splash splash!

Gabe has been doing well lately. We were having some issues with getting him to eat about 2 weeks ago, but we now have a booster seat type highchair (Eurochair) that allows him to sit at the table with ua, and we are doing more of a side presentation of food and he is doing much better. I am waiting for GI to call me back to see if we can back off his tube feed again. We have to make this kid hungry to really want to eat and he is growing just fine, so I think we need to push him some. Gabe also had a sleep study 2 weeks ago. Any parent who has been through one of those knows it is not fun. Gabe had an average of 4 apnea episodes/hour. His oxygenation stayed pretty high however. For Down Syndrome, as long as you are less than 5 episodes per hour, they usually don't do any intervention. So, Gabe will get another sleep study in a year unless we have any concerns....works for me. Gabe got a new walker this week. This walker doesn't have a seat in it and requires lots of ab strength. It definitely is a workout for the little guy, but he enjoys walking and really gets it, it's just a matter of strengthening his abs and building up some endurance.
Gabe and I had a great day today. It was one of those days where I woke up in the morning and realized we had nothing planned (that rarely happens). We ate breakfast at First Watch and then went to the splash park and Woodland Mound. I had never been there before and it was awesome! The water was a little cold for Gabe at first, but once he got use to it, he loved it and was butt scooting all over the place! We will definitely have to go back sometime before Labor Day. We came home from the splash park and both took a nap. It was a great day.
We also had two year old pictures taken thanks to desiraejones.com.

I'm so excited about being a big brother!

We found out Monday we are having a girl. The fetal echo and ultrasound all looked great...sigh of relief. Bring on the pink!

Fishes

We took Gabe to the Newport Aquarium this weekend. He seemed to really like it. It's been so hot, it's nice to have indoor things to do. On Saturday night we also had a barbque/card party in Gabe's honor. We now have $300 in donations for Gabe's Buddy Walk. We have such great friends.

Happy 2nd Birthday Gabe!

Gabe turned 2 on Friday. We had some family over on Wed and Fri for dinner and cake. Gabe also brought cupcakes to school on Friday and all the kids sang Happy Birthday. He's had a great week.

At two-years-old, Gabe can:

Eating: Yes, we still have the Gtube. Yes, we recently had to increase feeds b/c of some weight loss. Yes, Gabe still doesn't like to drink from a cup. However, Gabe is eating two year old food. He eats Gerber Graduate meals. He eats, regular oatmeal, spaghetti, cinnamon toast, grilled cheese, peanut butter crackers, hamburger, steamed veggies, rice, fish, etc. His jaw tires out from chewing, so we're working on volume, but I am happy we are getting away from soft foods only.

Walking: Gabe likes the Orthodics we got back in the spring. They help stabalize his ankle. He is able to pull up from sitting to standing. He is able to stand with the support of holding on with just one hand. Sometimes you can let go for about 3 seconds and he'll balance. He still does not want to crawl. He dives to the floor on his belly, stretches out, and then pushes up to sitting. He is able to move all over the house this way. Just today we put up some baby gates b/c he's getting so fast. He still walks in his walker. He also walks while we hold his hands. We have Physical Therapy 6x/month. We are really working on bending his knees to help with cruising and prevent the tin man walk.

Talking: Gabe knows about 25 signs now. He is also putting them together (ie: "Help with book please"). It's pretty amazing how much he understands and is able to communicate. He does all the motions to "Wheels on the Bus", "Twinkle Twinkle" and does some to "Itsy Bitsy Spider". Gabe has said "mom" and "dad" and "bye" for awhile, but it is much more purposeful now. Just this week he also started saying "book" k and all, blue, and he tries to say mirror, orange and yellow. Gabe also knows animal sounds for cow, sheep, duck, and he made up one for a scary monster.

Fine Motor: Gabe points at pictures in a book. We are working on him pointing in the air at an object. He is able to point to his hair, ears, mouth, nose, belly, fingers, feet, legs, and is hit or miss with eye. He is getting better with coloring. He'll hold a crayon now and tap it on a paper for awhile before he throws it. He also pokes at playdo.

Potty training: It's still a little early for any boy to really be potty trained, however, we are introducing it without any pressure. Gabe signs diaper when we ask him if he needs to be changed. We're working on him signing potty when he goes. We sit him on his little potty about once a day and he thinks it's fun. He's gone about 5 times on the potty the past month. I'm not pressing it b/c with the new baby coming in Nov., it probably isn't the best time to really push it.

I think that's it for updates. Gabe continues to amaze us everday. He's quite the toddler now...attitude and all. It's exciting to see him grow. Happy Birthday buddy!

Big Boy, Big School

Gabe is doing well overall with school. He did get smart last week and has started to cry when we leave. He gets over it pretty quickly though. He is also eating slightly better. He is playing more and seems less shy with the other kids. They have circle time, arts and crafts, social studies, and gross motor. Today he developed a fever during the day. Poor guy isn't feeling well. At first I thought maybe it was his canines finally coming thru, but it got up to 100.5 which is high for him, so I think he has a bug of some sort. He refused lunch today so I'm thinking maybe his throat is soar. As long as he has Tylenol on board he is okay. Hopefully he gets over it soon. He is "talking" alot more. He is mimicking lots of sounds and is doing really well with his flashcards lately. I'll have a more detailed update next week on all the fun stuff Gabe is doing...he will be 2 next Friday!

Father's Day and School

Gabe started school this week. He is attending Redwood's Early Childhood Development Program. For those who do not know, Redwood is a school here in NKY that provides a developmental enriched curriculum from newborn to preschool, to afterschool programs, to their adult center. The program integrates typical and special needs children into the same classroom. All of their teachers have degrees in early childhood education and they have many therapists who work there. We are so fortunate to have this available for Gabe. All of his therapists thought it was time for him to be around other kids to help motivate him to want to walk and drink from a cup. He is in a Mon, Wed, Fri program. Last week went well. He didn't really cry when we left. He had been napping well and all the teachers said he is doing well overall. Problem is, he won't eat for them. He did better Friday, but overall, not so hot. I'm unsure if it is b/c the teachers need to push him a little more, and not tolerate him spitting out food, or if all the other kids are just distracting him. I know there will be an adjustment period, so hopefully he picks things up this week.
In other news, Happy Father's Day to all you Dad's out there! My dad and Justin are wonderful fathers and Gabe and I are very lucky.

It's hot, hot, hot!

I think we just skipped spring and went straight to summer. I feel like I am sweating all the time...maybe it's just pregnancy hormones. We are doing well. Lots of summer stuff going on....the zoo, the park, the baby pool. Gabe started finally pulling up to stand last week. You may have noticed him wearing orthotics in my last post. Gabe has delayed motor skill for a couple different reasons:
1. Kids with Down Syndrom tend to have poor tone and it requires alot of strength to flex those muscles to get them working. This is why Gabe can pretty much bend in half. Poor tone in his facial muscles is also part of the reason it is difficult to get him to drink. 2. Gabe has hip flexion and can extend the ligaments in his hip. This basically means his joints are wobbly and he can do the splits no problem. I think his calling may be to become a yoga instructor. 3. Gabe was really sick early on and was restrained on his back for the early part of his life while his heart healed. Not having tummy time sets you back some. Don't worry...he'll get there! It's just a slow process. His orthotics are really helping him have stability in his ankles. It's exciting to see the progress. We also learned another trick from out PT: take a cloth hair band (the thick kind) and figure 8 it around his legs and pull it up to this thighs. It really helps with the hip flexion. Hopefully the cruising will come next.
We have introduced Gabe to the potty. We don't have any huge expectation, but we put him on it about once a day and he's gone on it about 4 times...he gets very excited...it's a start.