I think Callum has suddenly turned into a terrible 2 over the last week :-(
He whinges, moans and throws crying fits for no apparent reason. He's also become even more stubborn and wilful. He'll stand their doing something he kows he's not supposed to do (like tipping the dining room chair over, or pulling the cats tail) gave you a look to make sure you're watching and then do it again with a big grin on his face!! I know he's testing us (and you know what it's working!) but it's so hard to remain calm, remove him from the situation, tell him that it's not ok, knowing that within an hour he'll be back doing the same thing again, aarrggghh.
We haven't really done time outs yet but I think it might be time to try. I'm just not sure if he's developmentally ready to "get" time outs. Any advice?
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Happy Birthday Kieran
Kieran is now 1, happy birthday little one. His birthday was actually on Thursday but as weekdays are usually really hectic we decided we'd delay the celebrations until today. I'll update with pictures of him eating his cake tomorrow. he had his 1 year checkup yesterday and he's now 30" long, a little over 24lbs and has a gigantic (93rd percentile) 48.5cm head. He made a little whimper when he had his shots but was soon back to waving bye bye and blowing kisses to the nurses. The hard things is going to be switching him from his nice warm bottles of formula to his cold sippy or straw cups of milk as he's not particulary fond of cold things.
His transition to the toddler room is going great, he spent all day there on Friday and most of the day on Thursday. He's napping for about 3 hours so all the new stuff to see and do must be tiring him out. It seems so strange seeing him in Callum's class, he's my baby :-)
His transition to the toddler room is going great, he spent all day there on Friday and most of the day on Thursday. He's napping for about 3 hours so all the new stuff to see and do must be tiring him out. It seems so strange seeing him in Callum's class, he's my baby :-)
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Buddy Walk - November 13th
We're going to be participating in our first ever Buddy Walk this year, it's on November 13th at Santa Anita racetrack. I've set up a team called Callum's Cohorts and we're hoping to have some fun and raise some money at the same time.
Notes from the Deep End
I read this on another website and would like to share it with you...
I was thirty-seven years old when my husband and I decided it was time to have a baby. We had been married nine years, together for sixteen. We had put it off for all this time in order to focus on careers, travel, fun, ourselves. My job was pretty glamorous: vice-president of a big publishing company in New York City. My life was filled with interesting writers, fascinating trips, sparkling conversation, fine wine, speaking engagements. I saw having a baby as something to “check off a list.” Something to do. And besides, a baby would go so well with my new black suit.
So I signed up for the Gwyneth Paltrow version of motherhood. The Kelly Ripa woman-on-the-go scenario. The version of motherhood that gets glamorized in People magazine. But in my heart of hearts, I was scared. Terrified. I didn’t want my life to change that much. Still, I had the anticipation of regret and I thought having a baby would be “good for me.”
So picture this: parenthood, to me, was like a giant swimming pool. I saw other people in the pool and they looked okay. But I was hesitant to even stick a toe in. I didn’t want to get wet. Other parents said to me, “going into the pool can be really scary. But it’s all worth it.” I thought to myself, “if they can do it, so can I.” And, tentatively, I put my foot in the water. Suddenly someone grabbed me from behind and threw me in the deep end. In the deep end! How unfair! You don’t take the person most frightened of the water and throw them in the deep end! Throw another person in the deep end, someone who’s used to the pool! Someone who knows how to swim! “I’m going to die,” I thought. I railed against the unfairness of it all, the shock of the cold water. But instinct kicked in and clumsily I moved my arms and legs. And I did not drown. Gagging and coughing and choking and sputtering I had a question: “Who did this to me,” I wanted to know. “How did this happen?!” My head went under and panic set in. I moved my arms and legs more and I did not drown. Now I was treading water. I noticed there were other people in the deep end with me, and they were offering to help. But I didn’t want to be in their Deep End Club. And besides, I didn’t think I even belonged here, it was only a matter of time before someone told me it was all a mistake and I’d be pulled out of the pool to safety. “I should have left well enough alone. I should never have tried to go into the pool,” I thought. And as I continued to tread water I noticed something else: I did not drown. Soon I started to float. I felt pretty much alone but the panic had subsided and I knew I could survive although it wouldn’t be pleasant. And I did not drown. But then I noticed there was a little boy in the deep end with me, a little boy named Nicholas with eyes that crinkle up like half moons when he smiles. A little boy named Nicholas who loves Bruce Springsteen and Puccini’s “La Boheme” and 1940s Big Band Music. And Nicholas could swim. Looking at him, I began to realize that I might be able to do more than float someday. I might be able to swim. And I might even enjoy it. Perhaps I’d even love it. I realized that the deep end allows for underwater somersaults and in the deep end, it’s possible to dive. You can’t do that in the shallow end. And perhaps someday, with Nicholas at my side, we’d both wave to the parents at the shallow end of the pool and say, “you don’t know what you’re missing, here in the deep end.”
--JenEndyB mother to Nicholas (3/31/05)
I was thirty-seven years old when my husband and I decided it was time to have a baby. We had been married nine years, together for sixteen. We had put it off for all this time in order to focus on careers, travel, fun, ourselves. My job was pretty glamorous: vice-president of a big publishing company in New York City. My life was filled with interesting writers, fascinating trips, sparkling conversation, fine wine, speaking engagements. I saw having a baby as something to “check off a list.” Something to do. And besides, a baby would go so well with my new black suit.
So I signed up for the Gwyneth Paltrow version of motherhood. The Kelly Ripa woman-on-the-go scenario. The version of motherhood that gets glamorized in People magazine. But in my heart of hearts, I was scared. Terrified. I didn’t want my life to change that much. Still, I had the anticipation of regret and I thought having a baby would be “good for me.”
So picture this: parenthood, to me, was like a giant swimming pool. I saw other people in the pool and they looked okay. But I was hesitant to even stick a toe in. I didn’t want to get wet. Other parents said to me, “going into the pool can be really scary. But it’s all worth it.” I thought to myself, “if they can do it, so can I.” And, tentatively, I put my foot in the water. Suddenly someone grabbed me from behind and threw me in the deep end. In the deep end! How unfair! You don’t take the person most frightened of the water and throw them in the deep end! Throw another person in the deep end, someone who’s used to the pool! Someone who knows how to swim! “I’m going to die,” I thought. I railed against the unfairness of it all, the shock of the cold water. But instinct kicked in and clumsily I moved my arms and legs. And I did not drown. Gagging and coughing and choking and sputtering I had a question: “Who did this to me,” I wanted to know. “How did this happen?!” My head went under and panic set in. I moved my arms and legs more and I did not drown. Now I was treading water. I noticed there were other people in the deep end with me, and they were offering to help. But I didn’t want to be in their Deep End Club. And besides, I didn’t think I even belonged here, it was only a matter of time before someone told me it was all a mistake and I’d be pulled out of the pool to safety. “I should have left well enough alone. I should never have tried to go into the pool,” I thought. And as I continued to tread water I noticed something else: I did not drown. Soon I started to float. I felt pretty much alone but the panic had subsided and I knew I could survive although it wouldn’t be pleasant. And I did not drown. But then I noticed there was a little boy in the deep end with me, a little boy named Nicholas with eyes that crinkle up like half moons when he smiles. A little boy named Nicholas who loves Bruce Springsteen and Puccini’s “La Boheme” and 1940s Big Band Music. And Nicholas could swim. Looking at him, I began to realize that I might be able to do more than float someday. I might be able to swim. And I might even enjoy it. Perhaps I’d even love it. I realized that the deep end allows for underwater somersaults and in the deep end, it’s possible to dive. You can’t do that in the shallow end. And perhaps someday, with Nicholas at my side, we’d both wave to the parents at the shallow end of the pool and say, “you don’t know what you’re missing, here in the deep end.”
--JenEndyB mother to Nicholas (3/31/05)
Monday, August 22, 2005
Quiet weekend
Just the usual quiet weekend here, we didn't even make it to the park. Both boys have had a virus - Callum is back to day care today but Kieran is home with me because he's got a rash all over his body. The doctor says it's probably just the tail end of the virus but to keep him off day care until it starts to fade.
We did get out for a little walk yesterday and Callum walked about 1/4 of a mile all by himself!! I'm so so proud of him, he was exhausted by the end of it but he just wanted to keep on walking. I wish I'd had my camera with me. He's also most definitley saying "Thank you", it sounds so cute. Car is another new word - with lots of emphasis on the C so Cccar.
Kieran is now pulling to a stand on the coffee table and will even let go with one hand. He's also moving his feet a little more when standing so I don't think crusing will be too far away.
Friday, August 19, 2005
Transitions
We had our transition meeting at day care yesterday for both of the boys. Kieran will be moving to the toddler class (12-24 months) and Callum will be moving to the 2's class (24-36 months).
We already knew most of the stuff about the toddlers class as that's where Callum currently is, Kieran's already been spending a few hours a day in his new class and the teachers say that he loves it.
The 2's class is new to us though, 2 new teachers and 1 who we already know, new playground and they start to introduce a little bit of curriculum type stuff rather than it all being play. The ratio is 1 teacher to 6 kids (1 to 3 in infants, 1 to 4 in toddlers), the state actually only says 1 teacher to 12 kids - can you imagine looking after 12 2 year olds all by yourself?!?
It's going to be a slow transition for Callum as he's still a beginner walker and the new playground is shared with the older kids (up to 4 years old). So we'll drop him off into the toddler class and he'll go across to his classroom at snack time (9:30) when the big kids go into their classroom. Then at 4pm when the big kids come out for free play he'll move back over to the toddler playground. Hopefully it'll all work out and the transition will go smoothly. I know Callum is ready to move and is showing signs of boredom in his current class.
We already knew most of the stuff about the toddlers class as that's where Callum currently is, Kieran's already been spending a few hours a day in his new class and the teachers say that he loves it.
The 2's class is new to us though, 2 new teachers and 1 who we already know, new playground and they start to introduce a little bit of curriculum type stuff rather than it all being play. The ratio is 1 teacher to 6 kids (1 to 3 in infants, 1 to 4 in toddlers), the state actually only says 1 teacher to 12 kids - can you imagine looking after 12 2 year olds all by yourself?!?
It's going to be a slow transition for Callum as he's still a beginner walker and the new playground is shared with the older kids (up to 4 years old). So we'll drop him off into the toddler class and he'll go across to his classroom at snack time (9:30) when the big kids go into their classroom. Then at 4pm when the big kids come out for free play he'll move back over to the toddler playground. Hopefully it'll all work out and the transition will go smoothly. I know Callum is ready to move and is showing signs of boredom in his current class.
In tears
Kylee Rose 4 months 1 week and 3 days old died yesterday morning in her parents arms. She had gone into hospital on August 4th to have her heart defect (ASD) corrected. her surgery went well but her recovery was slow and she ended up on a bypass machine, when the doctors did a scope to see what was wrong they discovered that she had a congenital defect called Trachea Stenosis. The prognosis was not good, with surgery she had a 20-25% chance of survival but would be in hospital for at least a year and probably on a breathing machine for life. Her parents decided that they couldn't put their little angel through any more and she died in their arms at 10:25am yesterday morning.
I didn't know Melissa, Blain or their kids in real life, only through a message board. I've checked every morning to see how little Kylee was doing and smiled when things seemed to be getting better and wished them happy thoughts when things weren't going so well. I never thought that she wouldn't recover though and now my heart is aching for them. I just want to rush to day care to give Callum & Kieran a hug and kiss and make sure that they're okay.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
New words
Callum's word list now includes - bed, girl & cow. We've figured out that "De" (see Elbow post below) means CD! he's also saying something that sounds like thank you - we just need to hear it a few more times to make sure.
Kieran now says - Hi, ball & dad. He's got quite a husky voice, his teachers at day care say it's his flirting with the ladies voice.
Alan (the speech therapist) is very impressed with Callum starting to make "g", "k" and "c" sounds at the begining of words. We're trying to expand Callum's current single word vocabulary to include more 2 word phrases. I read something recently (Thanks Nicola) about someone using reading to help stimulate speaking. We've just ordered the "Teaching Reading to Children with Down syndrome" book and some picture matching cards as I've heard that the first step is to do picture matching.
Take a look at these two articles Reading before Talking: Learning about Mental Abilities from Children with Down's Syndrome and Teaching children with Down syndrome to read
Kieran now says - Hi, ball & dad. He's got quite a husky voice, his teachers at day care say it's his flirting with the ladies voice.
Alan (the speech therapist) is very impressed with Callum starting to make "g", "k" and "c" sounds at the begining of words. We're trying to expand Callum's current single word vocabulary to include more 2 word phrases. I read something recently (Thanks Nicola) about someone using reading to help stimulate speaking. We've just ordered the "Teaching Reading to Children with Down syndrome" book and some picture matching cards as I've heard that the first step is to do picture matching.
Take a look at these two articles Reading before Talking: Learning about Mental Abilities from Children with Down's Syndrome and Teaching children with Down syndrome to read
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
The noodle incident
Callum's new favourite food is noodles, he's learnt how to suck them into his mouth and thinks it's hilarious. He's eating noodles for dinner tonight when I notice what looks like a tiny bit of noodle up his nose, the minute I go near his nose he sucks it further up, so I get Mark to give him a tissue instead (Callum loves to blow his nose) and what do you think came out...? yes you've guessed it a 4 inch piece of noodle covered in slimy snot, yuck!
Monday, August 15, 2005
Callum Discovers the Disney Store
Sunday was hot and sunny and as the antibiotic that Kieran is on makes him sun sensitive we decided we needed an indoor play spot, so off to the mall we go.
First stop was the kids play area where kids from ages 0 - 10 years all rush around at full speed, jumping and running and shouting and miraculously nobody seems to get hurt. Both boys had fun, Callum made friends with some bigger boys who would pat his head and say hello every time they did a circuit and Kieran made friends with a baby obsessed toddler.
The dad of the aforementioned baby obsessed toddler approached us as we were all leaving and asked if Callum was a regional center client (which he is), his wife has worked for the regional centre for 10 years and he was just making sure that we knew what was available. Anyway as we are talking another mum says that her daughter is also a regional centre client (cute 7 year old who I'd noticed earlier). We chatted a little and I asked about the local public schools (which I'd always been told were wonderful), from what this mum was saying the schools are still great for typical kids but the SMMUSD lost all it's good special needs teachers a while ago and never got any new ones. Her daughter can't go her local school as they don't have a classroom to fit her needs (her daughter has learning difficulties but they don't know why) so she has to go to a not so great school that can accomodate her. This wasn't what we wanted to hear as one of the main reasons that we've stayed in the area was the great schools. When Callum transitions out of the birth-3 program (in 7 months time - where on earth has the time gone!) then we'll hopefully get some info about the schools and move if necessary.
Okay, onto some more fun stuff....
So we decide to walk around the mall a little and let Callum explore. He's having so much fun looking in the windows and watching all the people. Then he spots the Disney Store and realises that he can actually go into all these fun looking places. With a bit of trepidation we follow him in being prepared for him pulling diaplays over, complaining when we wont let him have something etc. Well we had nothing to worry about; Callum patted Tigger and Dumbo, looked at Barbies (he says they're babies) and Woody dolls from Toy Story. He would stop and sit down to look at something then I'd say it was time to walk again and he'd give me back the toy, say "Bye" to it, wave and then off he'd go again. The cutest bit was when he found a plush Nemo purse/bag, he hooked it into the crook of his elbow and went walking around strutting his stuff. Every time he lost his balance, he'd get back up again, adjust his bag and away he'd go again with a big smile on his face. Even when we'd had enough of browsing Disney he didn't throw a fit just followed us out. Of course once he realised that he could go into all those doorways he wanted to go into every store so he did have a little bit of a temper tantrum but it went away pretty quickly.
We finished the day off by getting frozen yogurt as a treat. After a couple of mouthfuls both boys decide that they'd rather have crackers and water, what have I done to these kids!
First stop was the kids play area where kids from ages 0 - 10 years all rush around at full speed, jumping and running and shouting and miraculously nobody seems to get hurt. Both boys had fun, Callum made friends with some bigger boys who would pat his head and say hello every time they did a circuit and Kieran made friends with a baby obsessed toddler.
The dad of the aforementioned baby obsessed toddler approached us as we were all leaving and asked if Callum was a regional center client (which he is), his wife has worked for the regional centre for 10 years and he was just making sure that we knew what was available. Anyway as we are talking another mum says that her daughter is also a regional centre client (cute 7 year old who I'd noticed earlier). We chatted a little and I asked about the local public schools (which I'd always been told were wonderful), from what this mum was saying the schools are still great for typical kids but the SMMUSD lost all it's good special needs teachers a while ago and never got any new ones. Her daughter can't go her local school as they don't have a classroom to fit her needs (her daughter has learning difficulties but they don't know why) so she has to go to a not so great school that can accomodate her. This wasn't what we wanted to hear as one of the main reasons that we've stayed in the area was the great schools. When Callum transitions out of the birth-3 program (in 7 months time - where on earth has the time gone!) then we'll hopefully get some info about the schools and move if necessary.
Okay, onto some more fun stuff....
So we decide to walk around the mall a little and let Callum explore. He's having so much fun looking in the windows and watching all the people. Then he spots the Disney Store and realises that he can actually go into all these fun looking places. With a bit of trepidation we follow him in being prepared for him pulling diaplays over, complaining when we wont let him have something etc. Well we had nothing to worry about; Callum patted Tigger and Dumbo, looked at Barbies (he says they're babies) and Woody dolls from Toy Story. He would stop and sit down to look at something then I'd say it was time to walk again and he'd give me back the toy, say "Bye" to it, wave and then off he'd go again. The cutest bit was when he found a plush Nemo purse/bag, he hooked it into the crook of his elbow and went walking around strutting his stuff. Every time he lost his balance, he'd get back up again, adjust his bag and away he'd go again with a big smile on his face. Even when we'd had enough of browsing Disney he didn't throw a fit just followed us out. Of course once he realised that he could go into all those doorways he wanted to go into every store so he did have a little bit of a temper tantrum but it went away pretty quickly.
We finished the day off by getting frozen yogurt as a treat. After a couple of mouthfuls both boys decide that they'd rather have crackers and water, what have I done to these kids!
Sunday, August 14, 2005
Media Alert: Charlie & The Chocolate Factore
Dear DSALA Family and Friends,
The letter below is a template that you may use to let the WB know that you are unhappy with the use of the word "retard" in the new feature film "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Please send you letter and copy it to the two gentlemen listed on the bottom of the letter at the same WB address. It is possible to get them to take out the line before it goes to home video and DVD if we they receive enough complaints. Thank you for your support and please share this with your family and friends.
Gail WilliamsonExecutive DirectorDown Syndrome Association of Los Angeles818-242-7871
Mr. Rick Mater, Sr. V.P. Standards and Practices
Warner Bros.
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91522-0001
Re: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Dear Mr. Mater;
I am contacting you because of my concern over a line in the Warner Brothers’ feature film “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” When the audience is introduced to the character Mike Teavee he makes the statement, “A retard could figure it out.”
About 10 million people in the United States are reported to have a medical diagnosis that includes mental retardation. The slang “retard” is offensive and hurtful to these individuals, their families and friends. I suspect that a statement of this kind directed at a specific ethnic or cultural minority would have never made it into the film. This leads me to believe that Warner Bros.’ department of standards and practices has a different set of guidelines for the human rights of people with disabilities then it does for other marginalized groups.
I would ask two things.
First, please take this statement out of the film before it is released on DVD and video for home use. The thought of millions of children having this example to watch over and over again is overwhelming. A child will not discern that Mike is bad and is ultimately punished for his behaviors. They will more likely use the language he uses in a hurtful way.
Second, please see that your standards and practices department has the necessary training to recognize discrimination and degradation of the 54 million individuals with disabilities in the U.S and the more then 600 million world wide.
(Close it with a paragraph here.)
Sincerely,
Cc: Mr. Barry Meyers, Chairman/CEO
Mr. Alan Horn, President/COO
The letter below is a template that you may use to let the WB know that you are unhappy with the use of the word "retard" in the new feature film "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." Please send you letter and copy it to the two gentlemen listed on the bottom of the letter at the same WB address. It is possible to get them to take out the line before it goes to home video and DVD if we they receive enough complaints. Thank you for your support and please share this with your family and friends.
Gail WilliamsonExecutive DirectorDown Syndrome Association of Los Angeles818-242-7871
Mr. Rick Mater, Sr. V.P. Standards and Practices
Warner Bros.
4000 Warner Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91522-0001
Re: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Dear Mr. Mater;
I am contacting you because of my concern over a line in the Warner Brothers’ feature film “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” When the audience is introduced to the character Mike Teavee he makes the statement, “A retard could figure it out.”
About 10 million people in the United States are reported to have a medical diagnosis that includes mental retardation. The slang “retard” is offensive and hurtful to these individuals, their families and friends. I suspect that a statement of this kind directed at a specific ethnic or cultural minority would have never made it into the film. This leads me to believe that Warner Bros.’ department of standards and practices has a different set of guidelines for the human rights of people with disabilities then it does for other marginalized groups.
I would ask two things.
First, please take this statement out of the film before it is released on DVD and video for home use. The thought of millions of children having this example to watch over and over again is overwhelming. A child will not discern that Mike is bad and is ultimately punished for his behaviors. They will more likely use the language he uses in a hurtful way.
Second, please see that your standards and practices department has the necessary training to recognize discrimination and degradation of the 54 million individuals with disabilities in the U.S and the more then 600 million world wide.
(Close it with a paragraph here.)
Sincerely,
Cc: Mr. Barry Meyers, Chairman/CEO
Mr. Alan Horn, President/COO
Playground
We went to our favourite playground yesterday and we've gotten into the habit of taking Callum's walking toy with us so he can go where he wants to go. Yesterday we decided that as he's been doing so well with his walking we'd just let him get around under his own steam. He loved it and did absolutley wonderfully. he walked on sand, concrete, grass, the springy stuff they put around the play structures and none of it seemed to bother him. The only times he dropped back to a crawl were when chasing pigeons under the play structure and going up a grassy hill near the end when he was tired. I was so proud of him and got all teary eyed watching him strutting his stuff. I estimate that he walked at least 95% of the time yesterday, crawling is definitely out!
Kieran charmed a lady called Rosa in the park who was playing catch wit him. He is so expressive, I love the way his whole body comes into play when he's happy and excited (waving arms, big grin, body & legs jiggling). I think Rosa wanted to take him home. I think he said "Ball" as well. Waving bye bye is hs newest thing and it's so cute, especially when he does it with both hands at once.
Kieran charmed a lady called Rosa in the park who was playing catch wit him. He is so expressive, I love the way his whole body comes into play when he's happy and excited (waving arms, big grin, body & legs jiggling). I think Rosa wanted to take him home. I think he said "Ball" as well. Waving bye bye is hs newest thing and it's so cute, especially when he does it with both hands at once.
Elbow?
Callum while getting his diaper changed is always pointing at my elbow and asking "whats that" and then starts to do a little singing thing and I never quite understood the connections, well now I do - Elbow = Elmo!! and the singing is "la la la la" like Elmo. I can't believe I never made the connection before.
Now if only we could work out what "De" means, he says it in the car and it's definitely related to the music in the car. he says it as soon as he's in the car before the music is on and when he's not particulary keen on a track. it's said with a finger point quite often and is pretty forceful. Any ideas?
Now if only we could work out what "De" means, he says it in the car and it's definitely related to the music in the car. he says it as soon as he's in the car before the music is on and when he's not particulary keen on a track. it's said with a finger point quite often and is pretty forceful. Any ideas?
Friday, August 12, 2005
First dentist visit
Callum had his first dentist visit today and he did wonderfully. All his teeth are in the right positions, no overcrowding, his enamel looks great and best of all no cavities. He cooperated pretty much the whole time and only bit the dentists finger once ;-) He got slightly fed up near the end and kept sitting up, waving and saying "bye" (which means I'm done with this, time to go)!
I did learn something new, I'd read that kids with T21 have less cavities than their "typical" peers. Well I think I now have an explanation why... because of the large tongue to mouth size the tongue brushes against the teeth more and helps to keep them clean, also our kids produce more saliva which helps neutralise acids that cause decay.
I did learn something new, I'd read that kids with T21 have less cavities than their "typical" peers. Well I think I now have an explanation why... because of the large tongue to mouth size the tongue brushes against the teeth more and helps to keep them clean, also our kids produce more saliva which helps neutralise acids that cause decay.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Callum is walking!
We've been building up to this for a while but I finally feel able to say HE'S WALKING, HE'S WALKING, HE'S WALKING. Take a look at this video and see for yourself.
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Just thinking
So for some reason today I was thinking back to when Callum was born and how we felt. We had no indication parentally that anything was wrong, I had an ultrasound in each trimester and the triple screen test came out clear - I remember being so relieved when I got the results as I really didn't think I could cope with a special needs child. My pregnancy was textbook up until the point that I sprung a leak at 35 weeks and Callum made his entrance.
Within an hour of his birth (my memory is a little fuzzy) the OBGYN came and told us that there was a good possibility that Callum had Down syndrome. She went through the markers (low set bent over ears, short fingers, no bridge to his nose, low tone, etc) and then said that if he didn't have Down syndrome we'd just have to "hope that he'd grow out of those features"! She gave us no real information about T21 and just left. We were in complete shock, we tried to explain away the markers and we cried. When my mum arrived a few hours later (she flew in from England) the first words out of my mouth were "they think he has Down syndrome". I cried )a lot) but I was also completely in love.
I've read a lot of stories about families with a postnatal diagnosis and the range of emotions that people go through are huge. A lot of people question how God could do this to them, I don't believe in God so that was never an issue to me. I understood it as a fluke of nature, making babies is an exceedingly complicated business, of course things don't always go to plan. I never mourned the baby he should have been - gave him some fleeting thoughts maybe but I'd never planned his life anyway. Maybe we were accepting because he had no real health issues - he was just a baby - he ate, slept, cried (although not very often) and filled his nappy(diaper) at regular intervals. Adoption never crossed our minds, he as OURS and nothing was going to change that.
I'm not saying that I just blindly accepted everything with a smile of my face. I cried every day in the shower for the first couple of months of his life. I worried so much about what the future would hold for him. I read way too many factual books and internet sites that listed things such as leukemia and Alzheimer's. I just wanted to protect him from all the bad things in the world.
I took Callum back to England to visit family when he was 2 months old. That trip made all the difference to me, everyone accepted and loved Callum and Callum loved all the attention. It finally sank in that all I could do was live one day at a time, I couldn't worry about what might happen in 5 years let alone 30 years.
Callum makes me smile every day, when he throws his arms around me before bed, says mamma and snuggles me tight I wouldn't have it any other way.
Monday, August 08, 2005
ENT - another doctor down
Callum had tubes (gromets) put in his ears in early March, they drained a huge amount of fluid and on June 9th Callum past his first ever hearing test, yipppeee (before that we were working on the asumption that he had a 70% hearing loss in one ear). So he went back to the ENT today for his regular check up and the tubes are gone but his ears look great. So as he passed his hearing test and everything looks good we don't have to go back to the ENT. Crossing a doctor off your list is always a good thing. We're still doing hearing tests every 6 months so fingers crossed that everything stays looking good.
Callum also seems to have gone back to doing more walking again, maybe it was the strep throat that was making him not feel like doing anything new. He takes up to 20 steps by himself, usually when chasing a big exercise ball around the room.
Allergic Reaction
Our fun weekend continued as I spent 3 hours at the ER on Sunday afternoon. Kieran was getting grumpy and then started getting red and white splotches all over his face. It quickly spread to the rest of his body and he was scratching like crazy. We gave him Benadryl and put him in a cool bath but it didn't seem to be doing anything and he was getting redder and redder. Off we go to the ER where he promptly falls asleep and by the time we get the seen the reddness has gone down a lot. We're blaming the amoxcillin that he was taking for his strep throat, so at least we got a new prescription out of it. Kieran also had a great time flirting with all the nurses and playing with everything in my handbag.
Saturday, August 06, 2005
Strep throat
We got up as usual this morning, Callum had his big cup of milk and threw his cheerios (dry that goodness) all over the bedroom floor - as usual - or some reasons he seems to think they taste better when eaten from the floor! Kieran had his bottle, they played, we got ready for work then off to day care we go.
About 2 hours later I get a call from day care to say that Kieran has projectile vomited everywhere and that I need to come and pick him up, so I call the doctors office to make him an appointment and then off I go. When I get to day care he's sitting in the lobby getting lots of love from Cindy (one of the administrators) and looking fine. We get home and as soon I we walk through the door he starts to retch and then throws up all over me. So we both change clothes, Kieran has a little play and then goes for a little nap. I wake him up for his appointment, pick him up out of bed and guess what, yep he throws up all over the pair of us again. So change of clothes again and we just make it to the doctors in time. 10 minutes and $95 later we know that he has strep throat. I had no idea that one of the symptoms was vomiting and was expecting to be told that he had stomach flu.
We get home (via the pharmacy for antibiotics & pedialite), Kieran goes for another nap and I start thinking about Callum. Callum's been a little "off" for the last few days, and we didn't know why. Turns out he has strep as well, luckily he hasn't got the throwing up symptom. So another $95 and another trip to the pharmacy. I wish Callum showed more signs of being sick, it makes me feel so guilty when I take him to the doctors and they say he's pretty sick when to me he's been more or less his usual self.
Poor babies, hopefully the antibitoics will kick in tomorrow and they'll start to feel better (we had one more change of clothes before bed time, yuck!).
So that's my exciting day, how was yours?
About 2 hours later I get a call from day care to say that Kieran has projectile vomited everywhere and that I need to come and pick him up, so I call the doctors office to make him an appointment and then off I go. When I get to day care he's sitting in the lobby getting lots of love from Cindy (one of the administrators) and looking fine. We get home and as soon I we walk through the door he starts to retch and then throws up all over me. So we both change clothes, Kieran has a little play and then goes for a little nap. I wake him up for his appointment, pick him up out of bed and guess what, yep he throws up all over the pair of us again. So change of clothes again and we just make it to the doctors in time. 10 minutes and $95 later we know that he has strep throat. I had no idea that one of the symptoms was vomiting and was expecting to be told that he had stomach flu.
We get home (via the pharmacy for antibiotics & pedialite), Kieran goes for another nap and I start thinking about Callum. Callum's been a little "off" for the last few days, and we didn't know why. Turns out he has strep as well, luckily he hasn't got the throwing up symptom. So another $95 and another trip to the pharmacy. I wish Callum showed more signs of being sick, it makes me feel so guilty when I take him to the doctors and they say he's pretty sick when to me he's been more or less his usual self.
Poor babies, hopefully the antibitoics will kick in tomorrow and they'll start to feel better (we had one more change of clothes before bed time, yuck!).
So that's my exciting day, how was yours?
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Thursday
I've been on a training course for the last few days so no time to write. I think it's been about 4 years since I last did any training, it feels good to use my brain again and think about something new. It's prompted me to apply for a managers position that's recently become available at work. Don't know if I'll get it but at least it'll give me a push to start looking at new things.
My FMLA (family medical leave act) hours ran out last week. I was using them to work a reduced work week of 35 hours so that I had time to take Callum to therapy. Luckily Mark still has loads of hours left so he's going to be responsible for all therary for the next 2 or 3 months. I'm going to miss seeing the new stuff at first hand and hearing the therapists recommendations for myself. It's also good to take a break though and get Mark more involved again.
Alan (speech therapist) attended a Down syndrome conference last week, he was reporting back to us about some of the new stuff he learnt and said what a success story he thinks Callum is, It's nice to hear that from a professional. I've been getting frustrated with Callum recently and I'm never sure how much leeway I should give him, I was mentioning this to Alan and he said that "Callum lives in a world of actions, sensations and sounds and we live in a world of language and thought, he can't cross to our word right now so we have to cross to his". It just gave me a little reminder that not only does Callum have DS but he's also 2 and 2 year olds sole purpose in life is to do whatever mummy said not to do!! (okay not quite true but feels that way sometimes)
Walking is another frustration for me at the moment, I know full well that Callum can do it but he's in one of those moods that he always gets in when he learns a new skill. He loves it when it's new, then he refuses to have anything to do with it for a while, and then he starts to use the skill again. Well he's in the "refuse to do it" phase at the moment. I know there's an end it site but it's just out of reach and keeps dancing away from me.
We're amazed at how quickly Kieran has gone from not being mobile at all to being a pro crawler, pulling up to a high kneel, standing against the coffee table, etc. It makes me glad that Callum was our first as we didn't really have any expectations as to when and how Callum should progress. Three more weeks 'till his 1st birthday and I have no idea where the time went.
I've also found another blog that I'm going to be adding to my list
My FMLA (family medical leave act) hours ran out last week. I was using them to work a reduced work week of 35 hours so that I had time to take Callum to therapy. Luckily Mark still has loads of hours left so he's going to be responsible for all therary for the next 2 or 3 months. I'm going to miss seeing the new stuff at first hand and hearing the therapists recommendations for myself. It's also good to take a break though and get Mark more involved again.
Alan (speech therapist) attended a Down syndrome conference last week, he was reporting back to us about some of the new stuff he learnt and said what a success story he thinks Callum is, It's nice to hear that from a professional. I've been getting frustrated with Callum recently and I'm never sure how much leeway I should give him, I was mentioning this to Alan and he said that "Callum lives in a world of actions, sensations and sounds and we live in a world of language and thought, he can't cross to our word right now so we have to cross to his". It just gave me a little reminder that not only does Callum have DS but he's also 2 and 2 year olds sole purpose in life is to do whatever mummy said not to do!! (okay not quite true but feels that way sometimes)
Walking is another frustration for me at the moment, I know full well that Callum can do it but he's in one of those moods that he always gets in when he learns a new skill. He loves it when it's new, then he refuses to have anything to do with it for a while, and then he starts to use the skill again. Well he's in the "refuse to do it" phase at the moment. I know there's an end it site but it's just out of reach and keeps dancing away from me.
We're amazed at how quickly Kieran has gone from not being mobile at all to being a pro crawler, pulling up to a high kneel, standing against the coffee table, etc. It makes me glad that Callum was our first as we didn't really have any expectations as to when and how Callum should progress. Three more weeks 'till his 1st birthday and I have no idea where the time went.
I've also found another blog that I'm going to be adding to my list
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