God’s Plan

I was so much more nervous about having our second child. Not for the actual labor and birth parts; after all, I had done it once before. Even though every experience is different, I at least had somewhat of an idea of what to expect. I didn’t know exactly how labor and delivery would go, but I knew how to care for a newborn. I had already been successfully keeping one child alive for almost two years. Although that doesn’t qualify me as an expert, I was pretty confident in my availabilities to provide for a newborn.

My nerves stemmed from the child we already had. What was our plan for our son when we were having our second child? What if I go into labor at 2am? Will we have to drag him out of bed and to the hospital with us? Will I be at the hospital alone while my husband is with my son waiting for a grandparent to pick him up? Our parents are an hour and fifteen minutes away. Trust me when I tell you that having family in the same town that can help out with your kiddos is a blessing.

I spent my entire third trimester trying to plan something that was completely out of my control. When I brought this up to my doctors they offered the option of induction. Knowing exactly what day and time to show up at the hospital to have this baby sounded perfect. Let’s do it…or not…

As much as I loved the idea, I felt like I was taking over God’s plan. I had been praying everyday asking God to let everything work out and fall into place perfectly. I asked Him for my parents to be available right away and for me to go into labor at a convenient time. Now all of sudden I felt as if I was saying “Nevermind, God. Thanks but no thanks. I got it from here.”

My husband and I decided we were going to give God the full 40 weeks. We rescheduled our induction from week 39 to week 40. The thought of full term made me feel better, but before that we wanted to leave it in God’s hands.

It was around 9 o’clock at night when I felt something strange followed by a light trickle. My husband was still not home from work yet and I wasn’t completely sure it was my water breaking. This was new to me not having had that happen when my son was born. I had heard so many stories of women that thought their water broke only to show up at the hospital to find out they just peed themselves. Pregnancy is great, right?? I simply crossed my legs as if trying to hold it in and remained laying on the couch watching tv.

By the time my husband walked in the door around 9:30 after working a 14 hour day I had felt a few more moments of that trickle. I still wasn’t sure my water had broken. I was under the impression when this happened it was a big gush like you might see in the movies. The Niagara Falls of amniotic fluid if you will.

It became apparent just minutes after he walked in the door that my water had clearly broken. I didn’t realize though, that your water doesn’t just break. It’s breaks. It continues breaking. Like hours later the waterfall was still flowing.

I frantically began making phones calls and arrangements for our son all while holding a towel between my legs. To say that things worked out well is an understatement. Things worked out perfectly. The could-not-have-worked-out-better kind of perfect.

Hans was quickly delivered to our Aunt and Uncle’s house who happen to be the only family around as well as on the way to the hospital. My dad and step-mom immediately got in the car and drove an hour and a half to get my son and keep him until we were home from the hospital. My mom also hopped in the car right away and drove quite the distance just to be at our house with my dog, my first born, the favorite among the kids.

Of course I was nervous about having another child, but I felt such a sense of relief on lthe way to the hospital given the fact that everything had fallen into place. Everyone was home and immediately available. I wasn’t bothering anyone at 2am. We even made it to the hospital in record time despite living an hour away and having to drop our son off on the way.

Now, remember the waterfall comment? Well, sitting down isn’t so bad, but the moment I was out of the car and walking into the hospital I was leaving a trail of fluid in my path. No breadcrumbs needed to find me. Just follow the puddles all the way up to labor and delivery. Thank goodness the mother in the elevator with me, about to have her fourth child, completely understood. Despite the fact that I was using multiple maxi pads, the trail of fluid could have potentially made it awkward. She gave me a genuine, “I’ve-been-there,” smile and told me to check in first.

Once we were all checked in and I was dry, I finally stopped to look at the time. I’m not normally one to find time fascinating, but when I saw it and realized the date, all I could do was smile. We ended up at the hospital exactly one hour before our originally scheduled induction appointment… the induction appointment that I had cancelled because I was afraid I was messing with God’s plan.

In this moment I felt God giving me a little wink and a chuckle as if to say, “You were having this baby the same day and time whether it was scheduled by the doctors or not.” My child’s arrival was scheduled by God before either of us were even brought into this world. God had a plan. He already knew that our son would be taken care of while we were having our daughter. He already had everyone’s role planned out. My parents would all be home and available. Our Aunt and Uncle would be more than happy to watch our little guy until his Pawpaw got him. He already knew exactly when our Maggie Lou would make her appearance on this Earth regardless if the doctors scheduled it or not. He already had it scheduled.

Being a Mom can be scary, and not having control over everything can be even scarier, but God’s got you.

Have a little faith, Mama.

Fran