adrian’s birth story

23 Weeks Pregnant

I start Adrian’s birth story here, not long after I left off part 1 of pregnancy in my blog post Naming Adrian Ray. It was mid-December and life was busy. Our 20-week sonogram revealed Adrian to be in the 99th-percentile for his size. In addition to my body adjusting to carrying him, I was planning and throwing work holiday parties, two kid’s birthday parties, preparing for Christmas, and fending off winter sickness. During my daughter Eliza’s 4th birthday party, I had pushed my body so hard that I could not even walk. I was paralyzed from pain in my SI joint, having to ask other parents to serve cake because I could quite literally barely move.

This was a turning point for me because I knew I had done this to myself. My pride said I was pushing hard for other people and good things, but now my relentless push was impacting not just me, but those around me, and my ability to enjoy pregnancy. On top of the pain, I still had 4 more months of pregnancy to go, and Adrian would only grow bigger.

I scheduled a massage for the next week, on my 33rd birthday. During this massage, the massage therapist told me I had the worst knot on the left glute muscle he had ever seen. So much of my pain was related to tightness and imbalances as I carried Adrian. I was prescribed epsom salt baths, foam rolling, massaging, and regular stretching.

As the massage therapist left the room, I took a few moments of silence to myself in prayer. Tears streamed from my face, right there on the bed, as I made a promise to Adrian that I would take better care of myself. Not for me, but for him, and for my family. No more excuses. I needed God’s help to create major habit changes.

Adrian’s pregnancy showed me more fully how to surrender control to God, listen to my body, and take care of myself in motherhood.

From that point on I started daily exercise, massage, heat, and stretching. I joined a female-only gym that offered weightlifting and boot camp style workouts. I remember my first workout at Blush, I couldn’t run, and regularly had to stop my work out because Braxton Hicks contractions were so bad at any bit of abdomen engagement (though I was only 26 weeks pregnant). But every day, I spent 1-2 hours developing these healthy habits and routines.

As Adrian became bigger, my body was getting stronger. Within 3 weeks I started noticing a difference in pain management, and within 6 weeks I was pain free.

Instead of surviving my third trimester of pregnancy – one that will most likely be my last – I was able to enjoy the season. I had more energy for motherhood, marriage, and work. I was able to focus not on physical pain but on the joy of the life that was being knitted in my womb.

36 Weeks Pregnant

Around 36.5 weeks, I was checked for dilation and learned that I was already dilated to 5cm and Adrian was head down. Adrian continued to measure in the 97th-percentile for his size though my fluid levels had stabilized. Kevin and I decided that we would take the next week to make all our final preparations in the house.

The following week was a whirlwind! On March 1, we switched CJ to a big boy bed and all three kids were sleeping in the same room. We moved furniture around to get the nursery ready for Adrian’s arrival, we unpacked baby clothes, purchased the last of our baby gear, and packed our hospital bags. On top of that, we had three unplanned plumbing “emergencies” hit our home from leaking water to backups that translated to two visits from the plumber and Kevin installing a new toilet in one bathroom and a new floor in another bathroom.

37 Weeks Pregnant

We had made it another week, but we were exhausted from house renovations and our to-do list and ready to slow down. We went into our appointment on a Monday, and Kevin had lasik surgery scheduled for the next day. To our surprise, we found out at this appointment (around 37.5 weeks pregnant) that my body had progressed to dilation of 6-7cm.

I was in complete shock. My doctor joked with me, only 3 centimeters left to go! Do you want to have a baby today? As I processed the initial news, we talked through with my doctor the risks versus benefits of waiting for my body to start labor naturally.

Benefits: Full-term is 39 weeks, and there are some developmental positives for baby if you can make it to this milestone.

Risks: If my water breaks at home, between shuffling three kids around and anticipating a fast labor, will we make it to the hospital in time?

I am so grateful for my doctor and how we thought through all these things. She said she supported the decision we felt was best for the next week if we chose an induction. Her only preference was that we don’t go past our due date because of his size.

38 Weeks Pregnant

Kevin has a successful lasik surgery and we both wrapped up work and continued to process an upcoming decision. In the meantime, we had the great privilege of attending a funeral for a dear friend’s father. We started our final weekend before Adrian’s arrival with a sobering reminder that life is precious. We cleared our schedule for the weekend and took time to rest as a family of five.

By Sunday morning, after a night of sporadic contractions, I felt as though Adrian’s head was engaged. I was having more contractions day and night but still nothing consistent enough to go in. Kevin and I were looking forward to going to church and worshiping together for what we felt peace would be our last church service before an induction.

During church service on Sunday, March 24, Kevin received a text message with devastating news. Another close friend’s son had passed away. Kevin and I both received prayer at church from our Prayer Team and wept. How could we process such heavy news in the same 48 hours that we would be meeting our very own son?

And yet, those 48 hours were a gift. We held our own three babies close. We prayed. We processed with community. We took comfort in the good news of the gospel.

From life’s first cry, to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny.

There is much more to say about this moment but truly we are still processing the news. However, we know that God’s timing was not accidental. Adrian Ray’s name means wealth of light. Even in the darkness, God provides a ray of light, and the darkness cannot overcome it.

We had made it another week with my body ready to have a baby, nearly to that 39-week mark. The Lord gave us peace that it was time. I sent my doctor a portal message that we would like to be admitted for delivery instead of attending our 38.5 week appointment.

ADRIAN’S BIRTHDAY

Tuesday, March 26

6:30am

I woke up early and got in the shower, praying for the day. I was awaiting a call back from my doctor that morning with what time we should come in, if we should wait until our scheduled appointment time that afternoon, or head straight in to the Labor and Delivery.

7:30am

My doctor called and said to head straight to the hospital when we were ready, the Family Birthing Center at Lawrence Memorial Hospital was ready for us, and she wished me luck! I got off the phone and immediately got to share the news with our early riser and oldest child, Lydia. Adrian was coming today! We danced and shared the news with Kevin and Eliza as they were waking up.

Lydia wrote down a prayer for the day, one that I will treasure forever. I kept it with me for the hospital stay. In her sweet Kindergarten handwriting, it read, “Lord I feel excited. Please help me to be a big sister for the 3rd time.” I had my usual morning cuddles with Eliza, and we played and sang “sitting on Adrian” for the last time. CJ was the last to wake up. He came out of the room in a moment when the girls happened to follow Kevin downstairs. He sprinted down the long hallway and straight into my arms, and I held him tight. These were my first tears of the day, holding my eldest son. The last day that he would be my littlest baby. What a sweet season it’s been having CJ as the baby.

8:30am

I took Lydia to school blasting “Happy Day” and dancing in the car with the kids, then dropped Eliza, CJ, and suitcases off at my parents’ house. Kevin took our dog to my sister’s house and we agreed to meet back at home. We finished getting ready, packing up our things, and putting some finishing touches on the house. Finally, it was time to go to the hospital!

10:00am

When we arrived at the hospital, I quickly learned that I had been the fascination of the nurses and providers there since they heard the news that I was coming in. Who is this girl that has been walking around at 7cm for a week!? We were greeted with lots of smiles and laughter. They couldn’t believe I was carrying my own bags. (Little did they know that after finding out I was a 7cm, I had still finished my last workout at Blush Boot Camp a few days later, and even ran sprints while dilated at a 7cm, just to say I had!) I was very confident that my body was ready for labor, I just knew we’d need help getting it started!

We prayed over our room and over the day, and as my sister Rosie arrived, we processed our decision to be there. This was my fourth induction. The first one, Lydia, was not my choice, but her heart rate showed potential distress at my 39-week appointment, and I was admitted right away for an induction. For Eliza and CJ, both were elective inductions at 39.5 weeks, which felt more “desperate” than this one. I had been in so much pain and discomfort in my previous pregnancies, but in my final days of my pregnancy with Adrian, I felt physically better than I had at 24-weeks pregnant. What if something doesn’t go well or he’s not healthy, will we regret having an induction at 38.5 weeks? This was good to name, but we quickly spoke what was true. We knew my body was ready, and we knew Adrian was ready. We all made bets on how big he would be!

11:10am

The doctor on call came in and checked for dilation and confirmed I was at 7cm. She gave the all clear to break my water and ordered 2 units of Pitocin to help my contractions become more regular.

We then spent the next hour or so trying to get my IV in place. It’s actually a bit of tradition that I have a vein blown, apparently, I have thick veins. After two failed attempts and a blown vein, the nurse director came in and decided to call IV Therapy from a different wing of the hospital to come in and place two IVs. They wanted a back up placed because I was at a higher risk of hemorrhaging because it’s my fourth delivery. Luckily, the professional knew what he was doing, and IVs were placed.

12:30pm

Dr. Underwood returned to break my water and ordered our nurse, Abby, to start the Pitocin. Labor had officially started! We relaxed and decided to walk the hallways as we caught up with Rosie.

1:15pm

Pitocin was increased 2 units about every 45 minutes. Shortly after the first bump up, I felt my hormones shifting. I felt chills and my first contraction. But Kevin, Rosie and I were still very relaxed, chatting, and enjoying one another’s company. Pitocin was again increased to 6 units to help speed up contractions.

2:15pm

Around 2:15pm, I remember wondering when things would pick up. I looked at the clock and thought about how Eliza would get out of school at 3pm and Lydia at 3:50pm. I thought a lot about my other children during this hour as I had my first stronger contraction, one that I had to stop talking to focus and breathe through. Shortly after we started playing worship music in the room, the song It is Well came on, which reminded me of our angel baby, Micah, my third pregnancy that ended too soon. I felt the spirit of Micah with me even in this moment.

3:00pm

While I knew things were picking up, our nurse still increased Pitocin up to 8 units. I was feeling pressure on my back, so our nurse suggested being in a position that could help turn Adrian’s head in case the pressure in my back was related to him being sunny side up. With worship music playing loud, I labored bent over an elevated bed with my arms folded over the bed, swaying my hips with every contraction. When this position became uncomfortable, we moved the bed so that I could put my knees on the firm mattress and grasp the bed rails with my arms.

Every time a contraction came, I would straighten my back, hold the rails on each side of the bed, and breathe through the contraction. From this moment Kevin and Rosie didn’t leave my side. The phrase that Kevin and I repeated together through the pain was “It is Good.” This was our true statement. Pain, in this case, was not bad. Pain was good. Pain increasing meant we were closer to meeting Adrian.

3:14pm

Things were progressing quickly, and Kevin was adamant that I got checked again. Our nurse checked and I was up to a 9cm. She let our doctor know to be ready.

3:29pm

Within a few contractions, I was feeling the urge to push, and my doctor was waiting outside the door. We moved me into position.

While everyone came in the room and was ready for delivery, I had what felt like a moment that stood still.

I had relief between contractions.
I felt almost nothing except a calm and strong body.
As we waited for the next contraction to come, the whole room was in silence.

I closed my eyes and prayed.
I thanked God for the ability to be in that moment. I took in my whole body, what would be the final moment of this pregnancy, and likely pregnancy forever.

Peace washed over me.

3:33pm

I announced that a contraction was coming. My doctor gave reminders on how to push and told me when it was time. With one contraction and two pushes, Adrian was here.

My eyes were closed when I heard Kevin’s voice in my ears, weeping through tears: He’s here.

Adrian was wide awake, crying, screaming, and breathing.

I held him close on my skin and didn’t let go.

333

Adrian was born in LMH Room 333 at 3:33pm and weighed 9lbs and 9oz. All these numbers seemed far from a coincidence, especially given the symbolism of the number three during the same week we celebrate Easter.

The number three in the Bible represents the number of completion or wholeness. In the same way, Adrian has completed our family. In Scripture, words and phrases repeated 3 times are often important and carry significant spiritual meaning. We had three 3’s and multiples of 3’s, three times. Not to mention on Easter, we celebrate that after three days, Jesus was raised to life.

Already, Adrian has brought a wealth of light to our life and the lives of others. Our nurse at LMH had a few nursing students shadowing her that day who witnessed Adrian’s birth. I was told later by Rosie that each of the students in the room were taking in the worship music and crying as Adrian was born. Afterwards, they asked to hear more about the birth from my experience and leaned in as I opened up. I pray that God uses that moment as a witness and testament to His name in each of their lives. It was His strength that overwhelmed me throughout my pregnancy and during labor.

After our three children and local grandparents visited the hospital, we prepared for our first night of rest. It was in that moment, gazing at Adrian in the bassinet, that I had my second cry of the day. The shock and adrenaline had come down.

Kevin held me close as we took him in and I wept. He’s here.

We were home in time to celebrate Easter. To celebrate our Risen Lord, the Light of the world, who defeated death and darkness once and for all. The tomb is empty and the throne is occupied. Because He is risen, the light of life is given to those who follow Him.

As John 8:12 hangs on the wall above his crib and is repeated over him every night, may Adrian Ray remind us that God provides a wealth of light in every season.

it is well.

September 3, 2019September 4, 2019Leave a comment

Motherhood is sanctifying.

In the midnight hour on July 31, I had the privilege of being in the delivery room with one of my best friends, Keely. Over the last three years, I’ve walked with her through three miscarriages. Countless prayers had gotten us to that moment.

Lord, please, let her hold her baby.

Finally
her water broke
her labor began
and
there we were
at last
this momma would hold her baby.

While up until that moment in time she had yet to meet one of her babies, Keely had already experienced sanctification through motherhood. Your lack of control hits you within moments after learning about a pregnancy, and for many of us, it brings us to a place of utter dependence on the Lord. Through Keely’s pregnancy loss, God had changed her. In a time when she easily could have run away from God, she ran to Him. She chose faith and trust. Her journey brought us to this sweet moment during her labor that I will never forget.

I had stepped in at Keely’s side to give her husband Kyle a break as they prepared for a long night ahead of labor. While we laughed and danced in the waiting at first, contractions had started picking up. The mood in the room had changed but we were still at the point in labor where we could talk for the few minutes between contractions. I pulled up her premade labor playlist and the first worship song came on: It is well.

Keely shared how this song had carried her through her miscarriages. We took a moment, even in the midst of her labor and excitement, to grieve the loss of the three babies that she would never hold in this lifetime. As painful as labor is, she grieved that she wasn’t able to experience the pain of childbearing with her first three. We imagined what it would be like to hold her babies in heaven. We imagined how proud they were of their momma in this moment, having chosen to place her faith in the Lord and trust Him in the unknown.

Through tears, we listened to the words of the song as her next contraction came on. “Even through it all,” Keely whispered. “It is well.”

P E A C E . I N . P R O C E S S .

Motherhood is sanctifying.

Here’s what I mean. Sanctification is this process that the Bible refers to as the time between salvation (justification) and the moment when we are restored to new life in Christ for eternity (glorification). Sanctification is the in-between, it’s the process of being made holy. While we are a new creation in Christ at salvation because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:17), the Lord still has a lot of work to do on our sinful hearts and flesh. And this doesn’t happen overnight. For most of us it’s a painful, long process of being made holy.

The hope of sanctification is that the longer we walk with Christ, the more we should look like Him. I have learned that God is much more concerned with our holiness than our happiness. Along the way we think we want happiness but really, our deepest desire is peace. Sanctification is the smoothing off of our rough edges and letting the desires of our heart become God’s will for our lives. It’s the pruning of dead branches, so that we can bear more fruit, and fruit that will last. It’s finding peace in our circumstances of this life, knowing that our hope rests in a Good Father who will come and redeem all the brokenness, guilt, and shame we feel and restore all of creation to perfection. Sanctification is the painful process of letting go—and letting God.

I wish I could say that things have been all rainbows and butterflies since the moment when Keely finally held her daughter, Emmaline Grace. But the next trial we will face in this life is always right around the corner. In baby Emmaline’s first month of life, Keely’s had to deal with the challenges of having a newborn and learning to nurse in the midst of Emmaline having a benign tumor on her gum and undergoing surgery at 4 weeks old. God is not done with Keely’s story yet, and neither is He done with ours.

I T . I S . W E L L .

Motherhood is sanctifying.

A few weeks ago, I had my own sanctifying motherhood moment. Caught between the demands of work, ministry, and our busy lives, I realized that I was not giving my daughter Lydia the attention that she deserves. In the middle of transitioning her from a morning nap ready to rush her to my parent’s house so I could get more work done, the voice of mom-guilt came in my head, accusing me of being a bad mom.

I stopped. I looked at Lydia and asked her, “Do you think I’m a bad mom?” Knowing that Lydia couldn’t answer that question, I broke down into tears. My 15-month-old daughter ran into my arms and hugged me. I picked her up and my little girl didn’t stop hugging me back for several minutes as we walked up and down the hallway. She continued hugging me until my tears finally quieted. She didn’t need to have words in that moment, she communicated everything that I needed. The Lord reminded me through my daughter that I was doing my best, and that Lydia loved me not based on “how I did as a mom that day.” She loved me because I am her momma. The same is true with God. He doesn’t love me based on “how I did as a Christian that day.” He loves me because I am His daughter.

The Lord used Lydia to encourage me to find peace in the process.

This life that my toddler and I live together isn’t going to be easy. I hear from other mommas that it only gets harder. I’m going to be an imperfect mom, and Lydia is an imperfect child. We are going to hurt each other. We are going to let each other down. We are going to have moments where we say, “I’m sorry” and ask each other for forgiveness. Yet through every trial, every mistake, every burst of anger, every moment we can’t control, and even the most joyful moments that we can’t slow down—through it all—we are being sanctified.

When I say that motherhood is sanctifying, what I mean is that motherhood brings out all the ways we fall short on our own efforts. Motherhood brings out our flaws and imperfections whether physical, emotional, or spiritual. Yet God uses motherhood to refine us, to make us more dependent on Christ, and to therefore become more like Him as we choose to place our trust in Him.

It is sanctification that brings us to a place where we can say, no matter my circumstances, I have peace. God is good. He will redeem.

Through it all — it is well.

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.” (Psalm 139:7-10)

Lydia’s Birth Story

May 22, 2018January 23, 20193 Comments

9 AM MONDAY

Monday, May 14 started out just like any other day. I had a cup of coffee and sat down for my morning quiet time with the Lord. Yet instead of sitting down on our porch or in my usual spot in the living room, I told my husband Kevin I was going to go spend time in our nursery praying for Lydia. At 39 weeks pregnant, I picked up a journal that was gifted to us to record prayers and thoughts for Lydia throughout her life. This is what I wrote:

Lydia – I am 39 weeks pregnant today. I am sitting and praying for you in our finished nursery. There is a verse above your crib that reads “Fear not, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine.” These are words that your Daddy and I believe have been spoken by God over your life. You belong to the Lord…

Jesus – I pray for our baby girl, that labor and delivery would not be delayed but come soon! We are ready to meet our little one! I am ready to bring her home and show her the place that we’ve prepared for her! Father God – bring her safely into this world and into my arms. Thank you God for the beautiful life that she is!

When we sit and pray and spend time with God, He conforms our heart according to His will. My heart was led to pray for the first time that morning that God would no longer delay her arrival. And that, indeed, was His will.

12 PM MONDAY

After some reading, cleaning, and a workout, my husband and I were off to our 39 week doctor’s appointment chatting briefly about the week’s activities and making plans for the rest of our afternoon. Everything about our appointment was normal. We got the news that I was dilated at over 4 cm, 90% effaced, and we laughed with our doctor about wanting her to come soon!

The final thing to do was to listen to Lydia’s heart rate. We waited for the familiar sound of her heart beating through the Doppler monitor, and while we heart her heart beat, my doctor’s face changed from a smile to a look of concern. Lydia’s heart rate was low. She instructed us that she wanted us to stay for further monitoring. After about 45 minutes of monitoring Lydia’s heart rate, we found the pattern. Each time she would move, her heart rate would go up as normal but then dip down suddenly below baseline. After getting a sonogram to check a few other things, our doctor sent us over to the labor and delivery unit for further monitoring to make sure that this drop wasn’t spontaneous activity.

2 PM MONDAY

We walked into a delivery room and my stomach was strapped with two monitors – one for Lydia’s heart rate, and one to measure contractions. The nurse left us alone and Kevin and I started to pray. Kevin’s prayer, similar to my own that morning, changed suddenly according to God’s will.

Lord, let us meet our daughter today.

An hour or so later, our doctor came back in. The pattern in Lydia’s heart rate had persisted, and she didn’t feel right sending us home. She informed me that she was admitting me into the hospital for an induction. We talked through our options and our attitude changed to excitement. This is the day we had been waiting for. We were finally going to meet our daughter!

4 PM MONDAY

They immediately started me with an IV of penicillin because of my group B strep while Kevin went home to grab our pre-packed hospital bags and a few last-minute items. As soon as Kevin came back, my doctor broke my water, and labor began.

5:30 PM MONDAY

We spent the next two hours being monitored, getting and IV, texting friends and family, walking the hallways, and processing what was happening. We prayed for Lydia’s heart rate and her health. We praised God for this day. With each increasing contraction, so was the reality of labor. My sister Rosie arrived for extra support and stayed in the room throughout labor, leaving just before delivery. We came up with a code word for every time I would start to feel a contraction. After laughing at all the possible words, we established a simple one. Now. Every time Kevin would hear the word now he would put out his hand, I would grab his hand, and we would together endure the pain.

7:30 PM MONDAY

After only progressing to a 4.5 cm, we made the decision with our doctor to start Pitocin (given through an IV) to induce labor. Within 30 minutes, my contractions increased to every 2-3 minutes. Lydia’s head was lowering, my dilation started increasing, and so did the pain.

For the past 8 months, Kevin and I have had a lot of conversations about our birth plan. I am so thankful that we stayed open-minded and that we could confidently accept the induction without being disappointed. The goal was healthy Lydia, whatever it takes. Yet one important preference was to not have pain medication or an epidural. We read a book together, took a class together, and spent time preparing for what the pain of childbirth would be and how we would approach the reality of that pain. For both medical and personal reasons, we stood firm in this decision. Throughout the next five hours, the pain increased with every contraction to undoubtedly the worst continuous physical pain I’ve ever experienced in my life. Yet we never lost control and God never left our side. There were four stages of the pain from my experience, which I will process below as I continue documenting the timeline of Lydia’s birth story.

8:30 PM MONDAY

After learning I was 5 cm dilated, I decided to do a labor position on the ball. Lydia was so low that the nurse couldn’t keep the heart rate monitor on outside of my stomach. One nurse had to actually hold it on to my stomach while I was laboring. I even tried the wireless monitor so I could get in the tub, but we quickly learned that made it even more difficult for the monitor to stay on. I got the chills and was shivering head to toe and started feeling nauseous. Whatever liquids I drank since being admitted I instantly threw up. The doctor decided to insert a heart monitor from the inside that would stick on the top of Lydia’s head. This allowed the nurses to completely leave the room and monitor from outside the room. Finally we were left alone – myself, Kevin and Rosie. We turned on worship music and the rest became a dream. I wish I could remember every detail but it was so surreal. This is around the time I hit stage one:

D I S T R A C T I N G . T H E . P A I N .

Back to laboring on the ball, what I remember from this stage was that Kevin would tell me to “dream Lydia dreams.” I thought about meeting my daughter. I thought about taking her on walks or taking her to the pool this summer. We tried to distract my mind from the pain. This didn’t last too long, and I quickly transitioned to stage two:

F I G H T I N G . O F F. T H E . P A I N .

We learned in this stage that I needed to actively fight the pain mentally so that I could relax and breathe through the pain. I found myself repeating phrases that Kevin would say throughout the climax of the contraction.

The pain is temporary.
It will pass.

10:15 PM MONDAY

After being checked again, I learned that I was dilated at 6.5 cm and 100% effaced. However, Lydia had turned slightly and she needed to be face down, so my doctor suggested that I change positions. With the front of the hospital bed raised, I was on my knees, arms over the top of the bed, rhythmically swaying my hips and breathing through each contraction. After a few moments of weakness, doubting to myself and Kevin, wondering if I could do this, wondering if it was too late for the epidural, I realized that I needed to change my mindset. This brings on stage 3:

A T T A C K I N G . T H E . P A I N .

Perhaps it was the former athlete, competitive side of me taking over, but all of a sudden I realized that I didn’t want the pain to win. I knew that I could be in control mentally over the pain with a mind-over-body approach. I simply needed to get my mind in a place to attack the pain. I needed to not think about the many hours and contractions to come, but take it one contraction, once at a time. Our repeating phrases changed:

It’s worth it.
Joy on the other side.

Over and over, we repeated these phrases, breathing through each contraction. Kevin was my rock and didn’t leave my side from this point forward. I would say now, reach for his hand, and he would coach me through the pain, reminding me of our phrases, reminding me that it’s worth it and that there’s joy on the other side. We found our rhythm and Kevin constantly reminded me that every contraction with an increase in pain meant I was one minute closer to meeting our daughter.

11:20 PM MONDAY

All of a sudden, I started feeling the urge to push. I asked Rosie to call in the nurse, I needed to be checked. I had figured out how to attack the pain, but resisting the urge to push was an entirely new experience. After being checked again, I learned that in just the last hour, I was dilated to a 9.5 cm. (I only needed to be at a 10 cm before I could push!) I needed to endure the pain just a little bit longer while Lydia got a little bit lower. Yet at this point not only was the pain a 10/10 on the pain scale, but I was also having to resist my entire body convulsing to want to push her out of me. It’s at this point that I transitioned to stage four:

E M B R A C I N G . T H E . P A I N .

As we got back into our labor position, Rosie came over to read scripture. This is what she read:

Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. (John 16:20-22)

I was reminded in that moment about the Cross. I was reminded about the pain that Jesus suffered on the Cross because He loved me. I wondered in that moment how Jesus was able to find joy in His pain, because He knew that there would be joy – salvation for His beloved – on the other side of the Cross. I thought about how He was empowered by love to endure the pain and suffering on our behalf – because He loves us.

Kevin had been reminding me of the gospel and the presence of God was obvious throughout labor, but in this moment I looked at Kevin. I felt completely empowered by my love for him and my love for Lydia. We had one of the most intimate moments of our marriage. I told him that I was enduring this all with joy because of my love for him and my love for Lydia. He thanked me, spoke sweetly to me, and we held each other’s gaze for several moments before the next contraction came.

These overwhelming feelings of love allowed me to embrace the pain. My final phrase became:

Joy in the pain.

12 AM TUESDAY

The doctor came in for a check, and I was 10 cm dilated. Finally, it was time to push! Kevin remembers this scene much more than I do, as I was now on my back, continually enduring contractions and resisting the urge to push until my doctor and the delivery team was suited up and ready to go. The doctor gave me the instructions on how to position my body and how to orchestrate my breathing.

Each time I would feel a contraction coming on, now, I would take a deep breath in and out. Then one deep breath in, hold, and push as hard as I possibly could for 10 seconds. Pause, repeat three times until the contraction ended.

This stage was easier because I could finally use the pain towards something, but the amount of pressure that I felt as Lydia’s head started to come out was a whole new kind of painful sensation. Not very long after, Kevin and I could both look down and see the top of our sweet Lydia’s head coming out and we could see her dark brown hair.

While worship music had been playing throughout all of labor as background music, a song came on our bluetooth speaker about halfway through pushing. Hillsong United’s Lead Me to the Cross… The song that I walked down the aisle to on our wedding day. This was the sweetest gift from the Lord and a reminder to us in that moment of His presence.

The Lord was near. I prayed more actively in this stage during breaks between contractions. I needed God’s help to show me how to relax the right muscles, hold my breath, and push the right way so I could meet my daughter sooner. Finally my doctor informed me that she could make a 1 cm incision and then I’d meet my baby. Without a doubt, I said yes.

12:39 AM TUESDAY

I don’t remember even feeling the incision because of all the pressure. All I knew was that I was determined to meet my daughter. On the very next push, my doctor had to yell at me to stop pushing because my daughter was arriving! The next thing I knew I heard Lydia’s cry and she was immediately placed on my chest. I started repeating a different phrase in that moment, over and over:

My baby, my baby, my baby…

Kevin started crying as he came close. Whatever else followed – delivering the placenta, getting stitched from the incision, the emptying of fluids – nothing else mattered because I was holding my daughter. She stopped crying when she felt the warmth of my chest. I saw her eyes and I studied her from head to toe.

2 AM TUESDAY

After our family bonding time, they weighed her, measured her, and my sister and parents came into the room to meet Lydia. Then I was able to get up, use the bathroom on my own, and walk myself to the room down the hall next to my husband who was pushing our daughter in her hospital bassinet. I enjoyed the benefits of the quick recovery of natural childbirth, and we received compliments from doctors and nurses commenting on Lydia’s liveliness, their shock that I never once screamed or lost control, and commenting on Kevin’s steady and attentive presence.

.

Yes, the pain was worth it.
Immediately the pain of childbirth was forgotten.
Love, joy and relief washed over me.
Our daughter was here.

Lydia Evelyn Tietz
Born 12:39 AM on Tuesday, May 15, 2018
8 lbs 7 oz, 21 inches