We first saw the house before running to a weekend getaway and last minute babymoon in Bellingham for a marriage conference. At the time I was 8 months pregnant. Following the call to Eric’s new job offer, we hurriedly planned this house hunting trip. Eric and I had no idea that this would be the house that we would lay down roots in; and Lord willing, the child within me would be brought home to. The house stood at the end of a cul-de-sac in a quiet neighborhood near the top of a hill. The house was not large and would need quite a bit of prettying as it was very outdated inside but the property was large enough for the Calvin to run barefoot on, build forts in the woods and even had a place to build a treehouse in the tall trees. The property backed up to a green belt where a creek ran through it. This home was a dream come true. I didn’t know it at the time but I had arrived at both the beginning and end of a journey.
In my dream come true, we moved into our new home the day after Christmas and nearly 9 months pregnant. Reminding myself that Mary the mother of Jesus had it much harder than I did. Eric tried to brighten my spirits by gallantly carrying me across the threshold with efforts to renew my vision of making this our place of heaven on earth. I knew that it would take several years to do so.
Eric came along to my last midwife appointment before my due date. My midwife Nancy checked me and much to my disappointment I showed no signs of labor and was told to prepare myself for being overdue this time as opposed to my previous experience being 3 days early with Calvin. I left her house nervous and anxious because Eric was scheduled to leave for training in Phoenix in two weeks for his new job. Afterwards, we went out to lunch and Eric prayed before our meal that I would trust God in His timing of the birth of our daughter.
The next morning at 5 am, on January 11th, I was awakened by contractions. Eric roused soon after from hearing my effort to breathe through the constant wave of contractions which I was trying to manage sleeping in between. He asked if I was okay and soon rolled over and fell back asleep, tired out from painting the night before. After it became impossible to manage the discomfort lying in bed, I moved to the bathroom as my body was clearly preparing itself for birth. Eric woke up again later after hearing me labor from there, and decided to go ahead and call the midwife and my mother. My contractions continued to break in waves as my Mom rushed over to stay at our house with Calvin. When she arrived, we loaded up in the car to drive over to my midwife’s house. It was about a 30 minute drive to Nancy’s house and as we exited the highway and started on the windy country roads, my labor started to take a lull. As Eric and I were chatting I remember exactly what bend in the road when Georgia dropped, and unbeknownst to me I was experiencing the “rest and be thankful stage” which sometimes occurs after full dilation and before the urge to push. I told Eric that I felt like I could finally breathe since the acid reflux in my throat which had been nearly constant the last two months was gone. We both laughed!
After we pulled into Nancy’s driveway, Eric helped me out of the car. With my contractions returning, I tucked my arm into his and counted the driveway steps leading in; each step closer to meeting our daughter. Nancy greeted us at the door and motioned for me to get onto the bed. She checked my dilation and to everyone’s surprise she announced that I was ready to start pushing! Eric and I both laughed out loud and I proclaimed “you’ve got to be kidding me!” since it had been less than 3 hours since I had felt that first contraction. After breaking my water, Nancy left me to push on my own as she went to make a phone call to cancel her appointment that morning. But only moments after hanging up the phone, Eric shouted “I can see her head!” and Georgia slipped out into his arms. She was placed on my chest, skin to skin. Perhaps nothing can compare to that moment of pure relief, joy, disbelief and overwhelming love all at once.
And in that euphoric moment I exclaimed repeatedly with joy and laughter, “oh she is just so beautiful!”
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