4 years old

Today is Kalena's birthday. 4 years old already. Of course, that calls for pictures!

In the hospital: 

First birthday:

Second birthday:

Third birthday:

And now:

Happy birthday, baby girl!

2 months

Can you believe Daniel is 2 months old already?! Me neither, but he had his 2 month well visit today, so it must be true. Here are his stats:

Weight: 10 lbs 9.8 oz (20th percentile)
Length: 22.5 inches (16th percentile. Ish. They remeasured and he was longer, but they didn't recalculate percent.)
Head: 15.25 inches (19th percentile.)

He is healthy and growing well. Also, getting cuter by the day.

Suspicious Baby is suspicious about the claims of cuteness.

Occupational therapy begins

Well, we had our first occupational therapy session last Thursday. The short version goes like this: I like the therapist and I have a lot to learn.

I'm not sure what exactly I expected the therapist to do. I mean, he's a baby. He's still working on head control. He doesn't really DO much, you know? But she had plenty to tell us and show us and have us work on.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this, but we got a copy of Daniel's early intervention evaluation and they classified him as having "mild low muscle tone." Low muscle tone is expected in babies with Down syndrome so it's good news that it's only mild. However, having low muscle tone means we have to make sure Daniel doesn't get into bad habits. The therapist showed me some things to do to help him learn to roll over properly. Things to help him learn head control. Things to help with low muscle tone in his torso. She pointed out that he holds his right hand in a tighter fist than his left and asked us to watch and see if that's always true. She pointed out that he was moving his limbs asymmetrically, and pointed out some reflex movements he was making, both good signs. None of this is stuff I would have noticed on my own. None of this is stuff I would have to worry about with a typical infant.

Anyway. The plan is for her to come once a month for now, and more often when he starts being more active. I'll keep you updated, of course.

Here he is working on his head control.

And that onesie has a crab on the butt!

Now we can say he's got his crabby pants on.

Happy Mother's Day!

Four years ago on mother's day I looked like this:

If you'd refrain from commenting on a) how huge I am and b) how awful my hair looks, I'd really appreciate it. Believe it or not, that picture is me at 39 weeks pregnant, so I was actually pregnant for another 15 days after that! I was sort of hoping for a mother's day baby since Kalena was due the 10th and mother's day was the 11th. She held out until the 18th though. Anyway, my point was, four years ago on mother's day I had no babies yet, and today here I am with three of them.

(This is where you refrain from commenting on how white my legs are. They never get any better either.) 

It's been an amazing four years.

Whoa

Did you guys know I have THREE kids? Three!

Still catches me by surprise sometimes.

Third Child thoughts

There are so, SO many reasons I'm glad that Daniel is our third child. That means you get some bullet points today!

• Since we already have a girl and a boy, it should be obvious that we had Daniel because we wanted a third child, not because we were trying for one or the other. I always think the assumption that someone with 2 boys would have a third to try for a girl (or vice versa) is annoying, but in our case I think people might feel sorry for us if they thought the reason we had a third was to try for a specific sex. (Side note: I don't mean that *people* who have a third for that reason annoy me. Just the *assuming* by others.)
• Breastfeeding. I struggled a lot to breastfeed Kalena (and quit after just a few months.) But I learned a lot, so nursing Will was much easier. Since babies with Down syndrome often struggle to breastfeed, I'm certain that my knowing what I'm doing is the only reason we've managed at all. (He's still getting supplemented after pretty much every feeding, just for the record.) If he were my first child I'm pretty sure it would not have happened at all.
• Milestones. Having two children already means I am familiar with the reality that every child hits milestones at his own pace. (Even the differences between two typically developing kids can be huge!) This has made it very easy to accept the fact that Daniel will hit milestones at his own pace. Whether his pace is close to typical or not is something we'll find out as we go.
• Right now Daniel is very much like any other baby. However, he sleeps. He never went through that whole "days and nights mixed up" phase. In fact, for the past several nights he's slept through the night (by which I mean no wake-ups between like 11 pm and 5 am. Usually from 7ish to 5 am. I KNOW.) Since he's my third, I appreciate how much sleep I'm actually getting! And how not normal it is to get so much!
• I'm already comfortable being a mom. I know how to care for an infant. I know what to expect. Going from not being a parent to being a parent was a HUGE adjustment. Adjusting to also being a parent to a baby with Down syndrome is (for me) relatively minor.
• Last but not least, his siblings. Brian and I have often commented that we got lucky with two great kids. (And I know, everyone thinks their own kids are great, but hear me out.) After Daniel was born we both felt like we got these two great kids to be siblings for Daniel. I'm sure that Daniel will benefit from having them as siblings just as much as they will benefit from him.

And there you have it. This sweet guy knew just when to get here.

 

Baby pictures as usual

Kalena loves to give Daniel hugs and pats, while Will mostly keeps his distance. They were checking each other out today though.

And another picture, because I think that sleeper is adorable. Also, I think that boy is adorable.

Bath time baby!

Who doesn't love pictures of a chubby baby in the bath?!

I know he looks sleepy in this first picture, but believe me, he was disgruntled about that whole thing.

There's the disgruntled face.

Kalena, admiring a fresh, clean baby brother.

Baby in a bathrobe!

And this concludes your daily dose of Daniel.

Pockets

Will has a pair of sweatpants with pockets, and when he wears them he likes to stand around with his hands in the pockets. It's pretty much the cutest thing ever.

And now for today's funny story about Will. When my mom got home from work, Will was convinced that it was his grandpa who opened the garage door. So after my mom came in, he stood in the doorway looking for my dad. When he realized my dad wasn't out there, he put his hands on his hips and said, "Where dey hide dat grandpa?"  

Blessed

We blessed Daniel at church today which means: picture time!

The fam. As you know, my mom is the only one talented enough to do Kalena's hair like that, so no credit to me. Will is looking at the camera AND smiling in zero pictures.

I'm just throwing this last one in here to point out the ADORABLE bow tie on his little outfit. I'll probably never get over the cuteness of a baby in a bow tie.

Also, just so you know, I don't do Daniel's hair like that on purpose. I even gave him a bath and tried to comb it over this morning. It just likes to stick up.