Think what you will about the Thompson family from Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, but my heart goes out to teen mom Anna right now. The eldest daughter of June Shannon and "Sugar Bear" made the couple grandparents with the birth of baby Kaitlyn. And now it's out that the baby has a birth defect -- she was born with an extra thumb on her right hand.
Yes, this is the same little girl who was dosed with a pacifier dipped in Mountain Dew recently, but the two things aren't related. The baby girl had the extra finger at birth. And from the way the family is talking, that thumb is there to stay.
Grandmother June told People that they've embraced the extra digit because "it makes Kaitlyn more special to us."
Well, that's one way to look at it. Hold on, I'm not criticizing this family.
I tend to think that if my child was born with an extra finger, I'd have it removed if only because it is so obvious. You can hide a third nipple under your shirt if it makes you uncomfortable. You can keep your six toes in a shoe until you begin to feel comfortable in flip flops. But there's no hiding your hands when you need to use them constantly.
I'd hate to think that my child was being picked on because of something that I could have had fixed.
But I can't fault Honey Boo Boo's sister if she decides that Kaitlyn's polydactyly (the official name for extra digits) is something she wants to just leave alone.
Until you're facing a baby with a birth defect face-to-face, it's easy to imagine what you would do. But when this is your reality, all those snap decisions tend to get lost in a sea of "what if"s.
What if you have surgery to remove an extra limb or digit and something goes wrong? The baby is seemingly healthy, so why put her life at risk? On the other hand, what if this extra thumb is going to turn her into the laughingstock of her classes in elementary school? Kids are cruel, and this could be what bullies choose to pick on to make her life a living hell.
Having all those thoughts running through her head can't be easy for Anna. Then add in the fuss over being on a TV show AND being a new mom? All I can think is that poor girl!
What would you do if your child was born with something "extra"? Would you embrace it or remove it?
Image via TLC
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Comments 121
Coming from that family.. I think that'll be the least of her problems! Honestly, I give them credit for leaving alone. I remember a girl from elementary school, she was like a teenage helper, and she was absolutely gorgeous and she had an extra thumb on her right hand on top of her regular thumb and we all noticed it but it didn't seem to bother her and she was still gorgeous. I'd let the girl decide when she's older.
my mom's sister had a little boy with an extra thumb. it started at the joint of his normal thumb and came out like a v. at birth the doctors offered to remove it, for free. my aunt chose to leave it. she said it was a part of him, and if he wanted it removed later then he could that, but he had the right to make his own decision since it was his body. he is around 12 now, i think and it doesn't bother him in the slightest. he doesn't get teased about it, either. i'm super glad the outcome was good for him, but i have to say, if it were my child i would have had it removed. just because joey hasn't been teased, and it doesn't bother him doesn't mean that the result will be the same with every child.
Lilac, I GOT IT! LMBO Love that movie.
Instead of teaching our kids that everything that makes them different should be "fixed", why can't we all try a little harder to help our kids to accept and embrace differences? Let her decide when she's older. Just because a baby is smaller than a child doesn't mean they FEEL any less pain. I don't understand why people think that. Not remembering and not feeling it are completely different. I say wait until she can understand what's going on.