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Post by kellyds on Apr 17, 2005 8:32:31 GMT -5
From home schooling, I know that everyone has his own learning style. Most people are "show me" learners, but I am definitely a "read it" person. I get frustrated and confused when someone tries to show me how to do something . . . just give me the manual and I'll figure it out! I did order this video: www.expectantmothersguide.com/profiles/WeeExercise/
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Post by kellyds on Apr 16, 2005 22:59:52 GMT -5
I'm really interested in the replies to this. We home school our children, but somehow the school district found out about Joshua and a lady from Early Intervention called when he was only a month old! By then, I had bought several books about physical and speech therapy for children with Down syndrome and it was pretty obvious to me that we could accomplish this on our own.
Much of it is positioning (which I work on with him) and a lot of "play" therapy. With the number of siblings Joshua has, he is getting "therapy" almost all of his waking hours, as there is no end to people who are eager to blow bubbles to help him learn to track or to shake rattles for him or to encourage him to stroke a stuffed animal.
So, I'm curious about what we might be missing by declining to have someone come in for half an hour, twice weekly.
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Post by kellyds on Apr 17, 2005 14:19:31 GMT -5
How old were you when you got pregnant, Chris? I gave birth to Joshua eight weeks ago, and I'm 45. I'm just wondering if I qualify as "very old" yet. How horrible it must have been for you to get an "a-ok", followed by a "not really".
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Post by kellyds on Apr 16, 2005 15:25:10 GMT -5
We were fine, too, but we had at one point considered adopting a child with Down syndrome.
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Post by kellyds on Apr 16, 2005 10:47:57 GMT -5
We didn't know Joshua had Down syndrome until a couple of minutes after he was born. Our doctor said, "Well, folks, unfortuately it looks like we have an extra chromosome here."
Although I'm generally pleased with my doctor, I thought that was a poor way to deliver the news. For one thing, a lot of people wouldn't have a clue what that means. (My mom, who was there for the birth, immediately asked, "What's THAT!?")
For another, even though my husband and I were educated about what that COULD mean, it wasn't specific enough. There are a lot of conditions that arise from an extra chromosome. Because I know what kinds of things COULD happen, my immediate thought was, "I hope it's DS!" I had to ask, "Do you mean he has Down syndrome?" before the doctor would get more specific. I was very relieved! Many chromosomal abnormalities are fatal.
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Post by kellyds on Apr 16, 2005 10:42:22 GMT -5
Joshua-Squashua is two months and four days old. He is 21 1/2 inches long and has finally reached eight pounds. ;D
He lost almost a whole pound during his first week, but has gained approximately half an ounce a day since then, so we are pleased.
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Post by kellyds on Apr 13, 2005 13:43:42 GMT -5
Congratulations, Justin, on your creativity!
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Post by kellyds on Jun 3, 2005 17:18:12 GMT -5
I've nursed all of mine for at least 2 1/2 years. The longest was 3 years, 8 months. I worked REALLY HARD to teach Joshua (our son with DS) to nurse, too, because I understood that nursing was superior to any speech therapy or mouth/tongue exercises. No way would I give up the natural benefits of nursing to facilitate artificial exercises. I know everyone else has said basically the same thing so far, but figured I'd add my two cents to give you a little more ammo.
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Post by kellyds on Apr 7, 2005 17:01:00 GMT -5
Bozo and Romper Room . . . yep, those were MY shows when I was growing up! ;D (I'm 45 now.) Thanks for the walk down Memory Lane!
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Post by kellyds on Apr 4, 2005 14:11:14 GMT -5
She is adorable! I love her hairdo and her outfit in the last two pics. What a sweetie!
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Post by kellyds on Apr 2, 2005 19:59:37 GMT -5
Hm, Kristen, I had preeclampsia, too. Maybe she's on to something . . .
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Post by kellyds on Apr 2, 2005 14:57:35 GMT -5
That's sort of like what my husband's parents said when we told them about Joshua. His mom said, "What's that?" and his dad said, "Is it something he is likely to outgrow as he gets older?" Unfortunately, they had only heard it called something else.
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Post by kellyds on Apr 2, 2005 15:03:33 GMT -5
Hope he's feeling better soon.
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Denial?
Mar 31, 2005 12:51:00 GMT -5
Post by kellyds on Mar 31, 2005 12:51:00 GMT -5
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Denial?
Mar 31, 2005 11:41:49 GMT -5
Post by kellyds on Mar 31, 2005 11:41:49 GMT -5
Just wanted to say that I hope I didn't offend anyone who DID grieve when they found out their child had DS. There are many ways to deal with such news. I was just surprised that our acceptance was considered . . . I don't know . . . sick or something.
EDIT: I went back and read that ad on eBay. The little boy's karyotype showed that he has Down syndrome, yet the mom says she knows he doesn't really have it. I don't think a karyotype is going to be wrong and, yes, he does look like he has DS. I hope she eventually accepts him as he is. I know I said above that there are many ways to deal with such news, but this lady's complete denial is too sad.
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