After more than a week of nights of coughing, crying and puke, I'm glad to say that this little boy is more or less on the road to recovery. We brought the kid to the PD as he was coughing for more than a week, and she diagnosed him as having mycoplasma. After a course of antibiotics, he's much better now and his appetite is slowly picking up. I'm really so thankful for our PD: her diagnoses are usually spot on, and the kids usually start improving after a visit to her clinic.
One more thing that we are thankful for would be this sudden change in the relationship between the younger two boys. Previously, Lil J had been constantly expressing his dislike for Baby J, probably due to sibling rivalry. He would say that he didn't like him, and after reading in the Bible about Joseph, he decided that he wanted to sell Baby J away! We did everything we could: we tried to spend one on one time with him, we reassured him we loved him, we kept talking to him about loving his brothers. Nothing seemed to get through, and knowing how strong-willed Lil J was we steeled ourselves that this phase was going to be a long, long one.
However, for the past week, this little boy's heart seems to have softened. He now says he loves his brother, he sometimes pats him, and is now willing to share some of his toys with him and include him in games. With this comes a growing pride, as I see them all playing nicely together, and a sense of relief that hopefully, this difficult phase has passed.
I'd been praying so hard for the relationships between the three of them. Sometimes, I wonder if all this conflict and fighting is a result of our parenting, and many a times you wonder where you've gone wrong. Times like these are a good reminder that there is only so much we can do, and that God is the one that can change our childrens' hearts. With so much parenting "self-help" articles going around these days, it is tempting to think that our children will grow up well, so long if we were to follow all of these guides. We forget that our kids too are flawed and fallen, and that they too need God to transform them into new creations.
This little change in Lil J's heart has been such an encouragement to me during this period, and I am thankful for the reminder to keep trusting and hoping in God, who has our children in His loving hands.
I am embarking on this course - Growing Kids God's Way. Aiming to glean some wisdom from it; parenting can be so hard!
ReplyDeleteGlad to know that everyone is well again. So sweet of Lil J to love his little brother more than ever before. I'm sure this brotherly love will go on forever.
ReplyDeleteMy girl is having terrible cough too! It's heartbreaking to hear her wheeze. :(
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, parenting is a journey of faith!