Odds and Ends

We had our first Down syndrome play date, yesterday! I was so excited to get to spend time with Laura and her adorable little girl, Lilly! They are former neighbors of our pastor's family and his wife, Julie, graciously invited us all over so we could connect. Lilly turned 2yo yesterday, and is just so cute! She's been walking since she was 14 mos. and is so fast. She's also the busiest little thing I've ever seen! I think she opened every available drawer and cabinet. I jokingly told Eon that I'm sorry I ever pushed for him to start walking! LOL!

Speaking of walking, our little man turned 18 mos. on Thursday and celebrated the day by taking his first steps! After standing independently in the middle of the room for months, we were all excited when he took it a "step further", so to speak. Unfortunately, I started clapping and cheering just as he fell, so he decided that falling was the thing we were celebrating. For the rest of the evening, he proceeded to stand up, fall, and clap for himself! LOL! Timing is everything.

I've had several people ask how the pregnancy is going. I'm 25 weeks and feeling okay. We skipped all screenings except the level 2 u/s this time around. My reasoning was that of all the things they screen for (with the exception of CF), T21 is the only thing that doesn't have definitive markers readily seen on a level 2 ultrasound. We are not worried about this little one having Down syndrome, so it really made no sense to me to go through the screenings when anything else would be found on the u/s. That being said, I went into that u/s with much fear. I was terrified that they would find something fatal! They did not. :) Everything looked great and within normal limits. I was very relieved. I was quite excited to discover that our tie breaker is a little girl, too! After three boys, I am very ready for pink again. :)

Some pregnancies are easier than others and this is not one of the easy ones. I've experienced near fainting due to blood pressure dips, almost constant itching that has prompted some bloodwork for possible liver issues, and a strained back that left me bedridden for a few days. I'm thankful to know that this is just a temporary inconvenience for an eternal blessing, though! We are anxious to meet this little cutie and see what she brings to the table. :)

The Locals

So, I went to the local Ds group a few weeks ago. I just took Ellie, 10, and Eon while dad stayed home with the rest...didn't want to overwhelm anyone. It was good. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I didn't get it.

I think I was hopeful for this instant connection with the parents there. I've been spoiled by my blogging friends and online support group. I feel an instant connection with someone I've only communicated with through words on a page, but real life seldom measures up, I suppose. When I mentioned online support, I got blank looks. There also didn't seem to be a great deal of awareness about current hot topics...the r-word, the "cure", etc.

Honestly, I was disappointed.

The good news is that I went to the Mom's Night Out this week and loved it! It is more city-wide than the local group which is specifically for my side of town. Eon was the youngest represented, but it didn't matter. We were there just to have a good time. At the Mom's Night, I met a gal who has a son who's a year older than Eon and she lives pretty close to me, so that was good. I'm looking forward to getting to know her family better.

One of my beefs with the local group was that I felt instantly judged by the teachers that were present (there were a lot of them, it seemed) for our choice to homeschool our children. You know how it is when you are asked polite questions with a bite: "Where do you get your curriculum?" "Aren't you worried about socialization?" "You won't do it in high school will you?"
Sigh. This is our eigth year of homeschooling. These questions are not new to me. The truth is our kids are doing great, it works for us, and I don't really think it's anybody's business. It's not like I advertise it. On of the teacher-moms asked Ellie where she goes to school and it went south from there.

I was expecting to be admitted to the club on the basis of the extra chromsome that has blessed our family, only to feel excluded for another reason. When am I going to learn? We're a freak show, I tell ya.

Somehow, I doubt attending the next meeting with our six children in tow will help matters any, but we'll give it a whirl. :)

Annual Evaluation

Eon had his annual evaluation for First Steps, Indiana's version of early intervention. It's performed by a team that works outside of our county, not his current therapists. The OT that did his initial eval returned. It was so fun to see her again and she was so excited to see Eon. She raved and raved about how big and cute he is. I remember that when she did the initial, she brought me an article about three adults with Down syndrome that are doing really well and loving life. She also brought me a copy of "Welcome to Holland", which I'd seen before, but really appreciated.

I reminded her of that yesterday and told her what a blessing it was to receive those when the diagnosis was so fresh.

They asked a gazillion questions and put him through his paces. I've mentioned before how Eon just stares at people suspiciously if he doesn't know them, but he must be loosening up a bit, because he actually smiled at them and laughed at the DT. About halfway through, one of them mentioned that he was scoring too high to qualify for services and the other reminded her that he qualifies on diagnosis alone! I was very pleased that he is doing that well. The IFSP is in a few weeks, so we'll see how he really did, but I think he's doing great and that's really all that matters.

Deb, the OT, asked me if I've connected with anyone locally on the same journey. I expressed my frustration over the fact that I haven't. I told her that I'd looked on the DSI website and the southside support group isn't meeting now. She made a call and, low and behold, they are meeting and the next meeting is.......tonight! I am so excited! Eon and I will be in attendance while Dad stays home with the rest of the crew. (We decided not to overwhelm anyone on our first introduction:)

I'm so hopeful that I can find someone who has a child near the same age so Eon can have a buddy. I'll let you know how it goes.