Episode 81
Our Labor Story Part 1
The salient theme of this episode revolves around my personal narrative of labor and birth, an experience that profoundly intertwines with our holistic health philosophy. As I recount this journey, I aim to offer insights into the natural processes of childbirth while sharing the challenges and joys encountered as new parents. The episode not only highlights the physical and emotional aspects of bringing a new life into the world but also underscores the importance of community support and faith during such pivotal moments. Furthermore, we delve into the significance of remaining authentic and unedited in our discussions, allowing listeners to witness the raw and genuine aspects of our lives as we navigate parenthood. Through these reflections, we aspire to resonate with those who may have experienced similar journeys or seek to understand the holistic approach to health and wellness that guides us.
Takeaways:
- In this episode, we delve into the intricate experiences of holistic health practitioners during the transformative journey of parenthood.
- The significance of remaining authentic and unedited in our podcasting approach is paramount for connecting with our audience.
- Listeners are invited to engage with the personal stories of labor and birth, offering insight into our shared experiences as new parents.
- We emphasize the importance of unwavering adherence to Christian principles, particularly in times of societal turmoil and personal tragedy.
- The episode explores the profound implications of community support in navigating the challenges of parenthood and faith.
- We reflect on the intersection of personal beliefs and public life, particularly in light of recent events affecting our community and beyond.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- TP USA
- Charlie Kirk
Transcript
Foreign.
Speaker A:Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Casting Seeds.
Speaker A:I'm Savannah, your holistic health practitioner and host.
Speaker B:And I'm Jeremiah, your co host.
Speaker B:And this is Penelope, our assistant.
Speaker B:Come on.
Speaker B:There she is.
Speaker A:She's laying on my chest.
Speaker A:And you're listening to the only holistic health podcast that uses God's singular truth to give you individualized discernment.
Speaker A:You guys are going to be hearing my labor and birth story today.
Speaker A:So Jeremiah had to be here no matter what.
Speaker A:And so did the little pinochle because she's a part of it.
Speaker A:But also the way that she sleeps is like on, you know, those wraps that people use.
Speaker A:So she's wrapped onto my chest right now and she's really close to the microphone.
Speaker A:So if there are any pain curling screams, we'll edit that out.
Speaker A:But lately we've been just trying to be as all natural as possible and not edit things out of the podcast because we've wanted you guys to hear our life and what's actually going on and kind of experience newbornness with us, whether or not you have experienced it before.
Speaker A:Right, babe?
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:I don't know if that's something is a plus or minus, but yeah, also too.
Speaker A:It takes a long time to edit the podcast and we are exhausted new parents and we're only two and a half weeks in to being parents and it's just been a lot.
Speaker A:Yeah, that being what I was just.
Speaker B:Gonna say, that little extra step to go in there and listen to the entire thing and a lot of work.
Speaker B:So you gotta do like a couple run throughs and just make sure it flows and it could be a little wear and tear on.
Speaker B:On me, especially now that I'm actually like working full time and everything.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah, working full time.
Speaker A:Oh my gosh.
Speaker A:The last episode I yawned so much.
Speaker B:We were tired.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:We're barely getting any sleep and in the hospital we.
Speaker A:It started off the hospital, we got zero sleep.
Speaker A:So I can't wait to get into that.
Speaker A:But before we do, the last episode I recorded was the.
Speaker A:Actually the night before Charlie Kirk's assassination.
Speaker A:And I don't know if Jeremiah would like to make a statement in any way, shape or form.
Speaker A:I know I already have on Instagram, but I just wanted to say fully support Instagram.
Speaker A:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:Well, first and foremost, we support tpusa and everything that they stand for.
Speaker A:And it's also so weird that Charlie Kirk is my age or was my age at 31 years old.
Speaker A:Born the same year because he always was so mature and acted so much mature.
Speaker A:More Mature.
Speaker A:There was a point where I was talking to TP USA about podcasting and things like that for talent, and they were looking for somebody to move out there.
Speaker A:And I actually was the one before Alex Clark ever did any, you know, apothecary.
Speaker A:Yeah, like health care information.
Speaker A:Two years before that, I actually was the one who reached out to them and said that you guys should have a say in the holistic movement, especially a godly point of view because it's so big.
Speaker A:And we were talking over that.
Speaker A:Even Alex.
Speaker A:Alex actually follows me now again.
Speaker A:But on my initial Instagram, TP usa, Alex and all of them did follow me, but then I deleted that Instagram and then created a work Instagram.
Speaker A:So who knows what would have happened if we decided to go through with that, if I would have been probably the main provider for our home.
Speaker B:I mean, podcasting doesn't pay that well.
Speaker A:Yeah, well, it would have through tposa, but just Jeremiah and I, I don't know, the things that they offered and we discussed, it was all very much up in the air and nothing was a hard.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:And at that point in time, I also was more focused on doing physical alignment work than doing this type of work.
Speaker A:I also was sick at that time.
Speaker A:So it felt very hypocritical to have a health podcast and not look healthy.
Speaker A:Um, and we were just getting this started.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's just really interesting how obviously that didn't pan out the way that we expected.
Speaker A:But I'm really thankful that holistic health actually ended up getting a platform through TP usa through Alex Clark.
Speaker A:Not in the way that I would have preferred.
Speaker A:I wish God was more the front and center, but it's more conservative based.
Speaker A:And obviously Jeremiah and I, if we were considering moving out there and working with them, we obviously agreed with everything that they say in their mission statement and everything that Charlie Cooks criticism Kirk stood for.
Speaker A:And I would just like to say that I. I know that James o' Keefe kind of makes this clear in his mission statement, but it's very, very clear that if you, you know, like, if you're willing to back down on your ideals or values for a hundred thousand dollars.
Speaker A:Two hundred thousand.
Speaker A:A million.
Speaker A:A billion dollars.
Speaker A:If you're willing to be bought out at any certain financial price and the price isn't your life, then you're.
Speaker A:You can be convinced otherwise.
Speaker A:So I just want to say that on this podcast, to die is gain 100.
Speaker A:We will never back down from our Christian values.
Speaker A:And even today, people gave me.
Speaker A:Well, actually the past week, people have been giving me crap for being a Christian and not just standing for Charlie Kirk, but standing for Christian values and things that even Charlie Kirk didn't speak about, like being anti IVF and pro human rights, pro child rights, not just pro life and things like that.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:And pro husband and wife marriage, only because marriage is a covenant between God, man and wife, and all sorts of things.
Speaker A:So if anyone has any of those problems, obviously they're probably not a huge fan of this podcast.
Speaker A:But I do hope and pray that we can have healthy discord and conversations and understanding that in no way, shape and form, even if there was somebody that would.
Speaker A:Jeremiah and I would consider our worst enemy, we would mourn over the fact that they were.
Speaker A:They would ever be killed or die, or especially if someone didn't know Christ, we would mourn over their life, because a life is a life.
Speaker A:So let alone to lose a brother in Christ.
Speaker A:But I'm so thankful knowing that he's in heaven and that we're gonna see him again someday.
Speaker A:So before we get into our birth story, an amazing story about how a life came into this world, we do want to say that we fully support tpusa, Charlie Kirk and everything that he stood for.
Speaker A:Is there anything that I left out, honey?
Speaker B:You know, I think one thing that this podcast, our podcast has really hit home on is who you doing this for?
Speaker B:And Charlie Kirk did it for God all the way to the end.
Speaker B:And mind, body and soul.
Speaker B:If you're not in it, then you're a lukewarm Christian.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And if you're not a lukewarm Christian, then you're not a Christian at all.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I actually want to read.
Speaker A:Do you have my phone?
Speaker A:I think it's right next to you on the blanket.
Speaker B:There it is.
Speaker A:Somebody reached out to us that we sent Bibles to and sent us a thank you.
Speaker B:Oh.
Speaker A:And I wanted to read it to you.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:Today.
Speaker A:And I totally forgot.
Speaker A:And now it's perfect because we're on the podcast right now.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I also think it's.
Speaker B:It's really hard in this day and age to put into perspective death, because we are all.
Speaker B:Not we all, but a lot of us are disconnected from humanity and that we live in our own lives, in technology and makeup, beauty, you name it.
Speaker B:Whatever your idol is, you're so engulfed in it that you don't see the sorrows of the world.
Speaker B:And there's a sorrow that Charlie Kirk has been killed.
Speaker B:Yeah, he's been assassinated.
Speaker B:And there's a huge emptiness in this world right now for the next couple days.
Speaker B:But I am looking forward to the people that are speaking up and actually, like, coming out.
Speaker A:Like, well, there's a fire for, like, you've noticed there's, like, a fire.
Speaker B:There's people that have been in hiding, Christians that are in hiding that are coming out.
Speaker B:And I've been tracking some of it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it's.
Speaker B:Look, our college campuses are going to be overwhelmed with conservatives and Christians.
Speaker A:And that's the thing we.
Speaker A:When I say to die is gain, I used to.
Speaker A:Jeremiah and I used to joke.
Speaker A:Well, he used to mess with me.
Speaker A:At first.
Speaker A:He was serious.
Speaker A:But when we were first dating, I would tell him, like, sometimes I just want to be home with the Lord.
Speaker A:I don't want to be here anymore.
Speaker A:And those are those birthing pains.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:That the.
Speaker A:That revelation talks about.
Speaker A:And I think it also talks about it in Daniel that will have birthing pains to want the world to want to end so that we can just be in the new heaven, new earth.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And when Jeremiah was a new believer, he was like, wes, you won't just want to commit suicide.
Speaker A:I was like, no, I just hate the evil and the, like, just the demonic warfare here so much that I want to be home.
Speaker A:I don't want to deal with all of this anymore.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I think it's interesting because a few people online have already called me out saying, like, you keep saying, to die is gain.
Speaker A:To die is gain.
Speaker A:You just had a baby.
Speaker A:Like, would you really be willing to die on behalf of Christ, even with a newborn that you'd leave behind?
Speaker A:And the answer is yes.
Speaker A:Both for Jeremiah Night.
Speaker A:Is that ideal?
Speaker A:Absolutely not.
Speaker A:I mean, if you think about Erica, Charlie Kirk's wife, and the two babies he left behind, it is absolutely not ideal that he is not there and not going to raise them.
Speaker B:But how many men are actually standing up and going to help Erica now?
Speaker A:Well, that.
Speaker A:And God obviously, is using this.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:For a plan and a purpose.
Speaker A:And God's will.
Speaker A:And God's way is always the correct one, even if it's outside of our plan.
Speaker A:His plan is greater.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So they don't realize.
Speaker A:Just the same way in World War II, where the Japanese, he wasn't like the general.
Speaker A:It was like somebody right under him.
Speaker A:He said when they bombed Pearl harbor that he was worried that they woke up a sleeping giant.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:With America.
Speaker A:And that's what just happened again.
Speaker A:But with Christ.
Speaker A:And Christ is a thousand times a.
Speaker A:A million times more productive than just a nation in itself.
Speaker A:But I Do want to read this message?
Speaker A:Because I do think it's necessary to hear that even this podcast, even though Jeremiah and I have not been on topic as much lately, that it's still affecting you guys.
Speaker A:It just kind of brings all of this home that just having these open conversations consistently about Christ, even if it's only one person's listening.
Speaker A:This one person was deeply affected.
Speaker A:And a lot of these questions and episodes that we've had were because of you guys sending in questions and saying, can you talk about this?
Speaker A:Can you do research on X, Y and Z?
Speaker A:And this has actually affected somebody that we sent Bibles to.
Speaker A:So I just wanted to read this really quickly.
Speaker A:It says hi with a heart.
Speaker A:I just wanted to share with you that it's been over a year since you sent me these Bibles and.
Speaker A:And my life has changed drastically.
Speaker A:I might cry reading this.
Speaker A:I couldn't even explain it all in one message.
Speaker A:But before then, I had one foot in the door and one foot out of the door.
Speaker A:I had zero discipline and only faith.
Speaker A:I had no way of sharing my faith or building others up or pointing them to God because I didn't know the word of God.
Speaker A:Initially, it was a little scary and confusing because I didn't know what was ahead of.
Speaker A:But since then, not only was my faith deepened, but God is moving in my life with speed and I can't even comprehend it.
Speaker A:My prayers for Eric, this is her boyfriend, to accept Jesus in his life were answered.
Speaker A:I'm just in awe of God's hand on everything.
Speaker A:And I'm so grateful for you being so bold in your faith to inspire me and so kind to continuously encourage me.
Speaker A:You are a blessing of a friend, and I hope God continues to bless you and your husband tenfold and others around you as well.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker A:And so I told her, her name's Linda, that Jeremiah and I, because we were.
Speaker A:We were praying for them pretty consistently.
Speaker A:And she said, I can't believe you've been praying for me and Eric.
Speaker A:Oh, my gosh, that's so kind.
Speaker A:Thank you.
Speaker A:I don't know what the future is going to look like, especially from the next six months from now, but just know that we are both so grateful and excited.
Speaker A:And Eric and I have always shared our morals and values, but now it just feels like we're being sanctified at lightning speed for whatever is in God's plan.
Speaker A:And I'm praying everything comes together very soon.
Speaker A:Eric is a bold person by nature.
Speaker A:So now we both seem to be sharing certain gifts and it's all being glorified to God and it's all going against the war.
Speaker B:Amazing.
Speaker A:She's talking about the spiritual war.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:We were lost with good intentions, but metaphysical new age world had had a hand on us.
Speaker A:And God is now so great that he allowed us to dabble in all of those things, but then save us from what was actually happening.
Speaker A:Yet he kept us and set us apart and we never quite fit in that world.
Speaker A:And now we are welcomed in a new community.
Speaker A:We are always at odds with other people over basic morals and values and too conservative for the hippies, yet too hippie for the religious people around us.
Speaker A:Anyways, I know that you understand this more than anybody, so I'll stop yapping, but I'm so excited for you too.
Speaker A:And tell Jeremiah I said hi from NorCal and we're so thankful for you both.
Speaker A:I. I've been praying to get married and start our family.
Speaker B:That's beautiful.
Speaker A:Isn't that amazing?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I just.
Speaker B:One of the one thing that I find so amazing about people in general is that once they find Jesus, all they want is Jesus.
Speaker B:And the fact that her and her boyfriend both found Jesus together, like, that's.
Speaker B:That's really impressive.
Speaker B:Just because, like, you're not fighting just your sin.
Speaker B:Fighting somebody else's sin.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:At the exact same time.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And so especially when you're living together in sin.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Like, that is.
Speaker B:That is difficult.
Speaker B:And I. I understand, like, people are stuck in situations and stuff and like, it's not easy to go from living together as boyfriend girlfriend to not living with each other as boyfriend girlfriend, especially financially in the America we live in right now.
Speaker A:Oh.
Speaker A:And yeah.
Speaker A:They make it harder for married couples to live together.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker B:Oh, Penelope.
Speaker A:I knew she was.
Speaker B:But honestly, like, to pray for that future husband, to pray for that future wife.
Speaker B:I.
Speaker B:It is.
Speaker A:Well, let's say.
Speaker A:Let's say a prayer in just a second.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:But I just want to say too, because people are probably like, oh, well, you sent them Bibles and supported them.
Speaker A:Here's the thing.
Speaker A:Linda knew that, you know, like I told her, that's living in sin.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:She knew the truth.
Speaker A:That's not even the question.
Speaker A:But you can still love on people while they're in sin.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:The same way that Jeremiah and I. Penelope, we're not perfect.
Speaker A:Everyone who's in our lives loves on us while we're continuously living in sin.
Speaker A:That's what sanctification is.
Speaker A:But people also have to be brought to the Lord and their timing and their repentance with God.
Speaker A:And their timing is God's timing.
Speaker A:So all you can do is literally pray for those people and keep being an example and loving on them.
Speaker A:That's all we could do was love on them from afar.
Speaker A:They're in Northern California.
Speaker A:We're in Southern California.
Speaker A:All we could do was send them Bibles, and we did.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I'd love to know if they're plugged in at a church and they plan on getting baptized and all that.
Speaker B:Like, that'd be wonderful to know.
Speaker A:I'll give you updates.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:But if you guys could be praying for Linda and Eric.
Speaker A:Do you want me to start the prayer in the prayer?
Speaker B:Love, why don't you start?
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I know that this is, like, not.
Speaker A:None of this has to do with labor or.
Speaker B:No, but this is honoring God.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And that's what our podcast is about.
Speaker A:You want me to start?
Speaker A:You said.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker A:I already forgot.
Speaker B:You're pregnant.
Speaker B:I mean, I was.
Speaker B:Was still getting used.
Speaker A:I'm half awake.
Speaker B:She's still attached to you, literally.
Speaker A:You hear her breathing?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:No, stop.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:May you pray, Penelope.
Speaker A:Lord, I just want to thank you for Linda's boldness and Eric's boldness to even reach out and let us know how they were doing.
Speaker A:A year later.
Speaker A:I actually met Linda in school, and she was very into New Age.
Speaker A:Very into, like, the energy, work, and soul stuff.
Speaker A:And obviously, that was never my vibe, but we connected from the very first class that we met.
Speaker A:And she knew that I was a Christian, and she'd asked me a lot of questions.
Speaker A:She'd speak to me about, you know, her mom's Catholicism and things like that, and we'd talk about the differences.
Speaker A:And she just always has been such a sweet spirit and very admirable.
Speaker A:And because we were together, especially during COVID she had a lot of questions as to why I fought against, you know, the bureaucracy, I guess, is the best way to put it.
Speaker A:And, Lord, you were the main inspiration for that.
Speaker A:I just kept going back to you and saying how, you know, you were going to guide us through it all and that you could not be limited.
Speaker A:And we were going to go to church no matter what.
Speaker A:We were going to meet no matter what, and that your biblical truth met up with science.
Speaker A:And it was so fun having those conversations with her.
Speaker A:But then, obviously, when school ended, it wasn't the same type of contact or connection, so all we had was social media and this podcast and other things.
Speaker A:Just gently to be able to talk.
Speaker A:So, Lord, to know that.
Speaker A:That those Instagram posts that this podcast all Those things don't fall onto deaf ears, but they make a difference.
Speaker A:And knowing that sending Bibles, even just giving one to a friend or sending them to a random person makes a huge difference.
Speaker A:And having those hard conversations makes a difference, makes it all worth it.
Speaker A:It makes every single one of these episodes worth it.
Speaker A:It makes every single attack on Instagram and evil thing that people have said to me and about my family, my husband worth it.
Speaker A:It makes every single second of it worth it.
Speaker A:And if that ends up becoming to the point where martyrism happens, I mean, I pray that our family doesn't have to go through that.
Speaker A:But if it happens, Lord, like all glory be to you.
Speaker A:And I just want to lift up Linda and Eric in that way that they do get married soon so they're not living in sin together.
Speaker A:I pray they do start a family because it sounds like they're so excited for that.
Speaker A:I pray that we're able to be the fun Christian hippie friends for them from south Orange county and that we're able to go visit them in north Northern California and love on them.
Speaker A:I pray that their word, that your word inspires them and fills them and that they're so excited to get to know you every single day.
Speaker A:Um, I pray that Eric becomes a.
Speaker A:A heavenly God, honoring husband and father for her and a great leader.
Speaker A:I pray for their community of their Lord.
Speaker A:I pray.
Speaker A:I just pray over every aspect of their lives.
Speaker A:I pray for that hedge of protection that you gave Job, the same one that Jeremiah and I ask for every single day.
Speaker A:I pray for honest and open communication in their marriage.
Speaker A:I also pray that their finances and that their home is just blessed and that they're able to outpour their love for your holy Spirit, Lord, in a dark place.
Speaker A:Because Northern California really is a dark place.
Speaker A:It's where a lot of horrific laws are passed.
Speaker A:It's just disgusting.
Speaker A:So, Lord, I just pray for their strength, and I pray that we're able to love on them from afar.
Speaker A:But I do pray for their local community to rise up as much as possible in your name.
Speaker B:And, Lord, I just.
Speaker B:Savannah covered almost literally everything.
Speaker B:I don't know why she asked me to follow up, but you're the one.
Speaker A:Who told me to go first.
Speaker B:It makes sense.
Speaker B:She's.
Speaker B:She's a connection.
Speaker B:She has connection to you and God.
Speaker B:I just.
Speaker B:I thank you for that connection.
Speaker B:I thank you for the boldness of.
Speaker B:Of just asking who you are, Lord, and just planting that seed and being able to watch it grow, Lord.
Speaker B:And I. I just.
Speaker B:I can't express how much I enjoy your love, God, and the grace and mercy and courage that you just give people that seek you, Lord and God, I just, I. I pray for that hedge of protection over them.
Speaker B:I pray that they are able to put their marriage, their future marriage ahead of everything else in their life until they get married.
Speaker B:Because it is the most God honoring thing to love the church and love your wife.
Speaker B:And it's in our.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's not a literal commandment, God, but it.
Speaker B:We are commanded as men to be bold and die for our church.
Speaker B:And I just, I pray that for him, and I just ask that Eric is able to reach that God and you soften his heart and you give him the courage to become that husband and possibly father God, and to give him the support of other men in his community and to give him the courage to be in humility and to be wrong and to accept you in his heart.
Speaker B:Amen.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Anyway, I just wanted you guys to know, as listeners of this podcast, that if at any point in time you ever donated money, that money I've already discussed with Jeremiah would go towards more Bibles to be able to go back to you guys as listeners or more people like Linda and Eric.
Speaker B:So when we don't get money, we go to our local libraries and sometimes they just have free, live free Bibles out and we'll find the.
Speaker B:The biblical ones.
Speaker A:Yeah, we find like the new King James and the King James Bibles and.
Speaker B:Esv or we'll ask local churches and see if they have any disposable ones.
Speaker A:We hand a lot out to Mormons.
Speaker B:That is true.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Which.
Speaker A:That's a whole other episode we can have.
Speaker A:But in the meantime, we do want to get into our birth story and just keep p praying for Linda and Eric, which they're also in their early 30s as well.
Speaker A:They're a young couple and.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Are you ready to share our birth story?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Where do we start?
Speaker B:You want to start like the day before at church?
Speaker A:Yeah, I guess we can do that.
Speaker A:I thought I was possibly so Sunday the 24th.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker A:Of that was our due date, the 24th of August.
Speaker A:I was like, we're gonna have her like today.
Speaker A:I like, I could feel she was low.
Speaker A:Everything that I did, it just felt like I was having constant contractions, but then they'd go away.
Speaker A:A few episodes ago, Jeremiah and I talked or I talked about the marathon aspect.
Speaker A:So we had the whole week before I started dilating from Monday to Sunday.
Speaker A:And I was at one dilation One.
Speaker A:And I'd have contractions one centimeter or.
Speaker A:Sorry, yeah, one centimeter dilated.
Speaker A:Starting the Monday before, I would have a contraction that would last like one to two minutes, and then it would go away, and then 30 minutes later I'd have it.
Speaker A:And then it would sometimes get closer, like every 15 minutes for a couple of hours.
Speaker A:And then it would go away for, like.
Speaker A:And that's what was confusing about figuring out the difference between what's Braxton Hicks and then what's pre labor and then what's labor.
Speaker A:And everyone was calling that season PR Braxton Hicks contractions.
Speaker A:But that's not what they were.
Speaker A:They were pre labor contractions because my body was trying to dilate to start full blown active labor, which didn't start until the next Monday.
Speaker A:But that was the longest week, too.
Speaker A:And I wish people told Jeremiah and I rest that week, get as much sleep as possible, just spend time together and relax.
Speaker A:Because the baby's coming in, you won't get a lot of sleep the next few weeks, so just rest together.
Speaker B:I think it was kind of given, but it's just.
Speaker B:It's not something we think about consciously.
Speaker A:It's not encouraged.
Speaker A:Yeah, it wasn't encouraged.
Speaker B:Like, we were cleaning and getting ready and doing extra shopping just.
Speaker B:Just in case, like, we need to cook and stuff.
Speaker B:And just having our fridge stock.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:It felt like a constant urgency rather than relaxation time.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And I wish it was more relax and just be together or, like, go take a walk on the beach or go for another drive.
Speaker A:Like, just be together and cuddle.
Speaker A:Watch another movie.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:You know, all the way through without getting up.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So that Sunday, we went to church in the morning, and everyone was shocked that we were there.
Speaker A:Jeremiah went out and bought a yoga ball because we wanted to keep ours for our house.
Speaker A:But we went in.
Speaker A:We have a special room at church where we can see into the auditorium, but it's for, like, feeding babies.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker A:And Jeremiah blew up the yoga ball there and left the pump and let me, like, sit on it and roll.
Speaker A:And I was literally going through contractions while watching the sermon in the back room.
Speaker A:And then we went out.
Speaker A:What happened with the photo?
Speaker A:Someone took a photo of us.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:They were on the second floor and they.
Speaker B:They spotted us on the first floor, and they would take a photo of us.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And my.
Speaker A:My belly was huge.
Speaker A:And Jeremiah even said from afar he could see Penelope moving inside of my belly.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And that's, like, unheard of because I had an anterior.
Speaker A:Which is a front placenta so, like, underneath my belly button.
Speaker A:So to see her move is, like, she's pushing really, really hard.
Speaker A:Also, I found out my placenta was £5.
Speaker A:So for her to be pushing that hard, that's gnarly inside of me.
Speaker A:And I was just sitting there, like, talking to people like, it was nothing.
Speaker A:Because I would have rather have been at church and listening to the message than just being home, you know, worrying and thinking about contractions and stuff, watching a movie.
Speaker A:Yeah, it was really nice, like, going to church and getting support and prayer from people and them all knowing, like, oh, they're gonna give birth anytime now.
Speaker A:So also, our church isn't very big.
Speaker A:It's like, how many core members are there that you pray?
Speaker B:Over 400.
Speaker B:And gosh, it's a little over 400.
Speaker A:And then we have, like, almost a thousand people who go to the church.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:Another like, 600 people who are not members.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Oh, so that's over a little over a thousand.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:All together.
Speaker A:So our church, maybe to a lot of people, that sounds huge.
Speaker A:But for Southern California, that is a tiny church compared to the three churches.
Speaker B:That are around us.
Speaker A:Yeah, the three most popular churches.
Speaker A:So I don't know.
Speaker A:And for us, we like having that smaller community.
Speaker A:And people were checking in, you know, constantly too, which was.
Speaker B:I love having a relationship with the pastors.
Speaker B:I love, like, getting that phone call.
Speaker B:It's like, how you guys doing?
Speaker B:She coming yet?
Speaker B:Like, it is amazing how much one on one you get with your leadership, your elders and everybody.
Speaker B:And, yeah, the personal growth that you can receive from a smaller church, I feel like is better, especially as a man coming from.
Speaker B:Like, I was at Grace community church, John MacArthur's.
Speaker B:And then I went to a couple other ones after that, which were huge.
Speaker A:Compass Bible Church.
Speaker B:It was just.
Speaker B:It's harder to get involved with a family because you can get involved in a church and still go unnoticed, I've noticed.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So to each their own.
Speaker B:But go to a church, definitely don't.
Speaker B:Don't hide from a church.
Speaker A:And that's why community, like, that's why we pray it over, like Linda and Eric so diligently.
Speaker A:Um, I think it's hard for Christians to actually be lifted up and loved on without community.
Speaker A:And that's why it's something that we talk about often in this podcast, Being in community, being in prayer.
Speaker A:Because community is fellowship.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:Which gives you accountability, all those things.
Speaker A:Being in prayer consistently, like repentance and thanksgiving to the Lord and then being in the Word.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And then on Top of that is suffering.
Speaker B:Well, that's one of the hardest things mankind has struggled with is suffering well.
Speaker B:And one of the ways we suffer well is with the joy of our community, the joy in the Lord of other people who choose God and choose us who serve each other.
Speaker B:And it's one of the hardest things.
Speaker A:To do is suffer, which is also what labor is.
Speaker A:Yeah, laboring.
Speaker A:And if you think about the two, I mean if you go back to Genesis, men were called to labor through work.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:That's their suffering that God bestowed upon them through Adam.
Speaker A:And women were called to labor and have labor pains through birth.
Speaker A:But it doesn't necessarily say pain, it just says to labor.
Speaker A:So that's why some birth can actually be joyful and pain free.
Speaker A:And same thing with work.
Speaker A:A lot of work for a lot of men can be pain free and non burdensome.
Speaker A:But at some points it will be right.
Speaker A:And then same thing with birth.
Speaker A:I cannot say if you guys are about to give birth.
Speaker A:I do think it is good to listen to this.
Speaker A:But mine isn't necessarily a negative birth story, but it's not necessarily a super positive one.
Speaker A:So if you're trying to not listen to any negative birth stories or like painful birth stories where someone was in pain, maybe save this for another time.
Speaker A:Unless you're worried about possibly having back labor, which is what I had, then maybe have your spouse listen to it.
Speaker A:So it's not negative for you.
Speaker A:And they can listen to the tips and tricks.
Speaker B:Why don't you explain back labor first and so they can understand it.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:And then they could turn it off.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So I did not know I was in back labor until after I gave birth.
Speaker A:I had no idea what back labor was.
Speaker A:And even in all of the studying and everything that Jeremiah and I did, no one talked to us about the possibility of, of back labor.
Speaker A:I thought back lab what I was.
Speaker B:Going to say on the caveat.
Speaker B:Everybody did tell us don't listen to the bad, bad birth stories.
Speaker B:So we didn't know because we never heard about it.
Speaker B:Like when you listen to only the positive, you don't hear about these extreme possibilities.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Which by the way, mine is.
Speaker B:Which are not bad or unhealthy by the way.
Speaker A:Mine is just more on the extreme side and the rare side.
Speaker A:Back labor itself is not rare.
Speaker A:It says that one in really 20% of people end up getting back labor for good odds.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's a high.
Speaker A:That's a high.
Speaker A:Odd.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:But again, out of all the studying we did, no one prepared us for back labor.
Speaker A:So back labor, I thought was just like when you lay on your back and give birth on your back, which is.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Which is the most painful position that you can give birth in.
Speaker A:And that's known for that.
Speaker A:So whenever I heard back labor, that's what I thought it was.
Speaker A:And I'm in this field, and I still didn't know.
Speaker A:So just kind of embarrassing.
Speaker A:So fast forward back labor itself.
Speaker A:Like, when people are talking about this person is in back labor, whether they're walking around doing the hoot nannies.
Speaker A:It can be caused for many different reasons.
Speaker A:But basically, the pressure of the baby is on your spine and on your nerve endings in your back.
Speaker A:Where normal labor, you feel most of the pressure and the contractions in the front of your abdomen.
Speaker A:But for back labor, you feel it in your back, which is more intense again because of the nerve endings.
Speaker B:And it doesn't matter if you're laying down or standing up or whatever.
Speaker B:It's all in your back.
Speaker A:You can't switch it off once it's.
Speaker A:The baby's in that position.
Speaker A:There are ways to ease it or possibly take yourself, like, 50 out of back labor where she's.
Speaker A:He or she.
Speaker A:The baby is more centered inside of you, which, by the way, Jeremiah, did.
Speaker A:You know, the hands and knees thing that you and I did on the couch.
Speaker A:I could have done that to have taken off a ton of pressure off of back labor.
Speaker B:I don't know where we would have done that, though, at the hospital.
Speaker A:Nowhere.
Speaker A:There's nowhere to be able to do that unless we put two of those chairs together for my legs.
Speaker A:You know what I'm talking about?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Over at the table.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Jeremiah and I are just kind of going through this now.
Speaker B:I didn't need to know this right now.
Speaker B:Now I'm thinking, isn't that annoying?
Speaker B:Let's just continue.
Speaker A:So there are ways to get yourself, like, out of the pressure.
Speaker A:Like, less pressure in your back, which were positions that I was also in.
Speaker A:Um, thank God.
Speaker A:The Lord was definitely with us through that.
Speaker A:Because there was a girl that was there.
Speaker A:We'll get there.
Speaker A:But there was a nurse who was there that gave us positions to be able to do.
Speaker A:But my feet would literally turn purple.
Speaker A:Cause I'd sit in that position for 30 minutes to an hour, and then Jeremiah would have to move me because my legs would go.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:But anyway, so that's what back labor is.
Speaker A:If you think that there's a possibility that your baby may be sunny side up, because that's also.
Speaker A:That can put you into back labor, things like that.
Speaker A:My baby was not sunny side up.
Speaker A:She was in perfect position, but the anterior placenta, the really big placenta, pushed her into the back more.
Speaker A:And then she just was sitting so low and so ready in my pelvis that my pelvis received all of the pressure which shot up my spine.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And Jeremiah will talk about how he felt her.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Move down my son.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker A:So now if.
Speaker A:If you don't want to hear an intense birth and labor story, this is where you're.
Speaker A:Turn it off and.
Speaker A:Or have your husband listen to it.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:All right, here we go.
Speaker A:So 5am Monday morning on the 25th.
Speaker B:Of, I was asleep like a baby.
Speaker B:Great morning.
Speaker A:I woke up, and for the first time, I was like, oh, these contractions actually feel a little bit different.
Speaker A:They felt stronger.
Speaker A:And all the other times for the past week where I was like, oh, I kind of feel like I could go into labor, this felt very different.
Speaker A:I literally was like, I'm.
Speaker A:I'm going in today.
Speaker A:And Jeremiah knew that when he was up at, like, 7 o' clock for work, I told him.
Speaker A:I was like, we're go.
Speaker A:We're going in today.
Speaker B:And I clocked in and I started working because the contractions were not close enough.
Speaker B:And dumbest thing for the hospital I think can do is tell you, like, it has to be every six minutes for a contraction.
Speaker B:Savannah's contractions were not very consistent.
Speaker B:And it started to get closer and closer.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it started to get painful.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:They were not.
Speaker B:We lied at the hospital because.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:They were not going to accept us.
Speaker B:And the look on my wife's face was like, we're going to.
Speaker B:Well, now.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So here's the thing.
Speaker A:My anxiousness started because we weren't doing a home birth.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So I knew it's almost like a nesting situation, kind of like where dogs, when they know they're going to die.
Speaker A:Not that I thought I was going to die.
Speaker A:I did later.
Speaker B:She did.
Speaker A:I'll talk about that.
Speaker A:But at that time, it's like when you know that you need to get settled somewhere and get comfortable to be able to give birth.
Speaker A:I had that anxiety of, like, we want to get set up.
Speaker A:We want to be able to get comfortable there.
Speaker A:I want to feel comfortable.
Speaker A:If I'm literally laboring every six minutes to be able to breathe through contractions to the point where she might come any second, I. I'm not gonna be able to relax to be able to give birth.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So I think it was between every.
Speaker B:10 minutes is when we left, 9 to 15 minutes.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And it was.
Speaker A:It was around, jumping around.
Speaker B:I was jumping around different spots.
Speaker B:Car was already loaded.
Speaker B:I was just packing one last bag.
Speaker B:And I come back in, and Savannah's standing up, and she's like, I think I peed.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:So I was also wearing diapers.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Because I.
Speaker B:Somebody made a comment at churches like, oh, are you wearing a diaper right now?
Speaker B:He's like, oh, wait.
Speaker A:Yeah, they're like, in case.
Speaker A:Yeah, they're like, in case your water breaks.
Speaker A:Are you gonna.
Speaker A:Are you wearing diapers?
Speaker A:And I looked at Jeremiah, which, by the way, I was not wearing anything because underwear didn't fit me.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:And I wasn't gonna buy giant panties just for, like, the last two months of pregnancy.
Speaker A:So I was, like, commando for two months.
Speaker A:And I looked at Jeremiah, and I was like, oh.
Speaker A:And so we went and got diapers, and I was like, this is great, because then if I leaked a little, it wasn't bad.
Speaker A:But then a gush came, and I was like, well, nope, my water broke.
Speaker A:We can go.
Speaker B:But it wasn't.
Speaker A:It wasn't huge.
Speaker B:It wasn't huge.
Speaker B:And we'll go more into detail why it wasn't huge.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:But I thought I peed myself.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:When that happened, we.
Speaker B:We just hopped in the car, we went.
Speaker B:And then.
Speaker A:Wait, wait, wait.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Really quickly before we hopped in and all these things.
Speaker A:Actually, I will say the one thing that bothered me is Jeremiah fought me a little bit.
Speaker A:He was like, we're not.
Speaker A:It's not there yet.
Speaker A:The hospital said we have to be between five and six minutes.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And I looked at him, you guys, and I literally was like, whose team are you on?
Speaker A:I was so angry that Jeremiah immediately wasn't like, yeah, you know what?
Speaker A:Actually, you should go there and get settled.
Speaker A:So let me tell you, gu.
Speaker A:Husbands, if your wife says it's time to go and you guys have to go to a labor and birth center, a hospital, whatever it is, you freaking do it.
Speaker A:I don't care.
Speaker B:Here's the thing, guys, if you're listening.
Speaker B:And wives, you can tell your husband if she feels that way and you guys go, then the doctor could tell her that she can't be here.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And they'll turn her around.
Speaker A:That's why.
Speaker B:So we don't have to be the bad guys.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So, yeah, just.
Speaker B:Just do it and get turned around.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Let the doctor.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Don't be her advocate always.
Speaker A:So we go there, and actually, on the way there, I made a comment To Jeremiah being like, hey, what if the next time we're driving back home, we're gonna have a baby?
Speaker A:I was right.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker A:But we did get there.
Speaker A:We pulled up to labor and delivery, and my contraction was so strong at the front.
Speaker A:It was really nice because they looked at me, and they were like, oh, send her right up.
Speaker A:And so they put me in the wheelchair and then sent me up to labor and delivery.
Speaker A:And immediately, the worst nurse greeted us.
Speaker A:She was the charge nurse on the floor, which means she's in charge of all the other nurses.
Speaker A:I was like, what the heck's a charge nurse?
Speaker A:She was an old lady.
Speaker A:And I swear, the old ladies either love their job because they've been there forever or they hate it because they've been there forever.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:And she clearly hated it so much, and the first words that came out of her mouth was, well, let's see if you're actually in labor.
Speaker B:Well, so I. I really think she hated the fact that we had a birth plan, and we wanted to do it our way, not their way.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And so I think that's where the pushback came.
Speaker B:She might love her job dearly, but she does not like our holistic approach.
Speaker A:And here's the thing.
Speaker A:My birth plan is also crazy in depth.
Speaker A:And I made it very clear to them, like, hey, my birth plan's gnarly in depth, because my husband had to understand what all these things mean.
Speaker A:So I was like, if you could just read where it says, no, this, this, and this, or yes, this, this, and this, we're good.
Speaker A:And so it was nice because the.
Speaker A:The charge nurse was a business about it, but all the other nurses at that time were super nice.
Speaker A:And, yeah, we.
Speaker A:We got there.
Speaker A:The charge nurse said, well, let's see if you're actually in labor.
Speaker A:And then I'd have my contractions.
Speaker A:And I told her, too.
Speaker A:I was like, well, my contractions are going to slow down now that we changed locations, because that's a thing.
Speaker A:You move locations.
Speaker A:You're not comfortable anymore.
Speaker A:Your body slows down the contractions because you're in a new, unfamiliar place, and that is a thing.
Speaker A:And you can say that to your nurses when you get to the hospital, because obviously, this is a hospital birth.
Speaker A:She then proceeded to, after reading my birth plan, say to us, because you want to opt out of everything, your OB is probably just going to tell me to tell you, go home, and when you're ready to push, come back to the hospital.
Speaker A:And I straight up, you guys, in the middle of a contraction, looked at her and said, what is the point of having a hospital birth then?
Speaker A:Or being here just in case something happens?
Speaker A:That's just a home birth at that point.
Speaker A:And then I'm risking giving birth in the car.
Speaker A:And I literally was like, that's gonna stress me out more.
Speaker A:And I looked at her, and she was like, fine.
Speaker A:And then, remember Jeremiah?
Speaker A:She left the room and then went to go call my ob to which I heard them talking in the hallway because I opted out of a saline lock and things.
Speaker A:I told her, I don't want a sailing lock.
Speaker A:Having a needle in my arm will give me more anxiety while I'm walking around and giving birth.
Speaker A:And if I wanted to go in the water, in the shower, I didn't want, like, bacteria to be able to get in.
Speaker A:And so I advocated for that.
Speaker A:I do wish that Jeremiah advocated for me a little bit more and spoke more on my behalf, but I think he could also see that I was pissed off and, like, wanting to explain things.
Speaker A:But looking back, I do wish a little bit that you were like, focus on your contractions.
Speaker A:I'm going to tell them it doesn't matter.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:Like, don't even.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I think the hardest part is that you do jump.
Speaker B:You have a tendency to jump the gun and just start explaining.
Speaker B:You don't give room for other people to come to your defense.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And so, like, that.
Speaker B:That is a difficult spot to be in because I don't want to start talking over you when you are explaining it, and I can't explain it the way you explain it.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So I. I tended to, like, just take the back seat just because she's listening to you.
Speaker B:And it.
Speaker B:I really did get the feeling that they do not care about the husbands at the hospital.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:They didn't even feed you.
Speaker B:They don't care what I think, and they really didn't care about my opinion.
Speaker A:Even though on my birth plan, it literally said on everything, my husband gets the final say.
Speaker A:I didn't even get the final say.
Speaker A:I wrote that my husband gets the final say on every single thing when it came to Penelope and myself.
Speaker B:One thing I do want to say, though, like, when you go in and you know your water is broken, and they're, like, trying to turn you back because your contractions are not there yet.
Speaker B:Tell them to check if you have the fluids in the amniotic fluid inside of you, because they check and it's there.
Speaker B:They cannot turn you back.
Speaker A:They can't turn you away.
Speaker B:They can't turn you away.
Speaker B:It doesn't even matter.
Speaker B:If you're at 1cm and your water broke, yeah, you're staying.
Speaker A:And the reason why is because you can get bacteria, like a serious infection, so they.
Speaker A:They can't force you to stay.
Speaker A:If you want to leave, you can leave.
Speaker A:But if you want to stay, they can't tell you to go if your water's broken.
Speaker A:And here's the thing.
Speaker A:They did check me.
Speaker A:My water did break, but it was the outer seal.
Speaker A:The outer bag, not the inner giant bag, which is what we don't find.
Speaker B:Out until the last hour of the pregnancy.
Speaker A:You mean the labor.
Speaker B:Labor, pregnancy also.
Speaker A:Yeah, I guess technically.
Speaker B:So I do want to say I'm sorry that I didn't speak up.
Speaker A:It's okay, peanut.
Speaker B:She's so sweet.
Speaker A:You okay?
Speaker B:But, yeah, I just do.
Speaker B:I want to apologize because it is.
Speaker B:It is difficult to be in those moments and know how to approach situations that you've never been in.
Speaker B:And one thing I do want to, like, say, like, you are a lot more like Charlie Kirk in this way, where you are like, no, this is the way I want it.
Speaker B:Yeah, no, this is God's way.
Speaker B:And you were like, you're there.
Speaker A:Well, I don't.
Speaker A:I don't want you to apologize.
Speaker A:We both were going into a new thing together.
Speaker A:I just wish you did the thing that you did, like when we were first dating, where you're like, no, I'm taking over.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker A:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because you didn't know how to kiss.
Speaker A:Okay, well, that didn't need to be discussed.
Speaker A:First of all, I do know how to kiss.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:But whatever.
Speaker A:We hope you enjoyed learning how to cultivate God's creation from a biblical perspective.
Speaker A:Holistic health is to prioritize whole person wellness through Christ like and comment on what topics we're casting seeds or casting pearls.
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Speaker B:Leave a review to help us improve and share this episode.
Speaker B:We would like to remind you before we leave that perfect health cannot be attained in this world.
Speaker A:Only spiritual salvation through sanctification and repentance to God and turning away from sin will give you a perfect body in the kingdom come.
Speaker A:Nourish yourself in the word, in prayer, and in biblical fellowship daily.
Speaker B:Thank you for joining us today and a special thank you to our listeners for making this podcast possible.
Speaker A:Always praying.
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