Thursday 23 August 2012

Claws, Cuddles and New shoes!

I've been well and truly put to shame recently by Rosie – as my exercising efforts dwindle away to almost nothing the Bud has been working harder than ever on losing that 'holiday belly' by performing a cross between a pull up and sit up. She has developed the strength and ability to grip hold of my fingers and pull herself forward into an upright seated position. I think the motivation to do this comes from her seemingly endless desire to grab my cheeks and claw at my neck! (I even have the scars to prove it). She is playing of course so I really don't mind, in fact I'm probably guilty of encouraging it a little because it makes her smile and giggle so much and thats something I could listen to all day. She'll then round the whole thing off with a big cuddle and all is forgiven.

Rosie is waving a lot more now as well as copying our signing for 'hello', which is not only super-cute to watch but also shows continued advancement in her social skills.

The physiotherapist also paid us a visit this afternoon and delivered Rosie her first pair of shoes – I say shoe's but they look more like a pair of pink DM's! She is being encouraged to wear these in order to support and strengthen her ankles which are hypermobile. Hypermobility is the term used to describe joints which stretch further than normal and I'm led to believe it's very common in babies with Down's syndrome.

In other news this week I was extremely proud to discover that The Futures Rosie blog is featured in Hayley Goleniowska's first entry as SEN Editor for Brit Mums. It's not only a huge honour to be recognised by someone I have a lot of respect for but it's also helped take my message to a wider audience which is great. You can read the entry by clicking here and I'd also recommend a visit to Hayley's blog Downs Side Up to see why she and her daughter Natty are such an inspiration to many.

I've included a couple of pictures below from our recent holiday in Scotland where Rosie was doted upon by everyone from Great Aunts & Uncles through to my nieces Hollie and Martha who have been like live-in Nannies for two weeks! I must give them both a big 'thank you' as they never tired of feeding her, changing nappies, entertaining, bedtime bottle feeding and giving her copious amounts of love. We now know where to head whenever we fancy a break!








Monday 6 August 2012

Things I've taught my Daddy

It's been a very hectic few weeks, even months and I cannot remember the last time I enjoyed a moment of peace like I am right now. The kids, alongside their Mum, uncle, aunty, grandparents and cousins have all gone for a walk and I'm sat here by the river soaking up the tranquility. It's as if I've just taken all my stresses and worries of everyday life and chucked them in and watched the river carry them off downstream. A perfect moment and a great opportunity to write a few words.

There hasn't actually been a great deal for me to write about Rosie's progress this past week other than the fact she's babbling more than ever which is just wonderful to listen to – so entertaining, I wish I could bottle it up and save it for rainy days, I've captured a bit of it on video which will have to do! I've also been busy concentrating on a couple of ideas I've had in a bid to help eliminate common mis-conceptions often associated with DS, a little series of photos/posters I'm calling, 'Things I've taught my Daddy'.

It's always been important to me since I started The Future's Rosie that I don't come across as 'preaching from a moral high ground'. The reason I wanted to write in the first place (apart from getting things off my chest) was to help inform others what life is really like raising a child with Down's syndrome (DS). The drive to inform didn't come from other people's mis-conceptions but rather from my own ill informed pre-conceived ideas and total lack of knowledge. I was shockingly ignorant to many things relating to DS. It all seems so obvious now.

I don't expect the world to just change their perceptions overnight simply because I now have a child with DS, BUT I can hopefully play my part (no matter how small), through The Future's Rosie etc to help shift the way one or two people think and who knows, maybe someone reading this blog might one day find themselves facing a similar situation and feel better equipped to deal with it. I'm sure, upon reflection, when we were first told Rosie had DS had I been more aware and focussed on what it is rather than what it isn't – what I'd gain rather than what I thought I'd lost then my initial shock and fear would have been far less great.

So in a bid to do a bit more away from the blog to raise positive awareness I've put together a couple of visuals which I hope can gently inform people without patronising them. There are many thoughts associated with Down's syndrome that are in fact 'myths'. I've included the images/posters below and would be delighted should you wish to grab them and download for sharing around social media sites or blogs etc.

Thank you to everyone for your continued support. x