Please Help Educate Us About G Tubes

We have recently learned a bit about G tubes and how they present a challenge in regard to clothes. We are trying to learn as much as we can about G tubes in general (the conditions that require G tube placement, the different types, the care and maintenance of them, etc.) and the specific clothing issues that the G tube creates.

Has your child had a G Tube? Can you share your experiences and suggestions with us? How long did (or has) your child have (had) the tube? Did you buy modified shirts, or modify your child's clothes yourself? If you could create the ideal G tube-compatible top, what would that design be?

Please use the "comment" function or email me at s.roberson@itllfitll.com. Thanks!





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Jilted By The Tooth Fairy

I am going to try this again, I tried to post last night and received an error message. When I tried to retrieve my post, POOF!, it was gone. I then started over again and thought, I better save this, when trying to do so I received the error message again. I decided to wait until this morning to try again, it was getting late and I was tired.

Wednesdays are going to be our busiest evening, Ted, Robbie, and Katie have Greek school, and Helen has religion class. For those of you who are not Greek or have not seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Greek school teaches the kids about the culture, how to dance, and to speak, read, and write in Greek. Peter and his sisters went when they were younger along with all of their friends who were Greek. I feel it is especially important for them to go now, Peter isn't here to expose them to all things Greek. My kids are half Greek, Peter was born there and immigrated when he was four years old. They need to understand where their roots are and hopefully one day visit the village where their dad was born. They will be able to speak the language and therefore not feel like "outsiders". They seemed to enjoy their first night, Katie even spoke! Next week is Helen's first day back at religion class, she absolutely loves it. I am hoping this year they will work with her more on appropriate behavior in church. Last year the teacher took them into the church and talked about different things within the church and touched a little on how to act. I did see a slight improvement with her for a couple of weeks, but then classes were over and she went back to being loud. It will come together in time, until then we will keep sitting in the family room (cry room)!!

We have had a visit from the tooth fairy, twice! Helen lost her tooth while at school and she didn't swallow it, yeah!, this is the first tooth that I have of hers to save. Robbie lost his tooth a couple of days after Helen. We will be having another visit soon, Helen's other front tooth is loose and is about to fall out. Robbie was so excited to have lost a tooth, it has been awhile since he lost his first one. He put it in a ziploc bag and stuck it under his pillow hoping to cash it in for a dollar. I was so tired that it slipped my mind that Robbie was hoping to strike it rich in the morning. He was getting ready for school when he remembered his tooth under his pillow. He ran yelling into his bedroom, "I have to see if I got a dollar!" All was quiet after that until I saw Robbie come walking slowly into the living room with his lip down to the floor. It was at that point I remembered and thought, "Oh CRAP!!!!!" Robbie said to me very sadly, "The tooth fairy took my tooth but didn't leave me a dollar." Poor Robbie thought he had been jilted by the tooth fairy. I told him I would go and see if I could find it, I thought this was my opportunity to make good for the tooth fairy. He followed me. I grabbed Noah as my cover and told Robbie as soon as I was done changing Noah I would look, and for him to finish getting ready for school. It worked! I grabbed a dollar from my dresser and threw it under his bed aiming for the head of the bed. I then frantically searched for that tooth and was successful at that mission also, I stuck it in my pocket. Thank goodness Robbie is a wild sleeper, I have teased him on many occasions that he is just like his dad in that way, he always smiles. I then called him to come back, I had found his money! He was a happy camper when he saw the dollar on the floor, he crawled under and grabbed it, coming out with a huge smile on his face, minus one tooth! He said to me, "Look at my covers, I'm sure wild when I sleep, just like Daddy!"

Helen had open house at her school the other night. She lead the way from one class to the next, to the gym, and what I thought our next stop to be, the library, but was not. Helen and the other kids got way ahead of me, I knew where the library was so I figured I would meet them there. The library is just down the main hall from the office, where they had a couple of tables set up for PTA and ordering yearbooks. When I turned the corner and saw all the congestion surrounding the tables I wondered if my kids all made it through. As I got closer I saw Robbie motioning to me to "hurry up", I was holding Noah at this time because I didn't want to lose him. I watched Robbie walk past the Library so I thought maybe they were going back to Helen's kindergarten class. When I turned another corner I saw Helen way ahead of me heading out the door towards the playground. I picked up my pace and made it out there, letting them all know I wasn't happy we were outside. Helen got blamed, they told me, "She led us out here, and we couldn't stop her!" Well, I know Helen all too well and know my kids were speaking the truth. Once Helen catches sight of a playground she is off and running. I did a head count and came up with five, uh-oh. I looked around and did another one, I guess I was hoping number six would pop out from somewhere, again, five. Realizing it was Katie who was missing made my heart sink. I told Ted to keep watch on the kids and to stay put, I knew they weren't going to leave the playground. I went back into the school thinking Katie probably went back to Helen's kindergarten class, it is located right inside the door. As I was peeking my head in the door I heard over the loud speaker, "Will the parent of Katie please report to the office to pick her up." I was expecting to see a little girl crying, maybe even screaming, when I walked up. I was pleasantly surprised to find a little girl waiting against the wall, people watching, no tears at all. She smiled when she saw me and we went to collect the rest of the kids. It was then that I realized, they didn't know Katie at this school, how did they know who she was. She told them her name, YOO-HOO!!! What a huge accomplishment for her, I was so proud. I had to pry Helen off the monkey bars, it was time to go home even though I didn't get see all of her teachers. On the way to the car Helen told me, "Mommy, fun!!!" That just topped my evening, Helen has never shared her feelings about anything unless I ask. On her own she told me she had fun!!! I left my house thinking it would be just another school open house. Instead I had two of my daughters making huge strides towards becoming young ladies. What an evening!:o)

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue







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A Summer Cold

My mind has been jumping around like a cat on a hot tin roof. I've tried to contemplate what to write about today but am unable to think through any topic beyond a fleeting thought. I have a summer cold. My oldest son passed it along to me.

So while I can't focus my feverish brain long enough to eek out an entry today, I have been pondering colds all day. I realized during my ruminations that I haven't had a cold for about 4 years. That was a nice respite. When I was in law school, while also working full time in the corporate world, I had at least two nasty colds every year - one after each finals period. The summer I took a class - Evidence - I got a summer cold after that final too. My mind and body always held out long enough, and produced the necessary adrenaline, to get me through finals. And then, when the finals were over and the adrenaline stopped pumping, the inevitable cold overtook me. I'm so glad those days are behind me; I hate colds.

So, sorry there's nothing more engaging today. Talk to you in a few days when I know I'll be more clear-headed and I may have something less inane to write about.




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Another Answer & A New Email Address

This entry will address another question asked of us about It'll Fit'll. If you have any questions, please do feel free to ask them and we'll be happy to answer them in this forum - or privately if you prefer. You can pose questions via the "Comment" function or send me an email.

I just changed the contact email address in my blogger file and am starting to transition business communications to that email box. The new address is "s.roberson@itllfitll.com". If you've got the previous email address, that will still get to me. But, that's my personal email account and the business has reached a point that makes the business email address more critical. Separating the business from the personal email ought to prevent my overlooking a message from one of you because it got lost among the messages from family,friends, Amazon, Practical eCommerce, electronic newspapers, my daughter's favorite online shops, and all that spam from those crazy made-up "sender" names that are created to evade the filter.

Question: How will you sell the clothes?

It'll Fit'll clothing will be sold on-line, via an "itllfitll.com" web site. (Hence the subscription to Practical eCommerce.) The traditional distribution model for clothing doesn't make sense for us, for a few reasons.

Large national retailers would be very challenged in stocking the right mix - gender, size, apparel type, quantity, etc. In this relatively small niche market I expect they would choose not to risk it. Afterall, there's been no real need demonstrated to them. They're selling clothes to/for people with Down syndrome now; "why bother?" might be their thinking. Smaller, boutique-like retailers might be more willing to stock It'll Fit'll items, but employing a sales rep to cultivate that business is not the best use of our very limited resources - especially since the ecommerce option exists and that will allow us to offer our product at the most reasonable prices possible.

In order to keep prices reasonable we need to sell directly to consumers; there's no margin to share with retailers. In addition, we will not have the human or financial resources to fill the many and varied esoteric requirements of retailers (Susie will be our entire distribution function.) Nor will we be able to afford the financial penalties - "chargebacks" is what they call 'em - that retailers assess for missing a requirement. Also, the standard payment terms that most big retailers impose are unaffordable: 8% discount, payment in (typically) 30 to 60 days - sometimes longer!

Also, selling directly to you brings us closer to you in many other ways too - in terms of communication, feedback, responding to your needs, new poduct development/time to market, etc. I believe that maintaining a short and direct line of communication between us will be a good thing for all of us.

Since clothing fit is important to you, and the basis for this business, the website will have a section that fully explains the sizing. To assure that you're ordering the right size clothes, you'll need to take a few basic measurements of your child. Being on the same page relative to sizing will eliminate the downside of not being able to try on the clothes prior to purchase. And, there's always the final fallback - being able to return the clothes if necessary.

Hope everyone has a nice weekend. It's going to be sunny and in the mid-70's in northern Illinois this weekend...perfect!




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Helen Loved The Buddy Walk

Hi everyone, hope your week is going well. We had a very nice time at the Buddy Walk, Helen had a blast. I hardly saw her at all, well, I did see her playing at all of the inflatables so I guess I meant to say, I hardly spent anytime with her!! I had to drag her away so she could eat and go potty, when we were done, she was off and running back to the fun. This was my first time being an exhibitor and I think it showed. It was a bit overwhelming, thank goodness Sherry has the experience with this. It certainly doesn't help that I am quite shy, a trait that used to drive Peter crazy!!! I have a feeling that I will now drive my sister crazy, but I certainly am going to try my best.

I had a difficult day today, emotionally, I have felt on the verge of tears all day. It started as soon as I woke up. I had a dream about my mom, my best friend, and her mom (she was a second mom to me, she passed away 15 yrs. ago). It was one of those crazy dreams that don't make much sense, but the feeling of having them with me and talking to me made me sad. I kept thinking of them and also of Peter all day. When I went to pick Grace up from school, I saw Katie's teacher and we talked a little. I don't want to go into detail, Katie is having a hard time. It was very upsetting to me, but I have taken the steps towards getting the help we need. My heart is breaking for her, when I am ready, I will share.

Tomorrow is Robbie's first den meeting as a Tiger Cub, he is so excited. We are going to do the achievement of going outdoors, we are supposed to have nice weather. We are going to take a walk to the lakefront, along the path is a monument to a few firefighters who lost their lives in a fire. I have never been down this path, our den leader has and said it's a nice trail. He asked if I would want to go over fire safety with the boys. I'm thinking, "Why Me?" I said I would, I figured I would review what they have already learned at school, stop, drop, and roll! Wish me luck.

Yesterday I took my car into the shop because the brakes were acting very weird. Bob, the mechanic, took it for a little drive with us in the car (Grace, Noah, and myself). We were discussing the brake issues and Bob is driving and testing, the kids were very quiet. Bob jumps and turns to look behind him, he didn't realize the kids were with us and Noah had kicked his seat. I laughed so hard, it was so funny!! They kept my car all day and ended up giving me all new brake pads. I just had my brakes fixed a couple of months ago, so this shouldn't have happened. Hopefully the problem is fixed! Bonus-I didn't have to pay for it!!!

I'm going to cut it short tonight, I just want to go and relax for a bit. I apologize, I know this post isn't up to my usual standards. It truly has been a tough day for me and I just don't have it in me tonight. Sorry.

Until next time-
Take Care,
Sue





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Answers

This is a fun change of pace. Usually I'm asking you the questions but today I'm answering some of the questions posed to us at the Buddy Walk on Sunday. Three seems like the right number of questions to answer in each entry, so I'll give that a try. If I get too verbose I'll stop at two.

Question #1 - Are you going to sew the clothes yourself?

No. No, no, no. Heavens no.

I don't think Susie ever learned to sew (in fact I'm certain of it since I've got to sew patches onto Robbie's Cub Scout uniform, as I did Teddy's last year.) And, while I do have a sewing machine - having fallen in love with sewing when I learned how in junior high school - I'm slow and deliberate and inefficient and probably not very good at it anyway. Although I did sew many clothes for myself in junior high and high school, it was always slow going. In fact, I think there may be a fancy mathematical equation that reverse-correlates a seamstress's talent with the number of seam rippers she owns. Given my seam ripper collection - several sizes, several colors - I'm no exemplar of sewing ability.

The clothing will be produced by sewing contractors/manufacturers who are good at this. So, the jeans and pants and tops and dresses will look like any other store-bought jeans, pants, tops and dresses. One comment I've heard often from parents is that their children want their clothes to look like the other kids' clothes. The It'll Fit'll clothes will.

Question #2 - Will your product line be for kids only or will you have an adult offering too?

We do plan to produce clothes for children, teens, and adults within a year's time. Our first offering will be jeans and twill pants (i.e. chinos) for girls and boys, through tweens. The next phase will be those same styles for teens and young adults. Then we'll introduce the adult pants offering. We will deepen the product lines, by age group, to include tops, shirts, dresses and the like as the market responds. We hope that's quickly and enthusiastically.

Concurrent with development of the pants lines we are developing a body suit line for younger children. I'd refer to those as "Onsies" but that's a trademarked term owned by Gerber. The body suit size range will begin at about 3 years old and continue through about age 7 or 8.

Here's our basic plan, as of right now. We will have our first pants available in December. In the Spring we'll have tops and pants for boys, girls, and tweens. For Summer our girls offering will include a summer dress and capris (that actually finish at capri length!) Spring/Summer will be the launch of our teen and young adult lines. Our adult line will launch in Fall of 2008. We are excited and hope that you guys respond positively enough to allow us to expand more quickly than planned. And, we're happy to hear suggestions and ideas from you about priorities and preferences.

OK, it seems that two questions at a time is the better approach. So, I'll end here. I've got a handful of questions from the Buddy Walk left to answer. In the meantimes, please feel free to pose additional questions to me via the "Comment" function or email me directly. I would love to hear from you and answer any questions you pose.




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A Lovely Buddy Walk Experience

Sherry, Evan, Noah, Susie, Grace

Susie and I, and our children, spent a lovely day yesterday at the Down Development Council's 9th Annual Buddy Walk. From the adult perspective it was a very good day. The weather was perfect, the attendees, organizers, and the other exhibitors were welcoming and supportive, and the walk itself was a nice stretch of the legs and very well attended.

From the kids' perspective it was a great day. There was a section of the grounds that was an inflatable wonderland - a castle, dragon, maze, slide, ridable horses that kids rode/bounced around an inflated track enclosure. There were hot dogs and chips and pop ice cream and free games - with prizes! - and sun and fresh air and open space and a huge bowl of Tootsie Rolls and lollipops at our table to which the kids helped themselves often. Evan told me many times that he was having a great time. He's already looking forward to next year's event.

I wish we could have gotten all of Susie's kids in the picture above, but that was impossible. Helen would not be budged from the inflatable paradise (in fact she was even there when it was a deflated plastic footprint of its former self) and Teddy, Robbie and Katie were similarly preoccupied.

We had many, many nice conversations with Buddy Walk participants and got some great insights and suggestions. Folks posed several questions to us and I realized that you guys might have the same questions, but not the live conversation in which to ask them. So, I'll answer a number of those questions with blog entries - beginning tomorrow. Talk with you then.

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