Emily Maynard, famous from “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” franchises, respectively, announced that she welcomed her sixth child, a baby boy named Jones, back in August. She kept her pregnancy and delivery private for awhile, but is now opening up about his birth, and his Down syndrome diagnosis.

“I am so grateful,” Maynard tells PEOPLE. She is also mom to Ricki, 17, Jennings, 7, Gibson, 6, Gatlin, 5 and Nola Belle, 2, with husband Tyler Johnson. “But I’m still on my journey of processing everything. And I have to trust that it will all turn out alright.”

Not long after Jones was born, Maynard and her husband learned that he was born with Down syndrome as well as a rare congenital colon abnormality that required surgery. Jones had to stay in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for a little over a month.

“I was in shock,” she said of the diagnosis, which was confirmed via blood test after his birth. (Maynard opted out of genetic testing during her pregnancy). “It was not on my radar at all. And I refused to believe it. I just wanted to hold him and for everything to be okay.”

Related: Little girl with Down Syndrome has the sweetest reaction of a doll that looks just like her

Maynard said one of the hardest parts of his birth was learning that baby Jones wouldn’t be home for weeks.

“I was just grieving all of it and that the experience was so different from what I had expected,” she explains. “Waking up the next morning hearing all the babies crying down the hallway while I was in the room alone, it hurt so much.”

Now that baby Jones is home (though he has another surgery coming up in a few weeks), Maynard says she’s thrilled to get some time with her sweet sixth baby.

“He’s the easiest baby and he’s just been our biggest blessing,” she says. “I’m still learning about Down syndrome, but I’m trying to also just experience Jones as Jones and not as different than any of the other kids.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, Down syndrome is a genetic disorder caused when abnormal cell division results in an extra full or partial copy of chromosome 21. The extra chromosome causes the developmental changes and physical features of Down syndrome—though how the syndrome manifests varies widely in severity among those who have it.

Related: My child’s Down Syndrome diagnosis changed who I am for the better

Down syndrome is the most common genetic chromosomal disorder and cause of learning disabilities in children. It also commonly causes other medical abnormalities, including heart and gastrointestinal disorders.

Ultimately, Maynard says, “Looking back on my life, a lot of things happened that I wouldn’t have planned. But I wouldn’t change my life for anything. And I wouldn’t trade Jones for any baby in the world.”