Whilst no one can predict how that third copy of the 21st chromosome will affect any individual child, I can tell you that you almost certainly will be able to give them the life and care they deserve. Some babies will have heart problems, and whilst I know from many families in my local support group it can be very scary at the time and in particular when they face surgery, I also know how well those kids and families are doing now, several years on, thriving and the children are constantly surprising their families and teaching them new things. My daughter is now 10, was born without heart defects, is in year 5 in a mainstream school, and enjoys drawing, colouring, playing role play games with her Baby and soft toys, singing along to her favourite songs, playing basketball, going to brownies and horse riding through RDA. I don’t think I know any child who suffers, and it’s amazing how quickly as a parent you fall into the advocate role and become your child’s biggest champion. My daughter was 18 months before she started commando crawling, nearly 3 before she walked, only had a handful of single spoken words at 3 (but about 100 Makaton signs!), but now she’s a proper chatterbox, walks and runs, does gymnastics and has a lovely group of friends at school who are wonderful with her and treat her as an equal.
As PPs have said, Positive about Down Syndrome is great if you want to read a variety of stories/experiences by different family members, as is the photography project Downright Amazing.
The Facebook groups Positive about Downs Syndrome and Future of Downs both have sub pages for prospective parents, and the Down’s Syndrome Association and Down Syndrome UK websites both have links to local support groups.
Good luck, wherever you go from here.