Sleepy-Head and Bed-Hair

Yes. I know.
More pictures...
So soon...

Can't say I didn't warn you though!!

But this time, I will tell you a little more. Not much though, as it is my own bed-time.

People with Down Syndrome have a tendency to have an under-active thyroid. While this isn't currently an issue with Tom, he is being fairly closely monitored, as one of the symptoms of hypothyroidism is tiredness; and to be fair, Thomas does get sleepy very easily...

Usually, he starts off by going very quiet and looking blank, then lays down on his side anywhere that he happens to be, curls up and looks for a label on any item of clothing he can get his hands on. Sometimes he will start chewing on his thumb and groaning very gently, or he will suck his tongue - an art he has perfected over time...

Tom sleeps easily, and always has. When he was tiny, tiny, he would sleep almost 22 hours out of any 24 - to my relief ("oh what an easy baby!"), but also slight alarm...("...hope he's all right, he does sleep an awful lot...")

One of the pictures here is of him fast asleep ('soundo' is how one of his bus escorts refers to it) in his pushchair, which was taken minutes after he had come off his school bus at 4 in the afternoon. This is a daily occurrence, and the days when he doesn't doze off on the bus are few and far between; those days are great fun, because he will bounce his way out off the bus, ready for more fun and games at home, our very own lively, bouncy Tigger! Sadly this rarely happens, and so the Tom I get is a little boy who is sleepy, and subsequently grumpy as hell, who whines and cries until he is awake enough to accept a sandwich and a drink.

So you see?

For all the fun we have when he's awake, we get a lot of grief from him when he's tired, sleepy, or he has just woken up from an afternoon nap.

But compared to what a lot of people have to cope with on a daily basis, it's really no biggie.
He's just a little boy with a fiery temper, and he is best avoided when not wide awake.

Be warned!!