Mommy's Day Out

There have been so many positive outcomes from starting this blog. For one, it has been a great outlet for my emotions. Writing has always been therapeutic for me, and it makes it even better knowing that my writing might be helping someone else too. Since starting my blog, I have received countless emails and messages from mothers/families reaching out to me. Some have shared their story, and some have just wanted to let me know how I have affected them in some way. It all makes it worth it! It is hard as a new mom to try and find time to write, but I want to keep at it because it has already done so much. I have to say that although I enjoy every aspect of this blog and the many outcomes from writing it, I think the best thing that has come from it is the connections I have made.

When my son was first diagnosed with Down Syndrome the doctors and nurses flooded me with resources. I was handed packets on top of packets of information along with numbers of people to get in contact with. In the beginning, it was all a little much for me. I admit that I never planned on calling any of those references or reading the informational material. I thought I could do it all on my own. I thought I had all of the resources I needed right at my fingertips...good ol' google. What I didn't understand at the time was how important actual support would be. Even thought I had been getting tons of support from friends and family something still seemed to be missing. I needed to talk to someone who got it, someone who understood first hand the roller coaster of emotions I was experiencing. When I wrote my blog I connected to a lot of readers that reached out and shared similar stories. But then something even better happened... I was introduced to two amazing mothers. Because of my blog, we were able to find each other; close in age and location. We were eager to meet in person. One of the girls was still pregnant at the time, but was still willing to get together. Turns out her baby girl wanted to come before we all met, so we had to put a hold on our plans :) . We ended up meeting this past Tuesday, at the park with our kids. Honestly, I was so excited. I couldn't wait to chat about our stories and experiences regarding raising a child with Down Syndrome. More than that... I couldn't wait to connect with other women my age that were mothers... period. Currently, I do not have any friends that have kids, so I wanted to be able to talk to someone about being up late, doctors visits, feedings, schedules, and all other things "mommy" that my friends without kids cant relate to just yet.

Turns out I was right, it was so nice to meet these girls. Talking to them I felt like I had known them forever. I think it might be because we have an unspoken bond. The three of us have been through something that not every new mother has been through. While each of our stories are different, the emotions we felt were very similar. They both experienced a Down Syndrome diagnosis for their babies while they were still pregnant. Even though their birth stories were different than mine, I found myself relating to almost everything they said. It was so refreshing to be open and honest and have those feelings validated. I am looking forward to many more playdates in the future :)!

Seriously, how cute are these kids

On another note....

My husband Joe was checked into the hospital on Wednesday for ACL surgery. He tore it playing basketball over the summer. He stayed the night, and that meant that I packed my bags and drove to my parents house with Anthony. Ha! For those of you who don't personally know me, I absolutely hate being alone, especially at night... in the dark... in a storm... with a house that makes creepy noises. So, Anthony and I had a sleepover at Mimi and Poppy's house. Then we went to go pick up Joe yesterday afternoon. I might not be writing a lot these next few days because I am taking care of two "babies" that are totally dependent on me. Hopefully I will be able to sneak away when they're both sleeping to get some Mommy-time.