Our baby girl turned four on September 21! I can't believe how time flies! One second I was 36 weeks pregnant being told my daughter would be born with Achondroplasia....fast forward to now and she's four! How did this happen so quickly?
First let me say Lyla is a very happy and healthy child. She shows me on a daily basis that she is like every other kid except she's small. It's so crazy because when I was told she was going to be born with Achondroplasia I didn't think our lives would be as wonderful as they are today. I thought I would have a child that would constantly be sick, need surgeries and spend days upon days in hospital after hospital.
Boy was I wrong! I was ignorant and a fool! Lyla is just like any other 4 year old. My experience with Achondroplasia and raising my daughter had been glorious! I look at her every day and tell my husband that I can't believe I ever shed one tear for her. We have a completely normal life and it's not a big deal at all that she is a little person. We are truly blessed. In her four years of life NO ONE has ever been rude to her or commented about her in a negative way. All we get is how beautiful she is, how gorgeous she is, how cute she is, how adorable she is. Believe it or not no one even cares about her size! If people ask me how old she is, I tell them and they don't even flinch. They will just comment that she is precious or that she is a sweetie pie! People see her as Lyla!
As she gets older maybe this will change but for right now I'm sticking with the possibility that her life will be wonderful because I have no reason to think otherwise. Lyla thinks she is the most beautiful girl on the planet because she is told this everyday! Her personality and confidence exude through her. She is unbelievable. The good news is that she knows she a little person and it's just a matter of fact, couldn't care less kinda thing. She is loved and supported by everyone who knows her and I feel blessed to be able to share her story on my terms and on my time. I raise awareness when I feel it's necessary and I don't when I feel it's not. The bottom line is that I have two children - one who is an LP and one who's average height. I don't want to spend all my waking hours doing everything I can for one and neglecting the other. I want to do what I can for both so there is no resentment. I treat both of my angels the same and I don't want to get caught up in the " I feel sorry for my child born with dwarfism" because there is nothing to feel sorry for. She is perfection! Sometimes I feel like you need to step back and enjoy every second with your children because after all the dust has settled they're all grown up and you spent all of your anger on people or things that don't really matter... What matters is the time right here and now!
So I dedicate this post to all the moms out there who are just learning about Achondroplasia and I'm telling you not to be afraid as you will see in time that everything I said was the truth! Enjoy these pics from 3 days of celebrations honoring our beautiful Lyla!
My girls getting ready for the weekend festivities with a trip to the nail salon!
Day 1- Lyla celebrating at her Preschool... The children enjoyed ice cream sandwiches and all to celebrate Lyla at school
Day 2- a birthday hibachi dinner with cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents
There was face painting too!
Blowing out her candles!
The end of Lyla's birthday weekend! She had a blast!
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Happy Birthday, sweet Lyla! You are a beautiful birthday princess!
ReplyDeleteLeslie you couldn't have said it better! I recently met a new mom in CA who has a 4 mo old baby boy with achon. Brought back so many memories. I couldn't tell her enough that it would all be ok and that her little boy would grow up happy and just like all his friends :) We are lucky parents and I wouldn't change Ryan or Ellie one bit! :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to Lyla (much belated! :))
Just wanted to say thanks for sharing all you have! We love your blog! We have similar stories, we are also on Long Island, our second daughter has achondroplasia and just turned 2 (her older sister is AH and 4-1/2) and we wouldn't change a thing! She's a super happy sunshine and we love both our girls so much. :)
ReplyDeleteCan I ask, did they do anything differently for her on the Fun Bus? Did you have any specific instructions? I ask because the Fun Bus goes to my girls' preschool. Her older sister LOVES it, and I want her to enjoy it too, but I wasn't sure if there was anything specific they do that I should avoid/modify with her, when she's old enough for it (which will be here before I know it! Time flies---!).
Hello! We just told them to avoid any forward rolls. It can be dangerous for children with Achondroplasia . If u have any other questions feel free to contact me
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