We gave birth to our lovely gorgeous son two weeks ago now on Boxing Day

By anonymous on 12/01/2009
We gave birth to our lovely gorgeous son two weeks ago now on Boxing Day - he was nearly a month premature - a shock in itself. He is our first child. I am 38. We were low risk for Downs Syndrome but as soon as I held him I knew. Physically, his features are very very subtle but I knew. I spent almost a week in hospital with him. My husband and I are totally devastated and going through the most unbearable pain and grief. Due to my emotional state we decided to place our son into temporary foster care to give us some space to talk and think. We are undecided on all our futures but we are going to visit him as much as we can as we both love him with all our hearts and enjoy caring for him. We just don’t know if we will be able to look after him forever. It’s the unknown future we are worried about. We know you have an unknown future with any child but knowing that your child has DS is a massive shock and there will be problems, we just don’t know how severe, only time will tell. I hope this helps others who find themselves in our situation. We didn’t know life could do this to us. Why us? But then why not us?

Editor’s note: Thanks for sharing your story with us…It’s clear how much you love your son; yet that wonderful feeling is mixed with such pain, isn’t it? And now you are going through the terrible time of adjustment to this shock and trying to make an informed decision about your future and his when you are in emotional chaos. I would like to suggest that you contact other parents who may be a bit further down the line than yourselves and who understand the issues and emotions involved. I would like to suggest that, if you are willing, you contact our office so that we can put you in touch with a specialist advisor. Our contact details are on the Contact Us page. Alternatively, you can contact the Down Syndrome Association on their helpline 0845 230 0372 or go to their website www.downs-syndrome.org.uk for details of local support. Sharing your feelings and thoughts with someone who understands might just be what you need right now to help you over this time. We’re thinking of you.

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