Elijah’s Birth Story

April 2006: Elijah's Birth Day

During the day on Thursday, I began to have contractions a bit more consistently. At this point though I did not pay much attention to them because, number one, I had regular contractions two days ago that stopped before I went to bed, and number two, I had seen the doctor the day before and she still thought I had three or four days left.

After getting up from a short nap though, I started to check the clock and noticed they were about 5 minutes apart, but still were not uncomfortable. Somewhere around 4-5 pm though they started to get a little more cramp-like feeling and I told Joe I think he needed to go rest. He had been suffering from the flu, and I had a feeling he might need his rest. So he went and lay down and asked me to wake him in enough time that he could get a shower if we needed to go.

Around 6:45pm, I called our friend Camilla, who would be watching Abby if I went into labor, to make sure she was around. After I got Abby to bed then I began e-mailing back and forth with my mom every few minutes. By this time they were getting stronger and were about 3-5 minutes apart. My mom said I needed to get moving, but I first got in a warm shower to make sure they weren’t going to go away. After that I got out, woke Joe up and called Marietta, who is our God-send friend and translator here. We then called Camilla and she headed over as well.

By 9pm, we felt like it was time to head into the hospital. We got there and got registered and then checked by the doctor. I was 2cm at that point, which I was a bit discouraged by because I was starting to really feel the contractions coming harder. He wanted me to be monitored for a half hour to see how strong the contractions were and how Elijah’s heart was handling them. This was the toughest part as I had to lie there. I was so thankful to be able to get up and walk again!

I then had to get some blood drawn and answer some medical questions. During this time Joe had gone to get me some water and it dawned on me we forgot the cameras! So I told Joe and he ran home to get them. In that time as I was walking, I suddenly felt that feeling of pressure down under! I could not believe I would be ready yet since my water had not even broken, but I told Marietta and she communicated to the doctor, who checked me and said I was 8-9 cm! So they said it was time to head to the labor and delivery room, which I responded to by asking if I could walk. Walking felt so good!

Joe came walking down the hall as we were heading there! When we got there, everything was set up and I pushed through two contractions and Elijah Joseph arrived at 10:56pm! The whole event was so surreal. I have never felt such a focus on God and in communion with Him through prayer as I did in those two hours. All I could lay there and say when Elijah came out was, “Thank You, Jesus”. My mind was just flooded with the numerous answers to prayers that I had been praying not just in those two hours, but in the nine months of pregnancy. God is so good!