A Birth Story Round Up, and the prayer request line is . . . OPEN

by | Jul 16, 2015 | Birth Stories, Pregnancy | 94 comments

We’re a week or two out from baby number eight. So I figured this would be a good time to catch you new folks up on the previous installments of Hey, Check it Out: I Had a Baby . . .

-1-

Birth Story #1, in which I puke in a bush

-2-

Birth Story #2, in which I don’t quite make it into the labor and delivery room

-3-

Birth Story #3, in which I give birth to the same baby twice

-4-

Birth Story Week: #4, in which me having a baby is the least of our worries

-5-

Birth Story #5, so, um . . . THAT was fast

-6-

Birth Story #6, in which it turns out I totally do NOT know what I’m doing

-7-

Birth Story #7: In Which THAT Is More Like it

Stay turned for installment number eight . . . .
And, if you would allow me, I’d love to pray for your intentions during my labor.
I wrote all about it here:

A Pregnant Lady’s Thoughts on Suffering

Even after going though it as many times as I have, I’m still apprehensive about going into labor. I’ve done it before, so I know it’s going to hurt. I just can’t remember how much
it’s going to hurt, which is an odd feeling. Despite that, I still
really am looking forward to it, but now it’s for three reasons: a) to
get a baby, b) to not be pregnant anymore, and c) to be able to offer my
suffering for my intentions and yours.

So, if I can pray for you during
this labor, please leave a comment. It can be as specific or vague as
you’d like, God will know. You’re also welcome to email me at
helpdesk@catholicallyear.com if you prefer. And if you haven’t entered the baby pool, leave a comment over there too! Someone is going to win some great prizes, it might as well be you.

And now I’ll be getting back to regular posts, that are NOT all about how I’m going to have a baby soon. But, don’t worry, I’ll let you know when it happens. Probably via Facebook first, so if you haven’t liked the Catholic All Year Facebook page yet, now’s as good a time as any. Amirite?

94 Comments

  1. Isabelle

    Will you pray for my brother-in-law, Ben? He is dying of cancer and has been going down-hill very quickly for the past two weeks.

  2. Amelia Bentrup

    Please pray for my husband's new law firm he started..for success, as we are currently struggling a lot right now.

  3. Elisa | blissfulE

    What an awesome lineup of birth stories and new-baby photos! Keep 'em coming! 🙂

    Please pray for my mum. Thank you!

  4. Kate @Our Epic Life

    Wishing you the best when you do go into labor!
    Could you pray for my husband's job, that if he's meant to stay where he is that he find some peace and renewed energy for it, and if not, that God makes it clear where else we should be looking? Thank you so much! God definitely hears the prayers of labor ing women extra loud, I'm convinced of it!

  5. Marian Ninja

    You are in my prayers! So excited for you and your family! Thanks for offering to take our prayer intentions. Could you please pray for my family, that their house would sell? They've been trying to sell it for about a year or so, and things keep going wrong (even though we all know God is in control). So yes, prayers for that would be great! Thanks! ~AnneMarie

  6. Holly

    Hey Kendra, I'll swap my preggo-insomnia-induced prayers for your labour for your prayers for my struggles with vanity and body issues during this pregnancy (no. 5 in total, no. 3 in terms of viability). Got a bump that's large and in charge, seems much bigger than it should at this stage of my pregnancy (it's not – riiiiiight on target), but pre-existing body issues and comments from the general public have me feeling constantly self-conscious and embarrassed. I'm going to my home country for a month next week; it will be the first time my extended family and friends will have ever seen me pregnant, and I'm dreading the conflation of humidity-induced swelling and any well-meaning but hurtful comments about how I'm 'wearing' this baby. Apologies for the novel! God bless you and that sweet family of yours 🙂

  7. clara

    Please pray for me and an intention I keep close to my heart. I'll be praying for you. All the best!

  8. Jessica Lambert

    Thanks for these, Kendra! I'll be reading them during nap time.

    My husband is starting grad school soon and I have to return to work. I haven't had any luck yet finding a job, so could you pray for me? We really need the income for now. Also, my grandpa is pretty sick and could definitely use prayers. Thanks for this!

  9. Lindsay Reetz

    Angel in the Waters makes me cry every time I read it. My midwife (wife to my maternal fetal specialist- what a team!) gave it to me this pregnancy and my four year old son LOVES it too! I am 25 weeks pregnant, fourth pregnancy, with one baby born live at 33 weeks (my four year old). If you could pray for a healthy baby, as well as the opportunity for my mother to meet my daughter it would mean so much to me. My mother is dying of an autoimmune disease and we don't know if she will live long enough to see her grandbaby. My heart is so full right now- joy with the addition of a little girl I never thought I would have, and sorrow at the pain of losing my own mother, who has suffered so much in the past few years. Pregnancy hormones don't help! So maybe a little peace for me too?

  10. Sylvia

    For a special intention. Thank you and God bless you, you are in my prayers.

  11. Liesl

    Please pray for a special intention for me! And for Maggie, Meisha, and Jake. Thank you <3

  12. Anna Tremel

    I think I've read your birth stories before, but I kinda want to read them all again now… but I won't 'cause I'm supposed to be working.

    Please pray for our continued healing after two second-trimester miscarriages and for a healthy pregnancy and baby sometime soon. Thank you so much! Prayers for your delivery!

  13. Lizzie

    Please pray for my older siblings who have left the faith.
    I'm praying for you too!

  14. LauraB

    Please pray that I continue to have a healthy pregnancy and for a safe delivery. I'll be praying for you as well.

  15. Brynne

    Please pray for my eight-year-old son, Pete, that he continues to recover from Perthes disease. He has taught all of us so much about accepting suffering with grace.

  16. Steph J

    Please pray for my pregnancy and delivery (due July 26!) and also for my marriage–this third pregnancy has taken a toll somehow. You are in my prayers as well as in my mind as a wonderful example–thank you!

  17. Jane

    Please pray for my special intention and also for my parents who are struggling with health problems. Thank you!

  18. Amy

    Please pray for my mum as she has just entered hospice for her final weeks of life. Pray for peace for her (and us) as we trust in Gods plan for her. You and your family will be in our prayers too!

  19. Zita

    Please pray for my friend Lisa who just started treatments for breast cancer. Sacred Heart of Jesus, strengthened in Thine agony by an Angel, comfort us in our agony. Thank you, Kendra!

  20. Kelsey

    Please pray that my for a baby sister for my oldest daughter (well, and for the whole family). She so badly wants one!

  21. Mary Paulus

    Please pray for a safe VBAC for myself and baby #6 due in October. I have had four induced vaginal births, but #5 decided to do literal flips his last day in the womb, and I ended up with a c section. Stinker!

    • Karyn

      Same here with my number six! Hoping for a VBAC with lucky number seven. Prayers for you and baby!

  22. Leanna Coyle

    Kendra–

    I can't tell you how blessed I am by your offer of prayers. Literally teared up here.

    Please pray for my husband and I as we are moving from Atlanta to Winston-Salem, NC in two weeks. I begin seminary in the fall and he will take up a pastorate (We're protestant–hey-o! Baptists.).

    As for the intention, pray that we will continue in openness to Holy Spirit's leading and that we will rely on God's love for strength and stability over the next months of transition.

    Pray that we won't miss opportunities to join in Kingdom work, that Aaron and I will honor one another even in the most trying of days so that our love may increase and God's glory might shine through our marriage, and that we will hold onto the hope of God's call on our lives.

    I'll hold you in the Light each time you cross my computer screen or simply come to mind. Praying for your strength in labor, sensitivity in suffering, revelation in joy…

    Peace to you and yours–
    Leanna

  23. Jen Foot

    Can you please pray for my husband and I that we will be able to take home a baby soon? So far we've had two miscarriages and no live children. Thank you! We'll pray for you as well!

  24. Ally

    You could pray for us, my friend- that if it's God's will, we would be able to conceive and carry a little one of our own, and that if it's not God's will, that we'd accept His plan with joy.

    Thank you!

  25. Ally

    You could pray for us, my friend- that if it's God's will, we would be able to conceive and carry a little one of our own, and that if it's not God's will, that we'd accept His plan with joy.

    Thank you!

  26. Lindsay

    Could you pray, if it's God's will, that I will be able to carry more babies to term (I am a chronic miscarrier). Thank you so much!

    I will pray for as well as you near the end of your pregnancy and face labor and delivery again.

  27. Julie Hoover

    Please pray that my husband would be open to God's call to come into the church.

    I will continue to pray for you, that your birth goes smoothly and everyone is healthy and safe. God is amazing.

  28. Karyn

    Please pray for a healthy pregnancy and delivery for our lucky number seven due in March. I'll be praying for you, baby, and the family! St Anne, please pray for us.

  29. Heather Knox

    Best wishes for a safe delivery! Please pray for my family (the Knox family) and for our baby #4 due in late January. Thank you!

  30. Jenny

    Kendra, could you please pray for the safe delivery of my eighth child (our children are all about the same age as your crew!) at the end of August. Also, I am pretty much sold on the idea of an unmedicated birth (after 6 epidural births! and 1 emergency c section) due to a bad reaction to my last epidural. But, the idea scares me a little. So, strength for me to persevere in my desire for an unmedicated delivery. Most of all a healthy baby and a safe delivery! Thanks so much!

  31. Stephanie

    Thanks 🙂 I am finally pregnant with a baby that it looks like we will get to keep! I've had three first trimester miscarriages and I'm 16 weeks with this miracle. Everything is looking good so far!! But we are taking all the prayers we can get. Plus at 6 weeks I had a fever over 100 that I couldn't get down for over 24 hours and I'm just paranoid that I gave my poor baby birth defects. Which is probably silly, but still.

    Also, I have a friend named Amanda who has two little ones here and two miscarriages. She found out that she is going into early menopause so she is taking Clomid and hoping to have another little one here on earth. They are ttc this cycle and she is so scared of another miscarriage. 🙁 So please pray for her too.

  32. Kate

    Kendra ~ please pray for my two older boys Andrew James and Nathan Thomas that they will come home to the Catholic Faith. They left when they became adults. Thanks!

  33. Miss Jill and Mister John

    A- How incredibly unselfish of you to put a call out for intentions! Wow!
    B- You are seriously so pretty… partly because of who you are and your openness to life… but just look at your pics in a hospital bed. Pretty lady 🙂

    C- Please pray that we find clarity in the decisions we are making (moving… and baby #4…. and what being open to life means when you are an adoptive family..)

  34. Celina

    For my family to know God's will clearly and for the grace to do it! For my SIL to find her vocation and to have peace in her life despite her suffering. Thank you! Prayers for a safe delivery☺

  35. Melissa M

    Please pray for my 3 yo son who has autism and doesn't talk yet- thank you 🙂

  36. Tia

    if you can, please pray for my husband's grandmother, who is dying, and for my aunt, who is undergoing a mastectomy.

  37. Athena Carson

    Bless you for keeping us all in mind as you go through your labor.

    Please pray for the conversion of my husband. His agnostic self is wonderful, but I see so many things about him that are perfectly positioned to be saintly (no kidding) if he were open to God. It would be amazing to see him truly be the best version of himself; the version God created him to be.

  38. Nora C

    Please pray for my friend who has a severe eating disorder, for another friend who has one foot in and one foot out of the church, and for my little brother who just converted to Christianity (we were raised nonreligious). Also it lease pray that I light find a good job and soon!

  39. cynthiasolc

    Please pray for my friend's father, he suffers from COPD and is living in San Diego awaiting a lung transplant. Please pray for them all to find strength, hope and love in God.

  40. cynthiasolc

    Thank you so much for this and we'll be praying to St. Gerard for a safe delivery. God Bless!

  41. Amy Shay

    Please pray for me and my unborn baby! I'm a first time mama…not delivering until Oct/Nov-ish, but anticipating the event! Hoping for a manageable, healthy birth and many years of grace-endowed motherhood- inspired by you 🙂

  42. Theresa Devore

    For my boyfriend, that he finds the peace for which he is so desperately searching. Thank you!

  43. Liz Ferraro

    Can you please pray for my current pregnancy with baby #2 please?

    My last birth was a confusing and disappointing experience and ended in a c section. I'm hoping to vbac this time. But even if I don't get to vbac, I will still need the prayers to gracefully cope with another c section! 😉

    Thank you! We will pray for you in the final days of your pregnancy! Looking forward to hearing of baby 8's safe arrival!

  44. Shannon

    I've just started reading your blog, Kendra, and am really enjoying it! Would you pray for my physical and emotional healing from my csection 4 weeks ago? We were going for a vbac and weren't successful. So hard all around! Thank you! Prayers for you!!

  45. Paul and Abigail

    Kendra – Let me say how touched I am by your offer of prayer! We will pray for you in the coming days too that you have a safe labor and delivery 🙂

    If you could pray for me and my pregnancy I would appreciate it! I am currently expecting #2…. and #3! Identical twins! What a surprise and blessing they are! So far we have had a few scares but all is well, but as we enter the second half of this pregnancy there is always a risk of more complications with twins. Any prayers you could offer on their behalf are so appreciated!

  46. Talita

    Please pray for my husband and I as we continue to try to conceive while bearing the cross of infertility. And that through our struggle, we can find peace whatever the answer to our prayers.
    Kendra, thank you so much for taking our prayer requests. The offering up of ones suffering for others is one of the most amazing things I have been exposed to since converting to the Catholic faith.

  47. Chris and Rachel

    For my Catholic moms group–that we truly seek the Lord with our whole hearts this year. For my husband and I to reignite our married prayer life and to raise our children up in the way of the Lord

  48. natalie g.

    I am a labor and delivery nurse and I think there is nothing more beautiful than a women who prays during labor!! Please pray for my vocation, my adventure with the Lord, and my heart to become ever more like Our Lady's most Immaculate Heart.

  49. Amanda

    I'm going to go re read your birth stories.

    You can pray for my husband's conversion and for my pregnancy/labor/baby. I'm probably not as freaked out as I should be.

  50. Kris

    I loved re-reading all the birth stories! I have two prayer requests – one for my cousin, who just lost her baby at full term. We are all heartbroken. And the second is for my grown daughter, that she return to her Catholic faith and turn away from the immoral lifestyle she is currently living. Thank you! We'll be praying for you for another quick labor and easy delivery, and a healthy baby.

  51. Christy Goode

    Thank you for offering prayers. Please pray for my husband and I as we are in the process of adopting after several years of infertility. I will pray for you and your family as you prepare to welcome your next baby.

  52. fiveofus

    For The Culture Project- an amazing group of young catholic (beautiful) missionaries who speak Truth to students of authentic masculinity and femininity while attempting to build a culture of virtue. You would love them, and I believe they are in Cali for half te year…

    They are in need of prayers! Thank you so much. Praying for you and excited for you.

    http://Www.restoreculture.com

  53. Anonymous

    Kendra, you will be in my prayers in the next couple of weeks, that you might have peace in labor and delivery and that your baby will be hale and hearty. We just returned from Lourdes, and I would be grateful if you could pray for the (many many) intentions (mine and ones that I gathered before the trip) that were on the list that I submitted at the Grotto. Also for the intentions of the women that came through the baths when I was volunteering there.

    -nancyo

  54. Anonymous

    Thank you for offering your suffering for others. Please pray for my husband's reversion to the faith. Thanks you and prayers for you and your new little one!

  55. Jen Schultheis

    Thank you for offering up your suffering. What's neat about reading the comments is seeing all the different experiences folks are going through. And I found that I was praying for their intentions as I read, as well as a safe and healthy delivery for you and the babe. If you could add mine, I am seeking peace of mind as we begin homeschooling.

  56. Leanne Lowry

    Thank you for doing this. If you could offer a prayer that Sean and I would be blessed with another baby I would be greatful.

  57. Sara Rooney

    If you have another 1.5 hour labor, you'll have to pray through these really fast… 😉 That said, your prayers for my husband are appreciated as he goes in for major surgery on the 27th. His healing and adjustment post-op, and for myself: strength and endurance in running the house without him as he recoups. Thank you so much! Your health and well-being and the baby's too will be in my prayers as well.

  58. Amanda McPhee

    Please pray that my husband and I be blessed with another baby, and also that we may accept God's plan for us even if it is not what we'd hoped.

    Thank you

  59. Marisa Shepard

    Hi Kendra! Please pray for the intention of a financial issue we are having right now. More specifically, a bill from the birth of our 20 month old son, which has come back to haunt us after we thought we had paid everything off for that ordeal. Thank you and God bless you on your final moments of pregnancy, labor and delivery!

  60. Mary

    Thank you for praying for our intentions! Please pray for a complete healing my brother, Joseph who struggles with substance abuse and mental health issues. Prayers for wisdom for my parents as they decide what treatment is best for him.

  61. Ashley Sue

    Thank you for the generous offer of prayer. Please pray for several of our family members, for their coversions and quality of life. We are praying for all of you as well!

  62. Anabelle Hazard

    Please pray for my friend K and my sister Jen. I offered up 4 hours of my labor pains for them but I wimped out at the last 30 minutes and got the epidural. So while there's been some improvement in both their situations, I may need the last hour of your labor to compensate. Thanks for being wonder woman Kendra.

  63. Laura @ Keeping Up With the Mikes

    Hi Kendra! I hope you have a safe and healthy delivery! Please pray for my husband and I and our friends who are hoping to be blessed with children. I also ask for healing of my pain issues.

  64. Kate

    Please pray for a sweet 1 year old named Estella Maris who will soon be undergoing radiation and chemo. Prayers to you and your new baby.

  65. Adaku Kafor

    May you have a safe delivery. Please pray for my special intention. Thanks!

  66. Sarah

    Will be praying for you. Please keep my 1 yr old son, Liam, in your intentions. He is battling brain cancer. I know Mary knows how I feel, but man its tough to see your baby suffer so much!

  67. Sarah

    Will be praying for you. Please keep my 1 yr old son, Liam, in your intentions. He is battling brain cancer. I know Mary knows how I feel, but man its tough to see your baby suffer so much!

  68. Erin

    Please pray for my sweet friend Maria who is battling depression.

  69. Anonymous

    Thank you so much! Could you pray for my husband's conversion and my dad's cancer battle?

  70. Jenny Cook

    So wonderful for you to do this…what a service to others. And definitely makes use of some tough pain. My requests:
    1. For friends whose marriage has dissolved in a most painful way.
    2. For my cousin who just found out she had a very large and probably inoperable brain tumor.

  71. Anonymous

    Thank you for doing this! I'll remember you and your family at Mass today. I have two requests:

    1. For my friend K, a mother of two who is battling adrenal cancer. She has one more surgery on July 28th and then (we hope) will have no evidence of disease.
    2. Safe travel for me and my husband as we move from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest.

  72. Suzanne

    Please pray for my mother in law. She has stage 4 colon cancer. And for my husband, especially for his return to church. Thank you!

  73. Being Refined

    1. Please pray for my husband and I to have children. We are still hoping we might be able to get pregnant, but if not please ask God to open our hearts to adoption.
    2. Also please pray for my husband's office environment to improve (he likes his job, but not the office environment).
    3. Please pray for a family friend T who has luekemia – Drs thought he was in remission, but it is back and they are running out of drugs to try. He has a wife and three young daughters.

    Thanks!

    praying for a safe delivery for you and baby!

  74. Autumn Hiner

    Please pray for my friend who is pregnant. She had three charming children, but has also suffered three miscarriages.

  75. Kathia

    For salvation (and coming into the Church) of my child, my dad, some siblings and cousins. For relatives with cancer.

  76. Sarah

    Many prayers for you as you near birth! If you would pray for the conversion of my brother and all my in-laws I would greatly appreciate it!

  77. me

    Pray for my daughter as she needs to start doing all the things to decide on colleges to apply to – very stressful for her right now.

  78. Anamaria

    Thank you for your prayers! We will pray for you. Please pray for my husband s job situation.

  79. Rebecca Rooney

    Please pray for T and M as they proceed with adoption. God bless you! I'll be praying for you too.

  80. Maggi

    Congrats on the new baby! Please pray for me and my family, thank you!

  81. Bonnie

    Please pray for my Dad just diagnosed with Stage IV cancer and starting chemo!
    Happy pushing!

  82. Rachael

    Could you please pray that my husband and I may conceive? Thank you!

  83. Joy Therese

    (Sorry if this is a repeat…My computer's doing something funky.)
    Congratulations on your new little baby!
    Please pray for my family, the repose of the souls of my deceased loved ones and friends' loved ones, the restoration of the Shrine of Christ the King in Chicago, and for three special intentions.
    Praying for you, too!

  84. Zagorka

    Please pray for the conversion of my agnostic husband and for his job situation. Thank you and I will be praying for you also.

  85. Katie M

    Please pray that we are blessed with another baby, and please pray for my son's healing. Thank you!

  86. Kate Weston

    For my friend, who lost her baby in a home accident. Now they are trying to use IVF to conceive another child. I love her (in a friend way), and I want her to have another child, but I can't support her and her husband in this. My heart breaks for her in more ways than one.

  87. Liz

    Please pray for my health and the strength to accept challenges related to it. Please also pray for me as I continue on my spiritual path (and that my husband becomes more open to it). Thank you. You and your growing family will be in my prayers.

  88. Janie De Lara

    So many prayers for you and your baby and your whole lovely family! I feel a little selfish asking you to pray for me when there are lots of other prayers up there^ that look much more needed…but if you can, please pray that my husband and I are blessed with children. We are in our fourth year of infertility. Thank you for reminding me to offer up my own suffering in this for these other intentions of your other readers and our siblings in Christ. It has been good to read them and pray for them.

  89. Natalie

    Pray for my baby please? I'm unreasonably nervous when I think about childbirth, plus there's a chance I'll have placenta previa. Due November. I'll be praying for you!

  90. Liz

    Please pray for my health and the strength to accept challenges related to it. Please also pray for me as I continue on my spiritual path (and that my husband becomes more open to it). Thank you. You and your growing family will be in my prayers.

  91. us

    Please pray for my daughter who is expecting her 3rd little girl in a few months. The family moved to Honolulu for my son in law's job late last year and there is no support structure family wise for them. She has had pee-eclampsia with the other 2 and both the other girls had trouble with jaundice at birth.

    They sold their car when they moved, so all trips to the doctor, etc are via the bus or walking.

    I worry about her being so far away from extended family who can lend a hand with things during this time. Her husband is actively seeking work back here on the mainland, but nothing has opened up yet. My daughter is homesick and feeling very cut off from all she knows and loves here. My daughter also stuggled with ppd after the first pregnancy and I worry about this with her being so isolated now.

    Please pray that they can make it back here by the time the baby arrives in November.

    I almost hesitate to submit this as I see you have a very long list of requests already. I truly hope that your labor isn't so long as well!

    Even though I am an almost 60 year old mom, the kids never stop being my precious babies in my heart. I used to think things such as: "Just wait till the baby is past the SIDS stage, then I can stop worrying… " Then suddenly they are teenagers and learning to drive, or going off to college, or having babies of their own! My father who is 86 told me that he still worries about his grown kids and my brother is 65! I guess we will always be the parents no matter how grown the kids are!
    Thank you, and God Bless.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Lactivism, aka I'll Teach YOU How to Feel About Nursing - Catholic All Year - […] A Birth Story Round Up, and the prayer request line is . . . OPEN […]
  2. Pregnancy Survival Secrets from a Grand Multigravida - Catholic All Year - […] A Birth Story Round Up, and the prayer request line is . . . OPEN […]

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Hi! I’m Kendra.

For twenty years now, I’ve been using food, prayer, and conversation based around the liturgical calendar to share the lives of the saints and the beautiful truths and traditions of our Catholic faith. My own ten children, our friends and neighbors, and people just like you have been on this journey with me.

If you’d like to learn more about what Catholics believe and why, and to be inspired by saints from every era all over the world, you’ve come to the right place. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with the prospect of how to teach your kids about the faith in a way that’s true, engaging, and lasts a lifetime, we can help!

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