Well, Oct really did me in! I can't believe its been 3 months since I last posted!

I truly didn't think I would let 3 months pass before I posted again!  I will admit that the holidays are a hectic time, but no excuses for Jan.  I have to say that I have been skeptical of even blogging at all.  I go back and forth with myself about whether I need to post on such a public forum.  On facebook, I am part of a couple of great groups where we moms (and some dads) can network with each other.  I also have some other groups that I am a part of like http://www.babycenter.com/ that I post on occasionally.  I have always been more of a reader/lurker in the groups due to mainly having so little time to be active in posting.  With working and trying to balance family time with some me time, posting takes a back seat mostly for me.  It is very easy to get caught up in the Internet too and spend way too much time on here.  My fellow Ds moms are why I want to blog.  I have met a lot of new moms who need some guidance, advice and encouraging through their journey.  I follow so many blogs and I want the moms that I am friends with to be able to follow our journey, to know Katie and my family.  Do I worry about stuff being out there for everyone to see?  Sure I do, but I figure only people who know me are going to be reading this anyway.  I am sure the occasional, unknown person may stumble upon this blog, but for the most part, I think it will just be friends and family reading, so I am going to keep trying to blog.  At this rate, I should get 4 posts out per year! 

We have been doing really well here.  Katie broke her leg a few weeks ago.  She is doing well in her soft splint and we hope that she will be able to continue to wear this throughout the casting process.  They said that if they put a hard cast on, she might have to be put to sleep to have it taken off.  I certainly don't want that if we can get away with this.  We have the father/daughter dance coming up this week.  This will be K's 3rd dance.  It is really a big social outing for all the dads/daughters here in our area.  The girls love getting dressed up and the dads love showing them off!  I admit I don't have Katie's dress yet!  (insert gasp here)  I have a dress in reserve (her Easter dress for this year) if I can't find a dress for her.  I am waiting because her soft cast is getting changed tomorrow and I have no idea what colors of tape they have to wrap her leg with.  I want the tape to mesh, not clash with her dress, so I wait to pick out the tape tomorrow and then maybe find a dress after.  Either way, she will go even if she has to wear a potato sack!  I hate that she won't be able to walk around but she can still have her daddy dance.  She is still busy with her therapy and we are in the process of transitioning her into the school system. 

I am in the process of trying to find a location/childcare for us to start up an official Ds support group in our area.  There are several of us moms who meet up for play dates, but I know there is a big group of parents we haven't reached yet.  I want to gather information to put packets together to bring to the OB groups around here, the hospitals and other support services for our children.  For some of our parents, having a Ds child will be our only common connection, but it is important that any parent have access to others who have been there, done that at any time they need it.  I do network with a lot of moms and their support has been invaluable to me.  I want to be able to share all the knowledge I have gained over these 3 years.  I want someone with a new dx to know they have a support network ready for them.  I don't want them to have to look all over the Internet to find information.  I don't want someone to wait for months after their child's birth to be able to find some parents in their area to talk to.  I don't want someone sitting up in the hospital who didn't have a prenatal dx wondering what has just happened and not having information right at their fingertips. 

Our moms who have Ds children are passionate about our kids.  We are their voices.  At any given time, I am praying for one, sometimes many of our children who are sick, who are having procedures done, for parents who are struggling, for those who need to know that someone else understands.  The list goes on and on.  I have seen some moms who have been harassed recently because of what they believe or for something that was said.  It saddens me that our common ground gets a little cracked at times, but the rains come, the goodness flows and all is well until we are faced with our next crack.  I do know that our parenting styles, our thoughts, our point of view, our beliefs, our actions and reactions are all different.  I think we have to remember what brought us together in the first place and hold onto that.  Our children are worth that and more.  Again, I am so thankful for each of you that I have met along this journey.