Last night, Andrew and I got to go on a date in the city. We shared a very simple, very delicious picnic in a park that brought us back to our dating years, went to see a movie, and stopped for ice cream (and coffee for Andrew) on the way home. Being the good wife that I am, I napped pretty much the entire hour of the car ride home. :) It was a wonderful evening.
Anyway, it was late when we got home. We went to sleep around midnight (veeery late for us these days), and woke up to Isaiah coughing and crying at 1:30am. The sound was terrible. He would cough, cry, and then his breath in was this awful wheezing, strained, constricted noise. Followed by a scared cry, more awful breaths in, more coughing, etc. He got the cold that we did last week, and just in the last couple days it moved a bit into his lungs, but this sounded really bad. Andrew went to Isaiah's room and picked him up, and the poor little guy just draped against him, arms around Andrew's neck, breathing these little wheezing breaths.
Breathing troubles are scary. Very scary. We don't even know how much so, as he doesn't even have asthma or anything chronic like that, but a few months ago there was a week of about the same as last night (following this terrible cold that went around), and then again last night. Isaiah calmed down quickly, but still couldn't sleep.
Two and a half hours later....
4 AM. Finally, he was asleep, and stayed asleep until morning came--after much back rubbing, singing, water, and the like.
During those 2 1/2 hours (on which we were operating on 1 1/2 hrs of sleep), we both thought about many things. Should we take him in to the hospital? (Closest one is 45 minutes away, would most likely have to wait up to several hours to be seen unless his breathing was super bad at resting level....welcome to health care in Quebec.) Should we take him in to the Children's Hospital in Montreal? (1 hr 15 minutes away, would probably be seen sooner.) Or do we just wait it out until morning since he seems to be not so bad when he's relaxed?
In the alternating shifts of singing/rubbing we took last night, I was reminded of how precious and delicate life is. Of what an incredible gift Isaiah is to us. Of how much I cherish each little part of his body and personhood. Of how I would do anything for him. Of how blessed we are to get to take care of him. Of how much he is in God's care.
And as I prayed over my sweet little boy, while singing yet another verse of Amazing Grace, I remembered how utterly dependent we are on the Lord for each breath - literally.
There have been other nights like this one, where he just wouldn't sleep for 1-3 hours in the middle night, and those nights we are usually frustrated because nothing seems to be wrong, and we are very tired. This night though, there was no frustration (ok, except for a couple minutes when I really needed to empty my bladder, which pregnancy has reduced to the size of an almond)--just a desire for him to be healthy, comfortable, and to get the rest he very much needs.
Parenthood is not an easy road, but oh, it is such a blessing to be apart of this precious child's life.
Now, a couple days later, he has been sleeping much better each night, and is improving each day. Whew.
We love you, little buddy. You are so dear to us.
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