For those of you who have been wondering why I have fallen off the grid this past week it’s because my sweet Madi Lee and I have been in the hospital. On Friday, my husband noticed a small red bump on her chest and late that day I noticed that it felt like something was underneath her skin—like a BB or a pebble. We went to the doctor who immediately put her on an antibiotic. The bump continued to grow and our wonderful doctor called us periodically to check on how she was doing. I just love living in a small town where we have a doctor who calls to check on my baby even when he is out of town for the weekend.
And then came Saturday night.
Actually it was 12:45 AM on Sunday morning when Madi woke up crying. Not her normal “I’m hungry” cry, mind you. It was more of a desperate “Something is hurting me” cry. My husband noticed that her bump had grown considerably and must be hurting her. What else could we do but load up our little family in the min-van and head to the ER, which thankfully is just around the corner.
The ER doctor lanced her bump and drained it. In the meantime, we were admitted to the hospital for IV fluids and antibiotics which was traumatizing to my little 7-month-old in and of itself. As a mom, there is nothing worse than seeing your babies in pain. We were there for three days and on the last day (yesterday) I noticed the arm where Madi’s IV was located was swelling up. The nurses ended up having to put a new IV in which took several pokes in arms, legs, hands, and feet. It was awful. I am so thankful to be home, whileMadi is on the road to recovery. The lab results were inconclusive so at this point we have no idea what kind of infection she had. For now, we just have to watch her and make sure no new bumps form.
As we sat there in the hospital with only horrible daytime TV for entertainment, I was glad to have my bag of books with me. Madi and I spent time reading books together like the LullaBible by Stephen Elkins, a collection of stories and songs for your little one.
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This book is filled with prayers and verses for parents, Bible story rhymes, lullaby sheet music, colorful pastel illustrations, and journal entry pages (my favorite part!). It is a keepsake for Madi to pass on to her own babies and I will especially remember this book because of the time we spent reading it in the hospital.
A CD of lullaby songs is included. We didn’t have a CD player with us in the hospital, but because the sheet music for the songs were included in the book, I was able to sing the songs to her myself.
We sang “God Is So Good”, “Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep”, and “Fairest Lord Jesus” to name a few. In a time of worrying and discouragement, this book was a treasure to have. Even though the hospital was the last place we wanted to be, having our books and a few other special things with us made it feel more like home.
How do you soothe your little one when they are sad or afraid? Do you have a special lullaby or hymn from your own childhood that you use?
Leave your comment below from now until Friday, January 25th and you will be entered to win your very own copy of the LullaBible, courtesy of Thomas Nelson.
so precious! and so true how powerful worship is during times of trouble. My girls are 9 and 11, and we like the LullaBible cd :).
Worship IS powerful….you are so right. What a blessing music can be. It always reminds me of my mom and how she would sing to me when I was afraid.
Depending on whether we are talking about soothing from the pains of broken bones or just sad because someone was mean, a cuddle with Mommy while humming/singing (the girls have a thing for Josh Turner songs) or a special book of their choice usually does the trick.
Mindy
Minderela@hotmail.com
We always sing Jesus Loves me!
moo77hb at gmail dot com
One of my favorites too 🙂
snuggles, songs & stories soothe my girls when they are sad or afraid
Snuggles are what we love too. My 4 year old has been especially snuggly since my youngest was born.
Your story brought tears to my eyes! My baby is 8.5 months, and I’m sure I would be scared being in the hospital with him! I hope your little one is doing better! When our son can’t sleep or just needs some music to calm him down, we sing “Great is Thy Faithfulness” and “Jesus Loves Me.” What a blessing to know that we can call on the name of the Lord in any situation! 🙂 (I would love to win LullaBible. It sounds like a great book!)
Thanks, Amanda. It was scary but so many others have it so much worse than I did. I am just thankful God got us through and pray for those mothers who are in hospitals with their sick babies right now. My heart goes out to them. Great is thy faithfulness got me through my mother’s passing last year….what a great song to sing to your baby 🙂
Hey Amanda! You won this giveaway! Please send your address to writing4truth@aol.com.
we snuggle a whole lot and talk about how BIG God is and sing lots of jesus loves me this i know
It’s always good to remember that God is BIG. It is comforting to know that the One who created the universe has us in His hands.
We like to sing Jesus Loves Me 🙂
khmorgan_00 [at] yahoo [dot] com
Prayers for a speedy recovery for that sweet little baby of yours. For my littles I ensure that they are as close to me as possible and hold them tight when they aren’t feeling well or hurt. Nothing pains me more to see them miserable. I just put my faith in God that he wouldn’t have them hurt more than they can handle even if they don’t realize it. Their pain always eases and know that HE was with us through it all.
So cute 🙂 Of course, I’m quite biased when it comes to my girls…