girltalk Blog

Little Caly is two days old today, and eating and sleeping well. Tomorrow, Janelle gets to come home from the hospital. She’s doing everything possible to be outside those doors by 11:00 am—including filling out all the discharge papers today. Thanks to all of you for your prayers on her behalf. Janelle is feeling much better. She got a shower this morning, and she is actually able to hold Caly for extended periods of time, which “makes her feel like a real mom.”

Last night Brian and I, along with Andrew and Liam were able to visit Mike and Janelle at the hospital, and let the boys meet their new cousin. I have a feeling we are going to be saying, “gentle, boys, gentle” a lot in the coming days. Our entire family is enchanted with this new little girlie. The last time a girl was added to our family, it was Janelle!

All our excitement over Caly has us thinking about motherhood of course. So, we thought you wouldn’t mind if we camp out here for a few days. Besides being one of the greatest blessings from God, motherhood is also a tremendous responsibility. Not only is there the immediate adjustment to caring for a little life—twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week—but the charge to (along with our husbands) train our children in the way they should go (Prov. 22:6) is a weighty task.

To help encourage young moms such as myself, our church hosted a series of meetings last year entitled “Moms2Moms.” In addition to free babysitting and small group time with other moms of toddlers, we got to hear teaching aimed right where we are at.

So, if your baby is only two days old or two years old, take some time to listen to these short, practical, and refreshing thoughts for your soul. We’ll be back tomorrow with more on motherhood!

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Baby Caly is doing great! Janelle didn’t get much sleep last night, and she’s in some pain today; but overall, a very happy mommy! Mike and Janelle and our entire family want to thank all of you for your prayers, encouragement, and for sharing in our joy. We printed all the emails you sent and brought them to the hospital today for Janelle to read. It has been such a blessing for Mike and Janelle to share this exciting event with all of you!

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We are pleased to announce the birth of…

Carolyn Kimberly “Caly” Bradshaw
to Michael & Janelle Bradshaw
at 5:07 pm, February 20, 2006
Weight: 7lb, 3oz

Caly (pronounced like “Sally” but with a “C”) is named after her two grandmothers. She was delivered via c-section because her head was turned sideways and got lodged in the birthing canal, which affected her heart rate. But, by God’s grace, she is a healthy little girl. Apparently, she has some personality too—she bit the doctor’s hand as she came into the world!

Mike and Janelle want to sincerely thank all of you for your prayers, encouragement, and love! Here are some pictures of Caly. More to come…

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Baby Bradshaw is here! Thank you for your prayers. The little girl was safely delivered via c-section a little while ago. We don’t yet know the exact time of birth—we haven’t even seen her yet! But the doctor came out to tell us that the baby is healthy (apgar score was great) and that Janelle is doing wonderful as well! We’ll post all the details and pictures as soon as we can. Thank you again for your prayers!

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After pushing for half an hour, the doctor determined that the baby’s heartbeat was such that they needed to do a c-section right away. So, as we write, they have Janelle in the operating room where they are delivering the little girl. Please pray for health and safety for Janelle and her baby. Thank you!

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The doctor just checked Janelle and she is 9 1/2 cm dilated and in a few minutes they will have her begin pushing. Lord willing, Baby Bradshaw will be here soon!

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Half an hour ago, Janelle received the epidural. Sigh of relief. The doctor said it should only take about fifteen minutes to begin working. Mom and I are out on “lunch break” right now so that Kristin and Mike’s mom, Kim, can see Janelle. So we’re hoping that the epidural has kicked in and Janelle is resting comfortably, and maybe even joking around!

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Janelle’s contractions are getting much stronger, and she is ready for the epidural. The anesthesiologist should be arriving shortly. Dr. Tran says she is 3cm dilated and 90 percent effaced.

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Pitocin administered. Hopefully this will get things started!

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still 2 cm dilated, 80 percent effaced

We got here at around 8:30 a.m. and after checking in, we met Janelle’s entertaining nurse, Barbara. She’s wearing an Eeyore nurse’s jacket and matching Eeyore socks. However, her personality doesn’t match her favorite Winnie-the-Pooh character; she’s more a cross between Tigger and Rabbit—Tigger’s enthusiasm and Rabbit’s efficiency. Perfect.

After bravely enduring the first needle of the day (her fluid IV) Janelle gave us a little scare when she became faint and her blood pressure dropped. But everything has stabilized now and the doctor just broke Janelle’s water. The good news is that all the back pain she’s been experiencing has actually been contractions!

Surprisingly, Janelle hasn’t demanded an epidural. Although maybe that’s because she hasn’t actually been induced yet.

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