What I Love About Being a DS Mom #7

Milestones: Pushing the Pause Button

When you are a new mom, you focus on and look for the big milestones...rolling, sitting, crawling, walking, talking.  Once one is achieved your child is already working on the next one.  It's a fast-paced journey with large celebrations every so often.

Raising a child with Down Syndrome, you get to push the pause button.  The spaces from one milestone to the next are drawn out and you have the luxury of enjoying each one just a little longer.  You have the opportunity to take thousands of pictures and videos of each milestone, and really appreciate the effort that goes into mastering each one. 

One of my favorite milestones that Ty reached was rolling.  At just 4 weeks and 1 day old, my little peanut of a boy pushed up on his arms, raised his head, and rolled from his belly to his back.  I remember the look of shock on his face as he suddenly found himself staring up at the ceiling.  I could not have been more proud.  This milestone was particularly significant for me, because it was the first time that I understood the immense potential that my son had.  Up to that point I had read numerous books and articles about Down Syndrome, and felt somewhat overwhelmed at the challenges that my little guy would possibly face.  I hated the thought of him having to work harder than most to achieve something as simple as rolling over.  Watching him do this with such ease...which quickly became his favorite activity...I realized that my baby was his own person and couldn't be defined by a book or statistic.  So, as small as this milestone was in the scheme of things, it was a huge one for me as a parent.



There he goes!

Rolling is pretty exhausting!

 Sitting was the milestone that taught me patience, determination, and persistance.  Before Ty came along, I had no clue how many muscle groups were involved in sitting, or how they all had to work together to keep a body upright.  As we took on the challenge of tackling sitting, I was forced to slow down, and pay attention to the tiny signs of progress that Ty made.  Did you know that the body gains control from top to bottom?  I didn't.  First, I began to notice that he could hold his head much steadier, then he could hold his head, neck and shoulders steady if you supported the middle of his trunk.  Month by month, we were able to offer support lower and lower, until he was able to prop himself up with his arms.  To an outsider, it likely seemed that Ty was not making any progress.  I'm sure that all people saw was a 7 month boy who still could not sit independently; but to us, we saw and celebrated every ounce of control that Ty gained.  I'll never forget the day that he finally did it.  We had taken him to have professional photographs taken for Christmas, and he was oh-so-handsome in his green sweater vest, khaki pants, and brown loafers.  When the photographer asked us to sit him on a spot on the floor, I winced on the inside knowing he couldn't do it.  For whatever reason though, we just plopped him there and held our breath...and it happened...every muscle miracously worked together and he SAT.  It was the first time I got to experience the intense pride of a parent who had watched her child persist at something that was not easy for him, and finally reach his goal.

One of our first pictures of our little guy sitting...that Boppy prevented many falls over those months!

Since then, we have had many, many more proud moments, and little steps toward larger goals.  But, these are the two milestones that taught me about one of the joys of raising a child with Down Syndrome.  I notice every little thing he does, and celebrate each one with as much excitement and energy as I will for every large milestone he reaches in his future.