The Pregnancy School Part VI

This next birth left me learning another very important, although not necessarily faith-based, lesson and that is that some things are better left not shared with lots of people.  Ranking right up there on my list of things better left not shared is the birth of a baby.  Sorry, but my experience with this one confirmed that for me!

By the time I was pregnant with our next child, which was very soon after my miscarriage, we were growing in our faith by leaps and bounds, we had started homeschooling and I had discovered home births.  Now I never thought I'd partake in one of those, but after my last experience at the hospital, I felt moved to give it a try.

At this point in my life I was full of exuberance and ready to take on the world, so I decided to invite my mother and mother-in-law to be with us at our first home birth.  I don't think either of them talked to me for a week after that :)  It was a rather difficult birth and there was a doctor, a doctor-in-training, two nurses, my husband, my mother-in-law and myself all in our small bedroom.  My mother opted to stay downstairs with my children, it was the middle of the afternoon at this point, and to cover up my loud vocalizations they just kept turning the movie up louder and louder.  Finally by 3:00 in the afternoon I was begging God for mercy (something I had never been able to do before because I didn't know anything about God's mercy :) and our fourth daughter was born at 3:28. 

In my enthusiasm (or in reality, my deliriousness) I called my kids in to see their new sister.  Unfortunately no one had been brave enough to tell me that I looked like death warmed over, so my girls were a bit taken aback when they walked in.  It wasn't till I saw the pictures of them with their new sister that I realized how horrible I had looked.  No wonder everyone was upset with me :)

The next few months were very trying for us.  We were trying to sell our house (it was kind of funny that our agent had called during the birth to see if she could show the house.  Now that would have been quite a "showing"), my husband's back went out in a major way, I had a crack in my nipple the size of the Grand Canyon so every time my daughter nursed I cried, and it was Christmas.  

How I wish, as I look back now, that I could have been a much better sufferer!  Hopefully during all of that time there was at least one millisecond that I was able to make use of.  Why is it that many times we don't realize until we are out of the trial period how badly we behaved?  It is a good thing that time as we know it does not exist with God, so maybe my desire to have done it all better can still be put to some good use.

Life went on and we somehow managed to sell our house and move to a bigger house closer to our church.  As our faith grew, so did our family once again.  When daughter number four was 13 months old, I found out I was pregnant again...

The Pregnancy School Part V

The pregnancy went along fairly well, not much that I can remember standing out about it, except that I remember craving Quarter Pounders with cheese, no onions the ENTIRE 9 months.  Whenever this child has a problem, we blame it on all that high-quality pregnancy food!

So we finally get to delivery time and the contractions hit full force.  We had just finished a lovely dinner of steak and potatoes when I started with these intense labor pains that would take my breath away.  I called the doctor and couldn't even talk to him, so of course he told me to hurry on in.

Well, let's just say that he was a bit miffed at me when I got there and he checked me out just to find out that he left his house prematurely.  Gotta love a doctor who gets ticked off in front of you because you thought you were going to have a baby any moment, but you really weren't.  Oh well, in his frustration he decided to start me on pitocin, since he was already there and all.  In my ignorance I said okay, since I was already there and all.

So here is where I had my introduction into how seriously God takes you when you say you're going to offer up your sufferings to Him.  I thought that meant that I could have my epidural and offer up any pain and/or inconvenience I might feel beyond that.  Sounded pretty good to me.  He thought that meant that I should be pushed beyond what I thought I was capable of :)  So they got the pitocin started, which got the contractions started, so I called for the epidural (which, if you remember, didn't work the first two times, so I'm not sure why I expected it to work this time) and, you guessed it, it didn't work. Well, one thing all of that did do was cause me to throw up my lovely dinner all over my wonderful husband :)  Men have it sooo easy, don't they?


I take that back, the epidural worked for exactly 30 minutes; the amount of time it took me to pray my rosary, because I hadn't prayed it yet that day.  Once I said the last prayer it stopped working again.  By that time the pitocin was in full swing and I started telling the professionals in the room that it felt as if this baby was going to shoot out my stomach.  Of course they didn't believe me, until I really started to tell them that if they didn't figure something out, this baby was going to shoot out my stomach right at them.  That started everyone yelling at everyone else.  The doctor was yelling at the nurse to turn off the pitocin drip, the nurse yelling at the doctor that she did and me yelling at both of them that they better figure something out quick!


Somehow our third baby girl was born the way she was supposed to be born and was just as wonderful as the first two.  I have to say, however, that that experience made me very leery about offering up my suffering for something.  I was so taken aback by the way it all went that for many years (okay, even 15 years later :) I have a hard time in offering something up for fear that it is going to get a lot worse!  Trust!  I still am working on that one!

I had a brief respite (well, an extra year) before I got pregnant again.  First, though, I had another miscarriage.  My other children were too young to really know what was going on, but in the way that children can be so perceptive, my eldest daughter came to me that day with a picture that she drew of her and her two sisters staring up at a rainbow.  God is good!  That is definitely a lesson I have been taught over and over and over again! 

A B See - G is for...

Guys, as in army guys!

 Check out the other entries for this week, or add your own by clicking on the image below.

Next up is baby #3 in The Pregnancy School!

The Sabbath

Now there was a man named Joseph from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their purpose and deed and he was looking for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud,

and laid him in a rock-hewn tomb, where no one had ever yet been laid.

It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid; then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment. Luke 23:50-56

The Crucifixion

So they took Jesus, and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha. John 19:17

And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene who was coming in from the country and laid on him the cross to carry it behind Jesus. Luke 23:26And when they came to the place which is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments.


And the people stood by, watching; but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God his Chosen One!" The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him vinegar, and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself:" There was also an inscription over him "This is the King of the Jews." Luke 23:33-38

It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit:" And having said this he breathed his last. Luke 23:44-46

And he was taken down from the cross and placed in the arms of his sorrowing mother.

Flashback to the Last Supper

When it was evening, he sat at table with the twelve disciples;

and as they were eating, he said, "Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me." And they were very sorrowful, and began to say to him one after another, "Is it I Lord?" He answered, "He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me, will betray me. The Son of man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born." Judas, who betrayed him, said, "Is it I, Master?" He said to him, "You have said so." Matthew 26:20-25

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is my body."

And he took a chalice, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Matthew 26:26-28

Judas, Pilate and the Crowning with Thorns

While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the Twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I shall kiss is the man; seize him." And he came up to Jesus at once and said, "Hail, Master!" And he kissed him. Matthew 26:47-49

And when those who were about him saw what would follow, they said, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?" And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus said, "No more of this!" And he touched his ear and healed him. Luke 22:49-51

Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus said to him, "You have said so." But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders he made no answer. Then Pilate said to him, "Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?" But he gave him no answer not even to a single charge; so that the governor wondered greatly. Matthew 27:11-14

So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this righteous man's blood; see to it yourselves." Matthew 27:24-25

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe upon him, and plaiting a crown of thorns they put it on his head, and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him they mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they spat upon him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe, and put his own clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him. Matthew 27:27-31