Saturday, May 31

Today was Addison's first day at the pool. She wasn't smiling very much, but I think it's because she wasn't quite sure what to think about the cold water. We had a great time though. Hope you enjoy!

Monday, May 19

Just a quick update to fill you in on the latest with Addison. We visited the cardiologist today and got a great report. The muscle bundle that was enlarged at birth has stretched and is no longer visible on the echo. She does have a hole in the wall between her atria, called a PFO (patent foramen ovale). This is a hole that is there in the womb to bypass her lungs since she's getting oxygen from the umbilical cord. The doctor said they actually give it 2 years to close before it's considered a problem. And Addison's is small enough that, even if it doesn't close, it should never need intervention. So, she sent us home with no meds, no restrictions, no special precautions! They'll recheck it again at age 2. We couldn't have asked for a better result!

Other than that, she's just growing and getting to be more fun everyday. We get so many smiles and laughs now. You can't help but laugh yourself. We got her highchair, and she's been sitting in it to get used to it before we start her on solid foods. I think she likes it. She's been spitting up more lately, and her new trick is to pull the burp cloth off your shoulder, then spit up on you. Then she looks at you and smiles. At that point, you kinda don't care about the spit up on your shoulder (and down your arm, and back, and side). I've included some more pictures from last weekend. Enjoy the smiles!

Uncle Russ and Addison with their matching hairlines.

Tuesday, May 13

We had a great weekend in Lubbock, TX. Russell, the one shooting for favorite uncle status, graduated from Texas Tech Law, and we wouldn't have missed it. We had a few big-ticket items happen over the weekend. Addison broke through the 13 lbs mark. It seems that waking up twice a night to feed her is paying off. Hopefully it won't be too long before we don't have to do that any longer. Believe it or not, Addison is actually a great sleeper. The past few days, she has been waking up around 6:30 in the morning, just talking away, ready to make things happen for the day. Not cool. We try to tell her that she really wants to sleep later, but she doesn't listen.

For those of you who haven't heard yet, Addison's test results came back normal for her thyroid. Next Monday, we go to the cardioligist to check the lump of muscle on her heart. Maybe it won't be much of a lump any longer. They told us that it will likely stretch out as her heart grows larger, so we are going to check to see if that's happening.

Along with a number of other new sounds in her vocabulary, her new favorite thing to do is put her tongue in between her lips and blow air. If the person sitting next to you isn't paying attention, they might think you have a little gas. She also likes to roll over from her back to her tummy on occassion. We discovered that this past weekend. She certainly loves being around her family, even if she doesn't remember who they are right away.

Addison turned 5 months old today. We took some pictures, and thought you would like to see. enjoy!

Being Addison's Mommy

I've been asked what it's like to take care of a baby with "special needs." While I don't have other children with whom to compare her, I'll try to give you a little insight into our lives.

Honestly, taking care of Addison is a lot of work. I feed her 8-10 times a day, and change at least as many diapers. I get up at 3 am to feed her. Sometimes after she eats, she decides it's playtime, so I sit in the dark and rock her and shhhh her, until she's sleepy enough to lay in her crib and fall back to sleep. Sometimes she spits up all over herself and me, creating lots of laundry. Sometimes she poops all over herself, and me, creating lots of laundry and bathtimes! My days are filled with decisions that books make you believe will make or break your child: Should I let her cry or pick her up? Am I holding her too much? Am I teaching her all she can learn? If I need to go somewhere, I have to arrange for someone to be here with her, or I strap her into her car seat and lug it in and out of the car on my errands. If she doesn't nurse well or when I'm working, I pump and give her bottles, which equals lots of little parts to wash (and an embarrasing situation or two). We have tummy time several times a day to help her learn to hold her head up, roll over and eventually sit up on her own. Though it doesn't feel like work, we help her develop her social skills by sitting and having conversations, and she smiles and laughs, though her best smiles are reserved for Daddy. I talk to her about the colors in front of us or the rain and thunder or that big brown puppy dog. Every now and then we have a doctor's appointment to go to or bloodwork to have drawn.

You see, at this point, the only thing special about Addison's needs is that they're hers. I know we'll have challenges and set backs along the way, but who doesn't? We've made it through the ones we've had so far, and we've come out better people on the other side. I think a lot of people think that because she has Down Syndrome, Addison will go through life ignorant or oblivious to what's going on around her. But I disagree. Behind her smile, I see a more intense enjoyment of life than that of some of the smartest people I know.