Fingerprints of God

"I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him." ~1 Samuel 1:27

Brandon and I were blessed beyond measure by the healthy arrival of Eden Avalon Elam who joined us at 8:20am on Sunday, December 27th. Her birth was an absolutely amazing experience, and Brandon and I definately felt God's hand throughout the entire thing. Thank you to everyone who prayed for us during labor. We definately felt God's presence and peace!

It all began on Christmas Eve. Brandon and I had been debating for weeks on whether or not we would be going to Corpus to celebrate Christmas with his family. At our 36 week Dr. appointment I had not progressed at all, and it was looking like baby bean would not be joining us until 2010. On Christmas Eve we went into the Dr., and were shocked to learn that I had dialated 2cm and was 80% effaced. The Dr's actual words were "Woa!" Even our Doula was surprised as how much had changed so quickly! So, we decided to stay in Houston for Christmas and celebrate with just the two of us. Just prior to the Candlelit Christmas Eve service I started having contractions, but they stopped after 30 minutes once I laid down. We celebrated a wonderful Christmas Day with our good friends Josh and Grace, and just after we left I started having contractions again, though were able to get them to stop.

On Saturday we made a final push and completed all of the last remaining baby preparations, so miraculously, we were pretty much ready for baby. After dinner, Brandon and I made a run to Starbucks when I started having more contractions. We came back to the house and settled in to watch "Up", expecting them to stop as usual. About halfway through the movie I told Brandon that I really couldn't get comfortable and that the contractions had been going on for several hours. He looked at me and told me that he thought maybe it was time. We said a prayer for God's hand, and Brandon started timing the contractions. Sure enough, they were coming regularly and were approx. 5 min. apart. A t 10:30 we called our sweet Doula Sharon to let her know, and were surprised when she said that she was coming over. Mainly I was shocked because I still wasn't sure it was the real thing. After we got off the phone, Brandon and I looked at each other, then started frantically running around the house getting everything ready for the hospital. We finished packing bags, ran stuff to the car, folded one last load of laundry, and then we went back downstairs and finished the movie - which was incredible, by the way!

At about midnight, Sharon showed up. She listened to the baby's heartbeat and then checked me to find that I was 3cm dilated. Now it was looking like it was the real thing! Since I was feeling most of the contractions in my back, Sharon started getting me in different positions to try to turn the baby and get the contractions to move to my belly. Here is a great picture of my laboring on the birthing ball while Brandon read encouraging scripture over me.
We were laboring upstairs in the baby's nursery, listening to praise music. While we were waiting, Brandon decided to keep busy, so he actually hooked up the chandeliers so that they would work! I think it was helpful to have the distraction. Here is a great pic of Brandon finishing the fixtures:

At about 4am, we checked again and found that I was dialated to 6, so Sharon thought it was time to go to the hospital. We had a final check for any last minute things, then jumped in the car and headed toward Texas Women's Hospital.

Once at the hospital, we met our amazing nurse Ashley and told her that we were planning on going without drugs. She was so cute-- she declared, "well this is different! I've only ever seen one person do that," but she was totally supportive and told me that she would order the meds, but wouldn't offer unless I asked. When she checked me, I was at 7cm. They got an IV in, and I laid back down on my left side and tried to let things progress further. When we checked again, I was at 8cm and had a bulging bag since my water had not broken. We kept thinking it was bound to break soon, but it never did. After an hour or so of hard labor, we checked again and were dismayed to learn that I was still at 8cm. It seems that since my water hadn't broken, the baby was unable to create the pressure needed to continue to progress the labor. We asked for the Dr. to be called to come and break my water, but he was in an emergency c-section and would not be available for another hour or so. At this point, I began to feel a little discouraged- the contractions were approximately 2 min. apart and were definately hard contractions- I was starting to feel exhausted. We tried all sorts of other positions but were unable to get the water to break. Here is a beautiful picture of Brandon praying over me while we waited out the labor. I honestly believe that labor was harder on him than me. I have learned from experiance how difficult it is to see your spouse suffer, and I know Brandon was hurting for me. But he was incredible- and I absolutely couldn't have made it without him.

Around 6:30, our precious nurse told us that her shift was ending, so she had requested the best nurse to come since I was going all natural. She also said that she was going to stay for awhile after her shift, though she passed off the nursing duties to Lindsey, who was also very encouraging and another blessing from God. Ashley ended up staying through the entire labor and delivery and actually came to visit us in our recovery room the next day when she came back on shift. Both nurses were incredible.

After another hour, the Dr. came in and broke my water. Things definately picked up at this point as the baby began 'laboring down'. The next time Lindsey checked I was fully dialated and it was time to push! Once again we were blessed- it was a very intimate and incredible setting as it was really only Brandon, Sharon our Doula, and the two sweet nurses Lindsay and Ashely in the room for most of the pushing. I couldn't have asked for more. After a few contractions, they went to get the Dr. and the next thing I know-- baby Eden was out and Brandon was cutting the cord! She was then placed on my belly so that Brandon and I could marvel at this tiny miracle. Someone I met once told me that she loved newborns because she felt like they still had the fingerprints of God on them, and this is certainly how I felt when I held my baby girl for the first time. She was beautiful and alert and looking around taking everything in! Brandon and I were amazed and grateful for this beautiful, healthy baby!

After we marveled over her for a time, we had our first go at nursing. Once again God richly blessed us because she was a natural at it and knew just what to do! Amazing. Following Eden's first meal, we were wheeled upstairs to recovery- exhausted, but blessed and thankful beyond all measure. What an amazing experience!

Looking back on the whole experience, I am amazed to see how clearly God's hand is evident in the birth of a child. From the way my body knew just what to do, to how the baby gets in position-- it is incredible to percieve how beautifully everything works together. Clearly the hand of the creator is at work in this process! What an utterly awesome thing to go through and behold. In the end, Sharon had a quote on her Facebook which I think perfectly summarizes birth:

"Why had no one told me that my body would become a battlefield, a sacrifice, a test? Why did I not know that birth is the pinnacle where women discover the courage to become mothers? " -Anita Diamant

Praising God for a wonderful beginning to our wonderful new roles as parents.

Thank you to our amazingly wonderful Doula, Sharon, of First Birth Ministries who not only provided incredible support during labor, but also took all of the awesome pictures above. We are so thankful for her calming presence and support before, during and even after Eden's birth. She definately ensured that God received the Glory for the birth of our miracle. http://www.firstbirthministries.com/