The other children.

I'm right in the middle of one of the battle's of being the "other" children in a home with a special needs/medically fragile child. Although I do think having a Down syndrome child has made my children better, more compassionate people. Its not all kicks and giggles, as many of you know. Me and Heather were just talking about how sometimes it seems like our kids are not socially adjusted, having spent so much time either stuck at home, or at a relatives house. They don't always get the attention they need because their sibling takes up all the parents time.
Carter is probably the easiest out of all the kids. He goes with the flow, and he's very outgoing. He doesn't mind going to grandma's when Jax is in the hospital, because when he was a toddler he went to grandma's every day for 4 months. He's very mature for his age, and sees things like a much older child would.

Tanner, for an autistic child, is doing remarkably well this year. He takes it very hard when Jax is in the hospital, probably because he likes routine, and that changes when Jax goes in. He absolutely loves Down syndrome children though. And I'm seeing him interact more with Jax lately. And now that the boys know we are hoping to get a baby sister, Tanner tells me he wants to bring Ella home to be his baby sister.

People approach me a lot and tell me how sweet and helpful my boys are. One reason is not from having Jaxson, its from having a daddy that instills in their brain that they need to hold doors open for people, and help people that look like they need a hand. At Disneyland, a lady that was there with her father going on the Haunted Mansion with a handicap pass, approached us. She said that having children with special needs makes the siblings much more helpful. She told me that Mondo had held the gate open for her and her father to get through.
Now don't get me wrong, my boys are no angels! Of course home is where they test their boundaries, and act out. But I love that they are such respectful boys!

The dark side of being a sibling of a special needs child really comes out with Mondo. The oldest, he gets more responsibility. He is my super sensitive child, and extremely shy. He takes having Jax as a baby brother the hardest. He constantly asks me if Jax is going to die. He doesn't make friends very easy, and he lives in the shadow of his younger brother that is good in everything. Mondo said he wanted to play baseball this year. He loved baseball when he was little, but after getting hit with the ball while playing, he never got back into it. I know one reason he wants to play is because Carter plays. Carter also gets a lot of attention because he is one of the best players in the league at only 7. We signed Mondo up, because we know he always feels left out. I took him to his first practice on Thursday. I didn't even make it all the way home before I got a phone call. He had been hit in the face by the baseball!
Seriously, does this kid ever get a break?
When I went to get him, he had a cut on his nose from the ball hitting his glasses, and the bridge of his nose was double in size.
This picture is from the morning after. It actually wasn't as black and blue as I thought it would be, and the swelling was gone.


This picture is from today. It actually looks a little worse, and its starting to get yellow. Lovely!

And while most boys love showing off black eyes, this child with a low self esteem is more worried what the kids at school will say. And that they will stare at him. He says he wants to keep playing, and his coaches seem like really nice guys. I just hope this doesn't turn out to be a disaster for my sensitive little man. He is in the majors because of his age, but most kids in the majors have been playing forever. So I worry he won't be as good and he'll get teased.

Most of all I hope playing baseball helps him fit in, and gives him an outlet for the stresses of being the big brother of a special needs child!