Day by Day- Please Pray for Eli!

If it's not one thing it's another, right? :) Well, the medicine that the pediatrician prescribed for Eli's acid reflux made him vomit up every drop of liquid in his body- apparently he is allergic to it. And the rice cereal that she told us to use to thicken his feedings gave him super-bad diahrea, which led to dehydration. So after a rough weekend last weekend that almost culminated in a trip to the hospital, we managed to get things under control. But we had to stop both the medicine and the cereal, which were the two things that were supposed to help.

We saw Eli's GI specialist yesterday, and I'm so thankful for her. She made a more definitive diagnosis of reflux disease and prescribed a more agressive medicine (Prevacid) which will stop the acid production in Eli's stomach so that spitting up won't hurt him. And she also recommended a milk thickener that Eli won't be allergic to so that he can hold down his food better. We are begging the Lord to use these things to heal our little guy. Eli hurts so much when he spits up- it's heartbreaking to watch. And this results in "oral aversion," which means that he doesn't really want to eat because he associates it with the pain that will follow. We are trying to get his reflux under control before this aversion gets worse and Eli decides not to eat at all. Will you join us in praying for our sweet son? Please pray that the medicine helps and that Eli gets to feeling so much better and is able to sleep better (reflux is bad when laying down to sleep) and eat better. Pray that he can keep down his feedings so that he can gain weight quickly like he needs to do. And pray for strength for Eric and me as we deal with all this on little sleep.

I sing the hymn "Day by Day" to Eli frequently- it's one of my favorites, and I want him to learn the truths in this old song. When I stop and think about the lyrics I always end up crying. The strength the Lord provides for us has been sufficient for every single day so far, from two months of bed rest to delivering a premature baby to six weeks in the NICU to a heart valve problem to chronic lung disease... it will most assuredly be sufficient for acid reflux! :) I want all three of us to rest in the strength and love that the Lord provides. I think of how much I love Eli, and I am floored by the fact that the Lord loves us MORE. I want to trust that, and to let this be my prayer daily...

Day by Day
(Lina Sandell)

Day by Day, and with each passing moment,
Strenth I find to meet my trials here.
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best.
Lovingly, it's part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour.
All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me,
He whose name is Counselor and Power.
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge which on Himself He laid.
"As your days, your strength shall me in measure,"
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then, in every tribulation,
So to trust Your promises, O Lord.
That I lose not faith's sweet consolation
Offered me within Your Holy Word.
Help me Lord, when toil and trouble meeting
E're to take as from a Father's hand
One by one, the days the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the Promised Land.

On a cheerier note, Eli is doing well aside from his reflux. He weighed 8 pounds, 3.5 ounces yesterday, and he's learning every day. He smiles like crazy now! The best part of my day is going in to get him in the morning and leaning over his crib to say good morning- he BEAMS at me and immediately starts "talking." I love it! He's trying hard to roll over, though he's so little that I don't know how successful he'll be for a while. :) And I think he's on the verge of laughter. I can't wait to hear it.

And good news... Eli was able to wear 0-3 month shorts for the first time yesterday! :) I have all these adorable shorts that I've been dying to put on him, but he's been so little that they just slip right off his waist and are as long as pants on him! I've just had him in little knit preemie shorts, which aren't that cute. But yesterday he actually kept a pair of normal shorts around his waist, and he was the cutest thing in the world. See for yourself in the above picture. :)