Thursday, August 30, 2007
back! and with double the kids!
Hey everyone (or no one? Knock, knock), yep I’m still here. We had another baby girl! She is almost two months old. And as for her big sister, she is doing great. She just started crawling (hands and knees, the real deal!) a couple weeks ago, and now she is starting to pull herself up on stuff and just in general is blessedly & sometimes frighteningly mobile! Good, good times.
We did have something of a minor scare with the pregnancy with #2, as the Quad screen came up positive for down syndrome(as it did with daughter #1), but this time 1:200 odds (Daughter 1 was 1:100). We were offered the amnio, but we didn’t take them up on it. (we did get the amnio for #1, and it ended up being a HUGE help in dealing with things emotionally, check my early archives for that story, leave it said for now that dealing with that roller coaster before, as opposed to after, our amazing daughter's birth, was incredibly beneficial for us & for her.)
Anyway, we were (and are) so educated on these things now, that we knew the odds (1:100) for a miscarriage from the amnio (which they were recommending), and we weren’t prepared to take that risk just for the comfort of knowing, because obviously, being parents of a child born with DS, we were aware what an incredible blessing (as opposed to incredible burden, which our genetic counselor tried to convince us of) a child born with down syndrome is. (all children are a blessing, but I think any parent of a child born with DS can relate, these kids are magical, they bring something to life that is astoundingly unique, and, well, I am continually speechless as to the degree to which my first daughter brings an unquantifiable amount of endless joy into our lives.) Long story short, we didn't NEED to know.
Anyway, fast forward to delivery and daughter #2 shows up and she does NOT have trisomy 21. needless to say we were relieved, although of course we would have welcomed and loved with all our hearts another daughter born with Down Syndrome. We are (and were) very excited, though, at the prospects of the girls being able to mirror each other, and learn so much from each other, and they’re so close in age (just about 13 months apart), that we know they will be great companions and mutual support system for each other as the years (and their lives) go by. I just know in my heart that each and the other will be blessed in ways we can't even predict by growing up together and being able to relate to their individual outlooks on the world.
Anyway, both daughters are doing great. As mentioned, daughter #1 is keeping us VERY busy, with all her fun crawling and grabbing and learning and yelling and she’s eating lots of solid food and feeding herself with her spoon and chasing the dog around the house, I could go on & on, and I will, hopefully, in another post. As for daughter #2, she is sleeping ALMOST through the night (just one or two nursing sessions a night, now) compared with the hourly wakeup calls that were the norm the first few weeks. She is adorable and has the most amazing smile which she blesses us with more & more often, as she cries less and less often. They say that if your first child is very mellow & doesn’t cry often, you’ll get a screamer for the next one, and they were right in our case. I wouldn’t label #2 necessarily a screamer, but she is not shy about being vociferous in getting her point across if she is at all disappointed in any facet of the current proceedings!
Anyway, that is the 90 second (er, 500 second?) update. We are extremely happy, extremely busy, and supremely blessed. More later, but here are some updated pics! Hope all is well with all of you, whoever & wherever you are.
We did have something of a minor scare with the pregnancy with #2, as the Quad screen came up positive for down syndrome(as it did with daughter #1), but this time 1:200 odds (Daughter 1 was 1:100). We were offered the amnio, but we didn’t take them up on it. (we did get the amnio for #1, and it ended up being a HUGE help in dealing with things emotionally, check my early archives for that story, leave it said for now that dealing with that roller coaster before, as opposed to after, our amazing daughter's birth, was incredibly beneficial for us & for her.)
Anyway, we were (and are) so educated on these things now, that we knew the odds (1:100) for a miscarriage from the amnio (which they were recommending), and we weren’t prepared to take that risk just for the comfort of knowing, because obviously, being parents of a child born with DS, we were aware what an incredible blessing (as opposed to incredible burden, which our genetic counselor tried to convince us of) a child born with down syndrome is. (all children are a blessing, but I think any parent of a child born with DS can relate, these kids are magical, they bring something to life that is astoundingly unique, and, well, I am continually speechless as to the degree to which my first daughter brings an unquantifiable amount of endless joy into our lives.) Long story short, we didn't NEED to know.
Anyway, fast forward to delivery and daughter #2 shows up and she does NOT have trisomy 21. needless to say we were relieved, although of course we would have welcomed and loved with all our hearts another daughter born with Down Syndrome. We are (and were) very excited, though, at the prospects of the girls being able to mirror each other, and learn so much from each other, and they’re so close in age (just about 13 months apart), that we know they will be great companions and mutual support system for each other as the years (and their lives) go by. I just know in my heart that each and the other will be blessed in ways we can't even predict by growing up together and being able to relate to their individual outlooks on the world.
Anyway, both daughters are doing great. As mentioned, daughter #1 is keeping us VERY busy, with all her fun crawling and grabbing and learning and yelling and she’s eating lots of solid food and feeding herself with her spoon and chasing the dog around the house, I could go on & on, and I will, hopefully, in another post. As for daughter #2, she is sleeping ALMOST through the night (just one or two nursing sessions a night, now) compared with the hourly wakeup calls that were the norm the first few weeks. She is adorable and has the most amazing smile which she blesses us with more & more often, as she cries less and less often. They say that if your first child is very mellow & doesn’t cry often, you’ll get a screamer for the next one, and they were right in our case. I wouldn’t label #2 necessarily a screamer, but she is not shy about being vociferous in getting her point across if she is at all disappointed in any facet of the current proceedings!
Anyway, that is the 90 second (er, 500 second?) update. We are extremely happy, extremely busy, and supremely blessed. More later, but here are some updated pics! Hope all is well with all of you, whoever & wherever you are.
Monday, March 19, 2007
pictures!
hey all, I just noticed I have not put up any pictures of our amazing little girl since she was like only a month old!! nigh inexcusable. anyways, here are some more recent ones, from around Christmas time, so she is currently even bigger than these, but give you way better of an idea than the ones way below, wow can't believe she was ever that little! We officially put her baby car seat in the basement yesterday & told her say goodbye, won't see this again until baby sister comes! wow wow wow.
okey doke folks, hope all is well, keep on keepin on, etcetera etcetera, aloha.
Friday, March 16, 2007
I have not posted in 500 years, I know
wow, i have been conspicuosly absent, but blogging is supposed to be an unregimented and unscheduled type thing, so I won't apologize, simply acknowledge, so there ya go.
well, our little girl is doing GREAT. She is now 9 and a half months old, can you believe it? I certainly can't. She is sitting up, and can even stand on her two feet with assistance! once she gets the balance part down she'll be all over the place. what else, she's eating solid food, is now on gerber 3 actually, and ummm, got bumped up to the big girl car seat, totally outgrew her infant seat.
and big news! my wife is pregnant again and we are going to have another daughter! wheee! so far so good; She is about 5.5 months pregnant, due on July 1. We are SO happy that our little girl is going to have a baby sister, fun fun fun...
well, i guess that's it for now, i just figured out how to get back into this blogger account and figured I might as well ramble some stuff while I'm here. will have to start perusing some of the blogs to the left and seeing what is what with all of them.
hope all is well with YOU, dear reader, wherever & whoever you are. alooooha.
well, our little girl is doing GREAT. She is now 9 and a half months old, can you believe it? I certainly can't. She is sitting up, and can even stand on her two feet with assistance! once she gets the balance part down she'll be all over the place. what else, she's eating solid food, is now on gerber 3 actually, and ummm, got bumped up to the big girl car seat, totally outgrew her infant seat.
and big news! my wife is pregnant again and we are going to have another daughter! wheee! so far so good; She is about 5.5 months pregnant, due on July 1. We are SO happy that our little girl is going to have a baby sister, fun fun fun...
well, i guess that's it for now, i just figured out how to get back into this blogger account and figured I might as well ramble some stuff while I'm here. will have to start perusing some of the blogs to the left and seeing what is what with all of them.
hope all is well with YOU, dear reader, wherever & whoever you are. alooooha.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
pining for the fjords
Ah yes, hello people of the internet, well I was just crying my eyes out like a little lamb (do lambs cry?) all over watching an episode of signing time. Let me set the table for ya, well, my wife and child are out of town, gone a little over a week now, and I miss them terribly, especially the little one. I miss my wife too, but it just gets me thinking about what I’m missing with our little girl. When we planned this trip, we were so young and unknowing (ah those were the days of 3 months ago) but seriously, as a new parent, I think it is impossible to realize at the time when your child is say 1 or 2 months, just how much of a distinct personality this child is going to have at 3, 4, 5 months, how much of a little person they are going to be already! And how you want to be there for every minute, second, nanosecond to record observe and cheer on and hug and kiss and cheer and smile and love. Sigh.
Anyway, dang, I’m recording these signing time episodes off the tivo to clear out room on the DVR, putting them onto videocassettes so as to keep them for our little girl to watch again and again, and honestly, I’d watched bits and pieces, but I’d never really sat down and watched one, ya know? Well, I watched most of this one, and was blown away with how much I was affected with just seeing the kids sign, and thinking of my little girl, and her signing, and her learning things, and interacting with the world, and here I am an ocean away. And THEN the host starts singing this song about “you shine, you shine” all about, apparently, children with disabilities, and how kids do things at their own pace, and this kid will do that when they do it, and it just drop floored me to tears, and the interesting thing is that I was crying not for any type of reason involving feeling bad for my little girl, nothing like that, I was crying about thinking her doing those things when she’s ready and what if I miss them, and crying tears of joy just thinking about how true it is what this lady was saying about “I’m so glad you’re mine” and seeing clips of moms & dads kissing and hugging their kids as they smile and learn and interact with the world, at their own pace, and how blown away the world should be, and is, I guess, by any kid with a disability, about the bravery involved in that, and how our daughter, she’s just so brave by nature, it’s not something she thinks about and does (or maybe she does?) but it is so instinctive, her survival instinct, her zest for life, she doesn’t know anything’s different about her, she just wants to enjoy herself and smile at Mommy & Daddy and play with her dolly and laugh and make cute little sounds and all the millions of things that she’s going to do as she lives her beautiful life.
Wow. I love, love, LOVE, being a father, and I miss my little girl, and my wife, but absence makes the heart grow fonder, although I doubt that’s possible at this point (ie I’m at maximum fondness), but hey, whatever gets ya through the day. Reunions are always a blast, the excitement, the catharsis, the satisfaction of verifying in the actuality what you never lost sight of in your heart, yup, good times ahead, and that’s not to say I’m laying up feeling bad at all times, no, no, I talk to them every day, hear my baby’s sounds and babbles and coos and aahs and cries and whimpers and get the updates, but it just ain’t the same as being there, but I’m a tough one and I do my thing and life is for trooping through and living the dang thang, right? Reeeiiigghhht. So enjoy it, okey doke, more knowledge (or vague imitation thereof) in the next few days.
Anyway, dang, I’m recording these signing time episodes off the tivo to clear out room on the DVR, putting them onto videocassettes so as to keep them for our little girl to watch again and again, and honestly, I’d watched bits and pieces, but I’d never really sat down and watched one, ya know? Well, I watched most of this one, and was blown away with how much I was affected with just seeing the kids sign, and thinking of my little girl, and her signing, and her learning things, and interacting with the world, and here I am an ocean away. And THEN the host starts singing this song about “you shine, you shine” all about, apparently, children with disabilities, and how kids do things at their own pace, and this kid will do that when they do it, and it just drop floored me to tears, and the interesting thing is that I was crying not for any type of reason involving feeling bad for my little girl, nothing like that, I was crying about thinking her doing those things when she’s ready and what if I miss them, and crying tears of joy just thinking about how true it is what this lady was saying about “I’m so glad you’re mine” and seeing clips of moms & dads kissing and hugging their kids as they smile and learn and interact with the world, at their own pace, and how blown away the world should be, and is, I guess, by any kid with a disability, about the bravery involved in that, and how our daughter, she’s just so brave by nature, it’s not something she thinks about and does (or maybe she does?) but it is so instinctive, her survival instinct, her zest for life, she doesn’t know anything’s different about her, she just wants to enjoy herself and smile at Mommy & Daddy and play with her dolly and laugh and make cute little sounds and all the millions of things that she’s going to do as she lives her beautiful life.
Wow. I love, love, LOVE, being a father, and I miss my little girl, and my wife, but absence makes the heart grow fonder, although I doubt that’s possible at this point (ie I’m at maximum fondness), but hey, whatever gets ya through the day. Reunions are always a blast, the excitement, the catharsis, the satisfaction of verifying in the actuality what you never lost sight of in your heart, yup, good times ahead, and that’s not to say I’m laying up feeling bad at all times, no, no, I talk to them every day, hear my baby’s sounds and babbles and coos and aahs and cries and whimpers and get the updates, but it just ain’t the same as being there, but I’m a tough one and I do my thing and life is for trooping through and living the dang thang, right? Reeeiiigghhht. So enjoy it, okey doke, more knowledge (or vague imitation thereof) in the next few days.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
extremely delayed presence apologies extended verbatim
orrr, something like that. howdy! wow i have not babbled here for some time. well, well, well. yes! i finally told my family, and they were increddddibly supportive, it made me cry tears of joy, it was really really gratifying. my mom responded to the email with this beautiful email directed toward our daughter, telling her how much she loved her, how lucky she was to have such great parents, it was really great. my sister who has a kid has really jumped over the net, researching and learning more about DS, and I was surprised to find out that a friend of a friend of hers actually has a little boy born with DS who her daughter (my niece) has had a few play dates with. wow, small world.
wellll, our little one is doing exceedingly well, she is 5 months already!! wowsers. time does indeed fly. every day it seems like she's doing something new, displaying some new fantastic skill, every smile is just an unbelievably beautiful moment. fatherhood agrees with me to the nth degree. such a cliche to say you never really know what it's like until it happens to you but truer words I doubt were ever spoken.
more news hopefully sooner rather than later. how are all of you? did you go vote? i haven't, but will, throw the bums out, roll the new bums in, or vice versa versace. peace/mahalo/muchas gracias.
wellll, our little one is doing exceedingly well, she is 5 months already!! wowsers. time does indeed fly. every day it seems like she's doing something new, displaying some new fantastic skill, every smile is just an unbelievably beautiful moment. fatherhood agrees with me to the nth degree. such a cliche to say you never really know what it's like until it happens to you but truer words I doubt were ever spoken.
more news hopefully sooner rather than later. how are all of you? did you go vote? i haven't, but will, throw the bums out, roll the new bums in, or vice versa versace. peace/mahalo/muchas gracias.
Monday, August 28, 2006
yup, still here
hey everybody, well, once again I seem to be typing stuff in this long vacant space after an extended absence for which I have no discernable nor credible explanation. Oh well, que sera. Our little girl turns 3 months (!) tomorrow, and we are shocked & awed in disbelief that the time has flown by so, uh, quickly. Kiddo is almost ready to be turned longways in her crib fer crying out loud. She is an absolute joy and the mellowest little lovebug, she wakes up and stares up at her mobile and always just chills out and has her time before hollering that she wants breakfast. Then she starts making little sounds, letting you know that hungry time has settled in. then I go pick her up and snuggle her and kiss her and tell her how beautiful and what a cutie pie she is, and then she eats and swings in her swing and lays in her pack n play and does tummy time and smiles and makes little cooing sounds and looks around at everything and opens her eyes wide and makes the cutest possible expressions that could ever be possibly made in the universe. And maybe about 1% of the time I stop and think and remember she has down syndrome. Wacky!
Really the only thing that reminds us of said fact is her weekly visits from easter seals fantastic physical therapist, who puts her through a nice regimen of babyrobics. Other than that, wow, blessed is not even the word to describe, I mean, doesn’t cover it? Our physical therapist, whose girlfriend has a child with DS, and who works with LOTS of kids born with DS, told my wife that our little girl was the first that he’d met/worked with that DIDN’T have to have any heart surgery. I seriously still look at her sometimes and think “does she really?” but hey genetic evidence shows the three lil buggers on numero 21.
And we STILL have not told anyone. Wacky! (word of the day) NOT cuz we are ashamed, NOT cuz we’re afraid (ok, maybe a little) but I don’t know, I really don’t know, it’s like, once the cat’s out of the bag, it’s out, and you have to acknowledge it, and talk about it, and blah blah blah. She’s a little girl, she’s healthy, she’s lifting her head and cooing and aahing and looking and smiling and doing all the things that cute little girls do, so, um, sigh. Yup, reality is to set ASAP, though, this I know. I will be telling the folks mighty soon. Really. Seriously. Shooting for 6th birthday? Har har. Sigh shalom etcetera.
Other than that mild stressor, the anticipation of releasing the NEWS, (yes, yes, you’ve heard it before), and that is prolly why I have shamefacedly not posted as much?? Other than that all is incredibly well. We love parenthood, we love staying up late and feeding her, and laughing with her, and laying around with her, and going on walks with her, and watching her discover the world around her. I think that is the part I love the most, every “first” time she notices something and starts interacting with it, be it a toy hanging in her pack n play, her mobile, her stuffed turtle, the stained glass lamp by the door, the dog, the wall, a streetlight, the people shuffling this way and that as we cross a busy Waikiki intersection, just seeing her so interested and absorbing and fascinated and happy and smiling and wondering and curious just does this Dad’s heart so so so so good. Er, well. Er, positively enhanced. Whatever. I like it.
Really the only thing that reminds us of said fact is her weekly visits from easter seals fantastic physical therapist, who puts her through a nice regimen of babyrobics. Other than that, wow, blessed is not even the word to describe, I mean, doesn’t cover it? Our physical therapist, whose girlfriend has a child with DS, and who works with LOTS of kids born with DS, told my wife that our little girl was the first that he’d met/worked with that DIDN’T have to have any heart surgery. I seriously still look at her sometimes and think “does she really?” but hey genetic evidence shows the three lil buggers on numero 21.
And we STILL have not told anyone. Wacky! (word of the day) NOT cuz we are ashamed, NOT cuz we’re afraid (ok, maybe a little) but I don’t know, I really don’t know, it’s like, once the cat’s out of the bag, it’s out, and you have to acknowledge it, and talk about it, and blah blah blah. She’s a little girl, she’s healthy, she’s lifting her head and cooing and aahing and looking and smiling and doing all the things that cute little girls do, so, um, sigh. Yup, reality is to set ASAP, though, this I know. I will be telling the folks mighty soon. Really. Seriously. Shooting for 6th birthday? Har har. Sigh shalom etcetera.
Other than that mild stressor, the anticipation of releasing the NEWS, (yes, yes, you’ve heard it before), and that is prolly why I have shamefacedly not posted as much?? Other than that all is incredibly well. We love parenthood, we love staying up late and feeding her, and laughing with her, and laying around with her, and going on walks with her, and watching her discover the world around her. I think that is the part I love the most, every “first” time she notices something and starts interacting with it, be it a toy hanging in her pack n play, her mobile, her stuffed turtle, the stained glass lamp by the door, the dog, the wall, a streetlight, the people shuffling this way and that as we cross a busy Waikiki intersection, just seeing her so interested and absorbing and fascinated and happy and smiling and wondering and curious just does this Dad’s heart so so so so good. Er, well. Er, positively enhanced. Whatever. I like it.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
back on the scene, crispy and clean
Hey all, a quick update before I head home for our first early intervention baby workout via easter seals! Woo hoo! Our little girl is getting very good at lifting her head and looking around and grabbing stuff and looking at things and eating and getting bigger and being a happy healthy little girl. Down what? Pshaw! Naw, but really. Well, yes, so, a physical therapist as well as a counselor will be coming by today and putting her through a phys ed class so to speak. Looking forward to seeing what they do, how they do it, etc. we try and do regular “tummy time,” supposed to be really good for developing muscle tone, but will be great to get a glance at the quote unquote experts at work
I knooooww it’s all over the net and unless this is the first DS site you’ve looked at recently you prolly know all about it, but just unbelievably inspirational, these two people with DS getting married, article in time magazine online, and from what appears, in the actual mag as well. Yes I will be stopping by my local newsstand and grabbing a copy. Tear jerker express or what? Let’s just say it was getting dusty in here, especially looking at the photo essay. Good stuff! Good for sujeet & his new bride. I actually first bumped into his website waaayyy back when we were struggling with the “decision” that had been presented to us by the powers that be that keep the gates of reality for the unborn that dare to not be protypical tim or tina. Anyway, sujeet was and is and appears will always be an incredible inspiration and so is his lovely wife. All the best to them.
Annnnddd, what else? Well, we’ve decided to start little one on the nutrivene, at least in very limited doses, at about one fourth of recommended dose to start & work our way up & see how it goes. Let the arrows fly! I know this is a controversial subject. I’ve been on a TNI yahoo group that bounces around a lot of useful info, and I’d be curious to here more feedback in re: the pros and cons. And I know there are a lot of both out there….
Take care of yourselves and your little (or big) ones, and I know it sounds soooo like an empty promise, but I will try to update more. Writing tidbits like this has unfortunately taken a backseat to writing the next great film of our time, aka Casablanca meets spaceballs. No, well, there was another better analogy, but it’s elsewhere on the net and would reveal my secret identity of a midnight marauder’s helpful aide and confidante. Scratch that. Aloha mahalo etcetera and que sera.
I knooooww it’s all over the net and unless this is the first DS site you’ve looked at recently you prolly know all about it, but just unbelievably inspirational, these two people with DS getting married, article in time magazine online, and from what appears, in the actual mag as well. Yes I will be stopping by my local newsstand and grabbing a copy. Tear jerker express or what? Let’s just say it was getting dusty in here, especially looking at the photo essay. Good stuff! Good for sujeet & his new bride. I actually first bumped into his website waaayyy back when we were struggling with the “decision” that had been presented to us by the powers that be that keep the gates of reality for the unborn that dare to not be protypical tim or tina. Anyway, sujeet was and is and appears will always be an incredible inspiration and so is his lovely wife. All the best to them.
Annnnddd, what else? Well, we’ve decided to start little one on the nutrivene, at least in very limited doses, at about one fourth of recommended dose to start & work our way up & see how it goes. Let the arrows fly! I know this is a controversial subject. I’ve been on a TNI yahoo group that bounces around a lot of useful info, and I’d be curious to here more feedback in re: the pros and cons. And I know there are a lot of both out there….
Take care of yourselves and your little (or big) ones, and I know it sounds soooo like an empty promise, but I will try to update more. Writing tidbits like this has unfortunately taken a backseat to writing the next great film of our time, aka Casablanca meets spaceballs. No, well, there was another better analogy, but it’s elsewhere on the net and would reveal my secret identity of a midnight marauder’s helpful aide and confidante. Scratch that. Aloha mahalo etcetera and que sera.
