On June 28, 2016 at 1:25 am, the lives of my husband and I changed forever. At that exact time we welcomed into our lives one of the many promises of God and looked into the eyes of our daughter Miss Braylen Jael Washington. I can remember how the atmosphere in the delivery room changed immediately after Dr. Gleaton placed her on my chest. The room was completely peaceful including the cries of our baby girl. That sound was peaceful as well because it was a sound I was longing to hear for almost four years. After the umbilical cord was cut, a few pictures were taken, measurements were noted and I shed a few tears, Jarrett came over to us and immediately starting praying and praising God for our answered prayer. This was our first prayer as a family unit.
During our pregnancy we received an amazing book entitled, Supernatural Childbirth, and it's complementary book of prayers. We decided that God was able to do for us what He had done for those in the book as well. We prayed for what we later named a Christ Centered Covenant Pregnancy and a Supernatural Childbirth. We prayed for our pregnancy to be filled with peace and no complications. We prayed for people to bless us through prayer and to not tell us horrific stories of their pregnancy nor childbirth. We prayed for God to surround us with positive individuals who reminded us of our promise. And He did just that. For our childbirth, we prayed for a pain-free, successful childbirth that resulted in a healthy baby girl. And He did just that.
Our Labor Story:
I honestly didn't know I was in labor on Monday, June 27. The night before I was extremely restless and didn't sleep at all. My husband woke up around 4:00 am and was concerned that I was still up. He asked if I was in any pain and I responded that I wasn't. I just felt weird and uncomfortable. I told him something private and he asked if my water broke and I told him I didn't think so. A few hours later he left for work only to return after a half day because my water had in fact broke. This "a-ha" moment came after I ran errands to Walgreen's, Publix, Stella Nails and had cut an entire watermelon to enjoy with my lunch. It was showtime! I'm grateful my bags were packed and ready. This took some of the pressure off of my husband who was extremely nervous. He even cried tears leaving our subdivision.
We arrived at the hospital and were double and triple checked to ensure I was actually in labor. IVs were started and we waited for the fabulous Dr. Gleaton to arrive and give us a summation and her thoughts on when she thought we would deliver. She was convinced this would be a sunrise baby arriving around 5 or 6 am. So we wait............ at least we thought we would. I'm grateful for an amazing husband who during my labor read scriptures from my Scriptures for Childbirth cards. After about 9 hours of contractions, that felt more like mild menstrual cramps, it was action time! I had dilated from 4 cm to 10 cm faster than anyone expected. The nurse came to simply check on me and she was surprised to see how quickly I had progressed. We looked at the clock and it was 12:45 am. Baby Braylen was on the way. The nurses began preparing the room for delivery. Jarrett was by my side. Dr. Gleaton arrived and it was show time! Time to push!!! Seven minutes and 9 pushes of Supernatural Childbirth (pain-free, anxiety-free, complication-free childbirth) Miss Braylen Jael entered our world singing at a 1st soprano octave. Oh the Joy that flooded Jarrett and my souls when we saw her face. Ironically, Pastor Telley Gadsden had prayed the week prior over my womb and declared, "Pain free! Easy childbirth!!! Healthy baby!" She knew in the spirit without us saying what we wanted God to do!!
They placed the most precious gift from God on me and I fell in love with this promise of God and the little jewel that was growing in my womb for the last 9 months. After allowing her to have an hour of skin-to-skin contact with me, they wisked her off to be measured, weighed and to get her first shots. Jarrett went over to take pictures of her and be by her side. This is when I lost it and began shedding tears. "Braylen, I'm your daddy! Do you know how much I love you little girl? I promise to be the best daddy ever!" The first man Braylen will ever love expressed his love for her only hours after her entry into this world. When he walked back over, I caught the sweetest picture of the two of them.
I'm so grateful for my labor team (Teka Coaxum and Lorraine Washington) who sat with us until we entered active labor. I'm thankful to Dr. Gleaton and the amazing staff of St. Francis Hospital. Last but never least in my life to my AMAZING husband who was the greatest support to me and Baby Braylen. He is so smitten by her and he's wrapped around her little pinky.
Advice for expectant mothers:
Despite what anyone says, believe God that you can have a amazing pregnancy and delivery!
Enjoy these pictures
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