Hannah shared the news with Brian when he was home on leave for Christmas.
"I told him of everything that had happened since the day he left from her heart issues to the amnio and all the things in-between," she said. "When I told him she would have Down syndrome his response was so sweet. He said: 'OK' very nonchalantly. I told him that she wouldn't be 'normal.' At the point, he laughed and said, 'Well, of course she won't be normal. Neither one of us are normal. Normal is boring anyways.'"
"I told him that she wouldn't be 'normal.' At the point, he laughed and said, 'Well, of course she won't be normal. Neither one of us is normal. Normal is boring anyways.'"
Fast-forward a few months, and Hannah welcomed their new daughter Adaline into the world. "Her heart healed itself in utero, and other than some minor issues at birth, we have been blessed with a healthy little girl," said Hannah. "We were only in the NICU for a week."
But it was a difficult few days, regardless: "My advice to any mothers in a similar situation would be to allow yourself to feel all the feels," she said. "Cry when you need it. Ask for help when you need it. If you have to get angry, then get angry. Motherhood cracks open your soul and makes you feel things you didn't know you could. Don't suppress your feelings. Feel them, acknowledge what they are, and move on. Don't let fear rob you of your joy."
