Tuesday, February 20, 2007
UPDATE Blog SET Topic = ( SELECT * FROM AspectsOfLife WHERE HowLongHasItBeen = Eternity( ) - 1 )
Well, to update you all on the whole supporting the fight against abortion thing, I did find a very supportable network of pregnancy resource centers known as Heartbeat International. Know what else? About a week after I started supporting them, they, along with one or two other such networks, are now the cover story of the latest issue of Time magazine. I'm not sure at this point what else I can do other than financially support them. I looked up the closest center in the area, but I haven't contacted them. I think I will, but I'm not sure that I have any skills that are in high demand there. Plus, I'm not sure how much longer I'll be in this area. Hopefully not long, but you never know.
Finding an organization that fit what I was looking to support was an encouragement, but alas, I heard some very disappointing news today. I don't want to share all of the details, but it has to do with a friend of mine from the Navy (he's been out for a few months) who was betrayed by his wife. What she did to him and what she's doing to him now is heartbreaking, and her getting virtually rewarded for it by the court system makes me sick. I was confident that the Lord was going to set things right in court, but it was not to be. It makes me feel like I somehow failed; like I wasn't praying often enough or earnestly enough for him. I also feel helpless, because there's nothing else I could've done to stop that from happening, as I have not seen him in person since before their little girl was born.
On a completeley different note, Eric is going to bed earlier, even though I haven't come close to mastering the art of getting off work at a decent time.
Oh, and for those of you wondering what we're doing about his formula, some background info first: from day one at the hospital, Eric wasn't keeping down milk-based formula, which he was getting due to a nursing complication which is still keeping his daily supply of mommy's milk down to a small percentage of his daily diet. The hospital gave us lots of free samples of soy formula, which we continued to use as a (major) supplement. Any time Becky had any dairy products, though, Eric would get a rash all over his face, which would go away after a few days when she took care to rid her diet of all of them. After getting an article from my mom via email a few weeks ago regarding the possible dangers of soy, we bought some milk-based formulas that were supposed to be easier to digest and reduce colic based on milk allergies, and we set up an appointment with Eric's pediatrician. The article, after all, was written by a journalist, not a doctor, so we wanted to see what he thought and we wanted to ask him what the alternatives were in case the more digestible milk-based stuff didn't work out.
By the time the appointment came, it was apparent that Eric was getting his rash back from the milk-based formula. He was also spitting up more and was fussier at night. The doctor skimmed the article, said he hadn't heard of any such concerns about soy, and told us that he fed his kids soy formula and they're all fine. He also gave us a whole box of free samples of a soy-free formula that is used for babies with lots of allergies. He says it doesn't have any dairy in it, though the label says that the powder is 17.5% "hydrolysate (derived from milk)." It's the nastiest formula I've ever smelled (and the soy stuff is quite nasty, though it really doesn't compare), but we were eager to find out how Eric would react to it, so we started him on it. We could tell from his first feeding that it wasn't going to work. He absolutely refused to drink it (what a smart little boy; I'm so proud), but when we held his head still and were just as stubborn back to him as he was being to us, he did give in and drink it--and then his throat turned into Old Faithful (I probably needed a shower anyway). We switched back to one of the other formulas and tried to sneak that one in at least once a day, but that little boy knows what he doesn't want. So, we tried the same thing from a different brand. It wasn't as bad, and we thought it was going to work at first, but he still wasn't eating full meals of it, and wasn't keeping it down enough for it to work as a meal-after-meal food. So, we're back to soy. We boil the water first like we've been doing ever since the second time we've gone with powder, and he still drinks a little bit from his mommy in the morning, at bedtime, and as part of a feeding or two during the day.
I'm attending the Spanish service at Calvary Chapel more regularly now. Last week, they had a guest speaker, who sounded like a native speaker, which is the exception at this particular church. I was having trouble keeping up with him, so I moved to the very front so that I could concentrate more on what he was saying. I did understand some of it, especially toward the end. I wish I could immerse myself in a Spanish-speaking culture and not come out until I'm fluent, but that's just not a viable option right now, and probably won't be in the forseeable future.
