Couple’s adoption process is put into ‘hyper speed’ following the birth of baby Jaxson
As part of our Mums Who Inspire series, we are sharing Holly and Alex Graham's journey to adopting baby Jaxson. If you would like to be featured in the series, email mary.byrne@sheologydigital.com.
As a young child, Holly Graham had a friend called Mandy, who happened to have Down syndrome.
They were neighbours and Holly loved being around her: “She was fun, carefree, and easy to be with.”
It was this friendship that started Holly’s desire to care for a child with Down syndrome, and is the reason why, along with her wife Alex, she decided to adopt a child with DS.
“I had always made my desire clear to Alex, and I guess I could say she was always ‘on board-ish’," Holly explained.
"We had settled on the agreement that if one day, down the road when we had a bunch of money stock piled away (yeah right) and we could afford for me to be home full-time for at least five years, then we can adopt a child with DS.
“I think in Alex’s mind she knew this wouldn’t actually come to fruition and I was appeased in the meantime. Or so she thought…”
Fast-forward to 2014, seven months after they started the process, the couple became parents to Jaxson, a six-week-old baby boy with DS.
“Birthmom met us at the door with tears in her eyes, she immediately hugged us and thanked us for wanting to take her precious baby…” Holly wrote on her blog Down with Jax of the moment they met Jaxson’s birth mum for the first time.
“WOW, this was for real!
“We all sat down, and with the guidance of our social worker we got to know the birth mom and she got to know us.
“We showed her pictures of our life, since she did not have our family profile to look at.
“Then it was time… she brought out her camera and showed us pictures of Jaxson… I will NEVER forget that moment – I just started crying, he was SO beautiful and perfect!
“After an hour or so it was time to wrap up our meeting, the next day [the] birth mom was taking us to the hospital to meet OUR SON…”
The couple were in and out of hospital for the first six months of Jaxson’s life, including when he had to have open-heart surgery at just 11 weeks.
He was also diagnosed with a severe form of sleep apnoea and endured other minor complications – but Holly and Alex have been with him every step of the way.
In a bid to spread awareness and the sheer joy of being a mum to a child with DS, the couple have shared the first five days with their son on YouTube, and it is a truly a beautiful video.
Enjoy.
If you know someone who has done something inspirational or you have your own story that you would like to see featured in our Mums Who Inspire series, email mary.byrne@sheologydigital.com and we'll be in touch.