At 22 weeks old, beautiful baby Molly Johnson can already boast hundreds of Facebook fans and a modelling job. To say that she is loved and adored by everyone who has touched her life is an understatement.
“Instantly, everyone who meets her falls in love with her. She is the warmest, cutest, most loving baby ever,” writes doting mum, Rhona, on Molly’s personalised social media account.
Molly was born last September, and diagnosed with Down syndrome. And, while Rhona was understandably upset to begin with, Molly has brought untold joy to her family’s lives.
Speaking to MummyPages, Rhona explained that she first became aware that Molly could have the condition during a nine-week scan.
“They picked up on a heart problem, and that’s highly associated with Down syndrome. So, we kind of knew the whole way through that there was a high risk that she would have it,” she said.
While a part of Rhona ‘grieved for the daughter she thought she would have’, as soon as Molly was born, she realised that she actually had ‘twice the daughter she wanted’.
“You get to do much more girly things, because she’ll be a little girl for longer,” explained Rhona, who also has two sons.
While Rhona may have initially worried about Molly’s future, her understanding of life with Down syndrome has given her a totally different perspective on the condition.
“There’s nothing wrong with your child – all it is, is a learning difficulty…So, she’s going to do everything the same as every other child, but she’ll just do it a bit slower,” said Rhona.
While little Molly is actually far more ‘placid’ than her older siblings, she is dealing with her own health battle right now.
Born with a heart problem, the tot is due to undergo open-heart surgery in Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital, in Crumlin.
In spite of this, Molly remains ‘such a happy little baby’ – which is what inspired Rhona to set up her Facebook page in the first place!
Besotted by her daughter, Rhona found herself posting a steady stream of photos of her daughter to her personal Facebook page every day.
“I thought everyone would be sick of looking at her, so I set up her own Facebook page – just so I could put up hundreds of pictures of her a day, if I wanted to!” joked Rhona.
Little by little, however, Molly’s page grew into something so much more – parents and expectant couples began to follow, inspired by Rhona’s journey with her daughter.
“I’ve had a huge response from other parents who are either pregnant, saying, ‘Thanks very much, it’s great to see what’s ahead of us.’ And loads of parents who have had kids going, ‘This is what’s ahead of you.’ Which is all great,” she said.
Rhona takes great inspiration, herself, from the impact the page is having on others whose lives are touched by Down syndrome.
With Molly just snapped up for her first modelling job, for a baby accessory range, it seems we can expect great things from this little one!
