She is a person...

not a diagnosis! I know most people who read this will nod their head because we stress this with most people we encounter.  We always emphasize that our child is a "child with Down syndrome" and not a Downs child.  You wouldn't approach a child with cancer and refer to him/her as the cancer child.  Everyone wants their child to be treated as an individual...not their diagnosis.

The day after Hailey was born I remember I did a lot of rambling.  I think the thoughts were coming so fast and so random that I had to get them out...I didn't even care if anyone was listening (or if they even wanted to!).  I remember saying over and over that I wanted her to be Hailey...who happens to have Down syndrome like her brothers have brown hair.  I don't want Down syndrome to define her.

Our biggest obstacle seems to be in the medical field.  We have had a few professionals say "Downs children".  It is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me.  Depending on my mood and how the appointment is going, I will sometimes correct them.  I'm going to be honest, sometimes I don't have the energy to have the confrontation.

In the mail today, I had two written evaluation summaries from Hailey's visit to the Down syndrome clinic.  I was just skimming through it because we have received one from each individual in the appointment.   They all basically start the same, covering her history, current strengths and then weaknesses.  Some of it, I understand and some of it, puzzles me.  I was glancing through the doctor's review of Hailey's physical traits.  After her height and weight, I read "Very pretty little girl with blue eyes", "delightful, attractive little girl"  I cried.  It wasn't just a trickle of a tear or two.  I sobbed.  Yes, I do think she is beautiful too.  It just caught me off-guard.  They didn't just see her as her diagnosis...they didn't just see her having Down syndrome.  They truly saw her as Hailey. 

I want the world to view her as Hailey...I want the world to see there is more to every individual than the packaging that is on the outside.

As you can see with the double-chin and round cheeks...she's not missing many meals :-)

I love it when babies sleep like this!