I've had many opportunities to muse on God's faithfulness through labor and delivery of Victor. But not so much time to sit down and put my thoughts into words. So here is a brief attempt to recount some of the mercies God showed us:
* Such kind nurses. Beth and Jenny (the night before induction), Lacey and Melissa (who walked through the whole, long day of labor with me), the kind nurse--whose name I don't recall (who kept me from fainting and falling off the commode and then ordered me some high-powered pain killers), Grace and Susie (the sweet and sagacious NICU nurses who loved on our little newborn boy and helped me get started breastfeeding)
* Perfect timing of epidural. Going into labor, I was inclined to try to go through the process without meds if possible. The first 9 hours of labor were challenging, but I felt strengthened to breath through the contractions and press on. But when the nurse said I had only progressed to a possible 2cm dilation, I was so discouraged. Our nurse Melissa said the doctor would probably either commence with a C-section or give an option for an epidural and give it a couple hours to see if things would move along. Ben and I (and my parents in the waiting room, and the people we texted) were praying fervently that the next check would show significant progress. At 8pm our nurse Melissa examined me, and the 3 of us all just about whooped and hollered when she found I had dilated to 4cm!
* Baby didn't cry right away. When the doctor broke my water, she saw thick meconium in the amniotic fluid. That meant that Victor may well have ingested it, and if it wasn't suctioned out immediately upon birth, he could develop pneumonia or other respiratory problems. The doctor ordered the NICU team to be present for delivery--but they didn't arrive in time. But in God's perfect provision, Victor wasn't crying when he was born, and the doctor was able to quickly suction his airway before he gave his first wails.
* NICU stay, but no infection. During labor, I started getting an elevated temperature, and my blood pressure dropped, while Victor's blood rate increased. This automatically qualified as potential chorio infection, and I started getting IV antibiotics immediately--and Victor earned a spot in NICU for treatment of antibiotics and a culture to see if he had gotten the infection. The culture came back negative (after 48 hours), and the tender, loving care he got at NICU, plus the extra help for Ben and me in learning how to care for him were such a gift.
I know there were more mercies at work, but those are a few highlights that come to mind. Thank You, Lord.
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