I Belong to the Lord

Pirate Cake made by my friend.... it was AMAZING!

Daddy Pirate.... Judah Pirate!

Pirate 'Helpers'....

I LOVE this Man.... He's a HOT Pirate

My BABY turns 3....

Favorite Gift.... thank you Sally

The picture say's it ALL... Exhausted from turning 3!

My baby turned 3! What a three years it has been… he’s a non-stop ball of joy and energy I love him so much and feel truly blessed to have him! He’s a miracle baby… if he had been born a week later, he would’ve been born dead! I had developed ‘Cholestasis of Pregnancy’…. which affects 1 in 1000 pregnant women, it is also hereditary. With Cholestasis, your liver and gall bladder shut’s down and poison’s your blood and eventually poisons the baby… and they die! The signs and symptoms are SEVERE itching (I itched so bad I scratched my skin off until I bled), elevated bile acids in your blood (mine were through the roof), and depression. The following website helped me (along with the Holy Spirit) save Judah’s life: http://www.itchymoms.com/home.html.

By the time I hit 35 weeks I was having suicidal thoughts because of the symptoms of the Cholestasis… to say I was miserable does not begin to describe how I felt. Jacob was SO supportive and very concerned! At 36 weeks I told Jacob I had to go to the ER because something was WRONG! Without hesitation, Jacob loaded me up and had a the kids taken care of… we were admitted to labor and delivery with minor contractions! My blood pressure and blood work were not great, but stable. They ordered another bile acid test (which takes 3 or more days to results), and did an amniocentesis (which drew blood, so the results were inconclusive)… I was packed with ice to stop the itching and given a strong dose of ‘Uridiol.’

I was admitted over night…. feeling exhausted, frustrated, relieved, depressed…. not in a good place By the next morning, Jacob and I had a strong unction from the Holy Spirit to deliver Judah IMMEDIATELY! My doctor (whom I didn’t care for, but was an expert in Cholestasis… so I got stuck with her) encouraged me to stay on Uridiol for a week (in the hospital) and then deliver Judah. Keep in mind the Uridiol only masks the symptoms, it does NOT treat the Cholestasis… the only cure is to deliver the baby! Jacob and I told her that we wanted to be induced that day… not up for discussion. RELUCTANTLY, my doctor agreed! Telling me that being induced early meant the risk of a C-section when up considerably and complication with the birth was inevitable! By this time, my sister had arrived and was with me (Jacob’s family was out-of-town at a graduation).

I was induced at 11am (3 cm) and given some petocin… feeling uncomfortable, I request my epidural The doctor broke my water at 12pm, and labor started good and strong (5cm)… 12:30 my epidural STOPPED working and I was in FULL TRANSITION!!! Jacob was at the cafeteria and Amy was by my side…. I sat up and hysterically told Amy to get the nurse, because I could feel EVERYTHING!!! Amy frantically got the nurse… who checked me…. and told me I was at 9cm!!!! I didn’t care, I wanted DRUGS – IMMEDIATELY… I was informed it was too late for that!!! Jacob was gone, I wanted to push, and my epidural FAILED me!!! The nurse called for the doctor, told me not to push and I told Amy to help (because I was going to push). Amy was wide-eyed and scared! Jacob ran into the room right behind the doctor and I was pushing… within seconds I PULLED Judah out and placed him on my chest… 12:49pm Judah was born (4 weeks early). He stopped breathing and was given CPR and placed in the ICU!

Judah stayed in the ICU for one week and came home completely fine… At my six week follow-up appt. I was given my Bile Acid test results that confirmed that Judah was a MIRACLE and shouldn’t have been born ALIVE! The poison had reached him and he was taking it ALL in through the umbilical cord!!! Judah LITERALLY flew out of me and was saved!!! Thank you Holy Spirit – you are a true helper! Jacob and I knew He was a MIRACLE, the doctor’s report just confirmed it!!! It is understood that Cholestasis pregnancies NEED to deliver between 32 and 36 weeks to save the baby… otherwise it’s a stillborn delivery! If I had listened to the doctor, Judah wouldn’t be here… Again, the urgency of the Holy Spirit told us EVERYTHING would be OK, but we had to deliver – IMMEDIATELY! So we did, and Judah is with us today… Happy, Healthy, and Full of Life!!!

Thank you Jesus!