Our “Christmas Miracle” Granddaughter’s Birth

I shared a series of posts: Fertility:  It’s in God’s Hands, Not Ours!   This was my daughter Ruth’s story of her infertility journey, and then the good news of their “Christmas Miracle”. Today I recall the day their “Christmas miracle”, little Victoria Noelle, was born!!

It was Victoria’s due date, and my daughter went to work as usual. She called me around 11:00 a.m. and said “Don’t freak out – I’m not having contractions! But I don’t feel good at all. I’m all hot, shaky, and nauseated. I need to go home, but I’m afraid to drive. Will you pick me up and drive me home?”

I headed right over, feeling excited because I kind of guessed she was in early labor. I took her home to rest, and offered to take her to the appointment with her midwife that had been previously scheduled for that afternoon. The midwife assured her that what she was feeling was normal, and part of the preparation process. When she checked Ruth, we were happy to hear she was dilated to 3 cm., and her cervix was very soft, and 70% effaced. The midwife encouraged her to go home and rest as much as she could, so she’d be ready when her labor started. I decided that I should go home and rest too, since I was going to be with Ruth & Rob for the labor and delivery! 

At 2 a.m. the next morning Rob called, and said they were at the hospital. Ruth was dilated to 6 cm, and having contractions every 2-3 minutes. I had an adrenalin rush that got me moving pretty quickly, and I was at the hospital with them by 2:45. Ruth was having long, hard contractions every 2 minutes by now. (She was sleeping around midnight, when the contractions woke her up. She took a shower to try to get some relief, but realized that it wasn’t helping, and that things were moving quickly. By then Rob was awake, and they headed for the hospital.)  On top of the strong contractions, Ruth was throwing up from the nausea, and struggling with fatigue. She wasn’t sure how her labor would go, but had hoped to go natural. However, at this point she was already worn out, and decided she should get an epidural so she could get a little rest before the baby arrived. She got the epidural around 4:00, and within minutes was feeling much better, and able to rest some. Though none of us actually slept due to excitement, we all rested for awhile, waiting for the midwife to get there and check her progress.

The midwife arrived and checked Ruth around 7:30 am, and she was dilated to 10 cm!! So the team began to get everything ready, and then we all proceeded to encourage Ruth to push through each contraction. It was SO exciting to see the baby crown, and see her dark hair appear. With each contraction the baby moved a little closer, and we got more excited. (I had to sit down in between each of Ruth’s contractions – it’s hard work watching her push, and waiting for the baby to come!)  ☺️

At 8:24 Victoria finally made her grand entrance, weighing 6 pounds and 11 ounces. She saw us all crying tears of joy, and she joined in! 🙂

What a beautiful, beautiful thing to be there and watch my daughter give birth to the baby they had waited and prayed for! After having eight kids, I still haven’t lost the wonder of the miracle of birth. Knowing Victoria was an answer to prayer for all of us made this event even more special. So thankful for the joy and blessing of another grandchild. I love watching the plans unfold that God has for this child for which we all prayed!

“Children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”  Psalm 127:3