Moriah's Birth Story

Jeramy and I became pregnant with Moriah on our honeymoon, probably the third day of our marriage!  We had decided before our wedding to accept whatever the Lord gives, whenever and however many He may give - all accepted, on my part, by faith!  :-)  My pregnancy with Moriah was very easy physically because I remained as much physically active as when I wasn't pregnant, exercising 5 to 6 days a week by walking, kickboxing, strength training, swimming and other cardiovascular workouts.  However, I struggled up until labor with nausea and vomiting daily.  As a result, I gained only 28 pounds with Moriah.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 25, 2007, Jeramy and I attended church as usual and nothing was out of the ordinary all day.  That night, after engaging in *normal marital activities* (hint, hint), about 5 minutes later, at 11 p.m., my water broke accompanied immediately by mild contractions roughly 6 to 7 minutes apart.  However I thought that it was unusual bladder leakage and not my water because it trickled out with every contraction - not a big gush and not like a constant flow, like a faucet.  When I tried to lay down to sleep, I could not because the contractions prevented me.  

After lying there for about 60 minutes, I got up to walk around, testing whether or not they were real.  For the next 30 minutes I paced the floor and the contractions got closer together.  Then Jeramy and I waited 30 more minutes and they became more painful, but I could still walk and talk normally.  I kept putting off going to the hospital because I wasn't completely sure I was in labor, being the first time and all.  But by 2 a.m. we left for the hospital in Statesboro, GA.  

We arrived at the hospital at 2:30 a.m. and the nursing staff didn't take me seriously because of our activities* over the previous hours.  It took quite a while for me to check in, signing all the paperwork.  Once I got to the LDR, the nurse left me and Jeramy and we were all alone in the room for about 20 minutes.  The nurse would come in, here and there, checking me and getting me to get undressed.  At one point before 3 a.m. they checked my cervix and I was 7 cm and they took a sample of the fluid to see if it was, in fact, amniotic fluid.

After more time than we would have liked, more nurses entered the room and got me on the bed and the contractions were so over bearing by that time, my hopes of survival were fading fast.  I had never experienced pain of that magnitude ever in my life!  Previously I had wanted a natural childbirth, but in that moment - I screamed for drugs!  I literally thought I was not going to live through this experience!  I began to feel the need to push, but I resisted because I didn't want to wear myself out if I was going to end up pushing a long time.  I wanted someone to tell me that it was okay to push.  

The nurse with the lab results finally returned; yes, it was my water that was broken.  They checked my cervix again and I was fully dilated.  I assumed the labor position and screamed with all my might as I pushed Moriah's head out.  I pushed about 3 or 4 times and she was born at 3:19 a.m. delivered by the nurses.  Immediately they took her to the side to clean her off.  Moriah cried just for a few minutes and was looking all around.  I was so infinitely relieved that I had survived that intense pain without drugs.  I came to find out that the anesthesiologist was standing in the hallway waiting until my work-up was complete.  He never entered the room!  :-)

My O.B. doctor arrived about 3 minutes too late and missed the birth.  But she was there to deliver the afterbirth and sew me up.  I got to see Moriah but I didn't get to hold her after the delivery.  They were concerned about her breathing rapidly and took her to be observed and get tests.  In hindsight, I wish I would have been more insistent about holding her, but I can't go back.  As a result, I didn't get to attempt breastfeeding until about 6 hours later.

I thank God so much for Moriah!  She has been an incredible source of sanctification for me!  Through her, God has exposed so much selfishness, self-centeredness, discontentment and foolishness and weeded it out of me so that I am able to have so much more joy I would have never known if I hadn't become a mother.  Now I can have more patience, contentment, grace and kindness.  She has been a wonderful blessing to both Jeramy and me and I could never imagine what it would be like to be married without her.  Moriah is our honeymoon baby!

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.  

Lily Is Four Months!

Lily is four months old!  It's so crazy how time flies - literally!  It seems like only yesterday I was pregnant with her and on my way to the hospital - FAST!  (But that's a whole other blog post.)  She has begun strengthening her legs, feet and ankles by standing when held.  She makes the most adorable baby noises, cooing, throat gargling, all of which makes my heart melt and my face smile.  :-D  She enjoys tummy time and sucking her fingers while awake and sucking her thumb when she's sleepy.  When I lay her down for her naps and finally to bed at night, she doesn't so much as whine or cry to lull herself to sleep - in goes the thumb and just a few minutes later, she's in Sleepy Town.  

Currently, I'm teaching her to roll over.  She has done so about two times on her own, but I attribute that to the incline of our bed.  :-)  She has great eye-hand coordination and prefers reaching for my hand and fingers during play.  At home and on outings, she is very low maintenance.  She will usually sit quietly, held or not, just sucking her fingers or people-watching.  Sometimes she'll talk to herself or maybe it's the angels.  :-)  When she's tired then she becomes the most vocal, though it's not crying outright - just talking.  

The sin nature is starting to come out more.  Sometimes she will cry impatiently waiting to eat.  If you wait too long to put her down for a nap, her talking becomes more amplified and turns quickly into a cry or holler.  A few times I have caught her crying just for one-on-one attention, which, I don't think I could totally be labeled sin or not.  :-)

She is still breastfeeding exclusively.  She has never taken a bottle in any form.  Just before she eats, she often smacks her lips. :-D  And sometimes, she'll come up from the breast and take a break just to talk to me!  I'm so thankful that breastfeeding is going so well.  I really have no idea when we'll stop; I'll just re-evaluate every three months or so, I guess.  I have no intention of stopping this month.

Lily is pretty soon going to catch up to her sister in regards to weight.  About 3 weeks ago she was just about 12 pounds.  She's probably around 12.5 or 13 by now!  Moriah still hasn't hit the 20 pound mark yet - so I think that Lily will be bigger than she by her first birthday.

Her sleeping through the night, 7 to 8 consecutive hours, has not been as consistent as I would like.  Her illness has really thrown her off and we're still trying to adjust from all of that.  She has the ability to sleep through the night, but her feeding schedule must remain really strict in order for that to happen - every 2 hours during the day.

Moriah is my princess and Lily is my sunshine!  Jeramy and both of these girls have been the biggest blessings to me in the past 2.5 years!

The Mover

O Supreme Moving Cause,

May I always be subordinate to thee,

be dependent upon thee, 

be found in the path where thou dost walk,

and where thy Spirit moves,

take heed of estrangement from thee,

of becoming insensible to thy love.

Thou dost not move men like stones,

but dost endue them with life,

not to enable them to move without thee,

but in submission to thee, the first mover.

O Lord, I am astonished at the difference

between my receivings and my deservings,

between the state I am now in and my past

gracelessness,

between the heaven I am bound for and

the hell I merit.

Who made me to differ, but thee?

for I was no more ready to receive Christ 

than were others;

I could not have begun to love thee hadst thou not

first loved me,

or been willing unless thou hadst first made me so.

O that such a crown should fit the head of such

a sinner!

such high advancement be for an unfruitful

person!

such joys for so vile a rebel!

Infinite wisdom cast the design of salvation

into the mould of purchase and freedom;

Let wrath deserved be written on the door of hell,

But the free gift of grace on the gate of heaven.

I know that my sufferings are the result of my

sinning,

but in heaven both shall cease;

Grant me to attain this haven and be done

with sailing,

and may the gales of thy mercy blow me safely

into harbour.

Let thy love draw me nearer to thyself,

wean me from sin, mortify me to this world,

and make me ready for my departure hence.

Secure me by thy grace as I sail across this 

stormy sea.

[Amen!]

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:1

Sing the glory of His name;

Make His praise glorious.

Say to God, "How awesome are Your works!

Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to You.

All the earth will worship You,

And will sing praises to You;

They will sing praises to your name."

Psalm 66:2-4

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

John 1:1-3

For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Sprit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 

Romans 8:6-8

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works so that no one may boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we would walk in them.

Ephesians 2:8-10

(The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. Ed. Arthur Bennett.  Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975.  pp 12-13.)

Funny Friday

Having children is such a wonderful blessing!  God is adding joy into a family's home when someone new enters in.  He is the Creator and creates new life, which no one has the right to take away!  With these wonderful blessings, there's always responsibility and added work - which is always rewarded with joy in the end as well.

But we live in a fallen world and sometimes, parenting can be pretty hard, because from birth the sin nature is manifest:

Even from birth the wicked go astray;

from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.

Psalm 58:3

Surely I was sinful at birth,

sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Psalm 51:5

Have you ever noticed those really disobedient children running a muck in public, like the grocery stores - screaming, hollering, and carrying on?  Or maybe you have children of your own and witnessed, first hand, how really sinful they (and we) are?  Check out this funny video.

Tim Hawkins on Parenting

Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of discipline will remove it far from him.

Proverbs 22:15