A New Springtime

Busted

I try to use all kinds of different toys and play things to get Malcolm to exercise his mind and his muscles. Bright and colorful, different shapes and sizes are good for any baby to be able to explore visually, physically and orally.

 

I put this orange ball in his crib to see what he would do with it. I was right behind him the whole time waiting to see what he would do. He was able to sandwich the ball in between his legs, pick it up and bring it to his hands.

He did it so fast and it was so cute, I burst out into laughter and blew my cover.

He caught me peeking in on him and he was quite thrilled with the attention.

My lil' boy brings me so much joy! I am constantly giggling and smiling along with him.

He puts so much into all he does even his wonderful smile!

 

Our Lil' Rolly Polly

Everyday we try to give Malcolm a variety of different places and positions to spend his time in. He has three in particular right now:

• his jumper
• his walker
• blanket time

We all take turns getting on the floor with him. I use a king- size blanket spread out completely over the entire living room floor because he loves to roll around hence he has been called rolly-polly quite frequently.

He usually plays with various toys we put out for him but I think his favorite amusements are his feet.
We never tire of watching him bring those legs straight up and grab his toes. He twirls his feet around in circles and we laugh our heads off.

My thirteen year old son was getting a grand show put on by Mr. Malcolm. He kept on cracking up and trying to get me to take pictures of the hilarious foot twirlin' but I just couldn't quite capture the motion with the camera.

Once I started snapping the pictures, I just coulnd't stop. It was so good to see baby feeling better and big brother enjoying  him.

Lead Us Not Into To Temptation

Lately I have been missing out on the joy of life due to my lack of faith in Jesus. It is a hard thing to admit since He has shown me His great love and faithfulness many times over. I have been a bit angry at some of the things that have taken place in the Church, forgetting my own imperfections and listening to the opinion of others and their misconceptions  about the Catholic Faith.

                                          
The whole time I have been saying my routine prayers and sort of going through the motions and finally asking Jesus if He could once again prove himself to me. I know that sounds so horrible but that is the place I have been these past couple of weeks.

It hasn't been a very bright place for me. The kids have been sick and I have been trying to re-establish a relationship with my oldest son. There has been spiritual battle raging but as always God is The Victor. He worked a miracle in my life yesterday!

Sweet lil' baby boy had become quite sick so off to the doctor we went. He had a rash of tiny prickly red dots and the doctor diagnosed it as petechiae. She wanted blood work done, STAT,  because it can be associated with Lukemia. Children with Down Syndrome are more prone to getting it.

As you can imagine, I was worried. I tried to pray the Divine Mercy in the office but I just couldn't get it together.  On the drive to the hospital to get the blood, I called my good friend and asked her to pray. She said she already did that she was inspired to pray at 9:45, the very time we were on our way to the doctors. The prayer she said was the Divine Mercy. Heaven had us covered.

 

At the very moment she was telling me this I spotted our parish priest in the hospital parking lot. My heart began to swell and I knew Jesus had sent him there. I pulled up to him and beeped the horn as he was about to get in his car to leave. I told him about the possibility of the Lukemia and without hesitation he asked me if I wanted him to give Malcolm the Anointing of the Sick.

   

We walked into the hospital and sat down in the lobby where he gave Malcolm the sacrament, crossed his forehead with the oil and we prayed the Our Father together. I began to cry and felt as if I  had a healing, too. I had such peace and knew once again my faith had been restored. I had been searching for answers to questions and I should know better.  Jesus doesn't make it that difficult for us to know Him. I am humbled once again by God's love and humility.

Two hours later the tests results came back negative for Lukemia, Malcolm has a case of Bronchiolitis but has recieved the best care and treatment from his doctor and is already on the road to recovery. I am sure all is well due to the awesomeness of the Sacrament of the Sick.

The Catholic Church has many wonderful signs of God's love to offer and there are many members who do wonderful acts of charity and service. There are also many priests who sacrifice their time and lives for the care of others. I am so thankful to Jesus for giving me His mercy through them.  Next one will be confession!
 

Down Syndrome = Flexiblity

Besides being so loving and cute, Malcolm has other gifts and talents, he is extremely flexible! Children with Down Syndrome usually are quite limber due to hypotonia.

I can't get enough of him grabbing his feet and pulling them all the way up to his shoulders. These are the things that make our family laugh and smile throughout the day!

If I could do this  maybe my mouth might not get me into so much trouble (lol).

Sister is trying to learn his techniques...

but decides she would rather do her own thing!

Malcolm Boy, Malcolm Boy What Do You Hear?

Last week Malcolm had his first appointment for a  more in depth hearing test. At six months kids with Down Syndrome get this done because they can be more susceptible to hearing loss due to upper respiratory infections and ear infections. Malcolm has been " congested" since birth, he always sounds like he has a lot of mucus. The suction bulb is in constant use.

                                      
Children with DS tend to have smaller ears and ear canals. Aren't his cute? Malcolm responds well to our voices and he loves to engage in conversations with us. He is very vocal. He mummbles,coos and babbles just like any other six month old.

Our appointment was at the Clark School for Hearing and Speech and I was impressed with the professionalism and care they showed to Malcolm.

The grounds were beautiful and we are so blessed to have these facilities not far from home. My older son who is 11 went with us and got to sit with the audiologist as she performed some tests. He was also a big help to me and made a wonderful impression with his charitable behavior.

                                                                                                                                          

When we returned home the kids and I discussed what took place at the appointment. We talked about the parts of the ear, vibrations and sound waves.
 
Having a child  with DS is such an opportunity  for all of us to learn something new each day.  It is a great experience and helps me to practice my Catholic faith by  trying to serve Malcolm and my family better.

My Lil' Charlie Brown

Yesterday was my DH's birthday and this called to mind how much he is a gift to me and our family.

I want to thank him for giving me the most precious gift of my children. We have many birthdays to celebrate in our home because of the love we have shared over the years. I am not just speaking of physical love but a love that comes from understanding sacrifice and commitment. Each time a new life came into the world through us we shared something that grew and continues to grow!

Joe has given our latest blessing, Malcolm, a new nickname. He sometimes refers to him as Charlie Brown because of this:

They both have that lil' swirl of hair on the back of their head.

Malcolm has Down Syndrome as most of you already know. I used to be afraid  of the thought of any of my children having DS  but now that I have experienced it the fear has turned into joy.

This lil' boy has so much personality, he loves to engage in social interaction and  is so happy to be loved and to return it to all of us. From the moment he began to nurse he was trooper. Because of his low muscle tone ( hypotonia) it took more effort for him to latch on but we worked hard as a team and made an immediate connection and everything else fell into place.

The whole family has benefited from Malcolm's life and his Down Syndrome. Every single person has some kind of "syndrome" in one way or another.  Love is the only perfection and we truly love our lil' Charlie Brown and all of our other lil' characters (especially the one peeking into the picture!)

October/ Down Syndrome Awareness Month

                                                               

                                                     

I am so blessed to be able to speak on behalf of people who have Down Syndrome! At the blog, "Unringing the Bell", there are many others who are doing the same thing by posting each day of October about the special people in their lives who have DS. October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month and this is one way we are be to share our blessings.

Today, Max was sharing a book with Malcolm. Baby boy is 6months old and already interested in books!

The love he and his siblings share makes my heart swell and almost burst at times!

They have so much to share with him without any inhabitions. It is so natural to them to pick him up and spoil him with hugs and kisses. He learns right along with the rest of us as we explore each day in our homeschooling.

 

Angry Bird Makes Happy Boy

The boys have been into the game, "Angry Bird" lately.  They have been winning the stuffed animals out of the claw machines at the grocery store. Being so generous they have been sharing them with baby Malcolm and he seems to enjoy exploring them.

Although Malcolm has Down Syndrome it doesn't hinder him from getting in on the current trends or  the current intrests of the other kids in the house. As a matter of fact he makes all of our endevours even more interesting.

The boys were so excited to let me know that he was quite entertained by the soft, big-eyed ackward looking creatures! He has even tried using them as teethers.

Angry birds make baby boy very happy...

and I can't think of a better use for them.

He loves His Wash Pod

 I had been wanting to try this new style bath tub ever since I heard about it over at the "Sew Liberated" blog. I was pricing them and viewing them on the internet but not quite sure if they were a gimmick or if Malcolm would even like it. Since I had always used a lay down type tub I wasn't real sure about it. 

 I had looked in a bunch of different stores and couldn't even find one, then one day when the girls and I were shopping at Home Goods hannah spotted one. I looked at the price and it was less than half of what I had seen them for. I was thrilled and decided to try it out.

 
I am so glad I did, baby boy truly enjoys his wash pod, as it is called. He just splishes, splashes and smiles the whole time. I can't wait to see his expressions every night!

 

The pod is supposed to mimic the womb with the water surrounding the baby.  When malcolm  is in it he brings his legs and feet straight up in front of him and it looks like  he is in a prenatal position. I just love seeing him so excited. I do have to have a firm hold on him because he is a bit wobbly and he slides around a lot. I only put a very small amount of water in it because if it is filled up too much the water is too close to his mouth and chin. Safety first as with any baby bath tub but this has been a joy and he really has a blast in it!

 

 

 

Down Syndrome and the Not So Moody Blues

God gives a peace that surpasses all understanding. Sometimes things aren't perfect or they do not turn out  the way I think they are supposed to but lately I am able to experience joy in these events.

 
Having a child with Down Syndrome is nothing like I ever expected it would be. I am just so absorbed in all of the love and blessings that have been poured out upon our family from the gift of this precious little one. His siblings feel the same way and are always entertaining him with toys, hugs and even music.

 
I am learning to give thanks to God even when things do not go my way. By no merit of my own, only by His grace I have come to understand His love in the " less than perfect situations" in my life. When things look bad there is always something beautiful that God brings forth from it.  I am becoming enlightened to think even more in the opposite direction of what the world says.

 
"Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven and all things shall be added unto thee."   Down Syndrome has no power over God and I am seeing so much beauty in imperfection. 

 
So as my ears  hear the harmonica play I am savoring the tunes of the not so moody blues. The melody is sweet and the tunes are up beat even when times are a bit out of sync.  Play that song  baby and praise God in all things!!