Evie the Extraordinary and Her Mommy: The Journey As We Go

I'm having some trouble posting to so many places, so here is a summary of Days 7-14!  Thanks for all of your encouraging comments on this month of DS facts!  It makes it worth the effort! 💙💛 Day 7 DS Awareness: Embarking on the DS journey can be a roller coaster. It is our “framily” who keep us going when life throws some unexpected side trips, and who cheer with us during the many small victories. Thank you to everyone who has supported Evie for the Buddy Walk this year! We love you and appreciate you!   Starting out the Buddy Walk! Evie was overwhelmed by the loud cheering at the start line.  Day 8: An estimated 90% of moms with a prenatal DS diagnosis will choose to terminate their pregnancies. When I first found out our diagnosis, I had to search hard in general literature to find anything positive about having a child with Down Syndrome. Increased availability of non-invasive blood tests that can identify chromosomal defects could potentially elimi...

I am so thankful for the nurses and doctors in the NICU.  Their personal attention and care kept me from going crazy when we found ourselves still waiting to bring Evie home after 6 weeks in the hospital, even though we expected maybe 1-2 weeks. We were at the hospital each day for 8-10 hours, taking turns sitting with her, holding her, and learning to do regular parental duties like changing diapers and feeding her.  If we had brought her home 2 days after birth, we would have been so lost.  The NICU was like boot camp for learning to care for an infant..and more. We quickly got familiar with the food court nearby and the Starbucks downstairs. I think I ate orange chicken from the Chinese place 4 times one week.  Thankfully we had friends start bringing us food at the hospital. Each baby had primary nurses called "primes." Our primes were Maureen and Anna, and whenever they were on duty, we breathed a sigh of relief, because we knew they had a special lik...