Saturday, January 19, 2013

What should I title this?

The Lord is good,
    a stronghold in the day of trouble;
he knows those who take refuge in him. Nahum 1:7

I feel like I've needed to post for awhile but have had a hard time figuring out how to start. So, the verse above is one that I've clung to over the last couple months as I've struggled through a miscarriage, and that seems like the best way to begin this. I found out that I was pregnant with Baby Munchkin #2 in October, and in November (Thanksgiving week) I found out that his or her heart was no longer beating. I actually miscarried a couple weeks later in what was a far more painful and awful experience than I'd anticipated. Through it all, God has been unbelievably present, good, and faithful to hold my heart and my hand, and I've felt over the last month that I need to be very open and honest about this experience. There's a sense in this that I should keep this experience secret - it makes people uncomfortable, it makes me sad, and there's that nagging feeling that there just might have been something I could have done to prevent it. The truth though is that there is absolutely nothing I could have done to prevent it (and, my doctor says there was nothing I did to cause it either) and that God is in complete control over life and death always. He didn't forget about me or about this little life. In being open about it, hopefully I can encourage other women who go through a miscarriage, and I can give glory to God for being steadfast and in control and GOOD over and over and over in a public and verbal way.

So, what to say about it all? First, I think that I need to say that God is good and that he does good. Always. When my doctor did the ultrasound at 8 weeks and we discovered that munchkin's heart was no longer beating, she started by saying that "someone" was watching out for me because most miscarriages occur because of chromosomal problems, and that it is much more difficult to say goodbye to a baby that I've carried to term and who only lives a few hours or days outside the womb, than one I've only just begun to think about, and by the end of the conversation she was saying "God"...And she's absolutely right about that. Although Marc and I were thrilled about this baby and I was so looking forward to meeting him or her, I hadn't started to feel any little baby fluttery movements yet and the only signs that I was really pregnant were an incredible fatigue and a really irritating carsickness that wouldn't let up. I was heartbroken to get this news about a baby who had been around for a mere 7 weeks and I can't imagine what it would be like to lose a child that you've already met. There is so much dreaming that you do when you're pregnant - wondering what this baby will be like, and what he or she will grow up to be, and how you're going to welcome them into the family, and I'd just barely begun to do that with this little one. My doctor, bless her, also explained the science behind most miscarriages and that was pretty comforting - knowing what likely caused it and that I truly didn't cause it or could have prevented it from happening. She gave me the option of having a D&C (where the baby would be surgically removed) or to let my body do what it knows how to do, and I opted for plan B. The thought of this little one being cut out was terrible, and even though he or she wasn't alive anymore, it just seemed like I should provide a warm and safe home as long as I could. So that brought on waiting and waiting and waiting...feeling cramps and thinking it could be any minute for 2 weeks. It turns out that the kind of cramps during a miscarriage are unmistakable, but I didn't realize that it would be basically a mini-labor. When it finally did happen, I cried and hyperventilated my way through it and I was so very glad for Marc and his comfort. Throughout this whole experience I've been SO glad to have Marc as my encourager, and my truth-speaker, and my love. He has been exceptionally wonderful. In the time since then, I've grieved and I've experienced joy and such peace. God has spoken so tenderly to my heart, and He's given me hope and reminded me over and over and over that he is in control and he loves me, and he loved that little one too. It's not easy, and I think that I'll always have a little place in my heart for Baby #2, and I hope that I'll get to meet him or her when I get to heaven, but for now I'm held safely in God's plan and it is a good plan. 
God has given me such a gift in Marc and in Archer. They bring so much joy and laughter, and Marc can withstand the hurricane that my tears become sometimes. I'm looking forward to trying again for another munchkin, and although I will have to fight fear as we move forward, I'm excited to see what God brings to our family. 
This post feels a little disjointed and weird, but I think it'll be the first of many. God has just been so good and I want to be obedient in not hiding this experience. 

2 comments:

Melissa said...

I loooove you so, Squinto.

Big K Fam said...

My heart breaks for you and the lose of sweet baby #2. And at the same time I am in awe of your heart and how you've held on to the truth that God is good and does good! Glory to God! I want to suffer well like you! Praying for God to bless your family beyond your wildest dreams because of you faithfulness!!