Our little gift of praise (part 2) 

Towards the end of the pregnancy we got the great news that because he was measuring good in the ultrasounds that he was going to be allowed to come on his own since he was thriving in the womb. We were so excited! Such a big answer to prayer! We began praying that he would make it to 40 weeks so his lungs would be fully developed and he would be ready.

My last baby had come at 36 weeks and 6 days, so we were prepared just in case he came early like his brother.

So we waited. A fun fact, my sister-in-law was due a day before me with her third boy as well, so it was so fun to walk this pregnancy with her. She ended up having her baby 4 days before our little one arrived.

It was getting closer to our due date and still no sign of him. I went to the doctor on Friday after having painful cramps off and on for a couple weeks and discovered I was already dilated to a 4, which was such a blessing, but my body was still not ready. She told me not to delay coming in to the hospital because she thought he would come fast and we didn’t want to nearly have him in the car like his older brother.

Saturday late afternoon I came down with what felt like food poisoning. It lasted for almost 24 hours, and I spent the whole night in our bathroom. By Sunday night I was completely drained. I got to rock both boys before bed and had a sweet time with each of them, then we decided to do a “date night in” and watch a movie together. It was a sweet night. Throughout the night I had some pain but nothing consistent. The next morning, June 22 (his due date), at 7:50 AM I had a contraction and it was painful.  I looked at the clock and timed it, thinking this could be it. They began coming at 10 minutes apart, but I was still thinking they could stop any second. I told my husband after a little while and we called our moms. Then the contractions jumped to 5 minutes apart. My mother-in-law arrived and we headed to the hospital about an hour after the contractions had started. In the car they slowed down some but were still painful. We had a sweet time of prayer together and had hearts full of excitement and thankfulness that he was coming today!

My husband wanted to drop me off at the front but I refused and wanted to walk from the parking lot so I could continue to make progress and I was quite determined. So we finally found a parking spot and walked in. The lady at the front could see I was in labor and said she was going to get me a wheel chair but I told her “no thank you,” I wanted to walk.

We got to labor and delivery and my doctor and Mom met us there. She told the ladies at the front desk that she needed to get me in a room fast because I was already 4 cm dilated on Friday. She checked me and said I was almost at an 8. This was an hour and half at least after my first contraction. As we were walking to the labor room my water broke in the hall way. From that time on the contractions were SO SO painful and frequent. Transition started and we started our “push music” Christy Nockels’ new album. I shut down at this point and couldn’t talk or anything because of the pain.

(The song in the picture is the one that was playing when I was pushing and when he was born. It makes me cry when I hear it now.)

Then my doctor walked in to check on me right about the time I felt I couldn’t stand it any longer. I asked if I could push and she said I could. Everyone rustled about very quickly and after 2 pushes he came out facing sideways (which explains his bruising!). They immediately put him on my chest. He was crying and I was so relieved he was here but still in such pain. I was trying to calm him down by singing “Jesus Jesus Jesus, Sweetest Name I Know…..” and he eventually calmed down.

My doctor then showed us the umbilical cord and how marginal it was. When I saw the cord and how weak it was and how tiny it was compared to my others, and the opposite location it was, it was as if the Lord was just showing me His faithfulness and goodness. I was filled with relief and praise for the Lord’s goodness, which we don’t deserve.

As I was holding my baby he felt SO tiny. I thought he was about 7.5 pounds! Then he went to the bathroom all over me and I thought to myself, “there goes 6 ounces of his birth weight!” They weighed him after letting me snuggle him for about an hour and a half and to our surprise he was 9 pounds and 2.4 ounces. Another incredible answer to prayer!

His name, Nathan Jude, means a gift of praise and we want to make sure that we use our lives and story to bring praise to the Lord! We are grateful for his faithfulness in hearing our prayers and answering them. To God be the glory great things He has done!