IFSP Annual Review

I met with Matthew's therapists and Early Intervention (EI) Service Coordinator today to review our IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan). The IFSP was created as soon as we were in the EI program and met with the therapists and service coordinator. It is basically a written document listing and detailing the goals we set for Matthew, as well as the outcomes. Progress is documented at semi-annual and annual reviews until Matthew transitions out of the EI program and into a school at age 3.

It's hard to wrap my mind around the fact that he'll be starting school a year from today. Focusing on the goals we would like to achieve within the next 12 months seems easy and hard at the same time. Easy because focusing on a few specific things helps make life less overwhelming. Hard because there's a multitude of developmental milestones for a 2-year old.

On the one hand, I view the IFSP as a necessary tool. I find that with any long-term goal, it's best to have it on paper. It serves as a visual reminder of what we're working toward. It helps keeps our eye on the prize as it is easy to forget or get off track. The IFSP also details specific strategies to implement in order to achieve our goals. On the other hand, however, it's hard to think of everything we want him to achieve in the next 12 months. It's almost like trying to predict how many leaves a young tree will have in a year.

That said, I have to remember that the IFSP is not about predicting Matthew's progress. It's about taking steps towards what we believe he can achieve. And we believe he has endless possibilities.

Happy 2nd Birthday Matthew!

We celebrated Matthew's birthday yesterday with Bill's parents here, my parents on the webcam, a neighbor, a birthday balloon, cake, lasagna, jambalaya, sandwiches, and presents. Unfortunately, the rest of the family (Matthew's uncles, aunts and cousins) couldn't make it as they all had gotten sick recently and decided to play it safe by not coming rather than risk sharing the germs with Matthew and I (and #2). So we'll just have another birthday celebration with them when everyone is better.



Flashback
Matthew has yet to touch so many people's lives in the many years to come! And you definitely have an important role in this mission! YOU and Bill are just the perfect parents for Matthew. God never makes mistakes!

These were my aunt's words of support, comfort, and reassurance when we welcomed Matthew into our lives. I still get teary-eyed (tears of happiness) when I remember what she said. The weepiness comes more quickly these days with these crazy pregnancy hormones.

How wise her words! How true they ring! We are so grateful to have Matthew in our lives and can't imagine life without him.

Messages to Matthew
I got this idea from The Signing Mom. It's called "Messages to Baby" but I've renamed it "Messages to Matthew", for our purposes. I encourage everyone to write special notes for Matthew. I will save the messages in a box or special notebook for him to read when he gets older.

Here are some ideas to begin messages:
My hopes and dreams for you are...
How you've touched my life...
What I like about you...
I love you because...

Thank you very much for your birthday greetings and wishes for Matthew.

Bloodwork at 2nd Year Pediatrician Appointment

Matthew is turning 2 next week. We're looking forward to celebrating his birthday. However, I'm not looking forward to his pediatrician appointment next week. I'm not worried about the scheduled vaccines. I'm fretting over the bloodwork needed to check on a few things. Does every kid go through this at the 2nd year appointment?

Just the thought of holding him down and keeping him still breaks my heart. Memories of previous bloodwork are etched in my mind and his screams break my heart over and over. They will need to stick his arm. Hopefully it will only take one try this time. When he was a baby, there was one visit that made me so mad. The nurse ended up sticking him 4 or 5 times and ended up drawing blood from his heel. After that I made sure we never got that particular nurse again. But it doesn't help that Matthew's veins are hard to find.

Matthew has had blood drawn when he was born, when he was 1 month old, 2 months old, 6 months old, 9 months old, and 12 months old. Various things were checked at these past laboratory visits including:
- Bilirubin levels
- CBC w/ differential
- Comprehensive Metabolic Panel
- Comprehensive Metabolic Panel
- Full Thyroid Panel
- Lead

I've been looking up the possible things to check at 2nd year visit through bloodwork. The long list below drains the color from my face. I'm hoping it's not as much as it seems. I realize that some things on the list may be necessary if Matthew were on a vitamin therapy such as Nutrivene. He isn't on Nutrivene right now so maybe there are a few things we don't need to include for bloodwork.
- Full thyroid panel - TSH, T3, T4, free T3, free T4
- CBC
- Celiac panel
- Leukemia
- zinc
- selenium
- ferritin
- iron
- Vitamin A
- Homocysteine
- Magnesium
- Copper
- B12
- Vitamin D
- Amino Acid profile
- Glucose
- urea nitrogen
- creatinine
- calcium
- sodium
- potassium
- chloride
- total CO2

I'm wondering - is this too much? What are absolute must-checks? What can we do without?

Maybe the less we have to check, the less heartache I will have over this bloodwork. In the back of my mind though, I know that any bloodwork at all will be agonizing for me, wishing the nurse can stick me instead of Matthew.

Big Brother Matthew

That's right! Matthew is going to be a big brother.


I found out the day before Bill's birthday and told him the news on his birthday. We decided to hold off on telling friends and family for a few weeks. We did so with this shirt. He has a white short-sleeved shirt too with the same wording. We had fun using this shirt to share the news with family and friends. Matthew - the messenger.

I was tempted to have him wear it about a month ago when we met up with Jack and Julie, Braska, Kinlee, and RK, and Henry and Heidi. But I didn't. During our fun playdate, I almost said something when Heidi said, "Henry is ready for a sibling. Do you think Matthew is ready for a sibling?" I was smiling on the inside and just nodded in agreement.

I wanted to wait until I was further along and had seen my doctor. I saw my doctor today and I'm going back for an ultrasound in a few days. I'm about 9 or 10 weeks along. Big brother Matthew doesn't realize what this means for him yet though. He will - in time.


In the photo, Matthew is in the red/white striped shirt, Henry is in the light blue shirt with the red stripe, Braska is the only one with the ponytail, Jack is in a white shirt right in the middle, and Kinlee, Braska's little sister, is in the light pink shirt.

Book Review: Gifts 2

It has arrived! Gifts 2, edited by Kathryn Lynard Soper, is a treasure full of inspiration whose writers share their personal stories of how people with Down syndrome have enriched the world through Acceptance, Awareness, Friendship, Courage, and Joy.

I have only read a few stories to-date, but so far this book gets the two-thumbs up from me. I must proudly add that my sister-in-law, Kristin Enkvetchakul, contributed an essay titled "They Changed the World". Needless to say, we're very excited that she and Matthew are in the book.

I also love the fact that I know several of the contributing authors through their blogs, making this book more personal to me. Their heartfelt stories are simply soul-touching. I expected nothing less of course.

Overall, I'd say the book is well done labor of love. Great lively cover. Wonderful, inspiring stories. Excellent photos for each story. Edited with love. This is another must-have for people who know and love someone with Down syndrome.

Have you read it? What do you think?