James' EEG showed improvement! There was still abnormality, but his brain is healing! There will be another MRI by the end of this month and another EEG next month sometime.
James is going to be in the hospital for his first Halloween. This makes me sad, but at least he'll be home for Thanksgiving.
Last night James had streaks of blood in one of his diapers. So they quit his feedings and gave him an IV. No more blood since, and they've since resumed his feedings, but here's hoping he doesn't have an allergy to a milk protein. He's already on soy formula, which is something I requested because of Ben's allergy and L's sensitivity when she was under one year. But if he has the allergy then we'd have to switch to a prescription formula and/or stop giving him breastmilk for his tubed feedings. Hopefully that one bloody stool was just a fluke.
This is completely unrelated to James but Arwen has a great post at Faith & Family about Catholic mom blogs. I have a couple friends whose blogs I cannot read because of how bad they make me feel about myself. (I mean, really, can't they just own "pretty"? Why do they also have to be good at the things I am borderline good at, too?) I hope I never seem to present just the most attractive version of my life, and I especially hope I never make someone feel bad about themselves. I'm pretty honest, though because I'm hoping people will relate, not compare.
It's 8:30pm exactly. I feel like it's midnight.
Thank you for your prayers! They are working - God is listening to us!
Pray for: continued healing of brain, success with bottle feedings, normal muscle tone, no acid reflux - ever.
Praise God for: all the healing He has done so far, the Body of Christ that is lifting my family up through this difficult time.
Go to bed. I am. Good night.
Was so glad to see the title of this blog! Lord know I've seen some miracles happen recently so I know He can heal James!
ReplyDeleteoh what wonderful news!!! I prayed all day everytime i thought of it. Thanks for the update and i hope you get a wonderful and restful night's sleep.
ReplyDeletesarah hedman
Quietly praising God here, and asking him for more please. And praying also for supernatural peace for you and your husband.
ReplyDeleteJust out of curiosity Bonnie ( because I am a midwife myself and I relate to the trauma when things go awry at delivery) I'm wondering if you have seen much of your midwife since James's birth? How has she been dealing with all of this?
This is fantastic news! Go James go! More prayers coming your way.
ReplyDeletePRAISE THE LORD!!! I will continue to keep James in my prayers - including the digestion issues.
ReplyDeleteAs for rosy lives and rosy blogs. I'm sure some people are inspired by them, but you're right, it's so hard not to compare our own very normal/average gifts and lives to the Martha Stewarts of the world. :) I haven't followed your blog for all that long, but it is your honesty and humility that I find inspiring, and you can rest assured that this is a gift for all who read your blog.
First of all, looking at the picture of you and Travis on your blog, you are pretty. Right now you may be feeling like most of us feel postpartum (fat and frumpy), but you have a pretty face and postpartum weight is a transitory thing.
ReplyDeleteAs far as other people's accomplishments, I think that sometimes it's easier to talk about the things that you can do, particularly if you're trying not to share some of the more difficult aspects of your life due to privacy concerns. It's also really, really hard to do a whole lot of stuff beyond just the essentials when you've got three little kids under three. For example, I'm a pretty cracker jack knitter now, and I can even make some fancy meals now, but I certainly didn't knit when I had little ones under three, and meals tended to fall more into the 30 minute meal category.
Perhaps your friends tend to blog only when there's happy stuff in their lives. You on the other hand have shared your pain, your struggles, etc. That transparency makes you someone who's interesting and even more approachable.
You are sounding very overwhelmed right now, and understandably so. Please talk with your doctor if there's any chance that you've got some postpartum depression issues going on. You've got little people who need you to be at the top of your game and if you don't take good care of yourself you can't be that. Be sure you're getting plenty of good nutrition (including vitamin D!).
God is not asking you to be your friends. He is only asking you to be the person He's made you to be. Life isn't supposed to be about making good, it's supposed to be about being good, and doing good. You do that every day of your life. You don't have to make the fanciest Halloween costumes, the best decorations, the cutest cookies to be a great mom to your kids. All they really want is your time and attention. You don't have to wear the most provocative lingerie, the most expensive perfume, or the most elaborate hairdo to be a great wife to your husband. What he really wants is your time, your attention, your kindness. Don't let yourself get caught in the competition trap. It's endless, it's fruitless, and it robs you of your joy.
You'll continue to be in my prayers. I'm so glad to hear that James' EEG was better this time.
bonnie,
ReplyDeletei just wanted to drop you a note (unrelated to your blogpost!) to let you know that so many of us are still praying for james, you and your family.
there simply can not be any judgements about how you handle what you are going through... you are hardest on yourself. i would love to offer you TONS of empathy right now... my prayers are with you. and just know- deep in your heart- that you are a beautiful person who is doing just fine.
know that you are not alone. it may be that not everyone can understand your particular path. but many of us do care very, very much about you and your family.
you are doing good mama!
in jesus and mary,
jen
btw... i thought i would share a short page on my own blog...my family is far from that perfect catholic homeschooling family! lol! enjoy the imperfection!
ReplyDeletehttp://crazymomhomeschoolskids.blogspot.com/2010/09/real-life.html
That is great news! Prayers continue, though.
ReplyDeleteOh and I really like the link you gave! Especially because I can be borderline rosy in my blog posts. Thanks for the encouragement to be more honest, humble, and real - just think, many of your readers (including myself) are often thinking to ourselves as we read, "I wish I was brave like Bonnie and could really say how I feel."