Wednesday night, Josiah went to bed at 6:30. The 'big' boys were in bed at 7. We had succeeded in getting them to bed early. C and I were in bed by 10pm. We knew morning would come quickly. We were right.
The alarm went off at 3am. I continued to hit 'snooze' until 3:36am. I couldn't delay this any longer. I was up, showered, and dressed by 4am. At 4:10, we were waking the three children up. Our goal was to leave at 5am. After feeding and dressing the kids, we were only a few minutes late. At 5:17, we were out the door, filling up the gas tank, and headed for the highway. Josiah had his Down syndrome clinic on Thursday. If we don't leave early, traffic can be a nightmare.
At 6:30am, we had made the 30mile drive. We were parked in the garage, one block from Children's. We made our way up to the hospital. The morning had gone smoothly, so far. The big boys played on the musical stairs, then we were off to have breakfast. After eating, we decided to roam around a bit. We checked out a few of the important places C and the boys may want to spend time, while waiting for Josiah and I.
By 7:45am, we were checked in at the DS clinic. We were about 45 minutes early. The first of many checks started. First, height and weight. Josiah weighed in at 27 lbs. He is 33.5" long. Ha!!!!
By 8:30, Josiah and I headed in to meet with the Director of the DS clinic. C and big boys were off to the playground. Josiah and I sat with the MD until almost 10am. Growth was charted. Once upon a time, Josiah's plotted numbers wouldn't land on the growth target. Once upon a time, weight was a huge concern. Once upon a time, they said he was failure to thrive. Once upon a time.... This day, however, was a different story. On the 'normal' growth chart (which Josiah used fall in the 0 percentile), he proved them all wrong. For weight, 56%. Height, 29%. Height to weight ratio, 79%. On the DS chart, he falls in the 90%. That's right, 90%!!!!
Medical history was reviewed. His thyroid from January looked good. He doesn't need to be rechecked until January. Josiah will need a sleep study by the age of 4 as sleep apnea is common in children with DS. Coincidentally, Josiah's tonsils are large - so this is something they will monitor. If all stays the same, Josiah will get a sleep study near his fourth birthday. No other concerns at this time. Yay!!!
We then met with the physical therapist (PT). That was Josiah's favorite part of the morning. He was able to get on the floor and play on the huge mat. He had a blast!!! The PT was impressed with what Josiah is doing. Josiah will continue to get PT through early intervention (EI). Hopefully, walking will be in his near future :)
The meeting with nutrition went well. Josiah is eating well and tolerating a variety of textures and flavors. We are fortunate. Josiah is doing great! The meeting with occupational therapy (OT) went equally as well. Josiah is making huge strides. The OT was thrilled with Josiah's progress thus far.
Upcoming appointments/follow ups were reviewed. During the Fall/Early winter months, we'll revisit orthopedics, ENT, and vision. Dental will continue to be followed locally. Flu shots are this weekend. I was given the option of adding audiology to the day's events. I opted to follow up locally. I will try to get that scheduled for next week. That is that!
It was 12:30 and we had had a great day at clinic. It was fun seeing friends old and new. We will see them all again in the Spring.
We left knowing how lucky we are. We have three beautiful, happy, boys. We revel in the beautiful moments. We take nothing for granted. Life is good!!!
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