Words people said when my first baby was born:

Congratulations!

She’s beautiful

She’s got your eyes

So cute

Adorable

Aaaahhhh

So happy for you

So many wonderful adventures ahead of you

Welcome to the world little one

So many words, so many cliches. So many ways to express joy. 

Sshhh! Not too loud, you’ll wake the baby!

Precisely what I needed to hear, truth be told.

Just what the doctor ordered.

 

Words people said when my second baby was born:

I’m so sorry

 

So few words. Eyes averted. Hushed conversations. So many ways to express sorrow. Shhh! Careful what you say, you might upset the mother. 

Just what the doctor ordered.

But his prescription is long since out of date.

No one said congratulations when I had a baby with Down’s syndrome. 

I blame no one; I carried my own prejudices, I reflected the mood around me, to an extent I permitted it.

Yet ‘Congratulations, she is beautiful’ was precisely what I needed to hear.

 

So to any mother who today cradles a new born baby in their arms, or sits anxiously next to their incubator in a NICU; a baby that has been born with an extra chromosome…..I pray someone will hold your hand, stare with wonder into the eyes of your precious child and tell you the truth of it:

Congratulations! Your baby is beautiful! Welcome to the world little one.

Today, on World Down Syndrome Day,  I will celebrate every single glorious life, born and unborn, with an extra chromosome.

Each one profoundly beautiful.

Truth be told.