Just the Facts

The girls had doctors appointments this week.  Bridget's was her four month well child check, and Claire's was an ear check and to get orders for her six month thyroid check.  We knew Claire's tubes were out, but while they aren't in her eardrums, they are still sitting in her ears, blocking the view.  I was hoping to know if there was fluid building again, and whether or not we needed to have the tubes replaced.  Unfortunately, we just couldn't tell.

Claire is doing fabulously.  We are still having some behavior issues, both at school and with her sister, but they are  greatly improved.  We've been working HARD on potty training and she is doing great.  If I'm with her constantly, and can be attentive, she can stay dry all day.  It takes a combination of her asking to go, and just taking her frequently, but she is totally getting it.  I am hopeful that she will be out of diapers with a few months.

The Facts:
Claire weighs 26 lbs, which was exactly my guess.
Bridget is 14 lbs, 7 oz (I guessed 15 lbs), and 26 in.  She grew 2 1/2 inches in 2 months, and is 93% for length!

Bridget is fabulous, sleeping and eating well.  She's a happy, smiley baby.  She's rolling, playing with toys, and gnawing on any finger left too close to her mouth.  In fact, I was holding her on my hip the other day and had Claire's cup of rice milk in my hand.  All of a sudden I look down and she's slurping milk up out of the straw!

Since Bridget is so tall, we are having to make changes much faster than we did with Claire.  She only has 3 more inches before she outgrows her infant seat.  I knew this was coming soon, but I really want her to be sitting independently before moving to a convertible car seat, as I wouldn't have her bucket for shopping trips.

We are also going to have to make a change in her sleeping arrangement.  Right now, she is in a bassinet next to the bed.  The weight limit is 15 lbs, and stretched out she is almost touching both ends.  The problem is our room is small.  And our bed is big.  (We bought a king size bed while I was pregnant, and there is no way I'm giving it up).  A pack and play won't fit, and she's not ready to move down stairs as she still gets up once a night to eat.  I don't want her sleeping with us (she does on occasion while nursing, and I can't sleep), but I'm not sure what other options there are.

Summer is always busy.  We try to take advantage of the longer days and are outside as much as possible. Which leaves little time for computer time or reading time for me.  So, while I haven't been commenting as much as I'd like I'm trying hard to keep up with reading about all our friends!

4 Months

Today Bridget is four months old.  She's changing so fast, and I'm ready for her to slow down a little.

We won't have her well baby appointment until we get back from vacation, but she isn't lacking in groceries. Or height.  She is so long that her six month pajamas almost don't fit.

She's started rolling from back to belly, with a few rolls the other direction thrown in for some variety.  She loves to holler, just like her sister.  She does babble, but her preferred method of communication seems to be excited screeching.  Cute at first, but it becomes shrill very quickly.

Claire is doing much better with Bridget.  She still scratches and bites, but with much less frequency than before.  I think we are all settling in bit more every day.

Faith and Down Syndrome

Alright, get ready for a bit of rambling because this weeks Summer Disability blog hop topic is:

What is “faith”? How does it affect the way in which I perceive and integrate Down syndrome within my life?

I guess I might as well start with some basics.  Yes, I believe in God.  Yes, I pray.  Yes, I go to church.  (A fairly conservative church where I don't agree with everything, but that's a whole different topic) 

Do I have faith that everything happens for a reason?  Um, well...yes...maybe...I don't know.

My problem here starts with Brian's accident.  Yes, it happened.  I know how it happened.  I just don't know why it had to happen.  And I guess that's where faith comes in.  Believing in something even when we don't understand.  I have to believe that God could have stopped Brian's accident, could have saved his life and chose not to.  And that's hard to do.

Brian's accident taught me to cherish what is important to me, not to dwell on petty things, to always end encounters with kind words.  Important lessons yes, but important enough to learn at the cost of someone's life?

And then there is Claire and Down syndrome.  

I believe that Claire is *exactly* who she is meant to be, and that she is supposed to be mine.  Of this I have no doubt.  

The day I learned she might have Down syndrome was the day I first felt her move inside of me.  I know that her quickening happened for a reason that day.  In an instant she went from being this idea of a child (obviously I knew I was pregnant, knew I was going to have a child, but just didn't really get it), to being my child.  The child I would fight for.  The child I wanted no matter what.

Where the doubt creeps in is when people say God chose her for me.  Really?  God purposely gave me, someone who wasn't sure they even wanted to have kids, a child that could be living with me for the rest of my life.  I am incredibly impatient, and a huge procrastinator.  And now I have a child that needs extra help and time devoted to her.  Okay, so maybe Down syndrome is supposed to teach me to slow down.  Maybe there really is a lesson in everything, and everything happens for a reason.  

I guess what it all comes down to is that I just don't know.

There are times I'll read a blog post or see some scripture quoted that is so appropriate it seems to be meant just for me.  God must be speaking to me through others.  And there are other times that the questions, the whys, are just so overwhelming that nothing makes sense.

I know that faith is an evolution, a journey if  you will.  I just thought by now I would know, really know, exactly what I believe, and I just don't.

Swimming Lessons

For the past two weeks Claire and I took parent and child swim lessons.  I use the term lesson *very* loosely though.  Claire, at 2 1/2, was the oldest child in the class, and really the goal was to get the kids comfortable in the water.  The pool was almost empty except for our class of 4, and that was wonderful.  But even keeping the age of the kids in mind, I would have liked a bit more instruction.  Literally, the advice from the teachers consisted of..."try to put them into a front float...now try a back float....now they can jump in off the side of the pool."

Claire had a blast in the water, and by the middle of the second week she was happily "jumping" in the pool and going underwater.  The first couple of times we tried this she coughed and spluttered, but by the end of that lesson she would come up smiling, laughing and clapping.

distracted by shoes

Our pool has a great sloping entry.  Claire would walk in until the water was almost touching her chin

watching her friend jump in

getting ready to jump

all done

The timing on the swimming lessons was perfect.  The girls and I are going on vacation in about ten days and my aunt has a pool.  I bet Claire spends a lot of time in the water!