Little Delaney Skye Ott-Dahl is just like any other two-year-old, and loves playing with Barbies and video games.
But the story behind her birth couldn't be less ordinary. When Delaney's biological mother was two months pregnant, doctors advised her to terminate the pregnancy.
Delaney has Down's syndrome, and surrogate Andrea Ott-Dahl was warned the baby would likely be born blind, autistic and with a severe heart condition.
Andrea, who lives in San Francisco, had been contracted by a same-sex couple to carry the baby girl.
“The intended mothers didn’t want the baby and told us it was their choice to terminate and their choice alone,” Andrea’s partner Keston told People.
“I told them, ‘The decision is whether you want to keep this child or not, but it’s not your decision whether or not to terminate this child’.”
Andrea and Keston decided to let fate take over. "We decided if she was meant to pass away, as the doctors predicted, she would on her own, but we wouldn't take her chance at life away," Andrea wrote on her family's website.
Before long, Andrea decided she wanted to help the unborn baby along. She began researching natural ways to help develop the baby's brain function. She took supplements for brain development and watched countless videos about living with Down's syndrome.
Even though she had been threatened with a lawsuit from the intended mothers, Andrea gave birth to baby Delaney Skye in July 2013.
The child required a heart operation when she was just three months old, but since then, she's been doing extremely well.
"She not only survived - she thrived," said Andrea. "Against doctor expectations, we have an adorable and feisty toddler who is ahead of or on target with 'typical' kids!"
Now, the couple have published a book, Saving Delaney: From Surrogacy to Family, to try and chance perceptions about Down's syndrome.
They want little Delaney to grow up without feeling she's inferior because, as Keston said:
"It does not limit her. She loves to dance when Ellen DeGeneres is on TV. When we watch her show, Delaney's got to get up and bust a move with Ellen. She really is doing exceptionally well and we're so proud of her. She was meant to be ours all along."
