Noah's story

 

Noah Mark Henson
Born September 3, 2012 at 8:02 pm
Weight 4 pounds 5 ounces
Length: 17 1/2 inches

     I will preface this blog entry by saying that typically I would not post my "birth story" on the internet, but because of so many amazing circumstances surrounding the birth of Noah, I feel like it is only appropriate to share. We credit all of the happenings during the birth to the prayers of all of our friends and family that the Lord graciously answered. The Lord once again provided and protected our family in amazing ways!

   So, on Monday September 3 we went to our obstetrician's office around 9 am to start the induction process. It was wonderful that my parents were able to stay home with Luke and Nathan's parents were able to go with us to the visit. The doctor performed another ultrasound to check my fluid levels as well as see if Noah had grown over the past 5 or 6 days. It revealed that he had not grown, and had possibly even lost a bit of weight. Our obstetrician was convinced that the decision to proceed with the induction was the correct decision. So we began the induction then in his office and were told to return around 4 pm for another dose of medicine if I was not having contractions less than 10 minutes apart. Now this was a bit different for us because in the States, most of the time an induction is started in the hospital. That is not the case here. They only admit women in active labor to the hospital. So we chose to spend our day at the mall. Why not? The mall in Lima has very yummy food (including frozen yogurt!). All morning and into the afternoon we ate our way through the Lima mall. My last meal being wings from Chili's! Around 3:00 pm we were walking around a Home-Depot-like store and I was having some mild pain and pressure, but nothing significant. All of a sudden my water broke while walking through the store. Nathan called the obstrician and he told us to meet him at the hospital. That is when the fun began! Nathan, his parents and I crammed into a taxi and headed to the hospital in the Lima traffic. I was definitely in labor and was praying that we would get to the hospital quickly!

3 weeks old 

   We arrived at the hospital and I was taken to the labor area. At that point I was having contractions every 3-5 minutes. I was connected to the monitor, which revealed that Noah seemed to be doing ok. I was only 1 cm dilated, so at that point we were thinking it was going to be a long night. I continued to labor with contractions every 3-5 minutes until about 5:30 pm when I was ready for an epidural. I was about 4 cm dilated at that point. I quickly learned that the epidurals here are not quite as strong as I was thinking, but it did help to alleviate the pain a bit.

  Around 7:15 pm I was in a pretty good bit of pain with contractions every 2-3 minutes. The nurse came into the room with a bag of pitocin, because she had noticed that the contractions had slowed and were not as strong on the monitor. I explained to her that I was having pretty significant contractions and that maybe she should check me again. Sure enough I was 10 cm dilated and the head was crowning. So, the monitor was not reading my contractions because Noah had moved and was ready to be born.

   Within 10 minutes there was much activity in my room with everyone getting ready for the birth. My obstetrician arrived by about 7:30 and confirmed that it was time for Noah to arrive. After about 15 more minutes of preparation I began pushing and Noah was born at 8:00pm. Thankfully he entered the world screaming loudly and we were able to hold him for about 2 minutes. He was taken to the nursery to be examined and to determine that everything was ok. About 2 hours later we were truly able to meet him for the first time. What a precious moment that was!

   Throughout our hospital stay Noah did very well. He was able to maintain his body temperature as well as his blood sugars. These are things that can be a problem with small babies. He was able to leave the hospital with us on Wednesday afternoon and has been growing like a weed since then.

2 weeks old 

   We returned to Cusco when Noah was 2 weeks old and we were a bit nervous about how well he would acclimatize to the altitude. Thankfully he has done really well and has not seemed to show any signs that he is not acclimatizing well. Today, we went to our clinic to have him weighed and he has gained almost 2 pounds since he was born, and he is not quite even 4 weeks old. This is truly amazing.

   Overall, we are doing well. We are tired, as is to be expected with a newborn but are loving being parents to our two sweet boys. Luke has adjusted well to having a brother and really enjoyed the time that he had with his grandparents while we were in Lima. Luke did turn one on September 12, so we were able to celebrate his special day with his grandparents as well.

Luke's first birthday 

  In looking back over the past month and a half we are truly in awe of God's goodness and provision for us. We are amazed at how uncomplicated and quick the birth of Noah was. To God be the glory, great things He has done!

A little update

I could not help but start the post with this picture. Luke all dressed up for dinner with his grandparents (of course the clothes are compliments of my mom!)

So Monday is go time. We had an appointment with our obstetrician this past week and it was decided that it is time for baby boy to arrive. He is still measuring small on ultrasound, so the recommendation was to induce a few weeks early. Thankfully we have made it to 38 weeks, so the baby should be well developed, just a little bit small. We are really excited, but a bit nervous too. Thankfully, my mom, dad and brother arrived this past week and they have been tremendously helpful with looking after Luke. It has been so so sweet for my mom and brother to meet Luke for the first time. They are certainly in love.

Tonight, Nathan's parents will also being arriving to Lima to be with us for the week of the birth. What a sweet gift to have everyone here for the big event!

If you think to pray for us, please pray for a safe, uncomplicated delivery and for a healthy baby boy!  

We will be posting news and pictures as soon as we are home. We have appreciated the kind, encouraging emails and words from so many of you!

A few pictures of time with family!

Reading with Uncle Josh

Luke meeting his grandmother for the first time (still a bit sleepy) 

Georgia game day with daddy

Blessed? Oh yes!

   I think that I have written about my struggle with change before on the blog, and now I guess I am going to do it again. It seems that I always get around to blogging when there has been a change in our life or something has not worked out exactly as we had planned. Again, the Lord is using the uncertainty of change and circumstances in our life to teach me patience and reliance on Him. I guess I still have much to learn in this area of my life!

   So we are currently in Lima. Lima is a really large city, with 8 million people. There are fun things like parks and food courts! There are movie theaters. The grocery store is like walking through the mall, as I look at every item on every shelf in awe of the fact that you can actually buy so many foods from the US. It is definitely the closest thing to the US for us right now. So, you would ask, why are we in Lima?

  A few weeks ago we saw our obstetrician in Cusco and an ultrasound revealed that, at 34 weeks, our sweet baby boy was very small on the growth curve. After further testing, which thankfully was relatively normal, we were advised that it would probably be best to have the baby in a larger city. The doctors thought that one of the problems with the growth of the baby was because of lack of oxygen at high altitude.  For weeks I had been waking up in the middle of the night unable to breath and gasping for air. Breathing for two can be difficult at times in 11,000 feet above sea level. I also had a bit of anemia combined with this difficulty, and that made things even worse as far as getting oxygen to the baby. So I started using oxygen at night, which other than being a bit uncomfortable, helped tremendously. That really sealed the deal for the doctors that we needed to not only get to a big city with a well-equiped NICU in case the baby was born small or underdeveloped, but also to sea level where I could breath better and hopefully the baby could develop better for a few weeks.

Almost 37 weeks

   Thankfully we have dear dear friends from the United Kingdom that have a friend with an apartment in Lima that we are able to use, and our dear friend Anjanette came with us to help take care of Luke. And that is the best part of it all: Luke is with us! We have been to Lima several times over the last year  during the long process with him and have dreamed of a day that we might take him to the park or stroll next to the ocean with him.....and here we are! It is like a dream come true. The Lord allowed him to receive a birth certificate from the judge 4 days before we decided to travel to Lima. Without this birth certificate it would have been impossible for him to have travelled with us. The Lord continues to provide.

Our sweet friend Anjanette who is here with us in Lima

    So, our days are a bit slower right now. Of course Nathan can always find things to keep him busy, like Peruvian ophthalmology society conferences, or interviews with medical schools, or keeping up with medical contacts here in Lima, but overall we are really enjoying the rest and precious time with Luke. We have now had two appointments with a really kind obstetrician here in Lima, and it seems that the baby is growing ok and that the circulation from my placenta is sufficient to continue the pregnancy for now. We are evaluating this weekly, but feel very thankful that we are right where we need to be if the baby happens to decide to come! We will be here in Lima until after the baby is born.

    Once again we are faced with a big change, with a good bit of uncertainty, but as we have always seen....the Lord continually provides for us, in ways that supersede our expectations. I was thinking last night about how blessed we are for a rest, for unforgettable time with Luke, for time with sweet friends and family, for walks and ice cream in the park. I have to pinch myself and remember that the Lord has given me a family, one that I don't deserve, but that I am so grateful to have.

   We will keep updating as we have more details about our newest little one.

Luke's first plane ride

Playing with daddy

Loves to swing!

Oh Wow....

     I cannot believe how the months have flown by since I last wrote a blog post. Our life has completely changed in just a matter of a few months. We have waited for a full year for Nathan to begin working in his eye clinic, obtain a medical license, and almost a year to be granted guardianship of a sweet peruvian baby. And in just the last few weeks, all of those things have happened.

    So, I will back up just a bit. In April, Nathan left to go to Texas to teach at his old residency program. He enjoyed seeing many friends and eating yummy food from the US. My good friend Kim was able to come and stay with me while he was away, which was a great encouragement and unbelievable help to have her here in Cusco with me. While Nathan was away all of his ophthalmology equipment cleared the customs process and was put on a very large truck and brought to Cusco. With the help of many from the missions community as well as a crane, we were able to unload all of the equipment into Nathan's finished eye clinic to await his return. Upon returning from the States, he began organizing all of the equipment and training his peruvian nursing staff. Two weeks ago they began seeing patients for the first time in the clinic. It has been very exciting.

Truck arrives from the coast 

Nathan's wonderful ophthalmology nurse Gladis. She rode all night with the shipment in the truck

Unpacking

First piece of equipment to enter the clinic

We had to hire a crane to get the heavy pieces off the truck

Equipment packed in crates 

Finally all in the clinic

    A few weeks ago, we had a large group of healthcare providers in Cusco doing medical campaigns. This has been a great opportunity for Nathan to see patients, as he was in a town called Quillabamba, which is in the high jungle in Northern Peru. There is no ophthalmologist there, so he was very busy.

   It is also amazing to report that after one full year, Nathan finally has a stamp on his medical school diploma that recognizes it in Peru as well as gives him a medical license. It is hard to believe that he waited a full year for a stamp, but we are just thankful that he has it. He will need to now get his speciality license in ophthalmology, but this is a bit of an easier process now that he already has a license.

    Probably the biggest and most exciting news in our life is that, Luke or "Lucas" our sweet peruvian son finally came home to live with us on June 4, our wedding anniversary. He is a JOY and it is so fun to be his parents. We are adjusting well, although life looks very different now with a ten month old around the house. I am staying home more so that Luke will hopefully only know one mom, instead of the 10 that were taking care of him at the orphanage. My day now includes washing cloth diapers, making baby food, and keeping up with a ten month old sleeping/playing schedule. Oh, how the Lord surprises us sometimes with where He calls us to be. We could not be happier or more blessed though.

    We continue to be amazed at the Lord's provisions and blessings despite a really long, and at times very hard first year in Cusco. As I have said before, we can only give Him the glory for making us stronger and more dependent on Him and on one another through these hard times of waiting. I will say that the waiting does not seem like it was nearly as long when we look at sweet Luke's face or look around Nathan's fully functioning clinic, but we thank God for His purpose and timing in it all.

Change, change, change

  So if you are like me, I take a little while to adjust to change. It is funny that I struggle with this because we have moved and "changed" our life about a million times in the last 6 1/2 years (ok a million is a bit of an exaggeration, but it feels like that sometimes). Before I share our changes, I will preface by saying that I would not want to be anywhere different than where we are right now. We are beyond blessed, and I love where the Lord has called us to live, despite the difficult circumstances of life sometimes. Over these past few months we have found ourselves more dependent on our Lord than ever before. Why is this? Because there are so many situations that we cannot control here in Peru. The only thing we can do is pray, which is by far the most effective thing we can do. We just often don't see our need to pray for the Lord to intervene until we find ourselves in a situation that we are powerless to change without divine intervention. That is where our life has been these past few months. So, we are blessed and grateful that we have realized our need for prayer and our Lord through this time and would not trade it for anything.

  So, where to begin. The biggest situation in our life right now is a pending court case that would allow us to be the parents of a 6 month old baby boy, with the hope to someday adopt him. I cannot go into many details due to the fact that the court case is ongoing, but he is currently not living with us and is living in an orphanage run by some missionaries with our mission organization. He is growing well and we are so thankful that he is very well taken care of. We visit him daily and long for the day that he might  be a part of our family. We have been in this legal process since he was only several days old in September, so as you can imagine, some days we grow quite weary of the "process." But all I have to do is take one look at his sweet face and am reminded that the "process" is totally worth all of the difficulty in waiting. We have learned so much about ourselves from this sweet little baby and I truly believe that he is the sweetest gift that the Lord could ever have given me, even if it is just for a short time. You can keep us in your prayers as we are hopeful that this legal process will end in the coming months and that we can be a family at home. Sorry but we will not be posting pictures of this baby right now, but trust me he is SOOOOOO cute :=)

  In the midst of the hardship and joy of our finding this precious sweet little boy, we also discovered that I am pregnant. After many years of trusting the Lord's timing for the growth of our family, He has brought two babies into our life and at practically the same time. We have had several ultrasounds here in Cusco, with a local OBGYN, and it appears that everything seems to be ok so far with this pregnancy. I am now 15 weeks and we are expecting this little one in September. Our plan for now is to have this baby in Cusco, in a local hospital, as the legal case with our possible other baby is still uncertain, and it would be difficult for us to leave Peru. We are thankful for many friends who are physicians and OBGYN's in the States who are able to help us through the medical details of this process. I am so thankful to be pregnant, but can definitely say that it has not been the most fun 2 months of our life. I have unfortunately experienced much sickness from this pregnancy and many days am not able to leave our house. As I am sure many of you moms can relate, this is difficult on many levels, especially when we want to be doing so many other things, but just cannot. I have experienced many "low points" these past few months due to the sickness of this pregnancy as well as the disappointments that come along with trying to adopt a child in this country. Many days I just have to stop and remind myself that the Lord has given us 2 babies, when we don't even deserve 1. What a gift it all is, but a WHOLE lot of change.

Sweet baby Henson 

   Hopefully a good change is going to come our way soon, which would be that Nathan's clinic is Cusco will be open for business. We are thankful that during this time that he has been able to work occasionally at a mission hospital called Diospi Suyana about 2 1/2 hours from Cusco. I will attach some pictures of him working there below.

    As far as the ophthalmology clinic in Cusco, the construction is completely finished with the exception of some paint touch-ups. The internet and phone have been installed. An incredible electronic medical record system has been installed thanks to Integrity EMR. The alarm system works very well and is very loud and all cabinets/desks/shelves/lockers have been installed. Incredible really all that has been done in the almost year that we have been here. I really want to post pictures, but Nathan is putting together a video that I will post very soon so that you can see the finished product. As far as the ophthalmology equipment, it has arrived in Peru and is currently in the port city of Matarani in customs awaiting a few more inspections before it can be released. Nathan was in Matarani for the entire week last week overseeing the unpacking of the container and the inspection by the ministry of health. Despite many hardships and many "quirks" associated with the shipment, the ministry of health graciously gave the shipment a perfect recommendation. We now must wait for a few more agencies to review it and hopefully then it will be released to Cusco! That will be an amazing day.

   So like I said earlier there have been so many changes in our life in the past few months. Exciting changes, but a bit scary too. Thankfully the Lord supplies all that we need daily, according to His riches and glory. For that we are grateful that He has sustained us on the really exciting days, really discouraging days, and really fearful days, and that He will continue to do this throughout the coming months.

   Thank you again for being willing to be a part of this with us....even if it is reading this really long blog all the way to the end! We are really thankful for the the love and support

Here are a few pictures:

Before surgery

Nathan operating

After surgery

And the patient even got to take his cataract home :=)

Some of the greatest joys of living in Cusco

  Here are a few pictures so that you too can see all the sweet faces that we get to see here. We spent Christmas with all these precious little ones. We are truly blessed