Lyllian's Birth Story Part 1

*Disclaimer - I am aware that my daughter is now 3 months old and I'm just now blogging about her birth story.  Some of you may wonder "why bother?"...and I had that train of thought for a few days too.  However, the truth is that it is way too much of a God story to ignore and not praise His name publically for all that He did and is doing.  Also, it will be a longer post - more so that Lyllian will have an account of all that happened one day!  So, with that being said...here we go.


December 4th - Medical decided to send Ryleigh & I on to Joburg due to how sick I had been and to be on the "safe" side of things.  We were supposed to leave Tulear on Dec 14th.  So we woke up that morning and did gifts & festivities with daddy since we wouldn't see him again until January.

December 6th - My OB said that I couldn't keep things down because of how high she was sitting and how big of a baby she was but that overall she was very healthy and that I'd need to endure a little while longer and we'd reevaluate once I was full term.

December 10th - I woke up, after sleeping very little, and knew I needed to check back in with my doctor b/c I was struggling with even keeping liquids down.  By that afternoon, he had admitted me to the maternity ward with hopes of keeping nutrients in me via an IV and monitoring Lyllian.  Thankfully we had wonderful misson families (thanks again Broadwolfs & Hailes!) who took Ryleigh in like one of their own!

December 11th - My mom started trying to move her ticket up to leave earlier (she was supposed to fly in on the 17th)

December 12th - Lyllian had a very high heartrate and they were concerned for her well being.  They thought that it was due to me being sick so often, so they decided to do a laperscopic procedure to see if they could "fix" what may be wrong with my stomach.  Surgery was successful and I did not go into labor.  Part of my stomach had moved into my esophoghaus due to me being so sick so often.  My mom arrived that night and was greeted with open arms by Ryleigh.  It wasn't quite how I had planned my mom's arrival but I surely was thankful to see her & Ryles at the hospital that night!

December 13th - Since the surgery had been sucessful, they said that I should be discharged the next morning.  Medical was already in the process of getting Steve to Joburg (he was not supposed to come until January 9th) and we discussed the possibility of him just flying back home since all was well (he had already flown from Tulear to the capital).  Medical thought it best to bring him on over (who knew how thankful we'd be!)  He arrived later that night.

December 14th - Lyllian's heartrate had stayed elevated and they didn't know why.  My OB said the best choice at this point was to do an emergency C-Section.  I had gone from thinking Steve was coming to pick me up from the hospital to now hearing I was about to have a baby 5 1/2 weeks early. My emotions were crazy to say the least.  Thankfully, medical was able to bring my mom & Ryleigh to the hospital so I could see them before the section.

December 14th - 1:15pm - We went to delivery for the section and I was praying the whole time.  My mind was filled with every possible thing that might go wrong and at the same time claiming His truths over Lyllian's life and mine.  It didn't take long for His truths to knock out the worries that were trying to crowd my mind.  I remember that by the time we were wheeled into the delivery room, I felt calm and I knew it was from the Lord.

December 14th - 1:45pm - Tears streamed down my face as I heard my baby girl cry out - she was SO much louder than I remembered Ryleigh being.  It was a beautiful moment to me that I will never forget because her lungs were one thing that I knew could have been not fully developed at that point.   I was also able to hold her a lot sooner than I had held Ryleigh and I simply could not stop crying.  "Thank You Lord" just kept pouring from my lips...I didn't know what else to say.  My 2nd baby girl had been born 5 1/2 weeks early and she was beautiful.

The Lord's hand was so completely evident in everything from medical deciding to fly us over early, to last minute doctor appointments, to bringing my momma over in time to take care of Ryleigh, and getting my husband from the bush to home to Joburg in 48 hours.  All in time for us to be together for the birth of our 2nd daughter.  800 million things could have happened differently - but they didn't...all praise, honor, & glory go to Him - the King of Kings.