Moving on up!

Well, last night we finally bit the bullet and moved Payton out of our room and into her own. :( She slept in her crib like an angel. Thank goodness it was a smooth transition, so far!

Bloodwork

This morning I had to take Payton to have blood drawn. My stomach has been in knots over having to do this. Infants alone are a hard stick, let alone an infant with Down syndrome (their veins tend to be super tiny). After spending hours going from lab to lab trying to find a competent person, I finally settled on one lab that was willing to try. There were two techs, neither of whom could really feel, nor see her veins. One tech claimed she could feel a really small one in Payton's right arm, so we decided that she would try to get it (mind you, we needed 3 vials filled). So, try away.....SHE MISSED. Payton was wailing, tears flowing. The tech, even though she missed, did not pull the needle out, but continued to move it around and jab it in there trying to find the vein. Well we all know how that feels...not pleasant! So I told her to get the needle out of her and that I would go somewhere else. Well, needless to say, I was not going to go anywhere else today, as we both had enough.

Down Syndrome Convention

This past weekend we went to Atlanta for the National Down syndrome conference. I just wanted to share a little bit about our weekend. We had an amazing time. We were able to meet a bunch of the families that I have met through the online listserv and they all were amazing. I have established some good friendships and that helps so much to have someone you can connect with that is walking in your shoes.

I went to two sessions...Oral Motor Therapy and Physical Therapy. I was a bit overwhelmed by both of them and shed a few tears in trying to figure out how I was going to offer Payton everything I want to offer her, without having the time, nor the money. I received a few pep talks and seem to be back on track. I have a place to start and I feel comfortable knowing that what we are doing, in addition to some new sensory therapy that we plan to begin, is satisfactory for her, I hope.

One of the biggest things that struck me was the sense of community that I felt. It was so nice to be somewhere that I didn't have to worry about people asking me why Payton sticks her tongue out sometimes, or get defensive about people staring at her because she has Down syndrome. The people at this conference adored her and they adored her for the beautiful little girl that she is. It was such a comforting feeling. We had adults and children with Down syndrome going crazy over her; and we had adults and children without Down syndrome going crazy over her. I can't say it enough that the whole general feeling of the conference was awesome. I don't know if the hotel staff had training prior to the conference, but they were more than accomodating to everyone. They were so nice and never did I see them staring at anyone oddly, or treating them differently. If anything, it was the exact opposite. If only "real life" were that way. It was so nice to be walking around and talking to random people who looked at you when they were talking to you, rather than trying to hide the fact that all they wanted to do was look at your child because she is "different". We never experienced that this weekend.

We obviously got to see the whole spectrum of Down syndrome...infants, children, adults. I feel as though when I'm out in public, it seems the people I see that have Down syndrome tend to be lower functioning. Not sure why, but I guess that is just my experience. That, to me, being the parent of a child with Down syndrome, is depressing. But at this conference, I saw teenagers and adults with Down syndrome that functioned as if they were "typical". I loved that. It gives us hope. There were several times when we would be walking along and be like, "Oh my gosh, did you see her? She was so cute! And so stylish!" LOL I know that might sound materialistic, but it was so nice to see that they CAN be that way too. And so many of them running around holding hands with their boyfriend/girlfriend...well it was just so sweet.

I honestly thank God for blessing us with Payton. We don't need or want anyone's pity. We have seen and now understand how blessed we are to have had our eyes opened to this whole other part of society that people know so little about.

Starting foods ...

Well, Payton is six months old today and I don't know where the time has gone. We had previously decided to wait until this time to introduce her to foods. So, now we start our journey with oatmeal (rice cereal can cause constipation and Payton already has problems with that, so we will be giving her oatmeal), fruits and veggies.

Our appointment with Payton's geneticist

We had Payton's six month appointment with Dr. Lewanda (geneticist) today. She was very impressed with Payton and the things that she is doing. She commented that she is SO social, her eye contact is great, she smiles all the time and her motor skills are looking great. Oh, and she weighed in at 17 pounds and was 26 inches long, which is awesome!

Payton's heart is perfect!

Payton had her 6-month followup appointment with the cardiologist today. After doing an EKG and an ECHO, they told us that her VSD (the small hole that she had) has closed! She has been released from the care of the cardiologist, which is excellent news!

A boy, his sister and some underwear ...

Payton's brother, Mason, just adores her. He is very protective of her and gives her kisses constantly. Mason is in the middle of potty training and is finally conquering it. Here is a video montage of the kids...

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4th of July

Well yesterday was Payton's first 4th of July. We had a great time. Here is a video of our evening...

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