Our Little Jack is 15 months! I can't believe, and actually as long as it has taken me to write this post...he is about to turn 16 months old.
Our visit to the pediatrician was hard, as usual. I hate answering all the "is he doing this?" questions. I am so thrilled an content at Jack's progress, but the doc only seems concerned with the 'big' things like spoken words and gross motor.
So Jack weighed in at 22 pounds, 4 ounces. His height is 29 1/4 inches. His head circumference is 45 cm. He is in the 50th percentile for the Down Syndrome charts and the 3rd percentile to the other ones. He is still a little guy. He wears a 12 month top and 6 month bottoms, lol. He has the shortest, cutest little legs.
So what is he doing? Well, he is stacking blocks with little assistance. He has started to sign "momma" and "more", although he seems to do these when he wants to and not on command yet. He is starting to take interest in the "signing times" dvds...he will watch off and on.
He is imitating sounds, such as "bah" for ball and "bb" for bubbles and "dd" for dog, etc. He is turning pages in books and has learned the cause/effect of certain toys such as ball poppers. He is playing appropriately with many items. He rolls a ball back and forth and is starting to understand throwing a ball. He loves balls, btw! He is banging 2 items together and loves to bang on the xylophone and drum.
He is starting to understand the concept of coloring, but mainly still wants to eat the crayons :) He loves to stand, although he needs support. He is sitting up well, but still is working on getting into sitting and we are still working on his balance and stamina. Gross motor is just so tough for him. He is doing great at army crawling and occasionally will get on all 4s. He is completely off the bottle and is eating all table foods. He is in love with goldfish crackers, like most kids and will eat just about anything. The kid loves guacamole! He has an advanced palate if i do say so myself :) He is the most engaged little boy and loves cuddles and to sing songs and read books. He loves to give hugs and big wet kisses and I am so glad he still wants to cuddle with me. He is doing well in my estimation. However, the pediatrician said, "he is still behind for gross motor and speech development even for a child with down syndrome" Well, Kiss my butt pediatrician. I know Jack is making progress and the steps are little but they are there. I know he will talk one day and walk and my role is to encourage him and not compare him. So take that!!
We got some x-rays of his spine taken last week, but no results yet. We also got blood work done, but no results of that either. Hopefully I will find something out today.
Other than that - we still have therapy 3 nights a week and so far so good.
For people who are new to this journey - I just want you to know that you are a precious few. Life is going to be so different, lots of stuff medically and lots of therapies, but the joy you will see in your child - wow. I wouldn't trade any of it. I love my son and he is amazing. And I love loving him..as I have said many times before...he is magical and I know you will all feel the same way one day.
Personally - we are making it. Day by day. I am so grateful for Jack and for my friends and family. It has been a very very hard 5 weeks, and I feel like I have been in the worst lifetime movie that won't end, but we are making it. Maybe one day I will write a book about all of this and make millions, who knows. I went out last night with some girlfriends for a much needed night out and it was so refreshing and nice. Life hasn't turned out at all the way I anticipated - but we are hopeful that things in the future will be better. We deserve more than the lot we've been given...I know that for sure.
