Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Sydney Wants a Sister

After we had our first official ultrasound, Ryan and I told Sydney about the baby. It took her a little while to take it all in, but now, if you ask her, she'll tell you that there's a baby in Mommy's tummy. And when we asked her if she wanted a baby brother or sister, she informed us that she wanted a sister.

I think it's because one of her little school friends, Anna Catherine, just became a big sister to a baby brother. According to Anna Catherine's dad, Anna Catherine is not adjusting very well to the new addition. Apparently, two and three-year-olds talk about such matters amongst themselves because Sydney refuses to acknowledge that our baby might be a boy.

Either way, we can find out the gender of the baby in July. I just hope that no matter what the results are, Sydney adjusts well. I see how frustrated Anna Catherine's dad is and I definitely don't want that to be me come November.

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Another "First"

We thought that we were pretty much done recording Sydney's "firsts." We've got all the major milestones down: walking, talking, singing, using the potty, going to school, going to the dentist, etc. Yesterday, however, we encountered a new one: our first visit to the emergency room.

While stirring the macaroni and cheese that was to be her lunch, Sydney accidentally touched the pot. She suffered first and second degree burns on her right palm and after a call to the on-call pediatrician from our doctor's office, Ryan took her to the emergency room.

Amazingly, she got in within an hour and was the bravest little thing in the world while the nurse practitioner cleaned the burn and wrapped her entire hand and wrist. Ryan said she was the perfect patient and didn't cry at all (as opposed to when it first happened and she was completely inconsolable).

So for the next few days, her hand will be wrapped so that the burn can heal and hopefully an infection won't set in. A visit to her regular pediatrician on Monday should tell us when we can expect for the burn to heal completely.

I asked Sydney if she was going to touch a pot again and received a vehement, "NO!" in response, so we're hoping she learned her lesson. As difficult as it is, I guess it's one of those things you just have to learn for yourself. Sadly, I'm sure this won't be the last lesson she has to learn for herself.

Thursday, April 6, 2006

The Power of Prayer

A few days ago, a study came out stating that having people pray for you during recovery is detrimental rather than helpful. Heart surgery patients who knew that others were praying for them actually did worse than those who did not have people praying for them. How scientific could this study be? Can you measure the faith of those who prayed or the faith of those who had prayers said in their name? I don't think so.

I know prayer works, despite what scientists say. Most of you who read this blog know that Ryan and I got some good news a few weeks ago when we found out that we would be having a baby in November. Unfortunately, there were complications early-on and I was on bed-rest for almost two weeks. We had our families and friends praying for us. We were added to a prayer list at my sister's church. I even had my internet support group praying for us. People of several faiths kept us in their prayers.

It worked. On Tuesday, we got the news that despite the complications, the baby is thriving and all looks well. I'm still on a 'restricted regimen' but the chance of a miscarriage is down to 3%. The first words out of my mouth once we heard our little one's heartbeat was, "Thank you, God." I think I've said that prayer about a thousand times since, as well. After all, God most definitely deserves prayers of praise after such a terrifying situation is resolved.

I'm sure the study that was done was conducted as scientifically as possible, but I still don't believe the results. How can you measure something that has no physical manifestation? Isn't that the point of faith - to believe in something or someone so strongly that you don't need proof of physical existence? I simply don't believe this study's results; I'm pretty sure anyone of faith (Christian or otherwise) probably feels the same. Our little one is living proof (literally) that prayer works.