Today was Wesley’s 5-week checkup. He clocked in at 5 lbs 10 oz! Even more amazing, tonight I put him in a preemie gown (the kind that’s like a sack) and it was a little tight around his feet! He’s growing.

Last week John and I took Wes to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City to meet with a genetic counselor. We discussed Wes’s condition of Down syndrome and went over what we can expect with him, medically, mentally, and physically.

Here are some things I learned about our baby and Down syndrome.

1. He was the product of Trisomy 21, which means there’s an extra 21st chromosome in every cell that slightly changes the development of the body and brain. The extra genetic material is a totally random thing originating with the sperm or the egg. About 95% of people with Down syndrome have Trisomy 21.

2. Any normal couple has a 1 in 800 chance of having a kid with DS.

3. Since we already have a kid with DS, our chances automatically jump to 1 in 100 for future children.

4. About 5,000 kids with DS are born every year. Eighty percent are born to moms under the age of 35.

5. People with DS are at a higher risk for certain medical conditions. The American Academy of Pediatrics outlines the probability as follows. There’s an increased risk of:

congenital heart defects (50%); leukemia (<1%); hearing loss (75%); otitis media (50-70%); Hirschsprung disease (<1%); gastrointestinal atresias (12%); eye disease (60%), including cataracts (15%) and severe refractive errors (50%); acquired hip dislocation (6%); obstructive sleep apnea (50%-75%); and thyroid disease (15%).

That’s a scary list, isn’t it? I don’t even know what some of those conditions are. Hopefully we won’t ever need to find out. So far his heart looks good (we’ll take him to a cardiologist next month to make sure), his hearing checks out normally, and he doesn’t have cataracts. We’ve been instructed to take him to see a pediatric ophthalmologist and an ear/nose/throat specialist before he’s a year old to check up on some of those other conditions.

6. Mental impairment can range from mild (IQ: 50-70) to moderate (IQ: 35-50) and only occasionally to severe (IQ: 20-35).

7. Down syndrome kids look more like their families than they do one another.

8. Our son, like every child, will have a full range of emotions and attitudes, creativity and imagination, interests and talents that will shape his life and add color to our everyday experiences.

9. People with Down syndrome can grow up to live independent lives with varying degrees of support and accommodations needed. They can hold jobs and sometimes live on their own. I’ve talked with people locally whose DS kids have gone on to go through the temple, serve missions, and even be ordinance workers in the temple.

10. The most important thing I’ve learned is that despite the statistics, Wes could totally wow us, and probably he will. Every child will have some problems during his life. With Down syndrome, it’s a little more intimidating up front because the possibilities of what could go wrong with him are spelled out pretty frankly. But one thing I’m learning is that, like with any kid and any situation, you have to expect the best, and we’ll try to.

As amazed as we are by Wes’ many talents of sleeping, sneezing, and hiccupping, we’ve been trying to increase his resume fodder by helping him learn to grip things. He will grip our fingers pretty well, so much so that his little fingertips turn white, but we thought we’d take it to the next level:

with Link-A-Doos.

Doesn’t he kind of look like a Chinese monk in this picture?

Anyway, he’ll grip it for a second.

And then . . .

Well, we’ll keep working on it.

As long as he doesn’t get too tired.

Here’s a shot of him with his dad in the nursery.

(Note: This post, for whatever reason, wasn’t showing up on our blog, so I am reposting it. It was originally posted on October 11th.)

Our baby’s 29 days old now. I took him in for a checkup today and he weighed 5 lbs 5 oz!

I think that’s huge, considering how little he started out. But the doctor said he’s still pretty small and I need to bring him in next week for another weight check.

Here’s a picture to give you an idea of his actual size. This is Wes wearing a preemie outfit, lying next to the same outfit in the three-month size.

The sticker on his cheek helps hold on his oxygen tubes. But the sticker on his other cheek had fallen off, so I just took off the tubes for the afternoon. We’ll have to replace them tonight, since he’s supposed to sleep with the oxygen on.

When all your pregnancy hormones start depleting, they’re apparently replaced with the photo-taking hormones. It just goes with the territory of new momhood. I couldn’t resist taking more pictures of him today, even though he wasn’t doing much.

Although here’s Wes doing one of his favorite activities: thrusting out his arm like he’s telling us to Stop!

And just one more cute one.

(Note: This post, for whatever reason, wasn’t showing up on our blog, so I am reposting it. It was originally posted on October 4th.)

Yesterday was Wesley’s three-week birthday. And tomorrow is his official due date. Hah.

He’s gaining weight well. He gained six ounces since his doctor’s appointment last week. Now he’s up to 4 lb 11 oz (with diaper on). The doctor wants us to keep him plugged into oxygen as long as he’s sleeping or in the car seat for long periods of time. I’ll be glad when that’s done with, because it gets annoying toting around his oxygen tube that’s taped to his face, and he keeps tugging at it and pulling the tubes from his nose into his mouth.

We’re adjusting to new parenthood and all the sleep deprivation that goes with it. Wes is a good kid, though, and is fun to have around. Today we took our first walk together around the neighborhood and made our first social call to one of my friends down the street. Wes was real easy, sleeping the whole time.

Next week we’ll take him to the doctor again for a four-week checkup to make sure he’s gaining weight all right, and maybe (cross fingers) the doc will let him off the oxygen.

(Note: This post, for whatever reason, wasn’t showing up on our blog, so I am reposting it. It was originally posted on October 4th.)

Here are some things I didn’t realize I’d like so well about momhood.

1. Speaking in babytalk to your own baby is not only socially acceptable, it’s really fun.
2. Naked baby bodies are dang cute, and sometimes bathing your baby is fun just because you can see him wriggling in the nude.
3. Dressing your baby in sleeper pajamas with the little feet on them can make any dull day a whole lot brighter.
4. Holding a baby in your arms who’s sleepy and content to just be held is about the most peaceful thing in the world.
5. Babies can make a hundred different expressions in just a few minutes, and most of them are pretty darn adorable.

Case in point: Here are some photos I snapped of Wesley today while he was hanging out in his cradle. (Disclaimer: I don’t pretend to know how to focus my camera properly. Any photos that turn out in focus are completely by chance.)

While Wesley was in the hospital I had to call our insurance agency twice to get some information about preauthorizing two different things. Both times I happened to speak with the same agent, Kyle.

The first time I spoke with him he told me that his little baby is also in the hospital for an extended period of time. When he asked me how long our baby has been in the hospital I told him twelve days.

“Oh, that’s not too bad,” was his reply.

Turns out that his daughter’s been in the hospital for two months or something like that (she was born three months early).

Still, just because his baby has been in the hospital longer than mine doesn’t mean that twelve days isn’t a very long and very expensive period of time to have our baby separated from us, our home, and our family. I felt he was trivializing our experience. But, still, he was just the insurance guy.

The second time I talked with Kyle was the day Wes was being released from the hospital. He asked me for some information for some forms the hospital needed. He asked me more about our son and his condition. Here’s more or less how that conversation went.

Kyle: So, what’s wrong with your baby?

Me: Um, he was born three weeks early, and really small. He weighed 3 lbs 15 oz.

Kyle: That’s not so bad. Our daughter was born three months early and weighed just two pounds.

Me: Gosh. Um, well, the insurance company will probably need to know that he also has Downs syndrome.

Kyle: Oh? That’s too bad. We weren’t sure if our daughter would be at risk for Downs, because someone else in the family has it. But we lucked out and she’s normal.

Me, thinking to self: Lucked out?

Kyle, going on as if he hasn’t just said something somewhat offensive to a tired and emotionally vulnerable new mother of a Downs syndrome baby: Our daughter was born so early that there was risk of mental retardation and other physical problems, but so far she seems fine. We are really lucky.

Me, outloud: That’s good.

Me, to self: Who are you to say that we’re not lucky to have our son exactly as he is?

I didn’t much like Kyle after the first conversation. And I really started disliking him by the end of our second.

Wesley is a joy to have around. Yes, he’s a newborn baby, which brings challenges to our daily lives and sleep patterns. But he’s Wesley. Our baby. He’s perfect.