31 for 21: #23 Down Syndrome Look Alike

So my bloggy friend over at The Chronicles of Ellie Bellie Bear wrote a great blog on the search words "Down Syndrome Look Alike"...and I am SO laughing over my mental blip on it.  I have gotten those search words on this blog on more than one occasion, and for some reason I had it in my head that it meant doppleganger, like kids with Downs look like so-and-so or that so-and-so looked like they had Downs or something.  I totally don't know what I thought...just not that all kids with Downs looked like each other.  Because they SO don't.  They favor their families SO much more than each other, I think!!

And that brings up a thought of advice.

A lot families new to Down Syndrome struggle with seeing past that bonus chromosome.  That's all they see.  They see their newly adjusted lives through that chromosome.  They see their future through that chromosome.  They see their child through that chromosome like it separates them, somehow.

New parents, I encourage you to look past it.  It means so very little to your family bond.  Whatever that extra chromosome brings, it will not compromise their beauty or their family characteristics! Point out the ways your child looks like you! Do not hold back as if comparing them to your family members tells them that they look like they have Downs...it brings a closeness and pride in family similarities, it lessens the impact of that chromosome...you see less of the differences, and more of the sameness...

Friends and family, of new babies, point these out, yourselves!!  Tell them how beautiful the babies are!  The features you fear?  They are beautiful!!  The elfin eyes?  The tiny pixie noses?  The cute little tilted ears?  The sprite sized fingers?  You KNOW you love them!!  Right??  I don't care what they are evidence of, they are adorable!!  Enjoy them!!  Not everybody gets them, you know!!