Child with Disability, Diet, Intellectual Disability, Parenting, Special Needs 
No Comments The Not So Terrible Two’s (Part 1)
As promised, this post is for a mum who has a little boy who just happens to have an extra chromosome. It wasn’t anyone’s fault; it just happened, just as it does to another six hundred or so babies each year[1], like Poppet. So this time, I’m casting my memory back to when Poppet was two. I must say I’ve had a lovely time going through photos and asking people what they remembered. I even found some of my journal entries from that year and have constructed this post around them.
11 November 2003
It’s 11.07 pm and I am keeping myself awake so that I can see 11.11. (Poppet was born at 11.11 on the 11th of November.) I’ve not allowed myself the time to sit and ponder and think about this time two years ago. I may do so some time this week if I have the energy and the presence of mind.
Tonight though, I will burn some lavender oil in the burner and go off to sleep calm-ish and happy-ish in the knowledge that my little girl, my daughter, is asleep in her room, in her home with butterfly chimes tinkling outside her window and I am in bed tired, calm-ish and happy-ish in my home with my life as it is.
Happy birthday my little one. May you see many more happy years ahead. May you celebrate each birthday with people who love you and care for you, as you are and for who you are. You are a wonderful, very special little girl. You have brought light to many people and reason and perspective to others. To me, you’ve brought a new meaning to living, caring, tolerance and love. I love you, my angel.
Two was a great age. Our family had a future ahead of us that was worrying I admit, but at the same time exciting and Poppet was really quite delightful to be with, mostly.
26 June 2004
It’s 7.20 am and I’ve been awake since about a quarter to seven. I woke up with Poppet climbing on me, wide-awake and full of mischief. She is now sitting, eating her breakfast. This is our fourth day in Fiji and I am finally starting to relax. Yesterday and the night before though, I was ready to put Poppet on a plane home as an unaccompanied minor.
I think I have now found a suitable routine for us, one that allows me time to relax and time to play with Poppet too. I must say, it was just wonderful waking up with Poppet playing. We spent a few moments just gazing into each other’s eyes in the dim, early morning light. It was just lovely.
For our trip away, I had packed boxes of rice flakes and litres of rice milk. As people with Down syndrome often have problems with thyroid function, metabolism and gut, we were careful with Poppet’s diet. Any foods that are known to cause allergies, we steered away from. She ate mostly rice-based products, vegetables and fruits. It may have seemed bland at the time, but I believe it’s one of the reasons she was so healthy compared to her peers. As she grew older and her digestive system became more mature over the years, we introduced things like wheat-based products and dairy and much later, meat.
The exception to this was chocolate. Poppet was never keen to try new foods, although didn’t have much issue when it came to this. She must have been won over by the delicious smell.
17 November 2003
We came home last night, each of us in a good mood. We had been out for dinner – nothing fancy, just a local Italian restaurant. Poppet was just wonderful to be with. I felt very happy and proud of her. She sat in her high chair, spent some time playing with the contents of my handbag, some time feeding herself ‘chippies’, drinking and flirting with other diners. It was a very pleasant evening and she didn’t get bored at all.
On that note, I’ll stop for the moment for I don’t want this post to be too long. I’ll write some more about the two-year old Poppet for next time.
[1] Down syndrome (Trisomy 21) is the commonest identifiable cause of intellectual disability with an incidence of approximately 1 in 660 live births. Centre for Developmental Disability Health Victoria.