a letter for my Hannah - your birth story

Dearest Hannah,


We are so excited that you are finally here! Your daddy and I had been praying for your safe and fast arrival long before your conception and throughout the time you spent growing in my tummy. I asked the Lord that you would be healthy and arrive quickly in all of God's perfect timing and ways. I prayed for you every day, and was reminded several times to trust God's perfect sovereign will.

Hannah, I have this sin problem - worry. It's a terrible thing, and it creeps up so quickly and robs me of joy and peaceful trust. But the good news is that the Lord is a gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. When I'm worried (and I often was while I was pregnant with you), I open up the Bible and am reminded how God has a perfect plan all of the time. So when the doctor told me at 16 weeks that you had a spot on your heart, God helped remind me that He was the one knitting you together inside of my womb. Even though I did pray that you would be healthy, I also prayed that the Lord would use you to bring him great glory, no matter what might come your way. I am still praying that for you, though I am delighted and blessed that you are a healthy little girl.

Weeks before your arrival, your daddy traveled all over the world (and Texas). He spent time in England, Germany, Italy, Turkey and Dubai. Then he had several trips in Texas. All the while, my body was getting ready for your birth. The Lord graciously prepared my body for your delivery without an early delivery! I was between 3 and 4cm dilated weeks before you were born, so I took my doctor's bedrest orders very seriously:)

Finally, on a Wednesday, I went in to have my membranes stripped, in hopes that it would jumpstart a safe, vaginal delivery. Again, I had been praying that God would help me to have a VBAC. I had no idea how quickly he would answer my prayers!

5:00pm -- Membranes Stripped

5:00 - 9:30 -- My contractions began almost immediately following my visit to the doctor. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home, made dinner, folded and did some last minute laundry, picked up the house, and even blogged! Around 8:30pm, I started timing the contractions and discovered they were about 6 minutes apart. That's when we called our friend who was coming to watch your sister, and I jumped in the bath/shower to help deal with the stronger contractions. By the time I got out of the shower, I was very ready to go to the hospital!

10:25pm -- John arrives to watch Abigail

10:30pm -- Daddy and I leave for the hospital. Active labor + car ride = unpleasant. But we didn't have to sit in traffic or wait very long to get checked into the hospital.

10:50pm -- in triage, I am already 6 cm dilated

Sometime between 11:00 and 11:45 -- I was 8 cm dilated when I arrived in labor and delivery

12:10am- epidural. I was torn about having an epidural. But my main goal for your labor and delivery was to stay on my feet and let you drop into a good delivery position for as long as possible. The anesthesiologist assured me that if things went south, since I had a previous c-section, it was a wise idea. In some ways, having the epidural helped me relax emotionally, even though it did very little to help with the pain!

12:48am -- I had a hard time pushing you out, though daddy assures me that it really didn't take that long. During contractions, I was quite the drama queen. I yelled things like, "For the love of God!!!!" and " I can't do this!!!" The nurse and your daddy assured me that I could and told me to reach down and feel your head. I was so close. Dad counted while I pushed and soon you were born! Whew! My arms and back hurt for days after your delivery because I was so active and loud during labor.

Hannah, you were alert and ready to eat when you arrived! And after you were warm and full, you drifted off to sleep, as did daddy. I, on the other hand, had a near fainting spell, and my nurse had to call in a team of people to help get me off of the floor. My blood pressure,which had been high before your delivery, was now too low. Drama! Thankfully, they pumped me full of fluids, and I was soon on my feet, ready to love and care for you.

We love you so much Hannah, and we pray pray that you will love the Lord with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength. You are a blessing and a gift from God. We are so excited to have another little lady in our home.

Love,

Mommy