Today we had 2 Pediatrician appts: 2 month well-baby for Annelies and 2 year well-child for Marco. We decided to take one child at a time, and leave the other one with my Mom. We wanted both to be there for both appts, and be able to give it our full attention. This resulted in a lot of back & forth driving, but well worth it!
Dr H was happy with both kid's progress. Marco needs to see a specialist for his feet, he kind of walks on the insides of his feet. Really weird, because he has high arches, so no flat feet. He might need some inserts, but does not seem uncomfortable. I guess the 2 year appointment is the last one of the well-child appointments. Next round of shots are not due until 4 year old. So Marco will not see Dr H on a regular basis unless he is sick (let's hope this does not happen often!).
Annelies is still growing and gaining well. She weighs 10 lbs 12 oz and is 22 1/4 inch long. Still towards the high-end of the charts, which is good. Her progress is good. She is becoming really social, making faces (she makes lots of faces) and smiling when you smile at her. She is starting to grab her bottle and has been grabbnig fingers since birth. At this point, she is blessedly sleeping 12 hour nights (has one this the past week). Her meals during the day are a little less often and she drinks more per meal. She drinks about 24-30 oz per day.
Dr Hopper has a 20 year old patient whom she has been seeing since age 12. This girl has Ds also. She currently attends Sierra College. I haer more and more positive stories like that, and it makes me feel good & hopeful.
As a parent it is normal to have hopes, dreams and desires for your child. When you have a baby and you see a child a few years older doing something (for me with Marco, it was seeing a little boy kicking a soccer ball around in the park) you can imagine your child doing that one day, or you doing it with the child. A child offers limitless hopes and dreams for the future to a parent. When that child has a 'disability', things are a bit different. During the first few weeks of Annelies's life, I remember vividly being at Baby's R Us. I saw a 5-ish year old girl with her Daddy. She was riding on his shoulders, laughing. Pretty dark pig tails with ribbons, a tall and lanky girl. I became overwhelmed with emotion because I did not know what to picture for my Daughter. I sometimes still don't. It hurts to think that when she gets a little bigger, and the Ds is more obvious, she might be 'dismissed', people might feel sorry for her/us when they see us. It might be the first thing people see about her. It may not bother Annelies, depending on how cognizant she is. It may not make sense to worry about things that have not happened, but it is the reality of how it is. I have read a lot of things about Ds in my research, a lot of what parents have said, felt, gone through. It is what it is. Most of it is good, though. The 'public' in general is more open, tolerant and educated these days. I know for a fact though, that when I am out with her in public, I will be as proud of her as any parent is of their kid. I have the right to be so. I already am :)
