Bo

In the summer of 2002, with our beautiful baby, Luke, we traveled to Ohio for 3 months while Daddy did projects all around the area.  We stayed with my Grandparents for the whole time.

While we were in Ohio we decided to visit Daddy's aunt Beth, she lived in Chicago.  So off to the big city we went.  Beth had a 13 month old son and Luke was 10 months, so we had a great time.  Beth was like a mentor to me, she was a mother of 4 a stay home wife a home school teacher an avid breast feeder, everything I wanted to be.  When Beth started asking us about if we wanted any more children, I was simply overwhelmed, not because things were hard with Luke but I truly felt like he was our gift and that was it,door closed story over.  The Doctor had told me to be very happy that I had never experienced the loss so many other woman feel with PCOS and to enjoy my son, he was probably the only one we could have...

So I tearfully explained to Beth that I don't think we can have more, I don't want to lose a baby and God did give us one.  Beth just would not hear any of it!  She said "Honey, Satan is lying to you, not only will God give you your hearts desires he will and can heal you, he died on the cross to free you from your sins and to heal you".  Now this was a new concept God heal me, I had never really prayed for healing, see PCOS is treatable not curable.  

We went to church with Beth on Wednesday night, Wednesday night is a prayer service, at the end of the service I went up and I asked for prayer for healing, a group of people came around me and all prayed for healing for my body.  It was very different from the Contemporary Baptist church I went to that's for sure!  The church was filled with at least 400-500 people large church.  At the very end we wanted to shake hands with the pastor and tell him thank you for a lovely message.  As I approached him he took my hand and my husbands and instantly said, can I pray for you, now let me tell you I was feeling a bit uncomfortable, I had never met him and this whole very charismatic thing was new for me, I don't know much about prophecy and have never been a part of anything like this but we said sure, not knowing what to expect...

At that moment he said God wants you to know he is going to heal your womb and you will have children.  I instantly saw a silhouette of 4 children, the tears came with out warning and uncontrollable for Daddy and I.  He went on to tell Daddy you will be used in a mighty way and many more things, and many more wonderful, God inspired things.

It was very euphoric, and for the first time other than when I excepted Christ as my Savior, I had true faith.  Faith like none other, faith that the God of all creation could choose in his infinite wisdom to heal me and give me children, make me a mother of many...  I believed God was going to heal me.  I believed we were going to have children.  I had Faith.

The third week of July, I started my period.  I had never in my life had a real period with out medically inducing one.  I knew, I am well, God is healing me.   October of 2002 we started the Purpose driven Life with our small group at church.  During this study God spoke to us both and we knew it was time to have another child and time to share our story.  We told our small group about the service at Beth's church back in July, we shared our new faith that God had healed me and we told them we were trying to have a baby.  Our group just gathered around us and prayed right then for God to bless us with another child!

I found out I was pregnant on Nov. 22, 2002.  It was 6:20 in the morning and unlike all the other times I had taken pregnancy tests this time I just knew!  Daddy and Luke were laying in our bed while I went into the bathroom and took the test, I came out of the bathroom and I don't think I could even speak for a minute which is a very unlikely event around here I rarely shutup...  I looked at Daddy and said I'm pregnant, God healed me!  We laid in our bed holding our sweet boy and we prayed and thanked God!  The next week we had a Dinner at church and shared what was happening in our life after reading the Purpose Driven Life, I was asked to speak, I was able to stand up in front of our church and tell them my purpose was to be a wife and mother, that I been given the gift of healing and that I indeed was pregnant.  I will never forget the gasps I said those words and people clapping!  I was making this Gods story not my story which made it so much more special!

Now my pregnancy with Bo was very different from my pregnancy with Luke, I wasn't scared, I was healed, happy and healthy.  I had no irrational fears, I had peace.  I enjoyed all the tiredness and napped with Luke everyday.

I had an unquenchable desire for broccoli and corndogs with mayo, nasty I know!

At 15 weeks I started feeling him kicking and rolling, that's one of my favorite parts!  At 17 weeks Daddy felt Bo kick.  At 19 weeks my Mother and Grandmother came for a visit, we wanted them to come for the ultrasound.  We found out at 20 weeks that we were having another boy.  We couldn't have been happier!  Being an only child I really wanted Luke to have a best friend!  Daddy is the oldest of 4 and he and his younger brother are very close and so I wanted that for Luke, we were so excited!

At 6 months pregnant we decided to move, you know the logical thing to do being 6 months pregnant, put your house on the market and have to keep it vacuumed upstairs and down each and every single day not to mention all the other things that must remain spotless all the while chasing a 20 month old toddler around...

We wanted to move to the next town over to be closer to our church, we were both in youth ministry and we were going to be part of a church plant.  Our house sold and we found another house we were scheduled to move into our house July 27, my due date was July 28th.  Just a little pressure.  

I again was gestational diabetic, so at  37 weeks and 6 days we had an ultrasound to see how big our boy was measuring.  I had been dilated to a 3 from 36 weeks and at this visit I was a 4, my hips were really hurting and I was just a little over being pregnant!  I think packing and walking everyday didn't help much!  So at the ultrasound Bo looked to be over 8 pounds.  The Doctor said lets have a baby tomorrow!  TOMORROW!

We had everything planed for my Aunt Dana to fly to our house to be at the birth and to stay with Luke, so when I called and said "Tomorrow" it was crazy!  She was working in New York City at the time, Dana is a Travel Agent, not a magician but she pulled some strings did a magic dance, waved her hands in the air and made it happen!  We arranged for my best friend Susan's mom to watch Luke so Daddy, Dana and Susan could be with me while I gave birth.  

I was admitted into the hospital at around 9am.  We established that I was not having contractions so they gave me pitocin and with in an hour, I started having some real good ones.  At 11:30 Dana, got there, I was go glad to see her, she had never seen a baby be born before and this was really important to me and to her!  When Luke was born Dana had just moved to NY and our relationship was strained due to our miles apart.  I was a first time freaked out Mom and I asked her not to come...  I know I broke Dana's heart, she wanted to witness Luke's birth, but in my clear mind and all, I didn't want house guests, I wanted only Daddy and I to BOND with our baby so I asked her to come see him later.  Anyway, Dana being at Bo's birth was more than important for me, I needed her to be there, she is my best friend and I was so sorry she missed our first child, all forgiven for the past she couldn't wait to be with us for the birth of our second child.

So right about the time she got to the hospital, I started hurting, really hurting.  Now I am not a screamer, or a groaner, not that that isn't a great way to handle pain, what ever works while giving birth is fine by me.  I am loud all the other time, but surprisingly while in extreme pain, I bury my head in daddy's chest and have to be reminded to breath!  At that point with the pain, I called for an epidural.  I got the epidural and I felt like a new woman, for about 10 minutes that is.  Suddenly and Urgently I needed to push, I really needed to push, a feeling I never felt this with Luke, they told me to push with him, I felt it with Bo.

I told the nurse I need to push she checked me and said the baby is crowning, and she then told me the most shocking thing my ears have ever heard, that woman told me the doctor was delivering an other baby and I needed to close my legs, I must wait.  WHAT @#$%#%*#%*#*$  I was not having that, I need to push, She CLOSED MY LEGS...  This is really not a nice thing to do to a woman who has a basket ball coming out of her!

I told my sweet husband to go to the end of the table, the nurse was yelling for the Doctor, She kept trying to explain that the hospital doesn't like for nurses to deliver babies it's a lot of paper work.  All I hear is lalala la lalala the Doctor won't get paid if I do this keep you legs closed lalala la lalala!  I again said go to the end of the table, My sweet husband was still acting hearing impaired he is not hearing me, I get louder, I Need To Have This BABY, GO TO THE END OF THE TABLE!  At that moment the Doctor slides in and he has the nerve to stop an put shoe covers on, I said some thing  nice like   whocaresaboutyourstupidshoesI'llbuyyounewonesjustgetoverhere!

I roll on to my back push one, his head comes out push two, the rest of him comes out!  He was laid on my chest, I kissed him and hugged him, he cried instantly which is such a wonderful sound to a new mothers ears!

It was very different with Bo, the birthing team was taking care of the other woman who had just given birth, and we got to hold him longer and, Daddy got to help clean him up, I liked this better, with no birthing team we felt more in control.

Bo weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long.  He came in to the world on July 16th, 2003 at 1:15pm on a Wednesday.  Just like his big brother he was a great nurser, and he was nursing with in 15 minutes of being born, probably because the birth team was busy and we got to do it our way!  It was a wonderful birth, except for the fact the nurse tried to stop me.

Dana was the first to notice that Bo just like his big brother and his Mama has a dimple in his chin.  I will never forget the look on Daddy's face, he was so happy, and Dana was crying right along with us, witnessing birth is such a miracle, a gift...