Mother Shares Powerfully Honest ‘Review’ Of Her Baby With Down Syndrome

After difficulties conceiving as well as a failed round of IVF, Jessica Egan and her husband had been overjoyed when they learned they were pregnant. Nevertheless, eleven weeks into their parenting journey, a blood test revealed that the little girl growing inside Jessica was positive for Trisomy 21. Down syndrome.

“When we decided to have a baby, of course, we hoped that it would happen right away,” said Jessica. “When it didn’t, we found that it was easier to bear because there are so many resources available for people who are struggling to get pregnant. I joined a local infertility support group and made a lot of great friendships with other ladies going through the same thing. When our first round of IVF failed it was disappointing, but we decided not to get discouraged and to keep trying. It was from our second attempt at IVF that our daughter was born.”

“We found out when I was 11 weeks pregnant that our unborn baby had been diagnosed with Down syndrome”, she added. “At first, we were devastated, but it was because we didn’t have any experience with Down syndrome and it was something we were not expecting at all. We grieved very deeply for about three days, and then my husband and I decided that we wanted to educate ourselves so that we could be happy and look forward to the birth of our baby.”

That was when things started to change. Jessica and her husband contacted their local Down syndrome foundation and began educating themselves about the diagnosis that roughly one in every 700 babies are born with. The number varies depending on the region, however. For instance, as Down Syndrome Australia notes, the number is closer to 1 in 1,100 babies in their area.

After spending two months raising their precious little daughter, Jessica wrote an incredibly sincere ‘review’ of her and shared it to Facebook:

“When I placed my order I said, ‘Regular amount of chromosomes, please!’ That’s what everyone else got and what I wanted too. They called me shortly after my order was in production and said ‘Great news, we went ahead and upgraded you to extra chromosomes for free! You’ll receive the extra chromosomes with your completed order in nine months.’ What?! I was mad!”

“All the other orders I had seen displayed via perfect Instagram posts did NOT have extra chromosomes. Well, I decided that receiving my order with extra chromosomes was better than not receiving an order at all, so I settled in to wait for this surprise upgrade to arrive. I have now had my order for two months and am writing this review to let others know the upgrade to extra chromosomes is amazing!! If offered, definitely take it! I posted some photos below of the finished product, and you can see the extra chromosome is so worth it – it is extra cute, extra special, and extraordinary! So much extra joy. Would purchase again for sure.”

However, there are still some things that Jessica and her husband need to figure out. “One of the biggest challenges so far as a parent is not knowing what to expect as far as growth milestones. This is our first child, so we don’t have anything to compare it to, but we always still wonder how she’s doing and how she will continue to develop. As of now, however, she is developing extremely well and is very accepted by everyone around her. We also have a big support group of other new parents who have babies with Down syndrome and so we feel very lucky and supported.”

As both parents pass their genes on to their kids, these genes are carried in chromosomes. When the sells of the baby are developing, each cell is supposed to receive 23 pairs of chromosomes, for 46 chromosomes total. Half from the mom, and half from the dad.

In kids with Down syndrome, however, one of the chromosomes does not separate properly. The baby ends up with three copies, or an extra partial copy, of chromosome 21, rather than two. This extra chromosome leads to problems as the brain, and physical features develop.

There are three types of Down syndrome. Trisomy 21 (there is an extra copy of chromosome 21 in each cell. This is the most common form of Down syndrome), Mosaicism (which occurs when a kid is born with an extra chromosome in some but not all of their cells. People with mosaic Down syndrome have fewer symptoms than those with Trisomy 21), and Translocation.

People are relating to Jessica’s words in the sweetest ways:

Image credits: Jessica Young Egan, oursweetgwendolyn