Erin got pregnant on her honeymoon. I think I was the first one Ryan told. I went up to the study and he was sitting at Ken's desk and looked at me solemnly and said, "Erin's pregnant." I cried. I was so happy! I love babies.
I would love it if God blessed all my children with lots of babies. I believe the Bible when it states that the purpose of marriage is to produce godly offspring. They are God's greatest gifts and I know my children will be great parents who will bring their children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
This world needs godly children.
This world needs godly children.
Erin wanted to have a natural birth, no intervention at all if possible. Throughout the end of her pregnancy, she was measuring small so we assumed it just meant she was going to have a small baby.
The Thursday before her due date, the doctor measured her and said she needed to be induced yesterday because the baby measured very small. The doctor seemed very concerned. They went down to get a sonogram to see if indeed something was wrong.
The sonogram showed that very little blood and nutrition was getting from the placenta to the baby. The doctor told them to pack their bags and go to the hospital to be induced. We were afraid for our little baby and the possibility of going natural was fading.
We were all praying continually that this baby would be healthy and I was praying that Erin would still be able to have a natural birth. 45% of women induced have to have C-sections.
When they got to the hospital, Erin was given something to soften her cervix before they started the pitocin in the morning. A nurse who had worked at the hospital awhile said this had only started active labor on one other woman...pitocin usually has to be started.
They gave this to Erin at 11:00 pm but by 7:00 am she was in active labor, pushed for 20 minutes and gave birth to Emma at 11:30 am without an IV or any drugs! When Ryan came out to tell us the good news, we could tell he was traumatized. He wept as he told us the pain Erin had endured during the 4 1/2 hours of labor. He said he thought to himself during the labor that she would have a hard time forgetting this but as soon as the baby was born Erin was smiling and laughing! He couldn't believe how quickly she seemed to forget!
I asked her how she was able to make it through labor without any drugs and she said, "Ryan. As long as I was holding his hand, I knew I could do it." So precious. Now they have a sweet baby girl named Emma Rose and we are all so happy. She is completely healthy and content.
As soon as Erin got home she looked up at Ryan and said, "I want another one!" I guess she's forgotten the pain but I think it has more to do with the fact that Emma Rose was worth every nauseous moment and labor pain...
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
Psalm 127:3
