Hear the Whisper, Taste the Sun: February 2012

As I sat contemplating my blog, I realized, with much regret, that it has been far too long since my last post. All things considered, however, I do have some excuse.

My last post spoke of deliciousness in the form of baking, this post shall speak of deliciousness…. in the form of my new beautiful baby girl.

What can I say, my life has been utterly and completely transformed in the 5 1/2 short weeks that I've been blessed with the role of mommy. A role that I'll admit is much harder and challenging then I expected, but yet at the same time, easier and more rewarding then I expected too. How can something be both? I can't explain it. It's one of those things you must experience for yourself to fully comprehend.

But first, let's take a look back. Christmas came and Hayden and I took a trip to Sylvan to spend the holidays with my family. We arrived Christmas Eve and that is when Hayden's sickness set in. At 8 months pregnant, it was all I could do to keep my emotions in tact as it was, but it was made much harder having a husband who was confined to his bed for all of Christmas Day and many days thereafter. To not have him by my side for any of the festivities, family conversations, laughs and good eating, was much harder then I expected it to be. Partly, to be completely honest, I selfishly wanted the holidays to be about me, so to speak. I wanted it to be a Christmas where I could put my feet up and not have to worry about a whole lot, being pregnant. To have others look after me. So, when that was superseded by my husbands need for me to care for him, I had to take a hard look at my motives, repent of my selfishness, and gladly be the caring wife that God expects me to be and look after my sick husband with a joyful and loving heart. Little did we know this would carry on for the next couple weeks or so. By the end, it was all I could do to not cry and to pray fervently that Hayden would be well enough before our baby was born.

January finally came, and looking back over the year, I saw a year of blessings (family vacation to Hawaii, getting pregnant with our little latte, being able to go to Vancouver and Island to see friends and family, just to name a few of the highlights), a year of faith building, a year of trials and triumphs.

As 2012 dawned, I saw this to be a year of new beginnings. The year I turn 30, the year I become a mommy, the year my whole world would be flipped upside down, my faith would be stirred, and life would never be the same.

This has become truth in the first month alone. It all started with my journey to praying for a supernatural childbirth. With D-day approaching I tapped into the truths that God has for us as women, concerning the process of childbirth. I believed those truths and believed God for an amazing first delivery, no matter what the world says and what Dr's say is to be expected. As a first time mom, you're expected to carry late, have a higher chance of being induced, to have a long labour, etc. The odds are against us. But I chose not to believe that, and to pray for a fast labour, to progress quickly, that my body would do what it was designed to do, that baby would be in the proper position for a good delivery, that there would be no problems or complications, no tearing etc.

My due date was Jan 25th, so naturally I finished work up on Jan 11th, 2 weeks before D-Day, to give myself time to rest and relax, and to clean and do some final last minute things to get ready for our little latte. Little did I know that I would not have 2 weeks. On Jan 16th, at about 9am, 9 days before D-day, I went into labour. It was not painful at all, I just had steady contractions all day, but still not close enough together to warrant going to the hospital. That evening, Hayden and I went to the Banff Mountain Film Festival, enjoyed an evening with friends, and then went to bed. That night I hardly slept as my contractions became just annoying enough that I couldn't ignore them or sleep very well through them.

By Tuesday morning, my contractions were between 3 1/2 - 5 1/2 min, and I felt we should go in. So off we went to the hospital. Of course it would be the coldest day of this winter thus far.

We got to the hospital and they monitored me and checked me and I was only 2 cm dilated, so they sent us home. We asked when we should come back in and the nurse just said "oh, you'll know." Would we? We've never done this before! We continued to pray for a quick active labour and fast dilation and by the time we got home the contractions were already substantially more intense. I had a bath and tried to lie down for a bit, but all I could do was breathe through each contraction now. After only being home for a couple hours, Hayden said we should probably head back. It's a good thing too! By the time we got back to the hospital at 1pm, I was already 6cm dilated! Active labour kicked in and over the next 3 hrs I fully dilated and was ready to push. I was able to do this portion of labour with no drugs, not that it didn't cross my mind once or twice, to be sure. But I don't think anything would have worked as I progressed so quickly.

No one was joking when they said pushing is hard work. It's called "labour" for a reason. That was a tough hour and a half. My water broke while I was pushing, so no intervention was necessary there either. Little latte made progress with every push and came, slowly but surely. Finally her head was out and it wasn't long before the rest of her followed. Hayden was supposed to announce the gender, but was so in awe that there was a baby, totally forgot! The Dr. was like "And?……. and?…." Finally Hayden realized what was being said and told me it was a girl! What a pleasant surprise as I was 99% positive it was a boy. Hence, at 5:28pm on Jan 17th, 8 days early, after only 3 hrs of active labour and 1 1/2 hrs of pushing, our little latte, Lalaith Elizabeth Werezak, was born. She was 7lbs 3.6 oz, 19.5 inches long and absolutely perfect and beautiful. To pronounce her name properly is lay-leth.

It wasn't a pain free labour, like I had prayed for, but in a way I'm thankful. I now fully understand and appreciate what it takes to bring a child into this world, instead of being indifferent. I can relate to other women and value this precious gift so much. This will not deter me, however, in praying for a pain free labour for the next one, that's for sure. And looking at all the other aspects and how God totally answered our prayers was so cool as well! I was early, I had a quick dilation, quick labour and delivery, my cervix thinned as it was supposed to, everything went well without a hitch, no problems or complications, I had only a very small tear, and I healed ever so quickly on the other side of it. Lalaith is a great eater and sleeper and unless she gets a cramp from some tummy troubles or has growing pains, is a happy and content baby. We are so blessed to have this little girl in our lives and so humbled that God would choose us to be her parents. We only hope and pray that we do the best job we can in raising her in a Godly and loving home.

Welcome to the world Lalaith! You are our long awaited for little latte and we love you dearly!