During this last pregnancy my husband and I had gone back and forth on the decision to let my oldest daughter, Kelsey (who is almost 8 years old), attend the birth of Luke. I got really into educating the kids about how the baby grows in “mommy’s tummy” and how the birth process is a beautiful t
hing that God created our bodies to do. No one else can create babies… only God! We had invested in some awesome Christian books and borrowed some from the Waterbirth Center (which I have listed in an earlier post). The kids loved learning about it because we were about to have a baby and it was fun to watch the baby getting bigger in my belly.
The time came to decide… would Kelsey come or not? I have all my babies naturally and so for me the choice to have her there was two fold. I could use this opportunity to teach by example how beautiful birth can be… praising God in the “storm,” worshiping with music in between contractions, praying to Jesus for strength. I thought it would be strengthening for Kelsey’s faith to see how her mom and dad work as a team dedicating the birth and baby to the Lord. I believe their is no better example of true mentor ship than to let your kids walk with you through these adventures of life and let them watch you rely on God and see your faith in one of the most painful yet exciting moments in a woman’s life. While I know how I view birth I was nervous about whether the experience would “scare” Kelsey out of having kids. It is impossible to truly know what you look like in birth… how loud you are etc…
We watched a waterbirth video with Kelsey to see her reaction and prayed a lot. Then a few weeks before Luke was born I felt peace about Kelsey coming so she was part of the birth team!
On the day of the birth we dropped Kelsey off with my sister, Katie, who I had attend my birth of Austin when she was 13 years old. I had her be her “chaperon.” Katie took her out to lunch while we waiting for things to pick up. Then my mom joined them and they hung out and shopped near by the birth center until we gave them the call.
just about 20 minutes before I hit hard transition we called them to come over… I wanted Kelsey to see I was ok. She was so excited to see the baby be born! The whole experience was awesome. She lightened the mode a few times with her cute questions and comments! laughter is great during labor! She got to watch us worshiping God even in contractions through singing worship music with Selah “Hiding Place.” One of my midwives made the comment that it was like being part of a movie and the soundtrack was playing in the back ground. In between my contractions each song was completely appropriate and comforting. Some of the song titles were… “You Raise Me Up, Part the Waters, I Bless Your Name, All My Praise, You are my Hiding Place, Through it All, O the Deep Deep Love of Jesus, All of Me…” Luke was born to “All of Me.” Many of the songs talked of waters which was funny and comforting because I was in the water giving birth. Then when the baby was born… all I can say is JOY! The pictures explain it better than words.
Ultimately, I am so thankful for Kelsey and for what she brought to this birth. I am so glad we decided to let her come. Her maturity was over whelming. What is even better is that right after I had her one of the mid wives asked Kelsey how many kids she wanted to have and she said proudly “Eight.” I don’t know if that is God’s plan for her life or not, but it made me overjoyed to know that this was a good experience for her and that she isn’t “scared” to have kids but wants more now! Praise the Lord!
