This baby’s portraits are angelic.
A nine-week-old Texas tot with a cleft lip has gone viral after her parents posted the kid’s cherub-style baby portraits online.
“We didn’t do maternity or newborn photos with our son and really regretted not having that done,” said mother Courtney Gardner, to Good Morning America. “So after we got pregnant with Sutton, I knew from the very starting that I didn’t wish to have that have with this pregnancy.”
In response to the 35-year-old, she was apprehensive that her second child would have health problems and spent all the night worrying and praying every part could be okay.
Gardner said that originally she felt higher after seeing the ultrasound, but then the doctor showed the brand new mother her daughter’s face.
The family revealed that their newborn daughter was diagnosed with right-sided unilateral cleft lip and palate throughout the 20-week ultrasound.
“The last part that they did was the ultrasound of her face, and that’s when the ultrasonographer mainly said, ‘Oh, she does have a cleft lip,’” explained Gardner. “I remember being completely blindsided and shocked by that since it wasn’t even on my radar of a possibility that would occur.”
According to the CDC, a “cleft lip and cleft palate are birth defects that occur when a baby’s lip or mouth don’t form properly while pregnant.” The CDC also states that 1 in every 1,600 babies is born with a cleft lip and cleft palate within the US.
Gardner admits that upon receiving the news she burst into tears as she assumed having a cleft lip was genetic.
“We didn’t feel prefer it was handled that well,” said the 30-year-old father. “It was sort of like, ‘Okay, that is what it’s.’”
After baby Sutton was born, she spent 18 days within the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) because her cleft lip made it hard for the kid to latch onto a bottle.
Following the kid’s release, the parents went ahead with the shoot.
Texas-based photographer Shannon Morton shared a few of the photos on her Facebook page and received an outpouring of affection and support.
“Beautiful baby girl,” commented one user.
“Me and my son was born with clef cleft he was so cute like the infant on here,” said one other.
“She’s beautiful as a cleft mama seeing her beautiful face just warms my heart,” a 3rd person chimed in.
In response to Gardner, the parents were hesitant to have the photos posted.
“They were all just really kind and thoughtful, sweet messages, just saying how beautiful she was,” gushed Gardner. “Some people began posting about [how] they’d relatives or friends who had cleft-affected children.”
Garder said that the comments have been “encouraging.”
“She’s just strong-willed and just a little bit stubborn,” said Gardner. “But you’ll be able to tell she’s gonna be a extremely social baby. She just loves being held. She loves any variety of attention. Every time her brother’s around, she loves it when he comes over and brings her stuff, and she or he starts to smile each time he comes near her.”
The parents revealed that Sutton is scheduled to undergo the primary of just a few surgeries to repair her lip in March.
“Though things are scary, they usually could seem dark in that initial fresh period of diagnosis, it’s actually a good looking thing that’s one hundred pc capable of be treated and managed,” said the mother. “These kids are only phenomenal, strong children that overcome a lot at a young age.”
