I received my cough assist and vest in the last couple weeks and don't care for either. :) It's not just the machines themselves, but the amount of time they take. I'm supposed to use them a total of 40 minutes each per day, in addition to the amount of time I spend on the bi-pap. I have a doctor's appointment next week and plan on discussing this with him because this is starting to become a quality of life issue for me. I will likely choose not to use them because I don't want to spend what will seem like half of my day attached to machines.

For the last couple of weeks my breathing was much better but I seem to have declined again the last few days. I suspect this is because I haven't been using my bi-pap as much. Tana is my primary bi-pap operator and she's in MN with Julie and the gang for her annual summer trip. She'll be back July 20th so things should return to normal then. :)

Joshua was fitted for his helmet and will be getting it on July 22nd. He will only have to wear it three to four months, so I am hoping he will have it off in time for his birthday. :) Joshua saw the ophthalmologist for a 6 month screening, which is typical for kids with DS due to the large number of vision and eye health issues. His eyes received a clean bill of health and the doctor said he won't need glasses in the next few years. He did say that 95% of DS kids need glasses by the age of 10, but on my side of the family that's pretty common anyway. (Tana got her first pair 2 weeks after her 10th birthday)

Joshua has dropped out of swimming lessons. :) He was a lot farther behind then the other babies in the class so Mandi is just going to work with him on her own outside of the class. The good news is he really likes the water, he just doesn't have the muscle strength or coordination of the other kids...yet.