Second Time Around With The Youngs

These tiny hands hold more love than any one else I have ever known. He loves from morning until night. His smile is bigger and brighter than anyone I know. I am sometimes envious of how open and affectionate he is. He is the polar opposite of his Mama and I love each and every second of it!! I want him to simply hold on to that joy and pure love for all the days of his life. I am truly the most blessed Mama in the world to have such a sweet and strong warrior to call my son!! #tritonkolt #mamasbaby #prayinghands #sweetestbabyever

A Letter To Myself At My Prenatal Diagnosis What I Would Tell Myself About Triton’s Diagnosis You will know more love than you thought possible. I cried so hard when the doctor first mentioned that he thought Triton might have Down Syndrome. I worried immediately about the unknown. If I had known then exactly how I feel now I never would have shed one tear. Dear Shannon, Right now you are full of worry and fear. A thousand thoughts race through your head as you wonder what this means for your beautiful little boy. You are scared that you may lose him, and that thought is unimaginable. You will spend the next weeks learning all you can about all of the health issues that may affect your angel. You will take a crash course on Congenital Heart Defects and Trisomy 21, and you will not feel any better once you have learned all you can. I know you have prepared yourself for the worst, but here is a little secret…… he is a pure miracle. He arrives early and small, only to steal the hea...

Friday I woke with a knot in my stomach. It was that time again. Time for a day trip to take Triton for his 3 month cardiology check up.  No matter how well he is feeling,  and developing between appointments I always wake with a belly full of nerves.  I know in my heart that he is excelling, and blasting through his milestones faster than any of his doctors or therapists have expected. He amazes them all on a regular basis. At 7 months he is rolling over, sitting assisted, and even working hard to start crawling. He isn't content to stick to the "schedule" that is given to him! He keeps creeping up ahead of the expectations set for him. So I don't know why his appointment came as a shock at all.  He is so very sweet!!! We got up and ready like every other day and slowly went about getting ready for the unknown that was to come.  Took our 2 hour drive to tge Kentucky Children's Heart Clinic. The monsoon that was that morning didn't help either of our moods,...

Once I came home from the NICU I may have become slightly obsessive about the house being clean, but all the chemicals around my little heart warrior worried me. So in true OCD mom fashion, I got on google, and researched what was safest to use around babies, and which products had the best reviews from fellow moms.  Then I went to YouTube, and there I found an entire community of moms who like me didn't want to use unnecessary chemicals around their little ones.  So I watched many videos, and listened to countless reviews to make my informed decision.  I then picked some brands to try and went to my local market to get all new cleaners. I was so excited to start our new chemical free journey, and when I arrived at my local market I found that I was in for a struggle on this new path.  I had less than ten products to choose from locally, and that wasn't going to cut keeping my house spotless for my little man.  So I bought the few I could fin...

Every expectant mom spends countless hours trying to find the best and most needed items for her baby.  I have compiled a list of what I found to be most useful.  I spent more hours than I would like to admit researching what products were the best rated and safest for my baby.  Hopefully this list will help you find what products may help you to most.  So lets get into this.... 1.  Dockatot:  This works for parents looking to cosleep or not.  Either way the comfort this gives your baby makes it one of the absolute must haves.  For sleeping or just so mom can get a shower the Dockatot stands alone and if you can afford one, is a must have. 2. Travel System:  This is a nessesity for any new baby.  I chose the Chicco Viaro Travel System, with the Keyfit 30 Infant Carrier.  I used this everywhere we went in the first few months.  Triton had so many doctor appointments and this system made getting him in and out...