Get it Down: 31 for 21 Day 11

Here are 21 things about Jack and our family that have to do with Down Syndrome...

1. We didn't find out Jack had DS until he was two weeks old when a very observant pediatrician questioned the shape of his eyes.
2. Jack was born on time with no complications. We went home after 2 days.
3. My Ultrasound did not pick up Jack's AV Canal Heart Defect, a defect specific to DS.
4. Jack had Open Heart Surgery to repair his AV Canal at 8 months old.
5. When I was pregnant with Jack, my AFP Quad Screen came back negative.
6. Jack has Physical Therapy 2 times a week. He started at 2 months old.
7. Jack goes to Group Therapy two times a week for 2 hours. He has OT, PT, Communication, Music, Cognition, and a lot more. He started at 2 months old. I go to this too.
8. Our team Jammin' for Jack raises money and walks in our local Buddy Walk with many of our family and friends.
9. I have met some of the most amazing moms and their children...all because I had Jack.
10. It took my husband and I about a week to grieve the diagnosis once we found out...then we were moving forward.
11. I found DownSyn when I was researching everything and anything I could find about DS while we were waiting for the test results to come back.
12. I got pregnant with Jack when I was 30.
13. Other than his heart defect, Jack has had no other health issues.
14. Jack rolled over at 6 weeks, sat up one week after heart surgery at 8 months, army crawled at 12 months, pulled to a stand at 14 months, and cruised at 16 months. Next step is crawling on all fours and walking.
15. Jack's first sign was "more." Two months later, he was up to 20 signs.
16. Raising Jack is more normal than not.
17. Jack has non-disjunction Trisomy 21.
18. I have found that I am soooooo excited at every milestone Jack meets. Our family celebrates the things we have always taken for granted with our girls.
19. This summer, we went to an Angel game with a lot of people from the Buddy Walk in our section. My husband and I LOVED seeing all the different ages with DS. We were fascinated...didn't even watch the game really...just eavesdropped on everyone's conversations, LOL!
20. Jack has lots of girlfriends that we frequently get together with for Disneyland or beach days or anything else we can think of.
21. Our days are richer because we were blessed with our son Jack, who just so happens to have an extra chromosome. He has changed the hearts and minds of many.