It's Finally Here

Well tomorrow is the big day, Bee is starting school. It's the ultimate cliche but I can't believe the time has passed so quickly. It seems only yesterday we had the summer stretched out in front of us and now school has crept up to surprise us and I'm not ready. I'm not ready to let her go.

For nearly 5 years it's been just me and her, while her Daddy works I've been the one at home. She's my kid, my star, my monster, my Bee, my everything. I've seen every moment of development, every achievement she's made from the small to the huge. She's my constant companion and my best friend. Spending these precious years with my Bee has meant everything to me.

Tomorrow everything will change. Things will never be the same once morning dawns and school beckons. Tomorrow marks the day Bee will start making large strides away from the security of my side to the uncertainty of the wide world. We'll have weekends and holidays but no longer will we have our little daytime world of two. From tomorrow a complete stranger will have care of Bee for more hours a week than I will.

The house is going to seem so empty without her little voice. I'll miss the constant "mama, mama, mama, mama, why, why, why, me too, what you do?"

Foz tries his best to be supportive but I think it's harder for him to understand as not much will change on his end. Bee will be here as he gets home from work as always and they'll have their weekends together.

I'm worried about how she'll cope. I'm worried the days will be too long for her, I'm worried she'll get knocked over and picked on, I'm worried she won't cope with the lessons, I'm worried she won't sit at mealtimes, I'm worried, I'm worried, I'm worried... 

Aside from the worry (and the self-pity) I'm very excited about the challenges that lie ahead for Bee. I know that no matter how difficult or prolonged the 'settling in' period is that eventually Bee will loved school as she loved nursery. I'm excited about some of the things Bee's new teachers have planned for her and I'm very confident in all of them and their ability to help Bee thrive. 

 

The first day of school marks another milestone in my Bee's life and already she has achieved so much more than we could have dreamed. She makes me proud every day.

I love you Bethany May and wish you so much joy and happiness in your new adventure xx

The Farm

Following on from the 'make the most of our last days' trip to Eureka! last week, this week we visit the local pick-your-own farm for some veggies. I knew from the website that they still had some peas left and as the weather was so beautiful I decided to take Bee down to pick some. I was a little uncertain as to how successful it would be as Bee really doesn't like many textures and outdoorsy things.

I'd spent the morning explaining to Bee that we would be picking vegetables to eat while we were at farm, in preparation for the difficulty she may have with it. When we got there she was raring to go, we collection our plastic tray from a staff member and made our way out to the vegetable fields.  

Although there were lots of vegetables to choose from I knew I'd have the best chance of getting co-operation out of Bee if it was something she really liked, so it was straight to the peas. All they had left were sugar snap peas and mange tout, which was good enough for us. 

Bee was happy enough to walk down the narrow, uneven aisles between the pea plants although she was a little concerned by the greenery brushing against her bare legs and insisted on holding my hand. Something silly Mama didn't think about. Sadly, as we're quite late in the season, many of the 'easy pick' peapods were gone and we had to dig around towards the base of each plant to find anything. This was totally beyond Bee from a sensory standpoint and so I did my best to find pods then manoeuver the stem towards her for plucking. This worked quite a few times and we were even lucky enough to find a few missed ones towards the top that Bee could manage by herself.

After a little while the amount of stressful texture around her all got too much and all she wanted was to be carried. Which is lovely, except when you're stuck in the middle of a field, with 2 heavy bags, a carton of peas and a very heavy toddler in the unrelenting sun. I managed by carrying Bee for a short distance towards the end of the aisle, plonking her down in a space while I looked for more peas then carrying her a little further and so on. She was happy to stand and wait while I looked, so long as she didn't have to move through the plants. She quite enjoyed standing and munching on peapods!

 

When we had a tub full of sugar snap peas I carried Bee back to the pram at the end of the aisle, where she sat eating peas and drinking water, ready for some quiet time after the stress of the greenery. On the walk back to the farm shop to pay for our haul we passed the broadbean section, I grabbed some of those and a raw corn on the cob from the maize field, which Bee loved eating! 

By the time we'd purchased our veg (with a few extra fresh corn on the cobs from the farm shop) Bee was refreshed and ready for the park. Sadly it's not very good, consisting of just a tall, ladder-accessed bridge and slide. Not at all suitable for Bee. After lots of asking "why" she couldn't play on the park she contented herself with sadly watching from the sidelines and chewing on her doll. My heart ached for her.

Sad girl

I managed to persuade her away from the park with the suggestion of playing with her ball on the field. Eventually she agreed and we went hand in hand back to the car to find her ball.

We took a picnic blanket and her big Minnie Mouse ball and had lots of fun playing catch and chase on the field. The park became a distant memory, all disappointment forgotten. Soon it was time to collect Daddy from work, well timed as my girl was beginning to flag. She was quite happy to continue her veggie picnic in the car though!

Eureka!

As school gets ever closer I've been trying to fill mine and Bee's last days together with lots of fun. This week we went back to Eureka! in Halifax.

We last went for Bee's birthday in September 2012 & she loved it then. We haven't been back since but this week my mum and I finally made the trip over the Pennines to Yorkshire.

As before, Bee's favourite part was the mini-high street and the place she went to first. We played shops for ages, taking turns being the 'shopper' and the 'shop lady'.

It was incredibly busy this time as it's the school holidays. Last year was relatively quiet, being within term time. Yet the improvements in her language, mobility and confidence meant that she wasn't fazed by the masses of children around her or by all the noise. Although she wouldn't join in with the others she confidently moved around them and wasn't afraid to play near them without myself or my mum being next to her.

After the shop it was a visit to the post office and the house. Bee loves 'pretend play' and the Eureka! high street is the perfect play & learning opportunity for her. We put stamps on parcels and chose who to send them to, we made food in the house kitchen and played in the water table in the house bathroom. Back down the stairs and Bee had a ball playing 'knock knock' at the house front door...

There is lots of other things to do at Eureka! but much of it is too old for Bee, she likes running around the exhibits though and we spent some time doing that before we heard an announcement over the tannoy system for a puppet show taking place in the marquee outside. Brilliant! After the fun Bee had at the last puppet show we would definitely going to attend this one!

We head outside to the marquee and took our seats along the edge near to the front. There were mats set out on the floor in front of the stage for the children to sit on and I was pleased that Bee went and sat amongst them, not worried about being away from us. Her attention lasted for the first few minutes before she was up and wandering back to us looking for her 'baba', which I gave her and encouraged her to sit back down. She did and managed another few minutes of attention before she was back on her feet, wandering between us and the edge of the stage. Bee has no concept of appropriate behaviour in different situations and was quite happy to chatter to us at normal volume during the show. We got a couple of odd looks from parents but nothing I'm not used to. After the start of the show the the performer sat down on the edge of the stage with a giant box and distributed a puppet to each child, including Bee. I was concerned as it became clear that each child would have a turn on the stage making a story with their puppet. They were asked to think of a name, a job and a thing their puppet likes to do or eat. That level of pretend is way beyond Bee at the moment, she can't even say her own name and all her dolls are called 'baba' or 'doll'. Still, i was determined that (if she wanted to) she would join in like the other children. Why shouldn't she have a turn?

While the other children got up and participated I sat Bee on my knee and quietly explained to her what was going on and asked her if she'd like a turn. She seemed keen and so towards the end she was called up with another little girl. 

 I accompanied her as she needed support to climb on to the stage and to follow the instructions of the performer. I crouched down behind him as Bee took her place and tried to help guide her through. The performer made up a silly story based on the responses the little girl made and just made up Bee's part when she couldn't answer the questions he posed her. She didn't really understand what was happening and just held the puppet flopped over the curtain so the story became about the puppet fainting. It all only lasted 2 minutes or so but there was a nice moment at the end when the performer asked Bee's puppet to say 'thank you' to the little girl's puppet for helping her, to which Bee signed 'thank you' and got a clap. She was happy with that and I thanked the performer for his support and we re-took our places. What a proud Mama I was!

After the puppet show Bee wanted to go back to the shop so we headed inside and let her spend some more time there before it was time to find somewhere nice to have tea.

One of the things we did spend some time doing before we left was watching a video presentation at the start of the 'All About Me' section. It was presented by an automated robot with a video screen in it's tummy and Bee loved it. we must have watched that 2 minute video 50 times, over and over again while other families came and went. It didn't matter though, we were there for Bee to enjoy herself and if watching that robot made her happy then so be it.

My mum also spent some time outside with Bee while I went to take all the bags and the pram to the car. Eureka! have a fabulous outdoor zone with a giant sandpit (called the beach) and lots of toys and play equipment. My mum and Bee had a great time chasing the hula hoop she'd just been bought from the shop...

Bottom right is Bee's robot

After such a long day Bee was getting tired and we all were getting hungry so we got in the car, ready to head to a lovely canal-side restaurant that Foz and I had ate at last time we took Bee to Eureka!

We were all more than ready for a slap-up meal and Bee even had some leftover energy for a play on the park afterwards!

I took so many pictures during our day out yet one has emerged as my clear favourite. This is Bee 'hiding' during our game of hide and seek...

I feel she hasn't really got the idea yet...

Holiday Book

We've booked our first family holiday for September of this year and I'm so very excited about it! It's Bee's gift for her 5th birthday and we're off to Peppa Pig World in Hampshire! It's in the New Forest, right down near the south coast and we're staying at Hoburne Bashley Holiday Park. 

We're only planning one day at Peppa Pig World (unless Bee really loves it) and have 4 other days to fill with fun and adventure. We're thinking maybe a car ferry over to the Isle of Wight or a visit to Beaulieu Motor Museum in honour of Bee's obsession with buses and trains, exploring the New Forest, maybe an animal park or farm, the seaside... there's going to be lots to do.

Since booking I've been worrying about how Bee would cope with the holiday. How do you explain to a 4-year-old with learning difficulties that you're staying away from home for a few days in a big box on legs? Or that for a few days she'll have to cope with a complete change to her normal routines? Bee always copes best with change when she's had some preparation so I decided to tell her about the holiday early. Of course the unforeseen problem with this has been balancing preparing Bee with her complete lack of understanding about things happening in the future. She's very excited about Peppa Pig World and asks me most mornings if we're going. Thankfully when I say "not today" the worst I get is a few whys? before she moves on!

To help with the preparation I thought some pictures would help so I emailed Hoburne Bashley and asked for a brochure that we could sit and look through together. Unfortunately when it arrived there were not many 'useable' pictures, just lots of information. I cut out the few I could use and got searching on Google images for generic pictures I could use to complement the few I had.

There was a lot of information I wanted to include about our holiday so there were two pages about where we would be staying, a page for Peppa Pig World, a couple of pages for activities we might do and a page for out trip on the way home.

Bee has loved sitting and sharing the book and I've found it a really helpful tool for talking about our holiday together.

New Play

Recently a new soft play center opened in Warrington, but this is soft play with a difference.

Warrington play & Sensory Center is designed and aimed exclusively at disabled children and adults. And it's wonderful!

Bee loves soft play but visiting can be stressful. Generally she's not content in the under 3's section anymore and even if she was, we often get dirty looks from other parents as she's clearly over the upper age limit, even though mobility-wise she's not too old. So we use the big play frame for the older children but due to her mobility problems she needs lifting on and off things and helping between level. She won't go on the slides or anything that needs to be climbed over. I often look at the other mums sitting with their cuppas in envy! Then there's the music, these places seem to thrive on banging dance music blasted out at full volume. Partner that with lots of running, screaming kids and you have a very loud place. Although Bee loves soft play her confidence in the environment is very low, fueled by lots of bigger kids moving around in a fast and loud manner, equipment that she can't handle by herself and a loud, overwhelming amount of background noise.

So our first visit to Warring Play & Sensory Center was a revelation.

Walking in through the door the first thing that struck me was the noise. Or lack thereof. There was just quiet: no loud music, no screaming. Just peace and calm. I paid (£2 - a bargain!) and signed us in. We made our way to a table and it became apparent that we were the only people there, perfect! Bee was practically bouncing at my side, anxious to be off and playing. I removed her shoes and let her go while I bought a tea from the counter. By the time I had purchased it and laced it with milk and sugar Bee had made it all the way to the top of the play frame and was preparing to come down the slide. BY HERSELF!

That may seem like a really small thing but for us it's huge. Colossal. Bee climbed the play frame without needing my physical support or needing my emotional support. She's never accessed a play frame without the support of an adult. I could have cried watching her come down the slide laughing. There wasn't an ounce of hesitation in her. From then there was no stopping her, she was like a child possessed. She explored the whole play frame, the sensory room, the chill out zone, all of it.
For the first time I was able to sit and drink my cup of tea in peace while Bee played independently. It didn't last long, she soon wanted my attention, but those 10 minutes were bliss. Not just for the cuppa but for the knowledge that Bee could play independently in that kind of environment.

The center is so well designed, between each level is steps for older children and adults and smaller steps for children. There's a sensory room and a chill out zone, equipment for seriously disabled children, hoists, soft music, the ball pool isn't too deep (and overwhelming)... I could go on and on about how wonderful it is. Every town needs one!

 

 
After a couple of hours Bee was starting to flag, she'd had a busy morning at nursery too and so I decided it was time to leave. We still had an hour to kill before collecting Foz from work and with all that playing we'd built up an appetite, so McDonalds called! A treat for her bravery. She chose chips and carrots sticks, that's my girl!

Garden Fun

 

During our recent sunny spell we spent a lovely afternoon in the garden with Bee's grandma...

We got out Bee's water table, play tents, slide, ball and lots of toys. She had a great time!

Eating dinner in her tent!

Squirting!

Sunshine on the Farm

A couple of weeks ago we had a few days of beautiful weather, luckily over the bank holiday weekend. Sadly since the weather has turned cold, rainy and very windy but it's not anything we're not used to! Foz unfortunately had to work on bank holiday Monday but with the weather being so gorgeous I didn't want to miss an opportunity to get some sun so Bee and I headed for a local pick-your-own farm. We'd been once before, back in October, for a little pumpkin-picking at Halloween. Bee hadn't been keen then but months have passed and her confidence has soared so I thought it worth the chance.

Sadly there wasn't much in the way of pick-you-own, it's only early May and the weather has played havoc with crops and plants alike so it was rhubarb or nowt. We went with nowt. I love a good rhubarb crumble but not when I have to make it from fresh rhubarb, plus I don't think the sour taste would agree with Bee!

We made do with a lovely slice of cake in the cafe, along with a cup of tea for me and water for Bee. It was the perfect sustenance for an hour of flower and veg browsing and play time in the meadow!

We went with the play time first, Bee was very excited that we'd brought her Peppa Pig ball along and had a mountain of energy to burn!

We had loads of fun playing throwing and catching, running and chasing, picking flowers and exploring. Bee did really well with the texture of the grass, it was coarse and prickly, unlike the softer grass she's used to. Thankfully her Piedro boots are ankle-high and with her socks above that the grass didn't bother her too much while walking. However she did refuse to sit down, despite my encouragement and would only go as far as bending down to pick up her ball.

Cheeky!

 We played in the meadow for an hour or so before Bee started stumbling over her own feet and the uneven ground, her co-ordination dropping with her energy levels. I decided it was time to head for the vegetables and plants on sale.
 
It's that time, I've been cleaning out the garden pots from last year and we were on the hunt for more veggies for Bee to grow. Once we entered the greenhouse however, I gave up all hope of keeping Bee's attention. She'd spotted the ride-on tractors dotted around, headed straight for the nearest one and climbed aboard.
We took our time looking around, I pointed out flower colours and we tried smelling some of them. Bee's got the hang on sniffing recently and likes to smell things and say "mmmm it nie".
After lots of deliberation we chose a cucumber plant and some pea plants, both of which I know Bee likes to eat and she very much enjoyed picking and eating the peas we grew last year.


We took our plants to the till, where Bee very helpfully gave the lady at the till the pennies and carried our bag to the car. It was starting to get late in the afternoon and I knew we'd need to head into town to collect Foz from work soon but Bee really wanted more time playing on the field with her ball.

Bee's getting much better at throwing, she's releasing the ball from her hands now instead of just passing it to you. She's even started throwing it up in the air and it getting a good height. Plus, we had even more progress on the field that afternoon.... Bee letting the grass touch her bare legs! Winning!

We had a lovely afternoon in the glorious sunshine and by the time we were ready to leave Bee was exhausted. She's done so much physically that her little legs just couldn't carry her anymore. Well done Bee!

An Afternoon of Sun & Shopping

We had a lovely day out yesterday at Bents Garden Center with a family friend, Bee's Uncle Stu.

We usually start with something to eat in the amazing (if expensive) restaurant and today was no exception. Moroccan pancakes for me and hot beef sandwich for Stu. The sun was beaming down and, although there still a cool edge to the wind, we decided to eat outside. This weekend we've seen the first real sunshine of the year and it's been wonderful to share great company and food under the clear blue skies. Bee had a plate made up of bits from both mine and Stu's and did a sterling job of tasting all the different foods. She stuck to the broccoli and peas in the end. That's my girl!

Of course Bee finished way before and was soon mithering to be set loose on the playground she could see from our table, pointing and  asking "me play here mama?" and "me pah, me pah". She meant 'park'. I made my impatient little miss wait until we'd both finished eating. I can't let Bee loose to play unattended. Firstly her danger-awareness, anything from surface level changes to strangers, is zero. Secondly she often needs assistance on play equipment as her gross motor skills are under-developed and she needs to be lifted on and off or helped in other ways. After 10 (torturous for her) minutes Stu and I were ready and we headed over to the park.

She spent much of the first 10 - 15 minutes running around the various pieces of equipment, deciding which to go on. she's get so very excited that she runs and screeches, flapping her arms and flitting from one piece of equipment to the next, not being able to commit to one thing or another long enough to actually go on it. Once she's calmed down she becomes more willing to actually use the park!

Bee's first choice is always whatever climbing structure leads to the slide, although she rarely will use the slide until we've been on the park for a while. Her confidence in her mobility needs boosting much of the time and she requires a familiar adult to be near her at all times. If she moves ahead she will stop and turn around until I reach her, or take my hand and pull me along with her. Sometimes, on days when I'm having a bad day, I'm feeling tired or stressed, I envy those parents sitting around the edges. Those parents watching their children run around while they drink their coffees and chat. Then I look at my girl's beaming face as she takes my hand and says "me up mama" and I remember that I'm the lucky one. They're the ones that should be envious.

To begin with I had to lift Bee up to the 'bridge' level on the main climbing structure for her to walk back and forth, waving and giddy to be up there. A couple of times she sat down at the top of the slide but no amount of encouragement could get her down and each time she backtracked and moved back to the bridge where she felt more secure. It didn't last long, she wanted to be off exploring the next piece of equipment so I lifted her down and she was away.


It wasn't long before she started asking for the doll I'd been carrying around. Something that always helps is having a doll on hand. Often Bee will participate more if she can use her doll to do the activity first then follow and do it herself, almost like she's using the doll to 'test the waters' and see that it's safe. She pottered around for a bit, deciding what to go on before she headed back to the slide. She started up the steps, putting one foot on and using the bars to pull herself up but her courage left her and she froze, refusing to continue up by lifting her back leg on or moving off the steps by bringing her front leg back down. I used the doll to climb the steps, trying to encourage her but nothing. Bee wouldn't move. Until a small girl, much smaller than Bee, came charging past and climbed straight up the steps. Bee watched her and as soon as the girl gained the top step Bee was straight up after her and followed her down the slide! It took one tiny tot 15 seconds to accomplish what I'd spent 5 minutes trying to do. This little moment is one of the reasons we are so keen on Bee going to a mainstream school with special needs provision. Bee thrives around others that can do things she can't.

Once she'd climbed the steps and gone down the slide once that was it, there was no stopping her. She looked back for me less and charged ahead by herself more. 

After almost an hour we decided to give Bee a break and have a look around the garden center. She was starting to stumble and had already fell over a small, raised wooden bridge after not noticing the level change.

Bents is a beautiful place, full of beautiful (if waaaay out of our price range) things and I always enjoy a mooch around with Stu. On this trip we spotted something that I couldn't leave without: a Peppa Pig ball! Bee fell in love and it didn't leave her grasp for the rest of our day out. Even on our second visit to the park she took the ball around with her instead of the doll. The ball went down the slide first, the ball was pushed through the tunnel...

Bee's Peppa Pig ball created a lot of interest from the other children on the park. Every time Bee dropped or threw it there would be another child racing to pick it up. As first I kind of hovered behind Bee as she went to retrieve it, ready to pounce if she got into communication difficulties but as time passed I started to hang back. Bee will be going to school in September and regardless of what type of school she'll have to learn to deal with other children of all abilities. As always she made me proud, handling the situations with aplomb and more confidence than I'd expected, even though she did come back to me for reassurance occasionally.

We had a lovely day out in the sunshine and Bee had a brilliant time. By the time we were ready to leave she was so tired, both physically and mentally. I think she'd run her little legs to water with her double session on the park and exhausted her mind with all the stimulation and interaction with new people/situations. We made the 15-minute drive back into the town center to pick up Foz and headed home, where Bee was straight to bed and, unsurprisingly, straight to sleep!

Another Day, Another Trip to A&E

Well, one thing we can never say about life with Bee is that it's uneventful!

This morning, while getting Bee ready for nursery I noticed a small lump on her inner wrist. Immediately I panicked. It looked just like a bone sticking out, as if she'd broken it. I wracked my brain trying to think when she'd had a significant fall recently or shown any pain or discomfort but nothing seemed to fit. Bee stumbles a lot due to her gross motor delay and hypotonia but she hadn't had a major fall in a couple of weeks.

I gingerly pressed at the area around it and Bee didn't react at all so I tried gently touching the lump. Nothing. No tears, no cringe, no reaction at all. It felt fairly hard but still yielded, not like bone. All kind of thoughts went through my head. The first (ridiculously) was a tumor but then, I couldn't think when I'd heard of a tumor on the wrist. So then maybe a fatty lump or cyst or some kind? But I wasn't sure if that happened in children.

Bee was still asking for nursery and as she didn't seem to be in any pain and was moving her hand freely I decided to pop in and ask the advice of her teachers. It's a nightmare getting a GP's appointment.

On arrival all said it was unusual but as she wasn't in any pain and was off playing with the toys they were happy for her to stay and would ring me with any problems. I decided to go home, pack a bag and take her to A&E after nursery.

So:

Milk, syringes & tube....check

Nappies, wipes & creme....check

 Spare clothes....check

Pyjamas & slippers....check

 Toys....check

Laptop & DVD's....check

It sounds a lot but from grim experience we go in expecting it to be a few hours and end up being admitted, sometimes for days on end. These days I always go well prepared: a small bag with nappies, toys & things for the day plus a suitcase stored in the car with extra things for a longer stay.

After collecting Bee from an uneventful morning at nursery we headed straight to A&E at our local hospital. After booking us in the lady at reception asked if we knew our was to the children's section of A&E. Do we ever! We're so well known in the children's ward that we're always greeted by name and all the staff are really pleased to see Bee. Today was no different, a lovely nurse on duty was someone we'd seen many times during Bee's various stays and she was happy to see the big changes in Bee since her last visit.

We had an initial consultation with the doctor, who asked lots of questions and examined Bee's wrist. She agreed that Bee wasn't in pain or discomfort and had a full range of movement so it was extremely unlikely to be a break. She said it was most likely a ganglion cyst, which is harmless, but just to be on the safe side she would send us to get some xrays done then take another look. So, back into the waiting room until we were called to radiology. 

Bee loves the waiting room. It's full of exciting new toys and books, not to mention other people to nosey over. She became particularly entranced by a teenage girl dressed in school PE gear and with a cut over her eye. After slowly walking back and forth past her a few times, slyly watching her out of the corner of her eye, Bee finally plucked up the courage to stand in front of the girl, point and tell me "uh oh". Thankfully the girl and her dad weren't offended and laughed about it. A few times in the next hour of waiting the girl went away, maybe for the toilet or the vending machines and each time Bee went over to her empty chair, had a good examine of it just to make sure she was definitely gone, then turned to the dad and asked "where is? Where is?" I laughed and laughed. It's not at all like Bee to be comfortable with strangers and her concern about the health and whereabouts of the teenager was lovely. 

We waited about an hour for Bee's xrays. During that time I googled 'ganglion cyst' and found that they are indeed harmless, although can be painful and sometimes need surgical removal. From my reading it appeared they were most common in adults and I could find very little except for various posts on parent forums for ganglion cysts in toddlers. The webpages I browsed seemed to conclude they were generally caused by repetitive strain or injury, which didn't seem to fit with Bee and they could go away on their own. Sometimes, if they didn't disappear or became painful they could be drained of the fluid with a needle or surgically removed under anesthetic. Slightly worrying.

Bee's xrays were not fun. Bee will not voluntarily sit still and certainly would not understand to keep her hand still on an xray plate so I had to sit her on my knee and clamp her arm in the right position. Not a great experience. Bee struggled and cried but it was a neccessary evil and it was over fairly quickly. To calm her tears the radiographer offered Bee an 'I've been brave' sticker and, to Bee's complete joy, a Peppa Pig certificate! Honestly it was like flicking a switch. The tears stopped, the smile came out and she was joyful little Bee again.

So back to the ward to await a doctor's perusal of her xrays and diagnosis of her wrist. It was another hour or so before we were seen again, this time by a different doctor. She'd looked at Bee's xrays and there's definitely no break or fracture and the most likely diagnosis is a ganglion cyst. The doctor said she'd never seen one in a child as young as Bee and would like us to go back and see a consultant in a week's time. Which we're happy to do but it is a little worrying. If it's just a harmless cyst that should go away on it's own why do we need to go back and see a consultant? At least we'll only have a week to wait and find out.