One of the ways our Church (the LDS Church, often called the Mormon Church [1]) differs from some other Christian faiths is that we don't practice infant baptism. We do, however, perform a ceremony where we give babies a special blessing. In our Church all worthy adult males are given the Priesthood, which we define as the power and authority given by God to men to perform his work on the Earth. Men who hold the Priesthood form a circle, hold up the baby in the center, and one of the men (usually the father or grandfather of the baby) pronounces a blessing over the baby. At this time the baby is also given a name so it can be recorded on the records of the Church.[2] This ceremony is not required for the baby to be saved in the Kingdom of God.[3] Yesterday we gave Lillian her name and a blessing.
Since Lillian's pediatrician has recommended keeping her away from crowds of people (due to her underdeveloped immune system [4]), we got permission to hold the ceremony in our home. We only had a few people come participate. Leann's family wasn't able to make it because most of them live in Texas. (However, her cousin Lizzie, who was supposed to be born before her but was born after her, and who also lives here in Provo, was also blessed today.) My parents came down with my grandma and my little brother (he didn't get to see Lillian while she was in the NICU because he's under the age of 18). It was just me, my dad, and a member of the bishopric in the circle and I gave her the blessing. I spent a while that morning thinking about what I wanted to say in the blessing. I know the Lord was directing my words because I said some things I hadn't thought about and, left to my own devices, I wouldn't have even considered.
Now for some pictures. Here's Lilli in her blessing dress. She wasn't very happy when we changed her into it (probably because I had cold hands). It's kind of big.
Since the last time I posted about Lillian there have been a few developments in her life. She has been diagnosed with colic and with a allergy, most likely milk. Leann's appropriately disappointed at having to remove all dairy from her diet. We've also stopped giving Lillian fortified bottles since the formula had milk protein in it and it was making her vomit quite violently (whole feedings). To cope with the colic, we've been using a system outlined in The Happiest Baby on the Block.[5] She's just starting to smile and coo, but I don't have any videos of that, yet. Sorry.
On to happier things. Here is Lilli with the chickenpox (Varicella zoster). Not the disease, the plush toy.[6]
Sometimes her stomach makes the rumblings that only hands can satisfy.[7]
Other times she can't be bothered to wake up to eat.
She usually falls asleep while we're holding her. Sometimes, if I'm not paying attention, the ear she's lying on gets folded over. This time it stuck that way. I thought it was so funny that I just had to take a picture. Hopefully there aren't any long-term repercussions from this.
Along with practicing holding her head up, she's been checking out some books. Any day now she'll be reading…
And let's not forget Lilli's lilies!
Notes:
[1] The full, official name of the Church is: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are often called Mormons because we have another book of Scripture, called the Book of Mormon, which supplements the Holy Bible and which affirms the divinity of Jesus Christ. To learn more about the Church and our beliefs, visit here and here.
[2] This is a religious ceremony, so it is unimportant whether or not the baby has been given a legal name by this point.
[3] We believe that the ordinances of salvation (e.g. baptism) aren't necessary for children until they've reached an age where they understand the difference between right and wrong and are willing to strive to always do what is right. For children of normal mental capacity this age has been set at 8 years of age.
[4] This is due to her premature birth. To learn more, start reading here.
[5] See http://www.happiestbaby.com/. Or you can skip the purchase and read the technique here, on Wikipedia.
[6] You can find other plush microbes and critters here.
[7] See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZUPCB9533Y (not for the faint of heart).
Since Lillian's pediatrician has recommended keeping her away from crowds of people (due to her underdeveloped immune system [4]), we got permission to hold the ceremony in our home. We only had a few people come participate. Leann's family wasn't able to make it because most of them live in Texas. (However, her cousin Lizzie, who was supposed to be born before her but was born after her, and who also lives here in Provo, was also blessed today.) My parents came down with my grandma and my little brother (he didn't get to see Lillian while she was in the NICU because he's under the age of 18). It was just me, my dad, and a member of the bishopric in the circle and I gave her the blessing. I spent a while that morning thinking about what I wanted to say in the blessing. I know the Lord was directing my words because I said some things I hadn't thought about and, left to my own devices, I wouldn't have even considered.
Now for some pictures. Here's Lilli in her blessing dress. She wasn't very happy when we changed her into it (probably because I had cold hands). It's kind of big.
Since the last time I posted about Lillian there have been a few developments in her life. She has been diagnosed with colic and with a allergy, most likely milk. Leann's appropriately disappointed at having to remove all dairy from her diet. We've also stopped giving Lillian fortified bottles since the formula had milk protein in it and it was making her vomit quite violently (whole feedings). To cope with the colic, we've been using a system outlined in The Happiest Baby on the Block.[5] She's just starting to smile and coo, but I don't have any videos of that, yet. Sorry.
On to happier things. Here is Lilli with the chickenpox (Varicella zoster). Not the disease, the plush toy.[6]
Sometimes her stomach makes the rumblings that only hands can satisfy.[7]
Other times she can't be bothered to wake up to eat.
She usually falls asleep while we're holding her. Sometimes, if I'm not paying attention, the ear she's lying on gets folded over. This time it stuck that way. I thought it was so funny that I just had to take a picture. Hopefully there aren't any long-term repercussions from this.
Along with practicing holding her head up, she's been checking out some books. Any day now she'll be reading…
And let's not forget Lilli's lilies!
Notes:
[1] The full, official name of the Church is: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are often called Mormons because we have another book of Scripture, called the Book of Mormon, which supplements the Holy Bible and which affirms the divinity of Jesus Christ. To learn more about the Church and our beliefs, visit here and here.
[2] This is a religious ceremony, so it is unimportant whether or not the baby has been given a legal name by this point.
[3] We believe that the ordinances of salvation (e.g. baptism) aren't necessary for children until they've reached an age where they understand the difference between right and wrong and are willing to strive to always do what is right. For children of normal mental capacity this age has been set at 8 years of age.
[4] This is due to her premature birth. To learn more, start reading here.
[5] See http://www.happiestbaby.com/. Or you can skip the purchase and read the technique here, on Wikipedia.
[6] You can find other plush microbes and critters here.
[7] See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZUPCB9533Y (not for the faint of heart).
She's so beautiful! I wish it was a situation where we could have come (Though Katie came down with a runny nose today, so in any situation that wouldn't be good). She's really good at her tummy time! My kids took forever to try and hold their heads up while on their tummies. They would just fuss and flail. You should post about Lilli more often!
ReplyDeleteOh, she usually doesn't like tummy time. But if you sit her in your lap or hold her over your shoulder then she's all about holding up her head.
ReplyDelete