Moments of my life

This slide show displays some spontaneous moments in my life. If you scroll down, you will see videos of me doing all kid of stuffs -Tommy.

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The True Story Of A Super Baby

My name is Thomas Aidan and I was born on March 16th, 2008. I am 7 month old. I wear some 9 month cloth because I am a big boy. I am a very happy and active baby. I enjoy life as any other baby of my age and I have an extra chromosome, which has made me “a super baby.”

My mommy and my daddy knew that I had an extra chromosome since I was a little tiny curious fetus. My mommy was about 3 1/2 month pregnant when her blood test showed that I may have Trisomy 21. It wasn’t until a month later that my mommy and I had the amniocentesis. I wasn’t scared when the needle got close to me. I could heard my mommy’s thought telling me “move to the other side”. I just did! I didn’t move until the doctor finished. After my mommy got home from the hospital, she rested the whole day and when my daddy got back from work, I kicked as hard as a little wild bull to tell them I was alright. I remember, they were so happy. How many mommies do remember the date of your baby first kick? My mommy does, it was on the evening of October 26th, 2007. It was a happy Friday.

My mommy and my daddy got the results from the FISH test on October 31st, 2007. It was positive, I had an extra chromosome. They cried a lot because they didn’t want anything wrong to happen to me because they already loved me without knowing how I would be. My mommy cried a couples of time, but two weeks later she was smiling and happy again because she always knew that I was alright. We had a special connection that just mommies are able to understand.

My mommy and my daddy never gave up on me. My mommy instead started a battle against Trisomy 21. One day I could feel she was very tired at work and she was thinking of me, she was petting her belly and I wanted to make her feel better and then, I kicked back. Immediately, she thought if she could keep me very active, it would improve any low muscle tone problems that I may have before birth. I was a very active unborn baby, but for my mommy wasn’t enough. She invented a prenatal stimulation program. Sometimes, I heard her making weird noises, shaking me and talking to me. I didn’t understand so much, but to make her happy I played the game. I kicked back in the same place I heard the noise. I used to have long conversations on the phone, while I was in the womb, with my Granny Nella and my Aunt Ibeth from Panama. I didn’t understand a word of what they were saying, but I kicked about three times because I knew they wouldn’t let me sleep if I didn’t kick where the phone was. Maybe my mommy’s crazy prenatal stimulation program helped me to be “a super baby” or maybe not. But what it is true is that I am surpassing all the expectation of having Trisomy 21 since I was in the womb, as my mommy said in her e-mail to announce my birth:

“Most of you know, or maybe not, that Tommy is a baby with Down syndrome. We feel that God has blessed us in all ways with our son because he has united people praying for him; even although they don’t know us. He was considered a very active unborn baby, when babies with Down syndrome are not active; He reached an average size when some babies with Down syndrome are under weight and tinny at birth; all his body structure is normal which means he won’t have most of the sever complications for having Down syndrome; his heart has an excellent heart rate and function, which means he won’t have an open heart surgery as many other newborns with down syndrome. Most babies with Down syndrome have low muscles tone, but Tommy seems to have good muscles tone and excellent reflexes. We couldn’t have a better baby, because he is already perfect surpassing all the expectations of the Down syndrome.”

I continue surpassing the expectations of the Trisomy 21 because I am accomplishing all my milestones at the same pace than typical kids and some of them a little bit earlier. The first time my mommy and my daddy saw me holding my head, I was just about 40 hours of being born. My pediatrician and my therapists agree that I have an excellent head control. I have smiled since I was 5 days old, the average for typical kids is when they are 1 month old. I tried to flip over since I was two weeks old. I finally flipped over for the first time on April 14th, 2008. I flipped over again on April 16th, 2008 (the day I was one month old) and I keep flipping over since then. I started mouth play with toys since I was 3 month old, most typical kids do when they are 5 month old. I have responded to my name since I was 4 month, this is an emerging intellectual skill that babies do between 4 and 7 months. Just say my name and I will look at you!

Now, you know my story of how I became a super baby! My mommy and my daddy have given me the opportunity to experience a full life of love, care, stimulation, toys, clothes, formula, baby food, a lot of diapers, kisses, hugs, and friends. Would you do the same?

Communications skills

We have been monitoring Tommy's speech and language development since he was 6 month old because it is very common that kids with T21 can have problems in this area. We also introduced sing language to him at a very young age because it helps kids to learn more words faster.

Signing has many benefits, such as: increase self-esteem, reduce frustration for parents and babies, enhance language skills, and increase IQ. Tommy is currently signing "all done” and "More". He started to sing weeks before to our trip to Panama and he constantly does it now. He is learning to sign "milk". Maybe he will soon have a whole vocabulary in sing language. I have seen other kids who by age 0f 2 sing 30 or more words. We would like that Tommy could develop sign language as an extracurricular skill. See the video below, Tommy is signing "all done" and his variation of "more" (he claps and holds his hands).


According to the last assessment, Tommy's comprehensive language is in the average range for a kid of his age. Currently, he understands English and Spanish. His expressive communication has a mild delay, it could be because he has mild decrease muscle tone in his mouth and he is learning English and Spanish at the same time. As a bilingual person, I know that learning two languages is not easy, but it is beneficial. It is easier when kids learn a second language when they are little because they pick it up faster and they don't have accent. Be bilingual increases the IQ. It also gives better opportunities in this global world.

We thought it would take longer to hear Tommy's first word beside Ma-ma and Da-da, but he started to say “hi” at the end of his 12-month, but we didn't believe until our ST confirmed it to us. We were so excited because of his first word, and then on May 15, we were watching a Spanish program for kids about the water. The last word in the program was "agua"(water). Tommy just repeated "agua" with a perfect Spanish accent. I immediately told him say "agua" and he repeated. Days later, I took him for a walk and I was showing him the lake and I told him look at the "agua" (water) and Tommy again said "agua". I will try to capture the moments when he is saying hi and "agua". Our boy keeps surpassing our expectations.

Tommy's play time

Playing with toys is the best part of the therapies for us. Tommy spends a lot of time playing with Mommy and Daddy and it could be one of the reasons Tommy is progressing very well. Tommy's hands and body coordination are getting better every week. When we play with Tommy we don't look for perfection because understanding the concept behind the game is the most important. Perfection will come later with practice. Following there are some things Tommy is doing with objects, which are appropriate for his age.
• Throw and pick objects

• Open and close drawers

• Take the stocking rings out of the pole and stocks two rings in the pole, Yahooo!.

• Drop things into containers. The video below shows when Tommy was learning to drop in.

• Empty and fill containers. He needs more practice in filling the containers.

• Activate switches on the three button pop-up toy, activity table, little leaps video game control, and other toys. As an additional activity, he turns the light off his room. He likes to activate the peek-a-boo books with animal and transportation sounds.

• Spin whiles. For example, he began to spin the phone disk toy with his index finger.

• Pouring water in the bathtub, but he needs more practice. We are working on pouring into and out of containers.

• Put objects through openings. He is occasionally dropping the coins in the opening of his piggy bank toy. He likes more to move the coin up and down in the opening. We keep working on this game.

• Take pieces apart. He takes starts apart and pull the cord of his bathtub toy, but he needs more practice to put pieces together.

• Blow bubbles in the water when he drinks from a straw or from an open cup. This is a great emerging skill because it is the beginning to blow with a bubble blower.

• Manipulate simple locking devices. For example, he opens shoeboxes.


• Kick, throw and catch the ball. He perfectly understands the concept. One his therapist was amazed how precise is Tommy by kicking the ball, even although he is not walking yet. He is also trying to catch the ball, but it's too fast for him. Therefore, we use a balloon instead to play catching the ball. He likes to throw he ball to anyone who plays with him.

• Place objects in upright position. Tommy place his bubble maker toy in an upright position when it falls.

• Build a tower of blocks. Tommy is building a tower of two boxes. Tommy likes empty boxes more than his stacking blocks.

We are working on Tommy's playing skills and we would like to hear your advises, ideas, or activities that we can try to stimulate him. Please feel free to leave your comments in this blog or send me an email.

Tommy, a funny guy

One thing that we like about Tommy is his emerging personality. He makes us laugh all the time. He likes to make funny faces. I have captured some of them in my photos. He started to occasionally do funny faces when he was about 10 month. Now, he constantly does it to make us laugh. Bellow are videos that briefly display Tommy's silly moments. The video tittles are: "The Fake cough" (This video doesn't display his best performance) and "The Latin Latin rhythm in my vines".




We are extremely proud of our son. The extra chromosome is not what our son is. It is what he has, which doesn't stop the little person he is. He is a very funny guy!

Tommy loves to hug Mommy

Expecting a baby with an extra chromosome didn't change our perspective of how parenting would be. Expecting a baby with an extra chromosome didn't change the love for our baby. Now, having a baby with an extra chromosome hasn't changed we can fully enjoy our son. Then, It won't change the illusion of a great future for our son because I can feel it every time he gives me a hug. (This video was taken when Tommy was 11 month old).

A smart baby with Trisomy 21

We are very happy in the way Tommy is starting to learn new things every day. The most amazing is that he is learning very fast. Our OT told us that Tommy seems to be a fast learner. The teacher from Parents as Teachers was very surprised about the way Tommy responded when he was exposed to a new game (he immediately knew what to do). Kids with Down syndrome have potential, they just need the opportunity to be born to show it to the world. 

My precious gift (Old Post 1/6/09)

Today is my birthday; I want to share with you a little bit of our precious gift instead receiving a gift. This gift is my baby boy, Thomas Aidan. He is a gift that came from above who has completed our lives. We were ready for a baby that will have a lot of challenges for accomplishing his milestones and health issues. Our pediatrician, therapists and Down Syndrome Center agree that Tommy is a strong and healthy baby who keeps accomplishing his milestones right on track. You will be able to experience a little bit of our joy.

Having an extra chromosome in our family, it is more rewarding and educational than challenging. Because we have learned a lot about parenting by receiving a full guideline from therapists, Down Syndrome Center and our pediatrician, which most of new parents don’t get. We feel that we have the best baby ever!


When Thomas Aidan came home, the transition from the day to the night wasn’t a problem because he picked it up right away. He learned to sleep through the night since he was 2 month old. He responds to his name since he is 4 month old. He held the bottle before he turned 7 month. He learned to drink from the sippy cup in one week. Three weeks later, he was drinking from the sippy cup by himself on the high chair before he turned 8 month. He learned to turned pages of the book by himself, just by washing me reading to him. He is becoming and expert of turning pages. He started waving since he was 7 month and we didn’t spent time teaching him.

He is doing a lot of things at his 9 month. He actually drinks from the straw cup. Not more sippy cups! The therapists and I thought that it was earlier to introduce the straw cup, but it will be good starting earlier because it would take time for him to learn. Our sippy cup broke and I gave the straw cup to him before our training session with the Occupational therapist. For our surprise, he just held the straw cup and drank his juice as he was doing it long time ago. He is also able to drink a little bit from regular straws. He is trying to spoon feed himself. He also started finger food.


He actually stands up for a little while by holding himself with his hands on the coffee table. He is starting to pull up to play with his Baby Play zone. He is not crawling yet, but he seems more interesting on standing up and pulling up, which is good because those stages are previous to cruise and walk. Every baby is different! There are babies who crawl one week and by the next week, they are walking. Other babies don't crawl at all. We keep encouraging him to crawl.

Everybody knows that Thomas Aidan is daddy's boy since he was a newborn. He sees daddy and his face lights up. If you ask him "Where is daddy?” he will look right where his daddy is. I truly believe Tommy's first word will be "daddy". Tommy is also able to understand English and Spanish. He will turn the page of a book, if you give him the command "Turn the page" or "Pasa la pagina". Currently, he is learning "Open the book (abre el libro) and Close the book (cierra el libro)". He understands "up-up, arriba-arriba". He also understand "hold it" or "agarrala". He did sign "more" when he was about 7 month with our Physical therapist. We were so pound that day, but we have been busy that we totally forgot that we were teaching him to sign and he doesn't do it any more. We are on track again teaching him to sign. Next time, I will record it!

Tommy seems to have an independent personality. He has always found a way to communicate what he likes and dislike, what he wants and what he doesn’t want. He gets really mad when things are not how he wants; his face turns in a deep red. He tries to do things by himself. For example: He tries to brush his gums by himself. He had also held my hand to guide me to feed him. I finally understood that he wanted to feed himself. He is also considered a tough baby by our pediatrician, therapists, relatives and us. For example: If you want to make him laugh, play rough with him. He doesn’t cry when he gets a shot –it is more dramatic for us than for him.

He is a “flirt” and he always try to be the center of the attention. He also has developed his attachment stages toward mommy and daddy earlier. According to our pediatrician’s milestone guide, infants try to be the center of the attention and show attachment to their caregivers by 9 months. Tommy does it since he was 7 month old.

When Adam and I went to bed on Christmas’s night, we both had the same feeling. We felt an enormous piece in our hearts. We are witnesses of the God’s presence in our son because he is a healthy, unique, amazing, strong, and cute little boy with a genetic disorder who is giving more than other kids of his age. We feel that having Tommy is meant to be because Adam and I have always had respect for people with different abilities. We both have been rising in Catholic families with strong pro-life beliefs. We both are persistent to accomplish our goals, which make it easier for us to be focused on our main goal: “To raise our son as an independent person, giving him the opportunity to experience everything that will make him an exceptional man.” We think God has put the right people on our path because we have found the prefect health care provider team that have gave us an unconditional support. Our team truly believes in my son's potential. They always encourage us to keep Tommy very active because he can do it.

I want to thank to everybody that has support us in a way or another. I specially want to thank God for choosing us to parenting Thomas Aidan. God knew we would fight to give him the opportunity to enjoy a full life. I want to say thank you our families and friends to be there for us when we needed to talk about the diagnosis. My mom is very special to me because she is my friend and she always gives me her unconditional support. "Mami gracias por hacer de mi la persona que soy, gracias por inculcarme el amor a Dios y sobre todo, por simpre dar el 100% y más para ofrecerme una vida mejor. Seguiré tus pasos para sacar adelante a mi hijo, te quiero mucho."

Having a son with an extra chromosome it is the most rewarding experience that I have ever had. Tommy is teaching us that nothing is impossible for God and nobody is out of our Lord’s Grace.

Happy Birthday to me!