Road Trip!

We officially had our first road trip as a family of four. How does this differ from a road trip with just three? Tremendously! A trip that normally takes four hours driving (went to Mom and Dad's) with the occasional stop became a 6 hour trip with many long stops. Stops to eat, get out of car seat, nurse, change diapers, walk the dog, etc. etc. We decided to leave close to Gracie's bed time, gave her her milk, let her watch a little TV, and off the dream land we hoped she would go. No such luck. She LOVES her some Veggie Tales so she refused to fall asleep. She may have slept for an hour tops but was wide awake when we finally pulled in to mom and dad's around 1 am. Reese was great and slept the entire way!

Packing and the amount of stuff needed for two babies is unreal. Keep in mind that no toys were packed but a few books and a baby doll. Mom and Dad have an entire room full of toys which Grace likes to play with cause they are all new to her. We took the pack-n-play for Grace to sleep in and Reese slept in bed with us. It actually went better than expected. Grace was able to sleep the entire night without waking when I would be up with Reese and she actually slept in every morning till 9 am. This is something I wish she would do at home.

Needless to say, it was a little chaotic getting there but we had a great weekend. Matt and I attended my annual work Christmas Party in Gaithersburg, MD on Friday. Then we spent the evening with the family. Beth and Andy drove up as well as Jeremy and Lauren. We did our Christmas with Beth and Andy as they will be in GA to visit his family over the holidays.

Below are some of the pics from our weekend. It's funny to see how much more Grace is into Christmas lights, and presents, and bows, and all the fun Christmas stuff. She was so cute just staring at the tree in amazement!

Littlest Santa's helper!

This past Sunday we had the pleasure and honor of attending our first large Down Syndrome Association event. The Christmas party was for all ages and their families. They had a DJ, karaoke, face painting, elfs making animals out of balloons, games, and Santa even made an appearance as well.

We had a lot of fun. We were sad Grace couldn't be there cause she would have LOVED it but she was home recovering from her weekend illness! Reese slept through most of it but she woke up in time to meet Santa. She must get her "dancing" from her sister cause she was wiggling so much I thought she was going to wiggle right out of my arms. I warned Santa before I handed her to him and after a few pics he looked at me and said "You weren't kidding..she is a mover and a shaker." Guess she liked the music selection the DJ chose. ;)

Reese was the littlest one there and she was a huge hit! All the kids and parents wanted to see her and thought she was the cutest thing ever. Of course we agreed with them! She is a McClain! hahahahha! That totally sounded like something Matt would have said! Doesn't it?

We met a lot of great people and look forward to more events in the future. Here are some pics of our cute little Santa's helper! Enjoy!

Ignorance!

I mostly blog about our family and positive things but something happened this morning that really irritated me and I knew I needed to blog about it. I took Grace to the Pediatrician this morning because she has really been struggling with a cough and congestion the past few days. Well when I went to get her out of the crib this morning her face was swollen and she just looked miserable. Thankfully our pediatrician has Sat. hours.

While we were waiting in the waiting room a very sweet young girl came over to talk to Grace and I. I learned her name was Brittney and she was 14 years old. She asked lots of questions about Grace and offered her toys to Grace. Brittney is different from other 14 years girls. I'm not sure exactly what her diagnosis is but one of her legs is shorter than the other. She wore a special shoe and she spoke differently. She wasn't a "typically developing" child and this I can very much relate to. After talking to us for a while she walked over to a woman with her little girl not much older than Grace and asked how old the little girl was. Next thing you know the nurse was calling Brittney's name and off she went. We waved bye and started to play with the etch-a-sketch. Next thing I know the woman beside me leaned over and in a not so quiet voice and said "Her Grandmother needs to keep her over there and under control." I just looked at her in shock and didn't say anything. As I sat there realizing what she just said I became so angry. Angry at her ignorance and angry that my children might go through the same ridicule one day. I want to protect my children but I know that there will always be ignorant people out there judging those different than themselves. (this woman's little girl had HUGE ears but did you hear me saying..wow..your kid has some big ears, have you thought about getting them fixed? NO, I would never say something like that because it's not important and it doesn't define who she is!)

I went from being angry to feeling bad for this woman. She probably doesn't have the pleasure of knowing a child with a disability or felt pride by watching a loved one accomplish a milestone that others take for granite. I also realized that I want to do everything I can to educate those around me so that there is less ignorance. But I know it's not going to be easy and there will always be those people who will get under my skin and upset me. I just pray for patience and for wisdom on how to respond.

2 months old!

Reese turned 2 months old on Nov. 29th. I still can't believe how fast time is going. I remember by mid Aug. I was so over being pregnant and very excited to meet our little girl. Fast forward three months and our little girl is here and growing more and more everyday.

We had her 2 month check up on Tuesday and much to my surprise and the dr's, Reese gained 2 lbs and 13 oz and grew 2 inches in one month!!! She is now 10 lbs 13 oz and 22 1/2 inches long. She is doing sooo well, especially since they said she may gain weight slower than other children! I don't think Grace ever gained almost three lbs in one month. She is filling out nicely! Don't you think?

Welcome to Holland!!!

Grace had her check-up with the Neurologist yesterday. We were excited for him to see the progress she has made since her last visit in March. He had to look at his chart to see which side was her "weaker" side. He couldn't tell!!! Amazing!!

He also said that if he had predicted this kind of progress 10 months ago he would have been stretching it!! We couldn't have been happier or more proud of Grace than we are today! She has overcome so much and we love her so much.

I recently came across a short article that really touched me and I'm sure will be a comfort for many years to come. I feel honored and excited to be both Grace and Reese's mother. I have no idea what the future holds but I can't worry about tomorrow or I might miss out on all the wonderful things today!

Welcome to Holland- by Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome To Holland".

"Holland?!?" you say, "What do you mean "Holland"??? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy"

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around…and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills...Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy...and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned".

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away...because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.

But...if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things...about Holland.

Post c-section recovery!

I can not believe how quickly these past 6 (7 weeks tomorrow) have flown by. Not only is Reese nearly two months old but I am over the worst part of a c-section. The long recovery. I was dreading it weeks before I had it because I knew that my life would change drastically.

Here are a few of the post surgery restrictions and situations I faced these past 6 weeks.

1. No lifting anything over 10 lbs (Grace weighs in currently at 25 lbs 13 oz) How do you explain to a 18 month old that Mommy can't pick her up?? Broke my heart!

2. One trip up and down stairs for first two weeks and then limited trips for following four weeks. I would have to make sure to shower and have everything I needed for the day to take with me downstairs each day. This is difficult when I had to carry Reese at the same time.

3. No exercise of any sort

4. Blow drying the incision after shower to make sure it was completely dry!

5. Lots of pain meds. I tried to stop taking them early but soon realized that if I was in pain I was of no good to either of my children. Oh yeah..and found out I'm allergic to perkasets. Had really bad rash develop on my stomach, butt, and upper legs. NOT FUN!

6. Clothing was interesting as I couldn't wear anything that sat near my bikini area incision. Lots of PJ's and elastic waisted shorts pulled up to my belly button. I couldn't be stylish if I wanted to be.

However, as bad as I'm making this seem it really wasn't that bad at all. No perinatal stitches and less bleeding are both perks. Not to mention God protected Reese by keeping her breech so that I had to have a c-section due to her low blood platelets. So overall, I'm very happy about having a c-section and the recovery went by faster than I had initially anticipated.

So if you have to have a c-section or you deliver naturally (as I have done both) neither are better than the other. Ultimately it is what is best for you and your baby!

DSAHR

Today Matt and I attended our first meeting for new parents with the DSAHR (Down Syndrome Association of Hampton Roads). We were both excited to meet other parents and to gain some sort of wisdom and insight to what it means to have a child with Down Syndrome. We decided to keep Reese home with Grace and Aunt Jenn just because she isn't quite 6 weeks old yet and the H1N1 epidemic. However, we were fortunate to meet a little girl named Tori. Tori is 2 years old and a complete cutie. Her mother Karen was very candid in sharing her experiences, emotions, hopes, and love for her daughter. I think both Matt and I were amazed by this and especially with this little girl!

For the first time I saw past the diagnosis and saw the potential for my daughter. There are so many rescources, programs, and support out there for children with Down Syndrome and their families. It was strange how we had an instant connection with these parents. I'm very excited to get involved and educated. We know we have much to learn but it's nice to know we don't have to walk this path alone. We can look to those who have and are walking it now. What a blessing and an encouragement.