It brings me so much joy to share the story of our little miracle man, Alastair Nathaniel. Here it is.
Let me just start with something I have said (and prayed) many times over the past couple years. "Let them know that this was all you, Lord." And surely, that is just what He has done in my life--with my sickness three years ago, with our house last year, and now with our son. Everything about Alastair's short life has been a miracle, from conception to birth. God has done miraculous things and I am overwhelmed at his kindness along the way.
We have no idea when Alastair was conceived, unlike Sybil. We were even pregnant when we went to the fertility doctor for the first time and didn't know it. With this, I wasn't convinced I had an accurate due date. Nonetheless, we knew he'd come sometime in June. I thought I'd go early for several reasons (I was having contractions for about a month, was 3cm dilated at 36 weeks, and had several other labor signs from my body). My parents both work and had to take time off so, they decided to come June 10th. When they got here, we had just treated our house for fleas because our cat somehow got them and therefore, so did we. Later on we discovered there were also chiggers everywhere around our house biting us every time we went outside. As you can imagine, my body was in high stress and I was "overdue" in my mind. Not to mention that my doctor was out of town, which also made me nervous. The previous week, my doula was out of town. Here I was, totally stressed out and willingly adding more stress by starting a house project (since we were waiting on baby anyway).
On June 13th, 14th and 15th, my dad and Andrew ripped up the floor in our dining room and hallways, painted the walls a different color and laid new flooring. My house was in disarray and we were all getting bit by chiggers. The morning of my due date, I woke up and purposed in my heart that I was going to choose joy. My mom, Sybil and I went for Five Daughter's donuts and coffee at our favorite spot. Then we watched a comedy that night and just relaxed. Then next morning (15th), Andrew and I went to my Dr's appointment and had my Dr. strip my membranes. I was almost dilated to a 5 at that point and she said she'd be surprised if I made it through the weekend. I left the office at peace, although there was a clock ticking in the back of my mind since it was Thursday and my dad had to leave on Saturday.
Around 4:30pm I started having real contractions. I didn't tell anyone because I didn't want to get people's hopes up. I started making dinner for everyone and when we sat down to eat, I had to stop and breathe through them. Sybil kept touching me and saying "what are you doing mama?" I told her not to bother me when my head was down--everyone at the table knew I was in labor at that point. Around 6:30pm I texted my doula and told her I was in labor. She came two hours later at 8:30pm and we labored in my bedroom while Sybil slept in hers and my parents watched a movie in the living room.
Around 10:30pm things were getting pretty intense. I remembered how bad transition was with my last labor and I didn't really want to be driving then, so I said we should head to the hospital. Miranda, my doula, called the Dr. to let her know we were on the way. I was coherent enough on the way to the hospital that I was still giving Andrew directions. We'd stop at a stop sign and I'd tell him I was about to have a contraction and not to move until I told him to go again! It worked so well that the car ride ended up not being horrible. When we arrived, the lady at the front desk was asking all sorts of questions to get us into the computer. I had several contractions during the admitting process and she got on the phone and said "Can Dr. Norman be sure to be in the building now? I have a patient of hers who has had several contractions here at the desk and she is going to go soon."
They put us in a triage room because all the L&D rooms were taken. When the triage nurse said she had to check me to see how far along I was, I told her I was at a nine. She rolled her eyes and said she still had to check. One second later she said, "Okay, whoa, you're at a 9 or you have a lip, I can't tell because if I check you any further I'm going to break your water." They promptly took me into a L&D room and my Dr. came right in. We discovered I had an anterior cervical lip and the baby was at station -1. The dr. offered to break my water, but my doula and I decided we'd labor some more and try to get the baby down. So, I labored for a few more hours in transition and my water was just not breaking. I remember being on the birth ball and hearing my L&D nurse say "wow, have you been working out this pregnancy?" I proudly yelled "yes!" as a contraction began. Finally around 2am, the Dr. came in and said I was complete and the baby had moved down more, so I asked her to break my water. I later found out that the baby was still at station -1 (which means he wasn't engaged or under my pubic bone). My doula was nervous about this because of the way Sybil's birth played out when she never engaged, so she began to pray over me.
I labored for another hour and a half before the Dr. came in again. My pushing hadn't been effective in the positions I was choosing so she told me to lay on my back and she wrapped a towel around the birthing bar above me. I tugged on one end of the towel and a nurse tugged on the other end. The game of tug of war ended up working so well that I only had to push for 30 minutes in that position before he was born. I remember her telling me to feel his head, which I did, and then it felt like seconds later he was on my chest!
From start to finish my labor was only 12 hours. Both Alastair and I were doing so well that we got released the next day (only spending 33 hrs in the hospital). God went before me in this in so many ways. Not once during labor and delivery did I experience fear. I fully believed Al was coming without complications. I have never felt stronger in my entire life. I was mentally exhausted, but physically I felt okay (which is totally insane after a natural birth). One verse I had clung to early on in regards to this labor was "So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy." (Rom. 9:16) I knew it was not my strength but God's mercy getting me through.
When I got home, I looked back at my labor prayer journal and realized that God literally answered EVERY one of my prayers. He is so faithful and kind and I am in awe of his hand moving in my life and Alastair's. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for little miracle man. Alastair Nathaniel means "Defender of the people" and "God has given." Our Father gives good gifts.
I have so much more to say about God's faithfulness in this, but I must stop now because I have to go feed baby boy. He's a champ and eats SO much!
