31 for 21: Day 2...At the Pediatrician

I remember a trip to the pediatrician after Hailey was born for a well visit.  After her exam and vaccinations, we discussed Andrew's progress at the time.  Although I will never remember how old either of my kids were at the time, I will never forget what their doctor said to me at that visit.



Andrew in the recovery room with me.

 As we talked about Andrew and his progress in Birth to Three, I remember saying something about being so happy with Andrew's progress and how hard we were both working to help him become successful in meeting his next milestone.  Dr. Sude, the kids' pediatrician told me that she remembers discussing me with the two other doctors in the practice shortly after Andrew was born.  Dr. Sude was the first of the doctors in the practice that came to visit us in the hospital the afternoon that Andrew was born.  I had already been notified of the hospital pediatrician's suspected diagnosis of Down syndrome.  She told me that she was so impressed with the way I was handling Andrew's diagnosis and my positive outlook of a potentially devastating time of my life.  I know that many families are devastated when they learn their newborn has Down syndrome.  At the time, I didn't consider myself more knowledgeable about Down syndrome than any other parent who receives the diagnosis post-natally.  She remembers how thrilled I was...Andrew is my first child, the boy that I always wanted and named after my beloved grandfather.  His diagnosis was secondary to me.  I knew that there would be time for research and time for reflection.  But, most importantly to me, she remembers that I told her that I was chosen to be Andrew's mother and there was a reason that he was chosen just for me.  And although I wasn't sure why I was chosen, I knew that someday during our journey together, I would come to realize why Andrew was sent to me.

As I remember my time in the hospital with Andrew, I remember how much love I felt for my little, fragile son on that morning that he was born.  I remember calling my mother with the wonderful news that her first grandson was born and the concerned, yet confident tone in her voice when she told me that everything would be all right and everyone will love Andrew, regardless of his diagnosis.  But most of all, I remember meeting Dr. Sude for the first time that afternoon and sensing her understanding of my philosophy of Andrew's birth.

31 for 21: Can I make it?

Well, I haven't blogged in forever, but I'm going to try to blog everyday in the month of October in honor of Down Syndrome Awareness Month!  I was blessed on December 12, 2006 with my first born, a son we named Andrew after my grandfather who passed away in September 2001, long before he could meet any of his great-grandchildren.  I was always Pop's girl, so it was fitting that his first great-grandson would bear his name.  Shortly after Andrew was born, we learned that the doctor's suspected that he had Down syndrome, which was later confirmed by a DNA test.

I begin my posts for this month with a little information about the morning of Andrew's birth:

It was Tuesday, December 12, 2006 at 8:05am. My first baby, Andrew was just born via C-section. I was waiting and waiting for his first cry, the cry that would let me know that he was indeed here and he was all right. Finally, it came--a tiny little cry that brought tears to my eyes. I looked over at Chris and we smiled together. Our son was finally here.
While we were waiting for the pediatrician who were working on Andrew to bring bring him over to us so we could get our first look at our son, we chatted with the anesthesiologist who was at my head. Finally a doctor came over to us, without Andrew. She looked at me and said, "It appears that your son has a genetic anomaly. We will need to do further testing." And with that she walked away. Chris and I looked at each other and then he looked at the anesthesiologist. He asked her what that meant. She said that she didn't know.

Finally, Andrew was brought over to us. Chris took him in his arms and showed him to me. He was beautiful and he looked just like his daddy. I looked into his eyes and then I realized what it was, the genetic anomaly that the doctor was talking about. Andrew has Down Syndrome. My first-born child has Down Syndrome. I looked at Chris and told him. I will never forget what he said to me. "Andrew was given to us for a reason. We were chosen to have him and we are being trusted to take care of him." And he was right! We were very lucky to have Andrew come into our life and we were going to help him become the best person that he can be. And we are going to learn from him, much more than he will learn from us.