Jehovah-Jireh, The Lord Will Provide

Of late, I have been seeing firsthand the reality of God as Jehovah-Jireh, The Lord Will Provide.  At birth, one of our twin boys, Matthew, weighed 4 pounds 3 ounces.  Despite this low birth weight, he was otherwise healthy and, unlike his brother, Jonathan, was not admitted to the NICU.  Shortly after being discharged from the hospital, however, his weight had fallen to 3 pounds 13 ounces and he was jaundiced.  After a five-day stay at Children's Hospital, we were able to bring him home.

The doctors have always monitored his weight very closely.  He has continued to be small but seemed to be following his own growth curve...until recently.  From month three to month four, the little guy only gained 5 ounces, weighing in at 9 pounds 8.5 ounces.  Our doctor always gives us a record of the height, weight, head circumference, and percentiles for each of the boys.  Matthew's says <<5%.

Upon the doctor's advice, we scheduled an appointment with the lactation consultant at the hospital where he was born.  I was so happy that we got an appointment with Shannon because she also is a mother of twins!  First, she weighed Matthew.  Then, I nursed Matthew and Jonathan together for a good 45 minutes.  Then, she weighed him again.  He only took in two ounces!  She concluded that he was an inefficient nurser and recommended that we supplement him with breastmilk from a bottle following each feeding.

Since then, his growth has improved.  At five months, he now weighs 10 pounds 13.5 ounces!  I rented a hospital pump and now pump after each feeding.  It's a lot of work.  I nurse the boys together, then feed Matthew his bottle, then pump.  Then, I clean everything and get ready to start all over again.  In between, there are diaper changes and clothing changes and housework and shopping and schooling and laundry.

I know I could just supplement with formula, but I do believe that breastmilk is God's perfectly designed nutrition for babies.  Here's where the importance of trusting that God is Jehovah-Jireh comes in.  I am feeding him 2 ounces, but I am not always able to pump 2 ounces of milk.  The supply of frozen breastmilk is dwindling.  Every time I go to pump, I pray and ask God to provide enough milk for my baby.  This has been a really difficult and challenging experience for me.  You may have noticed from my shopping posts that I am a planner and a stockpiler.  We do not now, nor have we ever, lived from paycheck to paycheck.  We did go through a brief period where we had a negative net income.  Even then, we still had savings in the bank to draw upon.  We also knew our situation was only temporary--it was only until David found a faculty position.  This situation is different.  My stockpile is almost depleted.  Yet, I believe that God wants me to breastfeed my children.  I am not going to throw in the towel.  I am going to call upon the name of God.  I am going to call upon Jehovah-Jireh to provide!