Our story started out on February 24th 2007 when my husband and I were married. My husband and I were both previously married and he brought 3 kids with him from a previous marriage and he and I are raising 2 of them full time. I had placed my first child up for adoption after leaving a bad marriage. I was so happy to finally find an amazing Man to share the rest of my life with. He also wanted to have another child and I of course wanted one that I could keep and raise as my own. My pregnancy was a bit harder then the first one, I was sicker and also wasn't gaining much weight. Everyone kept commenting on how small I was. At my 35 week appointment, my OB told me that I was measuring about 4 weeks behind and he was concerned. He did a stress test and then sent me the next day to get an ultrasound from a Perionatalogist. At that appointment is when our lives changed forever. He said that he didn't see a stomach bubble and thought that this child would be severely retarded, either a Y18 or Y12 Chromosome baby and that we would be lucky if he lived a few hours let along a month. I remember my husband asking could he just have Down syndrome? I remember my stomach dropping and fear crept in and overwhelmed me. I thought no God, please no, not Down syndrome. It was as if to me, the other Chromosome's that he told us about, that were worse and more life threatening would be a better diagnosis then a diagnosis of Down syndrome. We then went over to the hospital so they could take our baby via c-section. Both my husband and I went numb, we didn't say much, we didn't show much emotion as we were just numb. They prepped me for surgery and all the family came down saying you never know, things might be okay and to just hold on. They took our little boy via c-section and he ended up weighing only 3lbs 15oz. They rushed him to the NICU with my husband, sewed me up and put me back in my room. I can still remember my husband walking into the room and telling me that he wasn't a Y18 or Y12 Chromosome baby but he had Down syndrome. At that moment my parents walked in and I crumbled. I started crying and couldn't stop. My Husband started crying as well and our parents were hugging and trying to console us. My Father looked at me and said Tausha, you have been given a great gift and blessing as this child has a very special spirit. The next few days were like a dream, I kept falling asleep and waking up and thinking I was in dream and thought, oh it will be over soon. My husband and I were just so overwhelmed and I think mostly scared of the unknown. I cried a little more the next few days but as the days went by and after I was able to see my little boy I was amazed at the love I had for him. Our little boy is only 7 1/2 months old but he has taught us more in the 7 1/2 months of his life then I have learned my whole life thus far. He is beautiful and has the sweetest disposition. He is always smiling and giggling. We have realized that even though there may be tough times ahead that we wouldn't change a thing. We know that we can do this and that we will love doing it. The older kids adore him and can't wait to get home from School to see and play with him, they love their little brother. He is a special gift that I am grateful we were able to have come to our home. I pray that many others will have the opportunity to learn, see and feel what we have been able to experience because of this sweet little boy who was born with a little extra something.
