Hank's Birth Story

As September 24th drew nearer and nearer I told everyone that the next full moon was on September 19th hoping that Hank would make his appearance then. However, in my mind I had prepared myself to still be pregnant in October knowing that Hank was my first child and usually the first one likes to be late. I had been dilated to a 4 for 2 weeks (and did lunges down the service road with Will on Monday- Can you say SORE?) when I had just got into bed on September 19th at 10pm (after working from 8-5:30 and then cleaning the car lot till 7:30pm) contractions began. I hit my knees (with every. single. contration!). After about 20 minutes I woke Will up and told him I was going to have Hank tonight. His eyes were HUGE. He jumped up and I assured him that we didn't have to rush. I was going to straighten up, take a shower, throw the toiletries into our overnight bag and then we could head to the hospital. My contractions were about 4 minutes apart and by the time we arrived at RMC around 11:30 they were 1-2 minutes apart. I did not like our first nurse. The only time I thought I could not deliver my baby naturally was while dealing with that nurse. Eventually our favorite nurse, Ashley, showed up, got us admitted, and brought in the labor tub while I labored in the shower. Thank the Lord for Ashley. With every single contraction I hit my knees. While in the shower Will was putting pressure on my hips and by the time the tub was filled up we were both soaking wet. When we got out of the shower to get into the labor tub I realized I did not want in there if Will couldn't reach me to apply that much needed pressure with every contraction. So... he looked at the nurse and said, "Can I get in?". I think we were all shocked. So off came his socks and shoes and in we went. I labored for about 6 hours with contractions every minute and no breaks. In between contractions I was still in a lot of pain. I continually repeated, "When I am weak, HE is strong" knowing that the Lord would see me through. His promises are true and he made no mistakes when creating my body to birth my first child. Dr. Fletcher showed up sometime around 4am. She was wonderful! She immediately started rubbing my back and telling me how great I've been doing. She let me push on all fours for a little while before getting in the bed. I pushed for about 30 minutes. At the very end it felt like I had a whole stadium of people cheering by my bed. Will was definitely in coaching mode yelling, "C'mon Mags!!" Then there he was, Hank Larry Ginn. I will never ever ever forget the way that little warm body felt against my bare chest. Pushing was definitely my favorite. I could actually do something about the pressure! On September 20th, 2013 at 4:49am I embraced my baby and made my husband a father. Hank had a head full of black hair and amazing eyebrows. They laid him right on my chest and Will was justa crying :) I was so happy to finally hold my prize. He stayed with me for the first hour or two and we nursed. He latched on like he had been taught. After he ate they weighed him and he came in at 7lb 10oz and 19.5in long.

Every single detail is so special to me because from the time I found out that I'd be having our first child I prayed for specific things like...1) I wanted to go into labor on my own. No inductions! 2) I wanted to labor naturally so my baby would not be drugged up when he came out. 3) I prayed that he would be a wonderful nursling because so many women have trouble breast feeding.

The Lord was so gracious in answering every single prayer. I was also blessed by things and people I had not prayed about like our nurse Ashley and my best friend, Brittany. Brittany was so encouraging and helped me know what to expect next and that the pain wouldn't get any worse. My mom was also a blessing. She was pretty low key but there is just something about being in a lot of pain and being able to cry to your mom... even if she can't do anything to help. Then we all ate Chick-fil-a for breakfast and that was a huge blessing for this CFA loving mama!

Having Hank has changed a lot of things for me.
-For example, I can hardly get through a church service with out crying like a baby. Sometimes I just look at him and cry because I think about how God gave his only Son for you and me. I have loved Jesus for a long time but having my own son has rocked my world. I can't thank the Lord enough for giving his son and I can't thank Jesus enough for dying on that cross.
-I thought I really loved Will before having Hank and I did but I love him way more now and in ways I didn't know possible. I love the fact that I get to keep a part of Will with me during the day and I am amazed at the way he helped me during labor and delivery.
-My parents, especially mom. I just want to apologize for anything I have ever said or done to hurt her feelings. I know a day will come when Hank will hurt mine and the thought of that breaks my heart. So, it breaks my heart that I have hurt my parents in that way. Mom, I am so sorry and I love you :) Dad too I just don't think he's much of a blog reader ;)

Thank you Jesus for the gift of life and for caring about the small details of my life with Will. I pray that I won't -for a day- forget that Hank is yours. Prepare us to raise him in a way that honors and brings glory to your name. I pray that he will grow up to know you and make an impact on this world for you.