Support for SIL

boymamaco

My SIL just found out that she will be having a baby with Downs later this Fall. I would love to be supportive to her and the rest of the family. Any suggestions and/or resources you can suggest? Thanks in advance for your insight and suggestions.

Florak8

I am sorry you have not gotten any responses yet. My LO does not have Downs, but my friend's LO does. They are very involved in the Downs association for their metro area. It has been a HUGE resource for them. They have made some amazing friends who also have Downs kids. We do the Buddy Walk with them every year.

She may go through a grief process, grieving for the typical child she had in her mind when she thought about having a baby. That is pretty normal. Let her talk, but don't push too hard.

She can and should still do all the fun things you do when expecting a baby. This is not a tragedy, just a different parenting experience. Be excited for her and help her enjoy  mommyhood, but also be empathetic when she needs to be sad, too.

I will tell you that the love I have for my special needs child is almost overpowering. He has blessed us more than we ever imagined.

Kudos to you for being a sweet SIL.  

teta1975

I myself have a 3 month old baby boy named Holden who was diagnosed with Down Syndrome at birth.  It was a shock to us and we very much went through a greiving process for a couple weeks which is all very normal  Part of it was what we thought was to be our perfect child was not...but we soon realized he is perfect, perfectly made for us by GOD.  You worry about the struggles that he might have, but we had to stop worrying about what may come and live for today.  I would highly reccomend visiting the PDSSN website, it has given me a lot of GREAT information and alot of hope.  Children born with DS can lead normal lives, they may just need more assistance getting there.  I would also suggest reading Welcome to Holland, it's from a mother who has a child with DS.

 

My son has been one of the best gifts in my life, along with my daughter and I would not trade him for anything.  He was made perfectly just for us!

 

Good luck to your SIL!

boymamaco

Thank you to both of you for your insights. I really appreciate it! I will pass along the info to her if/when she wants it. We are all staying positive for her and her family (they have three kids already.) I'm sure it will be a big adjustment, and maybe a bit scary since its new and different than her previous experiences.

Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you!