Tristan's Birth

Being pregnant and overdue is no fun. Being pregnant and overdue and knowing that you need to have your baby in order to pick up your adopted kids is just awful. That's where we were at on August 13th.

We got the news late that evening that our boys were finally ready to come home. We were ecstatic. I had always dreamed of getting that news and then quickly calling American Airlines to book our flights. Well, we couldn't book our flights because we needed to have the baby first and make sure he and I were both healthy and able to travel.

So, when we went to the doctor on Thursday, 8/14, and learned that our choices were to be induced on Friday with our favorite doctor or on Monday with one of the other doctors, it was an easy decision. We had fought induction for 3 weeks by then. At 38 weeks I was told we were having a large baby and induction was recommended. At 39 weeks we again stated that we didn't want to induce. At 40 weeks we knew that induction was looming in the future as our doctors don't allow you to go beyond 42 weeks. At two days shy of 41 weeks, knowing that our twins were nearly ready to come home, the doctor again asked if we wanted to induce. We decided to pray about it, but didn't feel like it was time yet. When we went back to the doctor a few days later on 8/14 we were finally ready to submit to induction.

My doctor had me admitted to the hosptial the night before to prepare my cervix for induction the next morning. They did a drug-free procedure that got my cervix dilated to 4 cm by morning.

I need to take a break from the story to explain my desires for this birth. But first, I need to go back a long time in history to when my sister was born. I was nearly three and when I learned how babies were born I was completely freaked out. I remember a book and there was a picture with a woman's legs in stirrups with sheets draped over them. From that point on I was terrified of childbirth and vowed that I wouldn't have kids. In addition to that, my mother shared the story of my birth, which was quite traumatic for her because I was born butt first. Needless to say, she had a rough delivery.

3 1/2 years ago I was pregnant. Chuck and I were thrilled. I immediately went out and bought "What to Expect When Expecting." I read it all the time. I was still very freaked out about vaginal birth and was of the mindset that a c-section didn't sound so bad. I remember reading one night about episiotomies and I threw the book across the room. I was that scared.

That pregnancy ended in miscarriage, and it was through the pain and processing of the miscarriage that God spoke to me about adoption. While it was a terribly painful time in my life, I'm very grateful I went through it. I know the pain of miscarriage and I can minister to those who go through it. I also know that I wouldn't be bringing home two very handsome Haitian boys next week if it weren't for that loss.

In late November I was finally pregnant again. We were so excited, but cautious. The first trimester was miserable. I had morning sickness that lasted all. day. long. I took comfort in the sickness, though, since I hadn't experienced that with the first pregnancy. I was still quite scared of childbirth, but had met some people along the way who really believed in the benefits of natural childbirth (without drugs). I had heard them out and found myself interested in learning more. As I did my research, my mindset completely changed and I found myself desiring to deliver my baby without drugs of any sort.

Now that is crazy. I'm a wimp. I cry hard if I stub my toe. I might even swear. But, I really wanted to give my baby the best start in life and I rested in the idea that God created my body to birth children and that with His help, I could deliver my baby without drugs. I did have two concerns, though. I knew that if I had to be induced or if I ended up with back labor, I may not be able to tolerate the pain.

As I did my research on drugs during childbirth, I also studied the use of pitocin, which is used to induce labor. Most people I know who had a pitocin induced labor have a horror story birth story. Many ended up laboring long hours, only to deliver by c-section. There are studies trying to link the use of pitocin to autism. Chuck and I watched a documentary called "The Business of Being Born" and learned a lot about the way childbirth is approached in our country.

So, after all of my research and prayer, Chuck and I decided that I would try to deliver the baby without the use of any drugs. We agreed that we would only induce if necessary. We were of one mind regarding this, and we caught a lot of flack from others. It was really hard to have people in our life give us a hard time about this choice. I really thought people would be happy that we wanted to give our son the best possible start in life. Instead many teased and told us that we couldn't do it. I prayed so much about all of this. I was hurt and really found comfort in God alone. It is to His glory that I even confronted my fears of childbirth and made the decision to trust Him. When I think about the utter fear that used to grip me when thinking of childbirth, I know that God was at work in my heart.

Okay, back to the birth story. We arrived at the hospital at 4:00 on Thursday 8/14. By 4:30 they had me hooked up to monitors, and to my surprise I was having contractions. I had prayed that I'd go into labor on my own, and that seemed to be happening. The contractions weren't painful at first, but they were consistent. By 5:30 my cervix had been prepped. Chuck went out and got us some dinner and my mom hung out with us until it got dark outside. My contractions got stronger, and I was sure I wouldn't be sleeping that evening. The doctor recommended that I take an ambien so that I could sleep as the following day could be a long one. I resisted the ambien, expecting to not be able to sleep through the pain of the contractions, but the nurse assured me that it would help me sleep. She was right.

At 6:00 a.m. the following morning they started the pitocin. My contractions had slowed during the night, to my dismay. Every 15 minutes or so they would come in and up the pitocin. It wasn't too bad at first, but that changed quickly. I had to stay on the fetal monitor, so I couldn't get up and walk around, which was something I knew would be important in managing my pain. I was able to sit on the birthing ball, and that was helpful, though not enough. By 8:20 my contractions were every 2-3 minutes, with some just a minute apart. The nurse had checked me and I was dilated to a 5/6, which was disappointing to me. I had really thought I'd be farther along since I was experiencing such tremendous pain. There seemed to be a band of scar tissue on my cervix and the nurse suspected that once it broke I'd begin to dilate quickly. The pain was so intense. I had a list of affirmations that I tried to say in my mind with every contraction, but soon found that counting my breaths better helped me to get through the contractions. I knew that once I hit 10 the contraction would be nearly over, if not over. The pain got so intense that I would come out of each contraction shaking violently. I told Chuck a few times, "I can't do this." His response each time was, "Yes you can. You are strong." At one point he tried reading some of the affirmations to me and I said, "I don't want to hear that crap." That was the meanest I got. A little while later he asked if I wanted to take some meds to take the edge off. I knew that I would rather get an epidural than introduce narcotic pain meds into my system. I was afraid I'd have a doped up baby that was unable to breastfeed. I told Chuck I wanted to get the epidural, probably at around 8:35. Chuck immediately called the nurse and she said it wouldn't be long. I remember looking at the clock at 8:45, wondering where the heck the anestesiologist was. He arrived shortly after.

Chuck had to leave the room while I got the epidural. It took the doctor two painful tries. He said I had a deep space and that was why it was painful. But, once it was in place and turned on, it was wonderful. I know that the epidural is only supposed to numb the body from the belly down, but I swear mine made me a little loopy. I was immediately calm and it was such a relief to feel calm.

Not too long after the epidural was put in place, the baby's heart rate dropped. The nurse put me on my side and tried moving the baby to get his heart rate back up. I was so thankful I had the epidural as she tried moving him around. I'm really not sure if it was the epidural or the knot in the umbilical cord (that we didn't know about until he was delivered) that caused the heart rate to drop. I just know that the nurse was very serious, though not so much so that she scared me. Chuck was not in the room when it happened, thankfully, because I know he would have been terrified. My pitocin was stopped during all of this and then slowly restarted.

At around noon the nurse checked me again and I was still at 6 cm. When I learned that I was so thankful I had gotten the epidural. I would have been so frustrated if I had labored another 3 hours, only to make no progress. She put in a call to my doctor asking her to come and "break apart" the scar tissue.

At around 2:00 we had heartrate problems again. The nurse was able to adjust me and the baby so that the heartrate stabilized. She checked me and I learned that I was at 7/8 cm and the scar tissue had resolved by itself. She suspected that when the scar tissue broke apart that it had an effect on the baby. I'm not sure how or why that would occur; I think it had to do with the cord problem.

The doctor arrived shorty after and I was at 8/9 cm. She didn't think it would be long before I would be pushing. They were right - once the scar tissue was broken, my cervix dilated quickly.

All this time, I was lying on my right side, trying to keep the baby happy. I was also on oxygen and had been since the first time we had heartrate problems.

At 3:30 the doctor checked me again and said I was just about ready to start pushing. They brought in a big cart and I expected bright lights, lots of people, and for my bed to be broken down. None of that happened. It was the doctor, the labor and delivery nurse, Chuck, and me. The doctor sat on the side of my bed and I was positioned to push. We tried it on my back first and the baby's heartrate didn't tolerate that. We tried pushing on my side, again, the heartrate wasn't good. They put in an internal fetal monitor, hoping to get a better reading. The heartrate was still not good when pushing. They decided to replace the internal fetal monitor because they didn't like the way it was reading. Yet still, with each push, the babies heart rate would go from about 150 to 50 or 60. To make matters worse, it would take about a minute for the baby to recover. The doctor asked me to get on all fours and stay like that awhile in hopes that the baby would move and that his heartrate would stabilize. I was really embarrased by that position, but they were very kind and kept me covered. We also tried pushing in that position and the baby's heartrate was still dipping. We tried one last time on my back and got the same results. At that point the doctor told us she wanted to do a c-section. She explained that if I only had about 15 minutes of pushing ahead of me that she would try to deliver the baby vaginally. However, she suspected that I'd be pushing for about and hour and a half and she didn't believe the baby would handle it well - as in long term damage from lack of oxygen. She was very compassionate and told us that she had wanted to do everything possible to deliver the baby vaginally because she knew we had an upcoming trip to Haiti to get the boys, but that more so she wanted us to have a healthy baby. I listened and nodded my head. She left the room and I began to sob.

Things began to move really fast after that. I was experiencing very painful contractions, I'm guessing because they turned my epidural off for pushing. I was an emotional mess, still crying over the need for the c-section. I remember feeling strongly like I needed to get up and go somewhere, like to the restroom or for a walk or home. At one point I told Chuck we needed to get out of there. I think I was just responding poorly to the complete lack of control I had in the situation. A number of people were in and out of the room. I drank some awful tasting stuff, was given a shot to stop my contractions, and the anestisiology team was in and out preparing my epidural for surgery. Soon enough I was being wheeled down to the OR. I remember laying on my back, which hurt a lot. I remember wondering how I was going to tolerate laying on my back through surgery because it hurt so bad.

When we got into the OR they quickly moved me to another bed. I began to shake violently at that point. I've seen a number of friends shake violently after giving birth, but I did so before. The doctor began asking me if I could feel certain things. Each time she got to the right side of my belly I could feel a pinch. This went on for a while, but I kept feeling the pinch. There was talk of doing a spinal, and honestly I'm not sure why they chose not to do one - maybe because of my violent shaking. Eventually they began the surgery and I felt things on the right side. I told them I could feel things and that it hurt. It was not pressure. It was pain. And it was horrible. Eventually Chuck was brought in and he held my right hand through the whole thing. I can't imagine what it must have been like for him to have to sit there while I consistently told them I was in pain.

Most women I know who've had c-sections always say two things - that it happened very fast and that they felt no pain, only pressure. For me, it seemed to take an eternity. I was in so much pain and I kept waiting for them to do something to make it stop hurting. I guess they couldn't until the baby was out. Finally, I heard Tristan cry. He came out crying loudly and they showed him to me over the screen before taking him to the other side of the room to clean him up. It was then that we learned that he had a knot in his umbilical cord. He also had quite the conehead from sitting in my pelvis.

It seemed to take them forever to close me up. I was still in a lot of pain, though I know they were pumping me full of drugs. Chuck says I began to bleed a lot, so maybe that slowed things down. At this point I began begging them to make the pain stop. I just couldn't believe that I was still experiencing so much pain and that they couldn't make it stop. Chuck was holding Tristan and they were both crying. I was really disinterested in anything but getting the pain stopped. And that makes me cry. I really feel like I missed out on Tristan's birth and the beauty and joy of it because of the pain I was in. Most women have their babies and forget all the pain they've just experienced. Mine was delivered and then I was unable to be present because of the pain.

I've cried many tears over this, and I'm doing so right now. I talked to my doctor and I have an understanding of why things happened the way they did. I'm not posting this to point fingers in any direction. It is what it is. It's something I have to process through and turn over to God. I have prayed a lot about this, and I trust that God will bring me healing both physically and emotionally. If you choose to comment on this, I just ask that you not comment negatively about the medical care I received. I have come to a place of understanding of why things happened like they did. No, it was not ideal, but I made it through.

Once I was returned to my hospital room, I was given some toradol and that seemed to work to get my pain under control. I was afraid to hold Tristan before that because of the pain I was experiencing. It was pure joy when I was finally able to hold him and nurse him. We were able to keep Tristan for 2 hours after he was born before he was taken to the nursery. While he was in the nursery I was relocated to a post partum room. Later they brought Tristan in to me and he breastfed again. He latched right on with no problem. The nursery nurse who was there told me how very blessed I was to have that experience with breastfeeding. And we continue to be blessed in this department.

C-section recovery is definitely rough. The following morning I got up for the first time and I was really surprised by how very sore I was. I couldn't even stand up straight. I didn't change any of Tristan's diapers the first few days because I just didn't have enough range of motion to do so. Chuck was such a trooper. We chose to have Tristan with us all the time. Three times a day, at shift change, they would take Tristan back to the nursery to get his vitals. Other than those times, we kept him with us. I didn't get a lot of rest, but when I think back on those first few days of his life, I remember the quiet late nights nursing him and falling in complete love with him.

So, that's the story. Tristan has been home nearly two weeks now and we are just loving it. Yes, having a newborn is exhausting, but so awesome. God has trusted us with this awesome little guy and we are in love with him.

The Last Ones!

I can't tell you how happy I am that these pictures are the LAST monthly photo updates we will get of the boys. Tuesday morning they will be in our arms for good. I can't seem to wrap my mind around that. Wow.

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Samuel is on the top and Noah is on the bottom. I have been so worried about Samuel, and I'm glad he looks somewhat happy in this photo.

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Tomorrow we will get everything organized and packed for the trip. It is a little tricky since we are traveling with Tristan, too. We leave at 8 a.m. Monday morning and we'll spend all of Monday and Monday night in Miami. Then, first thing Tuesday morning, Chuck and I fly into Haiti while Terri and Tristan hang out in Miami.

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I ask for your prayers as we travel. We've never traveled with a newborn before, or toddlers for that matter. Please pray that all of us are prepared mentally, physically, and emotionally for this trip. Please pray especially for Noah and Samuel - for peace and comfort. I can't even begin to imagine what will go through their little heads.

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I feel amazingly calm (or is it exhaustion??) as we approach this trip. I am just in awe of God's timing in all of this and His perfect provision. When the doctor called the c-section I was so upset because I knew it would change so many things regarding our travel to Haiti and my ability to physically pick the boys up. I didn't even think about how the blessings could pour over us in this situation. So many friends have just rallied around us over the last few weeks. We have not had to cook a meal in quite some time and we have a freezer full of more meals. We have had so many offers of help extended our way (and don't worry - we will take you all up on them at some point!). There have been so many gifts for all three boys. We are so thankful for our friend, Terri, who is coming with us to care for Tristan. She is just an amazing person and we are honored to have her as a friend. If I've learned anything in the last few weeks, it's that God will take care of everything.

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I want to end this post with my most sincere thanks to so many people. Thank you to everyone who have left us comments in the last few weeks. Your excitement and encouragement mean so much to us. I thank all the people who have cooked us meals and brought us gifts. I thank all the seasoned moms who have talked to me about mom stuff. I thank Chuck for being such an awesome and involved Daddy and a wonderful husband. I thank God for loving us so much and touching our lives so beautifully through so many people. I am humbled.

Pray For Haiti

There is a hurricane approaching Haiti that should hit this afternoon. Please pray for the safety of the people there.

Some Overdue Cuteness

Our Flights Are Booked!!

Yes, that is right! Our flights are booked. Our boys will arrive here locally on Tuesday, September 2 at 9:20 p.m.

I can't believe we now have a date and time that they will be here!

Chuck, Tristan, our dear friend Terri, and I will all fly to Miami on September 1st. The following morning Chuck and I will fly to Haiti to pick up the boys while Terri and Tristan hang out at Miami International Airport. Then, once we get back from Haiti, we will all fly home together.

It's a dream come true! God is so good and faithful!

We belong to a great adoption support group that's made it a tradition to greet families at the airport when they come home. If you live here locally, you are welcome to join us there, too. If you want more detailed flight information for our arrival, please email me at julicason@yahoo.com.

Just a little while longer and our family will be complete!

We Are Home

We made it home this afternoon and we are getting settled in.

Tristan is doing great with breastfeeding. I feel so very blessed about that.

I'm still pretty sore, but on the mend. I've been told it will take a week to really start feeling better.

Tristan is asleep in his crib right now. Gosh, for months I've stared at that empty crib trying to picture my baby in it and he is here now. God is so good.

I'll try to post more pictures soon.

Random Thoughts This Morning

It's hard to get my thoughts gathered right now, so I'll just bullet list some things swimming in my head right now.

• I am LOVING being a mommy to this little guy.
• I was so looking forward to delivering Tristan so that I could get some mobility back. Um, that's not happening so far. C-sections make minor movements a challenge.
• I'm getting better just about every hour it seems.
• When I can do it without sobbing, I will blog about my birth experience.
• Sobbing makes might belly hurt bad. So does coughing.
• Percocet is my friend. So are vicodin and toradol, but percocet is my best c-section friend.
• The little pillow they gave me is also a good friend.
• Tristan is doing a great job with breastfeeding.
• Chuck is an awesome daddy. The nursery nurses couldn't get over how over the moon he was to be a daddy to this little one.
• Tristan is known as the loudest baby in the nursery - possibly ever. He's got good lungs and knows how to use them, however he isn't a "fussy" baby; just knows what he wants and doesn't like.
• Chuck was wonderful last night. He let me sleep for 2 1/2 straight hours when Tristan decided it was awake time after his 3 a.m. feeding.
• 2 1/2 hours is a long time to sleep. I never thought I'd say that. It was actually refreshing.

That's all for know. I'll share more as more happens and as my thoughts become more cohesive. Thank you, all, for you encouraging comments, love, and prayers over the last little while. It has meant so much to be so loved by you all.

Pictures!

Tristan is Here

I'm really sorry I didn't post this here sooner, but Tristan is finally here!Here's what I posted on our other blog: http://cason-adoption.blogspot.com/Hi Everyone, Tristan is here! He was born by c-section late this afternoon. The little guy managed to tie a knot in his umbilical cord, so when I pushed his heart rate would drop. That's why the c-section happened. Anyway, he's 8lbs, 9oz, 21 inches long. He is doing great and so am I. I know you want pictures, and I promise we will post some, but it may not be tonight. I know, such slackers we are. In the words of Chuck, "We are totally stoked!"

Tristan is Here!

Hi Everyone,

Tristan is here! He was born by c-section late this afternoon. The little guy managed to tie a knot in his umbilical cord, so when I pushed his heart rate would drop. That's why the c-section happened.

Anyway, he's 8lbs, 9oz, 21 inches long. He is doing great and so am I.

I know you want pictures, and I promise we will post some, but it may not be tonight. I know, such slackers we are.

In the words of Chuck, "We are totally stoked!"

A Little Something Else Going On...

Well, as some of you know, we have a little something else going on in our lives right now.

Now that our boys have their visas, we are comfortable sharing some other news:

We are expecting a baby!

8 days ago!!

That's right, I'm currently 8 days overdue with another son, Tristan Elliott.

In fact, I'm writing this post from the hospital. I came in this evening to be prepared for an induction in the morning, however I appear to be in labor on my own.

God's timing in this is hilarious and, truly, only He could have orchestrated it like this.

So, once we have this baby we will be able to complete our travel plans to go and get Noah and Samuel in Haiti.

We ask for your prayers for a safe delivery, and specifically that I don't need to have a c-section.

Of course we will update the blog when Tristan arrives.

Thanks for all the love, support, encouragement, and prayers!

At the Hospital

Well, I'm here at the hospital. We arrived to check in at 4:00. The doctor got things started at about 5:00 and at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning they will start the pitocin.By 4:30 they had me hooked up and guess what - I'm having contractions. What an answer to prayer. At first I didn't really notice them much, but I sure do now. They are about every 3-4 minutes and rather strong if you ask me.So, your prayers would be much appreciated. I keep hearing that this is a big baby. Please pray specifically that I don't need to have a c-section.Thanks!My next post should be introducing our baby!

Getting Induced

Well, we went to the Dr. The baby is still good. I had some contractions, but nothing major.Our options for induction (which we had to schedule) were to either go to the hospital tonight to be induced in the morning or go Sunday night for Monday morning. My favorite Dr. is on call this week through Sunday. My not favorite Dr. would be on call Monday. Easy choice. Especially since I'd be nearly 42 weeks on Monday.I'm not thrilled about this, but I am relieved that there is some light at the end of the neverending pregnancy tunnel.Please pray with us that this goes well. Please pray especially that I don't end up with a c-section.Thanks!

This Morning

In an hour I have another appointment with my Dr. They promised me a long time ago that once I hit 41 weeks we will have to talk about an induction. So, I'm expecting we will be asked to schedule an induction. I'm kind of ready to just get it over with, yet really bummed that I haven't gone into labor on my own. I'm armed with a zillion questions regarding how they do inductions (they gave me a handout on Monday explaining how they do them) and my own modified induction plan that I'm going to ask for.I'll post about how it goes when I get home.

THEY ARE READY TO COME HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We just got word that Noah and Samuel have visas and ARE READY TO COME HOME!!

Oh my gosh, I thought the day would never come.

Praise God!!!

We have some details to work out for travel. Please pray with us as we work on this.

OH MY GOSH!!

Another Good Night...

...of sleep that is.Still no baby.Will it ever end?

It Went Well!!

We finally got the email telling us things went well this morning! Visas should be printed tomorrow. Once they have the visas we will book our flights.

Please join us in praying for the printing of the visas. Anything can happen, this is Haiti afterall.

Thank God!!

Just a Little While Now

Well, in about an hour and a half our visa appointment should take place. I got an email late last night telling me that everything was in order for that appointment to happen. This is Haiti, though, so I'm praying that they make it to the appointment without any problems. Someone posted a comment on my last post stating that the visa printer is fixed, thank God! So that obstacle should be out of the way.

Our adoption coordinator told me she'd let me know as soon as she hears anything. Communication from Haiti isn't always good, so if I don't hear anything (or don't post), it doesn't necessarily mean things didn't go well, just that I haven't heard yet. I'm praying, of course, that I get word right away.

Okay, I'm off to spend some time with God. It's a beautiful day here - not even 70 yet and there's almost no humidity - this is a rare summer treat in Virginia and I plan to take full advantage of it on my screened porch.

Slept Like a Baby...

...so obviously the cramps didn't last or turn into contractions.I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever have this baby.I'm grumpy and frustrated. Not a good way to start the day.

Before Bed...

I'm having some strong cramping; hoping it turns into contractions. I'll update in the morning.Goodnight!

Appointment Update

Went to the Dr.More of the same.1 cm dilated. 70% effaced. Baby is still kind of high.I lost my mucus plug today.I go back on Thursday unless I go into labor or we want to induce sooner.Induction is beginning to look more enticing with our kids in Haiti being so close to coming home.Pray for us as we try to decide what to do.Thanks.

More of the Same

Sorry to excite anyone by forgetting to post last night, but I'm still very much pregnant.We go to the doctor at 2:15 today. Dear God, let us hear I've made some progress toward delivery!I'm sure we'll get the induction talk again. We are praying about how to handle that. Please pray that God would speak to us clearly about how to move forward.Thanks.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow...

...I love ya, tomorrow!

That's right - tomorrow is the boys' visa appointment. It's at 9 a.m. Haiti time, which is 10 a.m. our time (here on the east coast). Please join us in praying that the appointment goes well and that the visas are issued tomorrow.

I've heard from someone who was just in Haiti last week that the printer that prints the visas was broken and needed a part shipped in from the US. Please join me in praying that this has been resolved.

I, of course, will be on my toes all day tomorrow waiting for word from Haiti about the appointment.

More Nothing

Still no baby.

Nothing

Just an update - nothing has changed. No contractions. No baby yet. I'm just as bummed as you are.

Wednesday Update

I went to the Dr this morning. Here's what we learned:
The baby is lower, but still needs to descend more.
I'm now a full centimeter dilated. Woohoo! 1 down, 9 to go.
My cervix remains soft.
They monitored both me and the baby. The baby has a great heartrate and stayed nice and active as I ate peanut butter crackers and drank a coke. I had not. a. single. contraction. We need contractions, folks, if we are going to have a baby.
They want me to come back Monday.
It is my hope that we have this baby on Friday (well, I'd be okay with today or tomorrow, too!) because then he will have a very cool birthdate 8/8/08. If we have him tomorrow, that would be on my grandmother's birthday. The twins were born on Chuck's grandmother's birthday. That would be neat too. If he is born today, well, nothing special has happened in the past that I know of, but I'd be happy to have him today!

Please Pray for My Friend

Update:
Courtney and Asher went home yesterday. They were expecting Asher to spend 5-7 days in the NICU, but obviously God was at work. Thanks to everyone who prayed for my dear friend!

Courtney and her new baby, Asher, over at Storing Up Treasures in Heaven need your prayers. Asher was born by emergency c-section very early yesterday and is now in the NICU with breathing issues. Please stop for a moment and pray for his healing. Thanks!

Courtney is an adoption friend of mine. We spent a week together in Haiti last year. She is an incredible woman. In fact, her whole family is just great.

IT CAME!!!!

I woke up this morning and immediately checked my email. I was so bummed because the email was not there.

But, a half an hour later there was a new message in my inbox and it was THE EMAIL!!

Our visa appointment is next Tuesday at 9:00 a.m.

OH MY GOSH!!!! It is real. They are coming home!

In case you're wondering, we aren't going to travel until the visas are in hand.

Monday Update

I just spoke with someone in Haiti and we discussed a date for the visa appointment.

She is going to email me to confirm it, so I'm not going to jump up and down until I have that email, but folks - this could be it!!

Please join me in praying for that email confirmation.

God is good!

Late Update:
Well, it's after business hours in Haiti and I haven't received an email. Yes, I'm bummed, but not surprised. Adoption is a spiritual battle no doubt. I will keep my eyes focused on Jesus and look forward to what tomorrow brings. I will, of course, call Haiti by midday if I haven't received the email. Please keep praying. God hears us.

Update:
Well, it's three hours later and I haven't received the email. I'm still hopeful, though. Please continue praying with us that this appointment gets scheduled.

I forgot to mention earlier how the phone call took place. I was actually calling the Embassy to try to learn what time I'm allowed to call. They ended up putting me through to the right department. I couldn't believe it. I was really just trying to learn when I could call. When I hung up the phone I was just shocked that I had actually spoken to the person I needed to speak to and she was so very helpful.

I'll of course update when I get the email. Notice I said when, not if!

Monday - Prayers Please

Well, it's been a week of waiting to hear something through email, so today I will call Haiti. I did call already, and I've learned I need to call between 2:30 - 3:30 my time (I think. If someone reading knows for sure the hours I can call between, please leave me a comment.).

Please pray that I can get through and that I can get the ball rolling on scheduling our visa appointment.

I'll post how it goes this afternoon.

Thanks!

Friday's Appointment

Friday's appointment went well as far as the baby goes. His heartrate was great and he seems to be the correct position for delivery. My body, however, doesn't seem to be ready yet.I didn't dilate anymore, but my cervix did get softer.I expected to be bullied about induction, but I wasn't. The nurse practitioner said, "Your chart says you don't want to be induced until you're overdue." I said, "Yup, that's right." And she said, "Okay." End of any talk of induction. Yay.I go back on Wednesday, which is when I hit 40 weeks. They want to put me on the monitor for a while to check and see how the baby is doing. They will also check my cervix again.Please pray with me that my body will go into labor on it's own. I'm in excruciating pain when I walk around. Just getting up and moving around in my house is painful. We are also on "any day now" status with our adoption and it would be very helpful if this baby would come so we could be more focused on the homecoming of our twins in Haiti. Thanks.

Friday

Still nothing. God's timing is perfect, right? Patience is a virtue. So is persistence and that is what I am. At least I can take a break from madly checking my email...