Nicola is a founding member of the DownsideupSA organisation and has been a source of strength, knowledge and support to parents of children with Down Syndrome, across South Africa. Her gorgeous son Zac has recently returned to school and has shown resilience, bravery and determination in adapting to a new normal. Thank you Nics for sharing your story so openly and honestly. “ To return or stay at home? Is it too great a health risk? Can my child really wear a mask all day and is that even good for him? Will he understand why he can no longer play with his friends or get near them? Will this ..read more

The favourite time in our household is bath time. It is the time at the end of a long day to unwind, wash away the dirt and grime of the day, regroup, and hop into bed fresh and clean. It is also a bonding time, where we catch up on each others day and reflect. We were so excited to be asked to test the keedo bath and body range and boy oh boy we were not disappointed. With super gentle formulae, colouring – book recyclable packaging and bright colours, the range is not only one hundred percent pretty but one hundred percent fun too. Kind and nourishing to delicate skin, the bath range consis ..read more

“Your child has a 99.9% chance of being born with Down syndrome. You have two choices, and you legally have a week to decide.” This was the sentence delivered to us over the phone by a neonatal specialist. A week earlier I’d had an amniocentesis performed to collect amniotic fluid to check the abnormalities in my unborn child. My gynae and the specialist were concerned about an under-developed nasal bone, a soft marker for Down syndrome. Our lives, in the utterance of two seemingly simple sentences, were changed forever. I will never forget my husband’s face, as he processed over the phone ..read more

The festive season is so often about excess. In an attempt to identify beneficial, meaningful and relevant toys for my children this Christmas, I reached out to Luke’s Occupational Therapist for her take on a wish list for Luke. Holly doesn’t know how lucky she is yet, as she is benefiting from the invaluable knowledge that I as a mom, have learnt and continue to learn through Luke’s therapies. The below educational toys are by no means specific to children with special needs. FOR PROMOTING BILATERAL AND FINE MOTOR SKILLS Bilateral co-ordination is the ability to use both the left and right s ..read more

“Where love and care is born” With a motto like the above, Keedo is passionate about caring for the environment and caring for our children. Their motto is not just a dream. Through their Keedo Cares Initiatives, they are driving meaningful and sustainable change, while using clothing, prints and swing tags to educate children about nature and about projects such as The Little Miracles Feeding Scheme and The Rhino Project. As if I didn’t love Keedo enough for their unique, stylish and comfortable clothing, the fact that their core motto and beliefs mirrors that of our own family and the ..read more

I am Varsha Govender and I am married to Sugen Govender who is my voice of reason. I am of Mom to 3 amazing Kids. Vetali is my firstborn who has down syndrome and she is blessed with twin siblings Yuvaan and Yuvika who are 22 months old. When did you become a mom for the first time? Our God Sent our miracle child came into our life in November 2014 after seven years of infertility. Two years prior, we had decided to make peace with our fate and stopped all the fertility treatment. I started to look into adoption process in January 2014 a few months later discovered I was pregnant. W ..read more

Who makes up your family? Bruce (dad, entrepeneur, adventurer, a little crazy, inventor and business owner), Sam (mom, bookkeeper, personal assistant and part time painter, passionate about getting the family to eat more fruit and veggies and cut out sugar!), and our three precious girls; Eva-Mae aka Eva Bug/Buggy (7yrs old), Noelle (5yrs old) and Scotty (16 months old). When did you become a mom for the first time? I first became a mom on Women’s Day! 9 August 2012 was the day Eva-Mae was born and we got to hold the teeny bundle of 2.6kgs that made us parents. We thought she was the most b ..read more

My name is Juanita Whiley. I’m married to Steven and we have our miracle baby, Quilla. My brother also has special needs and lives in a home for the mentally disabled not far from us. My mom lives close by to us too. I help support my brother and mother as well. When did you become a mom for the first time? Last year 30 June 2018. When did you find out your child’s diagnosis? We knew at 16 weeks already and for definite after our 20 week scan and visit to the feral specialist Dr Borat at Umhlanga Hospital in Feb 2018. What is the hardest part about being a mom of a child born with Down Syndro ..read more

My name is Sarah Rogers, I am an entreprenuer, business coach and market researcher. I adore my family, cooking and being creative! My family is made up of Gary (my incredible husband); Calla, my gorgeous 8 year old girl and Oliver my 6 year son, who happens to have Down Syndrome. When did you become a mom for the first time? My daughter was the best Valentines day gift a girl could ever get! She arrived on 14 February, 2011 at 11:40pm. She was born with deep rich beautiful red hair! When did you find out your child’s diagnosis?  We found out about Olivers diagnosis at our 6 month anato ..read more

I am Shireen, an educator by profession ,formerly from a small town of Newcastle and my husband Siddiq, an economist by profession, is formerly from the paradise island of Mauritius. We met at university and married and continued to persue our careers. After a year of marriage we began to plan a family and that continued in vain for 5 years until I sought the help of endless gynecologists, 11 to be precise. It was after 19 years of marriage that I woke up one day and felt a bit of nausea and realized my period was late. This was sometimes the norm in my life until I decided by the end of 5 da ..read more