Journí's Joy | Her Story
FIRST CAME THE SURPRISE. THEN CAME JOURNÍ.
Finding out I was pregnant with twins was shocking enough.
Then came the tests.
As my pregnancy progressed, screenings and scans began showing signs that one or both of my babies could have Trisomy 21, also known as Down syndrome. Twin A—Journí—showed the most common markers.
I cried.
Not because I didn't want her.
I was afraid I wouldn't know how to give her everything she needed.
I was already a mother of three, preparing to become a first-time twin mom. Suddenly, my mind was filled with questions.
Would she have serious health problems? Would she need surgeries? How many specialists and therapy appointments would we have? Would a daycare know how to properly care for her? How delayed would her milestones be?
I didn't know what our lives would look like.
Then Journí arrived.
And I quickly learned that wondering what Journí would be capable of was probably the wrong question.
This little girl was going to show me herself.
WELCOME TO THE JOURNÍ JOURNEY
From the beginning, Journí did things differently.
When she was born, her extremely low muscle tone made her so floppy that I was terrified to hold her. I joked that I'd somehow given birth to Flubber. 😂
But there were real reasons to be afraid.
Journí failed her car-seat test because her oxygen levels would drop. Instead of coming home with her twin sister, she remained in the NICU.
For 12 days, I waited to bring my baby home.
And when I finally could, she came with an oxygen tank, monitoring equipment, and a mama who had to learn how to remain calm while machines screamed warnings about oxygen levels and heart rates.
It was overwhelming.
But Journí?
Apparently, she had other plans.
HER WAY. HER TIME.
I learned pretty quickly that Journí was a little bougie. 😂
Formula by itself? Absolutely not. It better have some breast milk mixed in.
Those oxygen tubes that were supposed to stay in her nose? She disagreed. Tape them down all you wanted—she was taking them out.
She began setting her own path before she could even sit up.
Concerns about her heart eventually resolved. In less than two months, she no longer needed oxygen because she was breathing well on her own. Again and again, her results showed us that the challenges we prepared ourselves for wouldn't necessarily define her story.
And that has continued as she's grown.
Journí reaches milestones in Journí fashion.
Why crawl normally when you can army crawl using nothing but your arms?
And when she finally decided to use those knees, she'd crawl with everything she had—somehow going 100 miles per hour while barely moving from the same spot. 😂
Now she's learning to walk.
A few steps became a few more. Then farther. Then more confidently.
Her way. Her time. Her victory.
AND THEN THERE'S THE JOY. 💙💛
The name isn't accidental.
Journí can light up a room—or apparently a dark soul—with one smile.
She's also capable of leaving people completely bewildered by flexibility that makes me wonder whether I actually gave birth to Flubber the Contortionist.
She's funny. Feisty. Nosey. Smart. Stubborn. Affectionate. Dramatic.
And competitive as hell when food is involved. 😂
She'll push past her “big” little twin sister, Sía, to make sure she's first in line. While Sía might believe in reasonable bites, Journí has been known to approach meals with both hands and a commitment to efficiency.
Her own drink is too cold?
Unacceptable.
Sía's cup containing the exact same drink at the exact same temperature?
Suddenly exquisite.
She'll steal something from Sía and hold it away from her while attempting her getaway.
She'll laugh and immediately straighten her face like nothing happened.
She thinks it's hilarious to call me Dada instead of Mama, despite being perfectly capable of saying “thank you.”
Tell her no and you may get tears.
Pop her hand?
You'll receive a side-eye that may shorten your life expectancy.
And if she's interested in what you're doing, personal space no longer exists. She will get close enough to study your pores.
That's Journí.
Not a diagnosis.
Not a list of potential limitations.
Journí.
WHAT JOURNÍ TAUGHT ME
Having Sía beside her has been one of the greatest gifts.
Journí watches her twin. She learns from her. She follows her lead—and then, because she's Journí, figures out her own version.
There may be things she takes a little longer to accomplish.
But raising her has changed the way I understand progress.
She has taught me to appreciate the tiny wins that many of us don't even notice.
Holding herself up.
Crawling.
Standing.
One step.
Then another.
Then another.
Something seemingly small can become a huge victory before you realize you're watching it happen.
Journí has taught me patience.
She has taught me grace and has become my favorite homie with the extra chromie.
And she reminds me every day that different timing doesn't make the destination any less worth celebrating.
WHY JOURNÍ'S JOY EXISTS
I was fortunate to have help while learning how to care for Journí.
There are still moments when I need it.
But I also know there are families raising children with Down syndrome who don't have access to the same support—or who simply need a little more help than they're receiving.
Medical appointments don't stop the bills.
Therapy doesn't buy groceries.
Resources don't always cover transportation, childcare, missed work, equipment, everyday expenses, or the hundred other things a family may be balancing.
And sometimes the support a family needs doesn't fit neatly into a program.
That's why I created Journí's Joy.
Through the Journí's Joy Family Fund, 10% of every Journí's Joy product purchase is set aside to provide direct financial assistance to a family raising a child with Down syndrome.
The family decides where that assistance will help them most.
Because sometimes helping a child thrive starts with giving their family a little more room to breathe.
A LITTLE EXTRA. 💙💛
There's another piece of Journí's story that makes this initiative even more special to me.
Her middle name is Armita.
She carries the name of her great-grandmother—the woman behind Cookie's Corner.
So apparently, being one tough Cookie runs in the family. 🩶
But Journí gets to carry that legacy forward in her own way.
By growing.
By learning.
By surprising us.
By doing things on her own schedule.
By being completely, unapologetically herself.
And hopefully, through Journí's Joy, by helping make the road a little easier for another family while showing the world that a Down syndrome diagnosis doesn't tell you everything a child will become.
I once wondered how different life with Journí would be.
I was right about one thing:
She changed it.
Just not in the ways I was afraid of.
JOURNI'S JOY. A LITTLE EXTRA MAKES LIFE EXTRAORDINARY. 💙💛
