Ivan Oto Furlan - Mendele's Friend

Hi friends,

Greetings from Slovenia!

First I would like to say that this site is so positive and inspiring!

This is my baby boy, Ivan Oto Furlan whom we love more that anything.

Ivan is 5 months old and he had an open heart operation. He was in a hospital for 1 month (3 weeks in intensive care). Right after surgery he was under sleeping medications for a week, it was a really hard time for Ivan. His heart stopped beating twice and he was in critical condition for 3 days... and we couldn't do anything but wait (it’s hard to describe).

When you find out that your child has DS, the world seems to be falling apart, but it's so the opposite. It's like a great challenge and we want to do everything for Ivan so that he will enjoy his life and develop as much as possible.

I feel like DS made as all even better people, connecting all of us in a way I never imagined. Grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, friends even neighbors become truly compassionate...it's like being born again for all of us!

And now he is doing well...likes to smile a lot. We are waiting for a second heart operation when his weight will be around 6 kg (31lb- now he is 4100g or 9lb).

Ivan the day he was born (14.1.09 ) - we didn't know about the Down Syndrome yet.

Ivan and his daddy - one month old

Ivan taking his first bath at home

Ivan and Tine at rave party ;)

ZzzZZzz

Greatest love

Sleepy me

Baby sling

My favourite toy

Sweet dreams

Ivan’s Daddy and I are looking forward to experiencing life with our Ivan so much!

Think Positive,

Kristina Furlan

Launching "Mendele's Friends"

Hi friends,

Having a child with Down Syndrome can be heartbreaking, shocking, devastating. There is also a lot you might go through that others will not experience and vise-verse. There are many things that G-d, in His Eternal Kindness, did not put our family through that many of our readers are going through.

To get a fuller pool of information we are launching a section called "Mendele's Friends" for families who have had a different Down Syndrome experience than ours and want a place to share their findings.

Dear Friends, we have learned not to take this site lightly. You can see for yourself - look up "down syndrome homeopathy" in google and you will see that our blog is #1 on the first page!! Lots of people come here for information and inspiration.

To contribute contact us at shmulimn@gmail.com and start sharing. Send us your pain, send us your joy, send us any information you feel could help another parent of a baby with down syndrome.

Thank you all, for your love and support and may G-d bless each and every family upon the face of this earth with healthy offspring, forever!

Shmuli and Rivky