God's Gift To Me

Well, the Big Day is finally here, my Audrey girl turned one today. Here's a couple of pictures I took this morning.

The Birthday Girl and her Big Sis...

The Birthday Girl...CAUTION...It's gonna be a long one today...

Right around this time one year ago today, I was blessed with a special gift. My beautiful little girl, Audrey Grace came into the world. As I look back on that day, I still stand in awe of how the Lord works. My birth experience with Audrey is a story you don't hear every day.

It was an early Tuesday morning two weeks before my due date. I woke up around 4:00 a.m. with the kind of cramps that you have when you need to use the restroom. So of course, I got up and headed straight for the restroom. After I finished there, I laid back down in bed and tried to fall back asleep. As I laid there, I started to feel that old familiar cramping coming back again. So I sat up and put both of my hands on my belly. I could feel my tummy tightening. My next thought was "Are these contractions I'm having?" I was still trying to wake up. I continued to sit there in the dark and see what would happen from there. I didn't want to wake up Hubby if there was no need...it was a work day for him, afterall. Within minutes, I came to realize that yes, these pains were definitely contractions, and they were coming rather quickly. Before too long, the moaning sound I was making with each contraction woke up Hubby. He asked me, "Are you having contractions?" I told him, "Ya...I think so." He immediately sat up and turned on the light. We were both still trying to process everything. All we had at the point in time for a previous reference in childbirthing was our experience with Alyssa. When I had her, I was in labor for almost 24 hours in the hospital before I delivered her, and she was almost two weeks late! Little did we know, this experience would be nothing like the first.

We decided to start timing the contractions. They seemed to be coming every 5-7 minutes. I couldn't believe it, and thought maybe I was making it all up. After all, weren't contractions supposed to start off further apart at the beginning? It was so strange because they were close to begin with. In the weeks before my due date, Hubby and I discussed what I wanted to do as far as laboring. With Alyssa, we went into the hospital a lot sooner than we needed to. It was our first time, so we were just so anxious. I ended up being stuck in the hospital bed for several hours, and hated it. After taking a Lamaze Refresher Course, I also had decided that this time around, I would do all that I could to labor for as long as I could in the comfort of my own home. We even talked about the idea of trying not using pain meds like the Lamaze teacher had talked about. I didn't really know how that whole idea would pan out, but I was willing to give it a try.

In the last few weeks before I was due with Audrey, a friend of mine lent me a copy of this book.

It's actually a companion to another book called Supernatural Childbirth.

It was such a great book to read to help me build up my faith in believing for a wonderful birth experience. At that time I was not attending church but still believed in God and the power of prayer. This mini book focuses on scriptures in the Bible that you can stand on to believe in faith for many things--from believing to conceive to the delivery of the baby. I remember reading a certain part of the book that gives accounts of mother's who prayed for no pain during childbirth and God answered their prayers. I must admit I was pretty skeptical at the notion of no pain during childbirth. I mean, we all know that the pain we all experience in childbirth is all part of what happens to us as the result of Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden. Besides that, I didn't know anyone who had ever had a baby without experiencing pain. I didn't know what to think about that whole part of the book. In the last few weeks before my due date, I decided that when I prayed, I would start asking the Lord to help me have as little pain as possible. I thought it would be a lot to ask God for no pain, but looking back, I think to myself, Who was I to underestimate what God could do? I also stood on the scriptures that the book gave for believing for no fear--something that I have dealt with for a long time--not just in the area of childbirth. I wish I had a copy of that book right now, so that I could list a few of the scriptures that I used because I know a few people who might be reading this are either pregnant or wanting to become pregnant and could really use these scriptures to stand on. It's definitely worth the $6.99 it costs to purchase it.
Anyhow, fast forward to the part where I was having contractions at home. 7:00 a.m. rolled around, and I was still having contractions in the same intervals. I was uncomfortable but other than that I felt fine. I tried to rest because I knew I had some work to do later! Alyssa woke up and laid in bed with us a while until she was hungry for breakfast. Hubby got up to feed her so I could continue resting. I decided to take a shower. The warm water felt good, especially when the contractions came. Time continued to go on, and I became more uncomfortable, but the pain was not nearly as bad as I remember it being with Alyssa. I kept getting the feeling like I needed to go pee. I must have sat on the toilet at least 20 times that morning! The contractions kept coming, still close together. I resisted the idea of going to the hospital as I kept thinking to myself that it was still too soon. I prayed that I would know when I needed to go. Around 10:00 a.m., the contractions were coming every 3-5 minutes. I was starting to feel a little more pain, but still nothing I couldn't handle. I decided that it would probably be a good idea to call my Mom to come watch Alyssa and we would finally get to the hospital.
I should also mention that I didn't call any other member of our family during my laboring process at home. I didn't want to worry anyone and besides that I wanted the delivery to be a special time for just me and Hubby. I also wanted to be able to breastfeed right after I had the baby, and I knew that if the family came in right after she was born, it would be hard for me to try to nurse. Besides that, I knew everyone would have plenty of time later to be able to meet our little girl.
My Mom arrived at our house sometime after 11:00 a.m. By then, the contractions were getting a little more intense. I still remember the only thing that helped during that time was sitting on the couch on my knees, holding on to end of the couch trying to breathe through each contraction. When my Mom saw me doing that, she knew it was serious. She urged me to get going to the hospital. It was so emotional leaving Alyssa there, knowing that when I came back, she wouldn't be my only girl anymore. On the drive to the hospital, the pain that I had been having at home seemed to calm down and at one point I even questioned if we should just turn the car around and go back home. We decided it would be best just to go to the hospital to get checked out.
When I got to the hospital they got me right in. I got changed into the gown, and they started asking me all of the usual questions. The contractions kept coming. Before I knew it, I started shivering and I didn't know why. I was very nervous and the reality of everthing started to kick in. I WAS GOING TO BE HAVING A BABY!!! Fear started to creep in. After the nurse got all my info it was time for her to examine me. I laid there not knowing what to expect. I waited for her to tell me how far along I was, and I almost freaked out when she told me that I was already 9 centimeters!!! I could not believe what she had said, and I turned to my Hubby and said, "What did she say?" He repeated what she said and I was in shock. How did I make it that far without pain medication? With Alyssa I waited until I couldn't take it anymore, and I had them give me one of those one time shots for the pain, called an Intrathecal Narcotic. That was at 6 centimeters.
I immediately asked the nurse about getting some pain medication...I decided that the idea of natural childbirth was not for me. How I was going to push without medication? She informed me that I was already too far along for drugs. I would have to go natural. The shivering I was experiencing was actually the result of being in the "Transition" phase of labor, the part that comes right before its time to push. At that point the nurses scrambled to have me fill out paperwork, take my blood, call my doctor. Within minutes, I started feeling the urge to push. I started to panic, because I knew...this was it. Without realizing it, I started to push, because that's what came naturally. The nurse ran to call another nurse to get my doctor quick. Audrey was coming so fast she did not want to be the one to deliver her. They raced to get my doctor ready and in under 4 pushes, my little Audrey girl came into the world at 1:03 p.m., weighing in at 6 lbs 11 oz. and was 18 1/4" long. I was in shock. She was so tiny compared to Alyssa when she was born. It was such a blessing to be able to see and hold her immediately. When Alyssa was born, they had to rush her away due to her aspirating her meconium (pooping in eutero, then breathing it in). I didn't get to see her for several hours after she was born.
With Audrey, things were so different. Hubby even got the honor of cutting the cord this time, also another thing we were not able to experience the first time around.
Well, I cannot express all of the things I am feeling today, but I am just so thankful for this special gift he gave to us. I am thankful for answered prayers and for the Lord loving me so much that he went above and beyond in making my birth experience better than I ever could have asked for!
Here's a picture of Audrey and I as we were getting ready to leave the hospital...
And the day after we brought her home. Note the yellow blanket...it's a special blanket because it was a blanket that my mom made for me, and a blanket she used when she brought me home from the hospital. I also used it to bring Alyssa home!

I love you so much, Audrey girl. Happy 1st Birthday!!! Love, Mama