Breckin has just made so many leaps and bounds lately. She had a swallow study a few weeks ago, and did not aspirate on thin liquids! We got the okay to give her tastes of plain water (without thickening!) several times a day. We were able to wean her off one of her heart meds, and so far she is tolerating it. Her oxygen level, while still low, is stable for her. She has learned to pretty much feed herself with a spoon, she is saying "mama," although still not consistently, and she is learning hand motions to several new songs. Also, just last week, she learned to move herself with her feet on a ride-on toy. This is huge for her, because up until then, she had no way of moving herself independently. She doesn't crawl or walk, so this gives her a way to move herself around!
Harper has also been such a great helper with Breckin. When I leave the room where they're playing, I don't have any worries about Breckin. Harper is so sweet and gentle with her, and if Breckin starts fussing or crying, Harper sings her favorite songs to her and rubs her head or hands which always calms her down. She is like an extra pair of hands for me at times too. If I am occupied with Breckin, and need something, Harper is usually pretty eager to get it for me. She also told my mom the other day, that since Breckin can't see, she will lead her around and show her where to go.
Both of my girls just totally impress and amaze me everyday. God definitely knew what he was doing when he gave us Harper three years before he gave us Breckin. I was actually pregnant in between the two of them, and we lost the baby at 15 weeks. For the longest time, I just never understood why God allowed that to happen. Part of it I believe was just God's timing. He knew Breckin was going to have very special needs and the age gap between them I think needed to be exactly what it is. I also think that going through that hard time helped prepare us for the next hardship we would go through with having Breckin.
I am trying to do my best to soak up this "easy" time in life right now, because I know that just around the corner, there will be more hard times. I think God gives us these little breaks to remind us that He is good. We get these "breathers" so that when the struggles come, we will still know that He is good. He gives us just what we need when we need it, whether we are going through hard times or easy times.
I have spent so much time praising God through the storm, that I want to make sure that I praise Him through the sunshine too! I know that with Breckin, there will always be challenges, and struggles, and hard times. But, there will also be laughter, and joy, and beauty. And most of the time, all these things tend to overlap. Looking back over the past 16 months of Breckin's life, I can see that I have a good Father, and that He is good all the time!
Love,
B
