I'm sure most people
who have a baby with Down Syndrome
have heard the questions
from well-meaning people
that end with the word
yet.
Is she rolling over yet?
Is she sitting up yet?
Is she talking yet?
Does she have any teeth yet?
Is she feeding herself yet?
Is she cruising yet?
Is she walking yet?
I'm hopeful that most people
who have a baby with Down Syndrome
have figured out that babies
with Down Syndrome,
like most babies,
will do things in their own time.
When they are ready.
And there ain't no rushing it.
I have to admit that I have been
a little discouraged
with Lexi's development.
In addition to therapy 2 times a week,
we spend a lot of time with her
working on various skills
to further her development.
But mommy guilt was definitely creeping in.
If I spent even more time one-on-one with her,
would she be further along in her development?
Are we working on the right things?
I had to remind myself.
She will do things when she's ready.
I guess she's ready.
This week there has been an explosion of new skills.
She has been signing milk for a while now
but this week she started signing
all done, play, I Love You, more and down.
She shakes her head vehemently
when she doesn't agree with something.
(Like being put in her crib without being rocked.)
She also says "day" for play
while she signs play (sometimes)
and she says "dow" when she signs down.
It's pretty awesome.
She has been standing while holding onto things
for about 3 weeks now.
Last week she started cruising beside the couch
like a champion.
She also stands underneath the kitchen table
and moves from chair to chair with ease.
This morning she backed up against the couch
and used it to steady herself so she could stand up.
She was pretty sassy standing there all by herself,
leaning against the couch, watching Signing Time.
Sweet girl is ready to walk!
Another thing that has changed very recently
is that she will sit still and let us read a book to her.
We have always tried reading to her
but she has had absolutely no interest.
She would push the book away
and try to get down.
Now I just have to say the word "book"
and sign it with my hands and she gets all excited,
clapping her hands.
She watches Lila very intently
and wants to do everything
just like her big sister does.
I truly believe that
Lila is her biggest motivator!
The answer to the question?
No, she's not walking yet.
But she's working on it!
She'll walk when she's ready.
She will. And when she does, the victory will be oh, so, sweet! Celebrate the little things. You have beautiful healthy girls!
ReplyDeleteYes, she will. And thank goodness there's no deadline! Her time is the right time. No worries, mama!
ReplyDeleteLove it! Having had both my girls in one year and their development was so different. I constantly got, "If you would just put Lauren down she will sit up, crawl, walk, etc...". Well she eventually did it all and more. Just like you said, "When she was ready." Love to you all. Shirell
ReplyDeleteYay Lexi!! You rock, girlie!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like our kiddos can sense when we are at the end of our patience with the milestones......all of a sudden they explode with new skills!
Can't wait to see you and the girls again soon!
Linda, as a parent of a child with Ds, I understand how easy it is to get discouraged by our kids not reaching the milestones at the appropriate time. As a Therapist, I also understand that we can sometimes contribute to that discouragement. One thing that I am learning about our experience and have seen is that I need to be patient and let John work at his own pace. As a Therapist, I tend to be goal driven with a time limit to get there. This experience is teaching me that while it is good to have goals with John, he works on a different time schedule.
ReplyDeleteYour girls are so beautiful! Always on their own time....That's how Claire does EVERYTHING! If it's something I want her to learn it can take forever (it seems). If it's something she want to learn (like signing sister), no problem.
ReplyDelete