Monday

I love this face

Felix and I have had the most amazing three days in the city. There is no way I can fit it all in one blog or I'd be writing all night, so I might break it down and write about a day at a time.

On Monday, Felix and I left home at about 8.30am for our four hour drive. I timed the drive so that Felix would have his morning sleep (usually 2 hours) in the car on the way. That didn't happen! However, he was an angel; he didn't make a sound for the whole four hours. He happily watched his Play School dinosaur DVD, and although his eyes got very heavy a couple of times, he didn't give in. I was really worried because I knew he had a Speech Pathology appointment at 2.30pm and I was sure that by then he would just collapse and fall asleep on the floor and it would be a waste of a visit.

We got into Adelaide at 12.30, which was two hours before Felix's appointment. We were close to the Down Syndrome Society, so I decided to stop by there for a visit. The beautiful Gina, who does Early Intervention with all the kids up to 4 years old, very graciously gave up some of her time to stop for a chat with us and a play with Felix. I couldn't believe how much energy he had after having no sleep since 6.30am! He had the whole Early Intervention room to himself which he thought was fantastic. He spent a lot of time in the big ball pit, and did some showing off with his signing and showed Gina the actions to 'Rock a Bye Your Bear'. It was a lovely way to pass the time.

Puzzles with Granny

Felix was still awake when we arrived to his Speech Pathology appointment. His eyes were all puffy underneath and were so watery (very common in children with Down Syndrome, especially when they're tired). I was certain he would lay down on the floor and refuse to do anything the Speech Pathologist wanted him to do. True to form, Felix pulled out his charm and interacted beautifully with the Speech Pathologist. He wasn't quite as energetic as usual, but he made sure that he showed her the way he communicates, through signs, gestures and a couple of words, and she was really pleased with him. She has worked with quite a few children with Down Syndrome so she was able to give me some really good suggestions to encourage even more communication from Felix. It was a really positive experience for him, and also for me. I feel like we have a great plan in place to help Felix improve even more with his communication. It's really exciting!

The Speech Pathologist suggested getting an ipad for Felix. She said it would definitely work as a communication tool for him and be really beneficial, so we'll be looking into getting one as soon as we can. If anyone can suggest any good basic programmes for little ones, I'd love you to leave a comment. I have absolutely no idea where to even start looking.

Lunch time

After the Speech Pathologist, I continued to drive for another hour to get to my parent's house. Felix was asleep within a few minutes of being back in the car. The poor little guy was exhausted. He had all of his energy back when we arrived there and was so excited to see his Granny and Papa. He had a big play with them and spent lots of time singing songs. He ate a massive dinner that Granny had cooked for him and then fell asleep the second I put him to bed. I grabbed the chance to have a catch up with my Mum and Dad which I really enjoyed because I don't get to see them often. By this stage I was quite exhausted too. I had driven over 400km and been up since early in the morning. Needless to say, I was asleep when my head touched the pillow.

Stay tuned for Tuesday's adventures....