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 Everett to a trick or treat event that year and I wore him in a Baby Bjorn while we watched all the bigger kids knocking on doors, saying “trick or treat,” and filling their bags with candy. I remember wondering — Will Everett ever be able to participate in Halloween events like these typically developing kids? I guess I was afraid he wouldn’t experience holidays like everyone else, simply because he has Down syndrome. Boy did I have a lot to learn during those early days.
Fast-forward to Halloween 2016, and Everett is trick-or-treating like a boss. Following the crowd, holding his own bag (most of the time ?), and loading it with goodies! This pic collage is one of our family & Everett celebrating Halloween over the years. To me, this picture looks just like any other family growing and celebrating from year to year. Yes, Everett has DS and sometimes that’s the focus of our day as it comes with ups & downs (pun intended this time!). But 99.9% of the time, he’s just a kid to me and we’re just a “normal” family trying to survive the early years of raising two young boys. Hopefully my confessions throughout this month have taught you the same — our families are way more alike than different. There are some concerning things about DS, but for the most part, there isn’t much to be afraid of. Parenting in general, however, can be very scary at times. With or without an extra chromosome. Happy Halloween everyone…and Happy Down syndrome Awareness Month! [Read more…] about Confessions of a Rockin mom #30: Fears related to Down syndrome & holidays
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 was Memorial Day. My regular OB was off for the holiday, but called in to the hospital that morning to check on me. She told me if I could hang on a l
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 induced with Liam, I broke down a little bit.
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 scrutinizing his palms, feet, eyes, ears and overall stature. And I’ll have to confess….this worried me a great deal. I
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 seem like mundane) events, because that evening a young man with D
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 of Everett’s 
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 & I both dread this day. And I’ll have to confess…we’ll probably never sell this house even when we outgrow it. An early fear for a lot of parents of kiddos with DS revolves a
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 and she was about 5-years-old. Meagan was an adorable little girl but I no
When I was around 20 weeks pregnant with Everett we received this ultrasound photo and we were