She looks like...

Today I received one of the best compliments I could receive. She looks just like you!!!!!

Now, let me back up a few months. As my family and I were googgly eyed over the 3D ultrasound pictures trying to determine whose mouth she had, whose nose she had, and in the pics we already knew she had Aunty Lali's (excuse me, Nanny's) moose cheeks...a comment was brought up that it was not polite to say she looked like anyone. That's would be equivalent to saying, "You look like you have Down Syndrome!"

Well I was PROUD to hear today. She looks just like you! I could care less if I look like I have Down Syndrome, I am just so happy that I have a baby girl that looks like mommy. Now, is it conceited of me to think she is absolutely beautiful.

And if you haven't seen my boys...they are mini versions of my husband.

My first month in Holland!

So Grace is finally here, and we have made it through our first month together. It's been busy, we have been to the doctor numerous times for non Down Syndrome related items...figures. Grace has been battling jaundice since she was three days old. I think doctors are just taking more precautions with her, so for almost 5 days straight we were at the doctors office daily checking her bili levels. The ladies at Methodist Labratory know us by name and have seen us more than I would have liked. I still dont think the jaundice is 100% gone but we are apparently out of the danger range. Then we had liver issues, weight gain concerns, and possible heart complications...but since then everything has cleared up and worked itself out.

Talk about a tired mommy. Ripping and running and recovering myself from a c-section. But you gain strength to do things you wouldn't expect that you could do. We are finally having a chance to sit back relax, and enjoy our bonding time together.

Now that we have been blessed with Grace for an entire month, I find myself thinking of Down Syndrome less and less, and just celebrating the fact that we have a little girl. I really expected for this experience to be different from my other kids, but the only difference is that I get to dress Grace up in cute girly outfits and take lots of pictures. Yes, she still has Down Syndrome, but more important she is our LITTLE PRINCESS and a very special baby Girl!
So to sum it up...we are enjoying our first month in Holland.






Welcome to Holland
Parenting a Special Needs Child
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 guidebooks and make your wonderful plans: the Coliseum, Michelangelo's 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 out and buy new guidebooks. 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 – and 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, very significant loss.

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

Grace Rolling Over

Less than one month old, here is Grace rolling over already.

Announcing Baby Grace

Well after months of waiting, Grace Simone is finally here!! She was born Monday, March 8, 2010 at 11:15am and 8lb 5oz and 19 inches long. I kept telling my family that the little booger would decide to come the day before my scheduled c-section...and sure enough she did. We are now at home and Grace is very healthy and doing well. Although she doesn't have many of the Down Syndrome characteristics, there were a few that confirm her prenatal diagnosis. The good thing is that her hole in heart has closed up, so we really have no health related issues that they were warning us about prenatally to worry about at this time. She is just a sweet, quiet, angel baby. Her big brothers are very proud, and daddy is already wrapped around her little finger.

I can't thank everyone enough for all the words of encouragement and prayers as we awaited our little Grace.

Grace at 35 weeks

I am super excited as we had a wonderful dr visit today. I am 35 weeks along and Miss Piggy already weighs an esitmated 6lb 80z. She has 4 more weeks to cook as we have a C-section scheduled March 10, 2010.

Good news with todays visit is that her kidneys look better, and looks like the previous dialation seen is completely cleared up. The doc is still seeing a small VSD, but with the size of the hole he thinks surgery is not necessary. But we will have to confirm that with a cardiologist once baby girl gets here.

I can't describe my excitement seeing my little butterball today. I can't wait to hold her and kiss those big cheeks!!

Only 4 more weeks to go!!!

And YES, that is her foot in front of her little face...poor baby is running out of room.

Grace at 27 weeks

I think its amazing that you can see she is sleeping. Her little eyelids are closed, and she is sleeping on her arm.

I also see my Aunty Carol's mouth and lips. :)

First Time Mom, Second Time Around

As I approach the 32nd week of this pregnancy (YAY only 7 weeks to go) I start to realize I am anticipating the birth of this baby girl the same way I did when my 6 year old Evan was born. I feel like I am being a first time mom all over again. I am sure its a combination of the fact that I have 2 stinky little boys already and I am finally getting my long awaited baby girl; and the fact that Grace has been diagnosed with Down Syndrome, and this is entering a whole new realm for me.

If you know me, and I mean REALLY know me, you know that I am a very detailed oriented person. I am a very anal person, and I like to have things planned out as much as possible, and I dont handle things too well that don't go as planned. (got that from my momma) Now here I am expecting my 3rd child, who is a girl, who will have special needs, and I am starting to get terrified.

I feel like I can't compare my first two newborns to what I have coming ahead. Eventhough I have read the books, visited the websites, read the experiences of other moms, it doesn't change the fact that everything will be new, and I can't prepare for what I have ahead. I just have to pray that I stay on top of everything the best I can, and I do the very best for my little Grace.

Luckily, I have a wonderful husband, family and support system to stand by me and help me face the challenges I have ahead.