We are gearing up for the Buddy Walk THIS Saturday, so I thought I would find some information on the Buddy Walk to share :)
Introduced in 1995 by the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS), the Buddy Walk was a major breakthrough in promoting the acceptance and inclusion of all people with Down syndrome. The Buddy Walk has become the premier advocacy event for Down syndrome in the United States. It is also the world's most widely recognized public awareness program for the Down syndrome community. It also celebrates Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October.
Chris Burke led the flagship New York City Buddy Walk in 1995.
In 1999, NDSS introduced the Times Square Video to bring attention to the Buddy Walk program and raise awareness of individuals with Down syndrome in a public setting. Also this year, the Buddy Walk added a fundraising component to raise money for local and national programs and services. Sophia has her very own fundraising page at: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/dixie-russell/16th-annual-buddy-walk And in the past 5 years, Sophia, along with lots of great supporters, has helped raise almost $7,500 for Down Syndrome Awareness!
Some of the programs and services that are given locally, out of Indianapolis, through Down Syndrome Indiana are: New Parent Information & Resource Packets, given to expecting mothers or families who have just welcomed a new baby into their lives sporting that extra chromosome. Also Educators' Resources to help better prepare you and your child's educational team for the school years ahead. Social Activities for families to get together, and Support for Research and Advocacy. Informational and Education Conferences are also organized, as well as Camp HI-Lite Scholarships, which gives school aged and adolescent kids with Down syndrome a one week outdoor living experience.
In 2001, a national Wal-Mart commercial featuring footage of the Buddy Walk in Colorado Springs ,CO aired, which had a large impact in raising awareness about the Buddy Walk. Many new Walks were organized as a result of the publicity the national program received. This year, over 100 Buddy Walk events took place!
In 2002, Actor John C. McGinley, most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in Scrubs, Bob Slydell in Office Space, Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's Platoon and Marv in Stone's Wall Street, joined the NDSS as National Buddy Walk Spokesman.
In 2003, the NDSS hired a National Buddy Walk Coordinator to oversee the direction of the program and assist local organizers. More than 190 Buddy Walk events took place in 49 states and 5 countries with over 180,000 participants. Raising more than $2.5 million.
In 2004, nine years after the first Buddy Walk was introduced, they went from 17 Walks to now 210 Buddy Walk events, with over 200,000 participants and raising more than $4.5 million.
In 2005, the NDSS celebrated 10 years of the Buddy Walk! From 1995-2005 over 1.5 million people participated in he Buddy Walks, and more than 250 Buddy Walk events took place raising more than $5.5 million.
In 2008, the National Buddy Walk Program welcomed it's first regional and national partners: Regal Entertainment Group; Knology; and the American Physical Association, Section on Pediatrics. The Buddy Walk public service announcement, staring TV Host Nancy O'Dell, TV Host Meredith Vieira, Actor John C. McGinley, Actor and NDSS Goodwill Ambassador Chris Burke, and Actress Andrea Friedman, was played nationwide at all Regal Cinemas before every movie for two weeks to celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month and the National Buddy Walk program.
In 2009, NDSS held the first Buddy Walk Conference in Columbus, Ohio where Buddy Walk organizers were able to learn from NDSS leadership and share best practices with one another.
The first Buddy Walk held on a military base in a combat zone took place this year at Camp Phoenix in Kabul, Afghanistan. 2009 was also the year Sophia was born and our first year participating in the Buddy Walk held at Celebration Plaza in Indianapolis, IN. This year we raised $825 for Down Syndrome Awareness, and had our first team of 15 walkers for the Buddy Walk!
In 2010, Sophia's Stars raised $1,355 for Down Syndrome Indiana and had a total of 24 walkers support us at the Buddy Walk!
In 2011, more than 250 Buddy Walk events took place with over 285,000 participants raising more than $11 million. Sophia's Stars raised $1,495 for Down Syndrome Indiana this year and had our best year for walking support with 36 friends and family showing up to walk in the Buddy Walk!
In 2012, the Buddy Walk was ranked in the top 30 fundraising events nationwide for: money raised, number of participants and best series event since 2008 according to Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council Survey results.
Sophia's Stars raised the most money to date this year, with $1,775 in donations for Down Syndrome Indiana! We had 26 walkers supporting Sophia in Indianapolis last year for the 15th annual DSI Buddy Walk!
Our family looks forward to the Buddy Walk every year. It's a chance for our closest friends and family to come together and support not only Sophia, but all individuals with Down syndrome! We are once again excited about Down Syndrome Indiana's 16th annual Buddy Walk this year, and Sophia's Stars 5th annual Buddy Walk as a team! Down Syndrome Indiana's 16th annual Buddy Walk will be held on Saturday, October 12th in downtown Indianapolis starting at the Celebration Plaza with a 2.6 mile walk around the canal. We would LOVE all the support we could get and welcome anyone to come and walk as a part of our team!
** For more information on the history of the NDSS Buddy Walk you can visit HERE. Also, check out my links highlighted above for more info!
Monday, October 7, 2013
Sunday, October 6, 2013
21 things about Sophia: the last 11
11. Sophia is independent. She likes to be held and cuddled and loved on like a baby from time to time, but overall Sophia is all about doing EVERYTHING by. her. self! I swear she is a 4 year old little girl going on 14. The only problem is, there is still so much that this little girl can't really do independently and she needs a little grown up help from time to time. But don't try to tell her that! It goes in one ear and right out the other :)
12. Sophia is unpredictable. One minute she'll be all nice and lovey and then out of nowhere, BAM! she gets ya! For instance, you'll be laying on the floor just hanging out and she'll approach you with this warm smile like she's about to lean in for a little hello kiss and BAM! she smacks you right in the face. Or she'll be outside playing with our Shelby dog, petting her and whispering sweet nothings into her ear and then BAM! she's smacked the dog on the head, practically gouged her eye out and pulled her tail all in one swift motion. Or when we spot something small moving around on the ground and stop to get a closer look and observe. We will just be standing there looking and all of a sudden BAM! Sophia has either stepped on the poor creature or squished the poor thing with her bare hands. Seriously, you always have to be on guard with this one, because in a flash she will turn on everyone!
13. Sophia loves to play outside. She isn't big on toys, unless it involves destroying her big sisters toys, but being outside, is her sanctuary. She can run and jump and play and scream pretty freely. She loves to swing and go down the slide and hang upside down on the monkey bars. She likes to play any sport with a ball. She enjoys riding her bike, which she is getting better and better at riding all by herself. She likes to go on walks and terrorize our very tolerant dog. She likes blowing, or trying to eat, bubbles and playing chalk in the driveway. She loves to swim, which is a task that she thinks she can do independently and no matter what I say she just won't believe me that she doesn't know how to swim solo yet. She just enjoys the outdoors, which is perfect for us because there is less crap outside that she can destroy and less mess that I have to pick up when she makes them. Win/Win :)
14. Sophia loves books. Besides Barney, books are another go to where she will sit and listen to you read for more than 5 seconds. We will snuggle up in her bed together and read and read and read, until someone comes in (cough, Jayden) and interrupts us and than she is distracted by what is going on outside her room and all bets are off after that. Some of her favorite books right now are: Hey! Wake up! by Sandra Boynton; A Hug for Maggie by Olivia Barham; Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown; Five Little Pumpkins by Harper Collins Publishers; Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow; Do You Want a Hug Honey Bunny by Rachael O'Neill and of course all her small Barney board books that her grandma gave her :)
15. Sophia is a social butterfly. She loves people. She enjoys being around others rather than being by herself. She thrives off of people around her. She wants to imitate what she sees others doing. She learns best from her peers. She is rarely ever afraid or shy to approach anyone and start up a "conversation." She makes friends wherever she goes, and if you don't want to be her friends with Sophia....well she doesn't take the answer "no" very well :)
16. Sophia is a little sister, and is about to be a big sister. She plays her role as the little sister, very well! She has it down to a science in fact. She destroys things that belong to her big sister. She interrupts play dates between her sister and her friends. She always wants to tag along and do whatever her big sissy is doing. She tries to break into her big sisters room, all the time. She likes to borrow her big sisters clothes and shoes. She fights with her big sister, and yells and screams and hits and kicks and swipes things that don't belong to her. She also looks up to and admires her big sister. She loves her fiercely and will take her side any day of the week. She teams up with her big sister in order to try and out number her Dad and myself. She is easily manipulated by her big sister to do works of good and evil. As well as she plays the little sister role, I have no doubt that the big sister role will come just as easily :)
17. Sophia adapts well to new surroundings. Sophia is definitely a character of habit. She thrives on structure and routine and does best when she knows what to expect next. But, when things get twisted around and fall out of place from time to time, she can adjust and move on pretty easily.
18. Sophia's favorite word is "mom." She can say it as plain as day. In fact, when she wakes up in the middle of the night, sits up in her bed still half asleep, I get woken up from the voice from her monitor yelling, "Mom!" It brings a smile to my face every time :) Of course I think it drives her Dad a little nuts that she will never call him by name, and that too brings a little grin to my face :)
19. Sophia loves music. She's not real big into nursery rhymes, even though Itsy Bitsy Spider does hold a special place in her heart. She likes dance, aka club, music :) One of her favorites right now is Gangnam Syle. But her absolute favorite at the moment, which is a little different from what she normally prefers is, Tooty Ta :)
20. Sophia likes to play hide-n-seek. She has to be the seeker, always. She will sit in a corner, pretend to cover her eyes, you have to count to 10 for her, and as soon as you leave her sight, she is up and running to come and find you! So in order to actually hide from Sophia, you have to be super fast and sneaky :)
21. Finally, the most important thing to know about Sophia is, she is just like you! She has a wide range of emotions, just like anybody else. She is capable of doing anything, just like anybody else. She wants to be accepted and included by the people around her, just like anybody else. She wants to be treated with respect, just like anybody else. Yes it's true that because of Sophia's diagnosis, it takes her a little longer to learn new things, BUT she can learn! She does learn! The fact that Sophia has Down syndrome is only a small part of her story. All I ask is that you are open to learn the rest of her story too.
12. Sophia is unpredictable. One minute she'll be all nice and lovey and then out of nowhere, BAM! she gets ya! For instance, you'll be laying on the floor just hanging out and she'll approach you with this warm smile like she's about to lean in for a little hello kiss and BAM! she smacks you right in the face. Or she'll be outside playing with our Shelby dog, petting her and whispering sweet nothings into her ear and then BAM! she's smacked the dog on the head, practically gouged her eye out and pulled her tail all in one swift motion. Or when we spot something small moving around on the ground and stop to get a closer look and observe. We will just be standing there looking and all of a sudden BAM! Sophia has either stepped on the poor creature or squished the poor thing with her bare hands. Seriously, you always have to be on guard with this one, because in a flash she will turn on everyone!
13. Sophia loves to play outside. She isn't big on toys, unless it involves destroying her big sisters toys, but being outside, is her sanctuary. She can run and jump and play and scream pretty freely. She loves to swing and go down the slide and hang upside down on the monkey bars. She likes to play any sport with a ball. She enjoys riding her bike, which she is getting better and better at riding all by herself. She likes to go on walks and terrorize our very tolerant dog. She likes blowing, or trying to eat, bubbles and playing chalk in the driveway. She loves to swim, which is a task that she thinks she can do independently and no matter what I say she just won't believe me that she doesn't know how to swim solo yet. She just enjoys the outdoors, which is perfect for us because there is less crap outside that she can destroy and less mess that I have to pick up when she makes them. Win/Win :)
14. Sophia loves books. Besides Barney, books are another go to where she will sit and listen to you read for more than 5 seconds. We will snuggle up in her bed together and read and read and read, until someone comes in (cough, Jayden) and interrupts us and than she is distracted by what is going on outside her room and all bets are off after that. Some of her favorite books right now are: Hey! Wake up! by Sandra Boynton; A Hug for Maggie by Olivia Barham; Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown; Five Little Pumpkins by Harper Collins Publishers; Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed by Eileen Christelow; Do You Want a Hug Honey Bunny by Rachael O'Neill and of course all her small Barney board books that her grandma gave her :)
15. Sophia is a social butterfly. She loves people. She enjoys being around others rather than being by herself. She thrives off of people around her. She wants to imitate what she sees others doing. She learns best from her peers. She is rarely ever afraid or shy to approach anyone and start up a "conversation." She makes friends wherever she goes, and if you don't want to be her friends with Sophia....well she doesn't take the answer "no" very well :)
16. Sophia is a little sister, and is about to be a big sister. She plays her role as the little sister, very well! She has it down to a science in fact. She destroys things that belong to her big sister. She interrupts play dates between her sister and her friends. She always wants to tag along and do whatever her big sissy is doing. She tries to break into her big sisters room, all the time. She likes to borrow her big sisters clothes and shoes. She fights with her big sister, and yells and screams and hits and kicks and swipes things that don't belong to her. She also looks up to and admires her big sister. She loves her fiercely and will take her side any day of the week. She teams up with her big sister in order to try and out number her Dad and myself. She is easily manipulated by her big sister to do works of good and evil. As well as she plays the little sister role, I have no doubt that the big sister role will come just as easily :)
17. Sophia adapts well to new surroundings. Sophia is definitely a character of habit. She thrives on structure and routine and does best when she knows what to expect next. But, when things get twisted around and fall out of place from time to time, she can adjust and move on pretty easily.
18. Sophia's favorite word is "mom." She can say it as plain as day. In fact, when she wakes up in the middle of the night, sits up in her bed still half asleep, I get woken up from the voice from her monitor yelling, "Mom!" It brings a smile to my face every time :) Of course I think it drives her Dad a little nuts that she will never call him by name, and that too brings a little grin to my face :)
19. Sophia loves music. She's not real big into nursery rhymes, even though Itsy Bitsy Spider does hold a special place in her heart. She likes dance, aka club, music :) One of her favorites right now is Gangnam Syle. But her absolute favorite at the moment, which is a little different from what she normally prefers is, Tooty Ta :)
20. Sophia likes to play hide-n-seek. She has to be the seeker, always. She will sit in a corner, pretend to cover her eyes, you have to count to 10 for her, and as soon as you leave her sight, she is up and running to come and find you! So in order to actually hide from Sophia, you have to be super fast and sneaky :)
21. Finally, the most important thing to know about Sophia is, she is just like you! She has a wide range of emotions, just like anybody else. She is capable of doing anything, just like anybody else. She wants to be accepted and included by the people around her, just like anybody else. She wants to be treated with respect, just like anybody else. Yes it's true that because of Sophia's diagnosis, it takes her a little longer to learn new things, BUT she can learn! She does learn! The fact that Sophia has Down syndrome is only a small part of her story. All I ask is that you are open to learn the rest of her story too.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
21 things about Sophia: the first 10
Sophia is a 4 year old little girl first. Sophia also has Down syndrome. But there is so much more to her than that diagnosis.....
1. Sophia is beautiful. Both on the inside as well as the outside. There is something so different about her, that when I look at her, I feel like I'm looking into the face of an angel (even when she's not acting like an angel. :) She has a true heart of gold. She has compassion for others. She wants to love everyone. She has no judgment. She is accepting. She is, beautiful.
2. Sophia is smart. She may not have hundreds of words in her vocabulary. She may not know how to count to 20 or sing her ABC's. She may not understand that there are days in a week and months in a year. She may not know how to write her name or draw a perfect circle, but girl is smart! She is a problem solver. If you put up an obstacle to stop her, she will find a way to break through it. She understands so much of what is spoken to her. Just because it's harder for her to express her thoughts and feelings back to you, do not let that fool you. She knows, she's aware, she hears what you are saying and she comprehends most of it. She is, smart.
3. Sophia is carefree. She's a go with the flow kind of girl. She's up for anything fun and exciting. She loves to run and play and do her own thing. She likes to be in charge of her own life and she rarely wastes a moments time sitting back enjoying the view. She wants to be right in the center of what everyone is looking at. She is who she is, and she isn't afraid to be that awesome little girl, ever.
4. Sophia is determined. She has a determination, stubbornness, that is a big part of who she is. Of course this can be a good thing and a not so good thing. Right now in this toddler phase that we are going through, it is usually used for no good. Sophia always has her own agenda in mind and when someone else tries to execute their agenda, she isn't always down for that. She can usually be manipulated to put her agenda on the back burner with a nice incentive but once she realizes she got doupted, she gets right back in her fast lane going back to where she wanted to be. I pray that she starts to use her powers for good and not evil as she grows :)
5. Sophia is a lover. She will approach anyone, anywhere, anytime, just to say hi or give a little arm brush or snuggle up close for a cuddle. She is however most attracted to babies and older people, but when she sees a good soul she knows it. She can give some of the biggest bear hugs, some of the softest kisses and her smile and laugh, well there just isn't anything like them. They are contagious and will take any bad day away and make it almost damn near perfect.
6. Sophia is a kid. She loves to run and jump and play. She loves to be around people, especially kids. She likes to swim and ride her bike. She likes to swing and play on the play ground. She likes to be included and to feel wanted. She is loud and inappropriate at times. She is hardheaded and strong willed. She tests her boundaries daily. She's just a kid. Just like your kid.
7. Sophia LOVES Barney the big purple dinosaur! I'm not even sure how this came about, but it is pretty much the only thing that grabs her attention enough to get her to sit down and chill out for any significant period of time. And because of that, WE LOVE Barney too!!!! :)
8. Sophia is a salty girl. You can take your chocolaty sweets and go somewhere else with them, because Sophia is all about the SALT! Some of her favorite snacks are goldfish, pretzels, almost any kind of chips (but she had taken a big liking to BBQ Pringles lately) and popcorn, just to name a few. But there is one snack that Sophia loves that lacks the salt factor and that's ICE CREAM! Girl loves her some ice cream :)
9. Sophia is a shoe girl. Again, not sure how this came about either, but I'm pretty sure when she grows up, she'll have a closet FULL of shoes! She loves to wear other peoples shoes and doesn't care how big they are for her own tiny feet. And as far as I know, she doesn't discriminate against shoes. Flats, boots, sandals, tennis shoes.....as long as they go on her feet, she's happy :) (Too bad her mom is such a cheap a$$, she doesn't have the best shoe collection that I'm sure she would prefer :)
10. Sophia is bossy. For a little girl with few words, Sophia sure can get a point across and let you know she means business! When she gets to wagging her little finger or motioning you to come on, and then start jabbering away, or yelling, at you, that means she is serious!
7. Sophia LOVES Barney the big purple dinosaur! I'm not even sure how this came about, but it is pretty much the only thing that grabs her attention enough to get her to sit down and chill out for any significant period of time. And because of that, WE LOVE Barney too!!!! :)
8. Sophia is a salty girl. You can take your chocolaty sweets and go somewhere else with them, because Sophia is all about the SALT! Some of her favorite snacks are goldfish, pretzels, almost any kind of chips (but she had taken a big liking to BBQ Pringles lately) and popcorn, just to name a few. But there is one snack that Sophia loves that lacks the salt factor and that's ICE CREAM! Girl loves her some ice cream :)
9. Sophia is a shoe girl. Again, not sure how this came about either, but I'm pretty sure when she grows up, she'll have a closet FULL of shoes! She loves to wear other peoples shoes and doesn't care how big they are for her own tiny feet. And as far as I know, she doesn't discriminate against shoes. Flats, boots, sandals, tennis shoes.....as long as they go on her feet, she's happy :) (Too bad her mom is such a cheap a$$, she doesn't have the best shoe collection that I'm sure she would prefer :)
10. Sophia is bossy. For a little girl with few words, Sophia sure can get a point across and let you know she means business! When she gets to wagging her little finger or motioning you to come on, and then start jabbering away, or yelling, at you, that means she is serious!
Friday, October 4, 2013
Flashback Friday
Sophia Grace was born June 6, 2009 at 3:50PM. She surprised us 6 weeks early, weighing in at 5 pounds and 2 ounces. These are some of the pictures from her first few days after being born....
It's crazy how easily these moments fall way back into my mind. Sophia has been such a fighter from the very beginning and has amazed me time and time again. She wasn't a healthy baby when she was born. In fact, she had a lot of obstacles to overcome in her first 6-8 months of life. But she came through even stronger, and has only continued to flourish over the past 3 years.
Those first few months were some of the hardest for me. Watching my baby go through so much and being distanced from the rest of my family a lot of the time....I never want to go back there. But in the same breath, I never want to forget that time either. Those times made me realize what's important in life. It gave me a new perspective on things and made me incredible grateful for so much. Sophia Grace, you have been such an inspiration to me and I love you to the moon and back!
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Prenatal Testing
Last year I wrote about a new blood test that was coming out called the MaterniT21. It is a noninvasive blood test that can be done as early as 10 weeks into your pregnancy and it will tell you, with about 99% accuracy, if your baby will have any of the trisomies, or Down syndrome.
It was kind of a big deal when this test came out, because the biggest concern for a lot of people was that the abortion rate would increase even more than before if the mother was given a test with an almost 100% accuracy rate that her baby would have Down syndrome.
I never did prenatal testing with either of my girls. I never felt like I needed to. I was young and healthy and had no real reason to think that I would have anything other than your "typical" bouncing baby. And the bottom line for me was, I wanted kids, period. I chose to get pregnant and abortion would never be an option for me.
This spring we decided to go on with our plans to have baby # 3. We were ready now. And this time around I wanted to know ahead of time if there were going to be any surprises waiting on me. So I did some prenatal testing, including the MaterniT21. Not because the results would have changed anything with my pregnancy, but because this time, I wanted to be prepared if I needed to be.
All of my testing came back negative and my ultrasound looked good, which should put me at ease, but the truth is, I'm more of a nervous wreck this time around than I ever was with either one of my other kids. I'm not scared to have another child with Down syndrome, heck that would be the easiest diagnosis a second time around. And I'm not even scared to have another child with special needs. I'm just worried. Worried that something unexpected will pop up last minute and throw me for a loop. I'm worried about my baby not being healthy and having to fight for her life. I'm worried about not being able to bring my baby home after a couple days and having to be separated from my other two girls and my husband for a longer period of time. I never even thought about these things when I was pregnant with Sophia, or Jayden for that matter. My plan was to deliver my baby, spend a couple days in the hospital and come home and be a family, but I've learned so much in the past 4 years. Like the reality that I once knew, isn't always the truth.
I thought that having prenatal testing done would ease my mind, it didn't. I felt like it would give me answers to questions that I thought I needed to know ahead of time, it hasn't. Of course I'm glad that all my testing has came back okay so far, but what does that really mean in the big scheme of things? I worry because that's just what I do. I'm a worrier. But when it comes right down to it, of course I want a happy, healthy, baby. But no matter what, I've now learned that I am strong enough. I wanted this baby. I signed up for better or for worse and I know that I can love any baby God gives me. Period.
It was kind of a big deal when this test came out, because the biggest concern for a lot of people was that the abortion rate would increase even more than before if the mother was given a test with an almost 100% accuracy rate that her baby would have Down syndrome.
I never did prenatal testing with either of my girls. I never felt like I needed to. I was young and healthy and had no real reason to think that I would have anything other than your "typical" bouncing baby. And the bottom line for me was, I wanted kids, period. I chose to get pregnant and abortion would never be an option for me.
This spring we decided to go on with our plans to have baby # 3. We were ready now. And this time around I wanted to know ahead of time if there were going to be any surprises waiting on me. So I did some prenatal testing, including the MaterniT21. Not because the results would have changed anything with my pregnancy, but because this time, I wanted to be prepared if I needed to be.
All of my testing came back negative and my ultrasound looked good, which should put me at ease, but the truth is, I'm more of a nervous wreck this time around than I ever was with either one of my other kids. I'm not scared to have another child with Down syndrome, heck that would be the easiest diagnosis a second time around. And I'm not even scared to have another child with special needs. I'm just worried. Worried that something unexpected will pop up last minute and throw me for a loop. I'm worried about my baby not being healthy and having to fight for her life. I'm worried about not being able to bring my baby home after a couple days and having to be separated from my other two girls and my husband for a longer period of time. I never even thought about these things when I was pregnant with Sophia, or Jayden for that matter. My plan was to deliver my baby, spend a couple days in the hospital and come home and be a family, but I've learned so much in the past 4 years. Like the reality that I once knew, isn't always the truth.
I thought that having prenatal testing done would ease my mind, it didn't. I felt like it would give me answers to questions that I thought I needed to know ahead of time, it hasn't. Of course I'm glad that all my testing has came back okay so far, but what does that really mean in the big scheme of things? I worry because that's just what I do. I'm a worrier. But when it comes right down to it, of course I want a happy, healthy, baby. But no matter what, I've now learned that I am strong enough. I wanted this baby. I signed up for better or for worse and I know that I can love any baby God gives me. Period.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
31 for 21: Blogging for Down Syndrome Awareness Month
Happy Down Syndrome Awareness Month! October 1st marks day one for bringing awareness to those around us about what it means to be a part of the Down syndrome community. I have tried to make it a priority over the past few years to use this month to blog everyday in hopes of educating others about Down syndrome and what it's like to have a daughter with Down syndrome.
Ever since Sophia was born, I've wanted the absolute best for her. She was brought into this world with a label written all over her face. She carries around stereotypes that society has placed on her and her friends that also sport an extra chromosome. I want people to look at my daughter and see a little girl first. I don't want them to look at her and see the words Down syndrome written all over her face. And I think the first step in getting people to realize that Sophia, and all individuals with Down syndrome, are their own person first, and a diagnosis second, is to get to know these individuals as people. Show my daughter respect, in both your words and your actions. Talk to her, like you would any other four year old little girl. Look her in the eyes and really get to know the beauty that lies behind those baby blues.
Before Sophia was born, I knew nothing about Down syndrome. In fact, I knew very little about the world of special needs all together. I was scared and nervous and unsure about what to say when I was around people with special needs. I distanced myself a lot of times and walked the other way to avoid certain people. Not because I thought I was any better of a person, but because I just didn't know how to approach certain situations. I don't want that for my daughter. I don't want people to walk away from her or avoid her because of their insecurities. I want people to understand that their acceptance of my daughter into this world that can be very judgmental, would mean the absolute world to me and to Sophia. All I ask is that you show my daughter the same respect that you would expect from any other human being, and know that there is so much more to Sophia than a diagnosis.
Ever since Sophia was born, I've wanted the absolute best for her. She was brought into this world with a label written all over her face. She carries around stereotypes that society has placed on her and her friends that also sport an extra chromosome. I want people to look at my daughter and see a little girl first. I don't want them to look at her and see the words Down syndrome written all over her face. And I think the first step in getting people to realize that Sophia, and all individuals with Down syndrome, are their own person first, and a diagnosis second, is to get to know these individuals as people. Show my daughter respect, in both your words and your actions. Talk to her, like you would any other four year old little girl. Look her in the eyes and really get to know the beauty that lies behind those baby blues.
Before Sophia was born, I knew nothing about Down syndrome. In fact, I knew very little about the world of special needs all together. I was scared and nervous and unsure about what to say when I was around people with special needs. I distanced myself a lot of times and walked the other way to avoid certain people. Not because I thought I was any better of a person, but because I just didn't know how to approach certain situations. I don't want that for my daughter. I don't want people to walk away from her or avoid her because of their insecurities. I want people to understand that their acceptance of my daughter into this world that can be very judgmental, would mean the absolute world to me and to Sophia. All I ask is that you show my daughter the same respect that you would expect from any other human being, and know that there is so much more to Sophia than a diagnosis.
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