So, I figure this is a good place to keep track of Jack's growth and progress. As of Fri., Mar. 21 (World Down Syndrome Day!!) Jack weighed 22lbs and has 7 teeth! The 7th is brand spankin' new. He sits, pulls up, cruises short distances, and walks slooooowly when you hold his hands. He's really pretty independant and will only do stuff when HE wants to. He won't sign, but he's starting to wave. We're getting ready to have his ears checked by the ped. (make sure there's no infection or fluid), so we can do a hearing test at the school for the deaf. He doesn't have any words yet. He's just learned to put stuff IN and he's starting to stack blocks and put big legos together. When he gets real excited he waves both hands in the air and lately, he's been doing it when we do it first! How cute is that?! We're working on high fiving too. He drinks holding his sippy cup but makes a huge mess with a spoon! If you put food in the spoon and give it to him, he can get it in his mouth. Same thing with a fork. If you cover him up with a blanket he thinks it's fun, but he can get out of it himself.
Jack's had 2 haircuts and needs another. Daily, he is smiley and curious and into everything! His laugh is infectious and it's pretty easy to make him happy. He has beautiful eyes and soft skin and sharp teeth! Jack is kinda chunky and every day I tell him I'm gonna eat him up!
He still takes 2 naps per day and gets a bottle of milk before bedtime. I usually rock him to sleep because I love to look at him.
So, what am I grateful for today?
1. My kids are playing on the floor together.
2. My mom is recovering really well from her hip replacement.
3. My hubby folded laundry while I was visiting my mom.
4. I have super in-laws.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Installment #1
I'm watching Jackson head-butt his daddy. Yep, that's one of his favorite things to do. He does it to his crib, his family members, and even the furniture, if he ends up sitting against something. He thinks it's hilarious. His daddy thinks Jack will need a helmet soon!
I wanted to start this blog to write how we felt and what happened when we found our baby would have Down Syndrome. That seems like an overwhelming job now. Maybe I'll just do it in bits.
Installment #1 - How we found out
At about 12 weeks pregnant (right after we found out we were pregnant), I decided to do that nuchal fold test, where they measure the back of the baby's neck (via ultrasound). There's some magic number that is a marker for ds. With every pregnancy, I took pretty much all the tests because I like to be prepared. This sounded like an easy one, so I took it. They couldn't get our little one to be in the exact right position, so it didn't work. That was on a Fri. We tried again on Mon., still with no results. I don't really remember what made me decide to have the amnio; I just remember having the appointment and my friend Sherry telling me she would come with me because she didn't want me to go alone. This was really a big deal 'cause she lived a couple of hours away. We found out Jack was a boy while getting prepped, and the actual amnio really wasn't bad. That was on a Wed. On Fri., while I was home, my ob called. "I really hate to tell you this, but your test shows Down Syndrome." I know he said more stuff but I sure don't know what it was. I called my husband at work and told him to come home. He did, and we cried together. We had plans that week-end but cancelled everything. We didn't tell anyone for almost 2 months. I just needed that time to be okay. It was really hard. People kept calling to ask if we heard anything yet and I lied. I said "no news must be good news, ha ha" knowing the whole time I would have to tell them at some point. It's an emotional thing. I honestly wasn't worried that anyone would be mean or anything, I just needed to get to the point where I was emotionally okay telling people because I knew I would be the one reassuring others. I thought no way can I start talking to people about this if I'm breaking down every time. Even my closest friends and our parents. For some reason, I needed to be strong. My dr. was great. He said, at the first visit after we found out, that we wouldn't dwell on the ds unless I had questions or concerns. He wanted me to feel like this was a regular, fun, miraculous pregnancy, just like it was. We finally told our other kids. They decided at once no one would ever make fun of their baby brother and were protective right away. They made me cry in a good way. We then told my parents; I kind of chickened out and told them when I was literally on my way out the door to go 3 hrs. home from a visit with them. After a quick hug, I ran away quick so they could be upset and cry. Then I wrote a big long e-mail to all the friends and family I had an e-mail address for and even asked them to forward it to others. The response was really positive. Sounds anti-climactic, but that was it. I have one friend that I'm really close to and everyone was saying to her "wow, you sure kept that quiet" and she has to say "yeah, cause she didn't tell me" which I feel a little bad about but I just couldn't yet. The rest of the pregnancy was okay; I had gestational diabetes (special diet, blood checks, and even shots in my tummy!) and lots of ultrasounds and non-stress tests and an echocardiogram for Jack and everything came back great. Everyone acted very excited to see our new guy. We had the BEST baby shower. (That'll be another story!)
What am I grateful for today?
1. I went to the most wonderful conference. More on that later.
2. Andrew was acolyte at church today - Palm Sunday! My favorite Sunday!
3. The kids actually got along for awhile today.
4. Of course, my Jackson. What a sweetie.
I wanted to start this blog to write how we felt and what happened when we found our baby would have Down Syndrome. That seems like an overwhelming job now. Maybe I'll just do it in bits.
Installment #1 - How we found out
At about 12 weeks pregnant (right after we found out we were pregnant), I decided to do that nuchal fold test, where they measure the back of the baby's neck (via ultrasound). There's some magic number that is a marker for ds. With every pregnancy, I took pretty much all the tests because I like to be prepared. This sounded like an easy one, so I took it. They couldn't get our little one to be in the exact right position, so it didn't work. That was on a Fri. We tried again on Mon., still with no results. I don't really remember what made me decide to have the amnio; I just remember having the appointment and my friend Sherry telling me she would come with me because she didn't want me to go alone. This was really a big deal 'cause she lived a couple of hours away. We found out Jack was a boy while getting prepped, and the actual amnio really wasn't bad. That was on a Wed. On Fri., while I was home, my ob called. "I really hate to tell you this, but your test shows Down Syndrome." I know he said more stuff but I sure don't know what it was. I called my husband at work and told him to come home. He did, and we cried together. We had plans that week-end but cancelled everything. We didn't tell anyone for almost 2 months. I just needed that time to be okay. It was really hard. People kept calling to ask if we heard anything yet and I lied. I said "no news must be good news, ha ha" knowing the whole time I would have to tell them at some point. It's an emotional thing. I honestly wasn't worried that anyone would be mean or anything, I just needed to get to the point where I was emotionally okay telling people because I knew I would be the one reassuring others. I thought no way can I start talking to people about this if I'm breaking down every time. Even my closest friends and our parents. For some reason, I needed to be strong. My dr. was great. He said, at the first visit after we found out, that we wouldn't dwell on the ds unless I had questions or concerns. He wanted me to feel like this was a regular, fun, miraculous pregnancy, just like it was. We finally told our other kids. They decided at once no one would ever make fun of their baby brother and were protective right away. They made me cry in a good way. We then told my parents; I kind of chickened out and told them when I was literally on my way out the door to go 3 hrs. home from a visit with them. After a quick hug, I ran away quick so they could be upset and cry. Then I wrote a big long e-mail to all the friends and family I had an e-mail address for and even asked them to forward it to others. The response was really positive. Sounds anti-climactic, but that was it. I have one friend that I'm really close to and everyone was saying to her "wow, you sure kept that quiet" and she has to say "yeah, cause she didn't tell me" which I feel a little bad about but I just couldn't yet. The rest of the pregnancy was okay; I had gestational diabetes (special diet, blood checks, and even shots in my tummy!) and lots of ultrasounds and non-stress tests and an echocardiogram for Jack and everything came back great. Everyone acted very excited to see our new guy. We had the BEST baby shower. (That'll be another story!)
What am I grateful for today?
1. I went to the most wonderful conference. More on that later.
2. Andrew was acolyte at church today - Palm Sunday! My favorite Sunday!
3. The kids actually got along for awhile today.
4. Of course, my Jackson. What a sweetie.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Good Day!
It's a very good day! The kids are home because we're having a major snow day (right now it looks like a blizzard out there - it's beautiful). We're supposed to get up to 9 inches by this afternoon. By tonight, I won't be so enchanted, but right now I just want to get some hot chocolate and gaze out the window.
Jack's OT was supposed to come today but she cancelled due to the weather (the roads are kinda ugly) so the house is nice and clean. That makes me happy too.
My mom had hip replacement surgery yesterday and that went really well. I hope to be able to talk to her today. My parents don't live where we do so I'm looking forward to hearing from her. I'm looking forward to her feeling better and being able to walk and come visit again!
As far as Jack news, he's doing great! I worked the book fair up at school all last week and he went with me 3 days. Everyone seems to enjoy him and likes to hold him and talk to him. One of the recess teachers took him out into the main hallway where they were having a rock-a-thon for Dr. Suess week (rocking chairs) and she sat on a bench with him, surrounded by a few other students, while she read a book to them. It was sooo cute! One of the secretaries took a couple of pics I might post. He's still not walking but he does pull up and cruise the furniture (and people, if you're in the way). He's so sweet but he's getting more obnoxious daily. I love this - when we get a toy that makes a noise as the result of pushing a button, and we push it for him, he gets the most amazing smile. It's like, "wow, you are the smartest person ever!" We got a magnet toy for the fridge that makes animal noises and he'll stand there and play for awhile but then he'll throw it on the floor and make AS MUCH NOISE AS POSSIBLE!! It is a hoot! He eats good, he's happy, he's progressing, can't complain about this baby a bit!
More later!
Jack's OT was supposed to come today but she cancelled due to the weather (the roads are kinda ugly) so the house is nice and clean. That makes me happy too.
My mom had hip replacement surgery yesterday and that went really well. I hope to be able to talk to her today. My parents don't live where we do so I'm looking forward to hearing from her. I'm looking forward to her feeling better and being able to walk and come visit again!
As far as Jack news, he's doing great! I worked the book fair up at school all last week and he went with me 3 days. Everyone seems to enjoy him and likes to hold him and talk to him. One of the recess teachers took him out into the main hallway where they were having a rock-a-thon for Dr. Suess week (rocking chairs) and she sat on a bench with him, surrounded by a few other students, while she read a book to them. It was sooo cute! One of the secretaries took a couple of pics I might post. He's still not walking but he does pull up and cruise the furniture (and people, if you're in the way). He's so sweet but he's getting more obnoxious daily. I love this - when we get a toy that makes a noise as the result of pushing a button, and we push it for him, he gets the most amazing smile. It's like, "wow, you are the smartest person ever!" We got a magnet toy for the fridge that makes animal noises and he'll stand there and play for awhile but then he'll throw it on the floor and make AS MUCH NOISE AS POSSIBLE!! It is a hoot! He eats good, he's happy, he's progressing, can't complain about this baby a bit!
More later!
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Lots of Updates
Seems like lots has been going on here. Jack has been wearing his SureSteps since he got them on Jan. 28th. They don't seem to be bothering him at all. Just me - we aren't shoe people especially in the house so it's been weird to get him up and dressed and put his shoes on just to hang around home. What else? When we had his IFSP, the OT mentioned she wanted him evaluated by a speech therapist to check his level of understanding. I said sure so that appt. is ready to go this Fri but all of a sudden it seems like he's really getting what we say. How to decribe it....Tonight, dh got a couple of pillows and threw them on the floor. I was holding Jack and said to him "oooo looky, Daddy's gonna lay on the floor and you can go pull his hair!". (Jack looooves pulling hair.) The little stinker giggled! Now, maybe I said it in a funny voice or I tickled his ear when I said it; but he sure giggled in the right spot! He's really communicating to us his wants now too. If you try to take something away from him he lets you know that is not acceptable! His new trick is he learned how to open cabinet doors and drawers. It's great except now everything inside isn't safe and the drawers can close on his little fingers. Gonna hafta get some drawer guards. He looks so proud when he's doing stuff. He's sooo much fun!
Also, we've had some really bad stuff too. On Feb.7th, my bff's dh suffered a major heart attack. He just turned 40 last Nov. The odds weren't good for him at first, but he's doing well now. I sit on pins and needles 'till she updates me every day. Please add him (and the rest of the family) to your prayer list!
Okay, for the gratful list to day:
1. John is alive and getting better!
2. Andrew is caught up on his homework!
3. Tyler has a terrific sense of humor!
4. Madelyn has proven to be a wonderful babysitter (even changed a poopy diaper for me!)
5. Jackson's development is full steam ahead!
Also, we've had some really bad stuff too. On Feb.7th, my bff's dh suffered a major heart attack. He just turned 40 last Nov. The odds weren't good for him at first, but he's doing well now. I sit on pins and needles 'till she updates me every day. Please add him (and the rest of the family) to your prayer list!
Okay, for the gratful list to day:
1. John is alive and getting better!
2. Andrew is caught up on his homework!
3. Tyler has a terrific sense of humor!
4. Madelyn has proven to be a wonderful babysitter (even changed a poopy diaper for me!)
5. Jackson's development is full steam ahead!
Friday, February 1, 2008
Anniversaries!
Well, it's very late here but most of us are still up because...........No School Tomorrow!! Yep. We've had enough snow in the past few hours to cancel for tomorrow. YAY!! So we had more of a relaxing evening and I folded a bunch of laundry and now I get to check in here!
We celebrated Jack's surgery anniversary and the coming home from surgery anniversary and my birthday and now it's time for Feb. How does time go so fast? And why do I feel so very busy all the time? Yuck.
We had Jack's IFSP the other day and it went really well. He's developing pretty typically and we expect he'll be getting ready to run by the next meeting! He stood alone for a couple of seconds this evening (very exciting), he has 3 teeth, and he got his SureSteps shoe inserts this week. Things are going great!
Time for the grateful list but I am too tired. Soon, I promise.
We celebrated Jack's surgery anniversary and the coming home from surgery anniversary and my birthday and now it's time for Feb. How does time go so fast? And why do I feel so very busy all the time? Yuck.
We had Jack's IFSP the other day and it went really well. He's developing pretty typically and we expect he'll be getting ready to run by the next meeting! He stood alone for a couple of seconds this evening (very exciting), he has 3 teeth, and he got his SureSteps shoe inserts this week. Things are going great!
Time for the grateful list but I am too tired. Soon, I promise.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Cap'n Jack's Anniversary!!
Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary of Jack's heart surgery! I kept wanting to post but life kept getting in the way. I don't know how I felt yesterday. Happy, of course, but the memories of how last year felt kept hitting me off and on all day. I was really terrified last year but trying so hard just to do what needed to get done I pushed it away as much as possible. It's scary to feel that much. Watching him now, I'm just so thankful for the drs that fixed him, the family and friends that helped get us through all that, and Jack himself. He's happy and busy and gives us all so much joy every day. So, for the grateful list today.........
1. Janet Evanovich (I love the Stephanie Plum books)
2. My friend Lori (I love her too)
3. My nice warm comfy bed at night
4. I went to a meeting at the high school last night to schedule my son's sophomore year. It made me realize, yet again, how very intelligent he is. He amazes me!
1. Janet Evanovich (I love the Stephanie Plum books)
2. My friend Lori (I love her too)
3. My nice warm comfy bed at night
4. I went to a meeting at the high school last night to schedule my son's sophomore year. It made me realize, yet again, how very intelligent he is. He amazes me!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Who Doesn't Need A TV?
I have been thinking of things I'm grateful for; just haven't been posting them! But for today, here's a few:
1. My mom finally went to the dr and now knows what's wrong with her hip.
2. My kids don't have school tomorrow!
3. I love watching Jack examining things.
4. My hubby made dinner again!
Our tv went out last Thurs. Today is Sun. We are going nuts! Who knew we were that dependant?! Apparently, I like to have it on all day as background noise. I knew that I really only watched a couple of actual shows but I miss it. We're trying to decide what to do about it now. By a new one? Get a flat panel? Do nothing? (That's my husband's favorite option.)
The other things on my mind today? I owe my friend Lori a big phone call. I have GOT to finish putting away these Christmas decorations. And, as usual, my house is a mess and needs to be cleaned up. (I keep thinking a localized fire would do the trick but I'd need about 5 of them!) Also, our wonderful OT would like me to get Jack off the bottle completely, but he really has no interest in drinking if it comes out of a cup. So, do I let him dehydrate? Or just keep the bottle (he only gets it twice a day anyway)? Who knows? Someday, I will not have this stress and then I will miss my kids soooooo much!
1. My mom finally went to the dr and now knows what's wrong with her hip.
2. My kids don't have school tomorrow!
3. I love watching Jack examining things.
4. My hubby made dinner again!
Our tv went out last Thurs. Today is Sun. We are going nuts! Who knew we were that dependant?! Apparently, I like to have it on all day as background noise. I knew that I really only watched a couple of actual shows but I miss it. We're trying to decide what to do about it now. By a new one? Get a flat panel? Do nothing? (That's my husband's favorite option.)
The other things on my mind today? I owe my friend Lori a big phone call. I have GOT to finish putting away these Christmas decorations. And, as usual, my house is a mess and needs to be cleaned up. (I keep thinking a localized fire would do the trick but I'd need about 5 of them!) Also, our wonderful OT would like me to get Jack off the bottle completely, but he really has no interest in drinking if it comes out of a cup. So, do I let him dehydrate? Or just keep the bottle (he only gets it twice a day anyway)? Who knows? Someday, I will not have this stress and then I will miss my kids soooooo much!
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