Happy 3rd Birthday, James Isaac!

Have I told you the story of James Isaac's birth? Thought I would use this momentous occasion to do so! Psalm 139:13-16 tells us "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I will praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hid from you when I was in that secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book, before one of them came to be." I think throughout both of my pregnancies, and the 2 miscarriages, I trusted in these scriptures, and clung to them with my whole heart. I knew that God's plan was perfect, even when I could not understand. After two miscarriages back to back, I was terrified every step of the way when I was carrying Isaac. And while I knew the scripture, and I trusted God, I struggled to see His perfect plan sometimes.

With Samuel, the doctors let me carry him to 36 weeks, and as soon as an aminio showed his little lungs could hold their own, they induced. At 36 weeks, and 1 day, Samuel was a whopping 7 lbs 14.5 ozs. It is a known fact that a diabetic's baby should be large, due to the fact that my body feeds him extra glucose, the baby grows fatter, faster. With Isaac, the 36 week amnio showed that his lungs were not quite ready. My heart sank. I knew that in two more weeks, at 38 weeks, he would be too big for me to deliver on my own, and I would have to have a c-section. I also knew that I had really struggled with my blood sugars in the 3rd trimester, more than I had with Samuel, which meant he was destined to be a bigger baby anyhow. So, at 38 weeks, they started the induction, with plans to stop at any given moment when the doc decided he was too big to deliver. But, that never happened.

James Isaac arrived on January 9, 2008 at a little after 1 pm. The nurse took him to the scale and announced he was 6 lbs. 10 oz! Dr. Lawhon spun around in his chair and I sat up in amazement! How did THAT happen? When he turned back around and delivered the placenta, the nurse gasped, and the doc said," WOW!" He held up the umbilical cord that was a complete knotted mess. Terror ran through me and I started blurting out questions. What does that mean? Is he going to be OK? Will there be brain damage? The doc looks at me and says, "April, if his heart is beating now, he's going to be fine." He went on to explain that the knots were not pulled tight enough to stop circulation. Had that baby been a HALF A POUND bigger, the cord would have pulled tight enough to stop circulation, and stop his heart. A half a pound! He was supposed to be at LEAST 10 pounds with all the circumstances, and there he was, screaming his little 6 pound, 10 ounce head off. How does that happen?

It didn't just HAPPEN. We serve a mighty God who knit that precious child together in my womb, and protected him every step of the way. He is fearfully, and wonderfully made...and I am one BLESSED girl to have him call me Mommy. What joy he brings to our lives! Happy Birthday, James Isaac!