In her stride
weighing 6lbs 13oz. ‘Perfect,’ I breathed as I cradled her tiny body for the first time.
But doctors weren’t so sure. Two weeks later, she was given an X-ray to check her bone structure.
‘ We’re still not sure if she has a genetic condition that will make her small and we can’t tell from the results,’ the doctor explained. We were told to return in three months’ time for a DNA test.
In the meantime, we’d been more concerned with introducing her to Lenny. We took her blanket from the hospital home first, so he’d know her scent and then, when we brought her home, I gave Lenny a new toy and made a big fuss of him before Carl carried Ivy in.
We shouldn’t have worried though. Right from the start, he adored her. Whenever anyone came to visit, he’d hover by her side protectively and after every walk, he’d head straight back to her Moses basket.
Eventually, we were called back to hospital. I’d continued doing my research and, noticing that Ivy had a trident hand – where the middle and ring fingers were separated – I had a suspicion of what
was coming.
But when doctors confirmed that Ivy had the most common form of dwarfism in the UK, my heart still shattered. As the doctors carried on talking, my head was buzzing with questions. Why us? What had we done wrong?
Going home and cradling her close, I broke down into tears. ‘Is it our fault?’ I sobbed to Carl. Yet neither of us were carriers. It was just one of those things.
‘She’s perfect to us, it doesn’t matter,’ Carl reassured. But I couldn’t bear the thought of Ivy not having a normal life.
It took me time to come to terms with the news – it was two weeks before I could tell anyone else. But when I did, a friend told me that her cousin had a little girl with the same condition.
‘Do you think she’d talk to me?’ I asked tentatively. Her little girl was a few years older than Ivy, it could give me an insight into what was to come…
That night, she called me. ‘You don’t know it yet, but you’re so blessed. While our little girls might be short-changed in the height department, they more than make up for it in personality. I wouldn’t change a thing about my girl – apart from her attitude sometimes!’
After two hours, I came off the phone beaming. It was like she’d lifted a huge weight off my shoulders.
As I gazed down at Ivy, sleeping peacefully, I felt guilty
‘Ivy is the person she was meant to be’
for being so upset. Ivy was the person she was meant to be. Even at just a few months old, she was already starting to show her cheeky personality – especially with Lenny.
Her sparkling eyes would follow him round intently as he pranced around the living room and crease up in laughter as he barked at the postman.
Even when doctors warned us that Ivy may have development delays, my newfound optimism refused to be
dampened. ‘It might be a while before she’s walking,’ the doctor said during one of our routine appointments.
‘She’ll do it when she’s ready,’ I told Carl, confidently.
And she did. By 12 months, she was already shuffling on her tummy, using her arms to pull herself forward – always toward Lenny.
They were truly best friends. She preferred his toys to her own and he’d often fall asleep as she played with his soft ears.
Because Ivy suffers from sleep apnoea, she didn’t move into her own bedroom until she was 19 months, and when she did, Lenny jumped off our bed for the first-time ever and curled up underneath her cot.
And when he was out, racing round the garden, I could see it was only a matter of time before Ivy was running around with him.
I was right. At 21 months, she took her first wobbly steps. She was so delighted, she even clapped herself.
Now, she’s nearly two and there’s no holding her back. Most people who meet her are confused – she’s so small, she wears clothes for babies aged six to nine months, but she’s super-speedy on her feet.
At 34, I have no idea what the future looks like for Ivy – we try to take things one day at a time.
But I know, with Lenny – and us – at her side, she won’t hesitate to step right up to it.
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