The experts were right!

Ever since we had a Nuchal Transluceny test that was off the charts, I've done lots and lots of reading on the internet. WebMD - Baby Center - any online University Medical Journal I could find. Jay would probably tell you I read TOO much. And granted, it has caused me a few problems in the past. There's a fine line between educating yourself and thinking you have a medical degree from Harvard. I have a tendency to sometimes fall into that trap. You know what I mean, right? When you start telling the doctor what kind of tests they need to order for your baby, you've probably been doing a bit too much reading.

As I was saying, I've done lots of reading. And one thing that seems to come up time and time again with Down Syndrome parents is that there will be a period of time when things seem to stay the same with their child. They don't seem to gain any new skills, meet any new milestones, etc. Of course, this is not a good thing to happen to the parent of a DS child. I mean, Jay and I are very realistic about Lois's future, but we still have high expectations for her. We've heard from numerous doctors that Lois has (luckily) managed to avoid many of the health and physical issues that effect many DS kids and delay their development. Doctors tell us we should expect Lois to meet her developmental milestones at about the same time as a "normal" child. So to go for weeks and not see anything new happen? Well. It kind of stinks. Makes you question if you're doing everything you can. If the therapists who work with her really know what they are doing or just like spending their time bouncing around on a big silver ball.

So these parents report that there will be this lull in development when you start to wonder if at age 30 your kid will be wearing velcro sneakers because she won't straighten her arms to tie her shoes. But then things start happening really fast and your DS kid suddenly takes off! And this is exactly what has happened with Lois this week.

Our kid who sits around like a T-rex with her little arms tucked up under her chin has suddenly decided that holding your arms straight out is kind of groovy. We went to a Mexican restaurant for dinner last Friday night. (HOLY COW! They went out to dinner? Yes. We did.) We sat her on the table in her car seat and handed her a toy. She held it straight out and shook it up and down. Jay and I just stared at each other. When did she learn this trick?

Sunday I watched her reach out and try to take my friend W's glasses off her face?! Wow! Monday morning I plopped her down to do some PT practice and watched as Lois sat up and propped herself up with 2 straight arms. In PT, Lois - who refuses to try to roll over - scooted herself across the sofa to get a toy. And then yesterday Lois discovered her toes. Granted, you have to show them to her over her big belly - but once she sees them she wants to grab them. And she can. And she does. This is amazing.

So I guess I'm going to stop worrying about velcro shoes and T-rex arms. My girl is doing just fine. Now if we could just get a handle on her hair. I think I'm going to go do some reading about that.