Miracle Birth

It seems every birth has a story, even ones that are scheduled C-Sections, which would seem to be rather uneventful.  Here is the story of our little Ruth coming into the world.

I had contractions for most of my pregnancy (they started at 12 weeks), but luckily through taking it easy, I was able to keep things under control and avoid preterm labor and bedrest.  We had the C-Section scheduled for 38 weeks, and at my 37 week appointment the doctor asked me how I felt about waiting another week to deliver.  I think any woman 37 weeks pregnant would not want to wait any longer, but I also wanted to make sure we had a healthy baby.  So we agreed that we would keep the scheduled date, but Jack and I discussed and prayed about it to make sure we were making the right decision.  We both felt strongly that we needed to keep the date for 38 weeks.

The last week of pregnancy seemed to go on forever.  I was having a lot of contractions-- the farthest apart were 10 minutes, and sometimes they were much closer to 5 minutes apart for the whole week.  The doctor had instructed me to not come in until they were 5 minutes apart and I had to breathe through them.  You know, full-blown labor.  Even with the contractions that met the time requirement, the intensity just wasn't there.  But after having so many contractions for so long, I was getting frustrated and tired.  What was going on?  How long could this go on before my body kicked in to full gear and went into active labor?  I would pray that the Lord would help me know when to go into the hospital, and that I would have this end soon.

I actually had a little delivery fantasy. (Fantasy because I knew it wasn't the right thing to do, but I really wished I could avoid the C-section.)  I imagined that after all this waiting, by the time I went in to the hospital in full labor, I would be fully dilated and ready to just push.  I would deliver naturally and avoid the recovery from the C-section.

Well, no such luck.  I made it to Monday morning, when we went into the hospital. I got all prepped for surgery (including two tries for the IV, my least favorite part).  The doctor was a little late, so I didn't go back the the operating room until about 7:45 am.  Surgery started and everything seemed to be progressing normally. 

Then the doctor said something (don't remember exactly what) and I knew something wasn't going normally.  Then she told us that as she moved my bladder out of the way to make the incision in the uterus, she saw the uterus and it was open already.  She could see the baby's face through the amniotic sac where the uterus had ruptured just moments before hand. 

Then as the doctor proceeded to open the sac and remove the baby (she never had to cut the uterus at all) she saw that the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck three times.  The cord was pretty long, but even so, there was no way I could have delivered her vaginally.  She wouldn't have come out!

The doctor was able to deliver Ruth and get my uterus sewn up, but she wasn't able to reinforce the area where it tore because of how close it was to the bladder. 

I feel that the fact that Ruth and I are here is a miracle.  If I had gone into more active labor, I would have had this tear happen somewhere other than in the operating room, and we could have bled to death.  If I had attempted a vaginal delivery and not had the uterine rupture, Ruth could have died from the cord being wrapped around her neck.

Now I see the week of contractions as more than just a nuisance and frustration.  I see it as Heavenly Father truly holding back the labor so we could be in the right place at the right time.  I see the impressions for us to not wait any longer to have the baby as a witness of how much Heavenly Father is aware of me and how he will guide me in my life.  This was a miracle in my life.

Welcome Ruth Katherine Crews

We welcomed Ruth Katherine Crews to our family Oct 25th, 2010 at 8:24a.m. She weighed in at 5 lbs 11.4 oz and 18.5 inches long. Here are a few of the pictures we took:

Less Than 24 Hours

Jack took some pictures of my belly this morning.  I guess it is evidence of how much bigger I got this time than with any of the other kids.  (At least it feels that way!)  I looked at these pictures and thought I looked bigger than I realized I did.  It makes me wonder about those people at church today telling me how small I looked and how they didn't think I looked big enough to be having a baby tomorrow...

Last Activity as a Family of 5

 The girls didn't have school on Friday, so we decided to take the kids to the Children's Museum.  They had a great time playing at the different exhibits.  Joseph wanted to go up on the pulley chairs until he actually got a spot, and then he wasn't so sure about the idea!

 The huge bubble was one of Joseph's favorite things to do, although he manages to step in the bubble solution every time! 

Rebecca spent most of her time dressing up in the different costumes.  Unfortunately, most of the outfits are geared toward smaller kids, so there weren't very many outfits for her to try out.

Miriam loved the story time.  She sat and listened to the stories long after the other kids had lost interest and wandered off.

The Pumpkin Patch

 Every year we plant pumpkins in our garden, but only the first year did we get enough pumpkins for all of our kids (and there were only two kids at the time!).  So we still have to take a trip to the local pumpkin patch to pick up some pumpkins.

 Funny, funny.  I still think the pumpkin is bigger than my belly!

 Miriam was trying to smile, but she was weighed down by that heavy pumpkin.

 After we got our pumpkins, Jack took the kids through the corn maze.  They started out planning on going through the shortest of the four, but then somehow got in the longest maze.  Miriam got pretty nervous about having to go 6 miles, so they cut through the corn and got back on the path for the short maze.  Afterward, they read the rules for the corn maze and it specifically prohibits doing this.  Oops.

 We finished off our afternoon by going to the other activities they had there, like the jumping castles and hay maze.  Joseph liked looking at the animals with Jack.  I heard that while they were looking at the pigs, Jack told Joseph that the pigs stink.  So as I was walking with Joseph to the car and asking him about the animals, he told me about the pigs stinking.  Very cute.  He also told me he saw an elephant.  Jack had to explain that the jumping castle he was in had an elephant on it.  Good thing, because I knew there were no elephants in the cages!

A Blessing Fulfilled

When I got pregnant, we were very much aware that due to my history with pregnancy, there was a good chance that I would be on bedrest for an extended period of time.  I tried to do things to minimize this likelihood, but I was still pretty convinced that bedrest was in my future.

At the very beginning of the pregnancy (before we told anyone we were expecting), I was released from my calling as Young Women Secretary and called as Boy Scout Committee Chair.  I figured this was a blessing in that the Young Women's calling would take much more time, and really, without a Boy Scout Committee Chair, life would go on.  There hadn't been an active chair for a while, anyway.

When I was set apart for my new calling, I was told that my health would not impact my ability to perform my calling.  My first thought was not faith-filled, unfortunately.  I thought about how the bishopric member didn't know my circumstance.  The main thing I do is hold a meeting once a month-- how would I do that on bedrest???

Throughout the pregnancy, I had several powerful experiences where the Lord taught me about faith and his power to heal.  I progressed from being convinced that bedrest and complications were inevitable, to understanding that bedrest and medication could be ways that the Lord uses to heal me, to believing that the Lord could even take away my problems.  As I gained faith, I found my pregnancy complications diminishing.

This past Wednesday, I went to my Boy Scout Committee Meeting.  I have had the promise that the Lord made through a bishopric member that didn't know my circumstances fulfilled.  I have been strengthened and healed through these past months.  I know that the Lord knows me and will help me.

Camping

 Jack and I had discussed taking the kids camping all summer.  It just never got beyond the 'discussion' phase of planning.  We knew the kids would have fun, but it is a lot of work and effort for the adults involved.  Then, as Labor Day weekend was approaching, we were trying to think of something fun to do with the kids to finish off the summer.  We talked about taking them to Water World, but I wasn't up to going and Jack wasn't up to taking three kids of different ages and interests by himself.  So Jack called his brother to see if he wanted to come along.  I don't really know how the conversation went, but they ended up planning a camping trip for the next weekend.  

 The kids were so excited to go.  This was their first tent camping experience.  Jack picked the girls up from school and headed straight up to pick David up.  Then they went up the Poudre Canyon to find their campground before it got dark.  Plans went according to schedule, except for one bout of carsickness.  (Notice Miriam is wearing her pajamas...)  The kids had a great time playing in the river, sitting around the campfire and finding out where the trails led.

Camping requires some unexpected events, and this outing was no exception.  Jack reported that the night was frigid, and that if we want to pursue camping as a family hobby, we need new sleeping bags to keep warm.  Luckily he brought an extra sleeping bag!  Breakfast was adventurous because the cooking stove we acquired while Jack was Scoutmaster no longer works.  Luckily the people camping next to them were very generous and let Jack borrow their stove to cook breakfast on.  

                         

When everyone arrived home, the kids were all still bouncing with excitement.  They told me about what a great time they had.  Jack looked exhausted and proceeded to take a nap.