My husband and I started out like the traditional Christian couple. We had some counseling and one of the sessions included how long we would wait to have children and what kind of birth control we would use. We just went with the flow and decided we would use the pill. My mother had some serious side effects from taking the pill when I was young so I definitely had negative "vibs", but the Doctor said the "mini pill" was different. I went on it before we were married to be ready for the honeymoon. I was so sick I went off of it and went to another form of "manual" birth control. The thought of having children actually scared me. Could I raise children in such a wicked world? Could I even mother children? Maybe I did not even want children!!

We were married and my tune quickly changed. Something happened in me and I soon had THE URGE to have a baby. I was almost 21 when we married and 19 months later I became a mother when our first child, a boy was born. Now, this is where the ignorance of "birthing babies" came in. I knew NOTHING about nutrition, prenatal care, labor and all the other little things that come with having a baby, including nursing the little one. One thing I DID know. I loved Jesus and believed He would work all things out for the good in spite of me. . .not a statement of license, just a desperate pledge of trust in the Lord.

I was working at the church office as a secretary. Seems like a dichotomy now, but the fact remains. I was very ill. In-between typing assignments, I would be lying down or visiting the "great white throne." I packed on the weight, after all I was eating for two. My husband would make a run to Dairy Queen to satisfy my cravings. "Do you want a Peanut Buster Parfait or a Double Fudge Brownie delight?" "Yes, please!", I would reply and home he would come with both, one for me and one for the baby!!

We ate out a lot at this time in our life.   One time we went to a local restaurant and they had the BEST spare ribs. I ate and ate and ate. I did not even make it out the door before I profusely threw up all over the place! I was embarrassed, needless to say. Ironically the establishment was called, "The Chuck Wagon"!!

All this is to say, I did not have "healthy habits" and I paid the price in the form of Toxemia. I was put on bed rest and a drug to lower my blood pressure for 5 weeks and then hospitalized and put on IV's with Magnesium Sulfate. After about a week of that I was induced with Pitocin. I bet you do not have to guess what the out come was. After 12 hours of labor an emergency section was done because of "fetal distress". Our baby boy was born at 6#5oz., healthy. A miracle really for someone who knew "nothing about having babies."