“To us she is perfect” Family celebrates surprise baby with Down syndrome
US mum Amber Rojas was mum to four kids and expecting her fifth, when she delivered an amazing little surprise.
I think a birth film is just what everyone needs to cheer them up on this yucky rainy day!Meet, Amadeus… This was baby number 5, their tie breaker, surprise gender AND 2nd VBAC. She had an even bigger surprise in store with a surprise down syndrome diagnosis but that didn't even matter because they were completely in love with her and all her chromosomes. Her big siblings helped encourage their mama by hanging special signs they made her all around the birth room and they could not WAIT to see if they were getting a brother or sister!
Posted by Birth Unscripted on Wednesday, 21 February 2018
Baby number five
Amber had her fifth child at a birthing centre, at 38 weeks, and only just managed to make it into the birthing pool before her baby appeared. The little face she looked into was not what she’d expected, but Amber told media outlet Love What Matters she was over the moon to meet her.
“Next thing I knew, my sweet baby was in my arms and I had so many emotions; and as soon as I looked down, I saw it. I saw it in my baby’s face. I thought to myself … my baby has Down syndrome.”
“As they were going over her exam, my midwife Angela seemed more serious than I had ever seen her. Almost nervous. She said, ‘I don’t want to worry you, but your daughter has a few Down syndrome markers.’”
“We are all obsessed with her”
This news came as a relief, because Amber instinctively knew this pregnancy was not like the others (although she says she knew nothing about Down syndrome at that time).
“In that moment I was like, ‘I knew it! I KNEW IT!’ I wasn’t going crazy! I knew something was different when I was pregnant, and then I immediately became a worker bee,” Amber explained.
“I wanted to know everything they knew about babies with Down syndrome so I could best care for my daughter, Amadeus. We didn’t care that she had Down syndrome because we were all obsessed with her and all her chromosomes!”
Down syndrome is the most common chromosome disorder, with one in every 700-900 babies born worldwide having an “extra” chromosome. People with Down syndrome have 47 chromosomes in their cells instead of 46. Down syndrome causes some characteristic physical features, health and development challenges and varying levels of intellectual disability. – Down Syndrome Australia
Heart work
Amber says that Amadeus’ breathing pattern in utero was different, and that she could feel her baby breathing very rapidly. It was discovered that her little girl had a heart defect, which was corrected with surgery after she was born.
“Toward the end of my pregnancy I could feel our baby breathe which was soooo different,” Amber told Love What Matters. “No one believed me, but if you have been pregnant as much as I have been, you learn a lot about your body. It was fast and consistent. Not like kicks or hiccups.”
A low heart rate post-birth prompted the family to head into hospital, where their new daughter was examined. Mum and baby spent the next week in hospital recovering and having tests.
“We love her fiercely”
Amber says their surprise little girl has lots in common with her four excited siblings.
“To us, she’s like all the other babies we have had! She needs milk. She cries when she’s wet or uncomfortable. She smiles when she sees us, and we love her fiercely!”
“God gave us Amadeus for a reason. Our family was going a million different ways and Amadeus has brought us together,” Amber told Love What Matters.
“To us she is perfect. We don’t see her diagnosis or her label — we see Amadeus Reign Rojas.”
