The Little Things

Walking with just one hand held

Thanks to some wonderful messages of support and love from some special people, I am feeling so much better and back to my positive self today! I had a surprise visit from our eldest son yesterday who dropped by and had lunch with me, and I found out this morning that my Mum is planning a trip to come and spend a few days here next week. It's good to have reminders from time to time of all that is good in your life. I think I have been missing my parents a lot lately, so a visit from Mum will be just what the Doctor ordered. I'm looking forward to it!

I have also put some thought into doing some more study. Felix's arrival in our lives has put us on a different path than the one we were on before. I am passionate about being supportive to Felix and others whose lives are impacted by disability. I'm thinking about doing Disability Studies to become more informed and educated to help my own son more, but possibly to work with others with disabilities in the future. It's still very much in the 'thought process' stage at the moment, but I'm excited about the possibility.

Problem solving- Climbing down

Today I really want to focus on celebrating all the little things again. I have always been thankful that I haven't compared Felix's milestones to other 'regular' children, or even to other children with Down Syndrome. This past week, probably due to feeling a bit down, I found myself doing the one thing I have always tried not to do. I noticed when people with children the same age as Felix said that their child was starting to speak in sentences; or saw photos of them riding a little bike. A friend I have on Facebook posted a video of her son (who has Down Syndrome and is 6 months younger than Felix), saying some words. Other parents of children with Down Syndrome proudly gushed that their children were walking at 14 months old or standing unassisted. I was genuinely happy for all of these parents, but had let it bother me. It is SO exciting when our kids do something new and I think every parent should 'shout it from the rooftops' whether their kids have a disability or not. Milestones should be celebrated!

Where's Felix?

I looked at my gorgeous little Felix this morning and realised how silly I had been. I went to the bank earlier and he had every person there gushing over him as he sat and waved and smiled at them. He blew kisses and gave high fives. He is an incredibly clever little man and people are drawn to him. Yesterday he stood for a full 4 seconds on his own. This morning he climbed up inside the folded pram and got stuck, but kept trying until he was able to get himself out again. He is signing the words 'drink', 'finished' and 'bath' more and more. It's all about the little things, and I had foolishly let myself forget that.

Excuse the video being sideways - Couldn't work out how to turn it!

My encouragement to you is to celebrate every little 'first'. Whether your child has a disability or not, cherish that moment because a first is exactly that - a first; it will never happen again. This morning my 3 week old Grandson smiled for the first time, not just once but several times. What a beautiful moment. The look on my son's face when he saw his son smile was priceless. It was like two firsts in one :)