Answered prayer

Another Birth Story!
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Another Birth Story!

We recently celebrated our daughter’s birthday, and I thought maybe you all would enjoy reading the story of her birth…this was written almost 2 years ago….just before the birth of our second:

Ever since my daughter was born, I’ve wanted to write down her birth story, both for myself and for her to read someday. Now that “little brother” will be making his appearance any time, I figured I really should get her story written before having another birth to get it mixed up with. So here goes….

Our baby was due June 26, which meant that I really wasn’t expecting to have a baby until the end of June, or maybe even the beginning of July. After seeing many first-time mama’s get so disappointed over not hitting their “due date”, and proceeding to go at least a week overdue, I was determined that I wouldn’t set such expectations.  This was one area where I really didn’t have an expectation…the week before she came, I was busily painting several rooms in our house (“nesting instinct” for sure!), and then Joel’s family hosted a surprise baby shower for us on June 18. While the shower really was a surprise, he had talked with me about dates for something, and I assured him that I would still be doing quite fine by Father’s Day weekend, with probably another couple of weeks to go yet. Shows you how much I knew, after all! During the last 6-7 weeks of my pregnancy, I had continued to get very swollen, and my blood pressure was creeping higher, so I wonder in retrospect if my body just realized that it was time to get the baby out.

I still vividly remember getting up Sunday morning and noticing some bloody show, and signs that my water had possibly broken. I wasn’t totally sure (and wouldn’t you know, that was the one weekend that another midwife was using my kit, so I didn’t even have the test strips to check it out!), but I started crying as I told Joel about it, which made me wonder if maybe I really was going to start labor soon. Since my mother had several labors where she experienced prolonged rupture of membranes, once again I didn’t want to count on anything happening very quickly. I figured it could be a good while yet before we saw any “action”, so I still got ready for church…I didn’t really want anyone asking any questions, and since our home is right off the road, I knew that EVERYONE would know that there was the possibility of something going on if I wasn’t at church and yet our vehicle was in the drive.  During the service I was a bit uncomfortable, experiencing some cramps and things, but still nothing regular. After church I had a humorous conversation with two moms about how I shouldn’t get my hopes up in going anytime soon…and inwardly I was smiling as I figured I probably only had days or hours left, and not weeks!

With it being Father’s Day, we had planned to eat lunch with his family down the road (they only live a mile from us, so it wasn’t far). Joel wondered if I still wanted to go, and once again I wanted to show up just to keep people from knowing what was going on. I still felt pretty good, though I could tell that the cramps were getting stronger, and I was beginning to lose a bit more fluid. Everything went fine until right at the end of lunch, when all of a sudden I just wanted to be home…and I was afraid that the pad I was wearing might not be catching all of the fluid! Joel caught the message that I wanted to go, so he made some remark about the pregnant mama needing a nap, and whisked me out…with my swollen feet and hands, no one objected to my not helping with dishes, or wondered anything about us leaving so quickly!

We came home and laid down, and right around 3 or 3:30pm, I experienced my first REAL contraction. Not one of those low-crampy kind of aches, but the actual thing. It woke me right up, and after that my adrenaline kept me from sleeping anymore. However, things still picked up slowly, with the contractions only coming every 10-15 minutes or so, and were fairly easy to relax through. At this point, we called our folks to let them know that it looked like I really was in labor, which of course made them all excited. I still was figuring on hours and hours yet to go, so I took care of some things around the house, and Joel had a friend over for an early supper (they sat out on the porch to talk). At about 6:30, the contractions got more intense, and started coming more frequently. Joel thought it would be a good idea to call the midwives and let them know, especially since one was coming up from Lancaster and had a two hour trip ahead of her. I told him that I was fine with letting them know what was going on, but that I probably had another 24 hours at least to go, so there wasn’t any hurry. He didn’t agree with me, which was a good thing!

By 8:00, we went ahead and had Rose come over, as Joel thought I should have someone here. He also called Debby and told her that he thought she should go ahead and come…and meanwhile the contractions were about 5 minutes apart, lasting around a minute. I changed into more comfortable clothing, and tried to get comfortable, though I wasn’t finding it easy. I finally got in the shower, which gave some relief. Rose wondered if I wanted to be checked, but I didn’t-I was afraid at this point that I was probably only at 2-3cm, and wasn’t sure I could handle that news with how intense the contractions were.  Joel started filling up the tub, as I always thought that I would like to labor in water…though our tub faucet wasn’t working well, and it took an hour to fill up! By 9:55, Rose suggested that she check me, and Joel encouraged me to…and I was a stretchy 6-7. That was encouraging, though the contractions by now were coming so close and so hard that I was finding it difficult to stay on top of them. The most comfortable thing I could do was sit on the birth ball, lean my head on the bed, and squeeze onto Joel’s hand…and there was NO way I could think about making the effort to get into the tub at this point!

That next hour was intense, with the contractions coming every 2-4 minutes, and lasting a good long time, and I was beginning to wonder how I could ever get through a whole night of this. I still remember thinking “they always say that when you think you can’t do it anymore, you’re almost through”, but then dismissing the thought as wishful thinking.  By this time, we were beginning to wonder where Debby was…Rose called her, and found out that she also figured she had a good amount of time to get there with this being my first baby and all, and she hadn’t left right away. I couldn’t blame her, as I would have done the exact same thing! Rose told her she should hurry…it was 10:40pm by that time, and I was close to 9cm. That surprised all of us! Just before 11:00, I started feeling pushy, and Rose said I was complete. Right about that time Debby walked in, so I felt like I could relax to begin pushing.

By this time I moved to the bed in a semi-sitting position, as it seemed to be the most comfortable for pushing. The pushing part was not at all what I was expecting…I guess I had heard enough moms say that they enjoyed that part of it as it felt like they were doing something, but I felt like I wasn’t making any progress, and there was a constant sharp pain near my pubic bone. It took only 35 minutes of pushing, and she was born with a nuchal hand…which I think attributed to the pain during pushing AND to the tear coming out!

Having that squalling little baby put on my chest was amazing…I kept looking down at her and thinking, “she’s mine to keep!”. Although we hadn’t had a sonogram during the pregnancy, Joel and I both felt like the baby was going to be a girl, so it almost felt like it was no surprise to see our little daughter. She pinked up and cried right away-just about as perfect as it can get. I was in for another surprise, though…I felt so sore that I could hardly move afterwards! The placenta came about 10 minutes after her birth, and I was so relieved to have everything all over, and thankful for how well everything had gone. Postpartum continued without incident, though it almost made me laugh to think of how difficult it was to get out of bed just to go to the bathroom, and how incredibly sore and tender everything was-and this was a small baby! I decided then that I did not believe the nonsense that is talked about in regards to a mom not needing pain relief if she is sutured right after birth, as she is still numb and on a high from the birth…that certainly was not the case! 

Rose was ready to go within two hours after the birth, and since Debby had been up the night before at a birth, she stayed the rest of the night to catch some sleep before heading back. We were so grateful for how the Lord took care of every detail, and gave us a wonderful first birth experience, and a beautiful, precious daughter!

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our little princess!

Matthias’ Birth Story
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Matthias’ Birth Story

With this being the start of a new year, I’m attempting a new start at keeping this blog more up-to-date. My hopes are to at least post once a month, so we’ll begin with this, and see if I can keep it up! Blessings to each of you in 2014!

Having just celebrated Matthias’ first birthday, I thought you all might enjoy hearing a few of the details surrounding his birth…

They say that being a midwife to a midwife can be a challenge, and I’m afraid I’ve proved that to be true once again. My second pregnancy, while easier during the first half of the pregnancy, was definitely more uncomfortable during the last several months. My friend/neighbor was expecting as well, and since we were due the same day, we joked about who was going to have hers first. In hindsight, I don’t think I was really joking-I thought I should be the first one, as I was certainly bigger and seemed to be more uncomfortable!

However, wouldn’t you know, but 2 weeks before our EDD, my friend calls me at 4am wondering if I’m having my baby, as she thinks hers is on it’s way. At the beginning of her pregnancy (before I knew I was pregnant myself!), she had asked if I would deliver hers, but with our due dates being so close, it was pretty much impossible to commit to it, which was disappointing for me, as births have been pretty few and far between since moving to PA. Once she found out I wasn’t in labor, she said she’d call if things progressed before her midwives arrived (they had 45 min. to drive), and sure enough, things progressed rapidly, and I was soon on my way up the hill and had the sweet privilege of delivering a little boy about 10 min. before the midwives arrived. It really was humorous, me, who was so big and cumbersome I hadn’t cleaned my own tubs in weeks, was leaning over a large tub delivering a baby without any thought at all!

Baby E - here about 1 hour old!

Baby E – here about 1 hour old!


I remember reading somewhere when I was initially beginning my midwifery training about there being strong hormones present at a birth, and how these sometimes made other pregnant women have their babies when they were exposed to a birth environment, so it wasn’t very hard to wish that I would have my own baby yet that day. However, it certainly didn’t work that way, and I began what turned into a very long week. With my first baby, I had no “false labor”, and everything was very straight forward. This time around, I had night after night of timeable contractions, little sleep, and an active toddler to care for during the day. Then Thanksgiving vacation arrived, and Joel was home from school for 4 days-and that would be a PERFECT time to have a baby. But that didn’t work either! By the end of the week I was a basket-case…exhausted, ready to be done, my blood pressure was going up and making me feel sick, and I was ready to do anything to get this baby out. My midwife suggested that I try to get some sleep, and wait to do anything until I was rested…which sounds like something I would have told someone else…but wouldn’t hardly hear myself.

Sunday morning I again had timeable contractions. Strong enough to be uncomfortable, but I wasn’t going to dare miss church, lest all the ladies wonder if I was home in labor, only to show up pregnant again next week. We had a Thanksgiving get-together with Joel’s family, and by the afternoon all my possible labor signs had died down. I hiked up our mountain trail TWICE (really desperate!), and gradually got grouchier as the day wore on (hormones kicking in, in retrospect). By afternoon we had decided to give castor oil a try, so I started chugging, and consumed more than I will recommend to anyone to take again. However, by the end of four hours of hoping something would kick in, it felt like nothing was happening. I cried again…and talked to my midwife …she lived 2 hours away and thought she should go ahead and come “just in case”, but I was just as adamant that there was no reason she should drive all that way only to turn around and go home again.

At 9:30pm I checked to find that was a good 4cm dilated-not much more than a few days before. So I let my midwife know that nothing was going on, and I was giving up and going to bed. Joel and I had a few minutes to talk, and then I had a contraction around 9:45pm. We thought, maybe things are actually going to start…and a few minutes later they did…this time I had a massive contraction, followed quickly by another and my water broke. Joel jumped up and said he’d better make sure Debby was on the way. She assured him that despite my wishes that she would wait, she was already on the road. By the time he came back to our room, contractions were coming so strong and so fast that I thought I was going to go crazy. At that point I asked him if we should go ahead and tell Rose to come (she was a midwife friend of ours who lived close by and was home in our area for Thanksgiving break-we had been hoping she could be there for our birth). He gently told me that I had contractions like this for a long time with Yoanna, so there really wasn’t any rush. To this I replied that if I had to go a long time like this I would just die, and I meant it.

Because he was teaching school, Joel needed to have a sub to take his spot the next morning since it looked like he wouldn’t be going in himself. So he quickly got on the phone to line one up-he had made some tentative plans but needed to make sure they were confirmed. It felt like he was on the phone forever…the contractions were incredible, and I didn’t even have time to move between them…every time I even breathed another one would start, and I never even got up off the end of the bed. By about 10:05, I started calling for Joel…not too loudly, as we wanted Yoanna to stay sleeping…but I didn’t know how I was going to make it. When Joel realized how serious things were, he tried to call Rose…which took longer than it should have, as I had scribbled her number on a scrap paper, and couldn’t tell Joel where to find it! I still remember him finally getting ahold of her, and hearing him tell her that she’d better hurry, as he didn’t think she had 10 minutes to get here (and she only lives 1 mile away!).

Right about then I realized that unless Rose really hurried, no one else was going to be around. This baby was COMING! Thankfully, I had set up my birth kit earlier that day, and everything was ready. Joel had the bowl of immediate supplies handy, and stepped right up to the plate. It was kinda weird…one minute I couldn’t think of anything, and the next minute I’d think, “oh, I need to make sure I…” Guess that’s the strange side of coaching so many other people through their births! Joel did especially well at helping me to slow down and breathe, allowing Matthias to be born slowly…I felt like my body was just pushing him out without me making any decisions. At 10:20pm, Joel caught his son, and handed him to me, and we both looked at each other a bit awed. It was just over 25 min. from the first major contraction! Rose walked in about 2 minutes later, about as surprised as we were to see the baby had already come.

We quickly called Debby, and told her we were in good hands with Rose, so she turned around and went home…good thing, too, as she had a quick one the next morning that she would have missed if she had been at our place. Rose took care of all the remaining things, and Joel said he was really glad to have her walk in and finish the job. We were so grateful for a safe birth, but for the record, my husband says he isn’t going to plan on delivering the next one solo. And we found out why the last weeks were so uncomfortable…Matthias weighed in at 9 lbs., over 1 ½ lbs. larger than his sister!

About an hour after his rapid arrival!

About an hour after his rapid arrival!


Big sister meeting baby brother

Big sister meeting baby brother

Matthias around 1 week old

Matthias around 1 week old


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Summer Report…

Okay, I know it’s been forever since I’ve actually posted on this site, so my attempt now is to try to bring you all up to date with what has been going on in my life these past months. It would probably be easiest to do it in several shorter posts, so I’ll start with photos of some of the summer babies….

Kyler Maine

Sweet little Kyler was born in June, and after giving us quite a scare by her reluctance to breathe on her own, she is doing quite well. Her older siblings were delighted to have a baby in the house again!

Isabelle

Isabelle arrived in July-her mama was a real trooper! She has continued to grow into a beautiful girl, and I so enjoyed the time spent with her parents.

Jazmin

Little Jazmin came in August, being cooperative enough to wait until AFTER I had major wisdom tooth surgery and took a quick trip to PA. We were grateful for God’s timing in her delivery, and it was extra special to deliver this sweet bundle, as I had delivered her big brother close to two years before.

Here are Brandon & Jazmin & myself, when she was two days old.

Well, that should bring folks up to date with babies….and future posts will contain some other interesting, updated information about my life! 🙂

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Guatemala Adventures, pt 1

Greetings from Kansas once again! I had fully intended to do better at keeping this blog updated over the past few weeks, but due to a variety of reasons that didn’t happen. It was one of the most exciting Central America trips I have taken…and I am so grateful for God’s protection, care, and faithfulness. There’s too much to say in one post, so I’ll try to write more about it in a later post as well.

I left KS for Guatemala back on May 8, a bit earlier than planned, as the baby that I was going for was making signs of appearing sooner than expected. Usually, when going to that spot in Guatemala, I would need to fly into Guate City, take an overnight bus up to the northern Petén area of the country, catch another bus to head 4 hours to the town of El Naranjo, and from there catch a ferry across the river and drive another half hour or so, or take a boat from that spot….alot of traveling, to say the least! But since we felt time was crucial, I had the fun privilege of getting flown up to the town of El Naranjo by James, a pilot who works for the mission. This eliminated hours of travel, and after leaving KS at 6:30 am, I arrived at the destination that afternoon around 4 pm.

View of Guatemala City from the small plane's window

The plane on the small runway in El Naranjo

It was lovely to be back in Guatemala with some of my dear friends there! As we waited on baby’s arrival, I enjoyed time catching up with them, and getting a further glimpse of their life. A few days later, we headed out to a small town about 4 hours away, where we stayed awaiting the birth. This allowed us to be within half an hour of a hospital should complications occur. Little Alex José arrived on May 19, after a lovely first-time labor. One of my good friends, Ashley, who works as a nurse in a nearby clinic, was my assistant for the birth, and it was a special treat to get to work with her!

Little Alex a few days after birth

His first Sunday!

I ended up staying with Alex’s family for about a week after his birth, going with them back to the little village where they live….then when I tried to return home, things got interesting, as a result of several natural disasters that occured the weekend I tried to travel….but more pictures and those stories will come later!!

In closing, a big thank you to all of you who were praying for me, and kept in touch. It was an incredible opportunity, and dream come true to spend the time in Guatemala helping with a delivery!

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I know it’s been awhile!

Well, after several weeks with no posts, I have decided it’s time to sit down and actually write something to let you all know I’ve not dropped off the face of the world! Life has been speeding along at a rapid pace, as I know it has been for many people, and I keep thinking that I will write…

Yesterday finally saw the arrival of a very big boy that we have been waiting on for several weeks. That is one reason I’ve not written-I kept thinking that we would have a baby announcement to post! But this little fellow wanted to take his good ol’ time.  We are grateful for his safe arrival, and glad to be able to see him on the “outside” at last.

At the moment, I am busily trying to wrap things up around here in order to be ready to take off for Guatemala this weekend. My intention in going is to help a missionary family with the birth of their baby. I’d appreciate your prayers for safe travels, and for God’s hand to be over us as we anticipate the arrival of this new little one! I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone…could be two weeks, or up to five…so it’s a bit challenging to have things taken care of back home for an unknown amount of time. It makes me grateful yet again for for wonderful midwives in the area who help me by covering and providing quality care for my clients that are left behind in my absence. So, if you contact me this month by phone, and wonder why I’m not answering, know you will know what’s up!

I know this is a rather interesting conglomeration of topics, but I figure I might as well catch you all up on several different areas. However, the best and biggest event going on in my life right now will be announced soon, so stay posted for another new announcement within a week or so.  🙂

Alright, in closing, I have to let you know that my friend and fellow midwife, Heidi, has started her own blog. It’s beautiful, and will give you more information about the services and care she offers. Check it out! http://www.createdforpraise.blogspot.com

While I’m giving you other links, if you are looking for a midwife in the Tulsa, OK area, you might want to check out the website of another friend of mine, Faith Morie. She has spent the past 8 months or so working for a midwife in Isreal, and is now back in OK getting her practice started. Pass her information on to anyone you think might be interested! http://www.borntobelovedbirth.blogspot.com

May you enjoy this beautiful day to the fullest!

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Baby announcement!

Had a sweet baby girl born yesterday…and we were very grateful for her safe birth.  God is good, and it’s always a miracle to witness the arrival of a new life into this world, especially one as intense as this one.  Thanks, too, to Heidi for her awesome job as an assistant. It’s a joy to get to work with her, and I’m grateful for the opportunity!!

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Praising God for perfect timing!

This week has been a crazy one…I arrived back in the states on Monday night after a wonderful time with dear friends in Costa Rica, and since that time I’ve been away from home the majority of the week! I had a long list of things to accomplish during the six days I was in Kansas, and I found out the night I returned that a baby was waiting on me as well. After putting around 1000 miles on my car, between trips all over Kansas and Oklahoma to perform prenatals, visit with people, and trying to deliver a baby, I am almost ready to leave for Guatemala in the morning. The biggest answer to prayer was the safe arrival of a precious baby boy on Friday evening-the way God worked that timing out during the few days I was home is incredible! Prayers would be appreciated as I head south again tomorrow morning with two of my younger siblings. I hope to post a few updates along the way during these next four weeks, and we are looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us!

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A story of God’s hand at work….

With the change of month into September, I was thinking about past years and where I was at this time.  One memory that stood out to me happened a year ago this month….

As a student at Family Birth Services in Dallas, TX, I had the special priviledge of working with many families who gave me the opportunity to practice and improve my midwifery skills. One such family had a sweet daughter just a couple of months after I arrived at FBS, and a year later they were anticipating the arrival of another baby. With the second pregnancy, they chose me to be their midwife, which was made extra special because of assisting with the previous birth.

Early on in the pregnancy, during one of the prenatal visits, we found that the baby’s heart rate was much lower than what it was supposed to be. Being concerned, we immediately went for a sonogram, and the prognosis did not look good. Knowing there was not much we could do, the decision was made to wait and see what happened, and in the mean time this family took their situation to their church and family for prayer.

To make a long story short, after several weeks of monitoring the baby’s condition, things slowly improved, and by the time it came close for this little one’s delivery, the sonographer could not find anything wrong! What an answer to prayer! In the back of our minds, however, there was still a question of whether or not the baby would be normal, due to the amount of time that had lapsed with the decreased HR.

After a very quick birth, which we midwives flew to get to, a precious little girl was born.  Her color was great from the beginning, and she appeared perfect during the newborn exam. Today she is still healthy and beautiful, and a testimony of how God answers prayer and heals….

When I went for the two day home visit, big sister was excited about showing off the baby!

When I went for the two day home visit, big sister was excited about showing off the baby!