“Preserve me, O God; for in thee do I put my trust.”
Psalm 16:1
Towards the end of June, we were patiently awaiting your arrival, our sixth baby. Your due date was on June 28th, 2019; the same day as Macy Grace’s birthday, who was turning 2. I had a feeling that you would make your appearance a little sooner than that, though!
The the week before your due date, Daddy was going to be in Prescott for teen camp. During my pregnancy, we prayed every night that you would come exactly when God wanted you to be here. I was nervous that I would have you while daddy was away at teen camp. I wasn’t sure I could be brave enough to be at the hospital without daddy. But we kept praying, and trusting the Lord. His timing is perfect. God is always in control. So as your birth date drew near, we had peace that our precious little one would be here exactly when God wanted you to be here!
The Sunday before teen camp, Grandma Marie flew in all the way from El Paso, TX. She was going to help me with your sisters and brother, and also be here in case you were born early. The next day was her 57th birthday, and your Auntie Camille and I had planned to surprise Grandma with her driving up to Phoenix for a girl’s week at our home.
“Should I bring my camera?” Camille had asked me several days before.
“Oh, sure! Just in case Johannah comes early!” I still prayed you would wait till daddy was home, though.
So on that Monday, we said our goodbye’s to daddy, and I promised to keep in touch with him in case I needed to head to the hospital. Grandma just wanted to spend the day playing with the kids, which was good, because I was extra tired out from the increasing temperatures.
In the afternoon, there was a knock on the door, and Auntie Camille, Mikayla, Annie, and Tommy were on the front steps holding cupcakes, a beautiful cake, and balloons. Grandma was so surprised!! She had no idea!
We had fun celebrating grandma, and that night we were all so tired from all the excitement. I felt a few contractions here and there, but I didn’t think anything of it since they were pretty sporadic.
At prayer time that night, I prayed that when the time came for you to be born that it would be pain free! We all burst out in laughter, because that was not very likely. But I thought, you never know!
We made plans to have breakfast at McDonald’s so all the kiddos could have some fun at the play place before it got too hot to be out and about. So we all went to bed, and looked forward to another fun day.
I got the twins settled down in my bed, and I I texted daddy goodnight. I told him to continue to pray that you come at the right time. I felt a few strong contractions before I fell asleep...
At exactly 4:00 in the morning. I woke up with a start. I didn’t hear anything or feel anything...but I just knew.
“Oh no! My water broke!” I whispered to myself.
I got up slowly and went to the bathroom, and sure enough, my water had broken. I was scared! With shaking hands I quickly texted your daddy, grandma, and Camille. I waited about a minute, and when no one responded I called everyone.
Daddy said he would head down to the hospital. I prayed he would make it! Then grandma and Camille put my hospital bags in the car and we quickly prayed together before Camille and I headed to the hospital in Scottsdale.
On the way, my contractions started up. In between giving Camille directions to the hospital, I would stop and breathe deeply through the contractions.
When we pulled up to the hospital entrance, Camille helped to get me seated in a wheelchair while she went to park her van. As I waited for her to come back, several nurses passed by. They asked me if I was ok, but I was in the middle of an intense contraction. I couldn’t speak because of the intensity, but since I was looking so calm and relaxed they probably thought I couldn’t speak English! So they just went on their way.
Camille came back and wheeled me to the elevator so we could get the the maternity ward. The lady at the front desk was so kind, and asked if it was my first. I smiled and said it was actually my sixth and that my water had already broken. She nodded and got me inside the ward quickly.
Another nurse got me settled in a triage room, and explained to me that she would need to check the fluid to be sure it really was my water and then she would check to see how much I was dilated. Then another nursed popped her head in the door and asked if she had checked dilation yet. The first nurse said not yet, and rolled her eyes.
In the midst of it all, my contractions were so close, but I had been breathing calmly and praying quietly, it almost looked like I was making no progress.
So when the nurse explained all that to me, I just nodded and smiled, thinking, “You won’t need to test anything!”
Sure enough, she lifted the sheet and said, “ok, that’s definitely your water!”
“You’re at a seven...”
After that, the nurses picked up the pace and got my IV put in. All the while, another mother in a room close by was in the midst of labor as well. She was crying out in pain and agony. It made my heart twist. All these fears swirled in my mind.
“What if DJ doesn’t come in time....”
“I can’t endure the pain....”
“I’m going to lose it like this other woman...”
At one point I even asked a nurse if it was too late for an epidural. She looked a little doubtful, and said I would need to decide soon since it was 5:15 and they were going to head to surgery by 6:30.
Then I remembered what we had praying for so long. God was in control. I knew DJ was praying, my sister sitting close by was praying, my mom, our families, our church.
I prayed again. I kept thinking about the verses I had memorized for this day. The verses I could meditate on and draw strength from.
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13
“The joy of the Lord is my strength.”Nehemiah 8:10 b
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart.” Proverbs 3:5
But the one verse that kept popping in my mind was one of Nicolle and Judah’s summer memory verses for their Wednesday night class.
“Preserve me, O God: for in the thee do I put my trust.” Ps 16:1
Then I started thinking about you, Johannah. I thought, today is the day I get to meet my little girl! It’s her birthday!! It made me so happy and calm inside to think that in just a few hours I would see you!
God gave me such a peace, that only He could give! The nurses noticed. They kept exclaiming that I was doing great and that they couldn’t believe I was in intense labor.
Soon I was transferred to the delivery room and the nurse got me all settled. Camille stayed close by and quietly prayed for me. I had a few more contractions while the nurse called my dr. She told me my doctor was right around the corner, and that I should press the red button if I felt the need to push. It seemed like only a minute had passed, when I pressed that red button!
After that, everything seemed like a fast blur! Soon my Doctor arrived, and the baby nurses were close by, and Camille and my nurse assisted me. As you entered the world at 5:59 am, we all heard a gentle song in the background.
It was my 6:00 am alarm clock going off to the tune of Majesty Music’s “You Are My Refuge.”
“What’s that?!” Everyone asked. And we chuckled as Camille went to turn off the alarm.
The nurses wiped you up a little and then I got to hold you close!! You were very pink and a 7lbs .5 oz, 20 1/2 in. bundle of joy. You snuggled up close to me, and we enjoyed those first few minutes together.
Then daddy made it!! He was so happy to see you. He thought you looked a lot like your big brother, Judah Ben, with your round face, tiny upturned nose, and cute, little lips. And we could also see a little of each one of your sisters in your face, too.
We had been praying about what to name you. It was so hard to decide, because I had too many names I really liked. We had settled on Johannah Joy a few days before you were born, and as we looked at you during that first hour, we felt like that name suited you perfectly.
Johannah means God is merciful; gracious. And you’re a “joy” to our family.
The Lord had been very merciful and gracious to us! We praised Him for a good delivery, and for a healthy, little princess. Also, even though I dreaded a painful delivery and recovery (like most say comes with so many children), it really was quite bearable and no worse than most recoveries. Again, all we can say is that is was all God!
Very soon after your birth, we had friends and family come visit you. My friend Noemi came to welcome you and then Mimi and Tata arrived and enjoyed getting to meet you and cuddle you close. Not long after that, Grandma, Nicolle, Judah, Jessalynn, Faithlynn, and Macy came to see you. My heart was so full to see your siblings love you and claim you as their own.
“My baby!”
“No, she’s my baby!”
Everyone wanted to hold you and touch you! They couldn’t believe their baby was finally here!
A few hours later Camille came to take some newborn pictures of you, and you met Mikayla and Annie. You were so cute and adorable in your very first photo shoot!
We were able to go home after a full day and a half at the hospital. Your sisters, brother, and cousins were so happy to have you home. Everyone crowded around you and exclaimed over how cute you were! A live baby doll!
Johannah Joy, you are loved by so many. We praise the Lord for you. We look forward to watching you grow, and we pray that you will give your life to the Lord one day!
We love you, princess!
Love,
Mommy and Daddy
A special thanks to Camille Neff for the photography and video!