It was four o’clock in the morning, Tuesday July 21, 2015. It was not a surprise to me that I was awake. I was 37 weeks pregnant, and during the majority of the pregnancy, I was waking up around that time anyways. Most of the time, I spent those early hours watching the sunrise and saying my morning prayers. I prayed my usual prayer, but there was special prayer I prayed for that day. It was a special day for a friend of mine.
My friend Laura was going to have a C-section that day. Her daughter was in breached position, so they had scheduled that day to deliver her daughter, Isabella. I prayed that she would have a safe delivery, that the doctor would have wisdom during the procedure, and that her daughter would be healthy.
As I completed my prayer, a crazy thought popped into my head, “Wouldn’t it be funny, if my daughter was born today.” Not taking the thought seriously, I lay awake, waiting for the sun to rise. Not ten minutes after that “thought” came to my mind, my water broke.
Confused, I went to be bathroom. “What in the world could this be,” I thought. I cleaned myself up, and went back to bed. About five minutes later, more water. Still confused, I returned to the bathroom, cleaned myself up, and went back to bed. Another five minutes later, even more water. My water was slow breaking, which for a first-time mom can be perplexing. I called my mom and told her what had happened. After hearing what I had to say, she said, “Ok, Rachel, here is what you are going to do,” (Thank goodness for motherly wisdom!) “You are going to get yourself ready and go to the hospital, because you are going to have the baby today! Let us know when you are leaving, and we will meet you there.”
I then woke up my husband, who was asleep while all this was happening, and told him that we needed to go to the hospital, my water broke, and we were going to have the baby today. Not believing me, he said that can’t be true, and that it wasn’t time yet. He rolled over and tried to continue sleeping. I told him again, that the baby was coming today! Finally believing me, he got up and started getting us ready to go to the hospital.
About two hours after my water broke, I started feeling the contractions. I timed how far apart they were, and once I couldn’t stand during one, I told my husband that it was time to go to the hospital. On the way, we stopped by McDonald’s to get something to eat, because I knew they wouldn’t give me any food once I was admitted to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital around 11:00 a.m. I was taken into triage, where they checked to see how far along I was. I was 7cm, and was admitted, (thank you, Lord!).
They hooked up my IV’s for pain medication. I had decided to only use Nubain, as opposed to an epidural. I continued to have contractions and waited until the doctor and my body were ready to deliver.
Once I couldn’t resist the urge to push any longer, the doctor was summoned, and I started giving birth. About an hour later, our daughter, Viviana Isabelle was born. They took her away after we held her, because she was three weeks early. They brought her back once they had completed their check-ups. She was perfectly healthy.
The amazing things about this story, aside from God’s gift of life, was
- What would have seemed to be a crazy thought popped into my head early that morning. (It had to have been a God thought, because there is no way I could have thought of it myself!)
- Once I arrived at the hospital, my body was far enough along to be admitted.
- My friend had her daughter via C-section just one hour before our daughter was born,
- And was delivered by the same doctor! The doctor’s last name was Isbell, which gave inspiration to both of our daughter’s names.
Today, Viviana is a lively, almost 4-year-old girl. She enjoys dancing, singing, writing her name, and making friends with every person she comes in contact with. My husband and I enjoy watching her grow, and she’s a joy to many. I thank God for allowing me to be her mother, and for safely bringing her into this world. He knew that it was time for her to enter into the world that very day, and that is amazing.
Article Written by: Rachel Harper
