The siblings of special needs children are quite special. Absolutely accepting and totally loving, from birth, someone who is different mentally, and has a different way of seeing the world, is a wonderful trait. It's a trait I wish there was another way of getting, but there isn't. And it does involve a degree of not having it fantastically easy.
What having a Down's syndrome child isn't - and I feel very strongly about this - is a tragedy. All those pregnancy books you read when you are expecting refer to Down's syndrome as if it were the worst possible outcome, and it's not.
The children break all my jewelry, so everything I wear is cheap - from Topshop or Dorothy Perkins.
Once you have a Down's syndrome child, you can't conform. In a way, you're free.
When I got pregnant with my first child I gained nearly 5st. I did a bit of pretending: "I'm just really small, so I just put on a lot of weight when I'm pregnant." That is true, but I also ate a lot of cake.
