After struggling with infertility after the birth of her son, this mom was thrilled to be pregnant yet again. When she found out she was going to have twins, she was even more shocked. Unfortunately, the delivery day was highly traumatic. Then, after finally being able to hold one of her daughters, she then found out that her twin sister had Down Syndrome. This is their story.
Mom Gives Birth To Twins And One Twin Sister Has Down Syndrome
Melonie and her husband Josh struggled to become pregnant again after their first son, Blake. They tried a variety of different treatments and nothing seemed to be working. Then finally, one day, it happened – Melonie was pregnant! The excitement, however, was quickly marred. On the morning of her first ultrasound, Josh called her urgently. Someone had broken into their house and stabbed their beloved German Shepard, Keira, to death.
No longer were they excited about their ultrasound appointment. In fact, Melonie didn’t even want to go. Their house was still under investigation, however, so they decided they might as well.
“I remember the ultrasound technician instructing me to relax and her having a hard time steadying the probe because I was shaking so bad. I looked at the screen and saw TWO flickering heartbeats. The tears that were already streaming down my face began to pour out even harder. This was the moment that Josh and I had waited so long for. I should have been crying tears of joy, but instead I was still crying tears over the loss of our first baby, our fur baby.”
A Challenging First Few Months
The first few months of her pregnancy were more challenging than most. They were bouncing around between friend’s houses, hotels, and AirBnBs while their home was still under investigation for two weeks. Then they were finally able to move into a new home. Finally, they could start getting excited about accepting twins into the family.
At their 25-week scan, the obstetrician noted that one of the fraternal twin girls had a prominent tongue. She insisted that there was no need to worry. Melonie decided to stay positive. Later, another scan didn’t show either girl with any abnormalities.
A Difficult Delivery
As often can occur with twins, Melonie went into labor early at only 32 weeks gestation. They drove to the nearest hospital that had a NICU, which was about an hour away. The doctor tried to administer an epidural, but for some reason, it wouldn’t take. Melonie had to deliver completely unmedicated.
“Bria was born at 9:32 a.m. and was swiftly whisked away to the NICU. Blair was born breach at 9:35 a.m. and was also taken right to the NICU. My beautiful girls were finally here!”
After she gave birth, however, she was still having severe contractions. She was hemorrhaging and losing a lot of blood.
“The anesthesiologist returned and got as much pain medicine into me as she safely could, but I still remember blacking out from the pain when the doctor had to manually extract a portion of Blair’s placenta that had been torn and left near the top of my uterus. This went on for about 4 hours. It was traumatic and not at all how I pictured the delivery of my girls.”
Finally, later that afternoon, Melonie got to go and meet her baby girls.
Read More: Mother who didn’t know she was pregnant has twins
Something Wasn’t Right
First, she spent some time with Bria, the first-born twin. Then, she went to see her twin sister Blair. Immediately, she knew something was wrong.
“The moment I saw her, I knew in my heart. There was that prominent tongue, rolling in and out of her little mouth.” Melonie wrote.
She and Josh requested that the doctor examine her again and then waited for the results. The doctor and nurse came into their room to deliver the news: Blair did, in fact, have Down Syndrome. Melonie was devastated and afraid. She wanted her new baby, a twin sister, to have a good life. She was also scared that she wouldn’t love her as much as she did Blake and Bria.
“I owe everything to Dr. Cheng that day. She took my hand and told me, ‘Blair will have a good life. Do you want to know what I saw when I assessed her? A beautiful baby girl. That’s it. She’s doing great off of the CPAP. I think you should go down, hold her and see for yourself.’”
Unending Joy
The following months were a roller coaster. As often is the case with children with Down Syndrome, Blair had several health complications. By November 2019, when she was just five months old, the little baby had already gone through three surgeries, including open-heart surgery. Since then, she has been developing quite well. Despite everything, Melonie says that working through the emotions of having her baby girl being diagnosed at birth was a surprisingly quick process.
“From the moment I held her, I accepted her, 47 chromosomes and all. Having a child with Down Syndrome is a blessing in disguise. She brings insurmountable joy to our family. She has opened our hearts to love deeper.”
If you are or will be a parent or guardian of a child with Down Syndrome, visit the National Down Syndrome Society for resources and support. To follow along further with Melonie and her family’s story, you can follow her on Instagram.
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