Ethan has brought us so much joy in his first 4 months. It is hard to remember the times before he was born and he gives us a new perspective of life.

I have just enjoyed my 34th Birthday and I took the day off work to spend with Laura and Ethan. Despite Ethan being a little unsettled (perhaps a little congested), Ethan still found his smiles and giggles throughout the day. After we had been in such a state of unknown prior to his birth, it was a dream come true to spend the day with my son. It was the best birthday ever. However, as the end of the day approached, I realised that it was my birthday and I yet wasn’t able to give my son a cuddle. With his dislocated hips and chunky casts, it is so difficult to give him cuddles in a way that he is comfortable. I had a moment of realisation where it dawned on me that on this day in particular, having cuddles with my son was something I simply expected and had taken for granted.

It reminded me of his early days. At birth, his arthrogryposis was so severe that it was impossible to get a nappy on him. Instead we had to use a giant nappy that went around his entire bottom half. After days of physio, we were finally able to manoeuvre his legs enough to get a his first nappy on. When this happened, Laura simply collapsed and I had to catch her as she fell backwards. Small things like changing your child’s nappy can be something you take for granted, and you only realise when this is taken away from you how much the small things matter.

So my encouragement to anyone reading this, whether your child has extra needs or is completely healthy, is to think about all the small things that you may take for granted and take a moment to appreciate them. Don’t wait for those small things to be taken away before you truly appreciate how much they matter.