The Tale of Amanda Booth & Micah Quinones

If you follow LA-based model mama Amanda Booth on Instagram, you would have already fallen in love with her beautiful 23-month-old son Micah Quinones. “Have you seen his smile!? Gosh he is so beautiful, present, and warm. You just know that within meeting him for three minutes. He’s going to be the coolest little kid, and best friend for forever,” she says…

Looking back on her pregnancy, Booth says the hardest time was the third trimester. “Not only just the typical discomforts, but we really had a tough go at the end. We were planning a home birth, had done all of the preparations for months, and then at our midwifery visit Micah’s heartbeat 
was faint and I had to get an ultrasound. This is what led us down that dark rabbit hole. His heart looked great, but that’s when they said his other measurements were not so good – he was very small. Things like achondroplasia or intrauterine growth restriction were thrown around. We had the fetal non-stress test multiple times a week, until finally he wasn’t doing so well so I had to be induced at hospital.”

When Micah was four months old, they found out he had Down syndrome. “I have tons of advice for mothers of babies with Down syndrome,” says Booth. “First, that it’s okay to be sad or worried, to mourn the loss of the life you envisioned for you and your child. It is going to be different, yes. But that does NOT mean 
that it will be less, in any way! You never know what is in store for any person, so stop thinking you do just because your child has Down syndrome. Sometimes I do too, but just don’t. Let your child lead the way and support and push them as hard as you would any kid! We try not to treat Micah any differently, if we don’t then I think we have a better shot of others doing the same thing.” We caught up with the glowing mama in LA to talk motherhood, spreading awareness of Down syndrome and her approach to health and wellbeing…

I come from a very modern family, with halves, steps, fulls…

It all felt the same to me though – or perhaps just ‘normal’. It was big at times, but I was also an only child at times (when everyone would go with their other parents for the weekend etc). We moved a lot – my dad was in the army and my step dad worked for the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). When my mom became a single parent, we kept changing places. Most of our time though was spent in Pennsylvania as that’s where my grandparents lived and it sort of served as a home base for us.

I really wanted to do something funny to tell Mike I was pregnant, like with Preggo brand pasta sauce or something inventive, but I’m far too impatient…

So, we had a dry-erase board we would leave messages on for each other, so I just taped the test to it and said “do you think it’s a boy or a girl?”. We were trying at the time, so he was very excited!

We didn’t know that Micah had Down syndrome before giving birth…

It was mentioned after he was born along with a few other things. Like I said, the end was medically complicated. I was on bed rest and a 4,000 calorie a day diet to see if he would gain any weight. He didn’t, only I did, so we knew something was not functioning correctly. We held on to it as an option for a while, and when he was three months old, and thus bigger, we did the blood test then. We had known about the possibility of Micah having Down syndrome from the day he was born, but it wasn’t until the blood test confirmed it that we knew for sure. Micah’s pediatrician came to our house to tell us the news.

Social media in general has been a great support…

It’s a fun way to connect with other families and to watch how great other kiddos are doing. We also love working with Changing the Face of Beauty. Reeve’s Tees makes cute shirts! Ruby’s Rainbow is a wonderful organization we support – they provide scholarships to college for people with Down syndrome. There’s a lot going on right now in the Down syndrome community.

My career basically halted to a stop after I became a mother…

I wasn’t expecting that, and it has been a big adjustment for sure. I took a ton more time off than I had ‘planned’, but planning anything in life sort of seems silly at this point. I would have given up on it entirely by now if it weren’t for my mom. She moved in with us for that exact reason – so I can keep trying and know that Micah is in good hands! Thanks mom!

I tested for Victoria’s Secret PINK line, which had been a dream of mine since I was about 15…

They didn’t book me, but knowing that they knew who I was and considered me meant I was there, and had done all that I could do, so I still felt fulfilled. Also, working alongside Julia Roberts on a Lancôme campaign was incredible – she is so radiantly beautiful and talented!

We wake up around 6:30am and give Micah his thyroid meds…

One hour later he can eat breakfast, then I tend to get ready for my auditions for the day. We have one or two therapy sessions a day, lots of Elmo, lots of death defying stunts, lots of coffee… more Elmo, dinner, repeat.

When it comes to fashion…

I have to be a lot of different people for my job, so it really depends on what’s calling me that day. Most of the time though, I just try to be comfortable. It’s important to be in clothing that I can chase a toddler in, and still get food all over! So, a great pair of boyfriend jeans are a go-to, or something casual that can always be dressed up with some good boots! Casual doesn’t need to be drab!

A friend who is a father (and my realtor) actually gave me some good advice about motherhood…

He has five children and they seem to have it all figured out. He just stressed to me to let kids be kids. To give Micah the freedom to show me what he wants, instead of forcing him to do what I think he should be doing at the time.

When it comes to health and wellbeing…

I try very hard to keep things light. It’s not easy, but I have always tried understanding the worst case scenarios, accepting them, and then anything else that comes will just be gravy. I have always tried to respect work for its spoils, but to put my efforts into family life. I eat what I want when I want it, and do everything in moderation. Because I never deny myself, I think it’s easier to do that.

When it comes to my daily beauty essentials, I love cream…

Any and all cream! I love trying new ones but always bounce back to Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré. Raaw in a jar makes a good under eye oil. I love coconut oil everywhere, all the time! It’s great for taking off makeup, moisturizing, hair masks. As far as getting ready… it takes me a few minutes. I was always an athlete, and have a lot of brothers. I never had much time to ‘worry’ about appearance. I love a natural looking gal.

My late grandmother is my role model…

She did everything for her family. She worked 12 hours in a candy factory until the day of her open heart surgery, which eventually lead to her passing. She always made sure we had boots in the winter, a warm meal on Sundays. She always made time for us kids, and still worked her butt off. She had very little, and I never heard her complain, ever.

My mother taught me to be a strong independent woman…

To work hard for the things you want, and not rely on a man or anyone else for them. Also that motherhood comes with a lot of personal sacrifices, but you’ll be very rewarded when you have given a human a beautiful platform for a wonderful life and future. None of this she ever told me – I just knew from paying attention.

I love the diversity of LA…

There are all types of situations and people buzzing around, and I think he will benefit a lot from that atmosphere. I am a huge homebody, so I love that living in LA means we can be outside all year round. He will have a very active childhood as a result. We love camping and it’s easy to just get away last minute here.

The most important qualities I value in a person are…

Honesty. Integrity. Morality. Even if you’re a dick, if you own it I’m cool with that. BE REAL people.

My mom lives here in LA and I would be a crazy person without her…

I also literally talk to my friend Briana all day, every day. She has a baby too, and we met through work, so we have the exact same woes – every day! We are each other’s sounding board, and root for sanity!

Micah’s most endearing quality is his smile…

Have you seen his smile!? Gosh he is so beautiful, present, and warm. You just know that within meeting him for three minutes. He’s going to be the coolest little kid, and best friend for forever! He laughs when you laugh. He feels energy, and reacts accordingly. A good tickle always works too.

Amanda’s little list of loves:

My family, obviously. The older Micah gets the more into our groove we’re getting and it’s getting so much easier!
My Aesop oil diffuser oil my hubs got me! I LOVE SCENTS.
My Le Labo fragrance – it smells divine and among the poop diapers and dog doo, it makes me feel human!
My Noe undergarments. Wearing beautiful underwear with casual clothes feels like you’re walking around in a secret all day. Feeling sexy is very important and it’s easy to loose that in motherhood.
My Contax T2 that I need to use more, but taking film photos is an old love!
My Sakura Bloom wrap that I still use to keep my little one close!
Sangria – anyone/anywhere with Sangria!
My Keratin by Erik Hagen! Curly hair made more manageable on a mom time budget – it’s everything!