NDSC, Day 1

Friday afternoon the conference started.  We had “sharing sessions” that were broken up by age group, and then by moms and dads.  So we had probably 30-40 moms in our group with kids up to age 3.  Most of us had our kiddos with us, so it was really fun getting to see all the wee ones. 

I was really looking forward to this part.  I wanted to meet other moms with kids Piper’s age.  Unfortunately, the hour-and-a-half session turned into three hours filled with 10-15 minute diatribes about how terrible the birth of their kids were.  There were only a handful (less than 5, I’m sure) of us in the room that knew prenatally, so our stories didn’t even fit with everyone else.  I was really let down- I know that there were parents that were looking to share their stories with others who understood.  However, I’m not sure that the session was as uplifting as it was supposed to be; I think it would have been more productive if it were based and maintained in a more positive light.  I don’t think that it helped heal, help realize, help understand.  Instead, I felt like everyone’s frustrations built on each other and everyone was more firm in their, for lack of a better term, anger.  It really made me sad to see moms with kids who are over two still struggling, very strongly, with blatant anger and significant hurt over the Ds diagnosis.  I think the idea of this was awesome, I just wish that it had been facilitated in a more productive way.

Anyway, once it ended, we were off to dinner and back to the pool.  Here in Denver, it doesn’t matter how hot it is, outside pools are always cold.  Cold.  So it was really strange to be in water that was 4’ deep that was body temperature.  Piper loved it.  Seriously.  She loved playing in the baby pool that was about 6” deep, and she really loved being held in the big pool and bobbing up and down. 

How cute is this suit?  Piper and Sawyer had matching bikinis.  And I don’t think there could be anything cuter.

We played with the girls in the big pool for quite a while.  Piper floated on her back, kicked her legs, splashed (a lot)…

…and fell asleep.  Seriously.  She was o-u-t.  She didn’t wake up when we got out of the pool.  She didn’t wake up when I dried her off, or carried her back to the room.  Only when I was attempted to take off her bikini top and give her the steroid breathing treatment did she wake up a little.  I take it that the rocking sensation in the pool was a plus for her.

She did, by the way, sleep great while we were there.  She’s totally sleeping better in the mornings, and not waking up coughing like she had been.  And she’s sleeping in past 5am at home now, too.  Probably the most expensive way to get your kid on a better schedule, but whatever works, right???