 |
| Who...Me? |
A while ago I wrote a blog about the first time Felix gave me kisses. I was so excited and loved every single dribbly, wet smooch. Unfortunately for me, he only did it for a few days and then the kisses all disappeared. Well, I'm pleased to say that after a short recess, the kisses are back. OK...maybe not for me this time, but for Daddy, which is pretty special. Last night before he went to bed, he leaned in and planted one right on Nathan's lips. He ended up giving him three or four, which was one of the sweetest things to watch. Hopefully I might be lucky enough to get one again soon.
After Felix had finished giving Daddy lots of kisses, Nathan gave me a kiss. Felix thought it was so funny; he started giggling then he pushed Nathan's head towards me so he would give me another kiss and then laughed some more. It's so great to see Felix gaining more awareness of emotions and how certain behaviours affect those around him. He seems to know when people need a cuddle or need a laugh. I've heard a lot of people say they think people with Down Syndrome are more in tune to how others are feeling than the rest of us. I thought initially that it was just another stereotype, but I'm beginning to think there might be some truth in it.
 |
| Our biggest son and our littlest son ! |
I took Felix back to the Doctor today after our scare on Sunday night. Thankfully, apart from a bit of a cold, he has been given a clean bill of health. His chest is clear, which is a relief, but the Doctor said that if it happens again we need to get him straight to hospital. He said he was quite worried about him on the night. In a way it was reassuring to hear him say that, and it wasn't just me overreacting. I think Nathan is still recovering from me yelling at him to get in the car NOW! Poor guy ran out of the door in bare feet, pulling on a pair of shorts and with a tshirt in his hands. I'm usually pretty calm so he knew that there must be a reason for me being so frantic.
This afternoon our eldest son, Daniel (22), dropped in to pick up his dog which we had been looking after for a couple of weeks (that would be 5 dogs in the backyard!). He, and Joel (17), sat on the floor and played with Felix for a while. He loves climbing all over his big brothers, so having two of them on the floor at the same time was pretty special! We were talking about when we thought Felix would be walking, so one of the boys stood Felix up and held him until he was stable, then let go so he was standing alone. The other one then held out his arms to Felix and asked him to walk to him. It was fantastic to see Felix take a couple of steps between them a few times. He definitely knows how to do it, he just needs the confidence now. I'm not quite sure how I'll feel about him walking. I'm still enjoying the baby stage but he's growing up so fast.
 |
| Standing in the middle of his big brothers. |
Felix is enjoying his ipad, and has already learnt a lot from it. He loves the 'Twinkle, twinkle little star' app, and plays the song over and over while he does the actions. It's so incredibly cute! He has one application that shows four pictures and then makes a sound relating to one of them. When he hears the sound we can say, "That's a bird noise. Point to the bird" and he will point to the bird. Obviously, there are a lot of things he still doesn't know the name of yet, but it's exciting to see the progress in his comprehension in the short time he's been using it. He loves all of the animal apps; touching the animals and hearing the sounds they make. He's a fan of monkeys and pigs at the moment and makes the sounds for both of them. Just a little bit gorgeous!
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/03/02/couple-sues-over-down-syndrome-misdiagnosis/
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think of this? Does it really cost $7 million to raise a child with down syndrome? xxx
I read this article a while back. It caused quite a lot of outrage in the DS community. A lot of us shed tears while reading it.
DeletePersonally, this story devastated me. They say they love their daughter, but are basically saying they would have killed her if they had known she had DS. I feel for her in the future if she finds out this was the case. People with DS are not silly. They understand a lot more than people give them credit for.
As far as $7 million. That is ridiculous!! Apart from a few extra bits and pieces we have bought for Felix (not necessary..just extras we decided to purchase), he hasn't cost any more than the other kids. All of his therapy is through the public hospital system (as are any surgeries people with DS may need). Obviously if we opted for the private option it would cost more, but the same could be said if you had a child with asthma or diabetes etc
I have a feeling that we will spend less on Felix in certain areas than our other kids as he grows, because he will probably be more content doing the things he enjoys rather than changing interest in sport/games/music etc. constantly like other kids do. Kids with DS generally find something they are interested in and stick with it.
Hope that answered your question. What did you think of the article?