by Lois Breneman (Grandmother Lois)
The month of April has been like a whirlwind for our family, but the Lord's presence has been with us all the way. He has been so faithful in answering the prayers of hundreds of family and friends, as well as many we have never met, as we all prayed for our precious newborn grandson, Andrew.
Our fourth grandbaby was due to be born on May 10, however, he was born five weeks early by C-section, after his mother felt less movement, fearing he was in some type of danger. We are all so thankful that our daughter-in-law, Rachael, noticed in the middle of the night how his lack of movement might be a legitimate concern. It definitely was, and that decision to go to the doctor's as a safeguard early the next morning may have saved his life. His heart rate had dropped from 140 down to 65 and back up while in the doctor's office, and an ultrasound showed that he wasn't responsive to stimulation, so Rachael, was immediately hospitalized for a C-section.
We were so thankful that Andrew was born at a whopping 5 pounds, 6 ounces - rather hefty for a preemie, arriving five weeks early! But in the next few weeks so many physical alarms were set off in his tiny body, and each one was a mystery to the finest doctors. They didn't see any reason for him not to be breathing at birth, but that is how his first few seconds of life began. A few compressions on his tiny chest started him breathing right away, and he was on a ventilator for six hours. When the doctors found his kidneys were not functioning properly, he was taken to Children's Hospital an hour and a half from home when he was less than two days old. His lungs and intestines were not quite ready to do their job, but those problems soon straightened out as so many prayers went up for him.
Next he was not producing enough blood platelets, and a blood transfusion twice, before he started making enough of his own. That was a rather uncertain time. We were all relieved when an MRI showed there was no brain damage. Again the doctors were puzzled, because Andrew seemed very healthy, but these malfunctions kept popping up.
The first two weeks were like a roller coaster ride with a good report one day and a bad one the next. He was also on a feeding tube because he was too tired and sleepy to take the full amount when nursing or taking breast milk from a bottle. So whatever he didn't drink on his own was put down the feeding tube, so he wouldn't lose weight.
The third week was not as huge of a crisis, but he desperately needed to gain weight every day and get off the feeding tube before he could come home. Andrew is a very easy going and content baby, but he grabbed hold of his feeding tube twice and pulled it right out. The second yank was the night before Easter. After that a resident doctor, sent by God, suggested that Andrew be fed more often. He immediately stepped up his eating, and gained weight so well that the feeding tube was a thing of the past, and he was able to come home two days after Easter, on the day that he turned three weeks of age.
For the first week of Andrew's life, three year old Daniel was being cared for by other family members nearby. Then my husband and I drove to their home several states away, to help our son, Jeff, take care for Daniel and take charge of the household, since Jeff couldn't afford to use up all his vacation time. After a week, my husband had to go back home to work. Although he is partially retired, his company has a big job for him to work on right now, so he's temporarily working full time again. I am staying to help Jeff and Rachael's little family, at their request, for thirty-one days. This will be the longest period of time my husband and I have ever been apart in almost forty-three years of our marriage, but it's certainly for a worthy cause.
I'm so happy to be able to help them, and my two weeks with Daniel has been such fun! Now that Andrew and Rachael are home, I am loving all the cuddling I am able to provide, while Rachael has more time for big brother, Daniel. While they take afternoon naps, I am able to take care of Andrew. He is still too tired to work hard enough to nurse full time, so he is taking most of his mom's breast milk by bottle, until he is stronger. That means Jeff and I are able to help feed him by bottle more often. I can hardly take my eyes off of his sweet face while feeding him!
Last week Jeff, Daniel and I went to Children's Hospital and stayed in the Ronald McDonald House two nights, so their little family could be together again. It was the first time in two weeks that Rachael and Daniel had seen each other. He has done amazingly well though! Jeff and I each got to spend hours cuddling and feeding Andrew bottles of breast milk. Volunteers from various churches in the area brought lunch and dinner each day for families of patients. It was such an appreciated service.
Andrew only whimpered a little at birth, and rarely cried at all during the first week or two, but he is now crying rather heartily when he is hungry, and we love that! We are measuring his feedings and he is exceeding what the medical staff expects, so we know he is gaining weight.
While Andrew is sleeping he makes such adorable squeaking sounds, so I sometimes lovingly call him, "Pipsqueak." He is a bundle of squeaks, smiles, stretches, yawns, miracles, and sweetness!
So many precious Scriptures were like a rock to us during this time of uncertainty. The fact that this little family had experienced two miscarriages in the previous year made it all the more difficult to think of them losing another little one. But the Lord gave us such a perfect peace that passes all understanding, and this trial has definitely strengthened our trust in Him. Psalm 139 was a comfort to us, reminding us that God Himself formed Andrew in his mother's womb, and we knew that He still had Andrew in His Hands and He alone was completely in charge of his life. Ephesians 3:20 encouraged us as well, saying that the Lord was able to do exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think. The next verse (21) says, "Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus, to all generations."
We will never know why all of this happened, but we know God had a special reason. Certainly many good things have come out of this experience. I am enjoying five weeks with my two grandsons, and loving every minute of it. It's hard to take my eyes off of this beautiful miracle baby as I feed him and help care for him, and Daniel and I have been having lots of good times together as well. Our trust in the Lord has been increased. Rachael had the opportunity to meet so many people at Children's Hospital and talk with them, and heard so many miracle stories of other babies. She was sharing with me how she wrote notes of appreciation to all of Andrew's doctors and nurses, as well as other mothers at the hospital whom she met with very sick babies. She wrote out scripture verses in many, and always mentioned to others how the prayers of so many people were making all the difference in the world for her and Jeff during this most difficult time, and giving them such peace even during the most uncertain days when they could have easily lost their baby.
We are still so humbled by the outpouring of love and prayers by so many dear people, even many around the world! Many started prayer chains or sent the prayer requests to a long list of their own family and friends. Jeff and Rachael's family has healthy dinners coming to their home for the next three weeks, enough to spill over into Jeff's lunchbox for work, which gives him more rest and holding time. In the meantime, I am enjoying helping with Andrew and Daniel, as well as doing laundry, kitchen duty, and cleaning, trying my best to do serve this precious family in doing whatever is needed from this thankful Grammie!
