his brain, stressing all week and worse on the day of the scan.

All because the line up for procedures is so long, they wheel out my boy down the "factory lines" without the proper care and investigation.


Of course, they won't state that he definitely doesn't have vocal cord palsy, but if two different doctors say the same thing (especially one who current has a patient with vocal cord palsy and knows all the symptoms), I am estatic and angry at the same time. 

I'm not going to say that he definitely doesn't have the palsy though. We're kind of in limbo land about it, as aren't we supposed to trust whatever a doctor tells us?

Anyway, angry that we've been put through such stress by hosptial mistakes.

Ecstatic that our boy is likely to be as normal as the next one.

You reckon that I'm going to let this slide with the hospital though?

Pfft.  Pigs arse!  I am going to rip someone a new one.


In the mean time, I'm still ignoring these two doctors until we get another scope to check things out again.  But, how am I going to believe what they say?

One thing is for sure though, I am loving his little giggle noises that he's supposedly not supposed to make. :-)

- tork