Sunday, July 31, 2011

One Little Monkey doesn't fall out of his bed

Expecting the arrival of Tommy’s baby brother made us think of moving Tommy from his convertible crib to a bed without a rail. I knew Tommy was ready to sleep without the rail because I forgot to put the rail at night a couple of times and he didn't fall out.  With the new baby, we also needed to set Tommy's crib again for the baby.


September 12, 2010


Tommy's transition from a crib to a toddler bed was an smooth process that we started last year when he was 2 1/2 by transforming his crib into a toddler bed –Tommy's crib is is  a 3-in-1, this means it is a crib, a toddler bed and a full bed. I think having a convertible crib made the transitioning easy for Tommy because it helped him to develop spatial awareness in relation with the space available  for his body in the bed. When we decided it was time for Tommy sleeping without the rail, we also decide to create a whole new room for him, which is more appeling for a preschooler. So we bought new furniture for his room, including a new bed. But at the time to chose a bed for Tommy, we chose a toddler bed because it will be the same size of his crib so he dind't have to adjust to a new size bed and it is lower than a regular bed so if the little monkey fall out, he won't bump his head. Tommy's crib was a gift from my mom to Tommy, her first grandchild, so we are planing to transform Tommy's convertible crib in a full bed when Tommy needs a bigger bed and the baby grows out of the crib. This is other reason we didn't bought a bigger bed for Tommy. 

Making the decision if Tommy was ready to sleep without the rail made me think how kids learn not to fall out of bed. I realized it has to be with their relationship with space controlled by the Proprioceptive system, which alerts the body about its location within its physical environment so the body develops spatial awareness that comes naturally to most children while they explore their surroundings as they get mobile by learning to crawl, walk, run, climb; but it is not always the case for kids with a genetic disorder. Even although the spatial awaresness hapends natural in a child development, there are ways to help our kids to develop spatial awareness, specially if they have developmental delays.






  • To develop body map by encouraging the child when begins to be mobile to climb under tables or go through tunnels, into cardboard boxes, and any fun place to hide. We bought for Tommy's birthday a play station with has different size tunels connected and he also got a little tend.
  • To discuss locations by talking about where the bedroom is, where the bathroom is, where the kitchen is, where his or her toys are and so on.
  • To mention which objects are closer and which objects are farther from a child’s current location to give them the idea of distance between them and the objects.
  • To teach positional words, which is also a way to work on language development. Examples of positional words (prepositions): up, down, behind, in front, around. A good reference to teach positional words is available in http://downsyndromecentre.ie/advisorypanel/2010/jun/21/teaching-prepositions-positional-words-real-life-c/
  • To give directions using "right" and "left". I am reading the Book From Head to Toe by Eric Carle and emphasis body movements to the right or left. I am also learning with Tommy the Hockey Pocky song to practice right and left. 








Even although, Tommy didn't have trouble transitioning to a bed without a protective rail, I am working on promoting spatial awareness because it will help him to be more aware of his surroundings at home, school, playgrounds and so on.  

My Little Monkey doesn't fall out of his bed
He gets all around the bed, 
but doesn't get beyond the edges. 
I have been checking on him at different time
at night since the first day he slept on his new bed.
 July 11, 10:36 PM

July 12, 1:48 AM

July 15, 1:48 AM

July 17, 9:13 PM

July 20 1:03 AM

July 20, 8:56 PM

July 21, 10:23 PM

July 31, 10:27 PM

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

A new addition to our family

We are so happy to announce that our baby boy, Francis Steven, was born on July 12th at 9:59 am. His weight was 7.25 lbs and his height was 19.75." Believe it or Not! He was born in his due date, so did Tommy.








We have a Super Newborn because he just cry to let us know he is hungry or it is time for diaper change. He falls asleep on his own, he doesn't need to be rocked. He wakes up twice at night, so I can still have some rest. The best of all, he is adorable!

We are adjusting from being a family of 3 to a family of 4. I am trying to fit Tommy's schedule with Francis's so I can dedicate time to Tommy's therapies. Tommy is experiencing some jealousy, but he will get over with time. Sometimes, he gets into a corner to quietly cry when we are with the baby, so we comfort him right away and make him to be part of what we are doing and he feels better after he helps with the baby.

Monday, July 4, 2011

My Little Patriot

Every American should be proud of beign born in the USA. Every American should be proud of every symbol that represent who you are as a Nation. The older generations have done many scarifies to make this country the nation is today


Being American is part who my son is regardless his diagnosis. Two weeks ago, we went to our local Home Depot store and they had an American flag displayed near to the main entrance. Tommy walked right straight where the flag was and pointed at it because he recognized it from last year when we celebrated the 4 of July by teaching him 2 national symbols and 2 presidents. He still remembers them when I show the flash cards to him.


Days later, I was getting baby stuffs from the basement to start getting ready for the arrival of our new baby boy. I didn't realized that between the stuffs there were 3 flags (Panamanian flag, Irish flag and American flag). Between the three flags, Tommy chose the American flag and spent the whole evening waving the flag. I tried to put it away from him because I didn't feel confident with the thin flag pole because he could poke one of his eyes out, but he got mad. So I respected his desire of keeping the American flag, after all, the flag represents part of who he is. He ate with the flag in front of him; he went to take his bath with the flag, but this time he allowed me to put it on the sink before getting to the bathtub; he brushed his teeth with the flag in one hand and the toothbrush in the other one; after this, we went to his room to get ready for bed. It was challenging when a said "you can not sleep with the flag" and tried to take it a way from him. So I told him, "you can have the flag for a little while, but the flag will sleep close to the lamp because the flag will watch over you. The flag will be right there in the morning waiting for you." I am not sure if he understood, but he didn't cause a fight after I took the flag away. When I open the door of his room the next day thinking he was still sleeping, Tommy was already awake waving his American flag.  



Happy Independence Day!

Friday, July 1, 2011

Vote for Johann Landkroon, a Taekwon-Do student with T21 to demonstrate Special Needs Taekwon-Do at the Opening Ceremony of the Taekwon-Do World Championships

Nineteen-year-old, Hohann Landkroon has been invited at the Opening Ceremony of the 2011 Toekwon Do (TKD) World Championships in Pyongyang, DPR Korea on September 8th. He will demonstrate his learning, discipline and the benefits of TKD to help other people with special needs. It will be the first time in the world  a 'special needs' student who has Trisomy 21 will participate in an event that has been exclusive for 'typical people.' But to make this happens, Johann has to win the AMP Scholarship to pay for the expenses to travel to North Korea or raise enough money trough donations to the North Korea Fund manage by Hawkes's Bay ITF Tae Kwon-Do School where Johann takes his TKD classes. The estimated cost is $15,000 and the Hawkes's Bay ITF Tae Kwon-Do School has just raised $5,000. Click here to read more in detail about the expenses.

Johann is the best  example of "We have to give our kids with T21 the opportunity to try and they will astonish the world." He just started TKD 4 years ago, and has made an enormous improvement in his physical and cognitive capabilities. Click here to read more about Johann's profile. If Johann makes it to the World Championships in September, he will send a powerful message to the world that making a great effort to achieve a better yourself, regardless if you have special needs or not, is the best life's lesson one can learn.


"I want to be the first person to represent Special Needs Taekwon Do at the Opening Ceremony of the 2011 Taekwon Do World Championships."
"I can't wait to go to Korea and show the world what special needs people can do. Thanks to supporting me. I can do anything!"
~Johann Landkroon 



Johann needs your support to win the AMP scholarship by 'people's choice.' To vote for Johann visit Johann’s page on the AMP People’s Choice Awards website, and click on the orange ‘Vote for me’ button on the top left of the page and you can see above the photo of Johann. Voting closes on 17th July, 2011. Only 15 days to go.