Blessings

As you all know my baby girl has been struggling with illnesses since January. It has been really hard on us all. They haven't been major ones, mainly colds with SEVERAL ear infections, a few other random illness as well. She had problems with the antibiotics and is on the 4th one now, and it seems to be working. A few weeks ago we got some news that she is "borderline" Failure to Thrive. For those who don't know, 'Failure to Thrive' is a pretty generic term used to describe children who are not growing properly. It could be due to genetics, illnesses, neglect, and many other things. Lila was 15 pounds 7 ounces at her 6 month check up, and at her nine month visit she weighed 15 pounds 1 ounce; dropping from the 36th percentile to the 2nd percentile. She is now on an "all fat" diet. I feel like a terrible mother because I am feeding her all of this crap that I never would have fed Lucas at that age. I give her everything and anything, cookies, french fries, hot dogs, extra butter on EVERYTHING! And though, I don't think they are bad to give kids, I don't like giving it to her everyday, or every meal!! But I have to, to get her healthy, weird I know.

Anyway...at the end of this month we take her in to get weighed again, and if she has not gained enough weight, then they will draw blood and test her for different ailments including Cystic Fibrosis and Celiac Disease. I wasn't too worried until I saw her compared to other kids her age. Now I am nervous. Matt and I fasted for her the other day, and feel confident the Lord will take care of her and of us.

This week, we took her in again since she had a cold and was SO fussy. The doctor walked in, looked at her, and said "I already know what she has. She is wheezing and blowing snot bubbles from her nose. She has RSV." (apparently snot bubbles cue him into RSV, who would have thought?) He did a thorough exam and decided it was definitely RSV and another ear infection (don't worry, we are in the process of getting tubes put in). Great. So, we have been keeping her in seclusion within our home and trying to help her. Matt gave her a blessing a few nights ago. It was a very sweet and encouraging blessing. That night was kind of scary for me. She coughed ALL night long. There were times where she couldn't get any air, and after her coughing fits were over, she just looked SO worn out from it. It broke my heart. The good news is she is SO much better now. The really hard part seems to be over. Hopefully she can continue to recover and regain her health. We ask for everyones prayers for our little girl to be healthy and to gain some weight. Thank you.

Today, we had stake conference. Since Lila can't leave the house, Matt and I split up the hours. I was only able to hear one talk, but boy was it good! President Hutchison talked about testimonies. He talked about how dear our testimonies are. He told of a talk from a past prophet (I don't remember who) who compared it to a moonbeam. That you have to hold on it, and work to get it and keep it. I have a very strong testimony of this Gospel, though sometimes I admit, I don't "work" to keep it as hard as I should. Having situations like the current one with Lila help me to keep my testimony "fresh" I fully believe Lila is doing better because of the Priesthood blessing Matt gave her. And I am thankful to a loving Father in Heaven, who is helping her. I do not believe this little battle is over, so we will continue praying for her, but I know the Lord will take care of our family.