A little Treasure

 

6 weeks ago our little Magnolia "Nola" Pearl was born 10 pounds, 7 ounces and 22 inches at

3:19 in the morning. It is so hard to describe how you feel when you first see your baby, but for those of you who have been there I guess you understand.

 

A week before she was born I started having contractions, but after almost an entire day of them, they never progressed. I kept feeling her bump her little head on my pelvic bone. And then all was quiet for a week. Ruth would be leaving soon. Monday the 10th I decided to see if my chiropractor couldn't help us a long. That evening I started contracting again, and this time they progressed. 

My sister Ruth had been with us for almost two weeks at this point and had to make a super early flight the next morning. As my family all sat around talking that evening I wispered in her ear that I thought the baby was coming. At this point I had not told even Henry. 

After the others went to bed, my contractions strengthened quickly. By 11pm I was ready to go to the hospital. Of course by this time I had told Henry who had suspected something was up for quite some time.

 

Good Samaritans is about 30 minutes drive at that time of night, but I am not sure how long it took us. Lets just say Henry is one of the best drivers I know. 

It was a beautiful peaceful night and the half moon shown brightly over the water as we turned into the hospital. 

Being after hours we admitted through the ER where reception expidited my paper work because they thought I may have the baby in the waiting room if they didn't. The nurse was surprised I still wanted to walk the whole way up to the delivery floor. I was determined!

 

We were not given a room overlooking the water, however, I did not really care at this point. Henry and I were left alone so we took time to "set up" house which included music, essential oil diffuser and getting my big red ball. 

Our midwife stayed with us almost the entire time and coached me through some difficult moments of back labour helping to turn Nola.

Other nurses would stop in and comment how peaceful everything was and taking in the lavender that wafted around the room. 

I loved that the birth was tranquil enough that others were enjoying it.

Henry was my .... Everything during the birth. Feeding me ice chips I leaned on his strength when it got bad. I will never forget those moments with him. Poor guy. He was sore for days afterward because of how much I leaned on him when I began to push.

The time to push seemed to come fast. But I kept feeling like she was stuck - so in the last moments I decided to do something crazy and stood up which freaked some of the nurses out. I was on the bed. But that was all I needed. 

When Nola was born I remember hearing a slight gasp go around the room because of how big she was. No one was expecting her size. I was so happy she was so healthy it did not really strike me until later that I had just given birth naturally to a 10.7 baby. Her brown hair was beautiful on her perfectly round head. No parent could ask for a more prettier child. We had made it through (and just in time for Ruth to pay a visit before she left!). 

Her birth strangely had a redeeming factor to it. When Melva was born I came home feeling like I had been told "I couldn't." Although I had. With Nola there was no doubt in our minds that we had. 

I am not one to say that birthing a child with out medication is the only way. It's not. Medication and intervention saves lives all the time and each birth is beautiful. It's always a miracle. But for Henry and I, we needed to feel those moments of experiencing God's work unfold echoing from garden of Eden.

Blood is shed each time a child is born cleansing the womb of its 9 month labour and prepare the way for new life. This Lenten season marks the celebration of a child born who's labour of love ended in blood shed so that New life could develop within each one of us. This New Year how will you let the Christ Child clense and redeem you? 

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Birth does not end with the child entering the world. No that is only the beginning. 

Melva is almost 2. She has taken to Nola quite well. But she like any other child likes to test the limits. The limits of the ground below her. The limits of her parents patience. Nola constantly smiles back at us and is able to grasp my fingers. She has to be carried almost constantly because of her reflux. She is taking on weight and is now in size 6month clothes despite all her vomiting. But it is I who feel the growing pains the most. You mean I have to act like an adult when Melva is kicking me in the stomach for the 5th time that day? You mean I get to act like a child too when she is splashing me in the tub? You mean I get  to rejoice in the morning even though I am so tired? Rejoice? Yes there is so much to be thankful for. It takes stretching through the fog of exhaustion sometimes. But when I see Nola's smile or hear Melva say yet another new word it's really not that hard.