Happy 10 Months, Mark!

Happy 10 months, Markie! The past month has brought a lot of new things out of this little guy, and his BIG personality is showing more and more. In the last month, Mark has started doing a number of new things, which all started when he decided that he had a lot to say! He started saying "da-da" and the talking has been nonstop since then. We hear quite a bit of "la-la," "na-na," and (my favorite) "ma-ma" all day long...and also quite frequently during the early hours of the morning. *sigh* 

Mark has also started self-feeding! His favorite food to feed himself is Gerber puffs.

When in doubt, pass the Puffs!

He also enjoys eating cheese, peaches, pancakes, crackers, chicken nuggets (especially from Chick-fil-a), and broccoli. He even had pizza for the first time this month! We recently had Mark evaluated by a speech therapist with a special certification in oral placement therapy. And let me just say WOW! One of the things that I never anticipated on this journey was truly how much I would learn that I never otherwise may have encountered. As you may know, Down syndrome, like many other conditions, results in varying degrees of decreased muscular strength and tone. Not only does this include the larger skeletal muscles, but also the small muscles of the lips, jaw and tongue. This is one reason that infants and children with Down syndrome have more difficulty with feeding and speech than neurotypical peers. So we are working with Mark performing feeding exercises to increase his muscle tone. Luckily he loves to eat! He does however hate practicing drinking from his Honey Bear cup to learn how to use a straw. Sorry, buddy!




We have also been enjoying some summer fun together as a family! Mark got to swim in the pool for the first time, and it is fair to say that he is a water baby. We are hoping he can encourage his big sister to get into the pool a little bit more too. We got to walk in a parade for the first time together as a family when we participated in a local July 4th parade walking with our friends from our local Gigi's Playhouse.

 

Mark has even been on the move over the past few days. If you follow us on social media, you likely saw our recent video of him starting to army crawl. Look out, Mom, Dad and Rachel - Markie is coming! And if he isn't trying to get to a new toy, you may find him on his Pooh Mobile waving at his adoring fans or being silly taking Snap Chat pics. You probably won't find him taking a nap though!

 

Thank you to everyone who has been following along as we document our journey! We are enjoying every moment with Rachel and Mark, powering through the often sleepless nights, taking car naps and doing all of the things that typical families with small children do.

Happy 10 months, sweet boy!

Love,

Mommy and Mark