When you have a child with Down syndrome, one thing some families will tell you about is the secret pleasure of getting to enjoy the baby stage for longer. I remember Elyse well as an infant. She had surgery at a day old, and didn't get my breastmilk until several weeks into her tiny life. I believed her to be so strong, recovering the way she did. Yet, her muscles were fairly weak. She didn't make use of her legs until she was over a year. I remember Helga holding 9 month-old Elyse, and us discussing how when she tried to get her to bare weight, her legs were like spaghetti. Now she's running. That's how hard my girl has had to work.
Penelope, who already seems to be pushing to catch up to her big sisters, caught me off guard then with what she has been ready for. Straddling my leg at the library, she pumped herself to stand with her generous thighs, and I held her up for balance - amazed. Did Ariel do this at 3 and a half months? It's hard to remember, and as their mother, it's okay to compare.
As Penelope leaps ahead, I often find myself thinking back to my baby whose development was far behind. I am reminded of all the things a typical baby does, and how quickly that happens, and how hard Elyse has had to work for everything. Not that we've ever pushed her - Elyse does that herself. And I think that, I have a lot to learn from her, about patience. That good things come and go, but that's it's being in the moment that's sweetest; that's gold. Cherish it; hold on to it if you can, before it fades away.
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leafs a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
by Robert Frost
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