Today my baby is a year old. I can still remember the nervous anticipation as I prepared for my c-section, something I didn’t want to do, but around here I didn’t have any other option. I was worried that something would go terribly wrong. So worried in fact, that I didn’t take the tags off of anything I had for Elsa, because I didn’t want to let myself believe that everything would be alright, and then lose her.
I honestly had no cause for concern, because I had a completely normal, healthy pregnancy. My fear largely stemmed from a miscarriage I had only two months before I became pregnant with Elsa.
When the day came, I was so relieved that she came out to be a beautiful, healthy, perfect little girl and to this day I am grateful that no one knew then that she had down syndrome.
I’ve heard stories of mothers who found out immediately after birth that their sweet, soft newborn had down syndrome. Even though they quickly come to cherish their special child dearly, it’s like the joy and relief you should experience after a safe and healthy delivery is completely robbed from you and you are instead left confused and scared.
So, looking back on that day that Elsa was born, I am so grateful that nothing seemed out of the ordinary and nobody sat me down for a conversation about my daughter’s future that they didn’t want to have.
In fact, I had nearly five whole months of bonding with and caring for my lovely little redheaded girl before we found out that there was something out-of-the-ordinary about her. She possessed very few of the telltale traits that other children with down syndrome possess, so if it had not been for our very astute pediatrician, I wonder how long we would have gone on, not knowing that our little one was, well, unusual.
Over the past year, Elsa has continually defied the odds ascribed to her. She has breastfed successfully and learned to sit up, feed herself, and interact with others just like any other baby her age.
She has four front teeth now and this month Elsa even learned to crawl and drink through a straw.
Still, I worry about her future. Unlike with my son Thomas, I do feel waves of grief swell up on occasion when I wonder what her future will be like. Will she be able to read these words I’m writing right now? Will she be healthy? Will she have friends? Of course no sunny future that I dream of for my children is ever guaranteed, and I always remind myself of that.
An ER doctor we saw when Elsa had RSV was surprised to learn that Elsa had down syndrome and declared what a “bright little thing” she was. And that she is. Her intense focused eyes lead me to believe that she will be able to do anything she wants to do and her unbelievably affectionate personality assures me that she will never be without love.
What a year it has been with baby Elsa by my side. Her giggles and smiles are contagiously big and bubbly. Her ginger curls shimmer like spun gold and her bright blue eyes sparkle. Looking at my perfectly imperfect beautiful little girl I know that we will have a good life together.
Happy 1st Birthday Elsa. I am so very proud of you and everything that you do.
DEVELOPMENT
Elsa learned two very important skills this month. First, she learned how to drink through a straw, a skill that requires strong mouth muscles and is kind of tricky to understand (at least it was for my son). Straws are supposed to be better for oral development than spouts, or so I hear, but mainly I’m just excited that it’s a step towards toddlerhood.
In bigger news, Elsa started crawling this month! She’s getting around, but her legs are in a pretzel shape (is that lotus position?), which hinders good movement and speed. To help encourage her to get in proper form, her physical therapist gave us some little spandex biker shorts with the inseam sewn together, which forces her little legs to stick together when moving around. I’m hopeful that she will be crawling around and getting into everything within the next few weeks.
SIZE
Elsa is the perfect size as far as I’m concerned. She’s light enough to hold and snuggle but big enough that I’m not concerned about her health. She’s probably around 23 pounds at the moment but we will see for sure at her checkup next week. Current clothing size: 18-24M. For reference, my very tall son was wearing 24M bodysuits on his first birthday.
FOOD
Oh my little foodie. Elsa will eat almost anything you give her, except toddler snacks of course. Because why would she eat those little cardboard puffs and teething crackers when she could have mommy’s Cajun Chicken Alouette? In defense of Gerber, she does like those little “pasta pickups” which are a godsend for meals when she can’t eat our food. And those baby arrowroot cookies? So good! They are my new favorite snack, even if Elsa doesn’t bother with them.
FAVORITES THIS MONTH
PARENT’S CHOICE SIPPY CUPS :: These are almost the perfect sippy cups. They are easy to clean, easy to use, easy to take apart…they are just easy, okay?! Also, they only cost a few bucks at the local Walmart. Cons: color selection is just *ehh* which is typical of kids stuff. Also, they aren’t the most leak proof, but that’s the sacrifice you make if you want easy cleaning. Good for meals, not for travel.
THINKBABY SAFE SUNSCREEN :: Saving Elsa from sunburns since 2019. This was the sunblock recommended by our pediatrician and one that I already had stocked up on when Babies ‘R Us closed its doors. Winning.
HELLO BELLO BUBBLE BATH :: My kids love a good soak in the tub, so when I discovered this cute, affordable line of natural baby care products at Walmart, I figured this would be the first product to try. Turns out it’s awesome, and founded by Kristen Bell and her husband Dax Shepherd. Who knew?
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