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).
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.
It had been just a few days since I heard the numbing words “your baby has Down syndrome” when I received a message from a close family member that said: “I am very proud of you for choosing to have your baby. You are really brave”. I was still processing my feelings. In no way was I in a good place as I read those words.
As you know, early childhood development has been a big passion of mine since I became a mom, and I am so excited to get to share the things that I am learning along the way. I believe that sensory stimulation in early childhood is often overlooked, so let me share first why I think you want to start stimulating your babe as soon as they are born.
Up until not very long, the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended NO screen time for children under two. Zero! While this has changed a bit and it is not recommended not to expose kids to screens until 18 months, I still do not think that this was a rule that we needed to apply in our home.
Armed with that knowledge that birth to three years is the crucial period of brain formation that will affect how that person learns communicates and behaves for the rest of their lives, I started working on Lennox’s language development from birth. And now I want to share with you the TOP 5 things we do daily that have helped develop his language skills.
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