Reality Quickly Sets In

Let me set the stage for you. I am a 46 y/o veteran prize fighter who has not been in the ring for some time. After a 6 year hiatus, I willingly but not totally aware of the surrounding issues sign up for another fight. I go into this fight with great confidence that my experience will sustain me and give me victory. Well, here I am this morning as I stumble out of bed after 3 hours sleep to change a poopy diaper, feeling like I have just gone through round one and my opponent, my newborn son, has just KO'd me and brought me back to reality. If I thought I had forgotten what it was like to have a newborn in the house, I have been quickly reminded.

But in all seriousness, this baby is giving us more encouragement with each day. He has discovered that nursing once milk begins coming down the supply channels is very satisfying. Through the night, he fed every hour and a half for about 15 minutes. I guess he is making up for lost time. That is a praise for us as got off to a slow start at the beginning. We are quickly learning that with a DS baby as well as any baby, you take it one day at a time.

Joy and I both battle the fact that we know a little bit more than what is healthy for us about this Syndrome and the upcoming challenges that we think we are going to face. But just as we learned through all of the prenatal test that were done, God is right there to tell us to just take it one day at a time and to let Him worry about what lies ahead. Our job right now is to just love and care for him the best that we know how. As with each child, each DS child is different and varies in their abilities. Just because you know one that struggles with certain issues doesn't mean that they all struggle with those issues.

As far as other issues that we were concerned about, his hearing screen was repeated before we left the nursery which he passed in both ears. This test does not measure his ability to hear per say but measures the brain waves in his brain when his ear drum is stimulated.

We still have to put in a little time to prepare him for breastfeeding. But even this preparation time has decreased. By preparation, I am referring to some tongue exercises that Joy and I have been doing with him in order to train him to maneuver his tongue correctly. I won't expound on that here but if you would like more information about that, you can contact me.

His movements, alertness and reactivity continues to improve as the days go by. As we were up this morning dancing in the living room to music, he was bright eyed and smiled at me as if to say that he was enjoying himself. He now sits in the swing very content to be moving.

As you can tell, Dad is getting in some serious bonding time as I fall in love with him more each day. He is a special little boy and I know that the Lord has a special plan for his life just as he does for my other children. We continue to thank the Lord for His protection over this little boy for the past nine months and know that His hand will continue to surround him with His love and protection. And for right now, Joy and I have been blessed to help supply that love and protection.