Playing Catch Up

Warren family visits Thomas the Train. Jackson was thrilled!
Pops arranged our Thomas trip.These are Jamie's parents (Nana and Pops).
Jackson "wrestling" with Jonathan.

Thursday, March 30 - Pops went with Jonathan and I to the Bell Center. Jonathan did well. He was weighed while we were there - 11 pounds, 12 ounces! The dietician reminded me to be taking a vitamin and wanted to know when we would begin adding cereal. No clue. I need to ask!

Friday, March 31 - We went to Thomas the Train in Calera at an old railroad station. Jackson ran from train to train, unable to contain himself. I am being serious - the kid did not walk until we got in line to wait to ride the train. He would climb up on the old trains and commandeer them - he's a bit territorial these days.:) Jonathan took it all in stride.

Saturday, April 1 - Jonathan awoke around 1:30am with a cough. It was the croup - that unmistakeable barking sound. We opened up the freezer, took him outside, and finally settled on sitting in the bathroom with a hot shower running. We stayed up with him for about two hours. We ran the humidifier and then Jamie slept in his room with him. Jamie took him to the doctor the next morning where they heard the congestion but no wheezing so he was in the clear. However, he is too young for antihistimines so we just have to wait out the congestion.

Wednesday, April 5 - We went to see the cardiologist. It was wild. I went alone with the boys - no big deal, right? It started with not finding a parking space in the deck. I ended up at the doctor's office 30 minutes late because I parked in another deck a couple of blocks away. Imagine carrying a baby in a carrier in one arm while fighting for your three-year-old's hand with the other hand in downtown traffic! We got there and had to wait because we were late. Upon our arrival, Jackson took control of the toys in the waiting room. Sometimes you just have to act sorry on the outside and contain the laughter on the inside.

We were called back to weigh Jonathan. While I was trying to undress Jonathan and keep an eye on Jackson, Jackson stepped on a nurse's foot - she had on sandals. She made a real show of the intense pain she must have felt from a small child barely grazing her foot with his little shoe - I found it rather amusing and had to keep from smiling. I made certain we properly apologized then explained to Jackson he needed to stay seated - amazing the social pressures of needing to feel like you have properly disciplined your child to the satisfaction of another when really it is no big deal.

We went back to the waiting room and Jackson ran in the play area where he entertained himself. He jumped up shortly thereafter declaring he needed to use the potty. I was thrilled. Of course, a doctor's office is not the ideal place for your child to use the potty. I grabbed all of our stuff, dragged it in the bathroom, hiked Jack up, and then he decided it was a false alarm. About 30 minutes later, we got called back. Jackson climbed all over the place, trying to be beside his baby brother, worried the doctor was going to hurt him. I let Jack have some goldfish and regretted it the instant Jonathan kicked them all over the floor.:) I tried to occupy Jackson with an explanation of the ultrasound and what the colors meant. He was enthralled. Too soon he was bored. He was jumping from stool to stool, flipping the lights on and off. It was interesting, to say the least. Actually, it was quite hilarious but, again, I put on the stern face.

Jonathan weighed in at 11 pounds, 14 ounces. He will continue to take one-fourth on an aspirin daily for another month. After that, no meds! His heart looked good and he had a little congestion left over from the croup Friday night. The doctor said that he looked and sounded wonderful and no need to see him until a year from now!

On the way out, Jackson did use the bathroom and I had no treats with me. We got McDonald's on the way home for him as a reward. We stopped and got lunch for Jamie and me elsewhere. We dropped it off at Jamie's office and headed home. When I got home, I saw a cop car parked outside our house. I parked at the top of the driveway but not in the garage. Our door between the garage doors was open. I left the boys in the car with the windows down and crept inside the garage. The cop called to me from the top of the stairs. When it was established that I was the homeowner, she apologized for pointing her gun at me - I did not know she was pointing her gun at me! She said she was sorry for going through the house - I thanked her. People must be pretty rude with them for checking things out - I was thankful she had gone inside. It was established, after talking to her and ADT, that one of our doors set off the alarm. It probably blew open (we found out on Sunday that our former neighbor did it!).

I went outside and Jackson was screaming. I assumed it was because he was mad he had to stay inside the car. By this time, I was low on patience. I told him to chill out and calm down. The police officer said, "He is saying something about a bug." Low and behold, a yellow jacket was in the car. So, I let him out and could have kicked myself for not paying better attention! He proceeded to run to the top of the backyard and yell, "Look! Look!" I told him to come back down and go inside, that he was taking a nap. This did not go over well either. I apologized to the police officer, she left, and we went inside. Jamie came home and checked out the house just in case. I was a little afraid someone might jump out of a closet or from underneath the bed or something.

Jackson went down for a nap. When he woke up, we went outside. He ran to the same spot in the yard and yelled, "Look! Look!" I went over there to look. At the base of a tree was a raccoon. I was afraid to get too close. I felt badly for it because flies were swarming it. I assumed it was dead but noticed its chest rising and falling. I called four different organizations, trying to figure out what to do. If it was hurt, I wanted to help it and not let it get eaten alive. The consensus was that it had something called distemper - similar to Alzheimer's in humans. An hour or so after we saw it, it got up and walked around as if it were in a drunken stupor. It would lay down, seize, and then get up. It walked around as if its legs were not its own. When Animal Control called the next day, the raccoon was no where to be found. Animal Control said it probably crawled in a hole to die - so sad!

That was quite a day.

Thursday, April 6 - We went to a session with a speech pathologist from Ohio. He was here for a conference and we were able to meet with him so he could evaluate Jonathan and give us suggestions. His main philosophy is to imitate your child through methods he calls balancing and matching. Balancing is imitating your child and adding a bit more. Matching is doing exactly what your child does. Anyway, that is the basic concept. He said we should interact with Jonathan by imitating and taking turns with him. For instance, he might make a sound and wave his arms. We make the sound back and then move our arms. It is amazing because he will respond and do the same thing again or something else. What you find is that you are having your own "conversation" with him. The doctor said that DS kids have a tendency not to be social and that if we teach them to interact socially, the rest will follow. He said that after 35 years of practice, he has seen clients with DS accrue lots of knowledge but are unable to interact on a social level. We need to teach them to interact. I think he was trying to stress the danger in being too focused on physical therapy and academics. There is a balance to everything and our kids with DS need to be social because academics will only get them so far. This guy was phenomenal. He said that Jonathan did a good job of following us and connecting. The website where you can get more info is www.jamesdmacdonald.org. I would highly recommend it!

Saturday, April 8 - Jonathan turned from his back to his tummy!

I went to the speech conference portion for parents. I was nervous because he would ask us questions about our children and I would answer, hoping I had the "right" answer. I usually did not. I think my thought processes are so academic and his point was that will hurt Jonathan more than help him. I need to play with him, imitate him, try to have fun with him and simply relax!

Tuesday, April 11 - We went to the Bell Center while Jackson was at Mothers' Morning Out. Jackson has his third birthday this Saturday and he is excited. He told me exactly who he would like to come. It ought to be fun! He also said to me today, "Mommy, you are a good cooker!" Ha! Aren't our kids wonderful?

Please keep praying,
Julie