Amber Rojas was excited to welcome a new 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦, but she realized almost immediately that her new𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 had Dᴏᴡɴ sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ and would need special care.
The family, which lives in Cedar Hill, Texas, includes 10-year-old Xavier, 8-year-old twins Kaydence and Zayden, and toddler Evra, who was about to turn 2. Amber Rojas, her husband Fernando, and their four 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren felt ready – well, as ready as you can ever be – for 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 number five.
When Amber Rojas became pregnant for the fourth time, she decided not to find out the sᴇx of the 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 and make it a surprise for everyone. With two boys and two girls, it was okay to have a little uncertainty, although everyone seemed sure it would be a boy. But she felt that this 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 would be special, even though the pregnancy was normal.
“Since this was my fourth and last pregnancy and my fifth 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥, I gave 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 in literally the most different ways, and I wanted to leave at least some kind of surprise,” said the mother of many 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥ren. “We wanted to wait for something special, especially since we did not plan for this 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 at all.”
But when Amadeus Reign Rojas, nicknamed Ami, was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧, the mother’s intuition was confirmed, as she immediately realized that her new𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 daughter had Dᴏᴡɴ sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ.
Five minutes after giving 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 in the water, Amber saw her new𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 daughter Amadea and immediately realized that her suspicions were justified. “When I picked her up out of the water, I could literally see it, I could see it in her face,” said Rojas. “I looked down and was like, ‘Oh my gosh, our 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 has Dᴏᴡɴ sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ.’”
Dᴏᴡɴ sʏɴᴅʀᴏᴍᴇ is caused by ᴛʀɪsᴏᴍʏ 21, or three sets of chromosomes where there are normally two. This can result in certain physical characteristics like a flatter facial profile, an upward slant of the eyes, a deep crease in the palm of the hand, and low muscle tone.
Rojas was “super excited,” because her last 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦 had been a girl, and she “was so grateful it was another girl so they could grow up together.” Finally, the midwife did let her know that they should take Ami to the hospital for further evaluation.
A photographer was present at the 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 who captured all the emotions of the mother. But she was not upset at all because she was happy about the 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 of a new member of the family.
