God Does Answer Prayer - Continued...

There were a few things that I left out of yesterday's post - due to the sudden realization that I needed to go to bed (so that I could function today!). So, let me continue with a few more things that we have been praying for:

Flashback Continued...

I decided that I was going to nurse Brady for the first year of his life. When I began nursing him, I realized that he did not have a correct latch - his bottom lip was not flanging out. So, in turn, this hurt me when and after he was nursing. I was probably sore for about 6 or more weeks, but I was determined that I WAS going to nurse him. So, over time, his lip did correct itself and I was not in pain any longer. However, this time around, I did not want to experience that at all. So, this is something else that we have been praying for.

One last thing that comes to my mind at the moment is spit up - yes, it does happen with babies. However, Brady spit up A LOT!!! He would spit up after I fed him and them sometimes he would just spit up at random times after that - even though he was burped. The reason was probably because his digestive system was a little immature. It was not a huge deal as far as his health because he was growing and sleeping fine. It was just a lot to clean up - and he wore bibs whenever he was awake - less to clean up that way. So, I have been praying, and I still am, that this baby would not have that problem.

We have actually prayed that both of our sons would be healthy and strong and I have to say that they both are.

Those are the main things that I can think about that I wanted to mention about the past, so, now let's come back to the present - well, the last 11 days anyway!

ELEVEN DAYS AGO - the Labor and Delivery...part of the testimony of God answering prayer...

First, I have to say that I was a little "anxious" this time around as far as going into labor on my own and not in the hospital - what would it be like? Would my water break in the middle of the night again? Somewhat secretly, I thought to myself that I would not mind if I had to be induced with the gel again, just because that is all that I know - then I would not have any mess of the "water" at my house, in my car, etc. I know that might sound funny, but it is something that past through my mind at one point in time. I did not pray that I would be overdue again, but something inside of me had a feeling that I would be.

So, my due date came and went, and I was scheduled for an induction on January 8, 2008. I was really hoping that this time things would go more quickly - and of course that I would not have to have pitosin. After checking in, we got to the birthplace at 7:40am and found that the doctor was involved in a C-section. After he was done with that, he came to see me and he told me that he first wanted to give me the antibiotic and I would need at least two doses of that and it had to be four hours apart. So, he said that he did not want to induce me with the gel yet because he didn't trust me. He had a feeling that I was going to go faster this time and he wanted to be sure that I got all of the antibiotic in me. (With Brady, after I got the gel the first time, it was about 12+ hours before he was born). So, Dawson went home to work on the baby's room while I had the antibiotic pumped into me...

Well, at 1:40pm, I was finally induced with the gel - I was about 2cm at this point. I really wanted to have the baby on the 8th, so I was hoping that this would not take a long time. Why the 8th? Well, it means "new beginnings" and I thought that was cool, and it is also a "weird number thing" - my sister definitely "gets it" - she likes numbers. You see, Brady was born on January 2nd and I was born on April 2nd. Dawson was born on February 10th, so that was obviously not going to coincide with this birth, but our anniversary is June 8th, so I thought it would be cool if the baby was born on January 8th!

Anyway...I felt like I started to get some contractions within the hour after I was induced. Dawson and I walked the halls and I got into the jacuzzi for about 20 minutes. I wanted to do whatever I could to help the process along! The doctor was going to check me again at 5:30pm to see if they would reapply the gel or if I was going to be ready to deliver. So, at about 5:15, the nurse came in to tell me that the doctor was in a meeting, so it would be a little while. I let her know that I was having contractions. She asked me if they were leading up to labor...I thought in my head, "I sure do hope so!", but I really was not sure. I mean what if I said "yes" and when they checked me I was still 2cm! So, I said, "I don't know." - because that was the truth - I had only done this one other time!

Dawson and I decided to play Yahtzee (we had played UNO earlier, which was also fun). While we were playing, he noticed that every time that it was his turn, I was breathing through a contraction...I guess my contractions were pretty close! We were not timing them or anything. I was just breathing through them and rocking in the glider - which really helped to take my mind off of them. Dawson went to get some more water for us and told the nurse about my contractions. She decided to come down and put me on the monitor - sure enough, they were closer together! It was about 6:30pm and the doctor (now a female doctor was on duty) came down to check me. I was about 4-5cm!!! She asked me what my plans were as far as anesthesia and I said that I did not want an epidural (unless it really dragged on), so she suggested that I hop into the jacuzzi now before things got carried away.

So, Dawson got the water going in the tub and I got into it. The nurse told me that if I felt like the contractions were getting closer or if I was going to have the baby (WHAT??? In the Jacuzzi! I really hope not!!!), that I needed to get out right away. So, I was in there for about 5 minutes, and I felt like the contractions were getting harder and closer together. I thought to myself, if things don't really start to happen by 8pm, I think that I might have to ask for something like an epidural - I just was not sure how long I could put up with this tightening. I suddenly realized that I NEEDED to get out of the tub - right away!!! So, after a contraction was over, I got out, dried off, and the nurse told me to get to the bed so that they could see where I was. I asked for some staydol at that point - just to help take the edge off, but they first had to connect me to the monitor before they could do that (to see how the baby was doing). She connected me and saw how close my contractions were and then she checked me and told me that I was at NINE CENTIMETERS!!!!

I asked her, "Are you kidding?"

She replied, "I don't kid about things like that!"

I asked the nurse if staydol was worth it at this point and she said no - I agreed. I figured that the baby would be here VERY SOON! About a contraction or so later, I suddenly felt like the baby dropped right through the birth canal and I felt like I had to push! (I did not feel this completely with Brady because I had to push him past the tailbone). I wanted to have a midwife deliver the baby, but she still had not arrived (they had finally called her at 6:45), so the nurse said that the doctor would probably have to deliver the baby. At that point, I really did not care (although I would have liked to have the midwife experience!). So, the doctor came in, I pushed for about 8 minutes and our baby was born at 7:20pm!!! So, from the time that the checked me and I was 4-5cm until the delivery, it was only about 50 minutes! The midwife walked into the room after the baby had arrived!

One thing that happened in between the contractions was: when the baby was crowning, I told Dawson to "Get the camera" - for after the baby came out...not during! The doctor and nurse thought that it was amusing that I would think about something like that during the process. I just wanted to be sure that he did not forget - and he was actually already prepared!

So, all of that to share a few answers to prayer. I first have to say that I am thankful at the speed at which the whole labor and delivery took place and that the baby and I were healthy through the whole process. I am SOOOOOO excited that my tailbone was not harmed at all! In fact it did not bother me throughout the whole pregnancy! God is so good! He is our healer! Even now, I am so thankful that I am doing so well physically after this birth. I have been doing a lot of things around the house and although I am a little tired, I am glad that I can move about so much easier than the first time around!

The other answers to prayer include:

Our baby will not need the same corrective surgery that Brady needed! Praise the Lord!

The baby's latch is really great. I actually started to have a little bit of pain, but prayed and asked the Lord to correct anything that needed to be corrected and I have been feeling fine since then!

As far as spit up goes...the baby has had a little bit of it, but it has not gotten to the point where Brady was at, and so we are praying and believing that it does not.

God is so good. He is not a vending machine, but He is a good God and wants the best for His children. Luke 11:9 says, "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."

There is power in prayer. Sometimes we may not see the answer right away, but I know that with God all things are possible!

God Does Answer Prayer...First, A Flashback

Throughout these last 9+ months, there were many things that I had been praying for in regards to the pregnancy itself, the labor, delivery and the final product - our precious baby! God truly has answered so many prayers, and I wanted to share a few of those with you.

First...a flashback to two years ago...

When I gave birth to Brady, I had to be induced with the gel - two times. They kept me overnight in the hospital and they told me that if my body did not go into labor on its own, that they would give me pitosin in the morning. Well, before I went to sleep with my irregular contractions, Dawson and I prayed again that my body would go into labor on its own and that I would not have any need for pitosin. We also prayed that my water would break on its own and that my contractions would be normal. Well, at 3:17am, I woke up and felt a "BOOM" inside of me - I thought that maybe Brady kicked me really hard, but when I went to sit up, I realized that my water had just broken (it gushed out). When the nurse came in, she confirmed that my water had broken, then she put me on the monitor and told me that my contractions were normal! Praise God! He is so good! Within 5 1/2 hours, little Brady was born. It was somewhat long for me - especially some of the hard part, but the Lord helped me through. The only pain medication that I took was staydol. I did not want an epidural and I was thankful that I was able to make it through the labor and delivery without one - the needle into my back just was not my cup of tea!

I had to push for about an hour - and I did not realize it at the time, but I had either badly bruised or broken my tailbone in the process of pushing Brady out. It was very painful - it hurt to sit down, get up, pick up Brady from a kneeling position - I was in pain. Although the intense pain subsided after a few months, my tailbone would still hurt me from time to time - from sitting too long, etc. Before I even became pregnant again, I was praying for complete healing. When I became pregnant, I went up for prayer (I think that it may have been a prayer tunnel at church), and when I was returning to my seat, I felt something move in the tailbone area - I just claimed that as healing. When I went for my first doctor's appointment (after I became pregnant), I asked them about the whole tailbone issue - they said that it might hurt during the pregnancy because of the added weight on it. They also said that I might injure it again, unless it moved out of the way. So, those were things that I began to pray about.

Brady ended up having to have a surgery to correct something in his body. Everything went fine, but I did not want another child to go through that - so, that is something that we were praying about as well.

Well, it is time for me to go off to bed...so, more next time about some of the answers to these and other prayers.

Update On My Back

Thank you to all that are praying for my back. It is still not completely healed, but it has been feeling a lot better. I have not gone to the doctor for it because I feel that there is really nothing that they will be able to do, and I don't feel like wasting my time and money for them to point that out to me. So, I continue to pray and try not to overdue it!

I appreciate your continued prayers for my complete healing!

Worshiping and Praying

Brady has a beautiful spirit and heart towards the Lord - and it blesses his Mommy and Daddy! I know that I have written about this topic before, but I have to praise the Lord for the heart that He has placed in Brady.

After we picked Brady up from the nursery at church today, he went in to the sanctuary, sat on a pew, and lifted his hands to worship Jesus. There is music that is playing in the background, but some people may not notice it because of other noise that is taking place (ministry in the front of the church and some people talking in the pews). Brady noticed it and joined in with the worship.

It blesses me to see his heart towards Jesus.

He also loves hold hands when we pray for our food, or when we have to correct his behavior. We have also taught him how to lay hands on someone when we are praying for healing. So, tonight when we were praying for Dawson - Brady came over and placed his hand on his Daddy's head and we prayed for healing (his chest was feeling a little tight and tingly).

I love the heart of my child, and I am praying that he follows the Lord ALL of his days.

Prayer Needed

Hey all you prayer warriors out there. I have a request. The top left part of my back has had pain in it since I returned from the MIA retreat. I did not have pain while I was there, but woke up with it on Monday. I thought that I slept on it wrong, but am still feeling a lot of pain. I went to the chiro three times, this week, and I am not sure if it has become less painful. It seems like in mornings I feel better, but then it gets more intense as the day progresses.

It feels like it is in the muscle. If I am not feeling better by next week, I am going to call my earthly doctor, but right now, I am calling on my Heavenly Healer and would appreciate you interceding on my behalf.

Thanks, and I will keep you posted.