Joshua Bryant

Four years ago today was the due date for my first child - Joshua Bryant Page. He actually greeted us on July 21st 2004. My OB gave us the option to induce one day early and I gladly took him up on the offer... summers in SC are not conducive to being 9 months pregnant. Excited and nervous, Freddie and I drove to St Francis hospital the morning of the 21st with no idea what to expect. The emotions before the birth of any child - and especially the first - are so difficult for me to explain. You are giddy with excitement yet nervous and maybe a little scared of the unknown. We check in to the hospital and are taken to our private birthing room. Hospital gown on, iv inserted, pitocin drip started and the induction had officially begun around 8am. The nurses asked me if I wanted the epidural now or later and I figured I will wait as long as possible.. maybe I won't even need one of those epidurals. Then, the contractions start. What a strange sensation! I remember thinking "Oh, so THIS is what a contraction feels like!". In the last month or so of pregnancy you are so in tune to your body trying to figure out if that cramp is a contraction or this twinge is your water breaking. No one can really explain to you what a contraction really feels like until you have had one. As a first time Mom, you are convinced births begin like they do on TV... with a gush and a loud "Uh Oh!" in the middle of Walmart. I wanted to avoid that at all cost. Nevertheless, I had no false alarms and we ended up being induced. With pitocin you find out what real contractions feel like really quickly. So, around 10am, I quickly found the call button and paged the nurse to please locate the anesthesiologist NOW! Praise the Lord for epidurals! In theory, epidurals will slow your labor down. Freddie and I thought that we had hours to waste so we popped in Tin Cup into our DVD player and settled in for a little movie time. Immediately I felt a wave of nausea and faintness and paged the nurse again around 10:30am. She glanced at the monitors and my blood pressure dropped really low so she decided to check to see how far I was dilated. With a look of shock, she announces I am 10cm and the dr needs to get here now. Immediately droves of people start filing into the room. The bed is taken apart. Again that frightened yet excited feeling. I had no idea what to expect. What was it going to feel like bringing another life into this world? After three pushes Joshua Bryant Page was born on July 21st 2004 at 11:22am. It was an awesome feeling! Both physically (thank you epidural man) and emotionally. It was such a surreal feeling to see this person who you don't really know, yet are so intrinsically attached and in love with. I had no idea that day how much I would grow to love and adore this person. I had no idea what it would feel like to have a little piece of my heart walking around outside of my body. Thank you Jesus for Joshua.

Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a gift of the Lord.