Checking things off

1. Jocelyns appointment at the Childrens Hospital Down Syndrome clinic (CHECK)

The appointment went very well. Chris took the morning off work on Tues for the appt. We. saw 7 different specialists in 2 hours.....INCREDIBLE!!! First we were checked in where they weighed and measured Jocelyn. Then the clinic director who is also a Dr. met with us. She did an overall check on Jocelyn and made a list of questions we had. Then we saw the geneticist who gathered family history and talked to Chris and I about Down Syndrome. Jocelyn has a type of down syndrome that was not inherited meaning it was just a fluke chance. The chances for people in our age category is about 1 in 800 and goes up as you get older. If we decide to have more children the chances of this happening again is about 1 in 100. Again a fabulous doctor that truly cared about our family:) Next it was on to the Social Worker who wanted to check in on Chris and I to see how we were doing and make sure we had made all the connections that we wanted to with support groups, Regional Center, Early Start, etc. The Social workers at Childrens are such sweet people. Then we went to the next room where there was a Occupational Therapist and Physical Therapist who looked at Jocelyn and gave us some excercises to do with her. Then on to the Ears, Nose and Throat Dr! They were happy to see that Jocelyn has open ear canals now and talked to us about some of the complications she may face with her Ears, Nose and Throat. She will be prone to gathering fluid in her ears, ear infections and hearing loss. So far so good! Next to the Pediatric Dentist. She will be seen at the dentist at childrens as her teeth come in! I am hoping to get Abby in with them too. The dentist said that sometimes they will see siblings of special needs children. As Jocelyn gets older she will see the cardiologist, Behavior Specialist and Opthomologist when we go to the clinic.

After all the doctors and specialists see Jocelyn they all meet up and develop a plan on what we need to do and when they will see us again. They will make referrals to Physical Therapists, cardiologists, etc. They will send us a letter on what they decide. Such a great way to practice medicine with this group of doctors all working together. It also relieves a lot of anxiety for me knowing that she is seeing the best doctors and nothing is getting missed! From what we gathered we are on track with everything and Jocelyn is doing well. There was a sweet volunteer in the waiting room who chatted with us and gave us a little gift from the San Diego Down Syndrome group.

We are so fortunate to live so close to such an amazing hospital that offers such wonderful services for our sweet Jocelyn.

2. Surgery for Mommy (CHECK, CHECK, CHECK...so glad it's done!)

Yesterday I had surgery. Ugh. It went fine. I had a dermoid cyst that had to be removed. It was a laproscopic procedure where they went in through my belly button with a camera and then removed it through two incisions in my belly. They ended up having to remove the ovary too. That's OK because I still have one more:) It was an outpatient procedure so I was home by yesterday afternoon. I am feeling OK. Very sore but hopefully in a week or so I will be back to chasing Abby and playing with Jocelyn on the floor!

Thank you to everyone for helping out with things!!!!!

3. Jocelyns Birth Certificate
Can't check this off yet. Still trying to get all the paperwork in order. Having a baby at home involves a crazy amount of paperwork to prove that she really is my baby and that I had her in Riverside County. Once we have all the documents we need Chris, my mom (since she witnessed the birth), Jocelyn and I will have to appear at the Riverside County Courthouse. Ohhhhh Sweet Jocelyn Rose we are learning so much from you:)