A Delivery in His Hands

After eight months of carrying the news of our unexpected blessing, I came to a wonderful realization—this labor and delivery, this entering in of our fourth child—was going to be for God’s glory. Unlike the pregnancies and preparations of my other children, it seemed that no matter how much I tried this time, my worship was still not as intense, my prayers never as long, my body certainly not as in shape, and the nursery (giggle)…what nursery? I did have some forthright talks with God, though, in between the unending loads of laundry and the refereeing of my little ones, asking Him to help me (“Lord, help me!”) and to fill in the many gaps where I was lacking. And, He did. A peace returned—the peace in knowing that it wouldn’t matter this time, this pregnancy, this delivery, what I did. It was not my turn to be glorified—it was God’s. What a magnificent revelation. Nothing I could have done and nothing that I did made the birth story that you are about to read amazing. It is all thanks to my Awesome Creator whose presence is evident even now….

To preface the story, I must insert that despite efforts beginning in the first trimester, ten weeks out from my due date, the onset of a high blood pressure (a recurring, progressive issue with each successive pregnancy) led me to begin daily medication to reduce any risk to baby and improve my physical well being. Although we did need to increase the dosage twice prior to delivering, we were able to avoid inducing labor as with my previous delivery*. Combining little activity, plenty of rest, and lots of protein with this medication, a generic form of Aldomet, our actions led toward a beautifully natural delivery. (*See http://www.blessingsmidwifery.net/EthanLeeBuck.htm.)

At 38 weeks, I had a day of steady contractions every 15-20 minutes. Since I experienced many early, inconsistent contractions during this fourth pregnancy, I did not necessarily count this as the “beginning,” but it certainly pushed me to make one last trip to the store for those much-needed items. Sure enough, no progress in labor occurred. However, the next week’s visit from Midwife Kathy Williams proved my body was definitely getting ready, as I was dilated between 2 and 3cm at that time. It would be interesting to see when our son would be born, knowing the exact date of conception.

On the day I was due, May 6, contractions woke me up at 2:17am. This was of no surprise to me, because not only did I experience labor pains throughout the night with my second born, I also prayed specifically for this labor to progress in my sleep. (Don’t ever be afraid to pray for specifics—those are the best-answered prayers!!!) As I remained in bed, I watched the clock, timing my contractions every fifteen minutes. I battled with the thought of when to call Kathy, hating to disturb her precious sleep. And, I tried to return to my own sleep, but the exciting thoughts of how this delivery would play out raced through my mind. About an hour later, at 3:06am, right as I thought, “Wow, this contraction is strong enough to break my…” my water broke. Fortunately, I had gone to the bathroom earlier and brought a towel back to bed. I leaned over to my husband and said, “My water just broke.” He looked at the clock, grunting, “At 3 o’clock in the morning?” and then went back to sleep. Thankfully, I had done this before (it was a repeat scenario with exception to my not making it to the hospital in time), and I was a little more mentally prepared for having a baby naturally and potentially on my own. So, I let Lee sleep. I grabbed the phone from the bedside and called Kathy, still hating to wake her up, but looking back on it, so glad I did. “You probably have about an hour,” I stated, reminding her of the timeframe from my previous births, since she had a 45-minute drive ahead of her.

After calling Kathy, I took a shower (figuring the guests that would stop by after church would be all dressed up and hoping that if the baby came on its own, at least I’d be in a clean spot). I guessed at how slowly the contractions were progressing, estimating not much closer than ten minutes. Once I had dried my hair, I was surprised by my youngest son’s (Ethan, age 2, see birth story link above*) appearance at the bathroom door. What was I going to do now? Lee was asleep in the bed, our two girls were still asleep upstairs, and I had a wide-eyed child that I was not up to coaxing back to bed. So, we took a stack of towels and plastic sheets to the couch, spread them out, sat down and waited for Kathy. Ethan was so funny, saying, “I want to sit on that, too,” referring to the palette I had just made beneath me. “Alright,” I replied, as he scooted right next to me. Contraction one on the couch hit, and I thought, “Okay, I’m going to have to be strong, if nothing else, for my child here at my side. He is wide awake, trying to have a conversation with me, and I am in labor.” Contraction two came five minutes later, and I prayed, “Lord, you’re going to have to help me. If these contractions are only five minutes apart, I am really going to need your help!” The contractions were very strong, as if they were one-minute apart contractions.

But, God is awesome! Let me just say that He rocks! Because at the next contraction, I felt the baby descend as if ready to enter this world! I called for Lee, who was still sleeping in the next room, “You’d better get your clothes on and get in here, because the baby’s ready to come!” He gasped, “You’re kidding!” And at the next contraction, there was no holding the baby in. Just as Lee entered the room, I leaned over on my side, and with one push, Eli entered our lives. Talk about cutting it close! Within minutes of my calling for Lee’s help, Eli was born, right into Lee’s own hands. I remember saying, “It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay,” over and over, not knowing if Lee and Ethan were freaking out during the whole experience. Eli came out crying, and I was probably attempting to give comfort to my own self, as well as this newborn baby, too, with my words. Lee placed Eli on my abdomen, as he continued to cry. Ethan broke the ice by asking, “Mommy, why did you pee in the floor?” (He takes after Lee.) Then I remembered, with all the towels I had carried in the room, I had forgotten to bring one in to keep the baby warm. Lee was still helping to steady the baby, so I asked Ethan to get us a towel from our room, and amazingly enough, he did. What a great helper!

We lifted Eli up to my chest, covered him to keep him warm, and his crying stopped. The vernix on his face was like a mud mask, and he sweetly blinked his eyes over and over, as if to say, “This stuff is thick!” We simply cherished the moment…no hustle, no bustle…“Oh, but look at the clock!” It was 4:03am, an hour later after my water broke, as expected, yet it was as if time stood still. Only minutes passed before Kathy arrived, and she guessed before she entered the door that we had delivered the baby. The Holy Spirit had led her to pray for a vigorous, healthy baby, when she was about ten minutes away, guessing that the baby would arrive before she did. Kathy came in, clamped the cord, as Lee cut it, then she cleaned Eli’s face and began her work. Eli Everett (Uplifted, Courageous) weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces and measured 19 ¾ inches.

The moment was amazing…a birth so sudden, so perfect…just as God had planned it to be. The adrenaline of a delivery like none other was quickly replaced by pure joy and the peace and quiet of a treasured Sunday morning, shared by husband and wife (and our little helper). Our son Eli Everett Buck was born in our own home…healthy, happy, and beautiful…a precious gift of God…delivered right into his father’s hands.
 

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