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.



Saturday, June 5, 2010

Therapy

Will has finally, officially started Physical Therapy! Yipee! We had our first session two Fridays ago and a second one yesterday. It has been fun so far. We really love the Physical Therapist that is working with Will. She finds fun ways for us to play in constructive ways. I have been telling people unfamiliar with baby PT that all we really do is learn ways to play constructively. We do 'sit ups', and 'push ups' and we roll around on the exercise ball. She shows me new things to do with Tummy Time and Will pukes all over her boppy pillow :( He has already improved his sit ups and roll overs and was sitting up independently for a couple of seconds yesterday! We will go to PT every Friday for now, since we have the coverage at the moment, and continue to wait for the home-based Help Me Grow services.
Will was evaluated by a Speech Therapist recently as well. She thought his mouth posture was good and was happy with all the verbalizations he is making. She gave me good advice on how to properly feed him with the spoon and gave me some recomendations for encouraging new sounds and expressions. She also made some recommendations on Infant Sign Language books and CDs and showed me some exercises to do with his mouth and facial muscles...which he already can work quite well since he is very expressive with his little face. Will has the biggest, brightest smile but also the saddest, most pathetic pouting lip you have every seen :) :(
This past weekend we had a family wedding in Fort Wayne so we got to see many of our family and friends that live in Indiana and we celebrated Will's Great Grandma's 90th Birthday with a big party. We love Grandma Brough and hope our lives are half as full as her's has been!
(In this picture Great Grandma Brough is holding Will and Great Grandma's OLDER sister, which is Will's Great, Great Aunt Mary, is in the middle and Papa Brough is on the end.)

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