The Lodger and Us

Once we heard that The Lodger had Prader Willi Syndrome, we very quickly and drastically changed our lifestyle and one of the hobbies I once enjoyed, I felt I could never do again. I loved baking. I was a big fan of cupcake design and when I was pregnant I looked forward to baking for future birthday parties for my child. On hearing The Lodger has Prader-Willi Syndrome, I packed up all the baking books and put them away. How could I bake, when my little boy would never get to enjoy the creations or lick the bowl which myself and my sisters enjoyed so much as we grew up.  I was very hesitant about introducing baking to The Lodger. I was thinking about it all morning before I made the final decision, weighing up the good and bad. Would it be a disaster? Would it increase his anxiety? Would he able to resist having a taste? When he's older, will it cause stress?  I got everything ready, the bowls, the aprons, the weighing scales, the ingredients and the spoons......

The Lodger has many people in his life who love him, care for him and support him. We are very fortunate to have a wonderful network of family and friends who without question got on board with our PWS rulebook. The Lodger has a team of superheroes who work with him in areas such as speech and language, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and not forgetting his teachers and preschool assistant in Playschool.  The Lodger at his most recent checkup was in the recommended zones for height and weight and his blood work came back perfect. This was great news to hear, as we are constantly stressing over 'Is he eating too much?', 'Is he eating enough?', 'Is he getting enough vitamins and nutrients?', 'Is he healthy?' We, as parents, are constantly thinking about his meals and snacks, planning ahead for changes in routine and ensuring that he is eating a very healthy diet. The Lodger is never given extra, never given food from someones else plat...

We're like the Who's in Whoville when it comes to Christmas. We love it.  I remember when I was pregnant with The Lodger dreaming of future Christmases, that would be filled with wonder and magic... and carrying on Christmas traditions my own parents started- The advent calendar, decorating the Christmas Tree, Santa leaving a trail of chocolate money all the way around the house, the Christmas stocking at the end of the bed, the excitement I shared with my sisters on Christmas morning, the gathering of family, the annual chocolate Santa and a selection box, the Christmas morning breakfast, mince pies and chocolate kimberley biscuits in the run up to the main day, Christmas dinner with the delicious smells of spiced beef and red cabbage wafting around the house, the tower of chocolate profiteroles covered in mars bar sauce, the Christmas Day games, the Christmas dinner leftovers to be enjoyed on Stephen's Day, the gathering of friends... The last three Christmases with...

The first year after The Lodgers diagnosis every week there seemed to be something new that we would have to get our heads around as parents of somebody with Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS).  All we could see was FOOD!! At birthdays there's cake. At Halloween there's trick or treating. At Christmas there's too much. At weddings there's food. At Easter there's chocolate. At family and friends get togethers there's food. Walking down the street, there's food! And then there's the things we enjoyed doing, baking and cooking, eating out in restaurants, going for a coffee down in the village, a takeaway when we didn't feel like cooking, picnics up the mountains, a trip to the cinema with popcorn, an ice-cream on a sunny day, a hot chocolate on a wintery day... the list goes on! In that first year, we enjoyed the last time we'd have our favourite cake on our birthday, a selection box at Christmas, an Easter egg, an ice-cream, a hot chocolate...