Quiet Saturday

Today I started the day in housework mode. I used to be able to clean the entire house in about 3 hours. After I finished down stairs I was beat. I got Muhammad down for a nap and I learned when he was a baby....take a nap too. I did for 2 hours. When we woke, it was raining. Usually this does not bother me but today it made me sad. Plus Tariq was out studying and would not be back until the evening. I felt even sadder and lonely. Earlier, I had decided to pull out of an event my meetup group was coordinating for the Islamophobia conference. It is a completely uncharacteristic decision, usually I can pull events out but given these issues with the pregnancy and being the busiest ever at work, I just don't have the physical or mental capacity. It's hard to disappoint people but in my experience it's better to be honest and realistic than to have an event fail. This I know as a project manager.

Today I am fighting back the sadness and blues. I keep thinking about this little guy inside and whether he is alright. I try to imagine who he will be...it's foggy. I pray he will be like his brother. Muhammad will have a lot of responsibility for his little brother. I worry about him and the pressure that will place on him as they both get older as well as Tariq and I. You usually plan for your children to marry and live on their own. Inshallah he will be able to do those things too. We will have to plan our old age differently and make sure our son is taken care of.

Later

Tiffany

Early practice listening to his little brother.

Muhammad getting early practice listening to his little brother.

Tariq's Welcome.

Welcome To Our Family Blog.

What is Down Syndrome? The Facts and Myths Explained

Welcome to our blog

Thank you for visiting our blog. My husband, Tariq, and I decided to start a blog in order to document this new journey since our son expected in February 2014 was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. We were inspired also by good friends, Jeff and Julie Tuley who started a blog in 2008 after their son was diagnosed with a rare disorder. We also have a selfish motivation, which is to ask that people who read the blog pray that our son is born healthy and high functioning and that we are able to provide him with the best family, therapy and life. We will use this blog to share our journey, educate people about Down Syndrome as we learn more and have a place for people to comment and send well wishes and positivity. We are excited about the journey as articulated in an email I sent out at work to some of my key contacts since I was in and out of the office and eventually took a week off after the final confirmation of DS in order to plan, relax and get prepared for the biggest journey of our lives. This is the message I sent out:

As some of you may know, I have been out for a couple of days on a family emergency. I want to thank you all for your prayers, concern and support. I appreciate the way you all have respected my privacy during this time.

 I thought it best to give you all some information as I return to the office on Wednesday. I would ask you all to use discretion in discussing this with others. On Wednesday, August 28th we received word from our perinatologist that our baby has Down Syndrome. We decided to confirm the results with an amniocentesis and on Monday, September 9th, we learned that we are having another son and the Down syndrome was confirmed.

We have gone through and continue to go through the natural sequence of denial, anger, and acceptance that any parent would experience.  We are STILL thankful that God has chosen to bless us with a child. He is not the child we envisioned, but he is still our gift from God – packaged a little differently than we were expecting.  We believe God creates and loves ALL children equally. We also believe that God’s plan is for all children to be loved and nurtured by loving parents. He has blessed us with this child, and we will do our very best to love and care for our son. 

In my selfish quest for your continued support, I would offer the following information that I think will help you and me. Please do not feel sorry for us, but please do share in our joy that only a child can bring. Please continue to inquire about my pregnancy. Although I continue to be in a "higher risk" category from pre-existing issues, my health, labor or delivery are largely not affected by the Down syndrome. I have had a seemingly routine pregnancy. Please DO come and see him when he is born. I am 17 weeks pregnant so we still have quite a while to go until February 2014. But it is a blessing to have time to get prepared, educated and help others to prepare including our family, friends and 3 children (Amira-6, Zacharia-5, and Muhammad-2). 

Please do not be afraid to talk to me. If I’m not in the mood to discuss it, I will tell you. We have found a website and a couple of videos that might be helpful to you in your understanding if you are so inclined. 

What is down syndome?

  

 Again, I appreciate your support, respect, care and concern. I look forward to seeing all of you on Wednesday.

I think that sums up how we are presently doing. In another post I will talk about the initial emotions and how we came to decision to move forward with the pregnancy in spite of the diagnosis. 

Thank you for visiting and please come back. 

Truly Grateful!

Tiffany