The Magic Pill

Tom and I were talking this morning about how our lives have changed now that we have Ian. I was telling him that it feels like we have three kids: Silvi, Ian and Down syndrome (I know, it's kind of an odd analogy, but...) Ds takes so much time, energy and Dr. appointments that it almost equals a whole other child's worth of worries etc.

Tom asked me if there was a magic pill that I could give Ian that would make his Ds disappear. When Ian was first born I said I didn't think so because Ds is part of who Ian is, but now I DEFINITELY would give him that magic pill. NO kid should ever have to be in the hospital for two weeks after being born (with tubes coming out of every orafice), have heart surgery at six weeks of age, be hospitalized for respiratory failure, have multiple ear tube surgeries as well as get ridiculed from others for years to come (and there are for sure more surgeries/complications ahead). So YES, I would give my Ian the magic pill if it would spare him all that pain.

I Punched The Car Twice!

I still have my boxing gloves on after last night's rounds with Silvi. Here's what lead up to the match...It took a long time to convince Silvi to go to the monthly Ds group last night. We're new there and she hasn't spent much time at all in groups without Mommy and Daddy present. Finally she agreed to go right when Ian and I were heading out the door. Tom had to stay home to write a script (yeah right! ;0) Love you Babe!) So, I was a single Mom taking the kids to the group. I felt great success at getting the two kids to go. I feel it is very good for Ian to be around other kids with Ds and for Silvi as well. I also think it is helpful for Silvi to get to know other kids with siblings with Ds.

We finally got to the group after the 15 minute scramble to get coats on and get out the door, into the car, into the stroller, into the building, yada, yada, yada. So we made it! Then the tears came from Silvi, not just tears, but desperation. I hated leaving her, but I'd introduced her again to the teachers there and told her that I'd check on her in a bit.

One of the other Mom's had kindly taken Ian into the room next door where the parents meet. Ian was making that loud noise he makes when upset. But I couldn't attend to him quite yet, I had to get the brownies out. I somehow was the only person who brought treats last night. I thought I'd then check on Silvi, so I peeked in the playroom only to have the teacher tell me that Silvi needed to come with me; She'd been sobbing the whole time, poor girl. So we headed back into the parent room, I got her settled on the floor only to then think that she'll need some books to occupy her. So we headed back into the kid's room, got books, got her settled onto the floor next to me, grabbed Ian and started feeding him some pears. He let out his noise again after a few bites (he's not that into food yet). I then needed to figure out what to do because I was sitting next to a fellow and didn't feel comfortable nursing in front of the group. So we yet again had to get up in the midst of the group and relocate to the far side of the room behind a bookcase which partitioned the room. I commence nursing Ian as Silvi got increasingly bored and was getting into anything she can, yelling "Mom look at me!". She actually stuck her finger in an electric pencil sharpener behind me. Luckily it didn't nip off her fingertip!

Needless to say things were not going well and they were only going to get worse! The group finished up. The teachers always usher us out of the building quickly. I guess we are only allowed to be in the school for an alloted time or something. So I felt pressure to get out of there, but, the brownies were in the parent room, the diaper bag at the other end of the room, our coats and stroller by the lockers in the hall and Silvi was wandering around all three places. Luckily another kind Mom gathered all our things for us and we were ready to go...or so I thought. We headed towards the elevator and Silvi took off full tilt down another LONG hallway. I ran after her. My girl is such a fast runner, I had to run my fastest to catch her. By the time I caught up with her I was LIVID! I picked her up and told her that I would take away her pacifier until we got home. Her pacy is her most prized posession! We then walked back to the elevator and strapped her in the stroller with Ian (luckily the nice Mom had stayed with Ian this whole time). Silvi, of course, kicked off her shoes and took off the jacket we'd already put on her.

By this time we were the last to leave the school. We finally made it to the car and I was feeling that I had triumphed over my high-spirited daughter. I am the Mom after all! My glory was short-lived. I had to carry Silvi into her carseat because she had no shoes on. The car next to us was parked too close and I couldn't open the door all the way. So as I was in the process of putting Silvi in her carseat she banged her upper lip on the car door. Disaster! Her lip split and bled. I felt terrible for her, but I also felt terrible that I had lost the battle. I caved and gave her her pacifier. She had won. I slammed the door shut and punch the side of the car twice! I was SO frustrated! I got Ian and myself into the car and tore off down the road. I drove home as fast as I could. We finally got inside the house. Tom could see on my face that things did NOT go well. (He had cleaned the house while the kids and I were gone knowing the night was not going to be a fun one for me. He's a sweetheart that way!) After we got the kids down to bed he asked me about the night. I just repeated over and over, "I don't want to talk about it! (I did eventually cave and told him the story I just told you!)