August Photos

This Summer has been eventful :-)  and so I have not had the opportunity to BLOG. 

 My dear husband moved his home office and moved my computer also this weekend and now my computer is where Olivia and I spend most of our time, so hopefully I can get a chance to BLOG now.

This Summer has seen Olivia maturing in so many ways.  Her speech has come along well as has her signing.  Although her significant hypotonia has her still not walking solo, her supported walking has come along well. She loves to walk holding one or both or our hands and will at times use her walker. She likes to free stand and can do it for longer and longer all the time.  Her Physical Therapist always encourages us that Olivia is doing great given her starting point.

Olivia's crawling is very very good and FAST!

Olivia loves building towers!

Olivia using her walker

Olivia using her crawling tunnel.  Not too interested in crawling into it yet.

Olivia gently getting herself off of her chair as opposed to her old method of diving off head first.

Olivia has finally made friends with her sandbox.  I have been working all summer getting her to use it.  She now loves sitting in it and playing.

Olivia loves her little pool in the backyard.  Both the sandbox and pool are from Grandma and Grandpa B

Oh!!! I really splashed water in my eyes that time! Olivia loves to splash!

Olivia has also finally accepted playing in the grass. Again, I had worked all summer on this.  So nice to see all of my hard work paying off in these outdoor activities.  I had feared that we were not going to make the progress I wanted to see with outdoor textures this summer.  But she is doing great!  Today she even ASKED to go outside and walk. She walks (with help) well on the patio and grass.

Lovin' the beautiful day and the beautiful blue sky in her backyard.

Down syndrome IQ Statistic

This is a really interesting statistic. Since the time when parents starting raising their babies with Ds at home, instead of institutionalizing them, and providing them with early stimulation and intervention the average IQ in the Down syndrome population has gone up 20 points. If your not familiar with IQ scales 20 points in enormous!! It moves you up an entire category- like from severely impaired to mildly impaired.

Early Intervention ready

St Joe Michigan!!!! Yay!!! The beach!! Cannot wait to ride the new carousel!!!!
Studying!! These one picture per page books from Beyond Play are her favorite books these days. Well, the truth is that if she can have someone read Five Little Ducks then that is her favorite book to have read to her. But she loves to look at these picture books independently.
Friday Mommy went to the Early Childhood Development Center to put in place Olivia's Early Intervention Plan. I think they call this either an IEP (Individual Education Program) or at this point in her life it may more accurately be referred to as an IFSP (Individual Family Service Plan).

Olivia will have PT (Physical Therapy) every other week. The areas to work on the most at this point are her head and neck control and developing strength in her torso/ trunk. Her body used to be a "wet noodle". Now it is a partially cooked noodle. Al dente! But maybe a bit firmer! She is most definitely gaining in strength everyday. We are teaching her to pull her hands in up by her chest when she wants to get UP from her crib. She is catching on and will pull her hands in and smile big smiles! So pleased with herself! And probably mimicking Mommy and Daddy's proud smiles back!

Olivia will have ST (speech therapy) once a month. The OT (occupational therapist) is on a more limited need schedule as Olivia is doing nicely in her Fine Motor skills. There will be a monthly phone call from the OT in the least. Olivia is doing nicely in her cognitive development and therefore does not currently qualify for Special Education and thus the Special Ed Infant Toddler Teacher will not be providing services. Good thing Mommy has the background in Montessori Education, because for now, Mommy is homeschooling this special needs infant!

October is National Down syndrome Awareness Month. I hope that by reading our BLOG you are learning bits and pieces about Down syndrome. Olivia is a very healthy baby with Ds. Not all parents are so lucky. 50% of kids with Ds have some sort of heart defect. Other kids have digestive issues and are on feeding tubes. There are other health issues too! Some kids can be very very sick. Olivia's only health issues are hypothyroidism and allergies. But those are easy to deal with in comparison to what some kids have. We marvel at her everyday and thank God that she was born!!!! 9 out of 10 women with a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome will choose to abort their baby. This birthmother received pressure to abort Olivia. The thought truly sickens me. A world without Olivia fills my eyes with tears! I hold her all the more closely and the thought occurs to me: What if Jesus had Down syndrome!?!? Surely Mary and Joseph would have felt just as blessed and surely He could still have been the Son of God and surely He would have still suffered and died to save us! Personally, I think that a grave injustice is done to women when they are encouraged to abort a baby with Down syndrome. They are having so much joy stolen from their lives. (or the lives of an adoptive family)

November is National Adoption Awareness Month. I will have to write a little about the Ups and Downs of Adoption. We surely have a thing to say about that! It is nice to be on the Up Side of Adoption now!