BIRTH MARATHON... Lemuel

Thanks to MELISSA for the first post of the birth story marathon...

Well here goes!  

The birth story of Lemuel actually begins about a year ago and in order to understand the significance of his birth to our family you have to know the background story, so here it is!  

Last year in May I had a miscarriage that was a turning point in my life.  It took me several months to reconcile the events of that pregnancy with what God had in store for our family and how a loving God could allow such a loss.  WHen I found out I was pregnant with Lemuel, I immediately felt fearful of another loss.  The entire pregnancy was a spiritual battle and an exercise in trusting God.  

Very early in my pregnancy I felt that I really needed a scripture to stand on for this baby.  I started to search the scripture and feel that God gave me Psalm 126:5-6 Which says, 'Those who sow in tears will reap a harvest of joy."  If you know me at all you know that I"m not much of a crier.  I have to say though if there is anything that brings me to tears it is babies and specifically the issue of abortion and justice for the unborn.  So the verse about sowing in tears and reaping a harvest of joy is more then just about my own child but I see Lemuel as the first fruits of the harvest of joy that is to come.  

So with that we knew that we wanted a name that meant joy, but couldn't find one we liked so we called in Grandma!  Jeremy's mom who has helped us in the past with some of our other kids names stepped in again this time putting together a list of Japanese names that meant "full of joy"  So Lemuel's middle name Minobu means: Full of joy.  For his first name we had a handful of options and knew we wanted a hebrew name when we looked into Lemuel we found that it means: Devoted to God plus Lemuel is credited with writing Proverbs 31.  So now that you know the background and why this birth is so meaningful to our family here's the story of his birth.

We spent the day Wednesday in early labor.  My contractions were pretty erratic and far apart but being that my due date was near and I was already dialated 3cm we figured it was a safe bet that labor was near.  So we called in the grandmas and sent the other kids off for the day and spent a wonderful day together just Jeremy and I.  

It was such a change from my other labors, so relaxing.  We took a long walk, came home and called our doula who came over and made us lunch while we chatted, then we took a nap, and went to the park to walk some more.  I'm so glad for my wonderful family taking the kids so I could spend the day resting and hanging out with Jeremy.  

After the park my contractions were somewhat far apart so our doula went home for a few hours and we grabbed some dinner and headed back to our house.  A few hours later the contractions picked up some intensity and got closer together so we called the doula back and she came over.  We watched a movie and then all went to bed to get a few hours of rest.  This was the start of active labor, but God is so good He knows exactly what we need and I believe He knew I would need all the rest I could get in order to birth this baby.  

Each time I layed down for a rest my contractions either stopped or got light enough that I was able to get good rest.  At about 2 am Thursday morning I woke up to potty and the contractions started up again.  About 2:30 I noticed they were getting very intense and I was starting to shake (this is normal during labor and I remembered the same thing happening during my last labor)  So we headed off to the hospital.  

We arrived about 3 am and found I was only 4 cm which I was a little disappointed about, but Jeremy and Hollie my doula were wonderful encouragers to me and helped me to relax and assured me it didn't matter what the number was.  So we were admitted.  I have to say I had the best possible team to support me through this labor and even though they all kept saying what a good job I was doing, I would not have been able to make it drug free without my wonderful doula, Jeremy and our amazing nurses!!!  

After a few hours of walking the hall and sitting on the birth ball we deiced to lay down and rest.  Once again God is so good and gave me a much needed break from contractions!  I was able to nap for an hour or 2 I forget how long it was exactly.  But it was exactly what I needed!  About 11am things got a little crazy, this is about when I hit transition.  

It was at this point that I really wanted drugs, but I was 8 cm and knew it was too late for that so I was on my own and had to finish without drugs.  :-)    I wasn't watching the clock b/c transition takes all your attention it's pretty much all consuming.  Even this time though was a picture of God's grace to me. 

 In my last labor transition was fast and furious it lasted less then 30 minutes and the contractions were one on top of the other with no break in between.  That's what I was expecting this time, but God knows best and He knew I needed to transition differently.  So the process took longer, but it was much easier for me to manage then last time.  I had a little break in between each contraction so I could catch my breath and rest. 

Finally it was time to push.  All my other babies were born with 5 pushes or less, Lemuel being the biggest took that many just to get his head to crown.  Needless to say it was very painful!  My team once again was wonderful at encouraging me and reminding me to breathe and helping me remember how to push effectively.  Natural childbirth is hard, it hurts like crazy and it takes a lot more work then doing it with drugs, but I am so glad I choose to give birth naturally!  I was up and moving around on my own with in an hour of giving birth and although I am sore and tired I feel so good. 

Sorry this was so long.  Thank you to my wonderful family, my husband, my doula, my Dr., and my nurses.  But most importantly I am thankful to God for His grace in helping me through this birth, and in blessing us once more.  Lemuel is a precious blessing and absolutly perfect.