Julianne Spring Closet Refresh
One thing I always dreamed of, when I found out I was having a baby girl, was all the adorable outfits I’d get to put her in (and match in). After Julianne was born and she was diagnosed with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, that dream honestly felt crushed. This may sound silly to some, but I remember feeling so sad about Julianne’s “welcome home” outfit that we couldn’t put on her because she had a broken arm.
I remember looking at her closet full of adorable little onesies, and tiny pants, and tiny t shirts, and just feeling like that simple little dream of mine was gone, but it meant more to me that just money wasted. There’s a poem that I often think about, called “Holland” that describes this feeling in a better way than I can (I’ll come back to that another day). The point is, when her future was first painted to us, it hit me in the gut that there might be lots of things that were in my dreams, like her welcome home outfit, that would have to be let go.
“I don’t care if I have to sew buttons and zippers on every single item of clothing. MY girl is dressing up.”
BUT, here’s the great news. That picture was wrong. And I want you to know that I say that in that even if Julianne was/one day is in a wheelchair, etc etc that the doctors first told us about her future “quality of life”, she is living and will live the HIGHEST quality life. So, there came a point where I said, “I don’t care if I have to sew buttons and zippers on every single item of clothing I put on her. My girl is dressing up”. That’s something we’ve had to say a lot. It’s the moment you, as parents, decide that quality of life is just how great you can make life - if you try, pretty freaking great.
So, finding clothing that are easy to put on baby girl without increasing her fracture risk, is my daily task. But it’s my absolute joy and I’m starting to get better at spotting them! Again, it may seem insignificant or shallow even, but to me and our family it’s not. It’s deciding to live the dream despite the obstacles that try to scare us away from them.
Here is the haul I pulled together to spruce up Julianne’s Spring closet.
Leachco Safer Bather
