Chancellor Manor: Answers to Prayer {Not a Birth Story}

I am so grateful to God for all His blessings over the last month. Our sermon tonight at church was based around the verse "He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." And He certainly is a rewarder! I wanted to share just a few of the specific prayers we had before Him about Harmony's birth and my health, and the wonderful ways He answered! Some are small, some are big, some were a special blessing to our family that wouldn't seem like a big deal to others, but all were evidence of His love!

Being able to take care of the kids through the end of the pregnancy. In some ways I actually felt better through the last trimester than I did with the other kids - certainly better than the first trimester! I was able to finish out the school year with Cadence, take them places (even to visit Mommy), and play outside with them. Talk about a change from the fall and winter!

That being induced would not make delivery more complicated. We do not ever take for granted that labor and delivery will go without complications, and especially so with an induction. But, God definitely had His hand in this! My labor was only about 4.5 hours from when they started pitocin, and only 3 hours from when the doctor came and broke my water. It did not feel any harder or intense than any of my other labors, which was also an answer to prayer, because many people say induced labors are more painful.

That I wouldn't be sick from not eating before they induced labor. This is one of those prayers that I felt a little silly praying - but I was still battling morning sickness a little even at the end, especially if I didn't eat breakfast. I really didn't see how I could cope with the strain of labor without sustenance, but I didn't feel at all hungry the entire time, let alone light headed or sick.

I was not required to have an epidural. When things first started getting strange in my pregnancy, it was mentioned that it might be wise to have an epidural, just in case of surgery. Now... to some people it will be weird that I didn't want one, but... I hate needles. With a passion. And have you seen an epidural needle?! They are huge! Getting my IV in was the worst part of the whole process (more on that, next ;)), so when my doctor said there was no medical reason to have one, and he certainly wouldn't push me to get one if I didn't want it, I was so thankful!

I didn't pass out getting my IV. I know, I'm a weeny. But the whole room was spinning, everything was going black, I was getting cold sweats, and the nurse was on her second try - if I passed out she would have to stop and start all over again. So I looked at Tony, and he mouthed "I know, I'm praying". And I didn't pass out! Not only that, when the nurse had to dig around even more in my other arm to draw blood, it didn't even really bother me.

That I would have strength, and that Harmony would be safe. This was a spur of the moment, biggie sort of prayer in the middle of labor. Harmony's heart tones kept dropping during contractions, and there was a little bit of a delay (seriously, little) in progress. I was feeling pretty tired and weak, and a little worried about Harmony. There was a moment though, when the nurse had to step out to call the doctor, to see what he wanted us to do about these problems, and I looked at Tony and said, "We need to pray." "Yup, we do." So we prayed while it was just the two of us, and God immediately answered prayer. I felt strengthened, progress picked back up, and Harmony's heart tones smoothed out.

That delivery wouldn't cause any damage that would make it harder to deal with my other problem while waiting for surgery. This was another sort of biggie - I knew I wouldn't be able to take care of the kids if this happened. And guess what? Harmony literally fell out onto the bed with no pushing, and no tearing or bruising. They kept saying, "Don't push, the doctor is almost here!" And I said (or probably yelled, because 'not pushing' is hard work) "I'm NOT PUSHING but she's coming anyway!" About then she plopped onto the bed, and that was that. Apparently she didn't really think having a doctor there was all that important after all.

And of course, that my complications wouldn't hinder delivery. By the time it came right down to it, we were pretty sure it wouldn't be an issue, but we were all still a little paranoid - including the doctor. So we are very thankful that things went smoothly.

I could go on and on, because there were so many little things that God helped with, but I wanted to mention just one more - help with the 'big' munchkins. We were particularly worried about ReC, because we found out just a few days before Harmony was born that she thought we were leaving forever when we went to the hospital - that we would live there, and she would live at home with her grandmas. Needless to say, this idea was making her pretty emotional, and while we had been able to mostly calm her fears, it was still concerning. So we were very thankful to get the report that she woke up happy and stayed happy and peaceful the entire time we were gone! Thank the Lord for all His blessings!