Skip to main content

Superman, Captain America, and the Lion's Plan to Bring Back The Sun

My nephew Eli, my niece Lainey, and Kaden were playing in the living room floor on Saturday. Eli was pretending to be Superman and Kaden was Captain America. They were drawing up an elaborate plan to stop the rain and bring back the sun. Lainey, who had been playing a lion was told she couldn’t take the chalk to draw up the plan on the board because lions couldn’t draw. So she transformed so she could draw.

Kaden- “Who are you, Lainey?”
Lainey- “I’m a human.”
Kaden- “No, but who are you?”

We are often the same way. We are human. But we may wear many different hats, capes, or masks. I can pretend to be super mom and that I have everything under control and there are days I do feel that way. I try to be positive and constantly push through while also trying to push Kaleb to work on skill development but at the same time I am human. I have days where it’s not okay. It’s not okay that I don’t know how I’m going to juggle it all, while already worrying about the pros and cons of different class placements for next year’s daycare class, or thinking through what to do to help his motor skills progression or communication skills. I’m not always super mom, or even like in the case of Lainey, a lion, strong and saying hear me roar. I’m human, and I feel that the past few weeks, like our weather, there has been a bit of rain. We continue to worry and seek for answers on Kaleb’s hearing. He’s continued to fail hearing tests. Last Friday’s hearing assessment didn’t tell us much and we still aren’t sure what is going on. He wasn’t cooperative and have an appointment tomorrow because it looks like one tube is closed. We continue to see Kaleb struggle to progress on motor skills. We are having to admit more and more that he is struggling and having different issues that the majority of those with Down syndrome. We await the neurologist visit at the beginning of April to explore his high tone and if he could possibly have cerebral palsy due to brain bleeds from being a micro preemie.

While there has been rain there has also been sun. Kaleb now wears underwear when he’s with us. (Still in diapers at daycare since he has been inconsistent). While he still can’t stand or cruise along furniture he has made strides. He now tries to walk on his knees when he pulls to his knees. He even surprised me the other night when I was bearing most of his weight when he saw something he wanted and picked up his feet and tried to walk three steps forward. Since then he has done it another few times. Saturday morning he also took a few steps in a four point crawl. These are all cause for big celebrations.

It is tough, some days more than others. But then again, that's parenting. It is okay to remember I’m still human. But I will continue to work and to transform myself in my attempt to be what I need to be for my kids. So I will try to channel my inner supermom (Rockin’ Mom). Sure there are days with rain, or even some times flooding, but the sun will be there right behind the clouds. Like the kids, it might mean me transforming into whatever my son needs and making a plan of attack, while I work to help Kaleb transform into the person he is meant to be and to reach his potential. Sure there are days of rain and those days are hard, but I can’t begin to describe the days when the sun is shining. 


Comments

  1. Dear friend, may I ask you for a favor? I am presently trying to enhance traffic in my company’s blog, as this would increase chances of the blog’s photos to appear in “Google Images”; this is very important for our work. Could you please visit our blog and browse for a couple of minutes. You may even learn about a new product there!
    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My letter to Alex Gordon

Alex, I wanted to share a few pictures with you that show why I'm writing to thank you. You see my three year old, Kaden, knows more about baseball and the Royals than many adults I know. He loves as he would put it "all of the Royals" but without a doubt, without any hesitation when asked who is his favorite player is his answer is always one player; you.  I'm not kidding when I say Gordo was one of his first words. In fact anything baseball for the longest time was called Gordo. I'm not exactly sure why he took such a liking to you. I joke it's because his first ever game at the K and you hit a grand slam when he was not even a year old. For what ever reason he adores you. He even has a little Gordo plush doll that he likes to take everywhere.  This past year has been the toughest year for our family. Our second son, Kaleb, was born 12 weeks early at 2lb 2oz. We also learned of his diagnosis of Down syndrome two days after his birth. He spent

Welcome to Village Rockin Mom

They say it takes a village to raise kids. When trying for and planning for kids I never imagined my village would include so many medical professionals. I also could not have pictured a group of women, most of which I have never met, who I would feel so connected with and who would play such a big part in my support system. This group of women who call themselves Rockin Moms. One day while sitting in the NICU I posted in a Facebook preemie group about how lonely the NICU journey could be and doubly for a parent with not only a very premature baby, but with a baby who also happens to have Down syndrome. I was about to receive my first lesson on just how not lonely it was. A mother told me about the organization called DSDN (Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network) who has these Facebook groups. The full name of the group is Mothers of a child Rockin an extra chromosome. Groups and group members commonly referred to as Rockin Moms. By the end of the day I was a part of a community of moms tha

Six Months Later

Kaleb is six months old today. As many parents will say, I can’t believe it’s already been six months. Now that half a year has passed since that week at the end of August and Kaleb’s birth on September 1st, I’ve found myself looking back at that time. I admit it’s not hard that period seems as if every detail and moment is etched forever in my memory. I admit tonight has been a little bit rough. Kaleb has been a little fussy and requiring a few more extra cuddles than usual. While it may be tough with a three year old who also wants his Momma and TJ on his way back from a golf tournament. I find myself while having to keep from getting frustrated also comparing the difference six months can make.  Six months ago Kaleb’s future was very uncertain. Since hearing that we would be having a very small preemie we had no idea what to expect. I feared for my son. My heart was battling conflicting emotions. As they wheeled me into the operating room I kept my hands on my belly not ready to not