Tag: milestones

stairway to a heart attack.

stairway to a heart attack.

by Joanne ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

the long and winding stairs
it’s a long way down… 

Since the year began, Aisha’s been literally moving in leaps and bounds, from standing to walking and pushing herself into a standing position from a seated one. And yes, in that very order. And no, she still doesn’t know how to crawl. There is no rhyme or reason to the girl; she just bes who she be.

Anyhoo.

Even though she’s far more surefooted as a walker, she’s been giving the stairs a wide berth. The staircase is curved, steep and plentiful – and from her vantage point, they prolly also seem like an awful lot of work. Aisha very much dislikes a challenge (she’s definitely her father’s child Read more ›

happy new year.

happy new year.

by Joanne ♥ 2 Comments
shutterstock_356848487Happy New Year from Shutterstock.

Was in the shower t’other day, thinking about how completely uneventful 2015 was for me, and how I’d like to do things differently for the New Year. And then I found myself feeling guilty for not celebrating the year my girl had, because, Down Syndrome be damned, the kid knocked it out of the fricking park in twenty-fifteen.

A recap of sorts. Aisha (in no particular order):

Turned one. Started feeding herself. Drank from a straw. Held her bottle on her own. Learned to push herself from prone into a seated position. Started daycare. Learned to say “hi,” “bye,” and “Aisha.” Can act out the entire words to “The Wheels on the Bus.” Read more ›

sucky baby.

sucky baby.

by Joanne ♥ 4 Comments

I’ve never been this excited about a bottle, nor its contents.

Last week I popped into Staples to pick up some supplies, and picked up this water bottle on a whim. I liked the colour, size and shape; I thought it would be a nice thing to have on hand for Aisha in the future. She likes to drink water, and will take it from a cup – although she refuses to take it from one of her regular bottles.

The little spout at the top flips up and down and has a straw attached. The function is pretty much straightforward; flip up top, put spout to mouth and sip. Voila! Thirst quenched. I think we take this action for granted. I have a friend whose son is either 12 or 13 and doesn’t know how to drink from a straw due to feeding/gastro issues he had as a small infant. Aisha couldn’t figure out how to breastfeed, so I hand expressed my milk and fed it to her from a bottle; kids with Down Syndrome can sometimes have suckling issues associated with low muscle tone. There are a ton of online message boards and parent forums chock full of tips and tricks on how to get little ones with DS to drink from bottles and straws.  Read more ›

she’s a ten.

she’s a ten.

by Joanne ♥ 6 Comments

happy girl copyShe’s my star.

My little-big bean turned ten months about a week before Christmas and for some reason it was very emotional for me.

She is becoming very active now, rolling and army-crawling about to get to where and what she wants. I always knew she’d grow to be a stubborn little thing, and damned if the child hasn’t proved me right thus far. But she is also extremely loving and charming, ever-ready with a smile (any opportunity to show off her new teeth), and she makes me laugh-out-loud guffaw at least a couple times a day.

Parents of children with Down Syndrome are all too familiar with The List Of Things Your Child Won’t Ever Do, and for the most part, I’ve managed to ignore the naysayers and let the girl develop as she may, with a little help from her DT Patti and OT Amanda. Read more ›

happy full-term baby day!*

happy full-term baby day!*

by Joanne ♥ 4 Comments

(*My girlfriends sent me a message on Facebook with that very greeting. Aw.)

Good Lord. Today is 36 weeks. I am officially nine months pregnant. Aside from growing my hair, school, (and a stint living in Montreal), I’ve never done anything this difficult, for this long, in my life. 😀  I wanted to take another selfie to commemorate the occasion, but honestly, I’m feeling like I’ve got a watermelon strapped to my frame, and not at all very photogenic at the moment.

So instead, here’s a picture of a watermelon-as-baby.


I’m horrified, but I can’t. stop. laughing.

Oh, and speaking of watermelon, these:

il_fullxfull.332330061
Come on. SO cute. Much better than that thing I posted above.

I know this was a disappointing post. I’m sorry. I usually dislike when my favourite bloggers post nonsensical shit like this (assuming that I am one of your favourite bloggers). Never mind. I have a few posts in the works, so you’ll hear from me over the next coupla days. I’m feeling prolific; I might as well write while I can. I don’t know if I’ll have any energy at all to do so by next month.

Stay tuned.