Azariah Joseph Part 1

Our son was born last week and his story is quite amazing... Hold on tight... Its a long story...

So the story of our son's birth dates back to July 4th, 2005. Yep, you read that right. Not even three months after Stephen and I got married, we were at Camp Cedar Crest for summer camp, and during one of the sessions God gave Stephen the name of our son, Azariah Joseph. Azariah means "Helped by God" and Joseph (Stephen's middle name) means "May God Add or Provide."

Two daughters later, I was really starting to fear that I too might have only daughters like my mother and grandmother before me. Stephen said that if we had 3 girls in a row, we would be done. There was no way that he was going to risk being the father of 4 girls and subject himself to the crazy dynamics of my family of origin.

To our great delight, I got prenant in July of 2009. It was so exciting for us, but that excitement was short lived when we lost the baby at 13 weeks. It was an unplanned natural miscarriage in the bathroom of my inlaw's house the morning we were supposed to fly back to Portland. We waited six months before trying again, and that pregnancy too ended at 8 weeks. Even with the knowledge of being able to carry to healthy baby girls to full term, my baby hopes were really low.

We waited again, and got pregnant in November of 2010. Due to the last two pregnancies not making it past the third trimester, we did things a little differently. For one, we didn't announce our pregnancy until we knew the sex of the baby and second, I did not get prenatal care until 15 weeks. That might seem really strange, but when you have spent more money on the babies you have lost than the ones that have come full term, it makes sense. (Medically, there is nothing doctors can do the first trimester to stop a miscarriage. And considering I had already experienced two natural miscarriages, I figured I would spare myself the agony.)

After living in Portland for two years, my views on health care have radically changed, and I really did not want an OB. I wanted a midwife. Stephen and I met with one in Santa Clarita, less than two miles from our home. She was wonderful, but not covered by our insurance. I appealed to the insurance company, several times, and after being denied by the State, I gave up. We could not afford to pay for her out of pocket, not with Stephen being a "Stay At Home Dad" and full time student. I was crushed. So I found a highly recommended OB in Santa Clarita. HE WAS A NIGHTMARE!!! After three visits with his bedside manners, I knew I could not partner with him in the delivery of my son. So we made the decision to drive 52 miles to the closest midwife my insurance would cover.

My midwife in Camarillo was wonderful! Joyce was such a joy to work with. Rather than waiting 20 minutes to see an OB for all of 5 minutes, my appointments were always on time and she usually spent 20 to 40 minutes with me. The care was personal, and a wonderful reminder as to why I had wanted a midwife in the first place. And then, at my appointment in early June, Joyce informed me that the company of Doctors she worked with had decided not to renew their contract. She was basically laid off, with a bunch of others, and would not be permitted to deliver after June 30th. My due date was July 31st.

When Joyce told me that she was not able to deliver my baby, I laughed. Yep, I laughed. It had been such a crazy journey already, my midwife being laid off in my eighth month sounded about right. On my long drive home, I gave the situation to God. I cried. I was frustrated and confused and really did not want to be looking for a new provider so late in the game. And trying to find someone to take me so late in pregnancy was also going to be a challenge. So I did the one thing I know NEVER works. I gave God a time line for a miracle. Hilarious, I know. On that drive I told the Lord I would spend one week looking for a new midwife. At the end of that week, if I was not able to find a new midwife, I would let it go and find an OB.

I sent a mass email out to 24 different midwives within a 30 mile radius of our home. Most of them replied with not having an opening but recommending a midwife in Santa Clarita by the name of Renee Sicignano. Renee was the midwife we had met with when I had first gotten pregnant. And at the end of the week, at 4:00pm I met with Renee to give her all of my records and become a patient under her care. When we met, she said she knew she was supposed to work with us. Oddly, my name has been on her calendar as one of the moms for July, even though we never had an appointment. When the month of June rolled around, she decided that she should remove "Liz Gomez" from her calendar as she didn't even know who I was! But God knew. He made it so obvious, so that when I contacted her, she knew me by name and knew she could work with us. She was so compassionate to our situation, and made exceptions for us due to the craziness of the situation and our financial need. She is extraordinary, and that is not a complement I give out often.

As I started my care with Renee, I had to see a hematologist. My platelet count was low, and it could have some risks associated with it. Even trying to find a hematologist was difficult! I worried that my count would put me at a risk that would make it impossible for me to give birth out of hospital. On my drive to that appointment, I shared my fears with God, and again my frustration at the possibility of having to find ANOTHER provider. Then God gently reminded me of the miracle he provided with Renee. Of course, I shot back with "then why the heck do I need to go to the trouble of all of this?!" His response was gentle, that it wasn't for me, but a resource for Renee. Ok. So I went to the appointment, and everything is fine. The one thing he said that I wasn't expecting was "no epidural" due to possible paralysis. (Yeah, if a doctor had told me that epidurals could lead to paralysis, I never would have gotten one with the girls!)

The "no epidural" decree was actually for Stephen. He had been worried about the level of pain I would be in, and really didn't want to be around for that. But God knew. If I had been told 3 weeks before my due date that my birth plan of "no pain" was going to be changed, I would have freaked out. But God, in his great kindness knew that, so he put it in my heart to go "all natural" long before. When I had my next appointment with Renee, she was amazed at how wonderful Dr. Black had been to work with, including his staff. And her response was "he is going to be such a great resource to have." (Side note: stop questioning God's motives. They are always good.)

Then, there was the small detail of my midwife Renee going on vacation in July. For one week. The baby was not expected to come during those 7 days, but with the way things had already gone, there was a good chance that the back up midwife would be delivering the baby...