I am once again late in updating, but life gets busy with a toddler and a school age child! Mary's two plus years has flown by and I cannot believe it. Mary's use of sign language is taking off and it has been a HUGE help in communicating. She can sign for food, water, more, … Continue reading Two Years Old!
I feel like many new parents wonder how their other children will be affected when they receive their child's diagnosis. I did wonder how Mary's diagnosis would affect Alex. Especially since there is a six year age difference between them. He was so excited to be a big brother while I was pregnant, but would … Continue reading How has Mary’s Down Syndrome affected Alex?
A while ago, I did a post titled “What to do now? (Down syndrome)” where I discussed what it was like to find out Mary has Down syndrome and tips for starting down that path. I felt like that post covered a lot, but I want to discuss a related topic of what to expect … Continue reading What to Expect with Down Syndrome
In February, we had to put Mary into daycare unexpectedly. We were very lucky that the starts aligned and we found someone willing to take her in, someone who had no concerns about her Down syndrome and treated her the same as every other child there. Mary was at the daycare 5 days a week … Continue reading Experience and Benefits of daycare
A common theme I see among many of us parents who have a child with Down syndrome is a sense of guilt for being upset at receiving the diagnosis, at having these incorrect and stereotypical beliefs of what our child's future would look like. I'm guilty of this too. Then today, after reading a post … Continue reading Why do we feel guilty?
It has been a busy month already for us! Early last week, Mary had her one year follow up with Cardiology. She had an EKG done and then we met with the cardiologist and his two doctors-in-training. They each took turns listening to her heart and all heard the same thing: a healthy heart. As … Continue reading Follow-ups and Surgery
Not long ago, I was introduced to The Lucky Few Podcast through one of the Down Syndrome groups I am in. They just finished season 2. I found it really interesting and wanted to share my review with you. The Lucky Few hosts are a group of 3 moms who each have a child (or … Continue reading The Lucky Few Podcast
We just had our one year follow up at the Down syndrome center. I know, Mary is nearly 14 months but when a member of the team is on maternity leave, things get postponed a bit. Pediatrcian: We started our visit off with the pediatrician. Overall, she is a healthy girl. She is having ear … Continue reading Down Syndrome Center Visit – 1 year Follow-up
There really is no manual on what to do when you find out your child has special needs. Every special-needs path is different. Some will be more intense than others. But I feel that there are some commonalities that many of us experience and can do to help make it just a little bit easier. … Continue reading What to do now? Down syndrome
Mary had an audiology check-up recently. Since she had recently turned 6 months old, it was time for several major check-ups (one year will be the big one). The location was familiar to me since it was in the same building, even the same floor, as where Alex had his speech therapy prior to starting … Continue reading Audiology Checkup-6 months
