Can you tell I am practicing saying it? Last night we got the call we had been anticipating. Little Bean has Trisomy 21. It is so hard to explain all the emotions....... It's amazing how protective I already feel about my little guy - I don't want people to feel sorry for him or for us. I know Bean will bring great joy to our lives and we can make him very happy. We have no doubt. Everyone has life challenges....from parents with cancer, to house fires, to brothers in Iraq, poverty, to drug addiction (this list goes on..)..... This is just our story. So today begins a new journey for us. In some ways, I am still similar to you...pregnant and totally in love with my baby. In other ways, I am on a different road. I have a lot of learning to do.
It's hard to explain where our emotions are now. In some ways we are just new parents who are totally consumed with our son. We take a gazillion pictures of Nate and call to each other constantly to come see one of the million of cute things Nate is doing. We talk about the consistency of peas...what to do for constipation, sleeping through the night and our quest for the perfect sock "booty." On the other hand we are part of a new family --- the world of parenting a special needs child. In this family we celebrate our small and sometimes unconventional milestones (this week it was Nate grunting if we grunted)...We talk doctor appointments and early intervention. We embrace our differences and try to figure out how to navigate this life that has been given to us.
Right now we are still in what we call the "baby" bubble. At nine months, Nate's differences are still perhaps not as obvious to all (unless you are familiar with Down Syndrome). And truthfully, we don't even really know what others see. We just see our beautiful boy -with his big blue eyes, long lashes, beautiful smile, and delicious cheeks. Eric and I know Nate's Down Syndrome will continue to become more visible. Will our way of seeing Nate change?
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