Angela Baker is my guest for episode #7 of the Perfectly Wonderfully Made Podcast. Angela has been commuting to work for 10 years, and has recently decided to leave her full time corporate job and stay home with her two boys. We chat today about the transition from one – two kids. Angela shares her story of developing hyperemesis gravidarum with her first pregnancy and the challenges of being sick for such a long time.
Angela shares her two birth stories with us today. Nothing turned out as she had planned with her first baby. We chat about the challenges she had during her first labor with the many distractions she wasn’t prepared for, her epidural that wasn’t effective, and the unfortunate experience of getting a spinal headache that led her to needing an unplanned cesarean birth. Angela recalls one of her health care providers telling her, her pelvis was too small and she’d never push a baby out. We talk about the emotions that made her feel and how she processed and worked through her first birth experience. Her postpartum journey was challenging after her first birth. She struggled with feeling detached and emotionally unavailable for her baby. She longed for community and felt isolated and alone.
Shortly after Angela got pregnant with her second child, her husband was laid off and without work. Angela talks us through the fears and anxiety she struggled with while pregnant with her second baby. Living on one income and trying to provide for her family while pregnant was really challenging for her. There were moments when she was unsure how she was going to feed her family. We talk about how she ultimately was able to surrender control of her finances to the Lord. Angela was able to have a healthy pregnancy and continue to work full time in order to support her family.
We chat about her preparations for her birth with her second baby and how excited she was to go into labor. I loved listening to Angela talk about how prepared and confident she felt going into her second birth. She wanted a different experience and she knew she could have one. She choose a hospital and provider that was VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) friendly and did the work to mentally prepare for her labor and birth. She was ready. I had the opportunity to attend Angela’s birth as her doula and I loved hearing her shout with joy after her delivery, “I can’t believe that just happened. I can’t believe I actually did it!” She had a perfect, redemptive VBAC. Angela shares how her recovery went so smoothly following her second birth. Her healing was quicker and she experienced much less pain.
Near the end of our conversation we talk about a season of her life when she felt like she couldn’t hear from the Lord. That God wasn’t speaking to her. She couldn’t feel him near. She remembers feeling like God wasn’t listening to her. In that season of financial hardship is she shares with us how she had to realize that her security wasn’t in her finances. It couldn’t be. That wasn’t working. She had to give up control and trust that the Lord was and always has been her provider. God was going to take care of her.
We talk about how she’s learning to dive into the character of God and really get to know who He is. She’s choosing to focus on contentment and satisfaction in this season of her life and experience the peace that can only come from her God.
As always, I would love it if you would share the show with your friends & family. Find me on IG @perfectlywonderfullymade and Facebook @yourbirthclass. Email me anytime with your comments about the show alise@alisemarsh.com See you next week!
Resources from the show:
My 6-Day Free Email Course - Can be found on my homepage in the green menu on the lower right of the screen.
Organic Red Raspberry Leaf Tea
Jeff's Instagram Project: #Oldfilmproject
Vie Bites – Kathryn Burke @Bakeandbefit
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