Colds and Babies

To help alleviate cold symptoms: 

1. Pray for quick healing
2. Put saline nasal drops or mist in your baby’s nose to loosen clogged mucus (example product "Ayr")
3. Use a suction bulb to gently extract excess mucus when needed (when you can see a big glob plugging up his nostril) - especially if they are having trouble breathing while eating
4. Raise the head of your baby’s crib mattress by putting a couple of pillows underneath the mattress
5. Run a cool mist humidifier in the child's room while they sleep
6. Give lots of Tender Loving Care
7. Offer lots of fluids- breast milk/formula, water, and Pedialyte (if child is over 6 mo. of age)
8. Rub a dime sized amount of Vick's vapor rub on their chest
9. If fever exists, use proper dosage of Acetaminophen
10. Do not give cold medicine to children under the age of 4 years

 When to call the doctor:

• If your baby is less than three months old and has a temperature of 100.4° or higher, call the doctor immediately. A baby this young needs to be checked for serious infection or disease.
• If your baby is between three months and three years, call your doctor if his temperature reaches 101.5° or higher.
• Also call if you suspect an earache or if you see that your child is in extreme discomfort, is very lethargic, has a seizure, has developed greenish-yellow nasal discharge or a phlegmy/wheezy cough, or is having trouble breathing.

Resources:
http://www.whattoexpect.com/childrens-health-and-safety/childrens-colds.aspx

What to Expect the First Year  written by the authors of  What to Expect When You're Expecting http://www.amazon.com/What-Expect-First-Arlene-Eisenberg/dp/0894805770

God Still Heals

James 5: 14-15 "Are any of you sick?  You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord.  Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well."

Please excuse my grumbling, but I tell you, I am just sick of being sick.  And I am sick of having little ones that are sick.  The saying is true..."when it rains, it pours".  Here has been our last couple of weeks.  Tues: Tessa, my 4 yr. old, came down with a horrible cold with lots of congestion;  Fri: Gillian, my 9 mo. old, came down with a cold as well;  Sat: we take Gillian to the doctor for an ear infection;  Sun:  I come down with the stomach flu;  Mon: I'm still sick & the girls are still full of gunk;  Tues: I go to the doctor for strep throat;  Wed: I get a cold too!  It truly felt like we were living in some kind of crazy horror movie.  Our lives were in ciaos....and my poor husband....bless his heart.  Praise God, today we all feel a lot better.

God planted a seed in my mind, via our nurse practitioner, on Saturday when we took Gillian to convenient care for her ear infection.  She said that Americans actually over-treat ear infections.  She told us she could prescribe an antibiotic or we could wait a couple days to see if the infection cleared up on its own.  I, of course, did not want to deal with a fussy child, so I asked for a prescription.  At the time I was not acting in faith, but acting in the moment of despair and fear.  Now, with a clear mind, I wonder why do we over treat/medicate infections and illnesses?  Why do we run so quickly to the doctor?  Do we lack faith?  Do we think God can't heal us?

James writes in chapter 5 (see verse at top of post) that a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick.  God does heal the sick.   Some may say, "God created brilliant minds to create medicine".  (Be cautious....check out 2 Chronicles 16:12 to see why Asa displeased God).  This statement is true.  Sometimes there is a time and place for medicine; and it is most certainly a part of God's plan to heal some.   It does seem that we don't see as many miraculous healings today as we read about in the Bible.  But we do know God is a god of His word.  If His Word says He will heal....He will heal.  God calls us to "walk by faith, not by sight" 2 Corinthians 5:7.

There are testimonies of God healing cancer and diseases that just bring me to tears.  My question is, "Why limit our faith and only call on Him to heal the "big" stuff?".  Can He not heal my little baby's cold?  Can't he heal my strep throat?  I encourage you to before you run to the doctor, get down on your knees and pray for healing.  Ask your spouse or a loved one to join you in laying hands on your little one, and pray fervently for healing.  Ask fellow believers to pray for the healing you need.  Call on God to be your "Great Physician"....that is one of the names of our great and powerful Lord.  Maybe God will urge you to go to the doctor after your time in prayer....maybe He will ask you to wait and walk by faith. Either way, healing will come and we will praise Him for it.

I'm wondering if my lack of faith allowed our time of sickness to be prolonged.  Maybe if I had fell to my knees on Tuesday, when Tessa came down with the cold,  God would have stopped it all right then and there.  I guess I will never know; but I am sure that the next time one of us gets sick, I am running first to my "Great Physician", not to my greatly over-priced physician ;)

"for I am the Lord, who heals you." Exodus 15:26
"The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results."  James 5:16

Wisdom from Above

"If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you.  He will not rebuke you for asking."  James 1:5

I have to tell you from the start, that in writing these devotions/blogs, I am totally out of my comfort zone.  I am in no way an expert at breastfeeding, but I do have a calling to do it.  Several months ago, God started nudging me to write devotions for breastfeeding moms.  I first thought it would be in a book form, so I starting brainstorming topics and gathering materials.  Yet I kept putting off writing any form of a complete devotional....I was fearful.  I feared that I don't have the kind of wisdom or knowledge it takes to create a nursing devotional.
Through a Bible study I am doing, the book of James has been showing me that all the wisdom we need comes from above.  Not wisdom from ourselves, or from others....just from Him.  So, I started.  As I was looking for scriptural material for this devotion, I came upon the lyrics of the old hymn "Trust and Obey".  By no means am I lover of old hymns, but the its words speak volumes to the amount of trust we need to have in Christ, and the imperative need for us to obey all He calls us to do.
You may be sitting there reading this (and possibly nursing your precious baby at this very moment) questioning whether you have the wisdom it takes to nurse your little one through all the struggles.  Will I have wisdom to handle let-down frustrations?  Will I have the wisdom needed to jump the hurdles of low milk supply?  Will I have the wisdom for anything that comes my way?  The answer is YES!  God has called you to breastfeed your baby.  Trust and obey.  He is all you need in your times of need.
Whenever I doubt in my ability to continue nursing my daughter, I have to remind myself that there were not books like "What to Expect The First Year", or the aid of a lactation consultants hundreds of years ago....yet, women were breastfeeding their babies....and they were successful at it.  God gave them wisdom and He will give you wisdom too.  Like James 1:5 says, you just have to ask Him for it.  We don't need self-confidence....we need God-confidence.  "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 12:9.
I encourage you today to have peace in knowing that God has all the wisdom you need, and He is so ready to give it to you...just ask Him for it.

Suggested Prayer:
Dear God,  I come to you asking for wisdom.  I am struggling with__________.  I don't have the wisdom in me to handle all that comes with nursing this beautiful baby you have given me.  I do know you have ALL the wisdom I need.  Please grant me the peace and discernment that I need.  Speak to me and guide me in the direction you want me to go.  I love you Lord, and I thank you in advance for the answers you are going to give me.  Amen.

Link to "Trust and Obey" lyrics http://4praise.com/cgi-bin/files/lyr/2699.htm
Link to "Trust and Obey" video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYVoVD8kLiY

The Beginning

I am so excited to create this blog to share with other nursing moms how God is encouraging me, and what He is wanting me to encourage you with.  Every few days I am will create a devotion that will bring God's Word into context with the daily struggles and triumphs we go through in nursing our little ones.  Practical advice, information from experts, and links to resources will be added in; and I will try to share some of my experiences as well.  I have two beautiful daughters...Tessa, 4 1/2 (the 1/2 is so important to her), and Gillian, 8 months.  I was only able to nurse Tessa for 3 weeks before we realized she had MSPI (milk and soy protein intolerance).  For the rest of her infancy she was on very expensive formula.  While I was pregnant with Gillian, a lactation consultant gave me priceless advice and information, and by the grace of God I have been able to exclusively breastfeed Gillian, even though she has had MSPI also.  I have gone through many ups and downs with nursing along with trying to stay on top of everything else happening in my life. God truly is my source of energy and sanity.  I hope I can give you verses, Spirit-led words of encouragement, and some practical advice to help you enjoy the fabulous opportunity to breastfeed your precious little one.  I look forward to going on the journey with you!