Sleeping Russell ~ The Coconut Blunder From Down Under

Sleeping Russell is making a come back! Last week he sat up jabbing his finger in the air, pointing at nothing and said 
"You should see him carrying pine needles."

Last night Sleeping Russell returned at his finest looking at me with this ridiculous grin he said
"You're grounded! 
You're grounded, you're grounded, you're grounded! 
For weeks and weeks and weeks! 
You're a blunder. A BLUNDER!" he says laughing at himself, "The coconut blunder from down under!
I love you, your butt's fancy."

My fancy butt and I are glad he is back.

Baby Hulk ~ "That's Retarded" (revisited)

It's funny, as things continue and as I get more settled into this new life of mine, things change. If you notice my very first Baby Hulk post I wrote down's syndrome. Well, that is wrong sometimes things are named after people who have it and sometimes they are named after the person to discover it. Well this Down guy didn't have it he just stuck his name on his research. Since he doesn't have it, it does not belong to him so no apostrophy S. I'm learning I'm adjusting and I'm changing my mind. I have changed my mind about how I feel about people using the word "retarded" I wrote about it before here but now I don't even like writing it out it feels so wrong but to get my point across at how absolutely horrible this word actually is I am going to write out another horrible word for you so you can understand what kind of word retarded really is.

Nigger

Did you cringe? I did. Yeah, that word sucks. I've been called that word a few times myself actually! I'm from North Carolina. South of the Mason-Dixon line where racism is still flourishing. Let me just tell you it feels like being punched in the chest when someone calls you a name like that. Sure maybe not if you are white... I had a friend when I lived back in NC, a tiny crazy white girl who threw the "n" word around in the exact same way people throw the "r" word instead of calling someone stupid she called them the "n" word. I had to talk to her about it a few times. She protested, saying she didn't mean it like that, she wasn't talking about me or even about black people. She didn't get it, but she eventually stopped.  I am sure she was just censoring herself in front of me to avoid angering me. I actually had a few white friends using the "n" word as a way of calling someone ignorant. I'd like to say after I lectured them they stopped but I think most just censored themselves around me as well. I don't want you to censor yourself around me. This isn't like I am a child and you don't curse around me. This is saying something that is hurtful to someone you are supposed to care about.

I am pretty ashamed to say that I was one of the people using the "r" word. I of all people should have known better. I know how much the "n" word hurts. I never got caught up in saying "that's gay," I always knew that was a horrible thing to say. I think for some it takes some sort of connection to realise it is wrong. My big sister is gay so I just always knew how horrible that word was used out of context. I can't believe I was so ignorant that I couldn't see how horrible the "r" word really was! I've been going through my vocabulary making sure I'm not saying anything else like it. I don't want to hurt anyone with my ignorance. I know how it feels.

Please consider yourself educated. I know it can take some time and slip ups happen so please, don't just censor yourself, imagine you love someone like Baby Hulk and STOP.









I planned this post last week, totally unaware that this special day for awareness was happening so, to tie it all together I am making my post a day early! Pledge to be heard at www.r-word.org

I Keep Forgetting! ~ Baby Hulk

I keep forgetting there is anything different about my little boy. I like this and I don't like it at the same time. I don't even see anything about him that really makes me think, my baby has down syndrome. The only thing physically I really feel would even alert anyone to his fanciness is his eyes and I forget that they even go along with it because they are so beautiful. Every time I look at him my heart explodes into a gooey mess of oh-my-gosh-he-is-so-cuteness, okay it doesn't really but it feels like it. When he oooohs and gooos at me I swoon, and when he smiles I die. So you see, with all this exploding and swooning and dying I am doing it is quite easy to forget. I think I said in an earlier blog... or maybe I just thought it... well, I wanted to be able to forget in the beginning. I was so upset that I couldn't get through a day where I didn't look at him and my heart would sink and I would think, my baby has down syndrome. I didn't want it to be all I could see. I was still having a hard time excepting what all that extra chromosome would mean. I still didn't know that much about it and that unknown scared me. Which is weird because I really like the unknown. I guess I just like to be able to pick and choose my unknowns and this one was just thrown at me.  I am okay with this unknown now.

I get nervous when I forget for too long though. I worry that I will forget so much that one day something bad will happen that is unmistakably because of the downs and it will just knock me down. I don't want to get too comfortable. This is just me though, getting too comfortable makes me nervous. That's when bad things happen. I need to keep myself grounded in all aspects of life or I will just float away and this beautiful boy of mine is filling me with helium.

Can I ask you a question? Almost everyone who knows about Baby Hulk tells me if anyone could handle this it is me and that they couldn't think of better parents for him than me and Darling Husband. I never would have thought this. In fact that was one of my first thoughts when he was born, this is a mistake, he can't be for me. I am impatient and stubborn and obnoxious, I procrastinate, and I never finish what I start. Is it just something you said to give me confidence since I didn't really have a choice? Everyone, family, long time friends, new friends and people I hardly know. How did you all know? Why was everyone else so certain I was so perfect for this?

Playing Catch Up ~ Baby Hulk

I haven't gotten a blog post out for a while. Can you believe Baby Hulk is 3 months old today!!! I guess I better catch you up! It all started with the week of disaster. I think that's how I got so thrown off but because of the hilarity of my first bit of embarrassment of that week, I must share.

 I never am embarrassed by anything. I am embarrassing, I embarrass others but never myself! Well that was not true for that week. It started when Darling Husband went out with his friends for a late lunch and then brought them back with him. I was caught off guard by this and was sitting on the couch with my boob hanging out because Baby Hulk had fallen off and was sleeping and I just hadn't gotten around to putting it away. To add to this unfortunate situation I was watching Twilight of all things!!! So I was all flustered to see them coming in and I am pretty sure I flashed even more boob in my desperate attempt to cover them. Then to add to my embarrassment, after they had been visiting a while I noticed that after a load of delicates was done today my husband had hung all my fancy undies from the the chandelier in the dining room!!!! They were right there in everyone's line of vision so I gasped and then started uncomfortably laughing I just knew there was no way they missed it, so when they asked why I was laughing I decided to make it less awkward I would just tell the truth... well they HADN'T noticed! So I basically called myself out on it. Thank goodness they were at least my fancy undies instead of the granny panties and thank goodness I have kind friends to say things like "all they saw was how damn lucky your DH is!" Hahaha like I said, good thing granny panties can go in the drier! 

The week pretty much continued on this path only not in ways I could immediately laugh about like the panty chandelier. Mr Grey had a field trip that we were super late to and then I found out he actually had school BEFORE and his teacher gave me the disappointed teacher voice!!! Appointments all over the place, and the one I had been dreading the most. Baby Hulk's hip ultrasound. I was most afraid of this because I had to go alone. Darling Husband has to work, we have no money and I feel guilty asking Momma Pru to watch the boys so much. She has enough on her plate right now with her parents so I didn't want to bother her. But that's a whole other story, remind me to tell you about going to the horses funeral...

I took him to his 2mo appointment by myself, that sucked, he had to have 3 shots and he screamed so hard his face turned a lovely shade of fuchsia. He weighed only one pound more than he did at birth but at his weight check last week (2 weeks later) he had gained 10oz so that is pretty good. I have been stuffing my face trying to get enough calories in which is hard enough for me to do when I'm not breastfeeding! To add to my stress of trying to shove my face 2 days after his 2 month appointment I noticed blood in his poop! I called the doctors office that night and set up an appointment for the next morning. They told me it could be an allergy to the proteins in milk as this is when they typically show up. I had to either stop eating dairy or switch him to some special formula. To me there really was only one option, after all I went through with getting him to breastfeed I wasn't giving that up and giving him gross formula!  I'm already a vegetarian! I have nothing left! I now eat eggs burritos and spaghetti! I don't know what else to eat! I don't want to over do it with the soy so that really leaves me with nothing! But I am trying! I have an app on my phone to count calories. So strange to be using it to GAIN weight instead of losing after having a baby!

Then I got the reminder call for Baby Hulk's hip ultrasound, I was told it would be 90 minutes long and if baby was bottle fed to bring a bottle with me and if breast fed to be prepared to nurse baby afterwards... I was a little freaked. He is 2 months old he can go longer than 3 hours between feedings now.. so why did I need to be able to nurse him? I took this to mean that he would be VERY unhappy when it was over. So I was stressing about that appointment for days all the way up to it. Well it actually wasn't bad at all!  Baby Hulk did very well and once again good news, his hips are perfect. He even had his revenge for all the poking and prodding they did by pooping on their table! 

The appointments have finally calmed down now. We met with the lady from the Early Intervention program and his Physical Therapist came to see him. Last week we had to bring him in for a weigh in because he isn't gaining weight as he should be. 

Oh, it's been so long I am having a hard time remembering everything! Baby Hulk may have a thyroid problem but his pediatrician didn't seem too worried, she just told me we would have to check it again in a bit. I'm not too worried about it. Thyroid problems can easily be managed with medicine. Did you know this boy can roll over!? I know I know. I told you he could do it before and yeah he was rolling over but it was totally on accident. If you put him on his stomach now and sit behind him and talk to him he will roll over so he can see you. Still way early too! Apparently babies start rolling tummy to back as early as 4 months! Yeah.... unless they are AWESOME! Then they start at 2 months.

Okay I think that is it. I will try to get better with my posting. Catching up is way too hard and makes these things way too long!


**I was just informed the 12 weeks does not count as 3 months, stupid Romans, I am still designating this his 3 month because there is no 29th this February! So he would never get his 3 months!**

Baby Hulk ~ What I've Learned

Oh my goodness guess what!? Baby Hulk is 2 months old today!!!! Where is the time going!!!??? This week I've noticed he is beginning to push with his arms lifting his chest up off the floor during tummy time, and he is vocalizing and smiling a lot more!

And now on to business! For those who know me, I  for some reason discover and retain ridiculous information that serves me absolutely no purpose, like that giraffe is kosher, if a Jewish person wanted to eat a giraffe or drink it's milk they could... I don't know why random facts like that interest me but they do. Well yesterday I learned some things about Down syndrome that interest me in that same way only this time it is information that is relevant so I just have to share!

Okay so! Down syndrome is an extra chromosome. Typically we have 46 chromosomes. They come in pairs, 2 sex chromosomes and then the rest are numbered by size smallest to largest 1-22. So 22 should be the smallest chromosome... but it's NOT!!!! Whoever was in charge of numbering them all screwed up! 21 is!!!! It just has a sneaky little line on it that makes it appear to be larger than 22. Okay so maybe I'm the only one who thinks it's a fun fact that someone screwed up there.

I learned this information yesterday. Baby Hulk had his first Genealogy appointment. Apparently we are over achievers. They were just expecting to tell us he needed to be in the Birth to 3 Early Intervention program and to let us know to set up an eye appointment and find a good pediatrician who is knowledgeable in DS... well... Done, meeting with Birth to 3 tomorrow, and done!

I'm super proud of my big boy and feeling like I can handle all of these appointments now. I am such a procrastinator, I hate making appointments and I dread them once they are made but I have been doing so good with making his appointments and I was actually excited to go to meet with the genetics counselor and I am even excited to have the Birth to 3 month people coming tomorrow even though my house is a mess!!! I am ready! I know Baby Hulk is awesome and I can't wait to show him off!

Baby Hulk ~ A Family Visit

I missed my regular Thursday post marking Baby Hulk's 7th week of life because we had very special visitors! Darling Husband's sister, Hooker, her baby daddy, Goat45, and my new, one and only, nephew, Boogie Blue Eyes!!!!  It was so wonderful to have some of Darling Husband's family finally get to meet Baby Hulk. Now before I get too far past that, no, my sister in law is not in the sex industry but she is pretty rocking with a crochet hook! I really think she should join Buttons in her sky scarf journey only crocheting her way through the year's skies. I wonder what the Wisconsin skies look like!

Not much to update on so how about some pictures of Baby Hulk and his visitors!

Our adventure in the cold out by the boardwalk downtown. It was freezing!!! You can't even see Baby Hulk all bundled up in 2 blankets and a Moby Wrap! Then we came home for a special photo shoot of the babies in their cute matching get ups that Momma Pru dropped by to give to us! I love my Momma! Totally unexpected!

 Boogie Blue Eyes really loved his cousins. I wish those guys would move here! I love my family!

Tune in next Thursday! I should be back to my regular post day and should have A LOT to talk about! What with our first appointment with the genetics counselor AND Baby Hulk's hip ultrasound! I should probably push it back to Friday because that is when we will have our first home visit from Parent to Parent and Early Childhood Learning but that will have to wait until the next week! Don't worry January is FULL of appointments to share with you! So! Until next time!

Baby Hulk ~ "That's Retarded"

I have been waiting for someone to say "that's retarded" or call someone a "retard" and to be angered by it. People have said it, I just haven't been angry yet. I actually felt bad for Buttons when she herself let the "R" word slip. She cringed the moment it left her lips and covered her mouth and apologized profusely. I wasn't angry though.
 
 I just don't feel angry about it. I feel like "retarded" has become like the word "dumb". It has been used incorrectly for so long that it has lost it's power. I feel like retarded is the new dumb. Were people unable to speak offended by the usage of the word "dumb"? Are they still offended by it?

What I find offensive is when I read about down syndrome and in the list of symptoms associated with it says "mental retardation" that makes me angry because as far as I am concerned my son is no such thing! I was reading to him off the list last night and telling him what the symptoms of his syndrome were I got to mental retardation and was angry! I skipped it. I wasn't about to tell my son that he was mentally retarded!  That is worse to me than just throwing the word around! After discussing it with Darling Husband I found that it is more accepted in the community to call it an intellectual disability.  Don't call my son retarded. Call your friends retarded all you like but you better not use it in its proper form and you certainly may not use it in reference to my son! He is chromosomally fancy! (To find out more about preferred language visit here)

Baby Hulk has been his regular awesome self. He keeps sneaking smiles at us. I am not 100% sure that they are real smiles but I am pretty sure... They happen at the appropriate times but then I think we get too excited because they quickly vanish and then are replaced by a very shocked and uncertain look like, "Wait! What did I do!? Why are you squealing!?" He has also started talking back. At first I wasn't quite sure about this either because the noises he was making almost sounded like cries but it was just one shout and then he was quite content and would look at me like he was waiting for an answer to the question he had apparently just asked me. Today at exactly 6 weeks I got the 100% sure he is talking, "agoo" once again right on schedule developmentally. I love how he is paying no attention to the developmental chart of children with downs.  He really is just a normal baby.

This baby pretty much rocks! You should be jealous.