Health

The last value to write about of the values of this blog, is "Health"! For this one I should really hand over to Kevin.

I think all I need to say is that our resident former chef (Kevin) is the one who leads on what Coraline eats and the kinds of skincare we get for her, and the vitamins she takes. His big things are "organic" and "natural" and being conscious of what you put in to yourself!

He's quite a maverick in this (I suppose when you are faced with the supermarket aisles and advertising I mean). She has nuanced home cooked meals from him with a lot of thought put into them. I follow his lead. I can't cook a banana pancake though. Never looks like how he does them.

This was all so important for her health and immunity in the year leading up to her heart operation which she had at one year, three months old. Beforehand, we managed to ensure she didn't get ill (as advised by her Cardiology team, due to her body's ability to deal with the illness).

Down’s syndrome and metabolism

It is also important when you bear in mind that children with Down's Syndrome can have problems with their digestive system, and can have a slower metabolism (burning off calories at a 10-15% slower rate when exercising, or to put it another way, a lower resting metabolic rate of 10-15% )

Coraline loves to eat which is great. Kevin sees food as nourishing and taking care of Coraline.

I feel this last value, health, encompasses food and exercise, but it also but it also comes from living all our other values: Love, acceptance, kindness, appreciation, gratitude, joy, trust in life, openness, authenticity.