Esther: God's Perfect Timing

Birth:

Our little girl was due on November 20th, a week before Thanksgiving, but quoting a friend who said "Little Esther must have a lot of work to do for The Lord and wanted to get an early start." She may have arrived nine weeks earlier than man's timing, but she was right on time for God's perfect plan for her. We had prayed for her birth, name and the entire event. This pregnancy was unique and I sensed that her birth would be special. 

I started having contractions at two this morning, by five o'clock it was 10 minutes apart, by the time we left for the hospital... I knew I was in active labor. When the nurse checked me, she discovered that I was already 6cm dilated. After a half hour, it went up to 8 cm. They realized that they wouldn't be able to stop her and sent me to the delivery room. 

My doctor, who hadn't delivered my other daughters, was able to deliver our little Esther. Before he broke the water, my husband prayed in front of him, the nurse, mom and myself. I delivered her at noon.

Esther was 4lbs, had a large umbilical cord, lived in a large sac, and even cried immediately after birth. I was able to hold her on me for a while, too. Huge blessings!

We discover God's reason for her early birth: The placenta had begun to abrupt. There was blood within her fluids indicting the importance of this early delivery. She was born prior to it reaching her.

As soon as Esther was born, I felt God's peace. God reassured me that everything was good. He had little Esther in His hands. I know God is watching over her and will take care of her. :)

Name: 

Esther is a heroine in the Bible. She was a Jew that trusts God and trusted her guardian. She demonstrated it by the life she lived and the choices she made. She was humble and dependent on her God. She became the queen and ended up saving her people the Israelities from being destroyed.

Hope is looking forward to something and trusting God with your future. We had chosen this name because We "hope" toward our eternal home in Heaven. It is where we are going and where We pray our children will be. :)

Prayer Requests:

Thank you everyone for your prayers. Here are some specific requests.

 A workable schedule

• Visit Esther daily
• Have other daughters babysat
• Provision for travel

For Esther

• Lungs to continue to develop so she can breathe on her own
• Next: to be able to breathe, suck and swallow for feeding

For Yuliya

• A Quick recovery
• Strength and wisdom

For Andrew

• Encouragement
• Discernment for family/work schedule