Ezekiel's Birth Story

Ezekiel’s Birth Story:

            The beginning of this journey doesn’t start the day we had our sweet boy, but about 2 weeks before. Everyone thought for sure he was going to come early, as I began to have strong contractions around 37 weeks. The days went on, and what felt like “early labor” never progressed into “active labor”. There were days where my contractions would be 5 minutes apart for hours on end. Sometimes even days where they just never seemed to stop. At each visit with my OB I would explain what was happening. Baby seemed to be doing just fine with it, and I was only dilated 1 centimeter, so we waited for my body to decide when it was the right time.

            I had my final doctor’s appointment Wednesday, June 27^th, the day before my due date. As I sat in the office and talked with the doctor and nurse I couldn’t hold back the tears. I was very tired, and needed resolution, but I wanted my body to decide on it’s own. Dr. Sullivan asked me to go to the hospital to monitor baby and said we would decide on things from there. He explained that as long as baby was doing fine, we wouldn’t mess with anything. So I went home, got everything in order, and my husband and I headed to Sarasota Memorial Hospital to monitor baby boy.

            After an hour on the monitors, he seemed to be doing just fine. The nurse taking care of us was very reluctant to let us go home. She could see that contractions were 5 to 7 minutes apart and thought for sure we should be having out baby very soon. After taking some time to discuss and pray about everything, James and I decided we wanted to go home. I’m so thankful that we did because it continued like this for another day and a half, and then the time finally came!

            Around 2 a.m. on Friday, June 29^th I had a very hard contraction. I remember waking up and quickly trying to find a position to work though it. About 5 minutes later another one came, and they kept coming. By the 4^th one, I woke James up. We waited another 30 minutes, and then decided it was time to go. Our last baby came in 4 hours, so we didn’t want to waste any time. We called our dear friend Eliza Davis, who came as quickly as possible to be with our other three boys. We also called Mama Nancy Slabaugh to meet us at the hospital.

            We made it to the hospital by 3:40 a.m. and contractions were still very strong and about 5 minutes apart. A nurse took me right back, and James took care of getting us checked in to the OB ECC. I was dilated 4 cm, and the monitors showed that our little man was doing just fine. At this point Nancy had arrived, and James had finished with everything at the front desk. Everything to this point went so smooth. We were admitted and taken up to labor and delivery!!!

            The nurses caring for us were so helpful and very flexible in accepting our wishes to birth naturally. They also seemed to be excited to be a part of the ride. For about 2 hours things didn't progress much. I asked Nancy to put on some songs I requested to have playing. One of them being my birth song, Fresh Outpouring by Kim Walker. When this particular song started playing I felt a shift in my contractions. I could no longer hum through them nor could I hold myself up. Then I started feeling the need to push.  The midwife Sharon was called in to check on things and found that I had jumped to 7 centimeters. She asked if I would like my water to be broken to help relieve some of the pressure. Also, understanding that it would probably move things along more quickly, we decided it was the right decision.

            Before laying down to break my water, Sharon asked what position I’d like to be in to deliver my baby. I thought being on my hands and knees would be best and really looked forward to being able to experience something different. She was totally on board with it. After my water was broken, I was in too much pain to get back up and ended up staying on my back. As I laid there trying to work through each contraction I remember the  

Lord telling me to look out the window. As I looked, I saw a beautiful sunrise. This a moment I will never forget! 

            The next moments were absolutely amazing and truly like nothing I had experienced in my previous births. The nurse took the monitors off me, stating that I knew what I was doing and that they weren’t needed. Sharon told me that I could gently push to relieve some of the pain, but not to push hard yet, since I wasn’t quite 10 cm. When I was fully dilated the nurses and midwife stepped back and let me birth. No one touched me or said anything. They just watched, and allowed the miracle of birth to take place. It was amazing to feel my body tell me when to push and move my baby in to the world. As he came out Sharon caught him, and immediately placed him on me. Ezekiel David Beechy was born, weighing 7lbs 12oz at 6:48a.m.! 

Picture taken right after birth

Our Team

Couldn't have done this without
 Miss Eliza Davis taking
care of our other boys!

I am so grateful for the prayers, strength, and peace Mama Nancy brought to the room.

The Comforter Breathes Me In

Isaiah 40:11(NIV) He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those who have young.

Recently, I read this verse, and it spoke so sweetly to me. Specifically, "He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart". I am always so grateful for the reminder that the Lord holds us when we need to be comforted. 

After reading,I went in to pick up my baby, who was crying, and gently held him close to me and comforted him, as I did this the Lord gave me a picture of him doing this with me. In broken moments and weak place, he picks me up, and holds me close to his heart. 

Something else that I always do when I'm holding my children is smell their head. I breathe them in, and it's always so sweet and calming to me. I imagined Him breathing me in, and being a sweet aroma to Him. He takes nothing from me as he does this, but it ministers to His heart and He cares for me.

Sauteed Greens

Sauteed Greens
Ingredients:

• 1 bunch chopped kale
• 4 cups Spinach
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 3 TBSP olive oil

Instructions:

1. Warm up olive oil in a skillet. This recipe comes out best with a cast iron skillet.
2. Add minced garlic and let it sizzle for a minute or so.
3. Add kale and spinach; mix together until the greens are coated in oil.
4. Cook about 5 to 7 more minutes, mixing every couple of minutes.
5. Serve and enjoy.

I love these as leftovers!

Sweet Potato Noodles

Sweet Potato Noodles

Serves: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 medium size sweet potatoes 
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil, or avocado oil
• sea salt
• optional freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with foil paper.
2. Thoroughly wash the sweet potatoes and peel it. Slice off both ends.
3. Spiralize the sweet potatoes and place them on the lined baking sheet.
4. Drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt, and mix together to make sure everything is coated. Roast them in the oven until just tender, about 20-30 minutes mixing together half way through cooking time.
5. Enjoy.

These make great leftovers.

AIP Meatballs

AIP Meatballs

Ingredients

•  Olive oil for greasing the dish
• 1 pound your choice ground meat
• 1 tsp. Sea salt
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 400° F. Set the rack in the middle of the oven. Grease the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil.
2. Using your hands, combine meat, and seasonings in a large bowl.
3. Continuing to use your hands, scoop out portions of meat mixture and form into meatballs. I make 12 meatballs with this amount of meat.
4. Place meatballs in the baking dish, not touching. Bake until meat is browned and cooked through, about 20 minutes.
5. Serve and enjoy.

Cashew Alfredo Sauce 

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 3/4 cup boiling water 
• 1 TBSP fresh lemon juice
• 1 roasted garlic clove 
• 1 TBSP olive oil
• 1/4 salt 

1. Place raw cashews (must be raw, not roasted) in a food processor or high powered blender and pulse until nuts are very fine. 
2. Carefully add in the boiling water; process until smooth.
3. Add the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, and salt; process some more until smooth and creamy.
4. If it isn’t thickening enough for you, heat it in a saucepan over a low temperature for a few minutes, and that should do the trick.
5. On the other hand, if it’s too thick, add a little more water 1 TBSP at a time until desired consistency.
6.  Serve and enjoy or save for later.