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Yes, I am going to talk about poop! Let me educate you first. Kids with Down syndrome tend to have low muscle tone (weaker muscles). This can effect every part of their body that has muscles from their head to their toes (and everything in between). As a result of this low tone, potty training can be quite challenging. If you don't poop for a few days or a week, well you know what happens (time to eat a bag of prunes!).
Caleb is 6, and he is still not potty trained. We are working on it, but like every other aspect of his life this is just taking a bit longer to learn. Caleb does stand at the toilet to pee, and back in June we had him pooping on the toilet quite regularly. Then we took a trip to Kentucky and Caleb seemed to have left his "pooping skills" in that beautiful Bluegrass State!
The rest of the summer has been spent trying to "catch" Caleb right before he needed to have a BM, run him to the toilet, and then pray he would excrete on the pot. No luck, until this past week! After lots of singing, a few tears and even a bag of fruit snack, he did it! He pooped in the potty for the first time in 2 1/2 months. This turd was HUGE! It would have made a grown man cry, poor kid... No wonder he hates to poop!
Caleb has this great skill of waiting to use the bathroom until we are out. Most of the time I have to take him to a public toilet (nasty, I hate public restrooms!). A few days after Caleb's "successful" bowl movement we stopped by a friends house. Of course, he had to go to the bathroom as soon as we got there. What we did not know is that he had to poop! Frank spent several minuets with him in the restroom encouraging him to do his business. He did! He pooped on the potty again! We were so proud of him that we did the "potty dance" and made up a silly song about pooping. Then the flood waters came. Caleb's ginormous BM not only stopped up the toilet, it caused the toilet to overflow! The entire bathroom was flooded and the contaminated waters began rushing into the hall way. "Holy crap!"
After shop-vaccing and scrubbing their floors Frank's only comment was, "I would gladly clean an over flowing toilet if it means Caleb pooping on the potty!" Thank goodness these are really good friends! They laughed. We laughed. And Frank left them with a very clean bathroom!
Friday, September 4, 2009
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Friends!
I am going to try to blog more thanks to the encouragement of a friend! I have been really struggling with what to blog... My life seems so hectic and so boring all at the same time. So, I would love to get your suggestions. What do you want to know about my family or raising two children with Down syndrome? Mom2tri21boys@gmail.com
Today I am going to talk about friends! Caleb's friends. Joshua's friends. My friends. I wish I could thank all of you by name and give you all a big hug, however I want to respect the privacy of other so I will not mention names... but you know who you are!
I have always worried that my boys would have no friends. Or worse, that they would get picked on. Every mother to some degree struggles with this. I want my boys to be accepted by others just the way they are and to accept others just the way they are. This fear is quickly disappearing.
I received an email the other day from a friend. She told me how her son got a "good job" token for helping Caleb find his ball on the play ground at school. This sounds small but Caleb can be hard person to befriend. He does not always share, he can be very moody, and at times just wants to be left alone. Caleb has more friends though, there are the twins in his class that love him! On one "supper fun" (please hear the sarcasm) trip to McDonald's the twins meat us there. While all of the boys were trying to climb the play equipment one little girl started to pick on Caleb. Huge night mare for a mother! The twins became my hero that day. They stood by Caleb and "protected" him from this She-Bully. One of the twins began screaming at the top of his lungs, "Stop doing that! Stop! That's my friend!!!!" I believe both me and the twins' mom had tears of joy and pride in our eyes! Unfortunately this little conflict ended with me climbing to the top of the jungle gym and asking (telling) the little girl to be nice.
There are our "best" friends! The friends that are more like family. Their four kids have known both boys since birth. Caleb and Joshua know what is expected of them at their house and are very comfortable there. Caleb tries to push the limits but knows he won't get away with it. These are the friends who are there in the good times, not so good times and down right scary times! They lift us up when we need to be reminded that we are loved. They laugh with us when laughing is a healthier choice than crying. They are also there when crying is the only option. Not many people have this kind of friend. We do! Trust me, we know they are a gift from God! We don't even introduce them as our "best friends" any more, they are Aunt and Uncle and cousins. Their kids have just started to ask questions about Down syndrome, because they never really noticed that there was anything "different" before. These kids are amazing little people! The whole family advocate for Caleb and Joshua. The mom gets stopped all the times by newer families asking about the boys. She has encouraged may frustrated parents when she recognized their child has Down syndrome. The kids are always including Caleb and Joshua in the games they are playing with their friends. Or letting their friends know it is okay to play with our boys (teaching their peers how to accept others). We love this family!
We also have an "extended" family through our church, Cornerstone Christian Church. So many people that just flat out love us. Like the couple who have become the "Illinois Grandparents". They will call and say, "We miss those boys. When do we get to watch them again? Time for you kids to go out." Thank you! Or one of my Bible study ladies who is like an aunt to Frank and I. She always stops us kisses the boys and then asks how Frank's studies and work are going. She has been one of many prayer warriors for our family! There are so many friends that call all the time or just when they can. These friends lift my spirits every time I talk to them! Friends that call to say they care or to check on the boys or to make sure I am taking care of myself.
Than you to all of our friend! There are many times we could not do this with out you!
Get your tissues and just listen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84FHZhB5__Y !
Today I am going to talk about friends! Caleb's friends. Joshua's friends. My friends. I wish I could thank all of you by name and give you all a big hug, however I want to respect the privacy of other so I will not mention names... but you know who you are!
I have always worried that my boys would have no friends. Or worse, that they would get picked on. Every mother to some degree struggles with this. I want my boys to be accepted by others just the way they are and to accept others just the way they are. This fear is quickly disappearing.
I received an email the other day from a friend. She told me how her son got a "good job" token for helping Caleb find his ball on the play ground at school. This sounds small but Caleb can be hard person to befriend. He does not always share, he can be very moody, and at times just wants to be left alone. Caleb has more friends though, there are the twins in his class that love him! On one "supper fun" (please hear the sarcasm) trip to McDonald's the twins meat us there. While all of the boys were trying to climb the play equipment one little girl started to pick on Caleb. Huge night mare for a mother! The twins became my hero that day. They stood by Caleb and "protected" him from this She-Bully. One of the twins began screaming at the top of his lungs, "Stop doing that! Stop! That's my friend!!!!" I believe both me and the twins' mom had tears of joy and pride in our eyes! Unfortunately this little conflict ended with me climbing to the top of the jungle gym and asking (telling) the little girl to be nice.
There are our "best" friends! The friends that are more like family. Their four kids have known both boys since birth. Caleb and Joshua know what is expected of them at their house and are very comfortable there. Caleb tries to push the limits but knows he won't get away with it. These are the friends who are there in the good times, not so good times and down right scary times! They lift us up when we need to be reminded that we are loved. They laugh with us when laughing is a healthier choice than crying. They are also there when crying is the only option. Not many people have this kind of friend. We do! Trust me, we know they are a gift from God! We don't even introduce them as our "best friends" any more, they are Aunt and Uncle and cousins. Their kids have just started to ask questions about Down syndrome, because they never really noticed that there was anything "different" before. These kids are amazing little people! The whole family advocate for Caleb and Joshua. The mom gets stopped all the times by newer families asking about the boys. She has encouraged may frustrated parents when she recognized their child has Down syndrome. The kids are always including Caleb and Joshua in the games they are playing with their friends. Or letting their friends know it is okay to play with our boys (teaching their peers how to accept others). We love this family!
We also have an "extended" family through our church, Cornerstone Christian Church. So many people that just flat out love us. Like the couple who have become the "Illinois Grandparents". They will call and say, "We miss those boys. When do we get to watch them again? Time for you kids to go out." Thank you! Or one of my Bible study ladies who is like an aunt to Frank and I. She always stops us kisses the boys and then asks how Frank's studies and work are going. She has been one of many prayer warriors for our family! There are so many friends that call all the time or just when they can. These friends lift my spirits every time I talk to them! Friends that call to say they care or to check on the boys or to make sure I am taking care of myself.
Than you to all of our friend! There are many times we could not do this with out you!
Get your tissues and just listen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84FHZhB5__Y !
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