Unremarkable beauty

It has been a while since my last post, and much has transpired between now and then. I didn't have time for blogging since we were in the final weeks before Natalie's arrival. We finally completed the nursery just in time for her birth, and I may share a post about the nursery at a later time, but first things first.

We are now officially a family of three. Our beautiful Natalie was born via c-section and weighed 7 lbs., 13 oz. and was 20.5 inches long. Her lungs, just like the rest of her, are strong and she greeted us immediately with loud cries. She has already earned herself a nickname -- Squeaky. When she cries hard, she makes a little squeak sound. It is beyond adorable! We noticed it first thing, but it was actually one of the nurses who first called her Squeaky.

A lot of women have remarkable stories of pregnancies and deliveries. However, what makes Natalie so remarkable is just how unremarkable her nine month preparation for birth turned out to be. This is the part worth sharing.

I am amazed at how strong Natalie is. I believe with all of my heart that the strength God placed within her is what led her safely and soundly on her journey to my arms. I was told early on in the pregnancy that Natalie would likely end up in NICU and that the doctors would be happy if I could at least make it to 36 weeks before having to deliver her. As far back as the first trimester, based on the potential risks the doctors explained to me, I feared the worst and prepared myself for the possibility of Natalie being born way too early and having to fight for her life. I was high risk for pre-eclampsia (due to chronic high blood pressure) and gestational diabetes. And though I did in fact develop gestational diabetes, it was not until about 28 weeks, and the doctors expected me to develop it much sooner. Twenty-eight weeks is around the standard time most women develop it anyway.

According to the medical field, Natalie shouldn't have arrived as a healthy little baby. Fortunately, God doesn't work for the medical field! It is by His grace alone that Natalie never saw one moment in NICU and was delivered a few days before her estimated due date without any problems. It brings joyful tears to my eyes when I think about all the times throughout my pregnancy when I worried over whether or not we would have to deliver her early and how God had it all under control every step of the way. We were already having monthly ultrasounds since high blood pressure can cause the baby to grow more slowly than normal. After I developed gestational diabetes and was insulin dependent, I was warned of the risk that issue raises of the baby being stillborn. At that time, we moved from monthly ultrasounds to weekly ones, called a biophysical profile, where Natalie needed to pass eight criteria. Once this began, we also had weekly non-stress tests to monitor Natalie's heart rate and movements. And with all of the precautionary measures, Natalie was doing well every single time, every visit! She passed all of the non-stress tests and scored an 8 out of 8 on all of her biophysical profiles, and she was right where she needed to be every time with her growth. Despite all the concern for potential problems, it was a mostly uneventful pregnancy.

I had prepared myself a long time ago for a c-section delivery. I felt in my heart that she would arrive a few weeks early by c-section. However, I was expecting the c-section to be the result of pre-eclampsia and not simply failure to progress, which is not dangerous like pre-eclampsia is. Natalie was our little fighter -- even when my blood pressure kept dropping and dropping during labor, her heart rate stayed strong. The epidural caused my blood pressure to drop to around 75/30, and the nurse had to call the anesthesiologist to get authorization to give me more meds when she had unsuccessfully exhausted the amount she was allowed to give. Despite this, Natalie wasn't impacted by the major change in blood pressure. When it was finally stabilized again, and we realized that I was still dilated at 5 cm after several hours, we decided it was best to proceed with a c-section while Natalie and I were both still doing well.

Not too long after that, our precious Natalie took her first breaths as she was welcomed into our world. Everyone always says how babies are miracles, and I realize even more so now just how true that is. It is amazing how God allows us to experience the joy of such tiny miracles. I don't know why God decided to pour out His grace on Natalie and on us, but every time I look into her sweet eyes, I will be reminded of His great blessing and thank Him for giving me the honor and privilege of being the mother to such a special little girl. Natalie's story could have easily had a different ending if God had willed it. But I am so thankful He decided to give us such an unremarkable, yet beautiful, experience these past nine months that resulted in a tiny child who lights up our lives in a way nothing else can.

 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." - Jeremiah 1:5