A Little About Us
I am Sandy. I am author, entrepreneur and digital content creator. I have two children: a sweet little boy called Lennox and the precious little girl in the picture, Mara. Mara was prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome when I was 11 weeks pregnant. Her diagnosis came as a shock, but it only took me 4 days to get back on my feet and take charge of the situation to make sure that my little girl would have all the resources and support she may need.
I spent my entire pregnancy learning about neuroplasticity and how we can improve the physical and cognitive abilities of our babies. Since Mara’s birth, I have spent countless hours implementing a routine that includes daily physical, cognitive, visual, and tactile stimulation. I keep getting surprised by how much we can assist our children and equip them to conquer anything they want if they receive proper early stimulation.
My motto as a mother, and more specifically as a special needs mom, is “information is power”. That is why I decided to create this website. I know that every single child can reach their maximum potential if we, as parents, have access to the right information.
about us
How We Got Started
After repeated requests from many of my loyal @Instagram followers for more information about what we were doing to help Mara in her development, @MaraTheWondergirl Instagram was born. It was a great way for us to share Mara’s progress, her infectious smile, and her huge personality. It was also a great way to connect with other mamas who had questions and were seeking advice.
Little by little, the “How did you do _____?” questions grew. And it was becoming increasingly clear that one-on-one messages did not allow me to serve the needs of our growing community in the way I wanted. We knew that the impact could be bigger and that we could reach more families. And so, MaraTheWondergirl.com was born. It is an important next step to provide a new home for all of us. Thank you for being a part of it.
Glad You Have Joined Us On Our Adventure
Top Posts
One of my biggest obstacles growing up was the low expectations people put on me. My mom and I had to work all the time to show how capable I was at achieving goals and developing. My mom has always believed I had potential, and worked hard to bring that out. She wanted to bring out every gift and talent I had and knew it was going to be work, but it was so worth it.
If you have just received a diagnosis that your baby has or will be born with Down syndrome, you are likely shocked, frightened, and searching for answers. Those feelings are completely normal, but it is my experience that those initial feelings are very misleading. I have also come to learn that not all doctors are well informed to be able to assist you in learning about what you, your baby, and your family might face. So we have tried to share here some of the better resources we have found and others that were recommended to us.
I have a HUGE problem with pediatricians telling moms that it is just OK for a baby to skip crawling. And it makes me crazy when this is said to a mom with a child who has special needs.
During my pregnancy with Mara, I found myself having to educate doctors about they way to deliver certain messages they believed I needed to hear to prepare to have a baby with Down syndrome. “You must know that 40% of babies with Down syndrome are born with a heart defect” was the first warning I was given about the apparently terrifying life that was awaiting for me. Right there and then, with my little baby still in my belly, I decided to change the conversation.
Today, almost two years after starting the program we do daily with Mara, I can assure you that it is a much better approach when it comes to development for children. And not just children with Down syndrome. This applies includes the neuro-typical children as well – Lennox also follows this program.
So many moms ask me about the exercises I do with Mara and I started sharing them on my YouTube channel a couple of weeks ago. We started doing these exercises at around 1-month-old (even though you can start as soon as your baby is born) and up until Mara’s neck was super strong (at approximately 4-months-old).
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