We've dedicated this page to allowing all of you to share YOUR stories! We know you've been blessed as well and we want to hear from you!
Brayden
My husband, Jeremy and I found out our son Brayden had Down Syndrome and a heart defect during our 20 week ultrasound. Definitely not what we were expecting to hear and actually thought the doctor was joking around when he first came in the room to deliver the news. Looking back, I am sure he is not in his profession to work on his standup.
Knowing Brayden’s diagnosis with 5 months left to go in the pregnancy was a blessing and a curse. Yes, that is all we could think about and it made deciding what brand of diapers to use and things such as that seem a little bit less important. But I feel so fortunate that I had the time to research Down Syndrome until my brain hurt. It enabled me to come to a point where I could say “(big sigh) yes, there are a million things that could be wrong or go wrong, but I just want to meet HIM and hold HIM and learn all about HIM.” Nothing in the books or online could tell me what Brayden would be like and how he can really shimmy to the music. So, if I had any advice for parents who are expecting a little one with Down Syndrome I would say to research as much as you feel is necessary to be informed, but try to realize that the information is about a syndrome and you are about to meet the love of your life.
No matter if it is before or after they are born, the news that your tiny baby is somehow different than you expected is devastating. Especially when you thought you didn’t have many expectations because there wasn’t a need…everything would be perfect. Somehow you feel crushed that the expectations you didn’t know you had are vastly different than reality. Changing expectations does not happen overnight.
Now that Brayden is one, he is still blowing my mind and making me adjust my expectations, usually by exceeding them. Here are just a few things that he can do:
He…rolls a ball, screams, cries, poops up his back, crawls, rolls over, likes vegetables, gets tons of comments on how cute he is when pictures are posted on Facebook, dances to music, pulls to stand, bumps his head and cries, nurses, loves music, loves to splash in the bath, sleeps through the night, can feed himself puffs, drinks from a straw, laughs when you kiss under his chin, has two teeth, jumps nonstop in his jumperoo, plays on histoy piano, hates long car trips, mauls his dog, gets upset when other kids cry, does raspberries with his mouth, has had only one cold, turns the pages when reading books, and is definitely spoiled by his grandparents, aunts and uncles.
Thanks for letting me share some of our experiences with you!
