We were so excited to find out that we were expecting another baby. We truly believe that every child is a blessing and absolutely love having a house full of children. It is a busy but joy-filled life. It is especially a blessing for me to watch their relationships with each other develop and observe all of the fun times that they have together. I had hoped and prayed that I would not feel as sick with this pregnancy; however, God answered that prayer with a "no." I was extremely sick for a few months. Fortunately, Sven is such a wonderful spouse & father that he really picked up the extra slack. I am thankful for him, my parents & our friends who helped during that time.
It seems that the kids asked every single day when the baby would arrive. In that sense, it was a VERY LONG nine months! We were happy to hear we would have another little girl. Andrew had originally hoped for a brother, but we explained that God knows what is best for us, even when we don't understand. He is such a wonderful big brother and was always so excited to meet her. Lily really seemed to understand the concept of having another sister while it was sort of a new concept to Caroline and Emma Grace. Lily and I did a school unit on babies and how they develop. She now has a pretty good understanding of what goes on during those nine months. They all loved to see her move in my belly!
Most people who know me know that I am not a fan of hospitals or needles. For this reason, I was so excited to discover Family Beginnings at Miami Valley Hospital. It is a natural birthing center that is actually part of the hospital. It was a little stretching for Sven, but after visiting it, he approved. =) After visiting the facility and speaking with some friends who had delivered there, I was really hoping for a water birth. In order to deliver at Family Beginnings you have to reach 37 weeks. I was a little nervous that this would be an issue since this would be my fifth delivery....this would not be a problem. ;o) 37, 38, 39, and 40 weeks came and went with no indication that she was coming anytime soon. Then I started getting concerned that I would have to be induced and wouldn't be able to deliver at Family Beginnings at all.
Sunday 5/22 I woke up at 2:30am with painful contractions that came consistently every 12 minutes. After a couple of hours I woke up Sven telling him that this was probably it. I called to ask the doctor when I should come to the hospital and asked my parents to come over to watch the kids. I anticipated that the contractions would get closer together pretty quickly...wrong again! I decided to lay down to get a little more rest before labor (a mistake?). They completely stopped by 7:00. I was so discouraged and felt awful for waking everyone. We decided to go ahead and go to church. I told Sven that I needed to stay distracted and couldn't just sit around the house. After church, we visited our friends, the Hendersons, in Cedarville. I continued to have contractions, but nothing regular. After dinner, I had a couple pretty strong ones that made me think I'd like to be a little closer to the hospital. We stayed at home for a couple of hours and the contractions finally started becoming more regular. When they were 6-7 minutes apart, we decided to go to the hospital. We picked up my mom on the way and my dad kept Caroline and Emma Grace.
We arrived at the hospital at about 10pm. At that point I was 4 cm and 90% effaced. I was discouraged and thought it was going to be a long night or that they may even send me home. The nurse suggested walking to see if that would help things pick up a bit. J.J. walked the hospital with me while Sven and Jim watched ESPN.
This certainly helped things move along and the contractions got pretty strong within a short period of time. At that point I was 5-6 cm and the nurse called the doctor to come in and break my water. When the doctor arrived, I was having constant contractions with only 10-20 second breaks - pretty intense! She broke the water and said I was at 6 cm. I immediately got into the water. They said to let them know when I felt like I needed to push. I had one strong contraction in the water. At the end of the next one I said I needed to push. They checked me and I was at 10 cm!! At this point, the strangest thing happened - everything STOPPED. I felt totally fine - no contractions, no urge to push, nothing! My body just gave me a little break. I was able to take a minute to catch my breath, look around the room at some of my favorite people, even laugh - so weird. After a few minutes, the urge to push returned and out came Lucia Hope Raymond.
Wow, what a miracle to be present when someone makes their entrance into the world! Words could never express the feelings that accompany this experience. To hear her cry and hold her in my arms after months of anticipating her arrival and some concern about her health - pure joy! I instantly said, "She's little!" She weighed 6 lbs 13 oz - our smallest baby.
Andrew and Lily were overjoyed. They were well prepared for this experience and were so amazed by it. They watched "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" while I was in labor and fell asleep. They were woken up just as I was getting in the tub. Lily had a hard time waking up. ;o)
I was thrilled to share this experience with my mother and some dear friends. These women had prayed for her throughout the pregnancy and listened to my concerns - it was a blessing to share her birth with them.
We chose the name Lucia Hope for a few reasons. Lucia (loo-see-uh) means "light." Jesus said that He is the light of the world. He then said that his followers were the light as well. Light is the only thing that can pierce the darkness. His light has seen me through many times of darkness. My prayer for Lucy is that she will place her faith in Jesus and that his light will shine in her. I pray that she will help show others the hope and peace that only He can give. Sven and I read "The Chronicles of Narnia" to the children during this pregnancy. Oh how we love these stories!! It's hard not to fall in love with Lucy. Her faith and searching for Aslan easily endear her to the reader.
Emma Grace and Caroline were so excited to meet their new sister. They love to hold her. Emma Grace is so cute when she holds Lucy! She always says, "She has a nose like me. She has two eyes like me. She has lips like me." I love it!
Lucy is so blessed to have one of the best fathers I've ever known! It was so nice to hear his encouraging words in my ear as I delivered her. He loves the Lord and loves his family so well. I am so thankful that she has a father who will love and protect her!
This little girl is so deeply loved. I'm not sure that she has been put down for more than five minutes since she's been born! She is a blessing straight from the hands of our great God and we are so very thankful for her precious life.
