Thanksgiving Recap

Thanksgiving has come and gone…now it’s my favorite time of year! We had a fabulous Thanksgiving and were blessed to be able to spend it with family and friends whom are like family. The road trip to Kerrville is long, but so worth it. I always have the intention of taking tons of pictures of Austin with my parents and family friends, but some how I never have quite enough time. Austin has yet ANOTHER ear infection, which is sad and frustrating at the same time. My poor baby. Of course, it happened while we were out of town.
Austin turned 9 months old on Wednesday. He continues to amaze me every day. He’s doing so many new things…like TALKING. Yes, talking!! He said “Mama” 3 times while we were on our trip. I’m not sure if he can comprehend that I’m “Mama” yet, but I’ll take it! He’s really playing with his voice these days and it’s so cute. I’ll post a video when he’s in the mood to talk. Hopefully it won’t be at 4 in the morning, because as of lately he’s been talking to us non-stop at 4 A.M. He’s still a good eater and he LOVES his solids. He eats all sorts of baby food, but I still have to “sneak” the veggies in with fruit. He LOVES chicken, turkey and beef baby food. Table food is a work in progress. We’ve tried puffs, dry cereal and part of a biscuit. He doesn’t yet understand how to chew and swallow, but he’ll get there. He’s happy with his Stage 2 and 3 baby food for now. He still has no teeth, but exhibits every single symptom and sign of teething(and has for MONTHS!)

We have a busy week ahead, so I’m going to bring this to an end. I’ll leave you with Pictures.

Thanksgiving Day


Checking out the "cooler" weather with Daddy.

Austin with his (and our) friends L & L. We had so much fun visiting these sweet ladies.


It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.




Austin...working out and doing a baby push up.

Blowing his infamous spit bubbles.

Blessings,
K

Gobble Gobble

Here are "sneak peaks" of my beautiful baby boy from our amazingly talented photographer.







Happy Thanksgiving!

Let's See How Far We've Come

                                           

Before Austin was born I was overwhelmed with feelings of uncertainty. I didn’t know if I was going to be a mother of a “typical” child or a child with Down syndrome. I kept telling myself that the chances were slim and I was probably worrying over nothing. In the midst of my pregnancy induced insomnia I often found myself thinking…”What am I going to do is my baby really does have Down syndrome?” Each time the OB nurse would enter my weight and blood pressure, I could see the typed words on that computer below my name. I don’t know why, but I read them EVERY time. It was only 2 sentences, but it echoed in my head at during and after every OB appointment.

"Quad test came back as high risk for Down syndrome. Patient declined amnio."

I don’t know why, but the fact that I was high risk for Down syndrome never came up at any of my OB appointments. The baby was healthy and I think that’s what my OB was concerned about. I’m thankful that she didn’t treat me differently.

As my due date approached, I thought about Down syndrome a lot. Would I want to hold Austin? Would I even want to take pictures of him? Those were my thoughts before he was born, and while I know they were “normal” at the time…I still feel ashamed for having these thoughts cross my mind. The truth is, it wouldn’t surprise me if my computer crashed at any given moment due to the insane amount of pictures I have on it. Austin is the celebrity and I’m the paparazzi.

                                                  

I remember taking one picture of Austin when he was a week old and his Pediatrician said we could begin “tummy time.” You have to keep in mind that we didn’t find out at birth that Austin had Down syndrome. It wasn’t conclusive, some doctors suspected it and other doctors thought he looked “normal.” We had to wait 2 weeks before receiving the results. Anyway, I remember snapping several pictures of his first tummy time experience. As I was reviewing the pictures, one really stuck out. I noticed that the back of his head was slightly flat. His profile…I could really see the characteristics in his side profile. This picture only confirmed what I already knew deep down. What I did next isn’t something I’m proud of, but it’s a profound part of my healing. I erased the picture. I wanted to erase his Down syndrome. We didn’t know for sure if he even had Down syndrome, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t mad at God for giving me a baby with Down syndrome. I was mad at God for giving my baby Down syndrome.

As time has gone on, my outlook has drastically changed. Hearing the results of Austin’s karyotype made it all so real. I knew that I had to focus on Austin. I used all my energy to learn as much as I possibly could about Down syndrome. I’m still learning. I’m pretty sure I’ll have my Master’s in Down Syndrome by the time I’m 30. ;-) I think a lot of my fellow DS parents feel that way, too.

I don’t necessarily know why I’m sharing this. I feel it’s important to not only touch on the good times, but also the not so good times. I had to go through sadness and uncertainty to get where I’m at now...a good place. And guess what? It feels so good to look back and see how far we’ve come.

A Little Cold

We are alive, just busy. Austin has his first official cold. You know what that entails...snot, snot, suctioning the nose, more snot, coughing and not being able to breathe due to congestion.  My poor little guy has been miserable, but he still manages to give us big smiles and “laughs” himself to sleep. Apparently, bed time and nap time are HILARIOUS.

Thanksgiving is almost a week away and then it will be my absolute favorite time of year…Christmas! I have the best childhood memories when it comes to Christmas. I can’t wait to share the fun with Austin. He really won’t know what’s going on this year, but it’s still going to be all about him.(When is it not? ) I’m so excited to decorate our home with the Christmas decorations and tree. I guess I shouldn’t get ahead of myself because Austin has surgery on December 10th. From what I know so far, he’ll have some type of “drainage tube” for the first week. He’ll see his doctor 7 days after the surgery to have it removed. I don’t know very much about this “tube”, but the thought of it scares me. My mom will be flying in a few days after Austin’s surgery and will accompany us to the follow up appointment. Thank God for Grandparents. We have several appointments at the end of November, so this is sure to be a busy month. We’ll also have to make time to pay a visit to Santa Claus. You know, so mommy can get that classic first picture with Santa.

 

Speaking of pictures, our sweet photographer said she’ll post some “sneak peaks” this week. I cannot wait! I’ll be sure to share them with all of you.


Please keep little man in your prayers and pray that his yucky cold will take a hike sooner than later.


Blessings,


K

A Life Worth Living

It’s been a crazy week at our house. Austin has yet another ear infection. It’s so difficult to tell when he’s sick because he’s such a happy baby. He would scream for about an hour on and off, but would be fine after that. I figured it was his teeth because he was still sleeping through the night and wasn’t running a fever. Mommy was wrong and being the extreme perfectionist Super Mom that I am, I feel awful for not knowing. The good news is: after a Rocephin shot and numbing ear drops, Austin is feeling MUCH better. My little man is so tough. I’d like to take credit and say he got this trait from me. But I think we all know he inherited his “toughness” from his Daddy.

As of lately, It’s been weighing on both mine and Ryan’s mind about the 90% termination rate for prenatal diagnosed cases of Down syndrome. Please understand that we aren’t here to judge...that's not our job. We were scared too and we didn’t have an actual prenatal diagnosis. Rather, we just had the knowledge that there was an increased risk. More than anything, we feel sorry for those whom have chosen to abort their unborn babies due to the presence of the extra 21st chromosome. They’re missing out on so, so much. Each and every time I look at Austin, hear him giggle or see him smile…I’m reminded of how much God has blessed us. I just wish parents with a prenatal diagnosis would do extensive research on Down syndrome before choosing termination. I wish they’d go to babycenter.com and talk to the other moms of children with Down syndrome. I wish they would see that our lives didn’t end when Down syndrome made its entrance. I wish they’d see that our children have lives that are WORTH LIVING.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

- Romans 8:28