A Healing God/Happy Birthday Clara Grace!

With the birth of our daughter, Clara Grace, came an amazing testimony of God's healing hand. We celebrated her yesterday with extended family, today with our little family, and all the while remember His faithfulness and power demonstrated in her life. Be encouraged. God is gracious to us beyond measure. 

It's still crazy for me to utter the words, "God healed my uterus". Thoughts still come to me like, "Really? Am I imagining things? Did this all really take place?" But graciously so, God has provided even the written medical reports for me to stare in the face when my faith wanes. It is true: God healed my "abnormally shaped" uterus. Upon the birth of Clara, my OB who performed my c-section declared as he delivered her, "Your uterus is fine. You have a nice uterus with plenty of room!"

I was first confirmed to have a septated uterus (meaning a dividing septum within my uterus) after my c-section with my 2nd son, Levi. The doctors suspected an abnormality in my uterus after my pregnancy and delivery with Judah. I had many things that pointed to this: a prior miscarriage, pre-term labor, growth restricted baby (Judah, my 1st son, was 3.5lbs at 36 weeks), and breech presentation. With Levi, I went to an early ultrasound at a pregnancy help center as a volunteer. I was helping the agency train in new ultrasound techs and I let the trainer know that I had a suspected a septated uterus to see if they could identify anything before my uterus became too enlarged to view this. The trainer did, in fact, see a septum coming down and said to me that it came down about a third of the way in my uterus. As my pregnancy with Levi progressed, I had to plan a c-section because he was, as well, in a breech presentation. My OB let me know that they would then get a good look at my uterus and be able to confirm the hypothesis they had formed. I went into pre-term labor with Levi at 35 weeks and they were unable to stop contractions, so the c-section performed at that time. After Levi was delivered my OB let me know that, yes, the hypothesis was confirmed as she saw a septum coming down my uterus during the surgery.

So, my pregnancy with Clara went forward and I began to have complications early in the 3rd trimester with her: contractions began at 29 weeks and I was put on bedrest and medication to hold her as long as possible. My doctor told me that I wouldn't make it past 35 or 36 weeks. In this season, we were surrounded again by an amazing praying support. Many people were petitioning God on our behalf, asking to keep Clara put in my womb as long as possible. I first began to wonder what God might be up to at 33 weeks when my doctor let me know that Clara had flipped. She too was in the breech presentation up until that point. The doctors had explained to me before with Judah and Levi that the septum prevented the boys from having the space that most babies have to flip later on. We took this as great encouragement! Clara was head down! Then, despite my continued contractions my labor progression actually reversed at one point when my doctor let me know at a weekly appointment that my cervix had thickened! Week 36 arrived and I was taken off bedrest and medications. The nurses at my hospital were made aware of my pregnancy and expecting me to come at any time (they later told me this as I recovered after Clara was born). But, amazingly, I went on for almost 3 weeks more completely uneventful and carried Clara to her scheduled c-section date!

The big day had arrived for Clara and I couldn't wait to meet her....and see what my OB saw in my uterus. Clara was born early on Good Friday, April 22nd, 2011. I heard her first cry and began to cry tears of joy myself. And then came these words from my OB, "Who told you had a septum in your uterus?" I knew right away....God had healed my uterus! The septum was gone! Tears began to stream down my face at this point and I managed to tell him that it was my last OB that told me that! He then continued to say, "Well, your uterus is fine. You have a nice uterus with plenty of room." 

God is so gracious to us! I'm still marveling at the work of His hands....in this precious little girl He has given our family and in the news of my uterus with "plenty of room"! I am so grateful that many of you have stood with us, at some point in this journey asking the Father to be gracious to us. He has heard our cries! He has delighted to show us His goodness and done a great work! Praise be to His name!