Tori Roloff has confirmed that her daughter, Lilah, is a little person and has been diagnosed with dwarfism. She also shared that she and her doctors opted for a second cesarean section after confirming the diagnosis.
Tori shared the news in her Instagram stories. After being asked why she had the second C-section, Tori explained, "Because Lilah has dwarfism. It’s not that I couldn’t have a VBAC [vaginal birth after cesarean section] but just most likely it would have ended in a C-section so we just skipped ahead."
Lilah's older brother, Jackson, also received the same diagnosis while Tori was pregnant. Since Tori's husband, Zach, has dwarfism and Tori is of average height, there was a 50% chance that their children would also have dwarfism.
Tori is also loving being a mom to two kids. She said on Instagram, "I freaking love it. I am so thankful and blessed by kiddos. Somehow we’re two for two for easy babies."
Lilah was born three weeks ago and joins her big brother, Jackson. After Lilah was born, Tori shared that "2019 changed our family forever for the better. Our sweet Lilah girl joined the family and we couldn’t be more in love. I am so thankful for the growth and changes that happened in 2019. I am grateful for my little family. Especially my husband who is leading us into 2020 to make it our best year yet!"
Jackson was born in May 2017, and Tori and Zach were equally thrilled. In the 2017 premiere of Little People, Big World, the pair expressed concern about the potential diagnosis for their children. In a promo video for the series, Zach said, "Our two questions right now are the gender, and if the baby has any sort of dwarfism."
Tori followed up, "It’s a big deal. It is scary. No parent wants to hear that their child is different, no matter what that is." Zach quickly chimed in, "But to me, that’s not different. He’s just like me!” The moment was moving, especially because Zach pushed Tori to explain what she meant.
Zach asked Tori, "What’s a better word than ‘scary’? Is it scary? Or is it nerve-racking?”
Tori paused, and then continued, "I think as a parent it would be scary. f you didn’t know anything about dwarfism and you found out your child was a dwarf, that would be scary. There are certain things that would come along with having an achondroplasia child that would be more difficult than having a child that was average height."
However, the pair have embraced being parents to their son and now their daughter, and it's likely that Tori has long since put any worries or fears behind her. Tori told her followers, "I am excited to watch Jackson grow and develop into a BOY (he’s like no longer a toddler. He’s a full on boy and I love every ounce of him)! Happy New Years friends."
Tori also shared that her hospital stay after Lilah's birth was pretty rough. "The hospital this time was so much more difficult for me. However I feel like I’ve recovered a lot faster this time around. Now just trying to get back into shape and love my body through [postpartum]."
She also shared that her recovery at home has been less than easy: "It’s only been 3 weeks since growing and then birthing a human being, but it’s hard. Having major abdominal surgery is difficult for me because I hate being restricted."
Lilah's birth came just a few weeks before the birth of her cousin, Bode James. Bode is the son of Audrey and Jeremy Roloff, and Jeremy is Zach's brother. The new family of four have been over the moon with the addition of their son.
Audrey recently shared a lot that Bode's name means "messenger" and that it is also a reference to her maiden name: "His name is a nod to my maiden name 'Botti' pronounced 'bo-tee,' as a way to honor my side of the family. His middle name 'James' is a family name on the Roloff side. Jeremy, his dad, his grandpa and his great grandpa all have the middle name James."
She added, "We were pretty set on Bode (pronounced 'bo-dee') during my pregnancy but were still tossing around other ideas into my 3rd trimester. Then one day randomly Jer’s grandma called him and said, 'I have a really good name suggestion for you! What about Bode?!'"
The Roloff family has always done a great job of being connected and supporting one another, and it's great that Lilah and Jackson already have built-in cousins in Bode and his older sister, Ember. It's also wonderful that Tori and Audrey have one another to lean on as they recover from their births and get down to raising their children.