My Extra Magical Little Boy
We get this question a lot and I'm always happy to share, because I don't want others who receive the same diagnosis to feel scared or intimidated by it.
First of all, something a lot of people don’t know is that Down syndrome is NOT hereditary, so it isn’t something that could have been passed down to him through our family line. It IS a genetic abnormality which is why it often gets thought of as “genetic” or hereditary.
We found out while I was pregnant with Liam that he would have Down syndrome. It was a couple of weeks to get that diagnosis though. At his 20 week anatomy scan we found out: 1) YAY he's a boy! and 2) that he had a dilated ureter so we needed to see a high risk ultra sound specialist to get more information about that.
At that appointment there was more findings, like he had a calcium deposit on his heart, extra fluid in his skull and the dilated ureter seemed to be causing something to his kidneys. (I forget all the medical mumbo jumbo), All these findings meant that there was a 40% chance he had Down syndrome. Which really surprised us because we were very uneducated on the matter and didn't think it could happen to 22 year olds. (LOL those statistics of moms over 35 having a higher chance of having a child with DS are inconclusive because more women under the age of 35 have kids so that statistic isn't judged properly).
But at the end of the appointment they recommended we take a genetic blood test to find out more, so we took the blood test.
On my husbands birthday, we got a call directly from my doctor, not the nurse like the usual protocol, but from my doctor. I was expecting the worse news the way he sounded on the phone. As he told me that my unborn son had a Down syndrome diagnosis, I was filled with many emotions and started to mourn the child I thought I was going to have, yet hopeful for this special one I was going to get!!
We then had to see the high risk ultra sound specialist AGAIN for them to give us the real diagnosis and to follow up and make sure everything was going ok. At that point they found a small hole in Liam's heart and other markers that confirmed the diagnosis. Neither of us minded that he would have Down syndrome and we both felt a lot of peace that we were able to know before he was born so we could prepare. Which is why were so shocked when the geneticist tried to talk us into terminating our pregnancy at that point. I was 27 weeks pregnant with him and already super attached. It was heartbreaking to learn that 65% of babies with Down syndrome are aborted here in the US and that our Doctor expected us to be one of them.
I am thankful every day for my sweet boy and the things he teaches me (A LOT of patience right now haha). I wouldn't change a thing about him! If you ever have questions about Down syndrome please feel free to message me! I love to chat about it!
