Let’s start with today’s bible verse. It was sent to me by my Aunt Jeanne in Burlington, VT yesterday and we’ll be praying it over Isaiah today. It’s especially special to me and Paul as Isaiah LOVES music. Always has. In the womb and out. We sing to him a lot.
“Sing to GOD a brand new song; sing His praises all over the world.”
~ Isaiah 42:10
The lyrics to “The Stand” from Hillsong United in this video clip (don’t rely on my unfortunate singing voice! Isaiah isn’t terribly picky, especially with a sometimes weepy Mama!):
So I’ll stand with arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the one who gave it all
And I’ll stand my soul, Lord, to you surrendered
ALL I AM IS YOURS!
This is one of two or three songs we sing to Isaiah every single day because it’s so meaningful to us. We give it ALL to God, including our sweet baby boy because he gave it ALL so that we could even be parents to baby Isaiah. HE knows what’s perfect and best for us, and we TRUST Him. I encourage you to listen to the rest of the song. The lyrics are here and are incredible if you are really quiet and listen to what they mean with regard to the Bible and the one who died for our sins so that we could have grace and forgiveness.
Ok, now that we’ve prayed and worshiped and gotten our God-rock on, let’s talk about baby Isaiah! More milestones yesterday for our little rock star. His biggest challenge at this point seems to be eating. We need this little guy to EAT! They wanted him yesterday taking at least 50 ML of breastmilk either through breastfeeding or bottle at each sitting. At 3:35 pm yesterday I got the following text/photo from my sweet friend Angie Watson:
Isaiah met with Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy yesterday. We’re working through some physical issues with him that they are helping us navigate. Today we’ll learn how to do baby massage with Jen, our Physical Therapist, to help get his little muscles active and moving. My guess? The kid’s just trying to avoid doing burpees. 🙂
Also, this morning the munchkin goes in for an EEG. Doctors are wanting to rule out to an absolute CERTAINTY that his brain is completely free of any virus. I believe we will have those results by Friday at the latest, so we’d love some very specific prayers that the EEG comes back completely normal.
Lastly, he has jaundice which is relatively normal in newborns. Today should be the day he starts to turn the corner and get his bilirubin headed back down to more normal levels so we’ll be monitoring that. That’s why you see him under the lights in several of his photos – he’s sunbathing! Gotta get that bilirubin back down.
Yesterday a friend asked me simply, “how much does he weigh?” and we realized we never shared those simple basics. Our little angel was born at 6 lbs 4 ounces and was a whopping 19 1/2 inches long! He has a super long torso like his Daddy and short legs like his Mommy. He has the sweetest demeanor, and he loves to smile. He loves his Daddy’s voice, but not especially Daddy’s whiskers on his face! He loves to listen to Pastor Jack (the only visitors he can have at NICU are us, any blood-relative grandparents and one clergyperson) and Jack gets a kick out of seeing him react to that southern drawl.
We ask for continued prayers, specifically:
– for Isaiah to eat the minimum recommended amount at EVERY sitting!
– for the EEG to come back completely normal
– to start turning the corner with the jaundice and get that bili number back DOWN!
– for rest for the doctors and nurses God has provided to us who are taking care of our sweet angel around the clock, the absolute best in the world
– for my husband, who is serving the Lord, Isaiah and me nonstop, that he would be able to get some restful sleep so he can be refreshed and renewed only the way Jesus can provide.
I know we keep saying this over and over again. We are SOOOO thankful to all of you. Keep the notes coming. Share your stories. We truly are reading every single one. We’ve read several to Isaiah.
May God bless you as you go about your day today. We will continue to keep you updated! Remember to pray today’s bible verse with your family and friends and we’ll pray it for all of you as well. Isaiah 42:10.
God bless,
Michelle, Paul and baby Isaiah
