Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Remembering...The Day My First Child Was Born...

My friend Jenilee has a really neat "meme" on her blog called "Wednesdays Walk Down Memory Lane" that she inherited from my other friend Lynnette.

So I am taking the opportunity to write about my births!  Starting with my first born...

From the beginning of our marriage, my husbands and I's plan was to wait a while before having a baby.  We heard the typical advice that you should spend the first few years getting to know each other before adding a baby to the scene.

But soon after we were married we started asking ourselves 101 questions about birth control and God's view of us taking such control of my womb.  We realized we were calling him "Lord" but not letting him reign over our decision to have children.  After all, we had no good excuse for waiting...

-we were both done with school

-hubby had a steady job
-I was able to stay at home full-time
-we didn't have the typical "trying" first year that everyone warned us about
-we were both healthy and fit (more than ever)

Our only excuse would have been based on selfishness.

The Lord laid on our hearts this verse:



Proverbs 3:5, 7
 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart
       and lean not on your own understanding;
 ...
 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
       fear the LORD and shun evil." 

So we decided to surrender and trust...It was exciting and scary all at the same time!

And 2 months later, we discovered we were pregnant with our first child!  We were so thankful we let the Lord take control, because we KNEW we right in the middle of His will for us!

We started taking "Bradley" classes (also called "Father Coached Child Birth") right away in order to prepare us for a natural, "spontaneous", unmedicated birth.  We didn't have a whole lot of support in this decision, but it was important to us that we educate ourselves on how GOD designed my body for childbirth, the stages of labor and how it was meant to be natural and God-induced :)  (for more "why's" about natural childbirth, click HERE).

So at nine months of pregnancy, we were so ready, so excited for our baby!  We had our birth plan typed out and signed by our doctor, our bags were packed (and had been for over a month!), we had interviewed and hired our Doula (Amber), Ryan had his scriptures ready that he would read to me, we had all our worship CD's ready for labor...

But our baby boy didn't seem ready...
At 2 weeks overdue, EVERYONE was telling us to go to the hospital and "just get induced".  But our doctor said we were fine to wait, that there wasn't any danger in letting my body "take it's time"...so we waited...and waited.

13 days overdue, mild contractions, getting ready for a "vigorous" walk in the rain

2 days after this picture (15 days overdue), my contractions really picked up and I knew it was time!  We loaded the car and took the 20 minute drive to the hospital.  By the time we got there, my contractions had picked up and I was all smiles!  

"This laboring stuff is a piece of cake", I said!  
My doula loving patted me and said, "Honey, it's only just beginning...but you're right, you CAN do this!"

I labored for 8 hours total and it seemed like I would never have this baby.

After about 6 hours of being at the hospital, I remembered being so tired and scared about "transition" (the worst part of labor-it comes at the end) and how I would get through it.  But as I sat in the hot bath water, in pain, with contraction on top of contraction, I heard my doula say, "she's in transition now and will be through it soon" to my husband outside.  After I heard those words, I was on cloud nine...I was almost done!

And she was right, in about 15 minutes, I was on the bed pushing!

The labor pains were severe, but not more than I could handle.  I had learned relaxation tequnigues through the Bradley classes, so I just applied what I had been practicing.  As for pushing, that was a breeze, definitely the easiest part for me!  I always wondered what people meant by "your body will push for you"...but to feel it happening was like experiencing a miracle and knowing that God really DID design this to work perfectly!!!

And before I knew it, our son was in my arms!!!  No pain medication, no drugs, no interferences...just letting my body do what God created it to do!

Per our request (with the assumption he was healthy) 
the nurses gave us a full hour of uninterrupted time with him 
before starting all the hospital procedures.


Just an hour old, getting "tagged", weighed and measured..
7lbs 14 oz (I *still* think the scale was off--just look at that chunky baby!)
20 1/2 inches long

We named him Trusten, because of the the Lords call to us in Proverbs 3:5.

Our birth experience was amazing!  In fact (as strange as it may sound) laboring is one of Ryan and I's favorite thing to do together.  It unites us is such an awesome way!  He knows me SO well and is definitely my favorite labor coach!

Trusten was the best baby...so happy, so content, so precious!  

And unlike most newborns, he had a lot of awake time those first few days (which we contribute to the fact he had no medication in his system or interferences in his birth).

Before leaving the hospital...

Oh, how I love my "Trusser Man"!  I am so thankful we listened to the Lord, even though it was huge step of faith for us!  ...And little did we know, that was JUST the beginning of our blessings!

(More birth stories to come!)
Psalm 127:3-5
Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
       children a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
       are sons born in one's youth.
Blessed is the man
       whose quiver is full of them.





20 comments:

Melanie Eccles said...

Grace, I love this story. You wrote it so eloquently and it spoke to me in a special way--as my husband and I are in a similar place right now. Please pray for us that we would allow God to govern our future family!
I can't wait to talk to you more about this process. The steps you took echo my desires.

in Him,
Melanie

Jenilee said...

what a beautiful birth story! I can't wait to read the rest! thanks for sharing those sweet, sweet moments with us. what an adorable baby :)

Cheri Bunch said...

Awesome post, Grace! I totally agree with your views! Birth is not an illness and should never be treated as if it were. The last picture is my very favorite! Beautiful!!!

Gwen T said...

Beautifully written story, Grace! My dear hubby and I make a great combo in my labors though for completely opposite reasons though - he kind of just stays out of my way and prays for me (trying not to mention the fact that he ALWAYS gets bad headaches during my labors) and the midwife/doctor and I just do our thing... :) It works for us! Seven babies later...

Caroline said...

I love that story and what a beautiful baby. Thanx for sharing those awesome moments with us.
Have a great Wednesday !!
Caroline

Unknown said...

YAY! I love everything about this post. Thanks for sharing :)

Unknown said...

What a lucky guy to have such a great mommy and daddy!

:) Thanks for telling us his story!

Kristin @ Yellow Bliss Road said...

I admire your tremendous faith. Thank you for sharing your beautiful story. The road to motherhood is different for everyone (I have adopted), but similar in that it takes faith in God that the difficulties and pain will yield our greatest blessings.

I would love to follow you and hear more...

Candace said...

This post was such a blessing to me Grace! I have been feeling more and more challenged to simply TRUST in God's perfect timing for Brian and I, and this was so encouraging! It reminded me to stop planning, and start praying. Thank you!

Julie said...

I loved reading your birth story. God has truly blessed you!

Kelly @ Sufficient Grace Ministries said...

What a beautiful birth story...it really touched my heart. How wonderful that you were able to stick to your plan. And what beautiful pictures of your sweet family!

Continued blessings to you...

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

lovely memories,
especially the last photo,
the baby looks at you and he is cutest!

Shonda said...

That was precious! Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

I have to say that reading this was difficult for me. My birth with Carter was probably as far from this as it could have been, though our intentions almost mirror the experience you actually had (except that we had hoped and planned for a homebirth). I pray that God will one day lead us in a direction with our births that will bring us with something like what you've experienced.

Friday we find out if the doctors will allow us to even try for VBAC and will discuss with our midwife/doula whether or not we can try for homebirth with this one if the doctor's/hospital won't. It's a scary time for us, but we are thankful that the Lord is in control. It is great to hear stories like this...so encouraging! Thank you for sharing and I look forward to reading about the rest of your births.

***Note: I wrote this this morning after reading your post and it wouldn't let me submit my comment. It was frustrating, but I saved it to post later. My son woke up shortly after and we went into the living room and turned on the radio. The first song that came on was "You are Holy (Prince of Peace)" and it reminded me of God's power, might, and wisdom. I was struggling to truly trust Him with this birth and it really encouraged me to do my best but to fully rely on His power.
I feel your post put me in the mindset necessary for him to truly reach me this morning...and for that I truly must thank you!

cooperkelly4 said...

What a great post Grace! We too did the husband/father coached child birth. It is so great to have a plan and yet trust the Lord no matter how it goes. Only 1 out of my 4 babies was not induced due to being overdue. I started having our kids at 30 and our doctors were a little more concerned. I can't tell you how different it was laboring via induction and natural. Even being medically induced, I was able to labor naturally and I couldn't have done it without my husband. Although I had a plan that I believe was from the Lord for our labor and delivery, ultimately the bottom line is there are 4 babies in our quiver full. =0)What a great story.

Diana said...

Awwwwwww, this is such a wonderful post with so many blessings in it! I love each of your photos, but that last one of you and Trusten is so GREAT! Him looking into your eyes and you with your huge smile. Yep. Blessings.

I was able to have both my sons without any type of drugs or help {all those many years ago, haha}... I barely remember that, but I was happy that I had an easy time of it. {That was just before they began letting dad's, or anyone else, stay in the birth room.}

THANK YOU for sharing the joy of Trusten's birth with us! {hugz}

Grace~The Mommy On the Bus said...

I just got done e-mailing most of you back from these comments...

Just want to add that in every birth, our ultimate and main concern is for the health of the baby...so I'm not a advocate of "natural no matter what". In all of our births, we would chose the health of me and the baby over our "plan" every time!

It's so neat to hear all your stories! I know God has a purpose and a plan for us all, and it rarely looks the same way across the board! Isn't He a creative God?! :)

Dorcas said...

Thanks Grace for sharing. Beautiful! I remember all my births as if it was yesterday. Unfortunately I was pumped with medication with all of them due to preterm labor and dilation at 20 weeks. They were born between 35-36 weeks but I was able to take them home right away. I am glad though I was able to give birth to them naturally without medication. Well 3 out of 4.

I am just glad that God blessed us with 4 healthy baby.

God is so GOOD!!!

~blessings

Dorcas

Kimberly said...

Birth stories are so nice. We each have our very own that is as unique as we are.

Thanks for sharing!

I am now following you too.

Sugarplum Creations Blog said...

This is so beautiful. I am so happy to have found you and am now following right along! :) What you have described is EXACTLY what I long for . . . to let God have complete control. My husband is harder to convince, but I know the Lord is changing both of us. Thank you so much for sharing.

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