Our Hospital Stay

Colton’s Stats:
He was born on January 6, 2016 (I like to say 1, 6, 1, 6)
Weight: 6 lbs 13 oz
Length: 19 ½ inches





Soon after Colton was born, I realized I didn’t know much about Down’s Syndrome. I had seen people with it many times, but I never really knew all of the medical concerns. Hunter immediately began researching to learn as much as he could. I took on more of the “mom” role and just took care of my baby. I was also trying to recover, myself. Hunter filled me in on things I needed to know, along with the doctors. We had the sweetest nurse who put together a binder for us to take home with tons of information, resources, testimonies, etc… I still don’t know all there is to know about DS, but I am learning new things every day. Just like pregnancy, DS can vary from person to person. You can read about it as much as you want, but you never know how it is going to affect your child. That’s why you have to take it one day at a time. I quickly found out that a lot of babies with DS have major heart defects and/or feeding issues. A lot of babies go straight to the NICU and have to stay for a little while. Luckily, Colton’s echocardiogram showed only normal transitional newborn stuff. No major heart defects! Hallelujah! I kind of think that’s why we didn’t know he had DS while I was pregnant because none of the ultrasounds showed any heart problems. They also are born with low tone. Doctors like to use the term “floppy.” When I’d try to burp Colton, he’d just curl up like a shrimp. He just felt really squishy and it made it harder to hold him. His muscles will get stronger, but he will need therapy to help him. He will be able to hold his head up, sit, crawl, and walk eventually; it just might take him longer than a “typical” child. Feeding issues arise because of their low tone in their mouth, tongue, and throat. They normally don’t have a very good suck and it makes feeding them difficult. Colton actually has a pretty strong suck, so we didn’t have any feeding issues. He only lost 3 oz in the hospital. We were able to leave the hospital after two days, which is such a blessing.



A very proud big brother!



However, while we were at the hospital, Colton did have a few issues with his blood. His platelets were low, which is called Thrombocytopenia. (Thrombocytopenia is a condition in which you have a low blood platelet count. Platelets (thrombocytes) are colorless blood cells that help blood clot. Platelets stop bleeding by clumping and forming plugs in blood vessel injuries). They were afraid to circumcise him because they weren’t sure he’d clot after surgery. We didn’t want him to bleed profusely, so we decided to delay the circumcision until that issue was resolved. We left the hospital uncircumcised. His poor little heels were so bruised from them trying to draw blood so many times. The doctor ordered a Genetic Test, so they drew blood for that and sent it off to UAMS. The results would take approximately 3 weeks. We also had trouble keeping his body temperature in the 98 degree range, so he did have to spend some time under a heat lamp, but that wasn’t a big deal. His body temperature finally rose and he was just fine. So, we got to go home and begin life as a family of 4.





We were told that having a baby with DS would bring more doctors’ visits than a “typical” newborn. In the beginning, it would be overwhelming, but it would eventually slow down and life would begin to feel normal. Besides weight checks, our first official visit was to ACH in the Hematology Department. I’ll share what that visit was like in my next post. Stay tuned…

Knowing Vs. Surprise!

One thing Hunter and I have talked about and have been asked by many people is: “Do you think you would’ve rather known during the pregnancy that Colton had Down Syndrome, or are you glad it was a surprise?” For us, I’m glad it was a surprise. Yes, that first day in the hospital was extremely hard, but I had a sweet baby to hold in my arms. I could see his little nose and eyes and mouth, I could touch his soft little cheeks and skin, I could smell his baby scent, I could hear the noises he made while he ate and slept, I could hold his tiny hands and feet, I could hear him cry. When I was sad and wanted to cry, I’d just love on my little boy and tell myself that he just wants to be loved. He didn’t choose to be born with Down Syndrome. He deserves to be celebrated just like any other child that enters this world. If we would’ve found out during my pregnancy, all we would’ve done was worry. And trust me; we worry enough during pregnancy due to my history with miscarriages. We didn’t need to know that, yet. We would’ve researched on the Internet and found out about all of the things Colton won’t be able to do. Really? People are told every day that they’ll never be able to walk or drive or talk, but then they do. Nobody knows what my Colton can or can’t do. We can’t put limitations on him. He’s his own, unique person and we’ll just have to watch him grow up to see what he can do. We chose not to do the Amniocentesis test because we weren’t going to abort our baby regardless of the results. I’ve heard multiple stories of people who were told they were going to have a baby with DS, but then they didn’t. Some were told they weren’t having a baby with DS, but then they did. I don’t think the test is very accurate. We didn’t ever think we’d have a baby with DS because only 1/700 babies are born with Down Syndrome, but we are some of the lucky few. Finding out your baby has DS, whether during pregnancy or at birth, is not a curse. It’s not the end of the world. It’s a blessing. It breaks my heart to hear that people find out their baby will have DS and they abort the pregnancy. Look at the pictures of my sweet Colton….how could you not want him? How could you not even give him a chance?






Maybe it’s not what you “wanted,” but lots of things in life happen to us that we don’t “want” to happen. Some of those things we don’t “want” to happen end up being the greatest blessings in our life. So even though the first few days and weeks were hard, I’m glad it was a surprise. I’m excited for my journey with Colton, and I’m glad to be inducted into a club that I never knew I “wanted” to be a part of.
Unexpected things happen to all of us. Whatever you’re going through, you will be okay! I am okay! I choose to Trust in the Lord… We love our baby Colton!










“Expect the unexpected because life is full of surprises. Things that you can't prevent from happening because they're meant to happen, but instead of running away from it, you should embrace it, solve it and learn from it.” -Melchor Lim

Colton's Birth Story

On January 6, 2016, I woke up around 2 am with contractions. It was 17 days before my actual due date, so I wasn’t sure if I was really in labor. The contractions were about 15-20 minutes apart, but a few were so strong that they brought tears to my eyes. I decided to wake Hunter up and we got ourselves ready to head to the hospital. Hunter’s parents came over around 4 am to stay with Weston. As we got to the hospital, triage measured me at 5 cm. They admitted me to a room around 5:30 am and as soon as my bloodwork came back, they said they would be able to give me my epidural. My epidural went so well and was working beautifully by 7 am. They wanted me to lay flat so that it would work on both sides. In the meantime, I decided to put on some makeup so that I wouldn’t look a mess in all of our family pictures we were about to begin taking. Hunter jumped in the shower. All of a sudden, I started feeling lots of pressure. I waited until Hunter got out of the shower and told him and he said to call the nurse. I called the nurse and she came in and said my doctor was actually there doing her rounds and she’d come check me. My doctor said I was 10 cm and that it was time to deliver this baby. We prepared for delivery around 8:21 am and Colton arrived at 8:38 am. It was the easiest delivery I could’ve ever imagined. Hunter even said “Babe, you didn’t even break a sweat!” With our first child, his words were “Man, you could’ve squatted a Buick,” so this was a nice change of pace for us. LOL! They took my sweet baby boy over to get cleaned up and I noticed that it was taking longer than normal. My doctor could see my concern, so she tried to ease my worries by telling me they were just doing their routine checkups and tests. After she finished with me, I still didn’t have baby Colton in my arms. She went over to the nurse to check on things and she came back to my bed and said “Carrie, they think he’s showing 4 markers for Down Syndrome. His eyes are almond shaped, he has a mark on the palm of his hand, the top of his ears are crinkled, and he has a little extra space between his big toe and second toe.” At that moment, I completely froze. Here’s what flew through my mind: “Is she joking? If so, this isn’t funny. Am I dreaming? How could this be? None of our ultrasounds showed any signs of Down Syndrome. At our 4D ultrasound, the tech even said that if he had Down Syndrome, some of his measurements would be larger than normal and none of his were.” The joy and excitement that was initially in the room was gone. In its place came shock, fear, confusion, sadness. As they brought my baby to me, I remember holding him and I felt so completely guilty. Here I was holding my brand new baby who lived inside me for 9 months and I was disappointed. I was heartbroken. This wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted him to be just like his big brother….I wanted him to be “typical.” It was the hardest, most shocking day of my life. Never once in my pregnancy, or even in my entire life, did I picture this. I gave birth to a child with Special Needs. I was grieving the loss of a dream. Of the life I thought I would have. I was completely blindsided. I spent most of that first day in shock. I was just trying to process everything. I didn’t know how to tell people. I ended up just announcing that “He’s here. We are a family of 4!” I wasn’t ready to break the news to people other than close family and friends. I watched my 6’5”, 250 lb. husband sob. He doesn’t ever cry…and it absolutely broke my heart. We were scared. There was nothing we could do to fix it. Our lives would forever be changed. As the weeks passed by, our tears began to subside. We soon realized that Colton is just a normal baby. He eats, he sleeps, he poops, he cries (but not very often). I set my alarm to wake him up every three hours to feed him because he doesn’t wake me up. He seriously is THE BEST BABY I’ve ever been around. At 2 months old, he sleeps through the night (11-7 most nights), he smiles, and he rocks tummy time. We take him to church and out to eat and he is always so good! He is the biggest blessing and he is winning over our hearts. I’m beginning to realize that God has been preparing our hearts for this for a long time through 3 unsuccessful pregnancies. At the beginning of my pregnancy with Colton, I thought I was going to lose him, too, but I didn’t. He was meant to join our family. I prayed for 2 healthy little boys…and that’s exactly what I got. Our little Colton is absolutely beautiful. He was born with blonde hair, blue eyes, and ONE EXTRA Chromosome. And the more time that passes, I don’t care about that ONE EXTRA chromosome….because he’s my son. He was perfectly and wonderfully made. He is going to change my life for the better. I don’t care how many therapy sessions we have to attend, or how many hours of my time are spent teaching him, I’m going to do it. He is a blessing. He is like any other baby. He just wants to be loved and treated like any other “typical” child. We may have to work harder than we would with a “typical” baby. We may have more doctors’ visits that we would with a “typical” baby. But it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter how or when he gets there, just that he gets there. His daddy, his big brother, and I will be his biggest fans. We are a proud family of 4. We don’t know what the future holds for us, but all we can do is take it one day at a time. If you went back to 1993 and told a little 10 year old girl from Indiana that she’d someday be living in Little Rock, Arkansas, married to her high school sweetheart who likes to hunt and fish, have two little boys, one with Down Syndrome, she wouldn’t believe you. I would’ve never pictured that life for me….but it’s awesome. I don’t know what life is going to look like in 22 more years…and that’s ok, because it will be better than anything I could ever imagine for myself. God has a plan…and I can’t wait to see that plan unfold.