Staying strong

We are taking it as a really good sign that Luke is on the mend seeing as he slept all night in his own crib last night. The three nights before that he was restless and fussy and we would finally bring him into our bed so we could salvage some sleep hours. We heard him cough a couple times through our monitor around 9pm and 10pm, but he was able to settle himself back down. Way to go, Luke!

For those of you who don't know, we have come a LONG way the past 5 weeks in working with Luke on his sleep habits. In a little over a month, we have gone from getting up with him 2 to 4 times a night for a bottle feed or comfort session to him sleeping quietly all night in his crib. We are praising the Lord for this victory! When we run into hiccups like the past 3 or 4 nights, we remind ourselves where we were in February.

I'll never forget a friend of mine telling me that she felt like a different person after she and her husband had begun getting regular, full-nights of sleep. She has a child with medical issues as well and she told me that the sleep deprivation was at times harder than some of the medical issues. It's hard to believe, but it really is true. So, after 14 months of interrupted sleep, Roger and I got the okay to wean Luke from his night bottles and begin sleep training. We chose a middle-of-the-road approach, with some tears shed, but using our presence in Luke's room at regular intervals to help comfort him.

Luke finally slept through the night for the first time on March 2. And not again until March 17. But the improvement was vast and he was only waking up 1 time each night for a quick little mommy or daddy fix.

It comes as no surprise to me that sleep deprivation is used as a torture device. Now that Rog and I are getting a bit more sleep, life's daily hurdles just don't seem so tall. We are proud of you, Luke. You continue to surprise us with your adaptability!

Here's a quick pic of how Luke sleeps. Booty in the air! Doesn't seem comfortable to me, but whatever works, right?

Thank you for your prayers for Luke's cold. I really do think he's feeling better. He still has a bit of a runny nose and a small cough, but the things we watch for and worry about have not developed (labored breathing, change in color, puffy eyelids). I was thinking more about that verse I posted on Saturday, the one about bringing our requests to God, instead of letting anxiety eat at us and distance us from God. The words in that verse that keep nudging at my heart are, "...with thanksgiving". It's easy for me to give thanks and praise to God when He answers my prayers and petitions in the fashion that I want, but am I as consistent about presenting my requests with gratitude when His answer is yet to be seen? I don't think the Lord means in this verse that our gratitude is conditional to God's answer. I think He wants our heart to be grateful simply because 1) we have a high King that is accessible to us and sympathetic to our needs and 2) we know that even if He answers our prayers differently than we expect, it is for our good and His glory.