Sep. 21, 2008
Family By God
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As you know from reading my blog, I have three wonderful sons. Nicholas is now 7 3/4, James is 4 1/2, and Robert is nine months. When I was pregnant with Nicholas, a lady I knew told me about the book by Sheila Kippley Breastfeeding and Natural Child Spacing. I loved the book and I find it fascinating that God has provided a means of conception-suppression when babies are young. I began to learn that birth control pills (which I had taken for a year before becoming pregnant with Nicholas) don't prevent conception, they just prevent the completion of a pregnancy. My husband and I decided that I wouldn't take birth control pills any more. We took a Natural Family Planning course from Couple to Couple League, which is a Catholic organization that teaches couples how to monitor the wife's fertility in order to space children without tying God's hands through sterilization or chemical means of birth control. (We're not Catholic but appreciate the information we received from CCL.) I became pregnant a second time when Nicholas was almost two but miscarried at about seven weeks. It took us another nine months to get pregnant again (and we were really trying!). James arrived when Nicholas was 3 1/2 years old. He was a difficult, fussy, high-need baby and I decided I never wanted another baby. Though we chose not to do anything permanent, we used barrier methods of birth control for three years. Right after James turned three, I thought one day, "I'd like another baby." I was convinced it just had to be a girl the third time around! Of course, Jon said, "Okay!" About a week and a half later, we were having some money problems and I told him it probably wasn't a good time to get pregnant and that I wasn't sure that I wanted another one anyway. God had His way though....it was too late, I was already pregnant! Robert arrived when Nicholas was seven and James was 3 1/2. In all three pregnancies, I developed pre-eclampsia which became worse each time. Because of it, Robert was born six weeks early, weighed less than four and a half pounds, and had to be fed by syringe for over a week before he figured out how to nurse. His weight gain was very slow, and he only weighed seven pounds at three months old. Around 4 1/2 months, he started gaining well and now weighs a healthy 16 pounds. What I'm getting at is that I question this "family unplanning" thing. I believe that God wants us to prayerfully make each decision in life, including whether to have another child and when. Given my history of pre-eclampsia and also given the fact that our financial situation is not great, I wonder if the "no birth control/planning at all" way of life is the right choice for us. I would love to have more children and still hold a glimmer of a dream that I could someday have a daughter. There is definitely room in my heart and life for more children. My primary hesitation is my health with finances being secondary. Quiverfull Family Blog is holding a contest to give away five copies of Craig Houghton's book Family UNplanning. I decided to enter the contest anbd give the outcome to God. If He wants me to read this information and lead my life a certain way, I'll get the book. If not, I believe that, too, is a message from Him. I'm thankful for the path He's put me on. |
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Sep. 22, 2008 - Untitled Comment
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Posted by Anonymous