Meet Caroline and her sweet lil Lucy. We first introduced Caroline while Lucy was in her belly still during last year’s 3/21 Pledge. Caroline ended up having one of our biggest donor networks (the most peeps donating under her) and Lucy was not even born yet!!  I have a feeling we will be seeing more of Lucy and her mama as she grows and her mama continues to advocate for her and others who are rockin’ that extra chromosome too!! 

We received Lucy’s diagnosis prenatally at 14 weeks via CVS testing. At 30 years old and being our first pregnancy, it was all very unexpected (although, now of course I know that most pregnancies with a diagnosis of Down syndrome occur before age 35!). Quite honestly, I thrown into a state of grief that unfortunately clouded a good part of my pregnancy, but I was also glad that I was prepared for any necessary post-natal medical care (so far, none!) and other intervention services. Most of the time I forget about the whole Down syndrome thing altogether – it just isn’t that big of a deal! She’s the sweetest little girl who loves story time, going for walks, and trying new foods – just like any other 9 month old. She is perfect! 

 

Ruby’s Rainbow means Hope. I found Ruby’s Rainbow when I was 8 months pregnant with Lucy, which was an overwhelming time for me. I was reading Kelle Hampton’s “Enjoying the Small Things” blog where she featured a story about the 3/21 Pledge. I had never heard of post-secondary education programs for people with Intellectual Disabilities and it filled my heart with so much optimism for Lucy’s future. Ruby’s Rainbow’s made me realize that I didn’t have to give up on any of my dreams for Lucy just because she is rockin’ an extra chromosome. The fact that there is an organization like Ruby’s Rainbow who believes so deeply in giving Lucy’s peers the tools they deserve to realize their full potential – it means everything!

We’re only 9 months into our journey, but Lucy has already taught us so much. We’ve learned to celebrate every victory, no matter how small – we genuinely savor every single one of Lucy’s milestones. She works twice as hard to do the things that come naturally to her neurotypical peers and she makes me proud to be her mom every day!