Dipping my toe back in...

Hmmm. The water's still warm! Might have to come in more often....

It's been a long time since I last added to these pages and so much has happened. It would take too long to post a full update but the major change for all of us has been the arrival of baby Edith Agatha in January this year. Needless to say, life has been hectic since then but I feel I'm coming out of the fog now and beginning to feel vaguely in control once again.

A major cause for anxiety had been around James' response to another new sibling - the last time we brought a baby home he spiralled into a frightening and profound regression and "declared" his autism. So it was with trepidation that I crossed the threshold for the first time with Edith in my arms. I am very relieved to say he has taken her in his stride. Well, he covers his ears and gets distressed when she screams but quite frankly I often feel the same way! In many ways nothing has changed for him. We still provide him with one to one care and life revolves around him and his needs. It has been Bea who has made all the sacrifices and bourne the brunt of any hardship. Overnight she went from only child to middle child with none of the positives and all of the negatives. Luckily, if there's one thing that James has taught her it is resilience and she has coped very well with all the changes (although she breaks my heart when she turns to me and says "Daddy looks after James, you look after Edith, but who looks after me?....)