This is an ultrasound picture of Carmen Christi at 20 weeks gestation. And yes, she IS sucking her thumb! Early in my pregnancy some information came back in a blood test that indicated my body was producing some antibodies against my baby's blood. Because of the serious problems this can cause, my OB suggested that we have an amniocentesis done to determine if the antibodies were moving across the placenta and and to get some exact blood-type information on the baby. We decided that while they were doing that anyway, they might as well do the genetic tests. We did not, of course, expect to find anything there. We received a call two weeks after the amnio with our news--our baby girl has Down syndrome. At first, I can only describe our reaction as shock and numbness. We had mentally prepared ourselves to have medical intervention in this pregnancy, but we were not prepared for this. I spent the next morning in tears, as I grieved for the baby I was planning to have. We have a 6 year old 'little lawyer' and a 2 year old 'little engineer', and maybe this was going to be my newborn 'little brain surgeon' oror 'little research chemist'. In the span of one phone call, those dreams had gone up in smoke. However, by that afternoon, I came to realize that the baby of my dreams was just that--a dream, and not reality. The reality was that this baby was going to be different, and I was going to have to learn to deal with those differences. We began to do some serious research on Down syndrome. I headed for the library, my husband headed for the internet, and we were off. What we found was, by and large very encouraging. I learned that Down syndrome is not the end of the world. I found parents of children with Down syndrome on the Web who were glowingly proud of their bundles of joy. I read stories about how these children had bestowed countless blessings on their families. I learned that Down syndrome did not mean a child who could not do anything 'normal'. In fact what struck me was just how 'normal' these kids were--they just did it a little slower than other kids. Finally I spent a lot of time in prayer and in discussions with friends from church. I have learned over the years that God does not make mistakes, or have accidents. He does things on purpose which may not fit in to our own personal agendas, but when looked at in retrospect, are far better than anything our agendas have to offer. It became clear to me that this baby was going to be exactly that--a blessing wrapped in an unexpected package. And the more parents I meet and talk to who have kids with Down syndrome the more evidence I have to boldly make that statement! One of the people that most helped me put this whole thing in perspective was a dear friend of mine from church who has a daughter with 'CHARGE Syndrome'--the baby essentially had an in-utero brain injury early in pregnancy, and has severe physical and developmental handicaps as a result. A few days after we learned about the diagnosis, this woman invited us over for dinner. (this woman homeschools three 'typical' children plus takes care of this severely handicapped child and she was inviting ME for dinner?!) What struck me was how normal her family life was. This baby was a source of joy to her brothers and sisters, as well as her parents. The baby had not destroyed or taken over her family's lives, she drew them closer togeather. They feel truly blessed to have her with them. Based on my own children's response to the news, I don't see anything different for our family's future. We are also very hopeful that what we have learned about Targeted Nutritional Intervention will possibly help us reduce the effects of that extra chromosome. So take heart. This journey may be a little different than the one you had mapped out in your head, but you can plan on enjoying this baby every bit as much as the one who didn't have that extra chromosome. Educate yourself, and prepare for that newest little angel to land in your arms.