31 For 21 - #5

I'm not quite caught up yet but here we go again.

The last form of ds is Mosaicism. Only about 1% of people with ds have this form. Mosaicism means not SOME of the cells have the extra chromasome, but not all. This happens when the faulty division occurs AFTER the first time the cells divide, after conception. In the other 2 types, the faulty cell division occurs at or before fertilization. Confusing? Yes. Please ask questions so I can clarify.

As for what we did today? Football baby! Andrew's team won, 22-10! Woo Hoo! We went to Quick Trip for a giant soda to celebrate! Pathetic, I know but we didn't have much time and the other kids had homework so we did the quick, cheap celebration. It was a great game! Here's a blurry pic of our hero:


And for our Jackson pic of the day,


We learned how to snuggle together pretty darn quick after he came home!

Giveaway!

Okay, you have to see this! Remember our friend, "Sincess Kennedy"? Her mommy is celebrating her one year blogoversary! (I think she made that up.) ANYWAY, she's having an amazing giveaway so please go check it out!

Life With My Special Ks

31 For 21 - #4

Today, we went to the zoo! It was a beautiful day so off we went. It was Jack's first time there, and he seemed interested in a few of the animals. Some were more difficult to see than others. He watched the elephants and rhinos, the giraffees and the penguins. The lions and tigers he slept through. I wonder what he would've thought of the big aviary. I guess we'll find out next time.

Here's a funny from last night:
When I was in the bathroom yesterday, I realized there was no TP. So I yelled out the door to M, who I knew was near. As she handed me in a new roll, I commented, "I don't think I've had to yell for TP since I was little". So what was her reply? "Well, this must be a big day for you then." WHAT??? She's so funny. Then I have my Tyler, who is going to get in such trouble some day at school. I walked into the kitchen last night to see Allan asleep at the breakfast bar and Ty standing at the counter, holding a spoon, in front of a tub of ice cream. So I said, "hey, why is the ice cream out?" Without even thinking about it, Ty says, "Dad was eating it". Did not even smile! What a stinker!

ds fact:
One of the other types of ds is Translocation Trisomy 21. This means there are still 3 of the 21st chromasome, but it's attached to another chomasome, usually #14 or one of the other #21s. Here is the interesting part of this type of ds - this can actually result because one of the parents is a balanced carrier. This means the parent has the correct # of chromasomes, but one pair is stuck together. This can result in the increased chance of future pregnancies resulting in ds as well. The chance of this happening is only about 2 or 3% of all ds births. Who knew, right?

Zoo pics soon! 'Til then:

Here's Jack on his first day at home! How excited we were that he was here!

31 For 21 - #3

Look how early I am today! My ds fact today has more to do with me than Jack. Babies with ds are just that, babies. The dx of ds is so scary, it's easy to forget that this is still just a baby. A baby that will need diapers, and little sleepers, and yummy-smelling baby soap, and lots of love. I knew we would love Jack. There was never any doubt about that. But all the baby-ness kinda took me by surprise, which is really silly. I find myself constantly comparing him to the other 3, and really, there are so many more similarities than differences. Even in the way he looks. All my boys are blonde with blue eyes. Jack gets into stuff and I remember the others doing the same things. As he wobbles around the house, I remember seeing the others wobble like that too (sometimes even in the same outfit - Jack wears lots of Ty's stuff). Yesterday, Jack was wearing a pair of shoes that Andrew and Tyler wore too. And I can't wait to hear Jack say "Mommy". I'll just melt! And right now, Jack is upset because everyone else went outside and he didn't get to, so I'm remembering how the others went from oblivious little baby to toddler who lets you know when something isn't going their way. I guess we're there. Hello 2 year old!

Here's a pic of "Jack in the Box". Another of my sad attempts at humor.

31 For 21 - #2

I don't think I'm gonna make it, but for the record, I'm starting this post BEFORE midnight!

Okay, let's see, a ds fact. There are 3 types of ds, including mosaic and translocation (which I'll discuss later), but Jack has regular ole Trisomy 21. This means he has an extra 21st chromasome in every single cell in his cute little wiggly body. Some people are just convinced that extra chomasome adds cuteness. I may be one of them!

I bought some pants for Jackson the other day, seeing as it's starting to get cooler. One pair of pants is a little pair of Levi's, size 18 mos. I put them on him this morning, and even though they're too long and a bit big in the waist, oh my gosh - too cute! I was so excited seeing him walking around in those tiny jeans. I meant to take a photo but the day went fast and Daddy put his jammies on him before I remembered this evening. So, maybe the next time. Instead, I'll post this:


This is my sweet little pumpkin, after we found out about the hole in his heart, and all of the problems it (they) were causing. We called the oxygen tent his "cake plate". (My sad attempt to cope by using humor.)


And this is a pic of Jack's HUGE amount of hair! I know it may not seem like much but both our other boys were real baldies so we were surprised by how much Jack had!

I Got a Blog Award!!

Heidi Marie over at henry's mommie gave me an award! How cool is that?! Now, this is just for fun, I won't get to be on the Today Show or anything like that (good thing, I'd flip out!). So there are rules to this award. They are:

1. The winner can (and should really) put the logo on his/her blog.
2. The winner must link to the person from whom they received their award.
3. The winner must nominate at least 7 other blogs for an award.
4. The winner must place links to those blogs on their own blog.
5. The winner must leave a message on the blogs of the people they've nominated.

Now, my only problem with these rules are that I don't read a WHOLE lot of blogs, and the ones that I do are (some of them) the same as the ones already nominated! So let's see who I shall nominate...........

1. Erin at http://zacanderinharlan.blogspot.com/
2. Kim at http://charlies47.blogspot.com/
3. Kathy at http://katvirgo.blogspot.com/
4. Pam at http://rhettsjourney.blogspot.com/
5. Amy at http://theflegefarm.blogspot.com/
6. RK at http://www.justrk.blogspot.com/
7. and last but not least, my friend Lori, who seems to be having blog issues right now, and will get back to me soon!

So Thank You Heidi Marie! Oh how I can't wait to meet you and your adorable Henry some day!

31 For 21 - #1

Okay so this means 31 blog entries for Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome).  Yep, I'm already a day behind but in my defense, I fought a migraine all day yesterday and finally gave up and went to bed.  So I'm starting a day late but I'm gonna do my best to make it up.  Hopefully, this will be a learning experience for me as I'm going to try to post a ds fact daily.  Today is an easy one - Down Syndrome is another name for Trisomy 21.  And for a cute Jackson ancedote - one day, after the kids came home from school and greeted and played with Jack, they went downstairs to play.  Jackson was quite miffed that they dared leave him with me, so he went to the stairs and KNOCKED with his little fat fist on the door!  When I opened it, (trying so hard not to fall on the floor laughing) he turned his little self around and crawled right down those steps!!  Was I proud or what?!

Here's a shot of Jack (pre-birth, of course):

And here he is on his original birthday!