Loving and Living with a Child with Down Syndrome
Hello, I’d like to introduce myself, my name is Liz,
and I live in Sherborne, Dorset, I am originally from South Yorkshire, but moved to beautiful Dorset five years ago due to my husbands’ job in the Army. All my dreams came true when we moved to Dorset, from a successful frozen embryo transfer I was finally pregnant after years of wanting a child.
At the age of 41 and in such shock I was actually pregnant I said yes to all the screening tests and wasn’t really thinking straight. We had a blood test screen which came back as an extremely high chance 1:2 our baby had Down Syndrome, we went onto have a diagnostic test Chorionic villus sampling (CVS) to confirm the diagnosis. It came back positive, 100% certain that our baby had Down Syndrome. Hearing that your unborn baby would have a special need was very very frightening I cried for days.
One day in the kitchen I felt my little baby kick me and I felt so nauseous with this pregnancy, I just thought, this little being inside me is here, it’s staying and oh I love it so much. We found out we were having a little girl, I immensely felt so much love for her, my little daughter and she’s got Down Syndrome, why is this happening to me, but I knew I would love this little girl no matter what! I told very close family and friends that our baby girl had Down Syndrome, and today I cannot thank the love and support they all showed us.
Hearing that your unborn baby would have a special need was very very frightening I cried for days. One day in the kitchen I felt my little baby kick me and I felt so nauseous with this pregnancy, I just thought, this little being inside me is here, it’s staying and oh I love it so much. We found out we were having a little girl, I immensely felt so much love for her, my little daughter and she’s got Down Syndrome, why is this happening to me, but I knew I would love this little girl no matter what! I told very close family and friends that our baby girl had Down Syndrome, and today I cannot thank the love and support they all showed us.
One day in the kitchen I felt my little baby kick me and I felt so nauseous with this pregnancy, I just thought, this little being inside me is here, it’s staying and oh I love it so much. We found out we were having a little girl, I immediately felt so much love for her, my little daughter and she’s got Down Syndrome, why is this happening to me, but I knew I would love this little girl no matter what. I told my close family and friends that our baby girl had Down Syndrome, and today I cannot thank them enough for all the love and support they all showed us.
Clara Elizabeth was born at 38 weeks a tiny 3lb 4oz, she spent two weeks in the special care baby unit at Yeovil Hospital and did extremely well, no health issues were diagnosed, just that little extra chromosome.
Clara is five now and we have had a journey with her. She attends mainstream primary school and has just finished reception, she has amazed us with her development, she has many friends and is very popular within the school. The love we have for Clara is immense, she is her own little character, she’s funny, happy, mischievous, and knows what she wants. Everyone who meets Clara loves her, she has this beam around her, she brings so much joy to everyone she meets.
Life with Clara is good, beyond good, it’s perfection. Every little achievement she accomplishes we are buzzing, no matter how small it is. We will give and ensure Clara has all the opportunities that are out there for her, whatever she wants to do we will give it a shot.
She’s our beautiful daughter, no different to any other child, living and loving a child with Down Syndrome is a journey, a beautiful journey, a journey of happiness, and complete fulfillment.