Susan and Baby David are back home now, Praise God. David is doing well. He's sleeping peacefully now that he's finally soiled a diaper (a somewhat runny diaper, but a soiled one nonetheless) due to a little Karo syrup in this afternoon's bottle. Last night, during a stretch of a couple hours, he would pass gass every five minutes or so and wake himself up. He doesn't like to sleep on his back--especially when he's gassy. With the new "Back to Sleep" marketing campaign, parents are encouraged (read: barraged with fear-based messages) to place their newborns on their backs to try to avoid SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). David would have much preferred to be born during the tummy era.
The urologist today told Susan that he could fit David in on Monday for his hernia surgery, so she will find out tomorrow what time they need to be there. She thinks it will be 11:00 a.m. The nurse told her that they typically do baby surgeries in the morning, but since the doctor is fitting David in after his other scheduled procedures, Susan thinks the need to do the surgery was rather pressing.
On the night before the surgery (Sunday), David will need to drink Pedialyte instead of formula--he would normally need to fast, but because he's so tiny they want to ward against dehydration. Please pray that David will be willing to take the Pedialyte even though the taste and consistency is different from what he's used to getting in his bottle.
Since John will be teaching on Monday (he has mid-terms to administer next week as well as his own mid-term to take at TSU) Susan will be meeting Rachel Hall at Vanderbilt. The doctor recommended waiting on the circumcision until the swelling from the surgery subsides, which could take as long as two months. They're willing to do the circumcision up to four months adjusted age--they go by his due date rather than his birth date.
One of the primary concerns the doctors have about David's hernia surgery is how long it will take to get him off the oxygen once he's put back on it. Since he's a preemie, his situation is different from that of a typical newborn. He will be put back on a ventilator for the surgery. We need to pray that he will want to be off of it and breathe on his own. David (and Susan) will be spending at least Monday night in the hospital. We'll keep you posted as to how long they will actually need to stay.
While I'm thinking of breathing and hospitals . . . before John and Susan left Centennial with David, they were required to watch a CPR video that showed them all sorts of horrific images and planted a myriad of fearful thoughts in their heads. All the way to the doctor's office today, nearly an hour's drive, Susan was plagued with thoughts like: "What if he stops breathing in his carseat? He's so quiet when he's sleeping. He could stop breathing and I wouldn't even know it." PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pray for angels to be released over David, that the burden of worry would be lifted from Susan and John, that fear would FLEE in Jesus' name, and that God would flood their home and their minds with PEACE.
Let me encourage you to pray for the Langagers this weekend and throughout the week. The hospital experience could turn out to be heavily emotional and exhausting, or God could carry them all the way through. Let's pray for God's favor and peace at every turn, for his anointing on every aspect of the procedure, for a miraculous recovery, and for rest in the midst of it all. Bless you!
