She had 4 weeks to decide 😳

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00:00When I was pregnant with Skylar, I did not love her. I didn't buy her no clothes. I almost didn't

00:04want to have a baby shower either. At just 20 weeks pregnant, Shay found out her daughter would

00:09be born with Down syndrome. The doctor didn't say it was a 50-50 chance. It was a very high

00:14chance that she would have Down syndrome. My OB and my high-risk doctor at the hospital both

00:19presented the option for abortion. After careful deliberation, she and her husband decided to keep

00:24the baby. Her dad and I were both feeling a bit embarrassed because this would be the first child

00:28on both sides of the family that is born with a disability. That's exactly why I didn't want to

00:33do a maternity shoot. I didn't feel like there was anything to be proud of. I was always in my head

00:37like, am I going to want to take pictures with her? Am I going to want to show her off? However,

00:41during her pregnancy, she saw signs of hope that her baby could be normal. I was getting ultrasounds

00:46every week my third trimester. I was going to the hospital twice a week. Once for the ultrasound,

00:52the next, like later on in the week, was for an NST. During all those ultrasounds, they said

00:56everything looked fine. Her heart looked okay. She didn't even have markers for Down syndrome.

01:01But after her baby was born, she immediately knew she had it. We could not believe it at all. We

01:06were in that NICU every single day, twice a day. We would be there for morning rounds and night rounds

01:11because we wanted to hear it at the doctor's mouth about our daughter because the nurses couldn't answer

01:15every question we had. The doctor's news was devastating. Her baby had two holes in her heart

01:20and soon after, her liver began to swell. Shay was heartbroken and was left feeling like a terrible

01:24parent. Not everybody can take care of a special needs child. It is mentally draining and it could

01:30be financially draining. It's a lot. My daughter has physical therapy, cardiologist appointment,

01:35hematologist appointment. Like she has all these appointments. Everybody cannot handle that stuff

01:41and it can be expensive. It's not for everybody. Weeks after staying in the hospital,

01:45her baby was finally cleared for discharge. Years later, her daughter is thriving.

01:58She'll be two in September. She can't walk yet. All she says is mama and dada. She crawls,

02:03she climbs up on things. You know, her and her brother chase each other around, bully each other.

02:07Even though she can't really talk, she understands a lot.

02:10Shay now uses her platform to help other moms who've struggled with guilt over their child's

02:14disability. I feel bad for having those feelings, but I'm more so making this video

02:18to let parents know that have a special needs child or pregnant with one that it's okay to

02:22have those feelings. It's normal. Whether you want to admit it or not, a lot of parents that have

02:26these feelings, but nobody speaks on it because they're afraid of what people might think or

02:30whatever. I am pro-choice. I don't judge any woman that decides to terminate a pregnancy due to a

02:35disability. At the end of the day, raising a child with a disability is very hard mentally. I want my

02:41page to be a safe space for women to come and talk to me if they have questions. I don't judge

02:45and I don't want anyone to feel alone or scared. My daughter is almost two. She's thriving. She's

02:49loved and she's just perfect. Like that's literally my bestie.

02:55Shay and her daughter are so strong and we wish them all the best.