Lily's Birth Story

The pregnancy went pretty smoothly, apart from a huge weight gain of 45 pounds!  During the entire pregnancy we were chomping at the bit because of the due date and issues with insurance.  All of our prenatal care, ultrasounds, blood/glucose tests, etc., we had to pay out of pocket until 1/1/2009.  So I was doing my best to lay low physically until Jan. 1 so that we would not, in any way, induce labor, apart from God acting on His own initiative and will.  

After Jan 1, I resumed my normal activities and went shopping at Super Walmart on Saturday the 3rd which wore me out.  Everything was pretty normal the rest of the day until I laid down to bed about midnight.  As soon as I laid down I felt some contractions.  They were about 7-8 minutes apart and not at all serious but they were regular and effective enough to keep me from falling asleep.  So I got up and paced the floor for about 30 minutes and they increased to about 4-5 minutes apart but still no serious pain yet.  I laid back down and they resumed the 7-8 minute intervals.

Back and forth it went.  Finally at 2:30 a.m. I called the midwife who told me that I have plenty of time and to try and get some rest.  She advised that I drink some cold water, get a snack, and pay attention to baby's movements.  Well, after I drank the cold water - BAM!  Not five minutes later I had serious, painful, yeah . . . this is it, contractions every 3-4 minutes.  I called the midwife again and told her that I was going to the hospital - even though she kept telling me to wait 60 minutes with these contractions.  I knew I didn't have that much time!  I woke up Jeramy and we both got dressed.  At 3 a.m. I call the Cassidy's, a wonderful family from church, and Karen comes over.  During those 10 minutes after I called them, Jeramy is going frantic saying, "Where is she?!  Why is it taking so long?!" with every passing contraction, his anxiety increases.  :-)  Wonderful Mrs. Karen arrives dressed and smiling.  I'm already in the car, focusing to breathe, praying we make it to the hospital before she comes out.

We left the house at 3:15 a.m. or so.  It was raining and Jeramy couldn't drive as fast as we would have liked, but he did get to run a few red lights with our flashers on, of course.  :-)  Who's on the road at 3 a.m. anyway?  We arrived at the hospital at about 3:30 a.m. or so and they checked me in rather quickly, thanks to Jeramy's promptings, then they check my cervix.  I was about 5 cm dilated and they admitted me.  After undressing, they checked me again about 5-10 minutes later and I was 7 or 8 cm.  It happened so fast, I don't remember as specifically as I did four months ago.  :-)

The nurses wheeled me into the LDR and on the way down the hall, I began to feel the need to push.  The midwife arrived and was about to check me but once I got to the LDR, accompanying the need to push, I felt her head coming also.  So I pushed and my water broke.  After I told the nurses that my water just broke (not my bladder), the midwife checked me and verified, "yep, that's the head!"  I assumed the labor position and pushed once and took a deep breath of relief.  Then I pushed again and out came Lily at 4:15 a.m.  Right after she came out they laid her on my belly and she was slimy, covered with white gunk.  And I was so surprised that she was SOO pale.  She had not taken her first breath yet.  I don't remember if Jeramy cut the cord or not.  Then they took her and cleaned her off and she began to cry.  

After delivering the placenta, they sewed me up and Lily was still crying.  After the clean-up I got to hold her and nurse her.  As I held her and studied her face, I was still quite shocked at her color.  She was no longer pale white, like a sheet, but pink.  VERY pink!  A black woman just delivered a white, WHITE, PINK!, baby!  

But from the moment I held her, there was a flood of joy, inexpressible, unpredictable, that I never thought I would experience, that I've never ever experienced prior to her birth.  I could only really attribute that to a gift from Christ.  I didn't experience that amount of joy when Moriah was born (it was the same incredible amount of relief).  I got to hold her as we moved into our hospital room and it's been nothing but joy since, even with the middle of the night feedings.  There are occasional moments where she cries for an unknown reason, but she still brings me so much joy!  If we had stopped at one child, we would have never known this beautiful little girl.  If there is going to be this much joy with each successive child, why not have as many as God would allow?!  Jeramy and I are so thankful to have Lily and Moriah in our lives.  I pray I can raise them to be godly, gracious women that they might be a blessing to some strong, godly men one day.