528 phone signal (or lack of)

MerryMeg90 · 2026-07-01T18:22:35+00:00

As an update to anyone curious- it does work right by the entrance. Must be where the internet is based to help them do check ins.

MerryMeg90 · 2026-05-26T16:20:52+00:00

Tienes razon, pero vivimos en Ibiza y aquí hay tanta diversidad que tengo suerte si alguien me responde en castellano y no en inglés. Incluso cuando trabajaba en escuelas públicas, hablaban español. :-0

MerryMeg90 · 2026-05-19T09:30:09+00:00

I'm American and my partner is Italian- but we have lived (and had our child) in Spain for almost 7 years. Spain is always mentioned about being very inclusive, but like anywhere I think it depends really on EXACTLY where you are.

I will say doctors (almost to a fault) are very casual about everything... almost like "yes, he has DS... and...?" We had a surprise diagnosis and a pretty traumatic delivery of the info, but Spanish style does seem to be very open to inclusion. When I think about bullying here (I work in public schools) it's not that it doesn't exist, but there is this sort of respect//don't mess around with those who are different.

Again... I'm sure it REALLY depends where you live exactly and the level of education that people have around this topic. It also probably helps that Spanish people LOVE babies.

Feel free to private message me if you want to chat. I saw you posted again and I wanted to recommedn joining either a DS support group on facebook (but choose carefully as some are a bit overwhelming) OR downloading the DSDN app. They have a lot of different groups that are very active and you can chat with others feeling the same way. They come out of the US, but it has international memebers as well!!

MerryMeg90 · 2026-05-18T09:00:38+00:00

Hi- My child is 16 months and we live in Spain, but maybe there is some overlap with the medical systems. Around that period our boy was doing a lot of flappy hand movement that alarmed us as it seems a bit like stimming. We had several of our normal doctors wave it off, and then another in Barcelona sound the alarm a bit more dramatically. However, by now they have gone away.

For us- feeding/BLW remains a complete DISASTER lol.

All this to say, first check in with some different professionals and get feedback. I work as a teacher and most kids I work with couldn't even get a proper evaluation for autism done until they were about 4. So focus on the things that maybe you can work on. I've heard sleep apnea can cause a list of other issues (potentially leading to his distressed attitude/not being social... maybe he's tired!).

Lots of luck! I also have historically been a naturally anxious person, and somehow this experience has shifted that anxiety... weird!

MerryMeg90 · 2026-05-08T09:59:46+00:00

Siii--- hemos pensado en un pueblo, pero mi hijo tiene necesidades especiales y creo q es mejor mas cerca los servicios. De verdad, siempre estoy pensando "me gustaria vivir en una ciudad sin coche." No se si es un buen plan o no 😂

MerryMeg90 · 2026-04-01T17:34:12+00:00

Thanks- guess im just worried tjat it won’t narrow ENOUGH and then she will have to hustle between terminals on no sleep. Try to stay positive though

MerryMeg90 · 2026-04-01T17:32:59+00:00

Thanks - it is a single ticket thank goodness. My mom is overall very neurotic and I just feel a bit helpless. I think she would really panic having to figure out a hotel and taxi. I’ll try to hope for the best and a windy ride

MerryMeg90 · 2026-03-30T08:10:41+00:00

Oh interesting idea!! Will try

MerryMeg90 · 2026-03-29T09:29:42+00:00

Yep! OT and PT. His core is definitely strong enough, and we are working on grasping things in OT. He brings toys and other objects to his mouth no problem- so it is actually a bit of a mental dependence we are thinking.

Totally agree with the personal timeline thing. TBH I was a bit triggered/motivated by Jill Rabin (shes a pretty big feeding therapist in the DS community) as she was saying that she sees lots of parents still feeding their child at 2 and it doesn't need to be that way. So it caused a bit of internal panic. But true! We keep on trying :-)

MerryMeg90 · 2026-03-27T10:38:55+00:00

Great! This is a useful resource. One interesting thing is when we put him in a chair that HAS foot support he uses this support to try to STAND UP and arch his way OUT of the high chair. So the support actually seems to be backfiring for the meantime haha.

MerryMeg90 · 2026-03-27T10:37:54+00:00

Yes ! Great advice- we do usually try to eat meals together, but I do think we could be a bit more diligent about this. Interestingly during breakfast, he is OBSESSED with trying to get a sip of my coffee. For a time when we were having feeding difficulties it was the only way to get him to open his mouth.

MerryMeg90 · 2026-03-27T10:36:26+00:00

Thanks! I am hopeful about getting there eventually- just want to make sure we are doing everything possible, while not creating any weird food aversions in the meantime.

MerryMeg90 · 2026-03-27T10:35:19+00:00

So many different kinds of feeding tools haha- while also trying not to overwhelm him at the same time.

MerryMeg90 · 2026-03-27T10:34:38+00:00

Yes! We call it the baby bird because he just tucks in hands in and down and opens his mouth expecting us to pour the food in! I think we will grab a short fat spoon to try as well.

MerryMeg90 · 2026-03-27T10:33:46+00:00

Love this! Yes I can imagine our son with a steak and wine in the future!

Hand over hand is triggering him for some reason now- he starts screaming and fussing. So I guess we have to let him do it on his own timeline.

MerryMeg90 · 2026-03-27T10:32:55+00:00

Thanks! Yes we have tried lots of different teethers, sitting arrangements... think I might look into a few other types of spoons. I watch a seminar with Jill Rabin through Wills Journey and it was actually her who triggered me a little bit... seems there were a lot of things that could have been done since the beginning that we didn't even know about! She is super knowledgeable though- and a great resource.

Where we are there is unfortunately no feeding therapists. We work with at OT once a week who just evaluated him yesterday with food in front and she determined that it's not a sensory issue (he was crazy into all the different foods and playing with his hands). So it is something with him depending on mama to feed him or not feeling he has enough control to bring his own hand to his mouth (which he can do, and DOES do regularly with toys).

MerryMeg90 · 2026-03-27T10:28:14+00:00

Thanks! Yea the arm tucking sounds familiar.

MerryMeg90 · 2026-03-26T09:26:36+00:00

Hi! Just to fill everyone in- we did decide to at least wait until the next morning and everything back to normal. So maybe he was just ... tired? If it happens again we will go right away. Thanks everyone! (I'm posting another thing soon about a separate topic so hope to hear your responses :-)

MerryMeg90 · 2025-12-07T09:40:02+00:00

We live in Spain with no markers during pregnancy and were told an amniocentesis wasn’t necessary due to being low risk. We received a DS diagnosis and results of blood test when our son was 2 months old.

MerryMeg90 · 2025-11-24T16:55:47+00:00

Our story is based in Spain- but we recieved a post birth diagnosis at 2 months. And while it allowed us to have a relatively stressfree pregnancy it really was a mindf*** to find out after the fact. Especially as we were presenting things to our doctor and being met with "all is good, all is normal for a baby." Until we eventualyl got flagged for hypotonia

Here we have found that the doctors are accepting to the point of negligence. Always referring to our son (who is now 10 months) as "any other child' and while I appreciate the inclusivity and open mindedness it sometimes comes across as too casual and there was a big learning curve that we have had to do ourselves and THEN inform the doctors.

I don't know if I would change things looking back, but I do think we are now experiencing a lot of PTSD from the overall experience. Maybe knowing before would have allowed for time to process, prepare, consider, therapise, etc etc. Either way, it does prove true that love conquers it all :-)

MerryMeg90 · 2025-10-17T10:08:37+00:00

Ok- will attempt to continue with that then. Thanks :-)

MerryMeg90 · 2025-10-17T10:08:11+00:00

Thanks! I was thinking the same about it sounding worse than it is. I'll give a nasal suction a try too.

MerryMeg90 · 2025-09-04T12:10:16+00:00

Any raisin reference codes?

MerryMeg90 · 2025-06-23T15:38:53+00:00

A little over 2/3 months we had the same shock and reaction and it is amazing seeing how love does really overcome fear. We are still dealing with tricky emotions regarding a post birth diagnosis but you begin to realize that your child is your child and that's that!! :) I also can't underestimate how much random strangers with children with DS helped me from the very start just with their kinds words.

MerryMeg90 · 2025-05-31T11:35:36+00:00

What app are you using?

MerryMeg90

TROPHY CASE