Our Newest Adventure

I am a sucker for birth stories. I loved watching them on TLC. I love hearing them from my girlfriends. And, I love reading them. 

So, for all of you that love a good birth story too...here's mine.

On Thursday, December 14th, I arrived for my scheduled induction at 7:30pm. I was admitted to my delivery room where I would stay until Baby Woodley made his or her appearance. I was told the induction process could take hours to days and that it rarely ever worked quickly. I mentally began planning for a long weekend.

It was a busy night in labor and delivery. In the first hour I was there, two babies had been born. Things were popping (no pun intended :) )! The doctor arrived in my room around 8:45pm and placed the Cervadil- medication to help thin my cervix. She said things were "looser" but that this process would probably take 12 hours and then we would see where we were at in the morning. 

So, I sent Dave home, asked for some blankets and turned on the TV. It was now just a waiting game...or so I thought.

Baby Andrew just minutes old

At 10:30pm, I began feeling pretty uncomfortable. Up to this point the only contractions I knew were Braxton Hicks and these were nothing like those. They felt like they were one minute apart. I tried to reposition to get comfortable but nothing worked. Finally, at 11pm, I called my nurse. I was shaking uncontrollably and the pain was a nice 8/10. The nurse said, "Looks like you are in active labor." And on the inside I was thinking, "There is definitely something active going on!" She asked if I wanted to be checked to see how far I had progressed from my measly 1/2cm when I came in. I said, "Yes, please see if anything is happening." And sure enough, there was! I was 3cm dilated and my water had broken!

My nurse said, "Well, the Cervadil is out and you are doing this all on your own. Would you like an epidural for pain?" I immediately said yes and was thankful that relief was coming. My sweet nurse then said, "And you need to call your husband. This baby is coming sooner than we thought."

Daddy and his little man

I called Dave at mindnight and said, "It's time to come...baby is on his or her way." Dave, though groggy from just falling asleep, said, "Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can." As Dave was driving to the hospital, I was getting my epidural and he arrived just as they were finishing up. Poor guy never even got to see me in true labor! :) At this point, it was 1am and I was 5cm. My mom was quickly behind Dave and the three of us hunkered down for the next couple of hours.

It was now 6am and I began to feel "pressure" down there and the slightest urge to push. I was 8cm. I was told to hold off on pushing as long as possible so that the baby could do the majority of the work and prevent me from pushing for too long. So, wait...and breathe...I did. My epidural was great, but I still felt everything I needed to in order to push effectively.

At 7:30am, I called my nurse and said, "I can't wait anymore. I need to push." She checked me and said, "Whoa! The baby is right there and your doctor is doing a C-section. Hold on!" So, waiting...and breathing some more. Finally, at 8am, everyone was there that needed to be there and pushing began...29 minutes later, Andrew David Woodley entered the world.

Andrew David Woodley

Snuggles with mommy

Andrew had a loose nuchal cord around his neck when he was born which, with the quick delivery, caused him to poop right before he was born and he swallowed some of it. Thankfully, the nurses were amazing and with a little suctioning and CPAP in the delivery room, Andrew was good to go.

We hung out in Labor and Delivery for a few hours and then we were moved to our own room on Mother Baby. Our stay was very uneventful. Our biggest hurdle was, and at times still is, learning how to breastfeed. Andrew LOVES to eat and was ravenous from the get go! At 8lbs 3oz and 22 inches long, this little man isn't going to be little for long!

Baby Andrew just hours old

Holding onto Daddy

Abigail and Andrew- our miracle babies

We are all so in love with this little man and so thankful God blessed our family with him. Baby Andrew is truly the best Christmas present ever!

And so it begins...

* UPDATE- You can now give to this fundraiser and purchase a link through our You Caring site. Just specify in the comments what color ring you are purchasing!*

 These types of blogs are never easy for me...I never like asking for money...or help. However, I've learned to look at this thing called "fundraising" differently. God has blessed each of us with unique gifts and callings- some to go, some to stay, some to teach, some to clean, some to serve, some to preach- and without all of these gifts and callings, our lives would be one boring blob. When I don't allow others to do the things they are called to do, I am withholding the blessing that they could receive from being and doing what God has called them to do and be. And that's why I am asking you to partner with us as we embark on this adoption adventure to find...our missing link.

Search for our Missing Link

 As you've read in my previous blogs, we have been given the lovely title of "infertility" and have chosen to embrace that title and trust in Jesus that His plan is perfect. And that plan, right now, is growing our family through adoption. Our family is definitely not complete and we are on the search for our missing link!

Here is how this fundraiser works:

 - Each of the links shown in the picture above are worth a different dollar amount. In order to connect the links to find the missing one, each link needs to be purchased. This can be done by mailing a check made out to David Woodley or Catherine Woodley and addressed to David Woodley at 1249 West Maple Avenue, Langhorne, PA 19047. When you purchase a link, please make sure to put a comment about what link you have purchased so we can attach your name to the link. Feel free to purchase them together with friends too! Our goal is the raise at least $5,000 through this fundraiser to go towards the adoption of our missing link!

Green Links- $200 each

Dark Blue Links- $150 each

Red Links- $100 each

Yellow Links- $75 each

Light Blue links- $50 each

Orange Links- $25 each

 As each link is purchased the heart will slowly become connected! When baby Woodley #2 arrives, these special links will go to him or her as a reminder of all the people who helped find our Missing Link! Check back often to see how quickly our heart becomes connected!

Our Next Adventure

 * If you didn't read my latest blog post, I encourage you to do so. It gives background to this blog post about our next adventure...the adoption of Baby Woodley #2!*

  In November of 2015, we adopted our beautiful baby girl, Abigail Cindy Woodley.

Her story is nothing short of a miracle. Dave and I had not tried to conceive naturally before we adopted, Abigail. We adopted her out of a desire to adopt and a very clear calling that adoption, at that moment in our lives, was exactly what we were supposed to do. And there was a reason- our Abby girl!

From start to finish, her adoption process took less than 6 months. Talk about fast!! We have had many hard days and long nights with our sweet Abby, but watching her grow, flourish, and beat all the odds makes all those days totally worth it!

 We recently began hearing the words "infertility"; "difficulty conceiving"; "IVF" and have been faced with some devastating facts and hard decisions. In the midst of this infertility journey, Dave and I continue to believe that one day God will fulfill our desire to be biological parents but until that time, we are going to be adopting!!

Baby Woodley #2

 Many have asked about what our second adoption will look like. God's plans are so much better than our own!! Because of the circumstance that surrounded Abby's adoption and the need for her to be adopted quickly, we were left with a surplus of money through Bethany Christian Services. Though we'd signed papers saying that there would be no refunds, Bethany offered to hold the surplus for up to two years in case we wanted to adopt again... and here we are just 8 months shy of that two year mark! This surplus allows us to have about $8,000 of the $30,000 adoption cost reduced. This is a huge praise!

  We are also not going to be open to severe medical needs again. We are open to minor medical/surgical needs and of course, we are open to either gender and any ethnicity. And, we are once again looking for an infant. My prayer is that we will have another baby by Christmas!

 Our paperwork and meetings will go much faster this time around as we are already in the system and much of what we have to do just has to be updated.

Prayer Requests:

 Adoption is hard- for many reasons. Knowing our ability to conceive on our own makes this next adventure of adoption very different from the last one. Adoption means the loss of a child from his biological mother for any number of reasons and that's just down right tough...on the child, on us, and on his or her birthparents.

 Adoption is expensive. We will once again be doing fundraisers to help raise the next $20,000 we will need in order to bring our second child home. We watched as God financially blessed in incredible ways for Abby's adoption and we know He will do it again!

 Adoption is exciting. Please pray that we will have patience in the process. Pray that we will not grow weary in well doing. And be in prayer for our second child- whoever he or she may be!

Adoption takes a village! Though my time is limited with our busy toddler, I will be blogging about this next adoption adventure whenever I can!! We are on an adventure to find Baby Woodley #2 and I hope you will join us!

It is Well with My Soul

  As I was preparing snacks for Abby's doctors visits this morning, I noticed some not so yummy looking grapes in the big bag in the fridge. I quickly removed the bad ones so they wouldn't spoil the good ones, washed the good ones and placed them in a baggy to bring with us. And then I got to thinking...

  What are the "bad" grapes in my life? Or, what are the things in my life that are hindering me from being all that I can be? Or the toughest question, what does God see in my life that I don't see that needs to be removed so that I can become more like Him?

 The last several months have been the bearer of some of the hardest and darkest moments emotionally and spiritually for me that I can ever remember. In February of 2016, Dave and I decided we would stop using any form of birth control and begin trying for a sibling for our adopted little girl, Abigail. As a nurse, I knew the intricacies of a baby being conceived and planned on it taking a few months. A few months turned into several months and nothing. I started to become concerned. I'm pretty in tune with my body and this just wasn't making sense. We are both young and healthy...it should be pretty easy, right?? We hit the 10 month mark and I couldn't stand it anymore. I needed answers. In November of  2016, we began seeing an infertility specialist. I went through a month of long and sometimes painful exams and procedures to then be told everything with me was fine. We used medications and injections for one month to try and conceive...nothing. So, in January of 2017, Dave was tested. In the back of my head, I had a fear that it might be him but never really thought it would happen. And then we got the phone call. My fear was a reality. The doctor calmly and matter of factly told us that without IUI or IVF, our chances of conceiving naturally were 3-4% with a decline every year we didn't conceive. I was devastated. Dave was devastated. This was my worst fear come true. My dream from the time I was a little girl was to be pregnant and have lots of kids and in that one conversation that dream came crashing down.

  Dave and I had many conversations about doing a procedure vs. continuing naturally. After much prayer and counseling, we decided to not do any medical intervention at this time and are continuing to trust that if God wants us to have a child biologically, He will create a miracle inside of me. However, there is a reminder every month that the miracle hasn't taken place yet. I recently began seeing a counselor to work through the emotional rollercoaster of this dreaded title of infertility. She asked me, "Catherine, if you were to sit with God and ask Him for a baby and He said 'No.' Then what would you ask?" And I immediately said, "That He would take away this ache and desire to be pregnant...to feel a child growing inside of me...to breastfeed my own child...to have a child that looks like me and my husband." And my counselor calmly said, "And what if God says no to that too?" My eyes began to well up with tears. "Then, I would ask Him to give me the strength to trust Him; the patience to have faith in His character; and the peace to be kind to others when I feel life is unfair."

  We live in a fallen world. God never promises pain-free living and prosperity...what He does promise is pain and persecution. 1 Peter 5:10 says, "And after you have suffered a little while, the God of grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." My hope is not in the things of this world, but in Heaven. I was not created for the main purpose of bearing children (though I would like to think that); my main purpose for being created is to bring glory to God. If through this time of infertility I will bring God the most glory, then there is no place I would rather be. 1 Peter 4:10 says, "Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good." My job isn't to understand God's plan, but to be obedient in His plan while doing good. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thought." God has a purpose and plan for my life that is "plans for welfare and not for evil, to give me a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)

  So, I'm trusting Jesus to fulfill the desires of my heart...to one day biologically carry a child of my own. But even if that doesn't happen, I will still praise Jesus for His goodness and love and say, "Because of God's love for me and salvation from sin with hope of eternity forever with Him, it is well with my soul."