A blog about LIFE...that happens to include Down syndrome!
Like many parents, as I walk through this journey of parenthood, I turn to a few sources when I have questions. Most of the time, the question dictates the source. For instance, if I have a question like, “How do I get my kids to …
Thyroid Ragin’ or Threenager syndrome? It all began early last summer, right as Everett turned 3-years-old. Everett was making huge strides in his preschool class at end of term. He was trying to run & jump, was saying a few words, and was very engaged …
I’d like to take a moment to introduce you to my friend, Jen Jacob, who has graciously offered to contribute the first Mom Hack Monday entry on Mamability.com! But of course, as usual, a little context first…
While I was pregnant with Everett, I did what a lot of expecting moms of that time did…I joined a birth club on Babycenter.com. Babycenter.com is a great set of online resources for expecting moms that includes daily updates on the size of your growing baby (from poppyseed to pumpkin), information about what to expect during pregnancy and delivery, and a lot of resources dedicated to helping new moms oversee the growth and development of their baby after the baby is born. One such resource is the aforementioned “birth clubs.” Everett’s due date was June 26th, 2013, so I joined the June 2013 birth club. Well, as it turns out, Everett was born in May (not June) with 47 chromosomes (as opposed to the typical 46). So I abandoned ship by dropping the June 2013 birth club and joined the “Down syndrome” community group offered Babycenter. I remember one day, one of the active moms of the group advertised a moms’ group on Facebook that we could join. Specifically, we were encouraged to join a mom’s group relevant to the year our child was born….birth clubs for moms with babies with DS, woo hoo & bravo!!! These groups were called “Rockin’ moms groups,” and I immediately joined the 2013 group. Jen Jacob was the admin of the group and instantly introduced me to the other moms/members by virtue of a welcome post! I was inundated with positive messages, welcome statements, and a plethora of photos of other children Everett’s age who happened to have Down syndrome. Simply put, it was incredible! I could relate to these moms and their sweet babies, and I felt like I had a safe place to vent, brag, and pose questions about my child with Down syndrome….with no judgment.
Some context…the Kinderfrogs KTPA Fundraiser – 2016 I have a little bit of a crush. Actually, it’s a bit more than just a crush. Back in the summer of 2013, I fell in love. I was head over heels for a little newborn baby named …
Introducing — Our First Last-Minute-Mom So I thought it might take a while to round up some content from my fellow mamas….but nope! Today’s post features our first fearless last-minute-mom, Amy Matasso! Amy’s got her hands full these days with three littles, Josh (5), Andrew …
Got a little story for ya Ags! And if you’re not an Ag, I’ve still got a little story for ya. Once upon a time a young 18-year-old named Cara, embarked on one of the greatest adventures of her life – college. Young Cara spent her formative years in small-town Texas until she graduated from high school, and joined one of the greatest communities there is — the Aggie community. Since young Cara attended the same small-town Texas school system from Kindergarten until high school graduation, she wasn’t entirely sure how to make new friends in such a large community. But young Cara quickly figured it out, and over the course of her undergraduate career, met a lot of incredible friends including Tootie, Dubs, Lease, Gee-off, Carolyn Baby, and Pouty Lou Fish (pseudonyms have been assigned to these friends to protect their identities, but please know, these are the actual names these people answered to while in college). Young, small-town Cara made so many friends in fact, that she gained quite a few roommates while moving from dorm to dorm, apartment to apartment, and finally to a bachelorette pad on the outskirts of her university’s campus. Cara’s dad counted up the number of times he moved her to a different residence, and he speculates that it’s around 14 times (sorry about that Dad). During one such transition, Cara met her dear friend Lease. Continue reading FriendAbility: A Tale of Two Down syndrome Diagnoses
Welcome Back Wildcat! — A TEDxACU Talk Brings me Back to ACU I am so excited to announce that this year, 3 days after World Down syndrome Day, I have been invited to give a TEDxACU presentation at Abilene Christian University! When it comes to campus …
This is my final confession of the series (and Down syndrome Awareness Month -2016) and for obvious reasons, it will address Halloween! For Everett’s very first Halloween we dressed him up as a baby skeleton and I bought Vic & I matching skeleton tees (the …
Everett was born nearly five weeks early. Vic & I were both convinced it was false labor and we were shocked when the doctor on duty told us we were having a baby the night of May 26th, 2013. Everett was born that morning of the 27th, and shortly thereafter diagnosed with Down syndrome. It was Memorial Day. My regular OB was off for the holiday, but called in to the hospital that morning to check on me. She told me if I could hang on a little longer, she’d drive up to the hospital and deliver my baby on her day off. I did, and she did. This meant so much to me. She confided later that she suspected there might be some sort of issue because I was in early labor, and wanted to be there for me. In her experience (mostly anecdotal evidence), a lot of babies with genetic conditions are born early.
This information intrigued me, so I dug up a lot of research on premature labor and Down syndrome later on. And I’ll have to confess…from what I’ve read and gathered, the jury is still out on this one. A lot of babies with DS are born early. But a lot go full term too. Regardless, I was very fearful I might go into early labor with Liam (as was my OB), so I had to take progesterone shots for 20 weeks to stave off labor with him. And it worked. I went full term with Liam and had to get induced. I was certain this time around we’d leave the hospital without a diagnosis, but I was wrong. Turns out, when you go full term and have a big baby (8 lbs 14 oz), your baby gets labeled LGA. Large for gestational age ?. Vic weighed nearly 10 lbs when he was born. I blame him for this. Continue reading Confessions of a Rockin mom #29: Fears related to preterm labor & Down syndrome
We were overjoyed when we found out that I was expecting a sibling for Everett. And when we learned Liam was a little boy, we couldn’t believe how blessed we were. Two little boys…brothers! For 9 months we waited patiently and happily for little Liam’s …