Birth Stories - Ezra

I will be the first to say that everything about Ezra's start in life surprised us! Just finding out we were expecting him was a HUGE surprise - Isaac was only 10.5 months old, and we not yet at that point convicted about allowing the Lord to take His rightful place in our marriage regarding fertility, so in other words, we were actually trying to avoid becoming pregnant! But the Lord's timing is perfect, and so Ezra entered the world (and boy, are we ever thankful!).

Ezra's due date was August 17, 2002. It had been a fun pregnancy, as my sister-in-law was also pregnant with her second and due the same month (our first borns are 6 months apart). We've very much enjoyed the times we've been pregnant together. On August 4, our family had a joint baby shower for us, and I remember standing in the kitchen with my brother-in-law, saying "I bet this one will be late, I don't feel like I'll ever give birth!" I had no warning signs or notions that birth was much sooner than I expected...

Around 1 am the next morning, I was tossing and turning with lower back pain. I would find a position that would seem comfortable, but after a few minutes, the discomfort would return. So I'd find a new position, get comfortable... and after a few minutes, be in pain again. This went on for an hour before the thought occurred to me that the pattern of pain didn't seem so much connected to what position I was trying to sleep in - it seemed alot more... regular, almost like contractions! So I got out of bed and puttered around the house for a bit and the on and off again pain didn't change, and my suspicions began to grow. Looking back, I can see why I was a little slow on the idea - first, because it was 12 days early, but also because I expected it to be very predictable, like Isaac's had been. I've since learned that each labor and is totally different!

I went back to bed, and just like with Isaac's birth, when Michael got up to go to work, I told him I thought I was in labor. We decided that he would just go into work and I would give him a call as the day progressed. He had barely gotten into the office before I called him to come home! We left the house sometime between 9 and 9:30, and while getting into the car, I threw up (which, for me, is a sign of moving into the transition phase of labor, so I knew things were really happening!). We drove to the hospital and checked in and I was between 7 and 8 cm. My OB was stuck in traffic, so again, the nurses did not want to break my water, even though I was had gotten to 9 cm. (A word about my water - it has never broken on its own. My mother's was the same way! It has always been very strong, which I am actually thankful for, considering the alternative) Thankfully I did not have to wait long this time - the OB showed up, broke my water, and Ezra was born 20 minutes later, a little before 11 am.

My first memory of him was that he was so small (6 pounds, 10 ounces - not too small, but smaller than Isaac's 7 pounds, 6 ounces) and so RED! And he cried soooooo much, he was extremely colicky (we had days of 16+ hours of crying sometimes). My mom jokes that he spent the first month of his life angry that he came out into the cold, bright world so soon. But he has certainly grown into a joyful, fun-loving boy! The thing that most amazes me is how different he and Isaac are to this day, even starting with their deliveries. I'm always amazed at the handiwork of God, making each child unique!