iSonto #34

This week we are thankful for the imaginative tiny boy who turned our couch in to a sports car and asked us to come for a drive.

The children have a father who builds them duplo creations.

We have finally painted the children's bedroom yellow, which makes it much brighter as it gets no sun and was blue before. They are sleeping together now for the first time. We praise God that this has gone well, although the extra effort has tired their already exhausted parents further!

The children found a puddle of water and were thrilled to stomp in it for 20 minutes or more! It is easy to be thankful for those childhood delights

Elnathan was absorbed in making tracks in his playdough.

Natey's memory verse was Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are like honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and strength to the bones.

Mercy was the proud owner of two new teeth, but is still teething every day.

She shows great interest in playdough, and loved the stars I made for her. She says "dar" for star.

From garden to tummies . . .

We have been enjoying potatoes. This vegetable is a source of vitamin C, folate, and even protein (see Western Potatoes).

A book we enjoyed together was "Give me a home among the gum trees", which we read several times each day!

Encouragement, ideas and inspiration came from a weekly intentional living plan, and Sally Clarkson's "The Mission of Motherhood".

One funny moment was Mercy's delight in taking a hat on and off and putting it on and off my head. It is delightful how little it can take to make her laugh from deep inside!

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Mercy is one!

Mercy's birthday was a delightful time to celebrate the joy she has been to us for the last year. Mercy had a teddy bear cake as she has been exclaiming over teddy bears and trying to say the word.

We had a little party with some of Mercy's cousins, a friend who was staying with them, and people from our church lifegroup. We prayed for her life, praising God for her health, love for her brother, smiles, and blessing she is to us. We pray that she will be a blessing to many throughout her life. God's mercy to us is clear to us over the first year of her life and we have a little book to record our thankfulness each birthday.

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Pretty in Pink at six months

Every day we are grateful for the gift of this tiny girl.

Mercy can't sit up on her own yet, which is all the more reason to sit and cuddle her.

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Mercy's six month birthday

Six months always seems like a big milestone to me! Mercy was six months on May 21st. She is faithfully living up to her second name and giving us lots of Joy! Her delight and smiles when we interact with her are incredibly sweet.

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Four months old

Mercy Joy is giving us lots of joy! Nothing beats baby smiles and laughter, chubby wrists, and watching new skills develop.

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Move to the big bed

This week we moved Mercy from her bassinet to the cot. Elnathan transitioned really easily to his big bed in February, praise God. I love
putting Mercy to bed under her garden quilt, a reminder of God's love and providence.

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Brother and sister

Elnathan has been showing more interest in his sister lately. He talks to her and shows affection several times a day, whereas before he only paid attention to her occasionally.

His affection can be very enthusiastic or misplaced, such as when he tried to put one of his cars in Mercy's mouth!

Still, it is sweet to see them noticing one another more and we hope they will become good friends and playmates.

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12 weeks old

These photos of twelve week old Mercy were taken last Sunday. She will be 13 weeks tomorrow!

Mercy has slept through the night since early in February, although her daily feed times and sleep times are still somewhat erratic!

Mercy gives us lots of smiles and loves to have little chats with us.

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Mother and daughter

It is a wonderful thing to be the mother of a little girl!

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8 weks old tomorrow

Mercy Joy in the garden amongst the gem squash and the corn.

My how she has grown!

Mum, do I really have to have one more photo taken . . .

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Praising God for Mercy's birth

 

There are so many things to be grateful for about Mercy's birth, including . . .

• I prayed and prayed that the baby would be in a good position, and the reduced pain in contractions indicates that this prayer was answered!
• Dave's wonderful support.
• Few of the birth suites at the hospital have baths, and you are not allowed to bring in a birth pool. We were so grateful that a suite with a bath was available!
• Having a lot of muscular pain during late pregnancy made me wonder if the contractions would be even more painful than last time. I wondered if muscular tension contributed to labour pain. I am grateful to realise that this is not the case!
• I remembered the last labour and birth well, it being so recent, and I didn’t feel like doing it again. I had some fear to pray over as we approached this birth. God’s amazing goodness is shown in the fact that this birth was totally different! In away we didn’t “do it again”, we had something different to do! This is, for me, yet another reminder not to be anxious about the future.
• The birth coming at a good time for us as a couple, even though it was late, because closer to the due date we felt more strained. We wondered about God's timing, as the extra week and a half was physically and emotionally difficult, but of course He knew best!
• Being able to hire the same midwife we had at our first birth to assist us this time. Our midwife spoke kind, encouraging words to us and made extra effort to help.
• Receiving good advice from our midwife about when to go to hospital, something we had been unsure about.
• Even though I was panicking, God enabled me to get through the difficult final stage without speaking unkind words to anyone. At one point I was able to focus on Him saying “God is my help and strength, I will not be afraid”.

 These are just some of the things I've been praising God for! He is so good to us!

 

 

 These pictures were taken in hospital shortly before we left.

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The Birth of Mercy Joy

 

Early labour lasted for most of Saturday November 20. In the afternoon Elnathan went to Grandma’s, happily waving goodbye. The contractions became increasingly regular and intense in the evening. In between contractions we looked at plants outside. Later Dave read to me. We have some lovely memories of the evening at home together. I had practiced breathing in through the nose to the count of four and out through the mouth to the count of six, and found this helpful throughout labour. I progressed to established labour (contractions that were more intense and I didn’t want to go through alone) at 9 or 9.30pm. We went to hospital at 10pm.

In hospital I spent most of the time labouring in the bath, as I was achy and tired. The water was restful between contractions. We asked the same people who were with us for Elnathan’s birth at home to come with us to the hospital, a private midwife (who also works at the hospital) and my sister. The contractions were less painful than last time, when I needed massage to get through them, and I only required Dave to talk me through. The pain was all at the front, none at the back. The bath was an ordinary sized one where you lie down, unlike the birth pool we had at home for our first labour. I kept wondering if I should be up upright to get things moving along faster. In my heart I knew that my body was opening up, but my head kept wondering if this was hard enough, or I was doing enough.

Sometime after midnight the waters broke. The next stage was short, but more painful. I was very panicky during it. I laboured on the bed. After I began pushing, she came with only a few pushes and was born at 1.30am on November 21st with only a minor tear. We praise God for an easier labour than first time around. With Elnathan’s birth established labour lasted seven hours and pushing took two hours. While I remained calm for most of the time, unlike this birth, afterwards I felt shocked. When I think about Mercy Joy’s birth, I feel happy and positive. As her head came out I said “it is a wonderful thing to give birth”. Now I can identify with people who say that labour and birth were not as bad as they expected, and that giving birth is a wonderful experience. We share this story with gratitude to God. Soon I hope to share some praise points from the birth and the first six weeks.

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Mercy Joy in her butterfly dress

I couldn't resist taking lots of pictures of Mercy in the butterfly dress a friend gave us.

Eyes open!

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Babies Don't Keep

Babies don't keep, so it is important to spend lots of time doing things like trying to capture their tiny hands in photos!

Sitting with them just enjoying the soft skin on the back of their heads is also important . . .

and enjoying these fleeting days when they sit quietly for cuddles!

It is a precious thing to have a tiny baby in the house, and I am savouring it more second time around. We both feel like we are enjoying these early days more this time.

These pictures were taken on December 1st.

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Naming our baby girl

Mercy - We chose this name because of the great mercy God has shown us. God has not only provided a way of salvation through Jesus Christ, he has also mercifully given us two children even though we had such little faith in Him for this at times. We hope that our little girl will grow to love God's mercy, and to show mercy to those who are poor, orphaned, or in need of the gospel.

Joy - Dave wanted a short second name that flowed on from the first name. We often call her Mercy Joy, although we chose not to hyphenate it. God has given us such joy through the gift of this child! From the moment I thought I might be pregnant, God gave me joy. Dave was also joyful when I told him the news. May our baby girl bring joy to many throughout her life.

Lorraine - God brought my mother Lorraine into relationship with Him in young adulthood. Most of Mum's family are not Christians. God has preserved Mum's faith through many trials and changes. Her faith has been the means through which God has revealed His mercy to me. I had often thought of calling our baby Lorraine, but we were not keen on three names. Then about a month before she was due I felt like God was speaking to my heart that adding this name would provide her with a reminder of what God has done for our family. I prayed that if this was from God, Dave would immediately agree. He did!

We hope that God will continue the work he has started in bringing Mum to faith in Him, through extending His mercy to many generations. We remember Exodus 20: 5 - 6 For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.


A few days ago I realised how applicable Psalm 90: 14 is to our the name of our baby girl:

Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our
days!

This has become my prayer for Mercy Joy.

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