Molding Into A Mama: Part 1

     I am grateful for our birth experience.  It truly was a gift from God--sought fervently.  I cannot tell you how often we were in prayer before the Lord.  Here is my story...

     Dear and I had been begging God for children for a decade, when, (surprise!), He amazingly answered!  I had to test four different times, just to verify the results.  Each time came back positive!

     To say we were flabbergasted would be an understatement.   Many would have expected me to be giddy; indeed, some were concerned when I did not "leap for joy."  I was just too stunned to be giddy.  In all honest transparency, I had resigned myself to the idea that it would never happen.

     I was also overwhelmed.  God now saw fit to entrust me, me, with a living soul...He answered my prayers...He gave me a blessing, far beyond any other earthly blessing one could receive (save my marriage).  Yes, I was undone.

     We had wanted to wait to share the news, around Thanksgiving-time.  We had just learned the news ourselves, a couple of weeks prior.  We knew I was not that far along; maybe a few weeks.  However, we were just itching to tell the whole world!

     So, yes, you guessed it:  we did not wait.  I think we lasted a few days, though!  Everyone was just as shocked as we were.  I think after a few years of asking us when we were going to have children, with the regular answer of "Whenever the Lord sees fit," most folks were just as resigned to our infertile state as we were.  Some were so shocked, that they questioned our certainty of the matter.  "Trust me," I replied.  "I could have bought stock in pregnancy tests, and we would have been wealthy, with all the tests I tried over the years."

     Alas, a child!  We did not care if we were twelve weeks along in the pregnancy, or five.  We wanted everyone to stand in awe of our Heavenly Father with us!

     Immediately, I began conferring with local folks for a midwife.  When we lived in the Pacific Northwest, I had already planned it all.  I knew where I would go, if I were ever blessed with a child out there.  However, having only moved to our new abode in the Southeast months earlier, (having a child really was the furthest thing on our mind), I was scrambling.  I had briefly researched the kind of maternity care available in our area, and it was not how I envisioned progressing through a pregnancy.

     My preferred choice was a home birth.  Having been blessed, for many years, at witnessing that kind of model, (as well as a more natural approach to healthcare in general), in the Pacific Northwest, I was determined to do the best I could given our circumstances.

     I acquiesced to my husband, who was not quite up to the idea of a home birth (especially for our first experience), and contacted the CNM (Certified Nurse Midwife) in our area.  One of his coworkers recommended this lady, too, as his wife had used her.  However, when I contacted the office for which she was listed, I was informed of her recent retirement.  Not wanting to use the standard model of care, unless necessary, the only option left for us was the local CPM (Certified Professional Midwife).

     I must tell you, what may seem easy to others, is not so easy for someone else.  For us, (especially myself), looking for someone to assist you in one of the most intimate times of life, is no simple task.  You not only are seeking to entrust your welfare into this person's care, but that also of your unborn child.  Add to that burden the fact that we were outlanders, who were just starting to work on rebuilding their life, and this situation called for much faith in God.  With much prayer, and seeking to trust the Lord in all these matters, I contacted her...