Feb. 2, 2008 - Corban Joseph has arrived!
Our Birthstory, written by Daddy...
This is the story of how our son Corban came into the world. Let’s set precedence by sharing what Erica and I have been in faith for since before we became pregnant. There is a wonderful book called “Supernatural Childbirth” by Jackie Mize which is full of testimonies as well as scriptural references, evidences and a guide to having pain free childbirth. Sounds crazy right? You might even be thinking, it’s supposed to hurt or it’s impossible considering the physics involved for that to actually happen. I mean let’s face it, it hurts to poop sometimes and those little guys never weigh 6 or 9 pounds. Well, thank God He left us a book that shows us exactly what we can expect from His word, and that if we trust in Him with all our hearts and never lean on our own understanding, how we “feel” or what makes sense in this world as we know it we can have exactly what it promises because if you are a follower of Christ you are in this world but not of it. Understand if you have made Jesus the Lord of your life and thus are a follower of Christ, you are redeemed from the curse of the law that came through sin because of the price God paid with the life of His Son and the only thing left is the new and better covenant He promises us and it’s nothing but blessing if you’ll only walk in it.
Erica and I met at the women’s health clinic to see Dr. Nilson for our regular weekly visit to check up on Corban to see how and what he was doing. We waited for the usual thirty or forty five minutes to get called back. Once we were in the room Dr. Nilson came in and checked the ultrasound and he got really quiet when usually he’s pretty goofy and fun and told us the baby had his head down in the correct position which we had been waiting for. We had a couple visits close to her delivery date and the doctor said he didn’t need to check her until he was in the right position; his head was more to one side both times. Erica asked Dr Nilson to go ahead and check her so he did and she was already dilated to a four and hadn’t even had any contractions so we were surprised to say the least. The doctor told her to get dressed and come talk to him in his office. We never go in his office for anything; he always talks to us in the room. At this point my stomach was turning and the best way I can describe my excitement is to say my spirit was literally dancing wildly inside my body while I was forced to sit still and pretend to be calm. He said “so are you ready to go have a baby”? She said she didn’t know because we we’re trying to wait until February (don’t ask). He said he didn’t think we’d make it to the hospital if she waited until she thought it was time to go and I would end up delivering the baby myself. Gulp! He said think about it and told us he was on call that night. We left the office and talked about what we wanted to do and decided we wanted to go ahead and go to the hospital and try to have him on the 23rd since the 23rd is the date of her birthday in December, her sister’s birthday in October and my sister’s birthday in June. So we went home and started packing our goodies to take to the hospital.
We left home for the hospital at 6:47 p.m. on January 23rd. We joined hands and prayed over Erica and the baby that God would put a hedge of protection around us, that as God offered us the opportunity to raise this son, He would give us the wisdom to walk in His ways and raise him according to His Word and that Corban would be a light to the world like a city on a hill. I was excited and a little nervous although confident God would honor His word. I couldn’t get settled down for most of the drive and then the hospital came into view and I suddenly focused on what my job was and that fear was not a part of it. The moment I realized it I became strong for her and an amazing peace came over me and I knew God was with us. We arrived at the hospital at 7:23 p.m. Erica walked to the door with me after we parked the van. We went to register her and filled out some paperwork and sat down. After just a few minutes they admitted us to a room and got us settled in and Erica changed into a hospital gown. I was so excited I could barely sit still so I wandered around the room asking questions about every piece of equipment and trying out every chair and then bouncing back up again. I took my long sleeve shirt off because I was burning up and I emptied my pockets of all the contents (while still at home I had gathered about eighty dollars worth of change to put in my pocket and four packs of chewing gum). I went down to the van to bring up our suitcase, blankets and pillow we brought for comfort during our stay. Cassie, Erica’s best friend showed up and boy was I happy to see her, she kept track of everything that happened during labor and delivery and offered a ton of support both emotionally and spiritually. Ryan Pickle, our nurse came into the room and checked Erica’s cervix at 7:58 p.m. She was dilated to a 4 and her cervix was 50% effaced. She received an I.V. for fluids at 8:01 p.m. (Aunt Cassie called this “Gatorade”). Ryan asked if we wanted to have Erica’s water broken to start the process and we said yes; so at 8:57 p.m. A resident doctor came in and broke her water and the amazing spiritual journey began.
Erica’s contractions started light, she spent most of her time lying in the bed with me walking around constantly asking her if there was anything I could do, she typically smiled at me and calmly said no, I’m fine. We talked about what we were expecting and believing for and Cassie and I prayed over her while laying hands on her and massaging her shoulders and neck. At 10:15 p.m. the nurse came in and checked her again and she was dilated to a 6 but the cervix was still about 50% effaced. Ryan brought in a birthing ball and Erica began to bounce on it to help get the baby in position and help things along a little bit. I remember thinking how cute she looked while bouncing on that purple ball with her adorable belly poking out in front of her and her hands on her hips so I walked over and started helping her bounce; pressing down on her shoulders and dribbling her like a basketball. The contractions came on a bit stronger and Erica’s legs began to shake, I came and held her in my arms and prayed over her, reminding her of what we were believing for and speaking the Word and Gods promises over her. Erica took a journey to the restroom while Cassie and I trailed along rolling her I.V. rack behind her. At 11:15 p.m. Ryan came in again and checked her cervix and she was still dilated to a 6 but she was now about 80% effaced and the baby had dropped into position. I asked Ryan if she could feel his head and she said yes, I remember feeling both excited and tingly on the inside and we had been praying continuously, all three in agreement in prayer and it was amazing, I felt a lightness and there was a tangible presence of God in the room, I don’t know that I’ve ever experienced it that strong.
The most powerful moment in the room that night was when Erica sat on the edge of the bed facing me, I pulled a chair up to her and she put her forehead on my shoulder as Cassie and I massaged her back; we started speaking the word over her and taking authority over her body, claiming God’s promises,” we are redeemed from the curse of the law” and “only blessings remain”, “God put us over all the works of His hands”, “ we lay hands on the sick and they recover”. “God is fully able to perform what He promised and He is always watching over His Word to perform it”. There is a supernatural anointing that comes over our hands when we raise them to God; they become Holy. Her contractions were strong but as we continued to pray and stand in faith a tremendous peace came over the entire room and I found myself feeling very light and completely at peace knowing God was prepared to be faithful to our requests and His promises.
Ryan came in and checked Erica again at 11:49 p.m. She was dilated to a 7 and was fully effaced and the baby was fully engaged and daddy was becoming very excited; I was going to meet my son soon. Ryan called Dr Nilson. Erica is doing great at this point, her legs are shaky and her contractions are very strong but she remains at peace and in control, I remind her to stay focused and never left her side again until Corban was born. Dr. Nilson arrived at 12:05 a.m. (Darn, we missed our 23rd date, oh well; Corban will have his own special day). Dr Nilson washed up, sat down at the edge of the bed, looked up at Erica and said “push and you’re gonna have a baby”. Cassie left to go announce to our family in the waiting room it was time to push and everything was starting. I held her head in the crick of my arm with her head pressed against my chest and whispered in her ear “are you ready? It’s going to be amazing and quick, just relax and stay focused.” Erica started pushing and then altered with her breathing, she kissed me as I held her and it seemed to bring an amazing peace over her even when the pushing became very tiresome. I said come on baby, you can do it, and we grunted together each time she pushed as I was trying to encourage her to push harder and stronger. I could see the top of Corban’s head crowning and he was faced the wrong direction but just at that last hard push, Dr Nilson helped turn his head slightly; the first thing I saw were his eyes which of course were closed and then he turned over and slid the rest of the way out into the Doctors hands. They cleared his mouth and nose and handed him to momma. Erica looked amazing the first time she laid her eyes on him, I’ll never forget the love in her eyes and the happiness evident in her heart because it filled my entire world with joy, I will never forget that moment the rest of my life, it was amazing. They called me over to cut the umbilical cord and then the nurses came in to clean him up a bit and to check him out. Everything was perfect. We had a truly amazing experience and we can offer no other thanks other than to God and His truthful Word full of the promises we can walk in every day of our lives if we’ll only stand. Erica, Cassie and I stood that day, we never faltered, we never gave up on Gods word and He brought a perfect boy into the world in 8 minutes without tearing a single part of momma; she was in perfect condition after his birth.
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