Welcome Isaiah Joseph!

Sing with me!:

On the blog again! I just couldn’t wait to get on the blog again! Sharing stories with my friends – I just couldn’t wait to get on the blog again!

I use to blog regularly when I was on MySpace – don’t know why I quit. I have procrastinated on doing anything with this blog for some time but I just can’t contain myself anymore! I don’t have spare time for blogging but declaring the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord is worth setting aside time for. He has been SO GOOD!

Praise the Lord – Isaiah Joseph Fecher was born Wednesday, April 11th, at 3:48pm after my most excruciating labor, yet! Baby number E-L-E-V-EN weighed in at 7 pounds, 1 ounce and 21 inches long – my smallest baby, thus far. He was also my first baby that was on time (due date was the 12th) – everybody else, save my first, has been overdue. I told everybody to look towards the 20th but here he is and he is gorgeous!

So, in the movie, Cheaper By the Dozen, the mom is interviewed and states that, after the sixth, they just walk out." Well, my friends, just ask any mom of many and she will tell you that is just not true. The uterus gets tired, Alzheimer’s even. It can’t always remember what it’s suppose to be doing. My womb still has it, though, because uterus and I decided a crowing head wasn’t enough after being in labor 3 days; we shoved little Isaiah’s whole body out. I just wanted to be done! I had a "unique" pain this time that wasn’t a part of labor. Isaiah was elbowing me causing a constant pain "down south" that radiated through my lower abdomen. By the time I was pushing, the pain went all the way around me causing nasty back labor. We know, now, that it was his right elbow as he keeps putting his right hand up by his ear with his elbow out, the little stinker. It’s not all his fault; his cord was under his arm which, of course, caused heart deceleration issues during contractions. My midwife had to call in back up "just in case." He also came out in his sack (I have the thickest membranes ever) so they had to rip that off real quick so he wouldn’t aspirate the fluid. Oh, and did I mention I had a pregnancy rash? First time in 11 pregnancies. Never heard of it? I hadn’t either – see itchymom.com. It’s for real and comes in so many varieties to choose from! I’m thankful mine wasn’t as bad as some ladies.

Needless to say, this pregnancy and birth has been a spiritual growth experience. I have prayed for years to get my "spiritual gift" of complaining under control. I whined for awhile when the itch first kicked in but just had to get used to it. I read Supernatural Childbirth and the idea of a pain-free childbirth experience sounded incredibly enticing! Oh, how I prayed. Learning not to question God was another growth opportunity as it became apparent that my labor was going to, indeed, be painful. I figured God, the Creator of the Universe, was still in control and I’ve been through this before. Then THE PAIN started causing difficulty in even walking. My hips are still messed up – time for the chiropractor. The pain was SO HARD to push against and my midwife and friend had me breathing through the "pushy" contractions while she waited for the other midwife to show up. I was in so much pain I would start crying which caused my DH and mom to cry which worried my 4 older daughters who were with us. But what a blessing when my buddy, Nan, stopped everybody to pray and they held hands around the bed and covered me with prayer. I was in pain but not worried. This birth was as much a miracle as a pain-free birth because Craig and I had come to a place of despair and could turn nowhere but the Lord. I could not request an epidural or a c-section for a quick rescue (although I knew we had a gun in the garage attic for hunting and thought about asking Craig to go get it) ;o) As Craig said, this was the "prayinest " we’ve been through. He prayed over me the whole time.

If we had been at the hospital, they would have pumped me full of pitosin (sp.?) and my midwife confirmed that they would have panicked and rushed me in for a c-section which would have been unnecessary. I know there ARE times when it is necessary but this wasn’t one of them and the euphoria we experienced when he was delivered just would not have been as sweet.

This is long enough for now. I’ll come back later with the hysterical things my little ones have said.

BTW, Isaiah means "God is my Salvation" or "God is my Helper". We picked these names out 2 years ago and could not remember the meanings. So, we had a good laugh when we found that Joseph means "an addition" or "God multiplies!" How fitting for #11!

Join me in welcoming my new son, Isaiah Joseph. Thank You, God!