The Blessing of a Bow

 

When Eliana was being born, one of the first comments I remember the OB making was to say that our baby had hair.  I told her that "I didn't have babies with hair".  She replied, "You do now!"  It's funny now, but when she was born I had a hard time with her having hair.  It just seemed that it was one more way that my daughter looked different than I had expected.  It didn't help that it stood straight up!

I remember going to the newborn nursery (they wouldn't bring her out to me) and before they brought Eliana to me, the nurse apologetically told me that she had washed Eliana and combed her hair, but that as it dried this was what it looked like - straight up in the air!  Not the cute bald baby I was used to having.  With all of the other struggles at her birth, I didn't really appreciate her hair at first - in any way.  Seems silly to be saying that now, but it's true.

Shortly after Eliana was born, a sweet friend wrote to ask if she could send me bows.  She commented that it was a "law" in Georgia that little girls needed bows and wasn't sure if it was the same here.  LOL I had no experience with bows!  Rebecca (and all of the boys) had been "bald" and had very little hair at all until past a year of age.  Of course the boys never needed a bow.

Soon a package with an assortment of cute little bows arrived and I began putting them in Eliana's hair.  I liked the way that they looked.  So cute.  Little by little the hair began to grow on me.  I wasn't really sure what to do with the hair other than clip a cute little bow in it.

During her first stay to the hospital at 7 weeks of age,  she wore her bow.  People remembered that bow and commented on it - even months later.  It was memorable.  It became a sort of trademark for Eliana.

When she went into surgery at 4 months of age, she wore her bow.  I took it out during pre-op.  I had thought about asking if she could keep it in, but didn't want to impose and wasn't sure if it would hinder things either.  While she was in surgery, I remember holding on to her little bow, stroking it and longing to be holding her.  When she was out of surgery, I asked and was allowed to replace the bow while she was in the PICU. 

The day after surgery when they had to put in a new IV, they could find no veins in her  poor little body so that had to put it in her head.  They used her bow to help cover it up.  Actually it was clipped to half of a  cup that was placed over the IV line.

Eliana continued to wear her bows - almost every day.  At 6 months, she began pulling her tube with increasing frequency.  It got to be at least daily and sometimes several times a day.  I was thankful when she didn't pull it completely out and I could just push it back in.  The constant need to put the tube back in was stressful to her and it was really causing damage to her face.  (From the tearing off of the tape.)  Her cardiologist suggested that we tape the tube up her nose - and we did.  We used the bow to hold the top of the tube to the top of her head.  Otherwise it dangles just in front of her eyes.  (A moving target that is easier to grab!)

One neat thing about these bows is that there is a small hole/opening at the end of the clip.  It is just large enough for the feeding tube to fit inside of it without  pinching it.  None of the other bows that I've seen locally are made like this.  It is just perfect!  Isn't that just like God to be in the details of something as small as a bow?!  Without the bow to hold the tube I'm not sure it would have worked as well as it has.  Clipping it to the top of her head keeps it out of her face and away from her hands.  Oh, and the hair.  It really has helped that she has hair otherwise there would be no way to use the clip on the bow.  Again, the small details.  God is in them all!!!

Why am I surprised?  He knows the hairs on my head, why would He not care to provide just what she needs -   hair and a cute little bow.

With love,

Leslie