Baby on the Brink

Preparing for breakthroughs

You ever just somehow know, deep down in the very core of your being, that something big and wonderful is coming?

Just a few more days of being ONE!

I’ve had that feeling pretty persistently lately, particularly about our little Betsy. Something in her very essence just says, “I’m ‘bout to bust your expectations wide open, Mom.” It’s like I can see it all in her big brown eyes: a new determination, better comprehension, and increased intentionality in both her movements and her babbling speech (which sounds less babbly every day). Things are starting to click, and you can clearly see recognition in her expressive little face. She is on the verge of some breakthroughs.

If you’re a new reader, welcome! I highly recommend checking out one of my previous posts for a good intro to Betsy and myself. Here ya go:

And what a perfect time for big changes!

It is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, as well as Spooky Season (gotta love Halloween!) and oh yeah, what was that other thing? Betsy’s birthday is Friday! I can’t believe she’s going to be TWO! What a wiiiiild two years it has been.

Some new things we are doing lately: A few of you may have been led here by reading a comment my husband Ian made on a post by

A Midwestern Doctor

about DMSO, or Dimethyl Sulfoxide. This is something we are trying with Betsy. I not going to say much about it just yet, but I will, so stay tuned. Basically, it’s a naturally occuring compound that helps the body in lots of ways, and has been shown to do a LOT of good for people with Down Syndrome. And you KNOW how we love natural remedies! If you want to read one of A Midwestern Doctor’s articles about it, I recommend this one. So far, I like what we are seeing.

You may have seen some of our videos with Betsy playing ball with her dad, like this Short. We used to play this game a lot more often, but we kinda fell away from it for awhile, at least until the other day. And let me tell you. Her skills have gotten soooo much better! It has been super good practice in sitting up, as we now sit her on the floor propped up against me (instead of in the Bumbo seat), and her dexterity is improving considerably. She leans over to reach for the ball and then pulls herself all the way backup without falling over. Also her kicks and throws are more coordinated, her aim much better. Every time she makes a “goal,” we clap and say YAY, and she celebrates, too! She yells and either claps or waves her arms in the air, and it’s adorable. The funniest part, though, is that now she doesn’t want to stop. When we’re done playing and I go to pick her up, she gets mad and I have to quickly distract her with something else so she gets over it. I feel bad for laughing when she’s upset (and I definitely don’t want to encourage tantrums), but it’s just so great that she’s enjoying this activity so much and wants to keep playing. So we have been making a point to play ball more often, every day if we can.

We’ve also been taking her to the park to actually play. We have a nice park rather close to our house, with two good playgrounds and a duck pond. She had been there before a few times, but never with the purpose of just playing (it’s always been for like a photo shoot or a walk in the stroller). The first time Ian and I took her to play, we put her in what he called a “diaper swing,” which made me laugh (I immediately knew what he was talking about). However, she didn’t quite feel secure in it and didn’t understand that it was supposed to be fun. We were very careful with her, of course, but she just wasn’t feeling it. We tried the slide too, and that was also a nope from her. Since she is pretty uncomfortable with big changes, we decided we should be more intentional with bringing her to the park more regularly, letting her get used to the place. That will also give her the opportunity to observe other kids as they play and have a good time. So we tried again about a week later, which was this past Saturday. This time we just took her for a walk around the pond in her stroller, then we put her on a blanket on the ground in the corner of the playground so she could see what the other kids were doing.

This seemed to work a little better. She has always enjoyed tummy time and being outside. We did try the swing again, reassuring her that she was safe and Mommy and Daddy were there to make sure she didn’t get hurt. As soon as she seemed like she wanted to nope outta there, we called it a day and went home. I think she had a better time this go around, and we plan to keep this up.

That’s pretty much it for now, but just for the fun of it, I’m going to include a very fun video of Betsy laughing her head off at her big sister, Miranda. She was hanging out in the pack-n-play, and Miranda was merely making faces and funny noises at Betsy, which she found hilarious. Baby laughter is so therapeutic! I hope you enjoy. (I post videos almost daily on YouTube, so subscribing there is a good way to get fairly regular doses of cuteness.)

Thank you for reading! If you haven’t, please subscribe so you can stay up-to-date on Betsy’s shenanigans, and upgrade that subscription if you feel inclined to offer further support. I also have an account with Buy Me a Coffee, in case you might like to make a one-time donation just because. And please feel free to leave a comment and ask any questions you might have. We love sharing our little girl’s story, and I’m grateful that so many people like to read about it. Until next time—don’t be afraid to be extra.