This is my final confession of the series (and Down syndrome Awareness Month -2016) and for obvious reasons, it will address Halloween! For Everett’s very first Halloween we dressed him up as a baby skeleton and I bought Vic & I matching skeleton tees (the tees have become a Halloween tradition for us!). We took […]
Down Syndrome Awareness Month
In 2014, I intro
duced a new fact about Down syndrome on Facebook every day in October (Down syndrome Awareness Month). I got creative & tech savvy & I upped my social media game in 2015 by creating and posting thirty-one DS awareness memes with adorable photos of Everett and our family, to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. This year I created and posted my confessions, which seemed to be a big success! Thus, this section of mambility.com is solely dedicated to my efforts (and the efforts of others) during Down Syndrome Awareness Month each year. Who knows what I'll do in 2017 -- thank goodness I've got some time to think about it and possibly learn about a new digital tool or application!
Confessions of a Rockin mom #29: Fears related to preterm labor & Down syndrome
Everett was born nearly five weeks early. Vic & I were both convinced it was false labor and we were shocked when the doctor on duty told us we were having a baby the night of May 26th, 2013. Everett was born that morning of the 27th, and shortly thereafter diagnosed with Down syndrome. It […]
Confessions of a Rockin mom #28: Fears related to having more children
We were overjoyed when we found out that I was expecting a sibling for Everett. And when we learned Liam was a little boy, we couldn’t believe how blessed we were. Two little boys…brothers! For 9 months we waited patiently and happily for little Liam’s arrival. But I’ll have to confess…the night before I was […]
Confessions of a Rockin mom #27: Fear of Down syndrome markers
Because Everett was diagnosed with Down syndrome right after he was born, we had to order a karyotype blood test to confirm his diagnosis. In the meantime, all we had to go on in gauging whether he had DS or not, were some physical characteristics. I remember a lot of people (especially healthcare providers) constantly […]
Confessions of a Rockin mom #26: Fear of “slower” milestones
Fact — “Down syndrome occurs when an individual has a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21. This additional genetic material alters the course of development and causes the characteristics associated with Down syndrome.” (NDSS.org). Let’s focus on the second part of this statement for a second, specifically the term “development.” Hopefully by now […]
Confessions of a Rockin mom #25: Fears related to growing up
When I was about 7 1/2 months pregnant with Everett, Vic & I went out to dinner one night at one of our favorite local restaurants, an Italian joint. I distinctly remember that night. I remember what I wore, I remember what I ordered, and I remember where I sat. I remember these (what would […]
Confessions of a Rockin mom #24: Fears related to inclusion (or lack thereof)
When I was a kid in elementary school, all of my differently-abled peers attended a separate class that was titled “self-contained.” Since I attended the general education classes, I never interacted with any of these children. These interactions (or lack thereof) were the first memories of differently-abled persons that I drew on when making sense […]
Confessions of a Rockin mom #23: Fears about where my child will live someday
We live in a modest home. Between Vic, me, the boys and our two large dogs, space is tight in our 2 bed/1.5 bath 1925 bungalow. But we love our home. Our boys are growing, however, and we know there will come a point when we have to spread our wings and fly. Vic & […]
Confessions of a Rockin mom #22: Fear of behavior issues
When Everett was about 6 months old we took him to have his picture made with Santa at a local mall. When we got settled into the long line of families waiting for their obligatory Santa photos, we realized the parents in front of us had a daughter with Down syndrome. Her name was Meagan […]
Confessions of a Rockin Mom #21: Fear of early genetic testing
In this confession I’m going to address prenatal testing with one caveat — this post is NOT, I repeat NOT, meant to stir up personal and political opinions related to pro-life/pro-choice issues. If anyone comments as such, your remarks will be deleted. Here goes. When I was around 20 weeks pregnant with Everett we received […]