Our Story About Down Syndrome ContinuesTime Flies Continuing our story about Down Syndrome... Sammy is now 2 and 1/2. Time has flown. We have been very busy with therapies, a couple of minor surgeries (tubes in his ears, and a cleft palate repair). Both of which went very well. Yes, it is different having a baby with Down Syndrome, but it is not at all bad. You learn to appreciate and celebrate each accomplishment. It is such a joy to watch him grow and learn, to watch his personality unfold. I do get stressed at times about all the things I should be teaching him and doing with him so that he will reach his full potential, but stressing about it won't do any of us any good. So we have learned to "go with the flow". If we work with him that day, great, if not, well, there's always tomorrow. At this point I can not imagine a life without him. He is like a ray of sunshine! THIS Thanksgiving we will be thanking God for giving us a baby WITH Down Syndrome. Remember, this is coming from someone who has seven "normal" kids! Just yesterday a couple of the kids were discussing the sanity of some of their siblings and deduced that Sam, may actually be the only sane one of the bunch! November 2006 It has been a year since my last entry. Sam has changed so much. He is going to (PPCD) preschool now (look for a section on preschool and IEP's coming within the next couple of weeks), riding the bus, using a lot of signs to communicate his needs/wants, and beginning to use some recognizable words. Having him in school three hours a day is great, but he has picked up some "bugs". Since school started in August he has had two colds already. In itself that is not such a big deal, but he is always so miserable and they have both lasted more than a week. He is still a ray of sunshine, but he certainly has his thunderous moments. He is truly going through the terrible twos, even though he's already three. Just let one of his siblings try to take something away from him! Better watch out because though he does not have the vocabulary to tell us he's angry he can sure vocalize his feelings. His voice box is in perfect working condition!!! He has developed some other bad habits too. One of them is our fault I'm sure...He loooooves Dr. Pepper! If there is a bottle of DP anywhere in sight he will refuse to drink anything else. If he sees us going for the milk jug, or something else, he will vehemently shake his head "no". So we pretend not to notice and give him the milk or juice or whatever anyways. That cup will not sit in front of him for more than a second. Luckily he only pushes it across the table. I guess he could be worse and he could throw it like he does everything else. The teeth grinding is driving us all to madness though, like fingernails on a chalkboard. Sam just loves to grind his teeth. I'm worried he is going to wear them out before we even get him back to the dentist. On the other hand, Sam gives the biggest and best hugs. Whenever his little niece come over he holds out his arms for her. “ Must have a hug before we can play.” Luckily she does not have a problem hugging him right back! His affectionate nature is such a blessing to us. He is such a blessing to us and everyone he comes in contact with. He is rarely a" terrible tot" outside the house so everyone just loves him. I guess he saves that terribleness for us! Check back or subscribe to our newsletter for the continuation of our story about Down Syndrome and how it has affected our family.
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