I'll start from the beginning.
7:00 AM - I woke up to discover that I had been bleeding in the night. Andy (calm and collected-thank God!) called the doctor.
7:11 - The midwife on call returned the call, asked questions, and recommended I call the ob-gyn when the office opened at 8:00 to see if they could fit me in today.
8:00 - I called the ob-gyn and got an appointment for 9:45.
9:45 - We saw the midwife, who asked a bunch of questions and did an exam. She said she didn't see any active (red) bleeding. It all looked like old (brown) blood, which is good. The doppler showed that Beulah's heartbeat was strong! But, she recommended we have an ultrasound to look at the placenta.
10:30 - The ultrasound showed Beulah playing with her sweet little toes! Too cute! She said Beulah has "chubby toes" and is weighing in at 4 lbs 15 oz!! She's a big girl! She looked great, and wasn't in distress at all. She is breech, but that's another story. However, the view of the placenta showed some dark spots. As she was looking at them, she said, "It looks like you're going to be heading back to the Women's Center (the high risk doctor)." She left the room to talk to the doctor. A few minutes later a nurse came in and said the tech was on the phone and needed some text books. Hmm, that didn't sound good! The midwife came in several minutes later to tell us that they weren't exactly sure what they were seeing and had made me an appointment at 12:45 with the specialist. They said that if Beulah was in distress at all or if the placenta wasn't supplying her with everything she needed, they may have to take her!
11:20 - We called our families and some friends we knew would be home and asked them to pray. By God's grace, we had an unexplainable peace.
11:30 - Andy took me to Brixx, my favorite brick oven pizza restaurant. I told Andy that I wanted to go there before we had the baby, and we thought this may be our last chance!
12:45 PM - I had another ultrasound, during which Beulah was still happily playing with her toes. :) After the ultrasound, the tech brought the doctor in, who did his own ultrasound. He asked questions as he looked. He said the dark spots are "placenta lakes", pockets of blood, which can be normal! He looked for blood behind the placenta (which would be bad), but didn't see any. In the end he said he thought everything was fine! What?! Of course! We found out later that in the short amount of time since we had called family and friends, they had spread the word and we had been added to several prayer lists! This child has been a miracle from conception, she is in God's hands. What better hands could she be in? We don't have to worry. What a relief!
2:00 - We drove home praising God.
4:00 - We took a nap. :)
Thank you for your prayers today. They were heard once again! While we want Beulah to stay in as long as she can to develop fully, we'd be lying if we said we weren't a little excited at the thought of meeting her. We'll wait till she's ready though. :)
Monday, February 23, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Our Amazing Creator
Between reading pregnancy / birthing books and taking classes, I have learned some things about pregnancy and birth that just leave me speechless. The nurse who taught our birthing class said, "I don't know how anyone can do what I do and not believe in God." She gave Him credit for all of the amazing things that happen during pregnancy and birth that can't be attributed to anything other than our amazing Creator. The nurse / lactation consultant who taught the breast-feeding class agreed and mentioned how clever God is to have created our bodies with such care that we (women) are able to provide nourishment for our children and all of the intricacies involved in that. The midwife we saw Friday teared up as she spoke about the miracle of birth, and she's been delivering babies for more than 25 years! She told us that God already knows how our birth will go and reminded us to trust that His way is best. Wow!
These are just a FEW amazing things I've learned that blow my mind.
1. When a baby's lungs finish developing, she releases a hormone that initiates labor in the mother.
2. During labor, a woman's body releases endorphins that are more powerful than morphine.
3. If put on the mother's chest (skin to skin) after a natural (non-medicated) birth, a baby will "crawl" to her breast and initiate feeding within the first 30 minutes to an hour of life.
4. A mother's breast will create the amount of milk her baby requires, however much or little that might be.
5. Amniotic fluid, as well as breast milk, are "flavored" based on what mom has eaten. This introduces the flavors of the house and helps children get used to them from a very early age.
6. Immediately after birth, the mother's chest acts as an incubator. If put skin to skin with her mother a baby begins to learn to regulate her own body temperature. If the baby's temp falls, the mother's will rise. If the baby's temp rises, the mother's will fall. In this way, learning to regulate her temperature can be achieved in 90 minutes. This can also be done with the father if the two are draped together with a blanket. If taken away from the mother (or father's) bare chest within the first 90 minutes, learning to regulate her temperature can take baby up to three days.
How great is our God?!
These are just a FEW amazing things I've learned that blow my mind.
1. When a baby's lungs finish developing, she releases a hormone that initiates labor in the mother.
2. During labor, a woman's body releases endorphins that are more powerful than morphine.
3. If put on the mother's chest (skin to skin) after a natural (non-medicated) birth, a baby will "crawl" to her breast and initiate feeding within the first 30 minutes to an hour of life.
4. A mother's breast will create the amount of milk her baby requires, however much or little that might be.
5. Amniotic fluid, as well as breast milk, are "flavored" based on what mom has eaten. This introduces the flavors of the house and helps children get used to them from a very early age.
6. Immediately after birth, the mother's chest acts as an incubator. If put skin to skin with her mother a baby begins to learn to regulate her own body temperature. If the baby's temp falls, the mother's will rise. If the baby's temp rises, the mother's will fall. In this way, learning to regulate her temperature can be achieved in 90 minutes. This can also be done with the father if the two are draped together with a blanket. If taken away from the mother (or father's) bare chest within the first 90 minutes, learning to regulate her temperature can take baby up to three days.
How great is our God?!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The Things We Take for Granted
When we go to Guatemala in the summers, part of our mission is to build houses for widows and their children. One of the hardest parts of the trip is the see how the family was living before. The pictures below are two examples of "beds" where the widows had been sleeping.
Inside the house we build a bunk bed out of raw wood and top it off with a small mattress. This past year, some of our folks got to go back and visit a widow we had built a house for earlier in the week. The widow was SO excited to see them and thanked them endlessly. But, one thing she said really struck us. She said, "I LOVE my new bed. It makes my bones not hurt."
I get a knot in my throat just thinking about it, because you have to understand...when we say "new bed", we're not talking about a queen pillow top mattress or even a memory foam topper. It's the kind of mattress that middle class Americans might let our dogs sleep on, but never our children and certainly not ourselves (see below).
I didn't fully understand the significance of her statement until the past couple of months. If you've ever been pregnant, you know that sleeping can be a challenge as you near the end. For the past couple of months, I would wake up everytime I turned over. For one thing, I had to rearrange the four pillows I had all around me. For another thing, my hips and ribs were KILLING me. Sometimes they would hurt all day, sometimes just for the first couple of hours in the day.
Now, you should know that I not only have the four pillows to make me comfortable, but I am also sleeping on a great mattress PLUS a memory foam topper, and I STILL hurt! After a few weeks of this, I couldn't imagine it getting any worse or lasting for the next few months. So, Andy and I prayed that God would relieve this pain and help me sleep. And, I tell you, He did!! Now, when I get up for one of my many trips to the potty during the night, I thank God that I don't feel the pain. Last night, when I thanked God, He reminded me of these women and children who were sleeping on MUCH less than me and hurting all day everyday. Boy, was I humbled. Pray for them as you crawl in bed tonight. And, if you feel so led, you can help them here.
Inside the house we build a bunk bed out of raw wood and top it off with a small mattress. This past year, some of our folks got to go back and visit a widow we had built a house for earlier in the week. The widow was SO excited to see them and thanked them endlessly. But, one thing she said really struck us. She said, "I LOVE my new bed. It makes my bones not hurt."
I get a knot in my throat just thinking about it, because you have to understand...when we say "new bed", we're not talking about a queen pillow top mattress or even a memory foam topper. It's the kind of mattress that middle class Americans might let our dogs sleep on, but never our children and certainly not ourselves (see below).
I didn't fully understand the significance of her statement until the past couple of months. If you've ever been pregnant, you know that sleeping can be a challenge as you near the end. For the past couple of months, I would wake up everytime I turned over. For one thing, I had to rearrange the four pillows I had all around me. For another thing, my hips and ribs were KILLING me. Sometimes they would hurt all day, sometimes just for the first couple of hours in the day.
Now, you should know that I not only have the four pillows to make me comfortable, but I am also sleeping on a great mattress PLUS a memory foam topper, and I STILL hurt! After a few weeks of this, I couldn't imagine it getting any worse or lasting for the next few months. So, Andy and I prayed that God would relieve this pain and help me sleep. And, I tell you, He did!! Now, when I get up for one of my many trips to the potty during the night, I thank God that I don't feel the pain. Last night, when I thanked God, He reminded me of these women and children who were sleeping on MUCH less than me and hurting all day everyday. Boy, was I humbled. Pray for them as you crawl in bed tonight. And, if you feel so led, you can help them here.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
8 weeks to go!!
I can't believe I am 8 months pregnant and we will get to meet Beulah in about 8 weeks!! People have always talked about how fast time goes when you have kids, but I didn't realize it started before they were even in the world! This has really flown!
These days Andy and I enjoy sitting and watching my belly morph and jump. We've got one active little girl, thank the Lord! In the picture below, you can see how much she's grown. :) It's the first bare belly picture I've posted, although I walk around the house like that all the time. I wish I could go everywhere like that!
Last Friday the doctor released me from pelvic rest. She said she doesn't see any reason to believe that I will have to have a c-section! They will check me again at 36 weeks (I am currently at 32 weeks). After she left the room, I just sat on the table and breathed several deep sighs of relief and praised God! I was able to exercise some last week, but it's slow going since it's been a while.
Last weekend Andy and I went to the most wonderful birthing class at the hospital where I will deliver, CMC Pineville. We are praying that I will get the nurse who taught the class (or someone like her) to attend the birth, because she was AMAZING!! We learned SO many helpful things. She was really good at talking to the husbands in the class about their role during labor and delivery, and I think it really helped give Andy some much needed confidence. We are more and more excited every day about meeting Beulah!
On Valentines Day, I came home to some beautiful gerber daisies (my favorite) from my husband, and some fresh, young tulips "from" my precious Beulah! What a treat! Beulah and I also had a gift for her daddy. (See the shirt below.) He loved it. :) (Thanks for the idea, Aunt Danielle!)
These days Andy and I enjoy sitting and watching my belly morph and jump. We've got one active little girl, thank the Lord! In the picture below, you can see how much she's grown. :) It's the first bare belly picture I've posted, although I walk around the house like that all the time. I wish I could go everywhere like that!
Last Friday the doctor released me from pelvic rest. She said she doesn't see any reason to believe that I will have to have a c-section! They will check me again at 36 weeks (I am currently at 32 weeks). After she left the room, I just sat on the table and breathed several deep sighs of relief and praised God! I was able to exercise some last week, but it's slow going since it's been a while.
Last weekend Andy and I went to the most wonderful birthing class at the hospital where I will deliver, CMC Pineville. We are praying that I will get the nurse who taught the class (or someone like her) to attend the birth, because she was AMAZING!! We learned SO many helpful things. She was really good at talking to the husbands in the class about their role during labor and delivery, and I think it really helped give Andy some much needed confidence. We are more and more excited every day about meeting Beulah!
On Valentines Day, I came home to some beautiful gerber daisies (my favorite) from my husband, and some fresh, young tulips "from" my precious Beulah! What a treat! Beulah and I also had a gift for her daddy. (See the shirt below.) He loved it. :) (Thanks for the idea, Aunt Danielle!)
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