I absolutely love going and watching him clamber around the soft play and try to keep balance in the ball pit. And he loves to sit watching other kids. You would never ever think he was going through what he does.
It's quite nerve wracking when other mums talk to Jacob or older kids look at him and talk to him as I just panic they're going to ask about his eye. Most people don't even notice, even my family have to ask which eye is artificial sometimes. (Although I don't know if they're just being polite!) The worst part is when you get chatting to other mums and they ask how old Jacob is, and when I say "13 months." I just know what's coming next... "Isn't he little!!!!" Most of the time I just laugh it off and say "yeah he's a little squirt." But sometimes I feel like screaming at them "YES HE IS! He's got bloody cancer, that's why he's small!" Sometimes I really have to bite my tongue. And I know no mums mean anything by it, I'm sure I've said it to someone else before. But when you have a child that you know will be slightly different to other children, (how many kids are going to be able to take their eye out to show their friends!?) you can't help but feel defensive.
Sometimes it's easy to joke about it, like when he's going crazy and diving around in the ball pit, I joke and think what the staff would think when I ask them to empty the ball pit because my sons eye is in there somewhere. And as with everyone else, I'd either make them cry, or they'd just look ridiculously uncomfortable and oblige. Jacob just sits there smiling at the "head tilters" because he doesn't know or care less what anyone thinks of him. And that's the way I hope it stays.
Ballpit beast.
Jo Jingling.
I really recommend Jo Jingles to anyone with kids under about 4. Go to their website to find a class near you. www.jojingles.com
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