37.1 weeks
I'm so grateful Baby and I have made it to this point.
Just a few more days, now...
As per the checkup yesterday, Baby is very healthy and is now head down and engaged - a great praise! I'm also so thankful for the peace and strength the Lord is giving me for each day and the faith not fear He is filling my heart with for the birth. I'm starting to be able to look past the birth and look forward to the precious reward at the end. My sister gave me a pep talk last night about how many people would gladly endure a much more difficult birth than I probably will to have their own baby. I need to not forget that in the next few days. I truly am blessed beyond measure.
God has been so faithful and I know He will continue to be so. And He has shown His love to us again and again through so many of you - from the encouraging comments, many prayers, emails, cards, food, helping with Kathrynne, running errands for us, cleaning our house... you all have blessed us again and again and again. I am humbled and awed at the goodness and grace of the Lord.
While I've been rather laid up, I've been working on finishing up two ebooks I've hoped to release for sometime: Simply Centsible Living Volume 1 and Simple Tips to Successful Home Management Volume 1. I'm hoping to finish at least one, maybe both, in the next few days. So look for a some sneak-peek pricing specials really soon!
By the way, for those of you who haven't figured out the date, induction details will be coming soon...
Just a few more days, now...
As per the checkup yesterday, Baby is very healthy and is now head down and engaged - a great praise! I'm also so thankful for the peace and strength the Lord is giving me for each day and the faith not fear He is filling my heart with for the birth. I'm starting to be able to look past the birth and look forward to the precious reward at the end. My sister gave me a pep talk last night about how many people would gladly endure a much more difficult birth than I probably will to have their own baby. I need to not forget that in the next few days. I truly am blessed beyond measure.
God has been so faithful and I know He will continue to be so. And He has shown His love to us again and again through so many of you - from the encouraging comments, many prayers, emails, cards, food, helping with Kathrynne, running errands for us, cleaning our house... you all have blessed us again and again and again. I am humbled and awed at the goodness and grace of the Lord.
While I've been rather laid up, I've been working on finishing up two ebooks I've hoped to release for sometime: Simply Centsible Living Volume 1 and Simple Tips to Successful Home Management Volume 1. I'm hoping to finish at least one, maybe both, in the next few days. So look for a some sneak-peek pricing specials really soon!
By the way, for those of you who haven't figured out the date, induction details will be coming soon...
posted by Crystal Paine at 7:34 AM
20 Comments:
You will be in my prayers! In spite of your natural fears over the upcoming birth, isn't it exciting that in probably less than a week you'll be holding your precious wee babe? :-) I was in your shoes a couple months ago when I delivered my newest baby, and I was also induced. I think the important thing to remember is to try and relax as much as possible. I know, that's not easy to do, but after having a couple of inductions under my belt now, I can really say that it makes the pains so much more manageable when you are not all tensed up and full of worry. That's one way an induction can see more scary, because you pretty much know the day, up to the hour when you'll be going into labor and it doesn't catch you off guard like a regular labor would. Try to rest as much as you can, and just keep reminding yourself that God is with you--He really is. Think of the millions of women that have given birth over the centuries...He loved every one of them, too. :-) What a blessing that you will have skilled medical professionals standing by, too, that can intervene if necessary and a wonderful support team. I can honestly say that if it came down to it, I wouldn't have a qualm about being induced with another baby. It's worked out just fine for me every time!
Hang in there--the finish line is in sight!
Hi Crystal,
When we delivered our third baby, I had a scheduled induction at 38 weeks due to a pre-diabetic condition. My doctor was concerned the baby was growing rapidly and would become too big for a normal delivery through the birth canal. Thankfully, I had a normal and fairly short labor and delivered an exquisitely healthy daughter. My heart's desire was for the Lord to be magnified in the situation. I found some beautiful verses to meditate upon before and during the birth. My favorite was the beautiful image of the God of the Universe, the Maker of heaven and earth, singing and rejoicing over me as I was in labor.
Do not fear...The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:16-17 NKJV)
Here are some other encouraging verses for you this week. We know that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever....and His Word is everlatsting truth for our lives.
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 NKJV)
Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; And let those who love Your salvation say continually, "Let God be magnified!" But I am poor and needy; Make haste to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay. (Psalms 70:4-5 NKJV)
For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you.(Isaiah 41:13 NKJV)
Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation. (Psalms 91:14-16 NKJV)
I'm sure your other faithful readers have verses the Lord impressed on their hearts before their births. I'm giving thanks today for the wonderful gift of life you and Jesse have been given...and praying for perfect health for you and your precious little one.
Crystal -
I'm glad to hear that the Lord has continued to work in your heart through others and their kind words, deeds, etc to you and your family. Many blessings in the days to come!
As an aside, a while ago, you mentioned an offer for Tawra Kaufman's books...is it still good, and do your two e books come with it? Let me know, I'm still kicking around making the investment! :)
Andrea
Hi Crystal, I feel like a regular pest... Sorry. I would just like to know if you have indeed received my emails. If you are not interested in Glyconutrients, I understand, but just drop me a line and let me know.
God bless you and your babe as the birth approaches. With Him all things are possible, He will be with you as you labor. ~Diana Miller mattdiana@hotmail.com
Crystal,
How wonderful that your baby is almost here! Your family continues to be in my prayers and I am enjoying reading your testimony at this time. Keep taking care of yourself and look forward to further details.
I'm glad to hear that you've made it this far along. Doesn't the average pregnancy range somewhere between 36-42 weeks? That's great that you don't have to deliver too prematurely, and that the baby is all ready to come out! How exciting!
Your labor is going to be a wonderul experience Crystal, even though the circumstances will be new for you. The doctors and nurses are going to take excellent care of you and the baby. Also, I think it's great that you'll be able to share two completely different birthing stories with mothers-to-be from here on out. Having been at both a birthing center and a hospital you'll be better able to weigh the pros and cons of each. Good will come from this.
Keep us posted, so we can keep praying for you!
I delivered a beautiful daughter recently via induction and the labor, while intense, went without a hitch and with some breathing exercises and my husband faithfully massaging my back, it wasn't bad at all. I mean, labor is labor, so it does hurt, but in the grand scheme of things it's over so quickly and a small price to pay for a BABY! :-) I really wish you well and you will be in my thoughts. It won't be long now!
I firmly believe that the Lord has us go through various things for a reason. After going through uncomfortable, sickly pregnancies, inductions, LONG labors and difficult deliveries, I can say that I can really empathize with other moms that are or have gone through similar circumstances more than I could before dealing with things of that nature myself. It seems like since having my children, God has brought many women into my life who are dealing with issues that I also had and it enables me to understand and empathize in a special way. I have a feeling that will be the same for you, Crystal. I'm sure over the years you will be on the opposite side of things, so ENJOY being the receiver of encouragement and help now, since the Lord will surely call on you in the future to encourage someone else in a similar situation. And you will be perfectly prepared! :-)It all has a purpose and a plan, and even during the darker times of fear and anxiety, He is there for your family. I can't wait to hear your exciting news. Hopefully your sister will be able to live blog so all of us blog readers can be your internet support team! :-)
Crystal,
I have been lifting you up in prayer as you prepare to have your sweet baby very soon. I can't wait to see how the Lord works that special day! I just know that He is going to be so faithful to you and your faith is just going to soar!
Also, I wanted to invite you to come and check out my new blog.....mostly I'm just posting about little snippets of my day so that my family and friends can stay connected but I'm hoping it to be a blessing. And b/c you've blessed me so much through your blog I'm hoping to maybe one day return the blessing. =)
Much Love,
Heather in Pa
Congratulations on making it that much closer to baby day. Still praying for you...
Blessings~
We may not really knpow each other, but I am excitedly waiting to hear the good news. I am confident it will go as it should because I know the One in charge is pretty good at what He does! ;) Bless you!
Crystal, the Lord will bless you and your baby! Remember Psalms 27 . . . "The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? I will lift my eyes up to the hills from whence my help comes. My help comes from the Lord, who is the maker of Heaven and Earth. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon him in truth. Fear not, for I will be with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteousness and my right hand indeed will keep you. God is my refuge and God is my strength, a very present help in time of trouble."
Crystal, while you sister is right that reflecting on our blessings and the fact that others might see our own troubles as easy can help us get into a better frame of mind, I would never compare your crosses with those of another. Your own cross is given you by God for your edification and sanctification. And those of others are given by Him to them. Of course, we all struggle and grow weary beneath our burdens, and of course for almost every one of us there is another we can think of or imagine who is worse off - but each of us is given strength to bear our own trials and a way out. We don't need to apologise for feeling weak at times or being grieved at our own sadness just because others are sad or burdened too. We are praying for you and baby and God is with you.
Glad to hear you're feeling brighter, and I'm really excited for you & your family!
BTW I'm pretty positive that I saw a photo of you & Kathrynne baking in the Australian Woman's Day magazine today at my Mum's place. They had an article on surrendered wives featuring a woman called Skye,however I'm sure they made a mistake & used a photo of you instead on the 2nd page. It didn't mention the documentary though. I don't know whether any of your other Aussie readers may have seen it?
Claire
Oh Crystal, that is so good to hear. Praise the Lord! It truly is in His hands! Blessings to you :)
I'm so happy you're feeling alright - well, as much as possible for your condition at the moment. I have thought about you in the last couple of days. My prayers are with you and your baby!
We don't know each other, but I've been reading about you and your pregnancy. I read one of your comments in one of the posts that you had tried about a number of things to boost iron, etc. levels up but to no avail. I got to wondering if maybe the baby was absorbing all of that from you, hence you not getting anythng for yourself, therefore the baby being so very healthy? It was just a thought... I hope that all goes well for you and your beautiful baby (when he/she comes!)!
I have to tell yo that I have read your blog from start to finish. And I am amazed at how a woman so young is so mature spiritually and emotionally. I wonder if I had such a model in my younger years would I have prevented many of the mistakes of my youth- ones I am still working my way out of.
Congrats on your precious gift from God and I look forward to reading more of your advice.
I'm so glad and praising the Lord that you've made it this far!! and that the baby is head down and in position for birthing.
So, are you going to be induced when you are 38 weeks along.... on the 22nd?
I hope you are able to accomplish the work on the two e-books that you are finishing up.
*hugs* and prayers,
~Sam
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