New newspaper blog

Told you I'd be doing a few of these in a row in the beginning! Here's the latest blog post...

The hardest thing for me in coming to terms with Zack's Down Syndrome diagnosis is telling others and their reactions. People mean well, this I know, but sometimes their responses are shocking and even a little hurtful.

Some of our family and community members never sent us a card congratulating us on our son but instead sent notes of sympathy or pity.

"We're so sorry to hear about Zack," they say. Or "Just heard the news and feel so bad for all of you. You're in my prayers."

We still have a brand new HEALTHY baby boy and it's hard for us to come across people who can't be excited about that. The Down Syndrome is definitely hard for anyone to deal with, we know that first hand,

My husband says that the one thing we have to remember is that people aren't all trained to react to this like professionals. In the end, it is what it is. He's our happy, healthy baby boy and others' opinions really don't matter.

I'm really close with my father, who raised me on his own for most of my childhood. He lives about four hours away and had called every day since Zack was born, I think just in hopes of hearing his grandson cry in the background. So when I had to call him to tell him the news, I was more scared to hurt him or let him down than anything else. His reaction was perfect though and calmed me in many difficult days since then.

"So?" he asked. And told me that I was strong and that everything happens for a reason. And then he changed the subject and asked about Zack.

If you're ever faced with difficult news from new parents, I would say this is my best advice: Remember that first and foremost, they are new parents who need help remembering to celebrate their bundle of joy some days.

Celebrate with them!