What's wrong with your baby?

Today I took my baby boy into my old work environement to show him off to my friends there. Most of them did not know about him. When I turned him around from my shoulder,one of the girls there asked, "What's wrong with your baby?" I replied with, "What do you mean?" She said, "Well, he doesn't look like your other boys." I said, "He looks a lot like my oldest son. He has Down syndrome...." She said, "I can tell!" I said..."but that's what makes him so right." Everyone was silent, and I walked away. Later, I got a few texts from some that were ther to tell me that he was so cute and that there was no way that they could tell. It is okay. It had to happen sometime. This was a first and I am sure that this is not going to be the last.

Captain Cobee

I love this story. My boys constanly play super heros or something of the sort. They are so good about including Cobee in their role play. The other day, they were playing pirates and they deemed Cobee their Capian. They were calling him Captian Cobee all day long. I had to hide myself around the corner so that they wouldn't see me take my mommy moment. It struck me how appropriate this name was for him. Captian Cobee. Because even though he is the baby of our family, he is the one who will lead us all home.

How Can I Help?

I met a really great Doctor in Billings. He helped get me information that I needed to get started on our journey. He gave me the names of families and support groups that could contact. He is the doctor that deals with high-risk pregnancies, and I have diabetes, and so, I was referred to him. He did the last ulta-sound on Cobee, the week that he was born. It turns out that he was from Idaho, and had attended ISU--where I attended. My in-laws know his wife's family. It's a small world. He was so great and helpful. When families find out that their baby will be born with Down syndrome, they are referred to him. So I went to him and asked how I could help. Was there anything that I could do for families that see him? He told me that sometimes a parent's testimony can impact another, and strike a chord with someone else. It could mean saving a baby from abortion, or adoption. So I decided that I wanted to help. I wrote a song about my thoughts on motherhood, and felt like it was appropriate. My friend had taken some pics of Cobee and me while I was in Idaho, and they were perfect for the cover of this CD. I will try to upload the song and here is the CD cover.

Moving Home!

We got back from Idaho this week, and to my surprise, my friends had a baby shower planned for me and Cobee! I have great friends. It was so refreshing! It reminded me of the love and support that they have for me even though we are miles appart right now. Words cannot express my appreciation and my love for them! We also just found out that Shane just got a job back home! So that visit may has well been perminant. Our house there has been on the market for 9 months with no offers at all, and with all things considered, we felt like moving back is the best thing for us. We will be close to family and friends, and the support system that we need. There are so many people here that have effected my life, I know that is we would not have had the chance to move back that they would have bee there to support us, and I will miss them, but I promise to stay in contact!

I knew that having Cobee in our lives would bring endless opportunities and blessings, but I didn't think that it would be so soon. I have already met so many great people that I would never have met otherwise, and it has only just begun! I met up with a lady here in Billings that has a 4 year old daughter. ADORABLE! She is so great-- mom and daughter. I have a lot in common with her. She owns a home decor store that I LOVE. My official service coordinator is great too. She is in this line of work because she had learning difficulties as a child, and no one took the time to help her until she was a little older, and that one person changed her life forever. Now, she wants to help others. That is what it is all about, isn't it.?

Where To Go Now?

I went to the hospital last week and got some information on who to call to get Cobee started in therapies and social services. The service coordinator just left my house. She was very nice. There is so much help available and I am so grateful. I wouldn't know what to do on my own. Cobee will start therapies in a couple of weeks. It sounds crazy, but the sooner they intervene in the first stages of development, their chances of success in later development increases. If you don't intervene early on, it is like domino affect, and all of the other stages will be delayed. Most of the physical delays in Down syndrome stems from low muscle tone in their bodies, combined with double joints and hyper flexibility in their joints, causing lack 0f coordination, endurance and motivation. Early intervention can help aid in developing muscle tone early on in order to help with speech development, rolling, sitting up, walking, etc. I feel it is important to do everything we can to give Cobee the best chance at life, both physically and mentally.

Confirmed Results

Every time the phone has rang today, my stomach has dropped. But the call that I was waiting for did come, and of course, the news that we were expecting was indeed what we had thought it would be. I thought that I was ready to hear it. I thought that I had geared myself up for those words, but I still broke down when the doctor said, "the test results confirm that your son does have Down syndrome". I hugged Cobee close to me sobbing. "What do I do now? Where do I go, who am I supposed to call?" "Just care for him and love him like you do your other children." Is all that the doctor could tell me. There has got to be more to it than that!?! So I insisted that I got some information on support groups in the area, or at least someone else that I could call. He told me to stop by the hospital, and there would be another doctor that could give me a few names. Okay. So there you have it. It is now official that our lives will be changed forever. And for the better, I am sure. I know that this little boy will change the lives of so many. He already has. I still have nurses calling to check up on me and Cobee, and just to talk to me and see if there is anything they can do to comfort me. I have to say that our experience at the hospital was amazing. Everyone was genuinely concerned. How neat. They don't even know me, but I feel like they have been friends of mine for a long time. I realize just how important and fortunate I am for this experience, because over the last few days, I have read everything that I can find about Down syndrome, and I got a hold of some old literature. It talked about how families were encouraged to institutionalize babies right from the start. Families were told that the child would "handicap" the rest of the family. A lot of families would send their baby off. One book said that "at the turn of the century, studies showed that children raised in their own homes with their families were advancing and living lives that were never expected of these children. SHOCKER! It said, and I quote, "besides, these children make great pets." Yeah. I put that literature as far from me as I could. This was all just 30 or 40 years ago. Wow. I am so blessed to be living now. There was never any mention about a mental institution, or anything of the sort. These children are so excepted and loved, now that society recognizes all of the good that they can do. I know that there will be hard times, and people who do not and will not tolerate children like Cobee, but as God as my whiteness, I will make a difference to those around me by bearing my testimony of his nature, and I know that he won't need my help to make a difference and leave an imprint on the hearts of all thosae he comes in contact with.