Three Weeks

Yesterday Obadiah made three weeks old and we are just in love with our little boy. 

We have had several visitors stop by and made some trips to the grocery store. Today we went on a walk around our neighborhood. We are so enjoying this little man, even though he is keeping us from a bit of sleep. He loves having his hands by his face and is working on new facial expressions everyday.

How it all went down

Well I won’t tell you how it ALL went down but I know some of you are wanting to know the story, the birth story that is. I used to hate these "birth stories" until I got pregnant now I love 'em, feel free to skip over this post if you hate birth stories. 

On Wednesday Kyle decided to go out to dinner thinking that it would be the last time we could go out with such ease. We went to a Mexican food restaurant, which I regretted later, but the food was great and we enjoyed our time talking about all that was ahead of us, not knowing how soon it would be. We even managed to get a picture before we went out.

That night as I headed to bed at about 10 I knew something was happening cause I had some cramping/pain and I kept asking myself “Is this a contraction?” At 1am I woke up knowing that I was for sure experiencing contractions. I hesitantly woke Kyle up and our conversation went something like this:

“Hey, I think I am having contractions, but I think we should go back to sleep and see where they are in the morning.”

“How far apart are they?”

“Don’t know”

“Well maybe we should probably figure that out first…”

Once we determined contractions were about 9 min apart, Kyle convinced me to pack my own hospital bag. We had stuff for Obie packed and snacks for us I just did not have my own clothes ready. After packing and showering my contractions were about 4-5 min apart and our midwife said to wait to go to the hospital till they were 3 min apart. A little after 4am contractions were getting consistently close to 3 min apart.  Things were moving quickly and we left home a little before 5am.

After getting checked in at the hospital our midwife arrived and said that I was 6 cm dilated. Of the two delivery rooms at the hospital one of them that we were to use was not fully set up so we waited a bit for that then got settled in there. We were probably in the delivery room by 6:45am. First thing I wanted was the fan to be turned on but was told that it was not working which is when Kyle busted out our battery powered fans that we take with us whenever we are staying away from home. They were a lifesaver for me. I remember still being able to make jokes at this point with Kyle as we kept finding bugs in the room that we were killing. Did I ever think I would be smashing bugs in the delivery room about to give birth to our first child? No.

The permanent tank of laughing gas in the delivery room was unusable so our midwife had to run around the hospital trying to find a portable one that we could use. She was none too pleased about this fact and I was looking forward to having more than tylenol to cope with the pain. Finally the laughing gas arrived, and it was definitely helpful to have. Things were still very painful, but the gas “took the edge off” and was better than nothing. Around 7:15 am, I got to the point where I felt like I could not do this any more, and I had just begun to push. I kept thinking to myself that going through all this pain is not worth being able to say that I labored without an epidural. I later told Kyle that he needs to remind me that stronger painkillers are worth it, going “all-natural” has no perks, in my opinion. All I wanted to know was how much further I had to go but our midwife was reluctant to give me that info because she herself did not know how fast things would go from that point. About this time I started yelling at the top of my lungs through contractions, it seemed to me the only way to cope... and yes, the entire labor and delivery ward could hear me. The Allens, who were in the waiting room, could get a good idea of what was happening because of what they were hearing. I knew I could be heard but I still have no feelings of regret, I would be just as loud if I had to do it again. When I finally realized that we were close to having this baby out, I was not wanting to wait anymore. Kyle was able to get a glimpse of his head but before he could really say anything to encourage me to keep going, the rest of Obadiah was out as well! We were all surprised that he came out in one push at 8:10am but no one was as relieved as I was. 

Obadiah started feeding right in the delivery room and we were all encouraged by that. Kyle was an incredible support throughout the delivery, there is no way I could have done that without him. A few weeks ago he asked if he could tell jokes during labor, I told him that he could but if they were not funny I had the freedom to let him know in whatever means I felt appropriate. Kyle had the midwife and I laughing several times during the process, and I was very glad for this distraction.

We are very grateful that there were no complications and labor and delivery went so smoothly. We know that many of you were praying for us during this time and even as we were approaching Obie’s birth. Thank you so much for standing with us in prayer, and praise Yahweh for his protection and care of us during this time.

One Week

O my goodness!  I am one week old!

I am trying to let mom and dad get some sleep every once and a while.  

Obadiah Robert Fox

Yesterday morning at 8:10, we were pleased to welcome our son Obadiah into this world!  

He is 8 lbs. 4 oz. and 20.5 inches long.  He is a great joy to us! 

Thanks for all of your prayers and support!

I will tell the birth story later, but I am doing well and the three of us are so glad to be home.

Real Brothers

Around here students are thinking about the end of the semester as exams are quickly approaching. Because of this our Bible studies are ending for the semester. It seems like they just started. Kyle wanted to reward the guys that consistently showed up for Bible study this semester by having them over for hamburgers. 

After church on Sunday 12 guys piled into our car and came over for burgers. Kyle gave them a little tutorial on how to put a burger together and eat it. Kyle insisted on them having "double-doubles" so he spent Saturday afternoon making 37 patties while I cut up fruit and napped.  We had fruit and potato chips along with lunch, it was a regular summer BBQ. 

These guys can eat, each one piled their plate so high and then continued to eat whatever we would put in front of them!

I think out of the 14 guys we had over only 3 of them had eaten a burger before. 

This group of guys are great and we were glad to get them all in our home. They are very polite and expressed so much thankfulness for lunch. It is so funny to me that when we bring up that our baby is coming soon they all bust out in nervous laughter for Kyle. It is clear that they think he has a tough job ahead of him as he supports me through labor, I think it is so cute that they are kinda worried for him. 

I had to include this picture of their "gangster pose" Kyle is really into it.

On Giving Birth in Uganda

Many of our American friends have questions for us about delivering our baby in Uganda. We have been asked; "Are you giving birth in a hospital?" "What is the hospital like?" "Are their good doctors there?" and several others. We have been asked many questions that make us feel cared for as people are concerned that we will receive good care here. We will be taken very good care of, in a private hospital with a British midwife and a Ugandan doctor to watch over us. While, we have a few less pain relief options here than we do in the states, most days I feel ready for the challenge and I have accepted that we are going to go through this with the help of Tylenol, laughing gas, and of course the Lord. 

As I think about giving birth in this more "all natural" approach in a country like Uganda, it can make me feel pretty hard core. But all I have to do, is look at any of my Ugandan friends that are moms and remember what I have seen of the clinics and public hospitals. I am surrounded by tough moms that gave birth in some crazy situations, so I am not that hard core. One time, I drove a friend to a clinic to deliver her baby and upon arrival the nurses yelled at her for not carrying her own personal items properly, and then she gave birth 20 minutes later. Oh, and she was home in time for supper.  Most of our Ugandan friends have had to bring their own plastic gloves, gauze, bleach, wash basin, and syringes (just in case) to the clinic/hospital to give birth. The hospital we are going to provides everything we need, except for pillows. 

In addition to this, a few days ago I heard about a AIM missionary in Chad who gave birth to their daughter in a hospital/clinic that had no electricity OR running water.  Because the electricity was out, the doctor was holding a flashlight between his teeth so he could see the birth of the baby.  To make matters worse, the guy who delivers water to the clinic was late, so they even had to wait until AFTER the girl was born for the water to get there. We have it pretty easy compared to many situations around the world that babies are born into.  

Don't get me wrong, we still covet your prayers for safety for Obadiah and me and also for Kyle as we get closer and closer to delivery. I just thought I would share with you a bit of our perspective to give you a better idea of how to view the event when this little miracle comes into the world, any day now, or any week now if I am honest with myself :)

The new building!

UCF has been raising funds for a permanent building for several years now and this last Sunday we made history as we met for the first time in UCF's permanent structure. 

In 2001 UCF was meeting in a hotel, then was able to purchase land in 2004 where they constructed a tent that served the congregation faithfully for many years. Seen here:

The dream was to have a permeant structure that would withstand the heavy rains that Kampala gets and one that would last for generations. Last Easter, UCF held its final Sunday service in the original tent and we have spent the last year worshiping in a makeshift tent on the basketball courts at church. The goal was to be in the new building for this Easter but there were some setbacks that kept us out until this Sunday. Two weeks ago we were unsure if we were going to have a covered place to meet at all because heavy rains caused part of our temporary structure to collapse.  Seen here:

So this last Sunday there was much excitement to be meeting in our new, permanent building. 

As you can see there is much more construction to be done... we only have one of the four walls completed. Even still, there is much excitement. 

Over the years the Lord has provided the finances and provisions for this project in many ways. People in the states sacrificed and gave finances and so did the congregation of UCF. To many, this seemed like an impossible task and maybe some still think it will not get finished. We know that the Lord has done a mighty work here and will continue to work here at UCF. Thank you to those who prayed for this project and even gave to this project, the Lord has used you!