Sean is Getting on His Knees!

This little guy is making such progress and getting stronger. He's getting on his knees and rocking himself. I'm guessing he'll be crawling by 18 months!

Sean Signs "Wrap", As in Baby Wrap

We've been steadily teaching Sean signs to help us communicate with him. He seems to be catching on to them as we teach him. Sean really likes to be wrapped up in the K'Tan. While we were still living on Lookout I started teaching him "wrap." Although, technically this sign is for "wrapping a gift" I use it for baby wrap. The other night Duane was holding Sean in the evening, close to his bed time. He'd already had a bottle, was tired and just couldn't quite relax enough to actually go to bed for the night. Duane said "He's signing wrap." I disbelieved. Duane said "Clearly, he is signing wrap. It doesn't get any more obvious than this." So I gave in and grabbed the wrap. Tucked him in close to me & walked around for about 3 minutes and he was OUT. I'm a believer. Now I have a video to prove it to others! HA!! This is super AWESOME.

Sean in His JUMPEROO!

Sean got this for his birthday. He L.O.V.E.S. it! We originally borrowed one from a friend so we could "Try before we buy." He seemed to enjoy it pretty well. We are hoping this will help his legs get stronger.

Look Who Turned ONE !!!!

This little guy has had quite the first year! From a traumatic entry into this crazy world, to intestinal surgery at 2 days old, to 23 days spent in NICU, to not wanting to learn how to breastfeed, to bonding with mama, dada, sister and brother, to learning how to roll over, sit up, play with toys and babble. We're still working on getting into and out of a sitting position, trying to crawl, and eat solid food. All takes time and will come eventually. At his one year well check Dr. said Sean is looking good but he was due for his first blood thyroid and leukemia check. I pray for his health everyday. I pray his blood work comes back normal. But all in all this little treasure seems to be thriving, growing and is an extremely happy, sweet little guy. We are so blessed to have him in our life. I a so thankful I was chosen to be his mama. He is such a joy, I can not wait to see what this upcoming year brings!

Sean Has Learned To Babble!

Six days shy of turning one, Sean has had two breakthroughs!

1. He has learned to BABBLE!  Most babies start doing this between 4 and 6 months.  Sean is nearly one year.  So, in addition to his growling "Ahhhh ahhhh!" sound he can now do "Bababababa."  We have even heard him do a few "GAH!"  And I swear just yesterday as Melanie also witnessed, we are pretty sure we heard a "MA!"
2. Sean slept through the night for the first time!  In the past Sean would wake nearly every 2 hours and I would have to pump in between.  Then he gradually went to every 3 or 4 hours.  But just recently he slept through the night: going to sleep about 7:30 and waking at 5AM for a bottle.  But it doesn't even really matter because I still get up at least once to pump any way at 2:30AM.

Baby Sean babble video from last week...

 

 

More Baby Sean babble video from last week...

Dad Refuses to Give Up Newborn Son With Down Syndrome

I was first introduced to this article by Duane, then it was sent to me by my sister.  I L.O.V.E. this article.  I love how brave the father is.  I'm amazed at his unconditional love and devotion.  I'm inspired by his courage to do the right thing for his baby and how his not afraid to ask for help from the public so that the right thing can be accomplished.  I especially love that he's going to give back so other babies and children with Down Syndrome will benefit from this sad turned AWEsome story.   The mom makes me so sad, so frustrated, so angry.  She doesn't have a clue as to what she's missing.  She's so worried about what it will look like to her family and peers in society that she's missing the entire gift and learning experience that she has been given.  So sad.
I'm sure, she's gotta be hurting on the inside, heart breaking for the little one she thought she was getting.  I wish I could talk to her.  All I can do is pray for her and pray for her ex-husband and their son are able to forgive her of her ignorance and cowardice.
This article also hints at how "normal" it is for people to just give up these super sweet babies that have so much potential and love to give.  As well as how much it is needed for people to adopt them.  Orphanages are not a place for babies & children to grow up.  Although they have been given life, that is not a life to grow up in.  It's not a home with a loving mama, dada, siblings, 3 square meals a day, several articles of clothing, sunshine.  The need to step in an advocate for these children is so great. I'm so thankful and proud of this dad and all the people supporting him. 
God truly works in amazing ways.
https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/dad-divorced-by-wife-over-son-with-down-syndrome-110269919772.html

Preparing Sean for Crawling

We are trying to encourage Sean to crawl. Not so easy with a baby with Down Syndrome. We're trying to get him comfortable on his knees and strengthening his upper arms to hold his body weight. Today is our very first therapy session in our home. We'll see how it goes.

Sean Scoots Backwards

Sean Signs "All Finished" (Two Seperate Videos Below)

Do You See What I See?

I was in the kitchen cleaning bottles while Melanie & Sean played on the floor. And something about Sean's movements caught my eye so I grabbed the camera. What do you see? I (we) see Sean intentionally looking at his hand and signing "mama" & "milk". When I finished the video I scooped this sweet chunker up and gave him a baba. He drank it all.This is just fascinating to me. I'm AWE struck!

Sean is Sitting Up Unassisted!

He's still a bit wobbly and doesn't use his arms to catch himself when he starts falling. But he is much stronger in his core now. Go Sean, go Sean, GO Sean GO!!

Don't Get Mad, Get Rollin'

Down Syndrome Article

Check out this REALLY neat article that my neighbor sent to me!   I LOVE THIS!  Such an encouragement!
http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/health/2014/11/12/down-syndrome-tyler-pence-bank-of-america-best-buddies/18938121/

Buddy Walk 10-11-2014 Pictures

Our very first Buddy Walk! I really hope we make a yearly habit of doing this fundraiser. It was neat seeing all of these people come together to raise money for Down syndrome awareness, acceptance & inclusion. Our team raised $845.00! Thank you Paul & Sylvia, Dad & Margaret, Mom & Tim, Debra, and Rebekah for all of your donations. You guys totally ROCKED IT OUT!
Although it was a teensy bit chilly outside, we had a ton-o-fun. Melanie played all sorts of games and won prizes. We wondered around checking out all the venders. We even saw a few friendly, familiar faces from a previous Down syndrome function. That's what I enjoyed most, being able to connect with people. You guys helped us raise enough money to have a poster of Sean set out on the Buddy Walk grounds. When I first spied it I got very emotional & teary eyed. Sometimes I just can't believe God has entrusted me with loving, nurturing, guiding & raising this super sweet baby boy. He Blessed me (us) with a Down syndrome child.  I am for certain, the lucky one.  Thank you Lord.  I am beyond grateful.  (even when he wants to be awake at 3AM!)  LOL!

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Check out this super sweet young lady eyeballing Sean. She was very curious about him. And by the looks of the picture Sean was just as curious about her as well! We chatted with her & her family for a brief moment. They were super nice! Maybe we'll see them again at the next Buddy Walk.

Super Sweet Down Syndrome Video

This video brought tears to my eyes.  I often wonder what Sean will be like, look like when he's older, able to play with Melanie & Kyle.  Life with Down syndrome is awesome.  There is a lot to look forward to.

Down Syndrome: Hypotonia and Physical Therapy

Quotes from the book Gross Motor Skills for Children with Down Syndrome

Patricia C. Winters, PT

 

• Hypotonia: "Not a decrease of muscle strength, but a decrease in resistance or stiffness of muscles in resting tension or relaxed state."

 

• "The degree of hypotonia can be mild, moderate, or severe. It can vary from one area of the body to another, and from the right side to the left. Hypotonia in the arms makes it harder to learn to combat crawl. Hypotonia in the abdomen makes it harder to move onto hands and knees and creep. Muscle tone will improve over time. When your child is school age you will only see subtle remnants of it."

 

• The goal of physical therapy: "The goal of physical therapy is not to have children with Down achieve gross motor skills more quickly. The goal is to have (your) my child achieve maximum physical potential and to build a body that is fit and functional throughout life and minimize compensations."

Bumbo Seat For Children With Down Syndrome

The Bumbo Seat is very controversial. Most people either love it, or hate it. Regular ole moms, OT's and PT's alike, can't decide if it's the greatest thing since sliced bread or detrimental to a babies well being. Although the leg openings could be a little wider to accommodate those babies on the husky side, the ability of the seat to assist Sean in sitting up and being involved in our world a little easier vastly outweighs that minuet discrepancy. So, as of right now, I'm leaning towards lovin' it!  Just look at the alignment of his body now compared to the previous post. He has the ability to use his hands to reach for toys all while using his core. At first he was a little wobbly, but never falling over like I've seen others doing in videos. I think he is at the right age and was ready to start making this transition. We have been using other methods for sitting him up to slowly build up his stomach and back muscles so this is a good time to introduce the Bumbo Seat. About 10/15 minutes every hour or two throughout the day and he's good. I'm sure he'll be sitting up before we know it!
And by the way, I would never actually advocate a container for a baby because babies will learn to sit up no matter what.  But in Sean's case we definitely thought he could benefit from it.  :-)

Bumbo Seat Review (Unofficial)

Before the Bumbo seat this is how I would prop Sean up to help him build his core strength for sitting on his own. We also hold him with his back against us in our lap, in our lap facing us while we hold under his armpits and applying slight pressure to keep his back from arching. But it just didn't seem like it was enough. Duane & I thought we could be doing more.

Although in this picture below, he is in great alignment. He's able to bring his hands to midline-no problem. And even though he hasn't had a problem bringing his hands or toys to his mouth or "midline", other children with Down's tend to have trouble because of the Hypotonia.

Celebrating Down Syndrome: POWERFUL Quote

 

“What would happen, they conjectured, if they simply went on assuming their children would do everything. Perhaps not quickly. Perhaps not by the book. But what if they simply erased those growth and development charts, with their precise, constricting points and curves? What if they kept their expectations but erased the time line? What harm could it do? Why not try?” ― Kim Edwards, The Memory Keeper's Daughter

Celebrating Down Syndrome Awareness Month

Check out this video of a sweet young lady with Down syndrome, "down" and out in the real world.
http://www.wltx.com/news/article/121995/2/Teacher-Born-With-Down-Syndrome-Breaks-Sterotypes