Strides

It seems that I have less and less to say these days here on FJ. I'm still here, but I guess Down syndrome is just not the focal point for me these days that it once was. There is a period of time when you start out on this path when Down syndrome is the focal point, and there's lots to say during that time. There's an adjustment to made, coping and accepting and figuring out to be done. And over time, you slowly lose that focus, and life just becomes life, and your child is just your funny, cute, huggable, quirky child.

And so it's been for me. I guess those are my strides.

As for Finn, well, he's making strides, too. Great strides. I have all these video clips of him doing this and that, and I keep thinking I'll sit down and upload them all. But, eh. Probably people are getting tired of my recent video-blogging, and honestly I'm feeling too lazy to do all the editing and uploading. But I will brag nonetheless.

First of all, he's cruising along the furniture like mad lately. Remember how he had stopped pulling to stand and I was worried? Ha! Apparently just a little break while he focused on other things. He went back to pulling to stand with a vengeance, and now cruises as well. And climbs. And climbs back down off of things backwards, which he figured out all by himself.

I got him this toy . . .

. . . thinking it would help develop cognition (with its cause and effect theme) and fine motor skills. In order to open each door, the button in front of it has to be either pushed, or slid, or turned. Finn got it almost right away. And he mastered the one that has to be turned before any of the others - which is the last one I expected him to master!

And speaking of cognition, he just really seems to be making leaps lately. I've really started seeing him show some problem-solving skills. Like knowing to turn his little piano with the keys facing towards him when he finds it upside down. Or like this morning: I wanted to vacuum our bedroom, but I wanted Finn out of the way because he likes to chase the vacuum cleaner. So I put him out in the living room with his sister and closed the bedroom door and proceeded to vacuum. Well, our bedroom has more than one entrance, so what do you think Finn did? He went around and found a door I had left open and came in anyway!

He likes to take my hands in his and make me clap, hand-over-hand (as if he's the therapist). So he's seeing that he has control over his environment. And he's clapping himself all the time, and saying "YAYYY!!" in context. He also says "up" now. It's more a mimicking thing, he doesn't yet say it in context, but I see language developing. And lots of babbling, multi-syllable stuff.

Feeding is slow-going. But strides there, too. Baby ones, but strides nonetheless. He's doing better with figuring out how to take bites and chew. Still a lot of gagging going on, but I think we're slowly headed in the right direction.

Really, I can't ask for anything more. He's perfect.