The day she came to live with us
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In the beginning she moved between Sheila, Erin and I, but the past four nights she has slept next to me in my room. When admitted, she was irritable almost all of the time and could not easily be comforted. She is both incredibly demanding and incredibly adorable. She has begun to smile and laugh. She is getting better at interacting and getting more comfortable with other people. Her incessant crying has stopped and she will often sit by herself and watch what I am doing. But she still does not want to drink. All of her feedings since admission have been done through an NG tube. She knows what the tube and syringe are for and will settle down as soon as she sees the process beginning. She reacts with clear annoyance and displeasure anytime a bottle comes near her mouth. We've tried a lot of different things, but have not been able to get her to drink on her own. She is still gaining weight and getting healthier because we are providing her the nutrition she needs, but she just will not take a bottle and suck like a normal baby...
Tonight, as we were preparing for bed, she was fussy and I was tired. I had everything ready to tube feed her, but was really beginning to be discouraged by needing to provide this level of care all the time, especially when she is much more content in my arms than anywhere else. As she cried on my lap, I simply kissed her forehead and prayed. "God please perform a miracle in her right now. Make her want to drink. Make her want to drink." The fussing didn't stop, but it changed. I picked up the bottle and she opened her mouth. It took her a couple of attempts, but pretty soon she was latched on and sucking, even well enough to make air bubbles rise to the top of the bottle! After a tough couple of days, this was just the encouragement and answer to prayer that I needed. By the time she was done, my sweet girl had had 2.5 ounces on her own! About 2.5 ounces more than I'd ever seen her drink before. And I believe 2.5 ounces more than she would have had God not answered my prayer. While there is a great possibility that we will still be using the tube some to get her enough calories, my baby and my God have proven that there is hope; she won't need the tube forever. She can and will drink on her own. She will continue to get bigger and stronger. I will continue to pray over her body and her spirit. I will continue to fall more in love with each kiss, smile, and feeding. I will treasure every day with this princess. I will remember this moment and give all the glory to God for our little miracle.
Note: This post was written quite awhile ago, but I haven't had a chance to post it yet. Within 24 hours, she was sucking well enough to take her tube out completely. And she is now doing even better. She weighs over 14 pounds and has moved to a room downstairs. She is happy, eating, playing and growing. Soon, she will go home to her family who love her and are excited by how well she is doing.
Opening Christmas presents
Children of the Promise has given explicit permission for the posting of photos on this site. Photos taken of children in the care of Children of the Promise are not be posted publicly without explicit permission given by Children of the Promise.
Friends
Children of the Promise has given explicit permission for the posting of photos on this site. Photos taken of children in the care of Children of the Promise are not be posted publicly without explicit permission given by Children of the Promise.
