Ask and you shall receive and GLASSES!

Hello everyone,

I have been totally slacking on the blog with darn Fbook now!

So Sam is 3.5yrs old and yes, he has Down syndrome. A lot of kids his age with Ds to have words at this point. Sam has none:( I know he has so much to say. He does sign a lot but nothing vocal yet. Just some sounds. He has been getting speech 3x a week at his school and I just asked to revise his PPT or put an adendum on it for a couple reasons.
1. Sam is not talking and also has Apraxia. The recommended resources for him for that is SLP 4-5x a week. So I am asking for another 1/2hr of SLP for him.
2. GLASSES! Yes, Sam now has glasses.They are prisms. His vision is actually pretty good but he does not track well. I totally notice a difference on how he looks at thinks with them on! He is so cute I just can't stand it!
We have a new eye DR. who is a behavioral eye specialist. SHE ROCKS! I am taking Sam's big brothers to her to get checked out too! Who knows....I am thinking this is why Cole is having issues at concentrating. She works a lot with kids and schoolwork!

Soo......received a call today from the director of Sam's school and the PPT is scheduled for Jan 6th at 2:30. Anyone want to join me:) hehe. She said, Sam WILL be getting slp 4 times a week...we are going to add another 1/2hr! WAAAAAHHOOOOO!
Oh....did I mention...his mommy ROCKS! He needs the gift of speech so badly and they will do anything to help him there!

Ok..heres is a pic of Sammy in his new specs!

The holidays are coming! Christmas 2009

Photo Tinks by WiddlyTinks.com

Sam doing THRILLER!

New set of ear tubes and bronchoscopy

Well we spent a few hours up at CT Childrens this past Tuesday. Sam had to have his 3rd set of tubes and a bronchoscopy. He is doing great! He gets fluid often on his ears which can impact his hearing so we keep him as fluid free as possible with the tubes. Croup happens about 8 times during the cold season with Sam so the ENT wanted to check his airway for obstructions. Sam is free and clear. His air way is narrow but that is normal for a person with Down syndrome. We just have to dive into the liquid steroid for 2 days when it comes on, which btw is like 1am! This way we will avoid and ER visit.

So...as you can see Sam recovered beautifully! He is still nursing a little and need some TLC in recovery~ No wonder he bounced right back!

My 2 older boys had tonsils and adenoids out

Well..I was brave and so were Cole and Jack this past Friday. They both had their tonsils and adenoids out. Dr.S said "those tonsils were like cottage cheese." SO glad they will not suffer like I did as a teen with strep and such!
Here they are...so happy before surgery! We are 3 days post op with a lot of ice cream and TLC.

Down syndrome Awareness Month

October is Down syndrome Awareness Month. I am going to try to post daily to create more awareness for all the beautiful people out there with Down syndrome including my son Sam:)

Fact: The medical term for Down syndrome is : Trisomy 21

Sam has AFO's !!

So Sam was fitted a few weeks back for AFO's. He was doomed from the start when it comes to his feet. Mommy pronates, grandma...Aunties and so on! Sam will strengthen his leg muscles by having the correct footing behind it.

We could NOT find a shoe that fit this AFO at all. We tried Target, Payless, Stride Rite...you name it and even taking the inserts out a no go. We knew we could order the ugly Hatchback shoes for him but I would not put those on my other boys (UGLY)..why Sam? I was determined to find a normal looking shoe for him!

We found this ROCKIN store called FOOTPRINTS in Newington,CT. We went on a Saturday and they were so super busy you have to take a number! The service there reminded me back in the day when my mom used to take me to Buster Browns to get my shoes 2x a year:)

They really know there stuff there and deal with AFO's all the time! We found a great pair of New Balance Sneakers in XX Wide and we also picked up a pair of socks so he will not chafe at all on his legs. They really are great there! I will post a pic of him wearing them soon. We have to wean into them:) We did pick up a pair of inserts for his other shoes when he is not wearing the AFO's so he can have support all the time.

Here is a pic of his new AFO's.