Over the last several weeks we have needed to give son A (that's what I'll call him for now because this is an open blog for now and if you know me then you may know his name already) once-a-day breathing treatments through a nebulizer unit. Previously, and with a different medicine we have given him with the nebulizer, I can hold the mouthpiece in front of his face and let him breathe it through his nose or open mouth. This medicine, however, gives directions to make sure it is breathed in the mouth, and even to avoid letting the vapor get in the eyes. I don't know at what point most people stop naturally breathing through their nose and begin to more commonly breathe through the mouth, but son A has not made that switch yet. So, being able to hold the mouthpiece in front of his face still affords him inhaling the medicine through his nasal breathing. With this medicine needing to be in/go in through the mouth, it is more challenging for me to get him to breathe it appropriately. In other words, he finds great joy in being feisty and blocking the mouthpiece with his tongue, while breathing through his nose. Doing this just pumps the vapors out the back hole of the mouthpiece, effectively wasting the medicine. And what is the best way to encourage mouth-breathing? Pinch his nose closed.
Generally son A tolerates the pinched nose just until he wants to breathe again, then he tries to swat my hand away. The very first time this happened, a few weeks ago, it only took me pinching about twice before he decided HE could do the pinching. And then it only took me a few moments to realize he would pinch for a second or two, then just have his finger and thumb rest on his nose so it looks like he's pinching....unless I am paying close enough attention to see he's not pinching.
And so the cycle goes, son A trying to avoid the nose-pinching and breathing through his mouth, while I try to get him to breathe it properly so he gets the most out of this medicine (which is actually a corticosteriod of sorts meant to help his lungs [instruction insert says: this medication is intended to help prevent and control asthma symptoms], so breathing it properly is pretty important).
This experience reminds me of when he was born and in the hospital. A few nurses nicknamed him "scrappy" because he was calm and content except when he was bothered (like for a diaper change), and then his feisty side really showed. And now, over 2 years later, he's still quite the same--calm and content until mom bothers him and then he gets a little feisty.
As it says in Alma 34:34, "...for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world." Given the context of this scripture, I believe that "spirit" here is representative of "personality". So if the same personality we have in this life has the power to continue with us into the eternal world, why can we not suppose that the same personality came with us from the premortal realm? How else can I explain son A being born with such a temperament that still maintains a close similarity after more than 2 years and is something he was not taught after birth?
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