Bethany

Since I am so far behind I will just update a huge post on Bethany. She had a birthday in July. She was so excited to be able to have a party. She invited a few of her friends over and they had a ball. At the time I was only using the ipad for my camera. (I have since gotten a new one that I love...see previous post for that). I can't believe how big she is getting. That leads me into the next update for her. I was going to title this post Baby Steps.
When dealing with something like GHD we like baby steps. As a matter of fact baby steps are better than giant ones. It is better for her to grow slowly than make giant leaps as her bones and muscles can keep up with the baby steps. we rejoice over a few cm (it is easier to see progress than when you measure in inches) and a few pounds. We would rather see this than the fast growth.
When we started this process in 2008 Bethany was 5, but she looked more like she was 2 or 3. When we started the hormone therapy she was 6 and only 40 inches tall. At this time she didn't even register on a normal growth curve.....she was WAY below it and falling off fast. SHe has been on her meds now for almost 3 years and although she has taken those baby steps, I have started to see the progress! I have seen her outgrow pants, get taller than her sister and now.........she is on the growth curve!!! I don't think I have ever been excited to see a 10% in my life. She in in the 10th percentile on the growth chart. Yes, she is still smaller than an average chile, but she is catching up. Besides gentics do also come into play here and she doesn't have much in the way of height genes. I say that we have given her the short end of the stick (genetically speaking). I don't expect her to ever be a giant.....I will be tickled pink to see her ever reach 5 ft tall.
This isn't just a milestone for Bethany. This is one for me too. I have struggled with her GHD, probably more than she has. I blame myself as her mother for all the things that I could/should have done while I was pregnant with her (or not done for that matter). I struggled when they told me we would have to give her shots for the next 10 years.....the "Why me?" attitude.  I feel like I have overcome those attitudes now....there is nothing that I did or didn't do that caused this.....this is how she was made and this is something that we won't know why until probably we all pass on and can understand our Heavenly Father's plan a little better. I know that she is my daughter and that I love her a ton. I am sure that we will have more and more baby steps along our way. But for now we keep going forward. We will celebrate our success one step at a time here.