And What Knot

We have titled this entry "Week 37", as there really are no other words to describe the past weeks since we last updated this blog. Pregnancy progressed calmly up until this point in time. I know that many of you are probably thinking that we fell off the face of the planet....but yes.....we did have a baby.....a baby girl. God is gracious and merciful, and has sustained us through days of darkness and joy.We are amazed at this gift God has given to us and how He continually works through events in our lives to draw us closer to Himself.

At week 37, a higher blood pressure developed. Along with this rise in pressure, there arose emotions of fear and anxiety. There was an uncertainty as to whether or not this little person was ever going to come out. At the end of week40, real contractions began for the first time. They began in the early morning hours and progressed well into the next day. At around noon, they stopped. Not even a walk helped to bring any about. Later on in the evening, the contractions began again, but this time, they were more intense and pain was felt for the first time. After loading up the car around 8:30pm, we headed over the mountain pass for the birth clinic in the city (approx. 1 hour, 15 min. drive). Laboring in a car, we found, can be very difficult and painful, as it is hard to find a position that agrees with what the body is trying to do.
I don't know how we made it, but we did. When connecting with a major freeway, about 15 min. away from the center, the contractions were so strong that the baby's head was beginning to emerge. The water broke in the car, just as the car arrived at the center. To our dismay, no one else was even at the clinic. The doors were locked. Just when it seemed that the baby would have to be delivered in the car, a midwife came and unlocked the doors. Somehow-I don't know how-we managed to waddle into the building, into the elevator, and into the clinic to a birthing room. While they asked us whether or not we wanted to fill the tub and get in for a water birth, something like an explosion was felt-when the body is wanting to push, it seems there is no stopping it-the force is simply too powerful. While standing up, leaning slightly against the high walls of the tub, only minutes after arriving, a baby was delivered and literally "caught" by a midwife. A second or two later, while sitting on a towel on a linoleum floor, we held our baby, still attached to the mother. After about five minutes, everything else was delivered.
To sum it up, shortly after the birth of the baby, things took a turn for the worse. We experienced significant blood loss and the blood pressure dropped very low. It seems that the uterus was unable to contract down to normal size due to blood clots, pieces of placenta still inside, and a very full bladder. Invasive measures were taken immediately to stop the bleeding, but we were still taken to a hospital by ambulance for a 16 hour stay over. Although things did not turn out as we had planned, we are thankful that everyone is alright, recuperating well, and that our little one is healthy and thriving. God is so good and so loving!