Have you ever felt completely alone in a room full of people?

Have you ever felt completely alone in a room full of people? In the baby groups you hide your growing concerns in small talk with the other new mummies. You try and ignore the voices in your head and agree with those telling you everything will be alright, but deep down you know it won't be.

It was in this muddle of emotions that I first found Little Hiccups. Emily had been hospitalised with seizures at 10 weeks old. Blood tests, lumbar puncture, EEGs and MRI scan followed but answers were few and far between. With a growing list of places where Emily and I no longer fitted in, Little Hiccups stay and play sessions quickly became the highlight of our week. A place where we could seek advice and understanding from others in similar situations. And if all Emily did was sleep while I ate my own body weight in biscuits, it didn't matter. No one cared. I didn't have to pretend that everything was ok.

Thanks to Little Hiccups we've enjoyed some fantastic experiences as a family - cinema trips where no one tuts if your child has to make a noise or run around, festive days out at Sundown Adventureland, steering a canal boat, cuddling a rabbit or even a snake a tarantula and Emily 'paddling' in her wheelchair at the beach. We can't wait for Emily to sample skiing and skydiving in the years to come! I've crawled through mud and swam through freezing cold water to raise money and we've enjoyed a rare night out as a couple at the annual Little Hiccups Ball.

Since plucking up the courage to go to that first stay and play group seven years ago, Little Hiccups has been a massive support to our whole family. Alongside copious amounts of tea/coffee and biscuits, they've provided loads of advice, raised awareness of other groups and services, listened to our fears and shared our successes. Having a child with special needs can be a long and exhausting journey, but with Little Hiccups it doesn't have to be a lonely one.

Relaxed Play Session

Little Hiccups ethos is #NoLimits (you've probably heard us mention that once or twice) but it is important to remember that everyone's limit is different. And this is something that we try to express through our events. So you do have the high flying events and the fast paced events that leave you buzzing and exhilarated after the event. But that is not the whole story. Pushing the boundaries of #NoLimits is a scale and what one child is happy doing might not even enter the consideration of another child.

The thing about Little Hiccups however, is that we keep trying. We keep reaching and striving that little bit further and the children keep experiencing new events. It may not work the first or second time, but it may the third.

I'm thinking of one family in particular where this was was especially prominent (and if the mum is reading this she'll know its her as I've mentioned it to her before). When they first joined us at Stay n Play along with their young child with autism they used to manage 10 minutes maximum before it became too much and they had to leave. But they kept coming and they kept trying. And that 10 minutes increased slowly as he came to know the environment. The same happened at the Family Fun Days. They used to come and only stay briefly before having to go home. But they kept coming and he learnt that these events and others were safe and he started exploring and expanding his limits. I have a very fond memory of this child dancing at one of our parties. He truly does portray everything we try to achieve and we're looking forward to seeing him strive even further forward.

And this is what our February event is about. We visited the soft play center, Kid Zone in Garforth and it was just fun. There was no stress and no anxiety. It was only Little Hiccups families in there and it was easy. To the extent I even managed to sit down during this event! The children went and played and the adults relaxed with a hot drink courtesy of Little Hiccups. The families were all fed so people didn't need to worry about dinner when they got out and hopefully a lot slept well that night from all the exercise.

A massive thank you to Kid Zone for making it so stress free for us. I really do recommend this place as they are so keen to make everyone feel welcome. They also have a Sensory Room for those that just want to relax a little rather than run around like crazy! Follow them on Facebook to find out about their Relaxed Sessions.

Kidzone website
https://www.facebook.com/kidzoneplaycentre/