What a year it's been! Since the last July 23rd, I have been through so many happy, challenging, and exciting times I don't even know where to begin. As a mom, I've loved like I never thought I could love, hurt like I never knew I could hurt, and laughed and smiled more than ever! I should've known that Ella wouldn't be "simple" (is any child simple?) when she waited a week late to come! And that's once the doctors "forced" her...who knows when she actually would've arrive! But, after about 12 hours of Pitocin and what seemed like 48 hours of pushing, she finally came in all her glory!
Ella Nicole Shaddix
7 pounds 14 ounces, 19.5 inches, born at 9:21 pm
Then, at her one week appointment, Dr. Williams heard Ella's hip "pop". We were sent immediately to Scottish Rite for an ultrasound. There they found that both of her hips were dislocated. We would try to help them into to place by wearing extra diapers and even a Pavlik Harness. God had a different plan. After wearing the harness for a week and another ultrasound, the orthopedic doctor determined that Ella's hips could only be fixed by surgery. So at less than one month old, Ella was put to sleep and underwent a procedure where her hips were manually put into the sockets and she was casted from her underarms to her ankles.
You would be so amazed at how resiliant Ella was through the whole process! She wore the cast for one month and then underwent the same process again and had another cast. But she didn't let the cast slow her down! She never missed a beat! She played, smiled, and laughed in the cast. She even learned to push herself up with it! God was so amazing through this whole process...He used Ella's good spirit to encourage us and bring us through this with a positive attitude and a better understsnding of what being a parent is. It's being strong in the good and the bad.
And boy, have we had some good times! Ella's personality is so wonderful and she brings so much joy to our home. Her constant "Da-Da"s have won Earl's heart over and we enjoy watching her learn new things everyday!
When she's happy, there's nothing sweeter. And even when she's not, we still love her anyway. I could write paragraphs and paragraphs on the last 12 months, but I'll spare you the details. Just know that we've had a blast and that we can't wait to see how Ella will change over the next 12 months...but let's just slow it down a little, please!
Happy Birthday Ella!
0 comments:
Post a Comment