June 24, 2008 9:34 PM
Praying for Maggie and her family
Here is Maggie! Her mom Michelle sent her photo to us with thanks for your prayers, support and helpful suggestions.
I wrote:
My first son Jonny stayed three weeks in the hospital after he was born because he needed surgery on his intestines. It was so hard.Please keep me posted. We will all be praying for you.
Michelle wrote back:
I think the hardest part was waiting for the surgeon to just come out and say everything went well and I could see her. It was also hard trying to explain to my other children why mommy had to be away for soo long. I still haven't explained to them that she has DS. Any pointers on how to explain that to a 5 and 6 year old?? Well let me know when her picture is posted and where to look to see it. Thanks.
Michelle, we told our kids like it was something we could all be proud of - having a baby with Down syndrome as part of our family.
We told them that Jonny had Down syndrome, which meant he would look a little different and that it would take extra time for him to learn to do some things.
The most important thing, I think is being positive about it. They are sure to adore her. Look at that precious face.
We also sent out birth announcements telling our friends so that we could cue them not to feel sorry for us. We said Jonny had Down syndrome, that we were happy to welcome him into our family and looking forward to everything God would teach us. That he had to spend some extra time in the hospital for surgery, and that we asked for their prayers.
I'll never forget the shower my friends had for us (since Jonny was our eighth, I wasn't really expecting a shower) and how wonderful it was to see my friends holding Jonny, how wonderful it was to hear them say he was cute.
And I'll never forget my friend Sandy saying in her thick Southern accent, "Well, Barbara, he'll never be president. But that's just as well."
We all laughed. That so broke the ice!
You have many good times ahead, Michelle. Some people will drift away, but others will come into your life. Your life will be so different - and when you look back you would never think of changing it.
Posted in Down syndrome | Permalink
Comments
She's so beautiful. Children see what is alike, not the differences...they'll love their baby sister. God bless you all.
Posted by: Reen | June 24, 2008 10:01 PM
She's so beautiful. Children see what is alike, not the differences...they'll love their baby sister. God bless you all.
Posted by: Reen | June 24, 2008 10:02 PM
Michelle,
Maggie is absolutely adorable. Your children will fall in love with her the minute they see her sweet face! What a blessing she will be to your family. A precious reminder of God's grace.
Posted by: Elizabeth M Thompson | June 25, 2008 1:33 AM
Michelle, first of all congratulations! Maggie is adorable. My 3 year old son even confirmed it... He came up to the computer screen and said "pretty baby!" :)
I don't have a child with DS, so I'm definitely no expert in this area, but I do think that your children will respond the best if you explain the DS in realistic, but positive terms and allow them to ask questions.
My son was born with some medical issues, and that was the approach we used with his older neice and nephew who we kept afterschool at the time. Now they are very understanding of his differences and do very well with him. Sometimes we have to remind them that there are certain things that he's not quite ready to do or that he's not feeling well because of his medication, but they seem to be very sympathetic to this.
Enjoy your new little blessing and all of the blessings that she will bring to your family. You will all be in my prayers.
Posted by: Michelle | June 25, 2008 10:07 AM
Maggie is beautiful!!!! Look at those eyes!!! She will definitely bring your family much love and joy!!!
Just tell them the truth - sometimes there are social stories that might be able to help - those are always good with young children.
These are some recommended by the National Down Syndrome Society
We'll paint the Octopus Red
http://www.woodbinehouse.com/main.asp_Q_product_id_E_1-890627-06-2_A_.asp
The sequal to We'll paint the Octopus Red: The best Worst Brother
http://www.woodbinehouse.com/main.asp_Q_product_id_E_1-890627-68-2_A_.asp
You can even e-mail them your information at info@ndss.org and they will send you a new parent information packet.
I hope this helps!!! Social Stories helped a great deal when I was trying to explain autism to my niece.
Krystal
Posted by: Krystal - momofautism | June 25, 2008 4:40 PM
Congratulations! The world is a better place with Maggie here in it...always remember that.
Telling our 3 other kids that their little brother had DS seemed like such a daunting task to my husband and I. We decided to approach it matter of factly and with an upbeat emotion coming from us (I think the most powerful thing that helped the kids understand Will, was the fact that we were upbeat, regardless of what differences our son had..the kids took the lead from us and they were never sad or upset, that we ever observed.) When we sat them down I said that Will might look a little different and my daughter started to cry. She asked in what way different and I showed her a picture of a little girl on the internet. My daughter replied, "but she doesn't look any different!") Everything was good after that and they accepted Will for who he was, even fighting to be the first to hold him when we brought him home.
Best wishes to your newly expanded family!
Posted by: Kelly | June 25, 2008 8:17 PM
