Wow!

I can't bleieve it has been 5 months since I last posted! Here's a quick photo recap.

Brennan is turning into such a big boy. Doesn't he look older sitting here with his brothers and sisters?
And eating at the table with his cousin....

He's spent alot of time playing....

He loved helping decorate the Christmas tree...

And opening presents with his Grandma...

And was a perfect companion to his sister as she recovered from having her tonsils and adenoids removed.....

Then he spent more time playing....

Life is good and it has been so much fun watching Brennan grown and learn. More to come....

IEP's

Brennan will turn three at the end of March. So, in just five short months, I will be sending him off to school. I feel both excited and nervous about this transition.....but mostly nervous. I have been trying to educate myself on the process in an effort to both calm my nerves and make sure I am as prepared as possible. I recently found The IEP Toolkit which was written specifically for families of children with Down syndrome. It seems like a great starting point for preparing for an IEP. For more in-depth information, I have heard that "Wrightslaw: From Emotion to Advocacy" is THE book to have. And, of course, talking to other parents who have been through the process has been hugely helpful. I hope to share any valuable information I learn along the way and would love to hear any advice or suggestions you have relating to IEP's and transitioning to preschool.

A Few Pictures From Summer

I can honestly say that this was the best summer we've ever had as a family. The weather was perfect and we all had so much fun together. Brennan loved being outside, playing in the kiddie pool in our backyard, swinging on the swingset, scooting around our driveway in his cozy coupe, being pushed on his tricycle, going to the beach, swimming at the pool, and playing with his siblings and cousins. He was even happy on our 15 hour car trip....

Orthotics

Once we got Brennan up on his feet, we realized that he would roll his ankles (as picture below) and would also hyper-extend his knees. This seemed like it must be uncomfortable for Brennan, could be part of the reason he is reluctant to bear weight on hi feet and could also cause alot of pain and problems for him in the future if not corrected. I consulted with many people (pediatrician, physical therapist, Down syndrome clinic, orthotists) who were able to provide me with little to no useful information. All agreed that he would benefit from some type of brace or ankle foot orthosis (AFO), but none could tell me which type of AFO.
Finally, Brennan's swim therapist in collaboration with an orthotist were able to determine what type of support Brennan needed.....a hinged AFO. The hinges on the AFO can be tightened or loosened to restrict or allow for more movement. To start, Brennan are tightened to restrict motion and also to keep him from hyper-extending his knees. The AFO also provides the support he needs to keep his ankles from rolling. As his strength increases, the hinges will be gradually loosened to allow him to do more of the work. And at some point he will move from his current brace that goes up his calf, to one the goes just above the ankle.
It certainly took some time to figure out what type of orthosis Brennan would be most beneficial for Brennan, but I feel confident that the right decision was made and am excited to see the progress he will make now that his feet, ankles and legs are properly supported.

Swim Therapy

Physical therapy is by far the most difficult of Brennan's therapies. He has always had really, really low muscle tone which makes meeting gross motor milestones that much more difficult. For a long time, he has been resistant to bearing weight on his feet which makes working on standing nearly impossible. So we struggled with figuring out how to get him weight bearing in order to move him closer to his next gross motor milestone of walking. I had heard from a couple of friends that swim therapy had proven very beneficial for their kids. Unfortunately, our local intervention center does not offer swim therapy and I worried that doing it on our own would be very costly. Luckily, our insurance company automatically authorized 15 visit (without even a phone call from me - yahoo!). The therapist said it often takes kids a couple of sessions to get used to the therapist and the water, but Brennan loved it immediately.The benefit to Brennan of swim therapy was that the buoyancy in the water enabled him to practice standing without actually having to hold all of his weight. This, in turn, increased his confidence in his ability to bear weight on his feet and legs and after only a few swim therapy sessions, he was bearing weight on his feet and legs on land, too.
Unfortunately, the swim therapist is currently taking medical leave, but I think the sessions he had were extremely beneficial and look forward to resuming his swim therapy soon. In the meantime, we've been spending lots of time at the pool "practicing" on our own!

So.......

I'm definitely not the best blogger. I have many thoughts in my head, but just haven't made the time to sit down and type them. As a quick summary, Brennan turned 2 in March and in the last few weeks has really started acting like a 2 year old. He now tells us quite clearly when he is not happy, when he wants something, when he doesn't want something, when he wants to do something or doesn't want to do something (read: lots of yelling!). We're working on teaching him more signs that will hopefully help him communicate in a less headache-inducing way. Other than that, he loves reading books,puzzles, swimming, swinging, being pushed in his tricycle, waving to everyone he sees,
any game that involves putting things in and taking things out. He also loves wearing hats,wrestling with his brothers, playing with light sabers, listening to music and giving hugs.

I'll be back with some things I want to share about swim therapy, orthotics, and some great workshops I attended at the National Down Syndrome Congress Convention.

Two of Brennan's Favorite Books

These are two of Brennan's favorite books: "Kids Like Me...Learn Colors" and "Kids Like Me...Learn ABC's"


Each page of both books has a picture of a child with Down syndrome. Brennan laughs and smiles every time we read these books. And when there is a page with a group of children on it - he automatically points to the child with Down syndrome....it's like he knows he has something in common with them. There are a few other children's board books that contain pictures of kids with Down syndrome, but these two are Brennan's favorites by far - and they're educational, too!