Christian life

My favourite craft that the kids and I created during home school is the egg carton snowy owl. I might have enjoyed making these a little more then the kids. We used little sections of tissue paper to represent the feathers. The glue itself is instant entrainment for them. Sometimes I just don’t feel like doing crafts. For all the paint, tape, toilet rolls, markers, and mess that covers the dining room table, it may only amount to 10 minutes of activity. It’s exhausting. But my little ones love it! They get to stretch their creative muscles and make many choices. They get so much out of cutting and pasting bits and pieces together. We’ve moved on now to Science experiments. I mean I am about to willingly buy glitter, white vinegar, and food colouring all so my kids can make an exploding frothy potion go basically everywhere. This is a house keeping disaster. But to see my kiddos faces light up and know their minds are being blown as they learn a little about the world around them… It’s worth it.

I have a few other projects lined up this summer which includes clearing out the guest room, utility room, and my car. All of these tasks, if completed, will make my husband a very happy man. I don’t really relish organising things, but it needs to be done. These mundane things really do matter if you can make a loved one feel better. Especially now when the situation we are in is so uncertain. If I am struggling to smile, I’ve recently learned that making someone else smile makes all the difference. Bible teacher and writer, Joyce Meyer, says when you have a problem, “trust God and do good.” I think she is absolutely right. When I am tempted to wallow in my own troubles (and it is tempting to do so) I try to encourage someone else. I also ask for help. I ask my friends to pray with me. Neither of these things are easy to do, but the benefits are so worth it. Instantly, my focus is off of me. Now I’m free for God to show me how I can help someone else. Putting other people first is what it is all about and ironically, brings me joy too.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”

Happy Labor Day America! I hope those who had the day off enjoyed an extra day of rest. This is more of a special day then people realize, commemorating the workers of a nation. All the hard work that just ordinary people do day in day out which when combined make a nation extraordinary. It’s also about the struggle the working class has had in order to receive rights and fair treatment. I recently told my mom that being a mama is the most challenging job that I have ever had. (And I have had a lot of different jobs.) I know this may be missing the point of this day, but when you say labor to me nowadays, I think childbirth. Every new mom has a birth story or a meeting baby/child story for parents who adopt their little one. What a precious story it is. On the surface it may seem ordinary. After all, people have had babies everyday of every month of every year for years and decades and centuries. People have adopted a child or baby over and over again in every corner of the world. Yet each person is a rare gift and however a family came to be a family, it is extraordinary and miraculous. Most new mamas love to tell this story. It glows in our hearts, a proud day. So, here goes our story of Ivy Grace.

I enjoyed my pregnancy. I delighted in it. It was surely a gift from God for us to have a child. It wasn’t my first pregnancy, but my second and a glorious one I hoped upon hope that we would see through. I wasn’t very ill just easily tired. I enjoyed eating and desired to be as healthy as possible. My husband, Jason, was on board especially with all the sweets I craved. He photographed my growing form as we waited for our baby to come. We bought a monitor so we could listen to her heart beat. We made plans for the birth which was mostly Jason saying whatever you want is fine with me. It was my body after all being taken over by another little person. I wanted to be mother earth! I wanted as natural a child-birth as possible. No gas and air (very popular in the UK) or epidurals. I even leaned toward a water birth if that was available. Our little one, however, had plans of her own.

During one of my midwife visits, she was feeling my tummy for the baby’s position. Jason was able to come with me for this appointment and I was so glad to have him there. The midwife kept moving the lower part of my stomach and finally declared, “This is your little one’s bottom.” She felt around and thought that Ivy’s head was quite high in my tummy. It did feel like a part of the baby was constantly pressed into my ribs. I was often short of breath. The midwife called the hospital right away. At 36 weeks, it is not great for the baby to be breech. We scheduled a scan at the hospital. I tried not to worry. I began doing all sorts of yoga moves trying to get the baby to turn. I bought an exercise ball. We did acupuncture which strangely involved burning a sage like incense near a pressure point in my toes. (Don’t ask! I was desperate.) After a scan and very painful attempt at turning the baby, a c section was scheduled. Delivery was deemed too risky for us. I was a little disappointed. I really want to give birth. There was still a chance she could turn. I prayed a lot and made peace with whichever way our little bundle would come to us. The surgery was scheduled for Wednesday, August 5, a week before baby’s due date.

The night before, I couldn’t sleep. Jason played music for the bump which had become a fun ritual. She was really moving around and thumping me mostly in one spot. We were excited. I couldn’t eat or drink anything which for me is never good. We drove to the Rosie Hospital in Cambridge really early in the morning. We sat in the waiting area. There were three couples scheduled before us. We waited. I paced a little with my huge bump. I was going to miss my bump, but then I would finally have my baby in my arms. Jason was bored. I was jealous of his breakfast. Finally it was our turn. We had a scan. The baby’s head was still firmly placed up near my ribs and her little bottom was firmly placed in the birth canal. We met with the surgeon. She seemed really calm and sophisticated. I requested skin-to-skin contact with the baby as soon after birth as possible. I really wanted to breastfeed. That was that. Before we knew it, I was being taken into the operating room and Jason was taken into another room to put on scrubs.

There were so many people. Midwives, nurses, students. The main person for me was the anesthesiologist Dr. Bailey. He was so kind and soothing which was good because he was about to stick a giant needle into my spine. Jason came in and stood next to me. I had to curl up into a ball. The spinal was quick and uncomfortable. It felt strange to go numb from the chest down. Dr. Bailey began chatting to us. He asked if we wanted the little paper curtain up or down. We said up definitely up! Jason turned his back so he wouldn’t have to see me cut open. After a quick cold test to see if I was ready, the doctor nodded to the surgeon to begin. Jason held my hand. This was it. We were about to be parents. I felt lightheaded. Jason was unhappy with his peripheral vision. I said just focus on my face. Then suddenly, the baby was out. She did not cry. They rushed her to a table off to the side. A midwife came close to us and said a siren will go off and all of these people will come rushing in and that’s just what they do. I had a lump in my throat and the tears came freely. I told Jason to get over there with our baby. I couldn’t breathe and it felt like an eternity. But before my poor husband could make it across the room, the wonder team had our little one breathing and wailing. I was elated. Jason said later that she was absolutely grey when she came out. I’m glad I didn’t see that. All I saw was her little foot until she was brought over to us. Jason held her. She was so round and red. He laid her on my chest. I just kissed her and said hello. She looked bewildered. Jason took her back to cuddle her while the surgeon worked on me. I couldn’t feel pain, but I could feel them tugging and pulling on my body. It was so creepy. Once the surgeon was finished, a couple of midwives had to move my legs for me. Finally, the blissful moment came with the baby nuzzled on my chest and Jason by my side. We were wheeled out a family of three.

The beginning of parenthood is such a sweet time, a baby bubble. I may not have experienced natural labor, but our child’s birth was indeed a miracle. We c section mothers do our suffering after the birth anyway and we have the tummy scars to prove it. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Do you have a birth story or meeting day experience to share? Please click on the comments button above. I would love to read your story.