Donna Marie has always seemed so far behind her typical peers that she almost always seemed like such a “baby” in comparison to them. She will be 5 soon and will graduate preschool in a few days. It seems like she has been content to just play with infant cause and effect toys or to simply rock back and forth. Suddenly a big change! She has discovered purses/pocketbooks. She slings them over her shoulder and walks around like a real little lady. She has her favorite TV shows. In the past she had little interest. Now she delights in Yo Gabba Gabba. It seemed like she would stay in that baby phase FOREVER and now seemingly overnight she is running around with her purse and is glued to her favorite program. Be patient parents. They all grow up, just at their own pace. I’d write more, but I think she is swinging her leg over her crib. (Yes, yes I know she should be in a toddler bed. Up until this evening she never attempted an escape. It looks like she’s even ready for the toddler bed.) Growing up fast!
tri21
Just another DownSyndrome.com weblog
Laura Suer
its so exciting when they start doing something new! That is the kind of excited feeling i still get from time to time with Lily! I often wonder why I never got that excited with the other kids.
I know what you mean Savina. I guess it’s because we are WAITING so much for our kids to pass all these milestones, etc. For parents of kids with special needs, every first step, first word, etc is such a MIRACLE. Our kids teach us to appreciate so much.
Hi, my name is andrew and I have really been enjoying reading your blog! As somebody who has a sibling with down syndrome(he is 9 now so in the same general age group as your child), I can really relate to some the things you are talking about in your posts. In particular, I can relate tothe portion you have written about waiting for them to reach specific milestones. It seems to me, that children with DS can learn the same things, just slower and with more difficulty. I am currently employed as an intern with an organization called Research Down Syndrome, which is attempting to/making great strides in researching treatments which will help people with DS learn more easily/quickly and with less difficulty. I don’t want this to seem like an Ad or anything, because it is not, I just thought after reading these posts that you might be interested in learning more about this research. The website for research down syndrome is researchds.org. Thanks and keep posting these blogs I really enjoy reading them!
-Andrew
Hi Andrew. I definitely will check out Research Down Syndrome. What a wonderful opportunity you have found interning with them! It is so nice to “meet” you here on DS dot com. I look forward to learning more about Research Down Syndrome. I don’t think of it as an Ad at all, but a potential useful resource/site for other families with DS. (You should see some of the crazy ads I get on here!) It was a pleasure to receive your comment. Please keep in touch.
Thanks a lot for your reply. Glad you didn’t think of it as an ad, I was afraid I would give off that impression. As part of my internship I have been/am going to continue to reach out to others via Facebook, Facebook Causes, and maybe through videos; I’ll let you know how it’s going and if it is ok maybe bounce an idea or two off of you to see what your impression of it is(its good to have other people’s perspectives aside from my family’s and my own)? Also I know the RDS website is adding a blog page. Would you ever be interested in being a guest blogger? Feel free to decline, just wondering. Thanks again.
-Andrew
Andrew, I would love to be a guest blogger. What an honor! I’d love to help RDS in any way I can. I am on FB too. There is a FB badge on this page that makes it easier to find me on FB if you’re interested in contacting me on FB too. There are tons of folks connected to DS on FB and I can help you make contacts with them as well.
Hi, thanks thats great! The foundation’s president would like to send you some information through e-mail about this guest blogging if thats ok? With regards to facebook, we have a facebook page we can contact you through. Would you like me to send you a request on facebook to like/join it? And with regards to the other contacts that would be extremely helpful. Thanks alot and glad to see your enthusiasm to help support this research. Thanks again.
-Andrew
Hi Andrew,
I double checked and I liked/joined the your organization’s FB page a few days ago. I just sent a message via your private email. Definitely send me the info about guest blogging. There are so many other great writers and contacts our there that I would love to suggest to you. Many are from this site and others are from FB. Let me know.