Our Perfect Christmas Gift

*This is the birth story of Judah Benjamin. I decided to write this story not only so that I could share it with family and friends, but also so that I would have a detailed account of this amazing day! It is long, but if you are interested, grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!

Judah Benjamin arrived at 12:24pm on Christmas Day after over 9 hours of labor. He weighed 6.9 lbs and was 18 inches long. He was the PERFECT Christmas gift from God. This is a Christmas we will never forget. Here is how it all happened...

Christmas Eve looked like a normal night for us. We joined my in-laws for some soup and then came home to play a quick game of Payday. I had a short period of braxton-hicks contractions (I had them nightly for almost two weeks prior to his arrival), but we went to bed as usual assuming that this was not the night (we joked about him being a Christmas baby but we didn't really think he would come on Christmas).

I woke up at 2:00am with obvious contractions. Again, this didn't alarm me right away because I'd woken up with braxton-hicks many nights. I got up and tried to sway from side to side to make them go away. Then, I tried to lay back down like I had done many nights before. As soon as I laid down, the contractions seemed to intensify. It was at this moment that I knew I could be in labor. I let Nathan know that I was having some intense contractions, but I told him to stay in bed because I knew that if I was in labor, he was going to need the rest. I went into our living room and tried several different positions to ease the contractions, but nothing seemed to work. I decided I should try to time the contractions. Funny thing was that despite all of our birth preparations, I couldn't seem to find a watch with a second hand, so I had to wake Nathan to help me search for a watch with a second hand. Thankfully, we found an old watch tucked away in a drawer. I told Nathan to lay back down and I went in the living room to try to distract myself by watching some tv as I timed contractions. After about 30 minutes of timing the contractions, I realized that they were 6-7 minutes apart and lasted about a minute. At this point, I was pretty sure that I was in labor, so I woke Nathan to let him know. He got up and took over timing the contractions. After timing the contractions for another 30 minutes, we confirmed that I was indeed in labor. My contractions were consistently 6-7 minutes apart and were intensifying despite my walking, swaying, and changing positions.

It was around 3:30am when we decided to call our doula to seek her advice. After talking with us and listening to my breathing through a contraction, she suggested I get in the bath. I had planned on using the tub during early labor so I was excited to get in the warm water. My tub time was the absolute sweetest time. I listened to worship music, prayed, meditated on the word, laughed with Nathan, and shed many tears of joy. Nathan and I even exchanged Christmas gifts in between contractions. We laughed as we ripped through the wrapping paper, knowing that we only had 5 minutes until another painful contraction. After over two hours in the tub (and lots of hot water refills) and over an hour of consistent 1 minute contractions 4-5 minutes apart, Nathan told me that I had to get out of the tub. Needless to say, I did not want to get out of the tub. The contractions were of course painful, but I was enjoying the tub time so much that I didn't want it to end. I wept as Nathan helped me out of the tub. My tears were a mixture of excitement and a grieving of my time at home ending.

As soon as I got out of the tub the contractions seemed to intensify and I felt very lightheaded. After a few minutes and some motivational speaking from my dear husband, I finally got dressed and we were on our way to the hospital. When we arrived at the hospital around 6:30am, a nurse showed us to our room. I tried to make a little joke with the nurse about working on Christmas, but she was not in the mood. I prayed that she would have a more tender heart towards me even though it was indeed Christmas. My friends and I had been praying that I would have a nurse that was not only tolerant but supportive of natural birth. After my short interaction with this nurse, I was a little concerned that this was not going to be the case. That was until the nurse entered the room and let us know that another nurse would be taking over for the day shift. The other nurse walked in with the biggest smile on her face. She looked at Nathan and I and said, "Isn't it so special to be having a Christmas baby". She then said that she had both of her children naturally, so it was definitely possible to give birth naturally. I looked at Nathan with a smile on my face and thanked God for his faithfulness. He gave us the absolute BEST nursing staff, which made all the difference.

My awesome doula arrived shortly after our arrival. Despite it being Christmas morning, she came ready to joyfully and humbly serve me (she is truly heaven sent). She put both Nathan and I at ease as she discussed the progression of my labor and comfort positions. The nurse checked me and discovered I was 4.5 cm's and 90% effaced (I was almost 4 cm's and 80% effaced on Monday). My contractions were coming quicker and intensifying, so I knew my labor was progressing. At this point, I was still in the mood for small talk and seemed to be managing my contractions with rhythmic breathing. My doula had me try a couple different positions to keep my labor progressing. Eventually, I got on the birthing ball, which seemed to really get things going.

At around 9:00 am, I got up to use the restroom and my water broke. This was another answer to prayer! I had prayed that my water would break naturally so that I wouldn't have to decide whether to have the nurse break my water. Once my water broke, the nurse checked me and discovered I was at 6 cm's. Almost immediately, my contractions became VERY INTENSE. The intensity really caught me off guard. My rhythmic breathing techniques were no longer working. The contractions were coming quick and lasting longer. I was in the heat of labor and it was TOUGH (this is not a strong enough word). My doula informed me that this was probably the last opportunity to get an epidural. She let me know that it was completely my choice and supported me either way. I looked at Nathan and my sister-in-law with tears in my eyes and said, "It is really hard." They both looked at me and reassured me that it was my choice and they supported me in my decision. Some of me really wanted to the epidural, but I just wasn't ready to let go of my natural birth experience. My doula could sense this and told me that we would try another position and then I could make a decision. Thankfully, my labor progressed so quickly that I couldn't even think of asking for an epidural. I was in the heat of labor and all of my energy was focused on survival (that's right, I said survival).

One hour after my water broke, the nurse checked me and discovered I was at 9 cm's. I had went from a 6 to a 9 in an hour! AMAZING! At this point, I was in complete surrender and desperation mode. I could do NOTHING except call on the name of Jesus! I can honestly say that anger was not an emotion I experienced, only desperation. I was desperate for comfort from the Father! I was desperate for my baby to come out so that I could look at his precious face! The next two hours were the most painful hours of my life (I am not exaggerating), but as I look back on this time, it was also such a special time for those of us in the room. My husband held me tightly and prayed that God would give me strength. My doula called on the name of Jesus and assured me that God was in the room. My sister-in-law humbly served and encouraged me. I begged God in a way that I have never begged him before! We were all SO desperate for God's power! We all knew he was the only one who could comfort me.

After finding out I was at a 9, the nurses started insisting that Judah was face down (OP). We are not sure if he was truly OP, but one thing was for sure, he was stuck. I was already feeling like I wanted to push at this point, but the nurses told me that I couldn't push until I was at a 10. This was NOT what I wanted to hear. Finally after a few short minutes, a nurse technician with a lot of experience in natural birth walked in the room determined to help me get Judah out! Her country voice demanded that I must get on my hands and knees and rock back and forth in order to get this baby out. My first response was, "I can't", but I could tell she meant business and before I knew it, I was on my hands and knees trying to push Judah out. It was completely exhausting and while God didn't take away my pain, he certainly gave me the strength to continue because I know that at this point, my flesh had nothing left. After pushing for 2 hours, our sweet Judah Benjamin came into this world. They placed his small body on my chest and I felt IMMEDIATE RELIEF! As if in an automatic response, my hands fell to my sides in an upward position as I praised God for this precious gift! All I could say was "thank you God, thank you God!"

On Christmas Day of 2009, I found out what sacrifice truly means! I discovered what it means to be truly desperate for God. I experienced a sweetness with my husband that I have never felt before. I now look at him with a deeper level of respect and love. I also experienced what I've heard so many talk about, the immediate love of a mother for her child.

Now at home, I am learning that I am truly weak! Apart from God, I can't do this motherhood thing, but thankfully God is faithful! Our love for His precious gift is unmeasurable! Please continue to pray!