"Show Me"

Our first pediatrician appointment on Monday went great!  Parker gained 3 ounces, his color was looking better, and of course, he peed all over the nurse and scale!  We were so excited to FINALLY get a good report from a doctor, as up until this point, it seemed like doctors were only around to tell us bad news.

Obviously, with Parker's multiple diagnosis, we have a lot of questions that no one can really answer for us...but we ask anyway.  It seems that there is no real information about children who have both Down Syndrome and Klinefelter's Syndrome.  The two tend to have some similar traits and some opposite traits, even though Klinefelter's can be something that men live with all of their lives and don't know about.  For example, typically with DS, children have shorter limbs, whereas with KS, children are taller and lanky.  We think this is why during ultrasounds, Parker's measurements all turned up normal instead of accurately indicating DS.

None of this stops us from foolishly trying to predict what Parker's capabilities will be...which I am sure every parent wonders.  

Dr. Peters, one of our pediatricians, had an amazing term for this...he said Parker will be a "Show Me" baby.  He will show us all of the amazing things he is capable of in his own time, in his own way.  He will do great things, even if they may be a little different than what other kids can do.

This really resonated with us...that we have to blindly accept Parker's challenges, and just do everything we can to help him grow and be pushed to his fullest extent.