Siblings...

One of my big fears while we waited for Bennett's arrival was how it would affect our girls. I think most parents that have children with special needs as well as older children think about this. How would we do it all? Would the girls resent Bennett? Would they feel ignored?

Well, so far these girls have adjusted very well. I think it really comes down to how you approach it and making time for the other siblings. Yes, Bennett gets a lot of attention through all his different therapies but we try our hardest to make sure the girls are getting the attention they need and to make them feel just as special. Because they are!

They absolutely adore their baby brother though. And Ainsley is fully aware that he has Down syndrome. We've talked about it and while she doesn't really know what it all means, she does know that it means he needs to work harder on things than other kids and he'll need help doing them. And that it's okay that he can't do all the things other kids his age are doing because he'll get there.

Another fear I had and maybe this was just me but I was really worried that Bennett wouldn't look like us, his family. You see, I had about zero interaction with anyone that had DS growing up so I never saw the family that came along with the person. To me, many people with DS looked the same, I'm just being honest. But again, I never saw their family.

Well, I was wrong and worried for nothing! Because I happen to think {and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one} that Bennett looks a whole lot like Harper...

Look how he just adores his big sister!

He also has her personality so far too!

I've really enjoyed seeing all the children, siblings and families on the other blogs I follow. I can see that each and every person with Down syndrome is unique, even though they share many of the same physical traits. They share their parent's genes though too, so yes, they look like them!

So the take away here is that siblings of children with special needs can either turn out to resent their "special brother or sister" or they can be enriched and learn so much from them. I hope my girls will be in that second group!

Oh and that people with Down syndrome don't all look the same!!;)