Love is a Choice

We adopted a baby with Down syndrome last year, and this is the story of how we became a family.

As a teenager, I always wanted to give a baby girl a home and my name. I felt deeply for children who didn’t have a family to care for them. I strongly believe that kids are just kids who need love and care, so why not adopt one who truly needs a family?

Even before getting married, I shared this desire with my husband. He accepted it with equal enthusiasm, and we decided that our first child would come to us through adoption. At the time, we hadn’t considered adopting a child with special needs, but destiny had other plans for us.

“Kids are just kids who need love and care, so why not adopt one who truly needs a family?”

We were living in the USA when we first encountered children with Down syndrome. Having no real understanding of the condition, we began reading and learning about it online. After nearly two to three months of research, discussions, and reflection, we couldn’t find a single reason not to adopt a baby with Down syndrome.

As Indian citizens living in the USA on work visas, we were not eligible to adopt through CARA (Central Adoption Resource Authority of India). Our only option was to return to India. It was a difficult decision, we wouldn’t be able to leave the country for a couple of years after the adoption, but it was absolutely worth it.

Adoption is not a last resort; it is a deliberate choice to love without conditions.

After extensive paperwork, we registered for adoption, followed by a home study a few weeks later. There is no waitlist for children with special needs, so instead of waiting for referrals from CARA (which can take a long time), we actively began looking for a baby with Down syndrome.

The next step was breaking the news to our family. In India, adoption is often seen as a last resort when biological options are exhausted, and adopting a child with special needs is often viewed as a definite no. Our parents shared these common concerns. We chose to move forward with what we felt was right, rather than spending time trying to convince them.

One look at her smile and expressive eyes, and we knew, this was our baby.

That’s when we found our baby girl in the disability section of the CARA website, a 15-month-old with the most beautiful smile and expressive eyes. One look at her picture, and we knew she was our child. We couldn’t wait to hold her. She was in Bhopal and had been abandoned at just six months old. After reviewing her reports, we reserved her without wasting a minute.

We travelled to Bhopal and spent hours with our little girl, simply admiring her smile and movements. We signed the acceptance letter the very same day. Our biggest concern was her physical health and developmental delays. Though she was 15 months old, she looked more like a four-month-old, weak and underweight.

Since she was legally free for adoption, she came home with us within 45 days of our registration.

We named her Veda, which means Knowledge. As she belongs to both of us, she carries both our surnames. Our daughter’s name is Veda Baluni Kaktwan.

The first six months were filled with medical check-ups, legal formalities, and regular physiotherapy, as Veda has low muscle tone and ligament laxity.

She also has myopia (near-sightedness) along with nystagmus and wears glasses, which makes her the centre of attraction whenever we step out. We celebrate every small achievement and milestone, each one is precious.

It has been over a year since Veda came home, and the transformation has been incredible. She is now much stronger and healthier than the little girl who first entered our lives. Veda is cheerful, loving, and incredibly patient. There is never a dull moment in our home with her around.

There was not a single reason we could find to say no to adopting a child with Down syndrome.

She transitioned from Bhopal to Delhi with remarkable ease and accepted us wholeheartedly, without us having to make much effort. Still, we remain mindful of her past. By the age of 15 months, she had already experienced so much, from abandonment, to moving through different places and unfamiliar faces, to finally choosing us as her parents.

We are deeply thankful to her for accepting us and loving us unconditionally.

Today, Veda is an expressive, happy, fussy little girl. She loves music, greets everyone with a smile, loves without limits, and can give us a tough time with her stubborn streak, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We love her more than anything.