Saturday, November 7, 2009

Happy Birthday Babyzilla


I will never take for granted my beautiful little grand daughter. She was born two months early, taken from the womb because she was dying inside her mother. Her intestines were not attached and she was filling up with fluid. Over the course of the next year she lived mostly at the hospital, hanging by a thread. She had 5 surgeries, to my recollection. Her mother rarely left her side, sleeping on a cot in the hospital. When she was home, she still had a bag for poo that my daughter had to change, and she had a feeding tube inserted into her chest. It's been a long road to recovery. Where the bag was, is now a long scar across her tummy. Where the feeding tube went into her chest, is a little "dimple". We still have to be very careful about what she eats and drinks, but she is healthy and active. Today is her 3rd birthday. It was a good day.




21 comments:

Joanna Jenkins said...

Oh Diane! I had no idea. What a wonderful post and what a glorious day!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABYZILLA!!!!!!!
xo

Mr. Charleston said...

She's precious. I have 3 2yr olds and 1 4yr old, all girls, all happy and healthy. I'm blessed. As are you.

diane said...

Joanna: I wasn't really sure if I should post some early photos or not, because they are not easy to look at. But I thought that maybe they might help somebody, somewhere, to draw strength & hope from, knowing that sometimes even the most tragic circumstances might turn out o.k. in the end.

Mr. Charleston: They really are a blessing, aren't they?

Cait said...

What a touch and go start. I hope mommie gets some presents too. Especially from all they've been through together.

Wishing you many sweet moments. What a beautiful smile.

diane said...

Cait: It's so sweet of you to think that way. Before her mother left I made sure to tell her that it was her birthday too, and I gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Green-Eyed Momster said...

I had no idea that she had such a rough start! Oh Diane, this really tugged at my heart!
She's so beautiful.....just like her mama and her grandma!

Hugs and birthday hugs and love for Babyzilla!

diane said...

Tracey: Thanks sweetie. We all have our trials and tribulations. One of the reasons I love blogging so much is that we can share all of that, if we choose. Or we can just forget all of that for the time being. It's such a great thing to have at our fingertips, I hope I don't ever lose my electricity.

Dominica said...

I'm so glad she had this wonderful birthday !! Wish you had given me those MEASUREMENTS sooner !! But hey, I'm a patient woman ...(I've got a teenager around the house for God's sake) That lovely skirt will be on it's way pretty soon !!
I can see her do twirls already !!
...
As we both know, health is the most precious gift ..
XXX
Happy birthday Babyzilla XXX

diane said...

Ah Domi, I am so sorry that I haven't measured her yet. I think an elastic waist should be o.k. though. I swear, it seems that all I do is run at 100 miles an hour every day. Forgive me?

Isabel said...

What a beautiful little girl, and a triumphant story.

Dominica said...

Always !! XX

diane said...

Isa: Triumphant, I like that word.

Domi: Thanks.

drollgirl said...

oh, i am so glad she made it through some VERY TOUGH early days and months. ack! that must have been so very stressful. she sure is a cutie, and a trooper, and a strong little lady. those traits will serve her well in life!

my sis had a baby a month or two early and it was really tough to see that one hooked up to so many machines while her lungs developed and they double-checked her heart for a while. she is now a wild little indian (pardon the expression) and seems just fine. but it was very scary. very scary and so hard on the family.

i have a friend that just had a baby with cystic fibrosis. that poor baby has been in and out of the hospital so many times, and he is only 6 months old. it is not an easy life having a sick baby. my heart goes out to anyone facing that.

sorry for the long comment. sometimes you get me going. :)

diane said...

Drolly: I love your long comment. It's important for us to share like this sometimes. I'm so glad that your niece is doing better. My heart goes out to your friend's baby. It's hard to see/know about children suffering.

Mel Spillman artwork said...

Oh wow!
Happy Birthday to "The Little Lady".
She is cutie-patootie:)

diane said...

Mel: Thank you.

miriam said...

oh D, thank you for sharing this personal story.

James Jean said...

Happy belated birthday BabeZilla!!

Jack Daniel said...

Woah, this is a beautiful story.
She has grown into a beautiful lil lady. I'm sure she'll become a very special lady too. I'm actually 1000% sure of that.

Absolutely Ladylike said...

A late Happy Birthday to your lovely grand daughter dear Diane. I'm so happy to hear that she's fine these days...She's beautiful and you and your family are fantastic to help each other through on those hard years...

Much love: Evi

diane said...

Miriam, JFK Jean, JD, & Evi: Thanks so much for your support and sweet comments.