I have been blessed with the BEST family and friends!!!! It has been a whirlwind over the past week and a half but as the light at the end of the tunnel shines through, I am able to reflect on God's goodness and provisions, His trials and His mercies, and His steadfast love and faithfulness in answering prayers.
Last week, a major snowstorm was predicted for our area. I love snow storms, but being due with number 7 at any moment, and knowing how fast my labors can progress, we were concerned about baby picking such a weather pattern to make his/her appearance. When I woke up Monday morning, it was evident that labor was going to happen within the next couple of days. Since the snowstorm was predicted beginning Monday night, we went to the midwife Monday afternoon who checked our progress and non-medically got our labor started at about 6pm. Based upon past experience, we figured the baby would be born within a few hours and we could make it home before the snow and wind began. However, that was not to be. Overnight my contractions were 10 minutes apart, but lasted a hard 3 minutes each.... ALL NIGHT! By morning, I was exhausted and only dilated to a 6. Had I been in a hospital, I would have asked for an epidural and told them to wake me up when the baby got here. But that wasn't an option. The only option was to keep persevering in my exhaustion through transition. My lifesaver was the jetted tub. This was a new experience for me. The hot, jetted bath did wonders for refreshing my body and spirit and fairly quickly got me through the transitional phase and into the ready-to-push phase.
Then there came the pushing. Again, I am not used to having to push. Only on one of my previous 6 did I have to push and she was "sunny side up". But pushing on this baby wasn't making any progress. Finally, at 10:26 A.M. on February 4th, Ezekiel Jon was born..... yep, he was sunny side up and he was also cock-eyed in my pelvis. It just goes to show you what a difference mal-positioning makes on labor progress (15 minutes on baby 6 to 15 hours on baby 7)! Zeke was 19 1/2 inches long and 6#2oz.
God was faithful in answering all of the prayers that went up for the little guy from the beginning of pregnancy through the birth. We stayed at the birthing center for just a couple of hours before heading home. The snowfall was already significant, but at least the winds hadn't kicked in yet. It was a slow trip home, but we made it without any mishaps. As you can imagine, we had quite the welcoming party when we got there: 6 older siblings to welcome the new addition home!
He is the perfect little baby, but unfortunately I wasn't able to fully enjoy his first week as I had hoped.
About day 4 I started having a tooth ache on one of my molars (on baby #5 I had the same thing a few days post partum but it got better). I did salt water rinses, tea tree oil, thieves' oil, and just about every other home remedy I could research. But the toothache only got worse. By Sunday my lower jaw was swollen and it got worse by Monday. I was crying out in pain (FAR WORSE THAN LABOR)! I thought I was dying. By Monday evening I wanted to die! I started antibiotics ad stronger pain meds Monday night and by Tuesday I was feeling great. The pain was better, even when the pain meds were wearing off, and I could at least enjoy my newborn again! However, I looked awful as my jaw was swollen to the size of a baseball. My hubby made me go to the dentist (actually he made the appt. and escorted me there... I would not have called or gone as things were improving). The dentist pulled the tooth..... NOT A PLEASANT OR PAINLESS EXPERIENCE... but at least the problem is taken care of and my swelling is back to normal.
So after a whirlwind of a couple of weeks, life is back to normal! As I reflect, again, I'm reminded about the goodness and faithfulness of our God who has blessed us with great family and friends who have stepped up to help out during this craziness! We have been given great meals and lots of help around the house. Our other kids have also been awesome in pitching in when I was not exactly functioning at a high level.
So as we settle in to our "new normal" of seven kids, we dare not forget to worship and praise our Lord who has blessed us far more abundantly than we could ever ask or hope... even and especially in the midst of trials.
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