It's hard to imagine a better response to unexpected news about your baby.

Tonight’s episode of 60 Minutes told the story of Floyd-Henry Morley, a happy one year-old who was diagnosed with Achondroplasia – a rare bone disorder commonly known as dwarfism.

 Mamamia’s sister site iVillage wrote about Floyd-Henry and his remarkable parents earlier this year.

This is the story of the best response to unexpected news about your baby that you will ever see…

Like all first-time parents, Ross and Jade Morley are besotted with their baby. They’ve posted dozens of photos and videos of their adorable son Floyd-Henry on Facebook, which show him playing at the beach, being tickled by mum, and showing off his gummy grin for the camera.

But there’s an extra special reason the northern NSW couple is sharing so much about their son’s life and experiences online.

Last December, when he was just five months old, little Floyd-Henry Morley was diagnosed with Achondroplasia – a rare bone growth disorder more commonly known as dwarfism.

Around one in 25,000 babies are born with the condition, which manifests as shortened extremities and a large head. As dad Ross describes it, Floyd-Henry will grow up to be “a little man, a little dude, a little legend.”

Although Achondroplasia is inherited genetically in 20% of cases, it more frequently presents in babies born to parents of average height, like Ross and Jade.

“I was bewildered,” Jade tells Caroline Overington in this month’s Woman’s Weekly. “Both of us, Ross and I, come from such tall families. And I thought the only way to have a little person is to be a little person.”

Understandably, the diagnosis came as a shock for the first-time parents, who first met in 2009. Jade recalls tears streaming down her face as she sat in the geneticist office at Brisbane’s Royal Children’s Hospital as she tried to process what she had just been told.

“It felt so insensitive. ‘Go home and have a great Christmas and New Year because your little boy is happy and healthy,’ they remarked. I remember thinking ‘Are you serious!’? she writes on Facebook.

However, while Ross and Jade know challenges will arise as Floyd-Henry grows up, their initial fear is now gone. Their focus now lies in sharing Floyd-Henry’s story and spreading awareness of dwarfism.

They’ve set up a blog, along with Facebook and Instagram profiles, where anyone who’s interested can read about their son’s condition and ask questions.

“Floyd has opened up our universe. He has made his dad and mum so proud to call him our son. So proud to say “Floyd-Henry has dwarfism”,” the couple writes.

“We are not unsure of his future anymore, we are not worried that people will be mean, that he won’t fit in, that people will stare. We are not worried because you are changing the world Floyd-Henry and you don’t even know it.”

Ross and Jade have also released this beautiful four-minute video, telling Floyd-Henry’s story through a series of images and commentary, and reflecting on the joy he’s brought them.

“We’re not sad because we’re so grateful that we have him with us today,” Jade says. “Achondroplasia has its possible complications, but we’ll tackle these as a family when the challenges arise.”

Floyd-Henry Morley from The Morleys on Vimeo.

You can follow Ross, Jade and Floyd-Henry’s journey on Facebook here, or at their blog here.

This post was originally published on Mamamia’s sister site iVillage and has been republished with full permission. You can read the original here. 

Have you, our any parents you know, struggled with adapting to a particular condition of a newborn baby?