Michelle

We found out we were pregnant with Eli, we were ecstatic.

Nikki

I had spent the last week just dreaming of all the things she would be.

Katie

The vision that we had, and what actually happened were two completely different things.

Amy

We heard about Emmy’s diagnosis at about 20 weeks.

Katie

I was at work, the phone rang. It was my OB.

Jen

I answered the phone. They said, "We have the results of your test."

Michelle

The geneticist, the very first thing he said was, “I’m so sorry.” So then I knew what was coming next. And he said, “The baby has Down syndrome.”

Amy

“I’m really so sorry. I'm really sorry.” She just kept saying that she's sorry. And I didn't really know what to say back.

Nikki

And I even asked her if she's had any patients that continue on with this pregnancy. And she said, “No.”

Michelle

“So you know, we can just go upstairs and take care of this right now.”

Jen

She wanted to ask if we had decided that we wanted to have an abortion.

Katie

They told us to prepare to terminate the pregnancy.

Nikki

I sat down on the kitchen floor by the sink and just cried and tried to process what I just heard. It might as well been that my baby had just died.

Amy

It's scary to think if the doctor delivers the news and is so sorry, is your husband going to be sorry? Are your parents going to be sorry? Is this going to be some terrible thing like it was thought of by the doctors?

Katie

If I had known then what I know now, it would be a completely different story.

When he was about two months old, he was just coming out of his second open heart surgery. Nurses going everywhere. Doctors were filling the room. You have all the chest tubes and what not. How can any child go through this and survive?

One of the main doctors there, he explained to us, “I know this doesn't look good. But this kid is a tank. He takes whatever we throw at him. And he keeps rolling.”

Jen

I started keeping a log of all the times I saw Reese change her part of the world, and I had to stop. I literally couldn't keep track.

Michelle

They told me that most likely he won't ever walk or talk. He’s going to be turning five in a couple days. He's going to start in kindergarten in the fall, he can already count to 15. He knows all his colors. He knows every single one of his letters. I did not think it would be like this.

Nikki

My son is just so proud of her. They go to the same school or she's fully included. My friend is a different person because of her. We are different people because of her. Our lives are not only good, but they’re better.

Amy

Everything she does, she works harder for and we cheer louder. She made our whole family come together in a way that no one else could. There's magic in that chromosome.

Michelle

As soon as the doctors said, “you want to go upstairs and take care of this?” That was the moment I realized, “Okay, I have to stand up for this baby.” I was just determined to show the world his worth.

Jen

I didn't want her to change. I wanted the world to change.

Interviewer

How would you give the diagnosis?

Amy

I'm here to tell you something. It might be hard to hear. But listen to everything I have to say. It looks like your baby's going to be born with Down syndrome.

Michelle

You may have heard the words “I’m sorry” connected to this diagnosis. I want you to know that there is absolutely nothing to be sorry about.

Katie

I know this may seem scary and unexpected, but they show you exactly what you need to see to be strong for them.

Michelle

You are so not alone. There is a giant community waiting to embrace you and love you and your baby. You can reach out to us and we will answer any questions you have.

Jen

Just in case no one said it already, congratulations.

Amy

Welcome to the lucky few. There's going to be challenges on this journey, just as there would be for any child.

Katie

But you will not want to trade this for anything in the world.