I am Amber. I just turned 24 years old. I have been pregnant, and given birth three times. I had a midwife with all three pregnancies. I Now have three little boys. Gabriel, Isaac and Levi -ages (a few days away from) 5, 3 1/2 and just turned 2. That makes me 25 months PP. The first two were natural home births, but Levi, I delivered in a hospital because my water broke before I was in labor. They induced labor and I delivered him naturally. He was two weeks early and weighed 7 lbs even. Gabriel, my oldest was born a day before his due date and weighed 8 lbs 7oz. Isaac was two days before his due date and weighed 8lbs 4oz.
I am married to a wonderful man. He is a true blessing to me! I met him through family connections when I was nearly 18. (He was 24) We got married only 6 weeks after we met, one month before my 18th birthday. I got pregnant about 5 months later. My first child was born shortly after my 19th birthday. The second, 14 months later. 22 months after my second, came my third. Yes I am busy.
My family wasn’t planned. Really more a result of non-planning. I wasn’t against having children. I always knew I would be a mother. But I was rather passive about the whole thing and honestly, was in a mindset of “letting God decide” what He wanted my family to look like. That seems ridiculous to me now. I am on birth control now. -I have no regrets. Please don’t hear me saying that! God made me fertile. He is not going to be sitting there blocking my husbands semen because we can’t afford another kid and I am overwhelmed. If I have unprotected sex with my husband I AM deciding to have another baby… Not God! I am so grateful for my husband and I, blindly stepping into marriage, and foolishly reproducing because I love my family dearly. Although it was just that: blind and foolish, God was looking out for us, while we were making the decisions. I can’t blame God that it is hard. I don’t really know what I am doing in a lot of ways, but I do trust Him. And I trust that God can use all things together for good for those who love him. I am incalculably blessed with supportive family and friends, a loving husband who is a loving father to our children, Healthy children, and so much more. I wouldn’t trade it, BUT I wouldn’t exactly recommend following my example, either.
I had amazing “easy” pregnancies. I don’t like to talk about it much because of the hate filled glares I receive when I mention things like, “no morning sickness” or “30 lb weight gain during pregnancy with 20 of that gone after childbirth” or “4 hour labor, with 3 pushes” but I am grateful! Don’t worry, I pay for it now with three wild toddlers. And I guess I’m okay with the stretch marks. Of course, I was hoping I’d be in the 50 percent who didn’t get them. (My mother had 5 and doesn’t have a single mark.) But, its really not the most important thing in the world to have a smooth, youthful, tight stomach. My husband still thinks I’m hot.