Anna is back to preschool!  Anna loves being in preschool!  She is currently fully immersed in a typical preschool.   So far, she is doing fantastic, except, I do believe she may be the only one still in a diaper.  Anna was born with imperforate anus and was taken for surgery soon after birth. She had a 3 stage surgery- a diverting colostomy, a surgery to create her anus, and the colostomy reversal and reconnection back to her anus.  This was all done within nearly her first year of life. She had lacrimal duct surgery for her eyes and her ear tubes as well which is common in children with Down Syndrome. As a result of her condition, she gets severely constipated and we need to give laxative medications daily in order for her to have a bowel movement-the right amount is no exact science and seems to change daily and so it is a constant battle of making sure she’s not constipated, but also, that the stools don’t become too runny to be leaking out of her diaper.   The preschool has been the best about helping us in regards to this issue, thankfully!   

Other than that challenge, she enjoys all the activities that the preschool has to offer like art, playing with dolls, doing puzzles, and playing dress up.  Her favorite is playing with the food items and the play kitchen they have. My daughter is obsessed with food! In fact, with each speech therapy session, the therapist gives an update about how she scored on every topic and she is always in the 90% and above when being tested on the topic of food!  Last year, she had a hard time cleaning up, but this year, so far, we may be off to a pretty good start as I watched her put away toys along with the other children. The other children do tower over her petite body, but that does not stop her. She keeps up with them. In fact, she loves her friends SO much, she was seen kissing and hugging another boy in her class —Caught on camera!  Her love of people being taken a bit too far! Boundaries will have to be the next thing we need to work on!!!