62. Miranda- First Time Mom's Supernatural & Pain Free Birth even with Medical Assistance

Welcome to the supernatural childbirth mamma's podcast. This is a community of women who read a book by Jackie Maize. It's called supernatural childbirth and from there we have locked arms to pursue all that Jesus has provided for us. Our mission is to empower women to live fearlessly and authentically in Christ. We are so thankful for the stories God has authored that we get to share through this platform. If you have a supernatural childbirth testimony, we would love to connect with you. We have a group on Facebook that can be found by searching supernatural childbirth mammas. We also have small groups. We would love to connect women to those as well. Our heart is really to grow and face in every area of life from conception through motherhood as wives, as daughters as a king. We want to step into all that Jesus died to give us and that is what this group stands for. And what the book launched us into, and we are just so thankful for the work of Jackie Maize and that she brought us all together and connected us so that we can walk out a supernatural life. We are just looking to Jesus through it all and His finished work and we would love to connect with you like I said. So sit back, grab your favorite drink, enjoy today's episode, and please reach out and connect with us. Hello supernatural childbirth mammas, welcome to the new year. I am so excited about this podcast today. We have on the show a blogger, a first time mom, and a mom that, and amidst medical complications, how her story of God just being within the midst with her, how she had a supernatural birth experience. And I'm so excited. We have a very encouraging story today, welcome to the show Miranda. Thank you. I'm so glad you're here Miranda. I was even looking up the Facebook page today and I was cool to reflect back on the even some posts that you posted in the group of asking for prayer and just to see the end of the story on the other side that we're going to, you're going to be sharing today with our guests. Yeah, absolutely. I'm so honored to be here and to share my story with everyone. So to fill in our listeners a little bit about who you are, can you share some details with us about you and your family, just to get a backstory. Of course, like Katie said, my name is Miranda and I have been married to my husband for almost three and a half years. We live in Florida where it's always sunny here and we have a one year old son. He's actually almost 14 months and it's just been the best thing ever being parents. We absolutely love it. We are both devoted Christ followers. We love the Lord. I grew up as a pastor's kid so there's a lot of history there, but yep, we are loving life here in Florida with both of our families and yeah, it's just so much fun being a mom and being a wife. Yeah, I really suggest you guys go check out her blog. It's Mercy Drilling. Is that correct? Yes. Yes. There's so much great content on there, just of the word and just testimonies so go check that I really encourage that. I really was inspired from it. So before we begin and kick off today's podcast, I'd like to pray over everyone, all you listeners and you, Miranda, and it's just going to be an exciting show today. Father, I just thank you for today the gift of today. I thank you for Miranda and her testimony, the story that you wove and her family and that she's willing to share. Just give glory to you through it all. I speak peace over Miranda and all the listeners today, Father. I just speak peace over in your Shalom to encompass all of them that in any admits, maybe some of them are going through some changes with their body, their pregnancy, any physical or changes in their family. Lord, I just ask that you put your peace on them that you would just take all fears away and that they as they seek first your kingdom, they'll be rooted in the word of God, your word God and that Miranda story, her testimony will remind them of your peace that goes before them and behind them as they abide under your shelter. I thank you, Lord. I thank you for turning everything into good and that you have good plans for all of us and I think that this story today is just a reminder of that. Please bring back every detail and just give Miranda peace as she shares and all the messages that you have that you want to speak through Miranda today. I think you that is going to be shared today and it's going to just plant seeds of faith for all of us. We just bless your name, Father and Jesus name, Amen. Amen. Well, Miranda, I am excited to kick this off. How about we begin with a little bit about your backstory of the time before you were pregnant? So, me and my husband got married in 2021 and I had told them when we were dating that you know, I wanted a lot of kids and my dream was just to always be a mom and he definitely said that he wanted kids too and he was so excited to be a dad and so we decided to like wait a year, enjoy the first year of our marriage without kids just to enjoy time with each other but also like we wanted to just trust Lord's timing too with that. So, we really just enjoyed that first year but the desire of having children was still always there. Like, as soon as he said he was ready, I was like, okay, like I'm ready, I'm ready to. So we really just enjoyed that first year but that desire was always there. I even remember in high school, I went to a Christian high school and in one of my classes I think it was English class and the teacher made us all go around and basically asked like, what we wanted to do with our lives, you know, what kind of career do we want to have, what do we want to do after college and when she got to me, I said, I want to be a mom. And I was like the only person in the room that said that and she was like, that's the best job in the world, it's also the hardest job you could ever have but it's the most rewarding. And so far that's true but we are so thankful that we do have a son now. But the first year was definitely special not having him but now we are definitely thankful to have him in our lives and we can't imagine life without him. Yeah, yes. I totally agree, it's the sweetest reward and God definitely teaches us lots of lessons through it all. Yes, yes, absolutely. So did you find out you were pregnant soon after your first year? Yeah, so after our first year of being married, we decided to start trying and we just kind of surrendered to the Lord like his timing. So I was actually on birth control which I regret doing but you know when you first get married you're like, I don't really know what to do. So after our first year of marriage I got off birth control and we started trying and after like I think it was like two months so it was pretty quick after we got pregnant right away and it was so exciting and such a special like such a special time finding out. My husband was actually on staff at a church at the time and I think it was like one Sunday morning he went and I decided to stay home because I wasn't feeling good. Like I had a cold and my back was hurting which was super random and I was like, you know I'm just gonna like take a test just to see and this was like maybe six days before my period was supposed to start and it was like bright red like I was so shocked and surprised. I was so happy I started crying right away and I just started thanking the Lord and praising him and I was just so like overwhelmed with thankfulness which I know is not everyone's story but for me it was like we were just so excited in. So I had like a bunch of stuff set up when my husband came home and he started crying and he was so happy and literally told our friends and family like I think two weeks after like we couldn't keep a secret. We were just so excited and I just like took in every single moment like I soaked it all in. It was just the best experience finding out and it was so sweet too in the beginning it was just like mean the Lord like new and God was just so good to just you know give us that blessing of a child and so it was definitely a sweet moment to find out and to share that memory with my husband it was just so so special. I never heard a story before about what you said your back was hurting and wow and then there's just like to me like I feel like intuition would be like okay like oh no I need to take some extra vitamin C like that just had to be the Lord just like hey get a pregnancy stick. That's amazing. Yeah. What was right like going on in your mind at that time when as you you're excited your husband do you automatically making plans for the future or are you just kind of like just taking it day by day. Yeah I was so excited. I think that day that I found out I downloaded like all the apps to like track you know how far along you are and then I just started doing a bunch of research and then I think I called like an OB office like two days after which was probably they probably thought it was crazy But I was just really excited and I just had all these ideas. ideas and then two weeks after we told like close close friends and like my family and they were just everyone was so excited and then quickly after that like I think when I was six weeks pregnant I got really sick like I just couldn't keep anything down so I'm kind of glad that we told family and friends because it would have been weird for them to like not see me eating or like just constantly and the bathrooms growing up so I'm kind of glad they knew because I got really sick and I ended up going to the ER actually when I was six weeks pregnant I think this was maybe like right after Easter and they just put me on zoe Fran they said they like felt you know around on my stomach and they said everything felt fine it didn't feel like an ectopic pregnancy because I was really worried just I couldn't keep water down liquids down food it was like the worst morning sickness ever and they put me on zoe Fran and I ended up being on that like the entire pregnancy the first time I was pretty rough but then after that it got a lot better but it was still like really fun and sweet to be pregnant it's just the first time I was a little rough you know getting through like those first few weeks I've just trying to eat literally anything so I'm thankful that I was put on medication and I ended up just staying on it the entire pregnancy even if I would like miss a day I just would feel rough the hormones were really really strong with me I guess so I was thankful that I was able to have medication because that was like that really really helped a lot but yeah I was definitely really sweet in the first few weeks to just tell family and friends and just you know think about everything and it was super fun yeah so I don't personally know and maybe some of our listeners don't know what is zoe Fran really do like is it just really to help you not throw up I don't know yeah it's it's purely just like nausea medication like it just it just helps with that morning sickness so it was definitely rough but I'm thankful I had that to help kind of kick the nausea in the butt a little bit yes for sure and like just to get nutrients in your body so with this being your first pregnancy what was your perception of the whole thing what helped you get these through that especially that that would be a hard first season I guess you could say yeah I definitely leaned on the Lord a lot I knew that children were a blessing so I knew that you know this baby was a blessing regardless of feeling sick and I knew that he was healthy like I just knew at my heart and even when you know we went to the OB everything looked fine so I knew he was healthy and I definitely have very supportive friends and family and I think that's helpful to have the right community around you who's supporting you and encouraging you through all this and definitely my husband too I mean he was seriously my rock during pregnancy like whatever I needed he would get whatever craving I was having he would get whatever medicine I needed like he was always there to help me like giving me foot massages like he was just he was the best and he always prayed over me too like when I was feeling sick he would pray over me and just pray for healing over my body and so I was just really thankful you know that he was just so available for me and just there for me in every sense the word and definitely the Lord like I could not have gone through pregnancy without God and and just so thankful that he's a faithful and good father and that he was there for all of my needs and I knew that he the baby was in his hands and he was in control of everything so I'm definitely thankful for his word one of the most encouraging things that I had through pregnancy was pain-free childbirth the book by Anisa Andrews that book was so so encouraging for me and I also read I think it's childbirth in the glory by Janet Mills that book was also super encouraging and I didn't read a supernatural childbirth by Jackie Mise until actually after my pregnancy but I had her prayer book that I read during pregnancy and that was super helpful just to have all those resources it just it really like eased a lot of my fears with birth or just with different things in pregnancy and it was just super helpful to have those resources and they always pointed back to the word of God which I think was just so important to just be grounded in his truth and in his word and to just like speak life over my body and speak life over the baby I think was just really encouraging to have that in my hands and just to see it and read it so I was really thankful to have those resources during pregnancy how did you find out about those resources so a really cool story one of my best friends who actually recorded a podcast of her stories on here as well she we had met up so let me kind of backtrack we were friends like five years ago we met five years ago we clicked and had a really good friendship and then some things kind of happened and we went our own separate ways for a couple of years and then when we both were like halfway through our pregnancy both like 20 weeks she like randomly reached out to me on Instagram I was like oh my gosh congratulations you're pregnant I'm pregnant too we should totally meet up and like talk about everything and so we met up and we just like instantly like reconnected and it was such like a redeeming thing from the Lord because I think that was also a really big thing during my pregnancy was having someone walk through pregnancy and postpartum with me and like our timeline was the exact same like you're both 20 weeks and you know we both were our due dates were a few I think it was like a week or two difference but our babies are 11 days apart so it was really special to just have like someone walk hand in hand with me through this and so I think it was I don't know I think I was six or seven months pregnant and I was hanging out at her house and I saw that she had pain-free childbirth the book sitting on her table and so I picked it up and I just read like the first page and I immediately started crying and she was like I think you should like buy that book and read it I think it'd be really encouraging for you and then also supernatural childbirth which I didn't have that book I just had the prayer one and so I ended up buying the other one by Nisa Andrews and it just rocked my world like I just didn't even realize there what you could have like a pain-free birth I didn't realize it could be supernatural I didn't realize you know God could do miracles and do all these things for you and so I was so glad that God had not only restored a friendship but that she was able to share resources for me and so me and her were able to pray and believe the same things for each other for like birth and delivery and it was just it was really special just to have that friendship and to have those resources that we could go through together that's so beautiful I can imagine you guys like sending Bible verses and just like hey I'm going into labor please pray for me yes literally and even postpartum like what a wonderful friendship to have oh my gosh yeah it was just it was like a breath of fresh air honestly like it was just we both were just so happy to have reconnected and walk through everything together and that's how I found out about the podcast too because she had shared that with me and I was so glad to have this podcast to listen to I think I like binge it like the last few weeks of pregnancy just like soaking it all in and just hearing all the stories was just so encouraging to me yeah it's like when you like hear everyone's testimonies you're like it's just going to put you in awe you're like wow Lord like well how you gonna write my story like what's good like you're just looking for those godwinks those god moments and how he's gonna be with you in the midst yeah so can you tell us about your pregnancy you know you had your support group and how did God meet you and during that time was he speaking anything directly to you about what to expect if you had a word for you like how was your time with him during that yeah my time with God I think was really special I think my faith honestly grew so much during pregnancy over any other season of my life I think my faith just grew so much with the Lord he often speaks to me through dreams so I had a lot of dreams of me giving birth and it was just very like easy painless like it was just very quick effortless and so I really had a lot of hope that that my birth was gonna be really easy and so I was thankful that the Lord is giving me dreams and he gave me verses I also met up with a friend and she is also her stories also on this podcast and she shared something about like birth decorations and so I wrote down like she shared her list with me and then I kind of came up with my own that I felt like the Lord really wanted me to specifically pray over and so a few of them I I have them here was that I would have a pain-free and holy spirit filled birth that my son would be head down facing spine that I would have painless breastfeeding that I would not be in do that my son would drop before labor not during I just commanded my body to come under the authority of God's will and purpose. And then I just chose to, I would speak to my body that I would choose to remain in God's perfect love and peace. And I just thanked my body for, you know, whenever contractions would come that they were doing their job well. And so that was really just helpful to me to have declarations to read that I felt like God was giving to me to speak over my body and speak over the baby. And then I think about a month or two before he gave me some, he gave me a very specific verse which I clung to. And I honestly, I really sobbed when he gave this verse to me because it was just, it spoke directly to what I was feeling and thinking and wanted. It's in, it's in Isaiah, chapter 66, verse 7. And it says before she was in labor, she gave birth before her pain came upon her, she delivered his son. And so obviously the context of that from Isaiah is about God delivering Jerusalem. But for me in that circumstance, when God gave me that verse, he said, this is my promise to you. And that was just so special to like the such a specific and random verse to like she delivered his son before she was in pain. And so I just was believing that for my birth that I was going to deliver a healthy son. And I wasn't going to be in any pain. And so that was just really special to have God give me that verse. And I just felt like he was constantly speaking to me that it was going to be okay. And so it was just a really sweet time with the Lord honestly. And I just continued to stain his word and speak those declarations over my body, knowing that like this is what God designed women's bodies to do. Like he created the female body to give birth. And I believe it's supposed to be a beautiful thing. I believe it's supposed to be a painless thing. And so I was thankful that that God gave me those resources, those books and gave me scripture to lean on. So it's just it was a really special time with the Lord. It really was outside of all the sickness and stuff that I endured. It was it was a really sweet time with God for sure. Oh, I love the part where you shared about honoring that dreams he gave you. Because I feel like some women might, especially during pregnancy, they're big. Oh, that's just a pregnancy dream. It's like a pie dream. You know, not honor it. You honored it. When he gave you in like a gift and I really feel like it helped cast the vision for your birth. And that's just beautiful. Yeah. Yeah. So in the midst of all of this, what type of birth were you planning for? And how are you preparing for that? So I kind of made a list of things that I wanted. I wasn't as a first time mom. I was not sure if I wanted to do a home birth and my son or my husband didn't necessarily want me to have a home birth either. So we disagreed to do hospital birth and that with the OB I was at. That was what they wanted to. And so I was unsure if I wanted medication or not. Because I I was obviously believing that I would be pain free. But I also know that you know things in life happen. And so I wanted to have medical intervention just as a plan B if I needed it. If things were to happen, I definitely did not like want potosan. So I like made a list of like specific things of like maybe, maybe not epidural definitely no potosan. I wanted an exercise ball in the room. I wanted an IV possibly. But I wanted to be able to move if I could. So I had like certain things. So I was really just planning for a hospital birth. But I wanted to see if I could get far enough where I didn't have to have an epidural. But I was kind of just like, let's just see, you know, how it goes day of when things happen. Looking back, I definitely probably could have gone without medical intervention. But as a first time mom, there's so many things that are just unknown. And so I definitely just chose to rely on the hospital and the hospital staff. So that was kind of the birth I was planning for of like, it's a toss up like definitely doing it in the hospital. But I could not go with medical intervention or I could. So it was definitely like one of the things where I planned very loosely for the birth. Where you give in like child birth education classes for the hospital for then, or given a tour and just mentally know what to go in that day. No, I actually, I think because it was still, I think this was, so I gave birth in 2023 at the end. And they still weren't doing tours because of COVID, I guess. So I didn't get to do it for anything. So we literally just like showed up day of not knowing where to go, but it all worked out. But I didn't do any classes or anything. I honestly, I just had the books and that was what I was prepared with it. Well, you had a plan and you had your husband supporting you and that's a great start for sure. Yeah, yeah, for sure. And you had the piece of God, you know. And birth. So yeah, actually, let's get to the day of the birth of your labor. Tell us about that. Yeah, I will see if I can remember all the details because it was, you know, a little bit of a year ago. Oh, I will say something and very important with all of this is that my husband was in agreement with me and the things that I was believing for and wanted. And I think that's very important, you know, when you're pregnant and giving birth is that your spouse is on the same page as you and the things you're believing for, like just standing in agreement together. I think it's just really, really important. I think God honors that. So so the day of my birth, so December 3rd, I went to bed at like 10 p.m. and everything was fine. I didn't feel like great that day. I just kind of felt really worn out. I went to bed at like 10 30 and I just could not sleep. So it rolled around till like midnight and then one o'clock, two o'clock, three o'clock in the morning. So then it was December 4th and I just could not sleep at all. I just was uncomfortable. I wasn't in any pain. I just could not sleep. I was just very restless. So I think it was like 3 30. I finally just decided to get out of bed and I went out in a living room. Of course, my husband's like passed out and so I went out to living room and I got on my exercise ball and I fixed some raspberry leaf tea and I put on worship music and I just sat my ball just you know doing my exercises and bouncing because I just could not sleep at all. And then I just started praying and I just kind of felt some stuff you know happening in my body and I actually four days before this, I had lost my mucus plug at my friend Ashlyn at her house actually. She had just had her baby. So her baby was like five days old. I was at her house, lost my mucus plug. So it was just kind of crazy how involved she was with my story. So that happened four days ago. So I was bouncing my ball and I was kind of thinking to myself like okay since I lost my mucus plug already maybe like birth is happening because sometimes it doesn't you know happen right away when you lose it like it could be a week or two after. So I was like okay maybe this is birth I'm not really sure or like labor or not really sure. And so I just started praying and I was like Lord can you please like I know it's super early in the morning but could you please just speak to me confirm things to me could you maybe have someone awake right now who could just encourage me through this and sure enough my friend Ashlyn was awake breast eating her baby. And so I texted her I said hey just whenever you wake up can you just pray for me I think I might be in labor but I'm not sure. And she happened to be awake at that exact moment like her baby just happened to wow the like her baby happened to feed longer than normal. And so she was awake and she's like I'm praying for you right now like I'm bleeding this is labor for you. And so she just kind of helped like encourage me and help me to be at peace and really walk through things with me since she had literally just walked through this like days before. So it was just super cool that God literally like heard my prayer in that moment and honored that and it was just special to have someone kind of walk things through with me. And so after about like maybe an hour or so of doing that I just started feeling like some tightening and I ended up getting on my hands and knees for you know contractions they weren't painful or intense but it was definitely a different feeling than I had felt before. And so I just kind of got on the floor to kind of work with them. And then at one point I remember like feeling like I had to like poop and it was like so weird so I texted her as like I don't know if this is normal or not and she's like you need to wake up your husband right now like it sounds like your contractions are pretty serious. And so I woke him up and he's like why don't you like take a shower and so I went and used the bathroom and I had a bloody show and then I took his power and then after that I told him what was going on and then I got back on my hands and knees for contractions and he started timing them and they started to get closer together. So I think at this point it was like 6 a.m. and I was like maybe we should call the OB and see what we should do like if I should stay home if I should go to the hospital. So we ended up calling the OB and she was like yeah you're in pre-labor, you should probably go to the hospital and just you know see what they recommend. So I think it was like seven a.m. we went to the hospital and they had me fill out a bunch of paperwork and at this point contractions had slowed down and then they went and got me checked and I was like one centimeter and sixty percent of face I believe and so she was like okay nothing's really happening but I'm going to send you to walk around the hospital courtyard for like an hour and see if things progress and if they do then we'll put you in a room and if not then we'll send you home and I was like I really don't want to you know labor at home for a long time so me and my husband went he got breakfast I made the mistake of not eating so I will definitely do that next pregnancy but I didn't eat anything I just wasn't hungry I just like I had so many thoughts going on in my head I kind of felt a little sick like oh my gosh like is this happening today so we started walking around the courtyard and my contractions definitely picked up and they were pretty intense I would stop every few seconds just to like breathe and just pray let me pray the entire hour we walked we called his mom and my parents and just told them to pray for us and just the entire time we walked we prayed and we prayed very specific things like let labor pick up and increase let us not go home today let us give birth today and so I just prayed like you know that God would answer those prayers and that we would give birth that day and I pray specifically that I would dilate even more so that when they checked me they would put me in labor and delivery room so after that hour we went back up and they checked me and I was four centimeters 80% of face so I went from like a one to a four an hour which I thought was pretty wild so they put me in the labor and delivery room and they had asked me already a couple times if I wanted to have a drill and then when I finally got up there my contractions were definitely very intense they weren't painful but they were very strong and they asked me again they're like do you want the epidural this might be like the last time you'll be able to get it and so I just decided that moment to go ahead and get it because I just wasn't sure if I'd be able to stand like be able to stand the pain if it got you know more intense or you know I wasn't sure so I just decided to go ahead and do it but I also felt a lot of pressure from the staff to like you should get it this is your only opportunity you really should get this and I kind of wish I wouldn't have and I just would have done it without but I just decided to go ahead and get it and it definitely helped for a couple hours just to like take a break from having you think about contractions and just to like rest but I wasn't able to move so I just was laying in the hospital bed so that kind of was the only part that wasn't really fun and they broke my water for me which I didn't really want that either but because I got the epidural that's just how things had to happen so they gave me the epidural and then they broke my water and that was at like I think two it was either 11 a.m. or 2 p.m. I can't really remember the time is kind of fuzzy there um and I remember they gave me a popsicle to eat because I hadn't eaten anything all day and they're like you need something but we're gonna give you a popsicle so um I had that and I remember my parents came in the room and my husband was there and so it's all kind of talking for maybe to eat like an hour or two and then around five p.m. or maybe four thirty I was at seven centimeters and then I could feel the contractions in my back and I just remember like praying the whole time like Lord be with me let your peace be with me let your healing hand be over me and I just kept praying and pressing into him and I'm so glad I did that like just praying I just thank having something else for my mind to think on um I just kept seeking the Lord and I kept thinking my body from the contractions because contractions helped me meet your baby and so I knew like every contraction that happens I'm closer to meeting my baby and so I just kept thanking my body for what I was doing even though it was really intense and at times there was some pain so I just kept thinking you know thinking the Lord and thanking my body and my husband was right by my side the whole time and I was just so thankful to have him there like through that entire time so I think it was around I think five o'clock I literally went from like a seven to a ten within like less than an hour and so they're like okay you're ready to push and I had prayed specifically um to push for an hour or less and I ended up only pushing for 30 minutes and I was so so thankful um and I remember right before my son came out I remember actually feeling at the very because I couldn't feel when I was pushing which was kind of sad so next primacy I definitely want to try and do things without medical intervention just to feel that whole process but at the very end I was thankful to like feel that last movement of him come out and it kind of felt like a court crew was released and like as soon as he came out they put him right on my chest and I just completely started sobbing my husband was sobbing it was just like the most beautiful moment I've ever experienced in my life of just you know you have this baby inside of you for nine months and then you get to meet them for the first time and it's just the most beautiful rewarding thing ever and so I was just so overwhelmed in that moment just to meet him and like I had his name already so just to like see him and call him by his name and just for the three of us to be there together was just it was so special and and so sweet and so um although I did have medical intervention it was still like the Lord was present in my birth and um I believe that I you know chose the right decisions and did the best things to you know my ability and in Jackie Meises book they talk about you know a supernatural childbirth doesn't mean that you won't experience pain it just means that there's a healthy baby and a healthy mom and that's exactly you know what happened like my son was healthy and I was healthy and so that's what mattered and so in my opinion it was a supernatural birth because we were both healthy and we were both fine and um got it answered very specific prayers that I had prayed for I did end up having to get Potosan at the end because I told I had like a second degree tear just because I couldn't feel when I was pushing and so they had to stitch me up and it wasn't holding the first time so they kept trying and then they were like okay you're bleeding pretty bad is it okay if we give you Potosan and so I said okay that's fine um so I did have some help there which I you know I trusted the doctors you know know what knew what they were doing in that moment and they just you know wanted to help me stop bleeding and so I was thankful for that and it was just it was such a special you know day overall it was it was pretty quick I mean it's all right at 3 a.m. and ended up you know 530 so I felt like it was a pretty quick day it was definitely very quick like I only pushed for 30 minutes which was such a blessing and then my son left right away so that was just really cool that he was able to latch perfectly and breastfeed and they did delayed cord clamping which is really special so that you could get all the nutrients he needed and so it was just in my opinion like one of the most perfect special days even though I had medical intervention I still felt like the Lord was there and I was thankful that I had doctors you know helping assist in whatever I needed since I was the first time mom so it was just such a great day overall. He's God yeah I think no matter what if anyone gets in any like medical intervention or not like I think if the heart is on the on the Lord and his kingdom like that supernatural like leak over like like even the spirit of joy in that hospital room I'm sure it was contagious. Yes oh my gosh yes it was amazing and like your labor went really fast for as the first time mom too. Yeah yeah I feel like that's really like not normal for first time moms and like I had even had a friend who had given birth like a month before me and you know she was in labor for like I think 36 hours like she was having contractions forever and so I was really thankful that my labor was really quick and that I pushed you know and it wasn't very long at all so I was really thankful because those are things I prayed for specifically and so I was thankful the Lord answered my prayers in those areas. Yeah it's like your body was just like okay let's get to it my body's made for this. Yes yes exactly. So with it being such a new experience as a first time mom what word of advice would you give to other first time moms. Definitely eat the day you go into labor but I would say you know surrendering everything to the Lord surrendering every plan every idea every expectation because ultimately God is in control and we are not and he already knows how things are gonna play out so I would just say surrender everything to God trust him. I think it's also important to have just like minded people around you and community. I'm so thankful for my friend. I actually had a couple of friends who were pregnant and gave birth around the same time so it was just super encouraging to have other pregnant mama's around me and just friends that we could walk through every part of it together so I think just having the right community around you during the season is just so important like just not doing life alone so I would say definitely like surrender to the Lord find the right group of people stay in scripture like stay grounded in his word because I think that's the only thing that will encourage us the most is just reminding ourselves of what the Word of God says and just the truth and scripture. And there's actually so many stories in the Bible of women who are pregnant and who give birth. There are so many like Eve and Hannah and Mary, like I believe they all had supernatural births. And so I think just, you know, reminding yourself of those things and just staying in the Word of God, I think it's just the most important things you could do as a first-time mom. Yeah. Such good wisdom right there, just support, surrender and scripture. All wonderful things. I think of big part too, like when you feel supported, no matter what you're going through, it does wonders because you just know that you're not alone and we really need support, especially even in postpartum too. We forget postpartum. How did the postpartum go by the way? In the beginning, it was a little rough. I think, you know, the first few days, especially like just wearing off from the medication, trying to learn how to use the pattern again and just like how to, you know, you don't, you have an experience just before, so it's like trying to figure out how to do things, trying to figure out how to breastfeed your babies up every like 30 minutes. So it's just the first few days you're rough, but once you got home, I feel like things were a lot better. My son and I ended up co-sleeping like the first three months, which was hard, but at the same time, I'm really thankful that I did that and I knew like in my heart and in my head, I'm like, he's not going to sleep in the same bed with me, you know, looking, you know, two years from now, five years from now, he's not going to be in the same bed with me, so it was difficult to just, you know, try and co-sleep, but at the same time it was, those were special moments, you know, when I was awake in the middle, then I ate feeding him and it was just like, it was just me and him in the middle of the night. It was special, it was definitely hard, lacking sleep, but again, like having the right support system, I had a meal train, which I definitely recommend to any first time mom is have someone set up a meal train for you, like that was a huge blessing, just having meals and having people come by and visit and it was really thankful for that. I definitely was in pain for a while just from the tearing, so I was on medication for a bit. So the first month was definitely, you know, you're trying to figure things out, you're trying to take care and like heal, I was trying to figure out breastfeeding and it's just like a whirlwind of things and then it's like you come home with a new person and it's like, what do I do with this, you know, baby, what do I do with this human being? So there's just like a lot to figure out, new schedules like everything. So the first month I feel like was just kind of a whirlwind, there was a lot going on. I ended up having a pretty big scare, I think like three weeks in. I had some really bad like heavy bleeding happen and I was really worried and it ended up being fine. We called the OB and they're like, you're fine, it's normal and I was like, this doesn't feel normal, like none of this feels normal. But after the first like, I would say month or even after the first six weeks, things were great. It was just the first, you know, few weeks of trying to figure everything out was like just kind of crazy and your your body just went through a really big event. So it's like you're trying to rest while also taking care of a baby. It was a lot, but everything was smooth sailing after like six weeks and then once he hit like three months or maybe it was a little less than that, he started sleeping in his bassinet and in his crib and that was just so helpful to be able to like, be able to lay on my back again and just like sleep without holding a baby. And now like everything is, you know, he's sleeping right now in his own place, but in the beginning it was like, am I ever gonna sleep again? Like, this is crazy. But it was great after the first, you know, six weeks, it was, it was pretty good. Yeah, I think it's important. It's important less than to learn just to give our permission for us ourselves of time to grow into that new season because it's so like you said, it's a whirlwind. So many changes to our body and to our family and schedules, but just know that good things are coming. You know, you guys will get the hang of it. Yeah, for sure. I definitely wish like I could go back and cherish those moments of like when he was a tiny newborn, because now he's he's a fall on toddler and he's running around and walking and screaming and talking all day. And I was like, oh my gosh, I missed when he would just like nap on my chest and like, cuddle up. And now he doesn't want to cuddle. He wants to go play. Yeah. It's just with all day. So I wish I could cherish those moments, but, you know, we're obviously planning on having more kids in the future. So I know I'll get, you know, those moments again, but it was definitely a special season like, you know, the first few months of him being a newborn, it was just so sweet and everything I had dreamed of like the Lord just answers so many prayers and so many dreams of mine. It was just it was really, really sweet even in the in the hard moments. There was so much joy there and so much to be thankful for. And I hope we never lose side of that, you know, in pregnancy and in postpartum and all the things that there's still so much to be grateful for. Like there's so many moms who I think, you know, wish and pray to be in our shoes and, you know, to have a baby. And so I'm really thankful that, you know, the Lord blessed my body and blessed me with the baby. And so I was thankful even with those sleepless nights, I was, you know, I was just thankful to have a baby in my arms. That really helped get me through a lot of those moments. Yeah, I think what's so neat, your story is just like how the Lord just saw you when you were standing up in front of your high school classroom, sharing the desires of your heart to be a mom and full circle. It's just so neat to see that makes me want to hear that. No, good. And closing for today, is there any resources you would like to recommend besides the ones that you've already mentioned? I don't think so. I think those books, definitely those three that I had mentioned are just so encouraging and there is so much information in there that I think is really good to hold on to and definitely this podcast. I think it's encouraging just to hear other women's stories and every story is so unique and different. So I think it's really encouraging to hear these stories and hear what other women walked through. And then obviously the Bible, I feel like it's the best resource I've ever given is just being in his word constantly. I also have a blog too, which I know you share that in the beginning, which if you want to use it as a resource, I just share a lot of things that I feel like the Lord has given me and it's always backed by scripture and I feel like that can be encouraging just to have other things to read. So definitely check that out. But yeah, I think these are all the resources I could think of. Awesome. Thank you for sharing those. And do you have any final thoughts for our listeners today before you pray for all of us? I think just trusting the Lord no matter what season you're in, whether you're trying to have a baby, whether you're pregnant, whether you're walking through postpartum or whether you're a seasoned woman, you have multiple kids just trusting the Lord all times and leaning into him and seeking him. That's just the most important thing we could do as Christ followers and as moms is just cleaning to God, cleaning to his word and just trying to better ourselves every day for our kids because we're constantly pouring out into them. So making sure we're always filled up with the Holy Spirit and just, you know, what he wants to speak to us. I just think it's so important to just always be in his word and in his presence so that we can pour out into our kids. So yeah, trusting him and always abiding in his presence is the most important thing I could share. That's right. That goes a long way. Yes, yes. Fill over into generations you could say. Oh, for sure, for sure. If anyone would like to connect with you, how can they do that, by the way? So I'm on Instagram and Facebook. My Instagram is Miranda J. Holman and then Facebook is Miranda Holman and then also my blog. There is a contact page as well that just goes to my emails. So my blog is mercydwelling.com. So you can find me on those three places. Yeah, go check that out. I'll we'll put that in the show notes so you guys can easily find that. And so thank you again so much Miranda for joining us on the podcast and in closing. Would you pray us out? Of course. God, we just honor you and we praise you and we thank you so much for just being a good father and for loving us so well. We thank you for just how you created and designed our bodies to give birth. Whether it's with pain or without, we just thank you for every part of how you designed it. We thank you for the blessing and gift that our children are to us and the future kids to come. We just thank you so much that you have blessed us with them. And we just thank you for all the good gifts you give us in life and we thank you for every season that we walk through in our journey of parenthood and in marriage and just in general. God, we just thank you for the seasons of life that you have us walk through where we can grow our faith and our trust in you. And so I pray for every woman listening God that you would just grow their relationship with you that you would deepen their faith God and deepen their trust in you. that they would just lean on you at all times in every part of their life. I pray that they would just lean on you and that you would just instill your word in their heart. I pray you just encourage every woman listening that you would place the right people in their lives to walk with them in their journey, Lord, that they would have people who would encourage them and support them and uplift them. And so I just thank you God for always going before us in every single way and every season for guiding us and for just speaking to us all times. We thank you for loving us and for the relationship that you have with us. And we love you so much. We pray all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. [MUSIC PLAYING] That's it for today, mamas. It's this episode, "Blessed You." And you'd like to help support and spread the love. Please subscribe and leave a rating and review. To stay up to date with supernatural childbirth mamas and to get all that behind the scenes content, you can follow us on Instagram at supernatural childbirth mamas or on Facebook. Until next time, keep your eyes on him, and we can't wait to see you on the next episode.