Church Nursery

As a mom, it's hard to leave your child for the first time. You constantly worry about them. Will he cry? Will he have a dirty diaper? Will he get hungry? Will they know how to comfort him? Lots of things to think about. With Weston, I was nervous to leave him for the first time, but I wasn't as nervous as I was with Colton. Weston is like any other kid. If you've had a kid before, you can handle Weston. He's typical. But Colton, Colton's special. But to be honest, he's really no different than a typical child at this point. He eats, he sleeps, he poops. He lets anybody hold him and if you talk to him, you'll see that smile. That BIG smile that lights up his whole face and melts your heart. When you see that smile, you can't help but love him. This is the one I'm talking about...





So...there really is no problem with leaving him. The problem is....ME! I'm very protective of my Colton. He's my buddy...my bestie. We've been together every single day of his life. Now, I've left him for several hours with family before...but never someone other than family. This morning, I left Colton for the very first time at our Church Nursery. I walked into the room and told them that it was his very first time. There was an older man with glasses that was so welcoming. I had Colton in his car seat carrier and the man immediately said, "Well, let's get him out of there so I can hold him." I told the man that Colton had DS. I wanted him to know that Colton is 6 months old but he can't sit up yet because of his low tone. You see, Colton is a big boy so sometimes people think he's older than he really is...which also means they think he can do more than he actually can. I told him that he doesn't have any medical issues. He asked me if Colton would need a bottle and I told him no. I made sure Colton was fed before we went. Feeding Colton is different...not hard, just different. The thickness usually throws people off, so I prefer to feed him. As I passed Colton over to the man, he whimpered just a little...that's the first time I've ever seen him a little unsure of leaving me. It made me a little sad, but the man took him and immediately went to a rocking chair. Colton did not cry. I left and went to church. During church, I checked my phone no less than 15 times. I just wanted to make sure they didn't text me for any reason. Colton made it through the entire service, which lasted 1 1/2 hours. When I went to pick him up, he was sound asleep in a swing. The man was sitting right beside him holding another baby. He said that Colton was great! Colton was happy and the other kids kept trying to bring him toys. He said he put him in the swing after a little while and Colton fell asleep. He'd been asleep about 20 minutes. As I moved him to his car seat, he woke up and gave me a BIG smile. As I was leaving, the man said, "Please bring him back. He was great!" It was very sweet of him to say that. I think he could sense my nervousness as I dropped him off. Colton's first time in the Nursery was awesome! Deep down, I knew it would be because he's a good baby, but I still worried because kids can be unpredictable. I know each time it will only get easier. And sometime, someone other than family will have to feed him a bottle. And...it will be ok. Just like today was ok. Baby steps...

Celebrating 6 months!

It's hard to believe that it's been 6 months since Colton joined our family! WOW! We are in a VERY different place than we were 6 months ago. 6 months ago, there were tears. LOTS of tears. Tears of sadness, disappointment, fear, shock, anger... Now, the only tears I can muster up are tears of JOY! What used to be a broken heart, is now a swollen heart. My heart contains so much love and joy for this little boy, that it might just explode at any moment. When I go to get him out of his crib every morning, those big blue eyes look at me, his entire face smiles, and those arms and legs get to kicking and waving with excitement. He brings our family SO much happiness. He came in with a huge surprise, and he continues to surprise us every single day. Today, we had our 6 month checkup. Our Pediatrician said he passed "with flying colors." What a fabulous surprise! His health and happiness are such a blessing to us. I teared up on the way home from the doctor because I'm just so proud of him. I'll share a few details about his appointment.

1. He's HUGE! It's not the norm for a DS baby to be on the typical scale...so let's just share his stats on the typical scale.



Look at my big boy! We are glad to see that his height and weight are proportional after all of that rice cereal! Woohoo!

2. She put in a referral for a repeat Swallow Study to see how he's doing. Right now, I have to thicken his bottles to Stiff Honey, which is really thick! We are hoping that maybe the muscle tone in his throat has improved and we can thicken to either Nectar or Honey (which isn't as thick as Stiff Honey). The Children's Hospital should call sometime in the next 6 weeks with our appointment.

3. We can start to spoon feed some baby food! She told me to start trying some once a day. If he coughs, gags, or starts sounding really congested, we may need to stop until we do the swallow study. We are hoping he'll be able to swallow the food without thickening it, but we will just have to wait and see. I went to the store and bought him some Stage 1 vegetables. I think we'll try some this evening so that daddy can participate in the fun!

4. She said Colton was in the mid-range of his Ages and Stages Questionnaire. She's not worried about anything. I did have more "Not Yets" and "Sometimes" than at his 4 month checkup, but that's ok. Just like any baby, Colton moves at his own pace. We work with him constantly, so we know he will eventually get there with his fine motor, gross motor, and communication skills.

5. She checked his ears, eyes, hips, mouth, etc... She said everything looked good! He's obviously getting enough food, so she said to just continue to do what we're doing. Colton currently eats 5 bottles a day (22 oz). The rice cereal fills him up, so he's not eating as many ounces as a normal baby his age would. She said that's not a problem. As long as he gets between 20-32 oz a day, we're good.

6. Colton LOVED the paper he got to lay on while he waited for the doctor. It made lots of exciting noises. He was wiggling all over the place and wrinkling it up. He even was ripping pieces off and trying to eat them. Very exciting!



We also did a little prop sitting while we waited because I knew he'd like grabbing the paper. He made it about 4 seconds before he started falling toward the wall. Check out those big muscles!



7. Colton has started medicine for Reflux. He doesn't like to prop sit because it puts pressure on his tummy. Every time we practice, he spits up. So...we are starting some Zantac to see if that will help his tummy and keep him from spitting up. His Reflux really isn't bad, but his PT is hoping this might help so he won't arch to get out of his sitting position EVERY SINGLE TIME!

8. Colton had to get blood drawn to check his Thyroid. It's common for children with DS to have Thyroid issues. He was checked at birth and it was fine. We will find out the results tomorrow afternoon. If everything is fine, we will check it again at 1 year and then annually.

9. Colton got 2 shots! He didn't cry one bit during his blood draw, but cried VERY hard after his shots. He wasn't a happy camper! Mama got lots of extra cuddles.




Colton, you are healthy, happy, and HUGE! We are so thankful for you. We are celebrating and praising God for a good report.