Letter to Family and Friends

When your baby is born with Trisomy 18, it can be difficult to know how to tell family and friends. Here is a sample letter that you can send to your family and friends to announce the birth of your baby with Trisomy 18 and also let them know that you want them to see and appreciate the gift of your child's life. Feel free to copy this note, fill in the blanks, and change it to meet your needs.
 
Dear Family and friends,
 
Our beloved daughter, _________ (name), was born on _________ (date) at _________ (time). She weighed _________ (weight) and was _________ inches long.
 
(Describe your child here.) For example: Bridget is a beautiful little girl. She has dark hair and dark blue eyes and long legs. She has a very mellow, sweet personality and you feel an immediate peace when you are around her.

We've discovered that _________ (name) has Trisomy 18, a rare (1 in 3000) disorder that is associated with very short life spans. (You can learn more about it at: http://www.trisomy18bridgeofhope.org and http://www.trisomy18.org). Our child has beaten the odds to make it to birth, as 95% of kids with Trisomy 18 don't. She is truly a miracle.
 
Most that make it to birth live from a few hours to a few months with the average lifespan of about 10 days. We are taking things one hour at a time. About 5-10% of kids that make it to birth live to be a year old. Of these, some live several years and in very rare cases, to be older than a decade.  

Thanks for your love and support. We are so blessed to have it and are amazed at the love and generosity of all of you. 
 
_________ (name) is a gift, a child made especially for us, and we are meant to be her parents. We are sad and grieving, and at the same time experiencing a depth of joy we have never known before, just being with her is such a gift and she is an amazing little girl. We have already gotten a few lifetimes of love from her in such a short time. I never knew that was possible. It is the best feeling being with her and seeing her yawn, smile, or look at us.
 
We really want to celebrate her life with us and appreciate the beautiful person that she is. We know that the time to grieve will come...  for now we want everyone to share in our joy of having her here with us and her unique purpose for being here.
 
Please share in our joy and celebrate her life with us. Please tell us congratulations as you would any other parent of a new baby. She is our precious child, a true treasure, and we are so proud of her. We believe that every life changes the world forever and she has truly changed ours for the better.
 
I know that some of you have expressed wanting to help... please pray for us, that we continue to enjoy each minute with _________ (name) and bask in the sunshine of her. We will have more practical needs in the future, I'm sure, and I'll let you know when we do. 
 
Thanks again for your love, support, and prayers. I'll write more later. Please feel free to share this information with friends that I might have missed.
 
Lots of love,