Rhys has UP SYNDROME

Only 1/800 to 1000 actually have the privilege to have such a wonderful gift.  He is a pleasure and if you have had a bad day, Rhysie will just give you a huge smile and then you know nothing is a problem.

We all love him to bits and he shows the same love back to us. He is beautiful from the inside out.......

His First 9 months

Our beautiful baby boy was born on the 27th June 2008, he was a wonderful "surprise baby", and believe me he has been surprising us with his progress since birth.

I have to say when we found out that Rhys had Down Syndrome (a week or so after he was born), it was a shock, I can still clearly remember that day, when the paediatrician phoned me with the blood test, confirming he had DOWNS. I was convinced he didn`t as he was born a healthy 8lb 4oz, he had no heart problems, and he was breast feeding beautifully. I thought his small ears (which can be a trait with downs) was hereditary as my brother also has small ears. Rhys looked perfect just the way he was, why did we have to put a label on him and what did this diagnosis mean?

Because I didn`t know much about Downs I decided to investigate. 

Physically it did appear that they are more vulnerable to these varying problems such as recurrent ear infections, smaller in stature and impairment of physical growth and cognitive ability, shorter limbs, heart problems, eczema, allergies, excessive vomiting or reflux disease, irritable bowel syndrome, poor muscle tone, celiac, constipation, obstructive sleep apnoea, speech problems, autism, mental retardation, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, thyroid dysfunction, leukaemia, immune deficiencies and epilepsy.

As you can see this list is huge, is it any wonder why at least 80% of people who`s test comes back positive for downs through pregnancy will actually abort their babies, as there looks like there is no HOPE.

Rhys is now 9 months old and he`s not sticking to this list at all and he`s achieving the so called "normal" child`s milestones before the average 'normal" age. He breastfeeds easier than what the girls did, I just think it may be a problem stopping, as he`s a real "booby" boy. Due to poor muscle tone, this usually can be a problem. By the time he was 6 weeks old he was often found at the other end of his cot. Have never had to place a bib on him (accept feeding him solids), as rarely did he spill his milk. From 2 months old he was sleeping through the night. He rarely cries, as he is happy physically, emotionally and spiritually. He does his daily poo with no probs, he started rolling at 3 months and his first words were said from 5 months. His skin is beautiful; we only visit the Paediatrician to "show" him off. Have to say he is quite pleasantly amazed with his progress. He is well above average for his height and average for his weight on the so-called normal growth charts. He is actually off the graph on the Down syndrome chart that we were given. Now 9 months old he doesn`t want to sit, but would rather stand. He thinks he is really clever......so do we! By the way he has had no extra intervention with any of these milestones.

For those parents who can afford dietary supplements for their Down syndrome children, this can be quite a common option to improve brain function, as there have been numerous studies for and against, but seems to surround Vitamins A, D, E and the B vitamin group especially and minerals such as Zinc and Selenium can help with this.
I choose not to use supplements for myself or for Rhys as I know I do eat a fair source of the above vitamins and minerals from my diet, which I would say I eat without fear, a fair amount of saturated fats and animal proteins such as butter, cream, full fat yoghurts, lots of eggs, good quality meats (red and white) leaving the skin on and cook most of our foods in dripping. I include fruits and veggies, but I add these good fats to all meals that actually provide these essential vitamins and minerals to help Rhys be the BEST he can be. To Rhys`s solid meals I also add real butter. I avoid all GOO! Thanks to Jenna`s Journey. Rhys is healthy, happy, strong and a real cruiser.

Down’s syndrome is all about  ability , there is no FEAR when you get the nutrition part right. I TRULY believe this is why Rhys has UP SYNDROME rather than downs.......... WHOO HOO!!

(By the way we turned down the disability allowance we were entitled to due to his medical label, as I feel its not right accepting something that he isn`t).