I can hardly believe I have a daughter, much less that she will be three weeks old tomorrow. We waited for so many months, and now the days are flying by, and my baby is changing before my very eyes.
I wanted to share a little bit about her birth story and her first few weeks of life.
On the evening of February 11, Lucas and I began to pray in earnest for Baby’s arrival. The following day was his grandmother’s 100th birthday and we were asking the Lord for the unmerited gift of our child being born that day. Lucas prayed over me around midnight that night and told baby, “today is your birthday! it’s time to be born!” No lie, ten minutes later, my water broke! Labor started immediately afterward, with very little respite. We traveled to the birth center a few hours later–an hour long drive!! my labor progressed and intensified, as labor does. I desired an unmedicated, completely natural childbirth, and am so happy I chose this path. My midwife and her team were OUTSTANDING, and made the experience one I will look on fondly, despite the struggle haha!. At 1:47 pm, Caroline was born and our hearts just burst with joy!! We were shocked to find out she was a girl; we were totally convinced we were having a boy. She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen.
After 12 hours of constant contractions and heavy back labor, followed by about 45 minutes of pushing, every bit of agony dissipated instantly the moment she was born. Side note, I even prayed I would have a baby born during the day, and she was! And she came on her great grandmother’s 100th birthday, just as we had prayed. After a delicious sushi meal and our midwives checking both of us out, we all headed home about 3 hours after her birth. Our doula was an amazing support throughout my labor and she even returned home with us to help us get settled in.
The first few nights were an absolute blur, but even in our sleepless stupor, Lucas and I were overcome with happiness that the Lord had blessed us with such a beautiful gift.
These past few weeks have been amazing. Caroline is such a good baby—we prayed for this every night of my pregnancy. I have been amazed by how naturally I suddenly became a mother. Breastfeeding, waking up multiple times a night, changing a million diapers, it all feels so natural and right, even though I have never dome it before. Lucas is an AMAZING dad, as I knew he would be. I cried buckets when he went back to work, but the Lord has helped us!
I want to encourage pregnant women of a few things:
—Pray big prayers. We read Supernatural Childbirth and it really challenged me to pray specific, big prayers. So many things God gave us that he didn’t have to, but it felt like a gift from a loving father.
—Labor is doable. Not easy, not fun, but you can do it. Pray through it and have a birth team who can encourage you!! It’s not something you should fear or dread. God created you to do this.
—Natural childbirth was an amazing experience for me…highly recommend. my recovery has been great and I credit God and a natural childbirth with this. I’m already excited for baby #2!
Finally…..lest you think it’s all pie in the sky, for all you haters who say I’m out of touch with reality, this is for you…
I spend 5-10 minutes trying to snap her onesies, changing diapers is a nightmare for me, she’s already getting heavy for my not so strong arms, it’s nearly impossible for me to find a comfortable position nursing her, and about a million other small challenges I face multiple times a day. But these are SUCH light and momentary afflictions compared to the absolute JOY of being Caroline’s mama.
May we raise her to be bold in her faith, kind in her actions, gentle with her words, feminine in her demeanor, obedient to authority, and full of joy, no matter what challenges she faces. We have a grave responsibility in raising a godly daughter. May we see to it with excellence and dedication.
Thank you God for the gift and jewel of our precious daughter. I am overcome with gratitude.
Sarah D. Shearer 
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