Saturday, 6/7/08: Jace continues to thrive

I've mentioned Psalm 40 in a previous post; it's a psalm worth reading again! Here's the first portion:
"I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord."

I'm so challenged yet encouraged by this portion of Psalm 40: 1-3: Challenged, for I often do not wait patiently for anything; Encouraged, for He still hears my cry! Challenged, for I put myself in the slimy pit most of the time; Encouraged, for He (not me) pulls me out of the muck and places my feet on solid rock! Challenged, for I'm a poor witness to others singing off-key His new song to those around me; Encouraged, for I realize that He (not me) puts a melodious song in my mouth and moves people to worship Him.

This post is the first on the blog called 'Blessings through Brokenness' found at http://blessingsthroughbrokenness.blogspot.com/. I'll be posting on this site from now on and including pictures as I can. Toward the bottom of this blog, a link to Lauren's blog can be found as well as other sites of interest.

Our little man, Jace, continues to astound us. We are so grateful to be seeing little smiles from him. Yet, he has numerous daily challenges. Despite Lauren and Danny's best efforts and valiant attempts to feed little Jacer (his daddy's nickname for him) around the clock, he has not gained weight. Some days (Friday early morning, 6/6/08 was such a day), Jace seems to spit up almost all of his 30-35 mL feeding. As you can imagine, seeing that milk come out of his mouth and nose is totally disheartening to Lauren and Danny. Thursday, 6/12/08, Lauren and Jace will see a nutritionist. Please pray for some encouraging and helpful information to put some weight on this little guy.

On Wednesday, I stopped by the cardiologist's office to pick up DVDs and reports for all three of Jace's echocardiograms that he's had since birth. I overnighted them to Monroe, LA, to my dear mother-in-law's first cousin, Dr. Terry King, who happens to be a famous pediatric cardiologist! He has very kindly requested to take a look at Jace's echos to see if there is any procedure that might help his little heart function better. Here's an interesting tidbit of information that Jace's cardiologist gave me when I saw her Wednesday concerning the location and size of the remaining hole between his ventricles (lower chambers of the heart): the hole is not HUGE, but termed moderate in size and located in a softer, more membranous upper area of the ventricles; holes in this area have been known to close on their own. It's rare, but possible in this softer area of the heart. We pray daily for more miracles with this sweet baby!

He has become fascinated with the camera lately as evidenced by the posted picture! He will stare and smile at the camera now! He has many very alert times during the day (and night), and tries to mimic mouth movements that he sees others doing. Oh, he has his fussy moments, and Madelyn has taken to calling him 'fussy pants' while grinning at the hilarious faces he'll make when he's working himself into a crying jag! He doesn't have the strength to roll over, but he moves his arms and legs constantly. Last Tuesday, I bought bibs for him that say 'I love Mommy' and 'I love Daddy', for Jace adores being in their arms! Lauren and Danny are tired, very tired as this feeding schedule seems never-ending. But, as I've said before, they feel so very blessed to have him home with them, that the sleep deprivation is worth it.

Please pray for their stamina to continue, and that they would stay free from illness. Pray for little Jace's heart and nutritional intake. He needs to gain weight if there is any possibility of heart repair. He still wears preemie clothes and diapers; you can imagine how tiny he is!

We appreciate you all!

Blessings,
Kathy for the Harts and Steinhauses