The Journey, Part 1

"The Lord said to him, 'Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?'"

Exodus 4: 11


It is my intention each Friday recount another part of the journey Tara, Laura and I have been on from the very begining to now. For those who have been "in the loop" from the get go, much of this will be familiar. For those who have only just discovered Tara, Laura and myself, this will be a chance to see how we got to where we are.

It is my goal with this series to show to other new, or expecting, parents that have been given a Down Syndrome diagnosis that they are not alone. I am hoping that as they see the journey that we are going through that they will see that there is a great community out there ready and willing to love them, support them and encourage them. It is my hope that readers of this blog will post comments about their own journeys in the comments section for everyone to read.

That being said, let's get started.


On Wednesday November 5, 2008 Tara and I walked into Dr. Meltzers office very nervous, excited and scared. You see a couple of weeks earlier Tara had taken a home pregnancy test and it had come back positive. In fact between the time of that first test and going to Dr. Maltzer's office she had taken an additional one or two (or more) just to make sure.

Dr. Meltzer walked in to the exam room and asked Tara to get up on the table. We confrmed why we were all there, and he began the ultra sound. It did not take the doctor long to locate our very small baby. He took some quick measurements, and said everything looked great. He projected a due date of June 27, 2009 (I think). He then said he would like to see us again in a couple of weeks, and he gave us a copy of the ultra sound. Dr. Meltzer also let us know that he no longer did deliveries, but that he would have a list of doctors that he would refer us to when we came in for our next visit.

The previous two weeks had been murder for us. We had not told anyone, and it was killing us. We had our mothers meet at Tara's mom's house. My dad and step-mother were out of town. I would have to tell them by phone. So at 9:00 pm we arrived at my mother-in-law's house and handed both our mother's gift bags. My mother did not realize that the picture in the frame that we gave her had a copy of that first ultra sound. Tara stood back and waited for a minute while my mother-in-law realized who it was she was looking at. Once the reality sunk in, there was much hugging and congratulations going around.

I got on the phone and called dad while the others were unwraping their gifts. He and my step-mother were out to dinner at a restraunt. I suggested that her take my step-mother to a quiet part of the restaurant. I then chided them for being out of town for a moment. I then told them Tara and I were pregnant. They were very excited. I also let them know that we had a picture waiting for them when they got back in town.

That night I sent out an email to all of our friends and family letting them know our incredible news. I also sent a copy of the ultra sound. I seem to recall that I might have made some sort of bold statement baout the sex of the baby. I was wrong.

Two weeks later we met with Dr. Meltzer one last time so he could check Laura again. He said everything continued to look great. He handed us a list of doctors and we parted ways. It was kind of sad. Tara had been seeing him for many years and we both realy liked him. I remember thinking that I was not sure I wanted to try to get used to a new doctor in a short amount of time. Boy did we not know what we were getting ourselves into with the doctor we chose. But that will be for the next post (killer tease huh).


Below you will see copies of Laura's first ultra sounds. Even then we thought Laura was the most beautiful baby there ever was. An opinion that we still hold to. We cannot deny the truth.