My son David is almost a year old now and he's doing really well, but as a typical mum I do have loads of worries,but don't seem to get time to get on-line- I've been saving up a few , so here goes!
Firstly, Weaning. David was 4kg, 9lbs at birth , he was solely breast fed until 6 months when he weighed 8.7kg,19.5lb. Since then- 5 months -he's only put on 1kg,+/- 2.5lb. He's grown taller and skinnier. He has 3 meals a day, but isn't that interested, unless it's ice-cream. I 'm still breastfeeding morning , night and any time through the day. I am right to be worried?
Secondly, does anyone have any experience on children with DS being bilingual? I have looked on line and got myself confused! My husband and I are native english speakers but we live in Spain. I speak Spanish, but not fluently. and would appreciate any advice, even if it's just "GO home , it's too complicated'
Any advice appreciated!

I think it's pretty typical that kids kind of plateau in their weight gains from time to time. As long as he continues to eat and grow taller, I wouldn't worry that much--maybe he is destined to being a tall thin person. As far as the bilingual thing, I think personally exposure to another language is a wonderful thing. I've heard that it may delay speech a little bit, but eventually the language will come in. I am very much of the opinion that you should not set artificial limits on your son just because he has DS. If he didn't have DS, would you try to raise him bilingually? Shoot for the stars and maybe you will at least hit the moon.

Hi! My Kayla is just over a year now and is breastfeeding like there's no tomorrow! HA! She's also very tall (on the 96th percentile for typical kids!!) She does eat three times a day but when the teething is in full swing, some meals she'll only eat a few bites and other meals, she'll eat a lot more. I'm not too worried about it. She seems to want to nurse more when her mouth is hurting her. I think it will all even out eventually. I'm grateful that I can still nurse her after a year because it's obviously THE best thing for her!!
I don't know anything about raising a bilingual child but I think it's awesome that your child has that opportunity!!! Good luck!

davidsmama,
his weight is great for a 1 yr. old. and when they become more active it's not unusual for their weight to stand still some - he's getting taller so he's growing. and yes, i remember seeing on this site that kids w/ Ds can be and are bilingual - here are some past threads on this issue;

http://www.downsyn.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=14144&highlight=bilingual

http://www.downsyn.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=6407&highlight=bilingual

http://www.downsyn.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?t=3815&highlight=bilingual

hope this helps, aj

It sounds like he is doing really well. I think it would be great to raise him bilingual. I would love to do that but don't speak any other languages well enough.

I ran into a woman in the mall one time shortly after Ethan was born. She also had a son with Ds. They lived in France part of the year. They made it a point to teach their son both languages just like they would a typical child and he did great with it.

Good luck with it all!

i born and live in Mexico. and we live very near from USA border, so English is a must to know thing in middle and top class.

so, yes we are trying so much to teach both languages to Elias, bc we dont want him to miss things only bc he dont knows english, we have read that we must speak to him in both languages most of the time, but is hard, so we are started with some words as : moma, dada, bye, hello, give me 5 . and he understands it

Thank you to everyone for your replies and it's great to see all your kids, they are so cute-(I think there must be a huge cuteness gene attached to that xtra chromasome) People keep telling me that kids don't starve themselves, but they've never tasted my cooking! It's just that I wonder if I'm "doing things right"
As for the imput on the language thing, we'll let you know how things go
Thanks
Sue , Dave and David (DS 28.10.05)

Hi there, good to hear from you. All my babies have been long and thin, I guess that some kids are just like that. I say as long as there is some growth, he's OK.

We also are in a bilingual home. I am American and my DH is Ukrainian. He tries to only speak Russian to the girls and I speak English. I've also heard that it is possible for our kids with DS to learn two languages so we will give it a go. My DH's family are all still in Ukraine and we would like to move back there again some day. Besides, it's just great for kids to learn more early on.

Let me know if you come up with any tips. I've heard that it is important that one person speaks consistently in a certain language for kids to really grasp it.

I have a friend whose son speaks Italian and English, his name is Lorenzo. Wouldnt it be funny if that was who you met in the mall? He is a CUTIE too.