A mother has spoken out about her love for her son with dwarfism and revealed the shocking words a midwife told her during the labor.
According to Auckland-based Olivia Hewetson, she was two weeks overdue when medics explained to her that something was off with the growth of her baby.
As more days passed, Olivia went into labor and gave birth to baby Leo, a boy who was found to have a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia.
While the mother-of-two was in labor, a midwife surprised her by saying: “Don’t worry, when he’s here you can wrap him up in a blanket and nobody will ever know he’s different.”
Telling her story on a Facebook page called Love What Matters, the proud mother shared everything from fears to strengths that she experienced before and after giving birth to Leo.
“I didn’t dare Google anything because I knew that would tip me over the edge. I was picturing our family with a little boy in a wheelchair, unable to walk,” Olivia wrote.
“I remember the doctor putting it into terms that we would understand. ‘Dwarfism,’ he said. Your son will most likely have dwarfism.
“‘Oh, is that all?’ I thought. Well that’s okay. We can deal with that.”
As the mother admitted, she experienced momentary grief after giving birth to baby Leo.
“The emotional pain set in and I began to grieve the baby I thought I was going to have,” she claimed.
“I say grieve because that’s exactly what it is. I had to come to terms with the fact this baby was very different to the one I had imagined. I needed to begin the process of letting go.
“I was scared to love, to grow attached and to connect with Leo because, being a mum already, I was aware of the hurt I would feel further down the track when it came to health concerns and potential surgeries.”
Over time, however, Olivia realized that “great things come in small packages” and that her family “has arrived at a place of contentment.”
“I no longer see his diagnosis when I look at him. Instead, I see a determined and adorable little boy trying his hardest to keep up with his older brother, dancing to every tune he hears and making friends at his new daycare.
“It is so important to just take one day at a time and enjoy those special moments with Leo because we won’t get them back.
“That, and that great things come in small packages.”
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