I have two sons with Down Syndrome. I adopted one when he was 6 days old and the other when he was 3.5. They are actually just a month apart in age and are now 26 years old.

There is a stereotype that all kids with DS are always sweet and happy and loving but this is not true. Kids with DS are as different from each other as non-DS are. Their abilities can range from almost "normal" to very severely disabled but are usually somewhere in the middle. My two sons could not be more opposite from each other.

As far as babies with DS, my first son, E, was actually like most other babies. He was slow at drinking his bottles and I looking back I think he probably had reflux but back then no one seemed to realize that babies could have reflux and we didn't have the internet to learn about stuff like that. He had somewhat low muscle tone and was kind of floppy. You also have to be a little careful of their head and neck because a small number of kids with DS have an instability of the cervical spine. They are often more prone to upper respiratory and ear infections.

I would recommend trying to stick to a routine because they usually do better when things are repetitious and predictable. Provide lots of language stimulation and floor/tummy time. He may get ot/pt etc and they might have recommendations for you too.

Overall, I would say that as babies they are more like any other child their age but the gap does tend to widen as they get older.

I would be happy to answer any other questions you have.

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