Monday, May 31, 2010

Latest Addition

This last week has brought many new changes into our lives and we thank God for each and every one of them. The day began like any other, and ended with us holding a new little life in our arms. As I sit here writing this I am overcome with the realization of the many blessings God has seen fit to bestow upon me. I do not deserve them, but am so grateful for each and every one of them. They began long ago with God guiding and directing me throughout my life and finally leading me to a wonderful husband. Who is now a wonderful father to two incredible sons. The amazing part is I know God isn't finished with this life he's given me yet and I look forward with anticipation to what he has still has in store.



I thought I would share the story of our newest little one's birth. (Apologizing in advance this may be long...) I had an uneventful pregnancy except for of course the morning sickness part. But even that could have been much worse. Every check up and ultrasound showed no signs of any problems with me or the baby. As the end drew near I became more and more excited to see his little face. The only drawback to my deliveries is I'm one of those lucky women who has a type of strep that doesn't make me sick, and can't be passed on to anyone else...except during delivery. As a result of this I have to have antibiotics the day the baby is born at least 4 hours prior to delivery. Because of this I was very nervous I wouldn't know when to go to the hospital on my own to get there in time for the antibiotics prior to delivery. I had been praying about it a lot and tried to give it up to God that I would know when to go, or that I would know I should schedule to be induced.



In the last few days of my pregnancy I was making more and more progress towards delivery, and at my last appointment my doctor was really surprised I hadn't gone into labor yet. So we scheduled me to be induced 2 days later to be sure I could get the antibiotics in, but even then the doctor said he would probably see me before that. Well, needless to say that didn't happen. So I went in for the scheduled appointment at the hospital. I had been there only a short time and had gotten all hooked up to the monitors when suddenly my room was filled with the doctor and several nurses. They were all talking to each other and looking at the printouts of my contractions and the baby's heart rate etc and looking concerned. Next thing I know they're starting me on oxygen, IV fluids, and drawing blood from the other arm, all while telling me everything is fine. They were just a "little concerned" about the baby. I was already having regular contractions (which I didn't even know), and every time I did the baby's heart rate would drop. They said if this continued it meant he would not tolerate the stronger contractions of a regular delivery and I would have to have an emergency c-section. This was of course not news I wanted to hear, and immediately started to pray. Within a few minutes the heart beat had stabilized and everything was looking good again. Except now my blood pressure was up...you think?? :)



After that I had to lay on my side through the remainder of the time. Couldn't sit up on my back or walk around. They didn't want to have added stress on me or the baby. After all that things calmed down and they were just waiting for the 4 hours to pass after antibiotics to break my water. They did that and contractions started to progress, but not enough that much was happening so I told them it was ok to start the pitocin to induce the labor. About an hour into that the contractions were really picking up, coming fast and hard. With my first I was induced too, but it didn't get that strong as fast. I was thinking I probably had another couple hours to go since before I was on the pitocin awhile before he was born, and I wasn't going to be able to handle these contractions for much longer. I told the nurse I needed to go to the bathroom and as I was walking back to the bed I told them I needed something for the pain because it was getting to be too much. She said she needed to check to see how far along I was, but then sure they would get me something for the pain. She checked me and said "We have baby" which meant no time for pain medication. And also explained the reason it had suddenly become so difficult...he was ready to be born. They called the doctor, but baby and mom were not interested in waiting for that. Within a few minutes baby was born without the help of my doctor, but with a wonderful nurse. My doctor showed up about 10 min later. Well with the doctors help or not the latest addition to our family is now here and doing great!! We couldn't be any happier.



My two boys!




Our growing family!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Mother's Day


I've been reading some Mother's Day inspired blogs and so I thought I'd follow along and share one too. One of the greatest blessings I've been given in my life is my mom... Mom, you have dealt with me patiently through the good and bad moments of my childhood and teenage years. You have been willing to listen when I just needed to talk, as well as give sound advice when the time was right. You have lived your life as an example of a Godly woman who puts her trust in the Lord in every circumstance. Your patience and loving attitude are things I'm still aspiring to find in myself one day. I know our ultimate example of how to live is in Christ, but your footsteps are also some I hope to follow in as well. As a mother myself now I appreciate the sacrifices you made for us over the years even more. You have always put others first, and shown that selfless charity that we are commanded to have. Thank you for all you have done to help me discover God's plans for my life, and to learn to follow Him.