WWF: Klingon VS Pediatrician (Victory Klingon!)

Today was Olivia's 18 month well baby visit.    Olivia has become a real Mommy and Daddy's girl.  That means she clings to us and is very cautious around other people.  (although Grandma B and Olivia are still best Buddies!)  The doctor told us that since Olivia has Ds that she is just hitting this normal developmental stage at a later age. Usually it appears at 9 to 12 months old. He said that this is a good sign of a securely attached child, who knows that Mommy and Daddy are safe and that to be wise is to study other people good and long before getting involved with them.  It was good to hear that our Klingon is normal! In fact he says he gets concerned when he doesn't see a child go through this "stranger danger" phase.  The wise doctor did Olivia's exam while Olivia was sitting on my lap.  She tolerated it better this way.  The nurse that gave her the shot was careful to make sure that Olivia could not see her, and that I was completely blocking Olivia's view of the mean old nurse.

Doctor was very pleased with how Olivia is progressing both developmentally and in her health.  Yes, she is developmentally delayed, but she keeps progressing at a good solid steady Olivia pace.

She is now 35% for weight:  23 lbs 5 oz
25% for length: at somewhere around 30 inches or so.
Her head circumference is still in the lower percentiles  13%

The good news is, as far as the doctor is concerned at least, is that Olivia did not pull his hair or his ear this time. Perhaps that is the real reason he decided to examine her differently. Last time he really got a lesson in Olivia's ability to grip on to hair and ears. I think she punched him once or twice when he was looking into her ears. But then again,  she had an ear infection at that last visit and was not a happy camper.

He believes that her teeth that have been causing so much trouble coming through for the past 6 weeks will come through prior to her entering college. Thus we are applying for early admission!

Happy Pumpkin Day!

A couple of weeks ago, we took Olivia out into our front yard under the maple trees for a Halloween photo shoot.  Daddy was photographer!

Oh Boy! Pumpkin Time!

This photo shoot is so exciting!

Are you sure this outfit doesn't make me look fat?

Maybe if I tilt the hat I will add a bit of pazazz to the outfit!

This is probably the best photo of me in my pumpkin suit!

This photo is not too bad either.

I am getting a bit tired of all the posing. Are we done yet?

Alright, I can give you some more smiles.

Still smiling...

Don't want my hat to blow away in the breeze!

Look how tall I am! I am bigger than the Daddy Pumpkin.
Last year I was so tiny that Mommy sat me on top of the pumpkin.  

Hello to all of my friends!
Happy Halloween/Pumpkin Day!

Cutting Mom and Dad Down to Size!

(Blog post by Peter with some minor additions by Linda)

Well, apparently Olivia read yesterday's blog entry and decided to show those making medical decisions  (her parents and her doctors) who was in charge.  Actually, what happened freaked us out and still has us a bit worried.

Normally Olivia wakes up ready for action, bright eyed, and clearly indicating that we better get a move on it and get breakfast on the table. This morning, Olivia was a total rag doll. She was limp, listless and just seemed to want to be snuggled, and looking as if she could nod off to sleep. So not Olivia!!!! Trying not to panic, we decided to proceed with breakfast after we saw her interested in crawling after the cat's tail.  Maybe she was slow waking up for some reason.  She wasn't asking for food, but was willing to eat and ate her normal breakfast. That had to be a good sign - right?  However, instead of her normal animated self at the table it seem to take all she had to prop herself up.  There were glimpses of spark, followed by a blank stare.  Okay, we were still worried. Then we notice that her skin color was a little purple and her hands are cold.  Okay, now we are starting to freak out.  Still trying not to panic, we put a thick sweatshirt over her long sleeve shirt and that seemed to help.  Overtime she seemed to be more energetic, but would periodically slip back into listlessness.  She didn't feel feverish, but we took her temp and she had a low grade fever.  Eventually she seemed more like herself, but was low-tone and struggling with the teething all day long.  All in all, so very much not like Olivia. We have never in the past 18 months had her act this way.

We can think of any number of simple explanations that might have contributed.  However, all of those things have never resulted in her acting this way.  Maybe she just has a touch of some bug.  The last time she was that way was while she was in the NICU and in her early infancy days at home.  If it happens again we are definitely calling the doctor right away, or maybe heading ASAP to urgent care or the ER.

We will place our little one in the care of God for the night, praying that tomorrow will find her back to her normal self.

To help everyone get in the mood for Halloween, here is a picture of Olivia with our family of pumpkins.  There is a daddy pumpkin, a mommy pumpkin and a toddler pumpkin. Olivia seems to be showing us that, just like her daddy, this daddy pumpkin is really heavy.

What a little extra thyroid medicine will do!

Olivia gets her bad reading habits from me.
Surround yourself with lots of books and read them all as your  mood  dictates!
There is no such thing as too many books!

As I have mentioned before, Olivia was diagnosed with hypothyroidism at 4 months of age and has been taking medicine ever since. Hypothyroidism affects 80% of people with Down syndrome before they reach adulthood.  It is a major contributor to low cognitive function if left untreated, and also causes kids to be smaller and have less strength and endurance.  If treated appropriately, all is well!  Lucky for us, our first pediatrician knew to keep an eye out for hypothyroidism, and when she saw the warning signs at 4 months old, she ordered blood work to check. Some pediatricians might have waited until the standard yearly check.  It is not prudent to do this!  If they see symptoms, they should check right away.  The cognitive and physical development of the child is at stake! Too much to risk to just wait!

Olivia's latest thyroid blood test showed "normal" TSH and T4.  However she was symptomatic.  She was falling asleep by 9 am and then again by 3 pm.  She fell asleep quickly for nap and bedtime, but her sleep was fitful.  Olivia's gross motor development was struggling as she just did not have the strength that she needed.  Luckily, our new endocrinologist noted that her TSH and T4 were just barely normal and that Olivia was very symptomatic.  She took one look at all the facts and told us that we needed to increase Olivia's dosage. She explained that they don't like the numbers on the edge of normal, as that is not good enough to help developing children.

Olivia has been on the new dosage for about 10 days, and Wow! what a difference!  She can stay awake! She takes a little longer to settle down to sleep. Her sleep is more restful.  She started pulling up to kneeling at the sofa, exercise bar, and shelf, without any help whatsoever from us.  She finally got the "supported pull up to sitting from side lying"!  That one is a big deal!!!!! I have been working with her on that one since January! And she just could not put it all together, because of strength and because she insisted on back arching, and because she just thought it to be a ridiculous idea, because she was able to pull up to sitting by pulling up with both hands, so why am I asking so much of her and wanting her to do this trick.  But now she can do it and she loves doing it!  These two developments took place in the past two days! She is also saying Mama!  Glory Be! And she was saying DaDa a bit just this late afternoon. I also caught her saying Ball, just as plain as day!  In the past few weeks, she had quit talking (almost) and was only signing.  Oh! And the stuff she is learning these days!  It is like an explosion of sheer genius!  Ok... I exaggerate a bit!  But you get the idea! She is amazing us these days in comparison to what had been going on prior to the increase in her thyroid medicine.  Oh, yes! And she is now a pro at getting in and out of sitting for the past week. Add that to her crawling and she can now play happily by herself for as long as a half hour!  She is so neat to watch play! She is so inventive and such the scientist!  And after 18 months of being so incredibly hands on with Olivia all the time, it is so nice to sit back on the sofa and watch! (and drink a cup of tea that is still warm and look at an entire Michael Olaf catalogue in one sitting!)  Oh! And with the increased strength, she can really get some air on that spoon when she throws it!  :-)

Wordless Wednesday!

Brushing Teeth the Montessori Way

Because of my Montessori training I have always cringed (and been nearly ready to contact CPS) every time I hear a dental hygenist recommend placing child on the floor, straddling them, holding them down, prying open the mouth and brushing the teeth.  Simply not the way I was trained to approach children.

Here is a video of my chosen method. I follow the child, keep it fun, give choices, give respect and teach independence.  Hopefully, Olivia will continue to find brushing her teeth a good thing.  So far she enjoys it.

What a week!

This has been a very tough week! Amongst other things that have made this summer particularly difficult, Olivia had shots on Monday. Thus our typically happy baby who sleeps well, has been cranky and having a horrible time sleeping. I am really exhausted! Although she has typically settled down for the night by 7 pm. This week it has been more like 11:30 pm. She still gets up at 6:30 am no matter how little sleep. She has taken morning naps twice this week. Her stomach has been very upset. (as has mine!) Hopefully next week will be better and all the other things that have made this summer horrible, well hopefully that goes away, too!

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Peace and Justice issues are a big deal around here!

Let's leave with these quote:

If you want Peace, work for Justice!

and also:

No Justice, No Peace

Know Justice, Know Peace

The news stories that I have heard about people with Down syndrome, getting horrible treatment, just makes me sick! Maybe you have seen them. BC posted a few of them this week from the news. As a Mom to a child with Ds, I know that I have to teach her that there are two kinds of people in the world: Bad and Good. I sure wish I did not have to teach her that, but if she doesn't learn it in a safe environment of home, then she will be hurt horribly as an adult. It is such a sad fact of life! Bad people harm good unsuspecting trusting people.

Lord have Mercy!