Singing to Skyler for the first time

The girl who's baby was next to mine for a week started singing to her baby while she was holding him. I knew that reading to premature babies was important, but she said she read in a magazine that singing was even better. I had been a little embarrassed to sing to Skyler because he's in an incubator--unlike her baby--and I'm never alone with him. But it sounded so comforting and soothing hearing her sing to her baby that I thought it might comfort Skyler too. I lifted the little blanket up that covers the top of his incubator, and started to sing softly.
I have always told Chris that I wanted to sing this song to our kids that my parents used to sing to me. I think I was too young to remember my mom singing to me as much, but I do remember being rocked in my dad's arms and having him sing to me in his sweet, and somewhat off-key voice. It's one of the best memories I have of my dad and I've loved that song ever since.
Well, when I started singing that song to Skyler, the words took on an entirely new meaning. It's incredible how the second verse seems tailored to him and his situation. I started choking up once I realized it but I really wanted to finish the song:

My Heavenly Father Loves Me

Whenever I hear the song of a bird or look at the blue, blue sky,
Whenever I feel the rain on my face or the wind as it rushes by,
Whenever I touch a velvet rose or walk by our lilac tree,
I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world Heavenly Father created for me.

He gave me my eyes that I might see the color of butterfly wings.
He gave me my ears that I might hear the magical sound of things.
He gave me my life, my mind, my heart: I thank him reverently,
For all his creations of which I'm a part
Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me.

When you think of the fact that Skyler had a 20 percent chance of survival (and that's not even counting the fact that he was born breech, and the doctors said his head would most likely get stuck in the birth canal and he'd die), and that he was/is likely to have severe damage to his eyes, brain, and organs in his body-- it's truly a miracle and makes this song that much more meaningful.
This was also the day that they told me that Skyler was going to need heart surgery. So I sang the song to him a couple more times to comfort him in preparation for the difficulties ahead, and remind him of what the Lord has done for him--and probably, even more so, to comfort and remind me that everything is in the Lord's hands.


Chris took a picture of me singing this song to Skyler right before his surgery