Happy Birthday, Nathan!

Seven years. I can hardly believe it. My baby turns seven on Thursday.

After Joshua was born (see previous post), Chris sat next to me, took my hand and whispered in my ear "I love you so much. If Joshua is our only child, it will be okay."

I just looked at him with my tired smile and squeezed his hand.

Thinking of having another baby was the least on my agenda.

Joshua did come home 10 days after being in the hospital. We enjoyed him so much. And we loved watching him grow.

When he was three years old, Chris looked at me and said "Maybe we can do this again."

At first, I was hesitant. I didn't think I could do that again. Everything about it scared me.

Chris said that we would be more "watchful" this time. Ask more questions. Make sure the doctors were checking everything. Not letting anything go.

And then we started praying.

We rejoiced when God answered our prayer.

His answer was to bless us with another miracle.

The pregnancy went well. I so enjoyed feeling the baby kick. My cousins threw me a baby shower. It all seemed to be going fairly well.

I was nearing my due date and had a doctor's appointment. Chris was with me. Everything seemed fine except I wasn't progressing. Seems the baby wasn't ready to come yet.

Considering my history, the doctor sent me for an ultrasound to measure the baby. After we found out it was another boy, we discovered that he was alreay over 9 pounds! "Let's schedule a c-section."

Those words alone freaked me out. It was the last thing I wanted to hear. I began praying. I just wanted a healthy baby and an easy delivery.

Confident that God would walk us through every step of the way, we scheduled it for the following Tuesday.

I woke up that morning and got myself ready. My friend was over to watch Joshua for us. She had encouraging words for me. My cousins and my aunt called me to tell me that everything would be fine. My mom called and said she would meet us there. My mother-in-law called and said she was on her way.

Chris took me by the hand and we left for the hospital.

I got settled in my room. I put a gown on. They hooked me up to the blood pressure machine. They put fetal monitors on my tummy. They started an IV. The doctor came in to give me a spinal tap. And then it was time to be wheeled into the operating room.

"How ya doin'?" Chris asked.

I smiled at him. "A little nervous, but okay."

I was put on the table and prepped. At any moment, I was ready for the pain or the news that the baby's heart rate dropped. But none of that happened.

GOD IS SO GOOD!!

Soon, my baby boy, all 10 pounds of him, was shown to me. I looked at Chris and he had that dopey "I'm a father" look on his face. I looked at our baby and was in awe at what God had done for us.

Happy birthday, Nathan Samuel.