Baby Announcement for Isaac Jonathan

If it weren't for "the MOMYS"...*

I may have never met the woman who very possibly saved my baby's life.

I'm not sure how to be brief with this story, but I will try <smile>. Two
years ago our family attended the MOMYS Retreat in Texas. While there,
our family became friends with another MOMYS family, the S family.
Almost from the very beginning, there was a really neat bond between our
families. We spent a good part of the week doing different activities
together. After the retreat we kept in touch via email and telephone calls.
Our families visited each other a few times and the bond just continued to
strengthen. Jaynie is such an incredibly dear friend to me! Our family was
privileged to be able to be a part of the miracles surrounding the life and
homegoing of their precious little one, Jonathan. His life changed me in so
many ways--I am forever grateful to the Lord that I had a chance to know
him. The Lord has just continued to strengthen the bond between our
families. Jaynie is so much more than just a friend, she's a true sister in
every sense of the word. I thank the Lord so much for her.

Several months ago Jaynie told me that she and Tim had decided that when
the time came for our baby to be born that she wanted to come and be here
for us. What an incredible blessing! Our children love their "Aunt Jaynie"
and I knew we would all be in good hands! So, when I was about to hit that
42 week mark, Jaynie bundled up their blessings and headed to Mississippi
from Texas to be here for us. I could go on and on about how much she and
her children did for us--they are all so neat!

After I passed the *magic* 42 week mark, Jaynie was such a support for
me. When I would get weak, scared, frustrated and overwhelmed, she
would just hug me and reassure me that everything was okay. She would
say "God knows the time for this baby to be born. He knows how this will all
play out. Have faith!" Her support was just so needed--she helped keep
me stable when I wavered.

Okay, now for the best part of the story!

Sunday night I began having a few contractions. One at 5:00, one at 6:00,
etc... until about midnight. They were about every 7-10 minutes but I
wasn't sure if it was *real* labor or not. (Several days before this I had
had six hours of false labor and I think I was just gun-shy.) We decided to
all just go to bed and if it wasn't real labor it would stop. Well, they didn't
stop. They kept getting closer and stronger so a little after 1:00 I got up
to go to the couch and change positions. I woke Jaynie up and asked her to
come to the living room with me. Tony was already up and doing something
upstairs (realized later he was getting the bed ready for the birth). The
contractions were coming stronger and faster and longer and there was
only 2 or 3 minutes between them. Tony, Jaynie and I decided to go ahead
and call the midwives so they could be on their way. Well, the contractions
kept on stronger and faster and it was soon obvious that the midwives
weren't going to make it. Jaynie and Tony were so calm. I was pretty calm.
The whole thing was just kinda surreal. Anyway, back to the story...Jaynie
checked me and I was dilated to 4 around 1:30. I couldn't believe that
labor was so hard and I was only 4! Jaynie was so calm. She said "It's
okay. It's supposed to be like this." She was so reassuring. I guess it was
around 2:35 or so that we made it up to our bedroom. She checked and I
was fully dilated and the water was bulging. She told me to push and the
waters broke.   She then told me to begin pushing. I remember thinking
'It's not time to push' but I did as she said. It never occurred to me to
question her. I think I pushed through four contractions and our son was
born! Tony and Jaynie dried him off quickly, Jaynie suctioned him and laid
him on my chest. It was just the most calm, peaceful feeling. No one was
panicked, it just seemed like the most natural thing. I was still in shock that
I had delivered a baby so quickly though--that took a while to wear off! I
still can't believe how calm my sweet husband was during all of this. He was
the most able assistant and he and Jaynie made such a great team!

Now, why did I say at the beginning that she most probably saved my
baby's life? Well, she told me after all was done that when his head
crowned she saw something across the top of his head. She couldn't tell if
it was the cord over his head or if there was a deformity on his head but
she knew that he had to be born *now*. That's why she instructed me to
push when she did. Turns out it was a varicosity--so no big deal, but listen
to the rest of this story...

When our son was born, Jaynie noticed almost immediately that his cord
was not pulsating. It had evidently separated sometime during the labor.
Our son was born with a blue/purple face but revived quickly. Because
Jaynie didn't recognize what the varicosity was, she had me push him out
very quickly. There's a very good chance that had my midwives been here
they would have recognized the varicosity, not been alarmed by it, and
encouraged a slow, gentle delivery. If the placenta had already detached
and we had had a 'slow, gentle delivery' then our baby could have been
deprived of oxygen for too long. The ifs are just over whelming to me--I
have *no* doubt that the Lord used Jaynie in an incredible way! I get all
teary every time I think about it. Wow--that you Lord and thank you Jaynie
for being such a willing vessel!!

Our seventh child and fifth son, Isaac Jonathan Lewis, first welcomed into
this world--most appropriately--by his "Aunt Jaynie"!!! He weighed in at 8
pounds and 12 ounces and is 20 ¼ inches long. His head was 37 cm--a big
fella!

Thank you Lord!
Thank you Jaynie!
Thank you Tina!
Thank you my dear husband, Tony!!

I am overwhelmed with thankfulness to all of you!

(Our midwives arrived about thirty minutes after Isaac was born so they
got to do all the clean up!! <big smile> I am grateful they arrived when they
did though as they were able to do his assessment and everything. They
were very calm and said they knew it was supposed to happen the way it
did--they felt really peaceful knowing Jaynie was here and they were
confident that everything would be okay!)

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Jaynie's Story...

Funny but I feel like Dana's birth story is just as much mine as hers! So I
thought I would write and tell Isaac's birth story from my vantage point!
After all, I had the better view!! LOL

But, before the actual birth story let me back up and preface it by saying
that really this is much more than just another MOMYS birth story, but,
rather this is a love story of sorts. A story of two MOMYS (and their
families) and their love in Christ for each other.   As Dana said our families
met at a MOMYS retreat and the resulting relationship blossomed from
there. We just "clicked", if you know what I mean.

Our families visited each other a couple of times. Dana and I exchanged
countless emails. The bond deepened. When I went into preterm labor back
in July, her wonderful husband took off work, and they loaded up and came
to be with my children while I was in the hospital. I had planned another
homebirth, but, this was most definitely not what the Lord had planned for
me. I ended up in the hospital with a c-section. We soon found out that our
little baby, Jonathan Enoch, was not ours to keep. The Lord impressed upon
Dana that something was going to be wrong with my baby (weeks before),
and that our relationship up until that time had been nurtured for this
moment of my need.
Dana was pregnant at this time, and I tried so hard to spare her all of the
realities of life with a dying baby- but, it couldn't be done. Dana was
determined to see Jonathan and love him. I kept her from seeing him right
after his birth, however, she returned a few weeks later (a week and a half
before his departure) and was *determined* that she was going to hold and
love this fragile little life. I will never forget walking into my living room and
seeing her holding little Jonathan (oxygen mask and all) and just beaming
with joy. God had prepared her for this moment, and she had complete
peace about it all. This was an incredible gift to me. She was one of the very
few people who actually wanted to hear me talk on endlessly about what I
was going through.

When Jonathan went to be with the Lord, her husband (Tony) presented his
graveside message.

A few weeks later we were talking about her impending birth. She was
planning a homebirth and had midwives lined up, but, didn't have anyone
there for the children if needed. The friend who had been there for her
previous homebirth was unavailable.   I felt the Lord was leading me to be
there for her, so I approached my husband with the possibility. She lives 9+
hours from us, so this was not a small decision. He agreed.

Well, Dana's due date approached and quite honestly I got a bit scared.
After having so recently lost my own baby I was worried about how I would
handle it all. What would I do if I got there and just started crying?? My
dh prayed for me, as well as another friend. So the children and I went on
stand by. Her due date passed and I started carrying the cell phone
everywhere I went :-) Finally at almost 2 weeks post due date we decided
for the children and I to head out for Mississippi.

Whew! I have never been on the dad's end of pregnancy- you know the
waiting and watching end! LOL Let me tell you that it is tough! But, it was
fun! I got to know each of her children as individuals. Dana and I got to
spend hours just sitting on the sofa together talking MOMYS talk! Very fun!

Well, finally at 17 days post due date Dana woke me up at 1:10 am. She was
in quite a bit of pain, and declared that if she were in the hospital that she
would be demanding an epidural. Uh-oh! We just went to bed at 12:40 am
and she had not been in much discomfort. Things were moving quickly. We
had stayed up watching a movie and had left the kitchen in a bit of a mess,
so I went to clean up- but, she needed me to just sit and offer comfort
instead- so I let the kitchen go. A little later, at maybe around 2:30am she
wanted me to check her. She was 9 cm. Oh my! We were in the living room
and she wanted to go to the bedroom- so we started the journey to her
room. We stopped by the bathroom and Dana asked Tony to pray for her.
He prayed for safety for Dana and the baby. I stood in the doorway and
offered up my own prayer to the Lord. I prayed for wisdom, because it was
looking like the midwives were not going to make it. That peace that passeth
all understanding settled over me.
We made it to the bedroom where Tony had gotten the bed all ready for
the birth. Tony and I dug through the birthing supplies getting together
what we thought we would need. Dana asked Tony how far away the
midwives were. Tony (not wanting to alarm Dana) said something
nondefinitive. He then mouthed to me "they're a long way away."

Dana then proclaimed that she was getting a break from the contractions.
The contractions had stopped. Uh oh, I knew what that meant. It was time. I
checked her again and her bag of water was bulging. Her dilation was
complete- there was no cervix left. She commented on feeling sooo much
pressure. So I told her that if she were to bare down just a tad that her
water would break. It did...all over me! LOL

I checked her again, there was Isaac's sweet little head. Full of hair.
Everything felt right. Tony and I continued making sure that we had the
towels and such ready. I checked Dana again and this time something was
different, there was this *thing* across the baby's head. My first thought
was that it must have been a prolapsed cord. What else could it have been,
I thought to myself. So, the wisdom that I asked for from the Lord kicked
in. I told Dana that I wanted her to push a little. She pushed and this thing
stayed over the baby's head. With the next contraction I told her that I
wanted her to push really hard again. Now Tony and I could see the baby's
head- we both saw this reddish tubular thing across the baby's head. It
didn't look like the cord- I knew that would be white. I couldn't imagine
what in the world it could be. But, it was not supposed to be there! A couple
more pushes and out came little Isaac. The tubular thing on his head slipped
off as his head emerged. His head was perfect! He cried a little. His head
was purple and blue. I suctioned him, then Tony and I messaged him and laid
him on Dana's tummy. He was quickly a nice pink color!

At this point I checked the cord, and saw that it wasn't pulsating. Hmmmm.
I thought that I must be wrong. Cords pulsate. I checked it several times.
Thinking I must be missing something (my view of births had always been
from the other end, ya' know! :o) Dana commented that she felt a
"pulsating sensation inside"- I thought (and said) it must be the cord. Now,
I was thinking to myself that if Dana could feel the cord pulsating that I
should be able to feel it as well! I took off my gloves and carefully held the
cord in my hands trying to detect a pulsation. There just wasn't one.

In spite of the weird thing on the baby's head, it really was such a peaceful
birth. All 12 children were sleeping and it was so quiet. Dana was soooo calm.
Tony and I were completely calm and peaceful as well. I felt no fear about
the *thing* on the baby's head- just knew we had to get him out.

Twenty five minutes after Isaac immerged into the world, the midwives
came. The weird tubular thing that I had been concerned about was a
varicosity on Dana. The midwives studied it at great length, at first unsure
what it was. The midwives were able to just pop it right back into place.
They then put an icepack on it. It was the varicosity that Dana had felt
pulsating.

I prayed many, many times for Dana's birth. I prayed that she would have
the birth that I had so wanted a few months prior for myself. God
answered that prayer in such an unseen way- it was a wonderful birth that
two MOMYS got to share.

Tony and Dana named their baby Isaac Jonathan. *Jonathan* after my own
little Jonathan who is now resting not in my arms, but, in those of the Lord.

I love you Dana! Thank you for letting me share in Isaac's blessed birth! I
will forever hold the memory near to my heart.

And thank you dear friend Tina for your ministry to all of us through
MOMYS. None of this would have happened without your sacrifice of time in
moderating this precious list, and organizing your *retreats*.

To God Be the Glory!
Jaynie
wife to Tim
Mama to Lauren, Rebecca, Erik, Emily, Amber, Daniel & Jonathan Enoch
(safely resting in the arms of Jesus)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~