We are 12 weeks in! Sorry it has taken this long to offer an update on our sweet baby. Momhood is soo busy. :)
We welcomed Ruthie on April 30, 2013 at 8:11pm. Dr. Dulaney was going to induce me on Ruth's due date, May 2nd. But Ruth decided to come on her own. After 10 hours of labor and 2 1/2 hours of pushing, I ultimately had to have a c-section. She weighed 8lbs 6oz and was 21 inches long. And as her daddy put it, "Ruthie has 5 little fingers and 5 little nubbies."
Ruth is a very healthy baby girl. The hospital and her pediatrician have found no other issues or concerns - which is an answered prayer. Our pediatrician, Dr. Frizzell, believes that her hand is just an isolated incident. He did refer us to an orthopedic doctor just to get a consultation. Dr. Beaty at the Campbell Clinic is great! He took X-rays of her arm/hand. The X-rays show that Ruth has her radius and ulna. However, there are no bones in the wrist area. He told us that bones could still form. He said that it is still too early to know how her nubby may form. The appointment turned out to be more about our chance to ask questions. Dr. Beaty was very patient and thorough. He said that there is really no way to know why Ruth was born without her left hand. He said that the "amniotic band" theory is just one of a long list of theories as to why her hand didn't develop. For the most part, he said that occupational therapy seems to be unnecessary. He explained that she will probably learn to do things very well on her own, and it will simply amaze us. He kind of normalized things too. He said that all of us have a dominate hand and the other hand is the assistant. He said Ruth's dominate hand will obviously be the right and her left nubby will just assist her. He wants us back when she is about 9 months old just to check things out.
I have had several different thoughts and emotions since bringing her home. I have cried some because of my mom-worries. But my worries have not consumed me - which is an answered prayer. Actually, I usually forget that she has only one hand. It is just normal now. When we introduce her to someone new, at times we have pointed out her hand and shared her story. But other times, we don't mention it, and I don't even think people notice. When I daydream about her future, I can see her doing normal kid things and then us having to remind ourselves that she completed the task with only one hand. We feel so very blessed to have a healthy baby girl. Having a baby is soo awesome! I can't believe we get to raise Ruth and watch her grow. She is such a blessing and a joy. I now understand the "mom-love".
One last thing... a couple of kiddos from church have said some things that are definitely worthy of sharing. Kids understand and get life and God better than we adults.
From Dalton and his mom: "We were just looking at all of the beautiful pics
of Ruthie. At one point we were talking about her little hand, and, at first,
Dalton was sad for her. But then, after thinking a minute, He said, 'Well,
doesn't the Bible say that God makes all things and He makes them all
good?' (That's his version of Romans 8:28.) So stinkin sweet and so true.
Love u guys!"
From Maddie and her mom: "Maddie had been asking a lot questions, and after
talking to her about it all... She just shook her head and said 'mom -
God must have something really big planned for her since He made her so
special!!' I love the way our kiddos have such faith and understanding!"
Thank you for letting us share our story! We will keep you posted.
Much love,
Wendy and Shawn
No comments:
Post a Comment