Whether you have a prenatal diagnosis or a diagnosis at birth, hearing your baby has Down Syndrome is devastating. For us, it was a surprise just minutes after Colton was born. Hunter and I will both tell you that was the hardest day of our lives. We were shocked, scared, worried, and sad. I felt like I had been hit by a bus...and I might never be whole again.
What I didn't know was that not only would I be whole again, but I'd be happier than ever before. God blessed me with a little boy with Down Syndrome...and oh how he has changed my life for the better! I am one of the luckiest moms on the planet, and I was inducted into a club of moms called "The Lucky Few." God chose me to be Colton's Mama...and there ain't nothing down about it.
Colton still lets me rock him to sleep at night...so I do. Not a night goes by that I don't tear up thinking about how lucky I am to be his mommy...how thankful I am that God chose me...how beautiful Down Syndrome is...how beautiful my little boy is. I LOVE to share Colton with people (whether in person or through social media) because I want them to experience how amazing he is. He makes me laugh and smile every single day. If you watch my Instagram stories of him (Carriescott22), you hear me laughing in the background in almost all of them. He is SO funny. His big brother Weston always tells me, "Mom, Colton is so funny. He always makes me laugh." And it's true...nobody makes Weston laugh like Colton. A big, belly laugh. We get such a kick out of him. It's so fun to just watch him play and learn and mimic us. He makes us SO proud! I promise you that if you were able to spend 20 minutes with Colton, your life would be blessed. He just has a way of drawing you in with that killer smile.
And the way he gets SO excited about small things. This is his "Wow" face...
So when I see something like the statistics below...I'm instantly brought to tears.
How could you not want my Colton? Is his life not valuable?
The United States is doing a much better job than most countries, however, 67%? That's still really high. There are so many families that decided they weren't up for the challenge. And yes, I say "challenge" because it is challenging to raise a child with DS. But let's be honest, it's challenging to raise children in general...just because your child is "typical" doesn't mean they are free from therapy services or medical complications. Colton does have a few more doctor's appointments than my other kids. Colton does have to get therapy services to help him learn to do most things. But isn't he worth it? He is to me.
I do know that when you read articles about children with DS, it can be scary and overwhelming. There are a lot of health concerns in the beginning. The children do have low tone so it takes longer to learn to sit and crawl and walk. They can struggle with eating or sucking. They do learn at a slower pace. But DS is not the doom and gloom that people think. Instead of just reading articles, go spend some time with children and adults with DS and see if your perspective changes.
When we found out that Colton had DS, everyone cried for us. Everyone felt sorry for us. I felt sorry for us. And the reason was because I had never been around someone with DS. I had absolutely no awareness. I share this because there's still work to be done to raise awareness for DS. Because of my blog, I've had multiple people reach out to me because someone they know was just given a DS diagnosis and they thought I could help. That makes me SO happy! I would love to walk someone through this journey and tell them that it's gonna be ok! You can do this! That's why I share our story. That's why I share my Colton. So I can help others going through the same thing...and to show everyone else that a DS diagnosis isn't so bad.
I pray that I can use Colton's life to help others. I believe that Colton is a "warrior for Jesus." I believe that God sends these special people into the world to make a difference. So I will continue to share Colton and our journey with the world. And over time, maybe that 67% will begin to decrease.
If I had know then, what I know now, there wouldn't have been tears the day Colton was born. We would have celebrated his birth and that extra chromosome. We would've known how lucky we were to get the opportunity to raise a child with DS. I hope Colton has blessed your life just by following us. He sure is something special...and I can't imagine life without my homie with an extra chromie!!!!
