What a Difference a Day Makes

It’s been almost a full day since my last update on Claire and I feel like I’m looking for the first time at pre-surgery Claire again! It’s amazing what a difference a day can make.

After Claire’s NG tube was removed last night, she began incessantly itching her nose and face. She rubbed and scratched for hours, until about 2am when she finally exhausted herself and I climbed in the tiny hospital crib to sleep next to her and hold her arms down until she could let go and fall asleep. The itching is from the morphine she is receiving for the pain and is a horrible side effect to watch.

With a new day comes new hope, and this morning brought just that when Claire finally got to eat. It was the absolute tiniest amount of milk (think the little bit you give a newborn on day one); but, it was something, and you can tell even that little bit filled her with such comfort. After working her way up little by little, she has now graduated and I just nursed her for the first time since Wednesday night which brought more joy and comfort to both of us.

Other major wins for today:

• Claire’s Morphine pushes (administered by Justin and I) are down to practically nothing – the goal is to have her off the Morphine by tomorrow
• Claire sat up on her own today, using her stomach muscles
• She began babbling, blowing bubbles and playing with us
• She finally, just shy of me writing this, smiled her squinty, adorable little smile at us

I’m now smiling again for the first time in what feels like forever. Justin is smiling again, and if you can believe it, he even did a little celebration dancing with me and anyone who know Justin, knows, he does not dance! We are only on day two of recovery and so we have still more to go. Claire has a long way to go as far as her food intake. She has also not passed gas or had a bowel movement yet. All Moms quickly find how obsessed we can be with our little ones BM’s but add to that a baby with liver or gastro issues and you just multiplied that worry exponentially.

But, for now, we celebrate! We thank God for answering so many of our prayers and we continue to position our hearts towards Him.

I love worshiping through music and so I thought, like yesterday, I would share another song that has helped me praise God in small victories like today, but even more in darker times like so many days past. It’s Bethel Music’s “Raise a Hallelujah,” and it’s a great one to blare in the car when you sometimes need to just scream out and proclaim “I will not let this destroy me. I will look up in faith and praise you Lord, even when the enemy would prefer I lash out or crumble in fear!”

Love and Blessings to all our family and friends tonight and I will continue to say it.. thank you, thank you, thank you!

Justin and Alisia

“Rejoice always, Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians: 16-18