Emily Maynard Johnson Reveals She Never Gets Genetic Testing Done During Pregnancy

As Emily Maynard Johnson prepared to welcome her sixth baby, the former Bachelorette had no doubts she would love her little one no matter what.

Maynard Johnson, 36, and husband Tyler Johnson welcomed son Jones West on Aug. 31, she revealed exclusively to PEOPLE. Shortly after the delivery, Maynard Johnson learned that her son was born with Down syndrome as well as a rare congenital colon abnormality that required surgery and a monthlong stay in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

The former reality star, who is also mom to Ricki, 17, Jennings, 7, Gibson, 6, Gatlin, 5 and Nola Belle, 2, with Johnson, shares that she wasn't informed of the diagnosis until it was confirmed by a blood test after Jones' birth.

"We've never done any of the genetic testings," says Maynard Johnson, who went on to share the heartwarming reason she didn't opt for the test.

"You get what you get and you're going to love it either way so there's no sense in worrying about anything because it's all going to work out and in the end, everything is going to be OK," she says. "We did the anatomy scans, check the heart and brain and two arms, two legs, but no blood screenings."

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RELATED: Emily Maynard Johnson Opens Up About Welcoming Sixth Baby, Born with Down Syndrome

When Maynard Johnson first learned of Jones' diagnosis, the mom of six says she was "in shock."

"It was not on my radar at all. And I refused to believe it," she adds. "I just wanted to hold him and for everything to be OK."

Absorbing the fact that her son needed to stay in the NICU and wouldn't be home for weeks was "devastating," says Maynard Johnson. "I was just grieving all of it and that the experience was so different from what I had expected. Waking up the next morning hearing all the babies crying down the hallway while I was in the room alone, it hurt so much."

Rebecca Woodman

Maynard Johnson notes that her time in the NICU, however, made her grateful for Jones' health as "there are so many other diagnoses."

"I realized this could be so much worse," she says. "This is nothing. This is joyful. Everybody that I've heard from shares how much love they have in their hearts."

"He has the sweetest little smile and I'm just so excited. He's so cute and he's the easiest baby," she adds of Jones. "I just know God is going to see so much good through this sweet baby."

"Especially because we weren't planning on having a sixth kid, but with Jones, our family is complete."

For more from Emily Maynard Johnson and her new family of eight, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.