A letter to someone

I wrote the letter below for a challenge I'm doing on my personal blog, and thought I would put it over here, just in case a new mamma stops by for a visit.

Dear (mother who just found out the baby she is carrying/or delivered has Down syndrome),

You don't know me, but just under two years ago, I was where you are. After finding out that our first child was going to be a little girl, we were also informed that there were complications with her heart and size. After a few tests we also found out that she had Down syndrome. Like you, I was so scared, I just kept praying and hoping that it wasn't true, that she would be "okay". At the time that meant that she didn't have Down syndrome. I was so worried about what others would think, how she would be treated differently. It just broke my heart. Then I met some other families with children with Down syndrome, and saw the beauty in their lives and their children. Many of them told me that if they could change the fact that their child had Down syndrome, they wouldn't. At first I didn't quite buy it, but I wanted to. Then my little girl was born, and fought for her life, and I knew it wasn't an accident that she had Down syndrome. It wasn't a "complication", it is part of who she is and she. is. AMAZING! She really is so special, not a day goes by that I am not amazed at how lucky I am to be her mom. One thing that the geneticist said to us while she was in the hospital really stuck out to me. He said that 46 of her Chromosomes are from us, her parents, just like any other child. The 47th is just a little something extra. That helped me to realize that she was still my baby. She has my features as well as her dad's. As the days go by the more I realize the fact that she has Down syndrome really isn't a big deal. She is who she is, and like I said she is amazing. I look forward to having her by my side the rest of my life.

So even though its scary at first, just know one day you will look back and wonder how you could have ever felt like that. I really wish every family could have a child like Kaelyn in their family, she has been such a blessing. Instead of feeling like others may pity us, like I did at first, I feel a little sorry for them, that they aren't as lucky as we are :)

Love Kaelyns momma, Jeana.