--- title: Lucas Is First Gerber Baby With Down Syndrome description: A boy named Lucas from Dalton, Georgia became the first child with Down syndrome to be chosen as a Gerber baby. canonical: https://time.com/5137165/gerber-baby-lucas-down-syndrome/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-07T15:10:57.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:43:55.221Z og:title: This Boy Named Lucas Is the First Gerber Baby With Down Syndrome og:description: "I just want him to look back and say, 'I was the Gerber baby. Look at everything I did' " og:url: https://time.com/5137165/gerber-baby-lucas-down-syndrome/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd3f1370c74e7a7a/6988fadefb4eac91c4895978/gerber-baby-down-syndrome.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2405 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: gerber-baby-down-syndrome og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Boy Named Lucas Is the First Gerber Baby With Down Syndrome twitter:description: "I just want him to look back and say, 'I was the Gerber baby. Look at everything I did' " twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdd3f1370c74e7a7a/6988fadefb4eac91c4895978/gerber-baby-down-syndrome.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Boy Named Lucas Is the First Gerber Baby With Down Syndrome > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=8f5da5e3-7eb2-4258-833a-d9f325a716a1&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Finances for a special-needs child [Watch (HLS stream): Finances for a special-needs child](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IcJmD0zj.m3u8) (4:43)  _Published 2014-06-01. Amanda and Jason Purnell know they will have to financially support their daughter, who has Down syndrome, for the rest of her life._ by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Feb 7, 2018 3:10 PM UTC  Gerber by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Feb 7, 2018 3:10 PM UTC A boy named Lucas from Dalton, Georgia became the first child with [Down syndrome](http://time.com/money/4747312/johns-crazy-socks-down-syndrone-cronin/) to be chosen as a Gerber baby, the [_Today_](https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/961235510994898944) show announced on Wednesday. “Lucas’ winning smile and joyful expression won our hearts this year, and we are all thrilled to name him our 2018 Spokesbaby,” [Gerber](http://time.com/money/4729788/10-companies-control-food-industry/) President and CEO Bill Partyka said in statement. “Every year, we choose the baby who best exemplifies Gerber’s longstanding heritage of recognizing that every baby is a Gerber baby, and this year, Lucas is the perfect fit.” Lucas’s parents submitted his picture in a photo contest that drew more than 140,000 applicants; his selection as the 2018 Gerber Spokesbaby also comes with a $50,000 prize, which they plan to put toward his education.  New Gerber Baby Lucas with his parents Gerber  New Gerber Baby Lucas Gerber “As a father, seeing your child exceed in life and go to school, it’s something I’m looking forward to,” Lucas’s dad, Jason, said through tears. “I just want him to look back and say, ‘I was the Gerber baby. Look at everything I did.’ ” Watch Lucas’s story in this clip from _Today_: > [](https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/961235510994898944) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5137165/gerber-baby-lucas-down-syndrome/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5137165/gerber-baby-lucas-down-syndrome/"},"headline":"This Boy Named Lucas Is the First Gerber Baby With Down Syndrome","datePublished":"2018-02-07T15:10:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:43:55.221Z","description":"\"I just want him to look back and say, 'I was the Gerber baby. 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