Tuesday 2 April 2013

Scratches, Socks and Sitting Up

Well that's Mad March over with for another year! It's been predictably chaotic trying to accommodate the long list of Birthdays and our Bud has been making further progress with numerous new achievements – Not all of them good I might add!

She's always had a thing for grabbing at our faces and whilst I've mentioned it before it never seemed more than just a cute little phase – an 'of the moment' little character trait of hers. However she seems to be using it more and more to the point where each of us have at least 2–3 visible scratches on our face – daily! I'm quite sure it doesn't help when we yelp out 'NO!' as she is getting a reaction but it's almost impossible to duck out of the way and ignore. Her latest trick is to gently stroke your face looking at you with those big doe eyes of hers then quick as a flash grab your cheek or nose and in more recent cases actually draw blood! She then stares for a second before letting out an infectious giggle. We are hoping this prolonged phase will soon pass, however if anyone has a similar experience and has come out the other side please do share your secret!

In better news Rosie's bond with her brothers is quite evidently increasing. It's fair to say that (the majority of the time) Rosie is the only one in our house they actually listen to! Since she has become mobile she especially likes shuffling up to Harry and hugging his leg. It's the sweetest thing to watch – a real raw bond and show of affection. As she holds his leg she looks up to make sure he is concentrating on her and not the telly then babbles away to him.

As you know Rosie has been sitting up and shuffling around for quite a while now but it wasn't until last week that she was able to finally get herself into an upright sitting position from laying down. I have captured the moment on video (below) which shows a few failed attempts followed by an angry outburst before finally managing to sit up. We are overjoyed at this achievement and now she sits up so quickly as if she's been able to do it forever. It just goes to show that Rosie will do things in her own time, when SHE is ready and not a moment before!

Finally, I was so proud to learn that my 10 year old niece Martha had taken it upon herself to ask the Head Teacher of her school, St Benedict's Catholic Primary if they could wear odd socks to school to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day. The children were asked to make a donation in order to wear bright colourful and odd socks with all proceeds going to Cheshire Down's Syndrome Support Group. The whole school turned out in their odd socks and raised over £80. BUT that wasn't all, they took the opportunity to educate the children about DS by inviting a lady from Cheshire Down's Syndrome Support Group to give a talk. Rosie popped along as well to show her support and gave Martha the chance to show off her cousin with great pride. The children asked some wonderfully innocent questions which may seem funny to read now but in truth are probably questions many adults wouldn't know the answer to, or might themselves be afraid to ask – questions such as:

"Is there a cure?" (No, although there is plenty that can be done to help someone with DS live a healthy independent life)

"Is Down's syndrome a disease?" (It isn't, nor is it something you suffer with)

"Do you have it because your parents or someone in your family have it?" (No, it is a genetic condition that happens perfectly naturally at conception)

I'd like to thank all the staff and children of St Benedict's for joining in the 'socks fun' but more importantly for taking the initiative to use this day to educate and raise positive awareness of Down's syndrome amongst their pupils.


9 comments:

  1. I LOVE the video! So cute to see her sit up! Way to go pretty girl! Keep growing strong you are doing sooo GREAT!

    How awesome that the school let your niece do crazy sock day AND had someone come in to raise awareness! That is awesome!

    Thank you for your post! Love the pics and hearing about your family! Much love from Utah!

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    1. Thanks Rosalie always love your comments, something magical knowing Rosie is bringing joy all the way across the big pond :) x

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  2. Lovely to see she is reaching those important mile stones. It must feel so rewarding for you.
    The reason she is grabbing your face may be something to do with her sensory processing. I work with a little boy (who is 5yrs) and he does the same with hair. He loves to play with it and un-intentionally pulls it a little hard, especially if the girls have pig tails/plaits.
    I spoke to his therapists who have advised me its like an itch for him (that he really needs to itch), he feels the need to touch it and gains some sort of sensory experience from it.
    We work with Symbol UK (not sure if you have heard of them), a private service but they are really supportive and seem to know EVERYTHING about Downs Syndome!

    http://www.symboluk.co.uk/downs-syndrome-service/

    I hope this little piece of info helps you with your journey, bring on the next little milestone for your scrummy little girl!!

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    1. This is brilliant Leia thank you so much! Sensory processing certainly makes sense – I hope it is all innocent and not her developing a mean streak :) Thanks again for your feedback.x

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    2. Symbol UK changed our lives Tom. Invaluable SALT advice and sensory stuff too. Expensive but worth every penny.

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  3. Well done Rosie on your achievements! Lovely to see you and your brothers getting on so well.
    Natty used to be a pickle too, hurting others for the inevitable interaction that came after. Emotional results are so rewarding. Eventually we said (at home and school) 'I don't like it' and turned away. Her face would fall...
    It will pass. Much love to you all H x

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  4. I have recently discovered your blog and love it! I haven't commented before. I just wanted to say congratulations to your beautiful little girl on this amazing achievement. It gives me hope that my little one, born at 29 weeks a year ago and with likely cerebral palsy, will sit independently soon, too. It's just the good news I needed at the end of a not-so-good day. Thank you!

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  5. Amazing :) Her determination to sit up is a proud moment for your beautiful little Rosie :)

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