After A Couple Learned Their Baby Had Down Syndrome, They Made A Selfless Adoption Decision

Andrew and Alison Sweetman were shocked when they were told that their baby daughter had Down syndrome. The couple wasn’t sure how they would handle the genetic disorder. Then, after their daughter, Rosie turned two years old. They made a huge decision that would change their lives forever. The Swetman’s Hill from the Arkansas town of Cabot, they both attended, Wichita baptist university and married in 2011.

andrew owns the internet company riveter solutions and works as a technical specialist for Apple. While Alison is a blogger and hosts a podcast called, oh so extra. When the couple learned that they were expecting their first child, they were living in China while teaching there, but at one of Allison’s prenatal scans, they received some worrying news. The Sweatmans were told that their unborn daughter had a heart defect, but that wasn’t all their baby. Also had Down syndrome a chromosomal disease that causes delays in development and intellectual impairment.

The Sweatmans decided to move back to America to cope with the diagnosis which they admitted was a lot to take. At 37 weeks, Alison gave birth to a little girl named Rosie via emergency c-section over the following year. Rosie battled many health problems and spent lots of time in hospital. Among other things, the infant went through heart and skull surgeries. It was so hard with Rosie at first, because we were not able to focus on really any of the things.

A typical parent gets to focus on Alison said to news site sites. We weren’t able to relish the first year of life because we were completely focused on very, very serious health issues, and one year later, the parents would make a drastic decision. Rosie still struggles with some medical problems, including seizures, but her mom and dad realized that Down syndrome wasn’t going to stop their daughter from living a happy life. There has been an improvement all around and for the first time we felt like we were able to just enjoy her and celebrate her Alison said Alison continued. The biggest thing was that we had seen our daughter overcome so many obstacles and so many great perils that we knew something like Down syndrome.

This extra chromosome was no longer scary to us. There was a time that the diagnosis was scary and hard for us to hear, but after seeing everything, Rosie had gone through in the first two years of her life, we opened ourselves up to it Andrew added that their attitudes towards their daughter’s genetic disorder changed. When I first learned of Rosie’s complications, I felt intense anxiety and fear. He said if I could send my former self a message at that moment it would say: take a deep breath, she’s so much more than her diagnosis. The technical specialist explained that the couple found out everything they could about the condition after that it became less daunting after we learned so much about Rosie and her medical complexities.

We realized that heart and brain problems were scary to us, but Down syndrome wasn’t what Andrew said, and the Sweatmans resolved that they’d love to give their daughter a sibling. The couple then decided to do an incredibly selfless thing, having always been interested in adoption. The Sweatmans realized that they could give a happy home to another child with Down syndrome. That’s when they met Beau. The little boy is four years old.

Now first met the couple through a friend. Although his parents loved him, they knew that they wouldn’t be able to cope with the demands of having a child with Down syndrome, so they decided to find another family to adopt him. In November 2017, Andrew Allison and bo all got together at a Legoland theme park. Right away, they knew that they wanted to take him in they adopted the little boy, so that Rosie, who turned 3 in August 2018, could have an older brother. When I first held Beau, there were so many emotions.

I knew him becoming. My son meant his birth mom, sacrificing greatly for us to have him in our family. Alison said we had an instant connection with him, especially my husband. Both the couple’s children are non-verbal they’re able to communicate with each other. However, in a way that touches their parents, hearts Alison stated that being Rosie and Beau’s mother continues to be an incredibly rewarding experience.

It’s most rewarding when I see our kids working so incredibly hard for milestones and see them surpass our expectations of them. She said it makes all the really hard days worth it. Allison Nell regularly shares family updates on Instagram and her blog Ally’s whole life. She explained that having two kids with Down syndrome can be extremely difficult, but is always worth it. It’S not an easy journey, but it’s certainly a privilege to be a part of she said and the family has grown used to the gays of strangers when they are out together.

We are just like a lot of other families, but I recognize that we are also incredibly different from the outside. Looking in Allison revealed, we do get people staring at us or asking questions, but it is just a part of our life when the family story was posted online. In September 2018, it quickly went viral and was shared over twenty thousand times and commenters were quick to voice their support for the family. What a wonderful heartwarming story! God bless!

You all! One person wrote social media user pamela Anders added very, very special children and parents. Wishing you a lifetime of love, joy, and happy times and Donna k cooper agreed what an awesome family all the best for a wonderful life for your two beautiful children they are so blessed. However, it seems that not everyone was so supportive. Alison confessed that her family was the subject of some cruel online comments.

She added, though, that it’s only further motivating her to be a voice for her kids and other Down syndrome. Sufferers differently, abled individuals are worthy of life, respect, inclusion, and everything good in the world. She shared most of all. The couple are glad to be able to give back by providing a loving home to Beau. We always knew we wanted to adopt so when it came time to think seriously about it, it didn’t make sense for us to rule out any potential matches based on chromosomes, especially since there is such a need for special needs.

Adoption Andrew said, when we thought about that, we realized we could and should seek out a child with Down syndrome.