On November 18 2009 at 4:02 am William Alan Bartosch was joyfully welcomed into our family. He weighed in at 7 lbs 9 oz and 20 in long. We were stunned to discover that he was born with Trisomy 21, or Down syndrome. We love him unconditionally from the top of his toe-head to the tips of his toes. We know that this diagnosis will not define him. He is a happy, healthy little boy that just happens to have an extra chromosome.



Follow us on this unexpected and exciting journey as we learn how to live life Will's Way.



Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Three Little Leprechauns



Our session with Help Me Grow went well. Will received lots of praise for how well he is doing in many areas and we got some good ideas on new activities to work on. The physical and occupational therapists were concerned about him still favoring his right side so they gave us suggestions on how to get him to grab for toys and look towards objects on his left. They also gave us ideas for working on his head control other than just tummy time. This was helpful because William does not always love his time on his tummy. The speech therapist was pleased with his mouth posture and his babbling and gave us some resources to help get us stared on sign language. Mostly it was a good day and Will loved being fussed over by all these women!
The disappointing news with Help Me Grow was that we will have to wait at least 60 days to get another therapy session at the clinic because we are actually on a waiting list for regular home services. They told us that we may have home services start for Will by this summer but until then we are looking into private services. The major down side to the private services is, of course, the cost, and also that there is a waiting list for these as well. We hope to get started with at least physical and speech therapy through Children's Hospital or Easter Seals, whichever can get us in faster.
Will's well baby check was great as well. He is up to 12 lbs 12 oz and 24 in and doing very well. He got more immunizations and a thorough check up. He started a small amount of oatmeal cereal this weekend and likes it so far. We may see if he likes peas next!
His vision screen went well too. The appointment itself took about 10 minutes but we were there for over 2 hours, so it was a lot of waiting on Will's part. They mostly checked to see if he followed objects and lights and then they dialated his eyes and looked at them under the lenses. He was a trooper through it all and slept it all off on the way to Fort Wayne that afternoon.
We attended our second DSACO New Parents meeting yesterday and we were enlightened to many interesting things about different doctors and thearapies and clinics. Going to the meeting was both good and bad for me...it was helpful becasue it made me realize that we can not become complacent with the care and services Will is receiving, even if it means fighting to get the care he needs, but it also made me freak out a bit about some things that may or may not be cause for freak out. The hardest part is that we are learning as we go, and no one can or will tell us what we need to do, so we have to make these decisions based on what we THINK is best for Will. We did meet a lot of really nice people at the meeting that will be great resources and support for us because they are travelling down the same road:)
Will has been entertaining Ron and I with all these fun, new things he is doing. Just in the last couple weeks he has rolled over from his belly to back several times, started grabbing the bottle with both hands, grabs for his feet and holds on for awhile, rediscovered his little thumb and is chomping away at it and has started showing a lot of interest in some of his toys. He is also doing very well with his new bottles and really likes the baby cereal!
These pictures are from St. Patrick's Day and Will's cousins, Ava and Jonas, are 'helping' Will see himself in the mirror! They love to 'help' with Baby Will:) Happy 4 Month birthday Baby Will!

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