What its like....

What is it like to have a child with a disability?
First you must understand that having a child with Down Syndrome is not something terrible.  Its a journey filled with hope, triumphs, joy, struggles, and also satisfactions that will bring out the best in you.  It will make you the best parents of the perfect child for you!! When we found out about the diagnosis, most people go through the entire grief process as they would if a death had occurred. My husband and I are not the norm. Because we found out when he was 10.5 months which isnt common, followed by pneumonia. Maybe that was God's way of not giving us time to react or grieve.  I truely believe that it would be a different story if we had 've found out at birth. How it was missed??  I still question it.  10.5 months of dr visits, weekly weigh ins cause he wasnt gaining weight, wasnt eating, and hitting his milestones slightly delayed... etc, when the first clue was as simple as a single line across his right palm (a simian crease).  I think it was the way God had intended.  I was in labour for 24 + hours, and right when Lincoln was born is when the nurses were changing shifts - so perhaps they assumed the other shift did the *checking* thing.  When Parker was born, they checked him out (same nurses).. I questioned why, and they said it was standard procedure, they check every newborn - ?huh?... not in LIncolns case (in which the same nurses, who knew about Lincolns late diagnosis showered him with gifts and love once he came to meet his baby brother - iteresting....) He was our baby boy, and we love him no matter what - maybe just even more now!  I didnt want to feel guilty about crying so much when we found out.  It truely was a joyful moment! Reading stories about other parents and seeing how much they loved their babies brought me back to the baby inside me. It took my thoughts off "poor me" and back to the cute and cuddly baby I was carrying. Reading about the day to day life that parents on the Internet newsgroup had with their kids helped me refocus on the fact that I had a baby...just a baby...just God’s most glorious miracle.  Lincoln has been attending day care for over a month now... and has picked up so many things since being there (some of which are not "good" things - but at least he's picking them up!!)  They have said he is ready for LONGER days - not just the mornings, cause he is doing so well!!  Not sure i'm ready for that, but he seems to be, so we'll go with it!!  He doesnt get treated much differently.  He is in the toddler room, and there is a special worker present in the room while Lincoln attends, but she doesnt centre him out for the other kids to notice that there is something different about him.  They treat him like their other peers in the class room.  Lincoln might even be a bit of a leader!  I know he's the *newest* one in his class, which tends to draw attention... but so his teacher told me, when he's done doing what the activity is, he'll move on, and yell for the other children to follow him - like - hello - i'm in the book centre now - come!!!  Children with Down syndrome are like all children in their need to make friends, explore their environments, to gain confidence and self esteem, and to learn.  Those who are not parents of children with special needs become helpers to our cause, simply by educating themselves, sharing an article about Down syndrome, educating their own children about Down syndrome, being empathetic, open minded, and open hearted to be able to see the person beyond the syndrome.