I was having a hard time deciding whether to try and sleep or not. Freida had called for me to come home from Amy's about mid-afternoon and it was now 11:00pm yet still no call to come. My fear was that I would just get to sleep and then the phone would decide to wake me up and make me leave more groggy than I would have been if I had just stayed awake. So I laid in bed writing my blog until about midnight and then figured I might as well get some sleep rather than stay up all night waiting. The last time I looked at my phone it was 12:32am.
"Riiiinnnngggg!!!!!!!"
Hmm.... "I wonder what time it is?" As I slipped my hand under my pillow and forced my eyelids open to look at my phone. 2:32am it said, well at least I got 2 hours of sleep. I had gone to bed with my clothes on so that I would have one less step to do when I had to wake up so when I was awakened I waited for a couple minutes and then quietly went to the stairs to see if I could tell whether Freida was getting ready to leave or not.
Silence and complete darkness
Now I was at loss for what to do. I was sure that it was the call for who else would call at 2:30am, but there was no sound nor indication that Freida was up getting ready. So, rather than go to sleep I decided to get online.
"Riiinnnggg...!!!" 3:20am, this time I knew it had to be time. Yet being I was already dressed and ready except for putting my veil on I decided to wait for Freida to come tell me it was time to go. I grabbed a bowl of cereal to help keep me awake. For some reason eating helps do that. I have the strangest eating schedule down here at times. We left at about 3:40am and headed down the road. About 10 minutes along our drive Miriam's husband called and told us that she was starting to feel pushy. Those are the worst words to hear when you are still 20 minutes away!!!
I quickly shot up a prayer that the Lord would slow her labor down so that we could be there for the birth. I then went into "be ready to jump out of the car as soon as Freida gets close enough and slows down" mode. I jumped into the backseat and then leaned over into the trunk to get all of our supplies ready;
birth bag, newborn bag, clipboard, birthing stool... would we really need all these things right away??? I decided I could leave my bag in the vehicle. After loading myself up I sat and waited until we pulled into the driveway. I swung open the door and jumped out and bounded up to the front door. Then composing myself I calmly opened the door as not to make a big commotion as we entered. Her husband greeted us at the door.
"Is she still in one piece?" I asked
"Yes" He said with a bit of a smile.
Maybe he could tell I was worried. I had 3 bags and a clipboard in my hands and was on my way over to get all set up. The baby was in a difficult position and therefore was having a hard time coming down. After changing positions and locations of where we thought the baby would be born, we finally had a baby girl at 5:02am (I think, I'll check on that to be sure) She had caput quite badly for the first couple of hours but then it went back to normal. Her parents were fine with me taking pictures so for the next 20 minutes I had some fun.
She was so alert from the moment she was born. Freida,
her father, and myself were all taking pictures and the little one didn't make a peep, other than squinting her eyes in response to the flashes.
her father, and myself were all taking pictures and the little one didn't make a peep, other than squinting her eyes in response to the flashes.
I was trying to get a certain effect but it really didn't work
too well, yet this is what I came out with.
too well, yet this is what I came out with.
And finally an actual picture of me holding a baby in a rocking chair.This was obviously not a Swartzentruber home.
We left there around 7:00am and Freida was quite happy that we wouldn't be starting our full day of prenatals too late. We had just been on the road for about 5 minutes when Freida's phone rang... it was Amy... Esther, our "twin" lady was in labor. Her water had broken but she was not having any contractions. Amy was on her way and would call us as soon as she found out what the status was.
I was now a bit concerned. Swartzentrubers went really fast with their births and this was her 8-9th pregnancy, i think, and if it really was twins I really really wanted to be there.
The last time Amy and I were there we spent quite some time trying to figure out whether we thought it was one or two. Her belly was all gelled up by the time we were done and Amy and I was just as unsure, if not more so, as we were before we started. When we got into the car I told her that I thought the hard "thing" on her right side was probably a fibroid and not a baby. Due to what we heard, or shall I say didn't hear, I was quite sure that it couldn't be a baby, but who knows. We were hoping it was two yet Esther was hoping it was one.
I was now a bit concerned. Swartzentrubers went really fast with their births and this was her 8-9th pregnancy, i think, and if it really was twins I really really wanted to be there.
The last time Amy and I were there we spent quite some time trying to figure out whether we thought it was one or two. Her belly was all gelled up by the time we were done and Amy and I was just as unsure, if not more so, as we were before we started. When we got into the car I told her that I thought the hard "thing" on her right side was probably a fibroid and not a baby. Due to what we heard, or shall I say didn't hear, I was quite sure that it couldn't be a baby, but who knows. We were hoping it was two yet Esther was hoping it was one.
So as we drove home to get our stuff and pick up Emily. I was now hungry again so I got another bowl of cereal, my second "meal" of the day. As I was finishing getting my stuff for the day Freida called down in a bit of a hurried tone letting me know that Amy had missed the birth, the baby was struggling and we needed to get there as soon as possible. I ran up the stairs and out the door to jump in the car. Little did I realize I left my bag sitting in the house by the couch with my water bottle and saddest of all, my camera inside. Rushing to the house we were not sure what we would find. The turkey that had charged Emily and I a few weeks earlier came to my mind as we were approaching the house, but I was going fast enough and was not a bit concerned about how it would look if I ran into the house to get away from it. There was silence in the house, all except for the sounds of the baby's labored breathing. There was fluid on the floor and a big baby on his mother's chest. He was still a bit blue but finally stable. When Amy had arrived he had just been born only a few minutes earlier, blue, limp, and barely breathing. Her mother was there when it happened, his head was born but the rest of him did not come out for another 5-10 minutes. As he was sitting there he was losing oxygen and strength. After much stimulation, suctioning and prayer he started responding. His placenta and cord were heavily stained with meconium. We stayed for a while to make sure he was stable, and after a little while he was doing well. Sadly it was only one baby with one HUGE placenta. Freida and I left Amy and Emily there while we went on our way to do some prenatals.
I was oh so sad not to have my camera, especially when we went to Anna & Andy's home. I really wanted to get a picture of their rocking chair. There's a bit of a story that goes with that chair and so I really wanted to have a picture the exact one. Freida offered for me to use hers and I decided to wait for a good time.
"Anna, would it be alright if I took a...picture...of the rocking chair?"
"Sure" she responded as a slight smile came across her face.
She wasn't there when I had my experience with the chair so I'm sure she must have been thinking it was a rather strange request.
By the end of the day I found myself falling asleep in between prenatal visits. I would faintly hear Emily talking and come to for just long enough to ask how long we had before we arrived at the next house.
We arrived home and I walked down to my room in a bit of a daze. Freida asked if she should take my computer and phone to make sure that I would get some good uninterrupted sleep. I consented to turn my phone on silent and let her know that the computer wouldn't keep me up as I was already falling asleep as I was walking to my room. Did my bed ever feel good... it was 5:00pm and I was now in bed for the night. :) I can't remember the last time I went to bed that early. I woke up a few times and checked my phone to see if I had missed any calls. I'm glad I had it on silent or I would have been woken up about every 30-45 minutes. I woke up at about 3:00am after 10 hours of, almost, straight sleep!! my body decided that it needed sleep and did it ever feel good to sleep for that long. I decided to get online and work on my poor blog that has suffered so much the past week.
Breakfast-time came and I was in the mood for cooking. Pancakes, scrambled tofu, hashbrowns...mmmm. I used my maple syrup that was made by the Swartzentruber Amish, it was delicious.
Plans for the day... cleaning, paperwork, going to Amy's, vespers at the Hagan's home...
Cleaning ~ √
Paperwork ~ well it was all out on my table
Going to Amy's house ~ I was just about to run out the door, I had all of my stuff ready and was picking up my last load to take out to the van and I saying goodbye to Freida when... "riiinnnggg"
"Oh no... not again" I thought, "this is the second time I've been getting ready to walk out the door when the phone has decided to interrupt all my plans." Don't get me wrong, I LOVE deliveries, it's just that at times I wish that they'd come at more convenient times. Not too realistic of thinking, I know.
Freida let me know that Martha was in labor and being how quick she normally goes that it would be best for us to head over. I quickly gathered my things together, grabbed my food, put my veil in my pocket as I was planning to put it on in the car and headed up the stairs. Freida thought it'd be best for me to drive separately so I could go to Amy's and the Hagan's after the delivery. She gave me three boxes to drop off at the post office and then asked me to pick up Emily and head towards the delivery. I couldn't believe I was actually going to the post office when someone was in labor but as I normally do I prayed that if it was the Lord's will that we would get there in time.
I looked down at my gas gauge, oh no, I didn't have enough to do all the running around that I would be doing on Sabbath and who knows how long it would take at Martha's house. Gas stations can be hard to find down here. Well I found one but their CC thingy wasn't working so I handed Emily some money and had her run in to pre-pay so that when I got it ready they would be ready and I could pump it and get out of there as quickly as possible. Patience is something I do well with, except for when I'm on my way to a delivery. The Lord has been working with me on that quite a bit lately! Getting stuck behind slow cars, red lights, and now the gas station are just a few examples of how He's been doing it. So as I was trying to pump the gas nothing was happening, and nothing was happening, and nothing was happening... Emily ran out and I asked her if she could go back in and see if they did it right. She ran back out letting me know that they had put it on the pump on the other side of where I was.
"No problem" I said to Emily "It'll reach over here"
"What?" She said in a bit of surprise.
"Sure, I'll pump it and you watch the cost as it goes up and tell me how close I'm getting"
"Ok" She said, with a bit of laughter.
"Where are we at?"
"just $10"
"ok"
"13" "14" "15"
By this time we were both laughing, I'm sure it must have looked a bit funny.
"we're at $18 now"
"ok, let me know when we get to $19.50 and I'll start slowing down" I said.
"we're there, 50, 69, 72, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99... STOP!!"
I hurriedly put the gas thing back and we jumped in the car to go. She got directions as we were driving. Down the driveway we went both ready to jump out of the car as soon as I stopped. We jumped out and ran into the house now realizing that I had not put my headcovering on. Uh oh, oh well... I couldn't do much now.
Freida had arrived not too long before we had. The house was quiet and Martha was having her contractions standing up in the bathroom. Emily and I calmed down and I called Amy at 2:18pm to let her know why I wasn't there.
"Splash"... uh oh... we knew what that meant. Completely ungloved and not ready the baby was coming and coming quick. Freida and I ran over to her and Freida delivered the baby, I wipped the baby's head which was covered in blood and held onto the little one as Emily frantically ran around the room trying to find the baby blanket which was "on the bed" only it really was in the kitchen. What a mess, but Praise the Lord we had a healthy baby girl at 2:20pm.
It took 3 weeks but I finally got a bit tired of wearing dark clothes most of the time. So being I was going to Amy's house I decided to wear light colors and do my hair regularly. BAD CHOICE!!! I had blood in several locations on my light blue zip-up sweater and even on my face. We went into her room and put her in bed for the delivery of the placenta. it was coming quick, so quick that I had no time to even put gloves on. I cut the cord and then went to go wash up. She was the cutest little thing. After her mom was situated Emily and I happily took the little bundle to go wash her up.
"Anna, would it be alright if I took a...picture...of the rocking chair?"
"Sure" she responded as a slight smile came across her face.
She wasn't there when I had my experience with the chair so I'm sure she must have been thinking it was a rather strange request.
By the end of the day I found myself falling asleep in between prenatal visits. I would faintly hear Emily talking and come to for just long enough to ask how long we had before we arrived at the next house.
We arrived home and I walked down to my room in a bit of a daze. Freida asked if she should take my computer and phone to make sure that I would get some good uninterrupted sleep. I consented to turn my phone on silent and let her know that the computer wouldn't keep me up as I was already falling asleep as I was walking to my room. Did my bed ever feel good... it was 5:00pm and I was now in bed for the night. :) I can't remember the last time I went to bed that early. I woke up a few times and checked my phone to see if I had missed any calls. I'm glad I had it on silent or I would have been woken up about every 30-45 minutes. I woke up at about 3:00am after 10 hours of, almost, straight sleep!! my body decided that it needed sleep and did it ever feel good to sleep for that long. I decided to get online and work on my poor blog that has suffered so much the past week.
Breakfast-time came and I was in the mood for cooking. Pancakes, scrambled tofu, hashbrowns...mmmm. I used my maple syrup that was made by the Swartzentruber Amish, it was delicious.
Plans for the day... cleaning, paperwork, going to Amy's, vespers at the Hagan's home...
Cleaning ~ √
Paperwork ~ well it was all out on my table
Going to Amy's house ~ I was just about to run out the door, I had all of my stuff ready and was picking up my last load to take out to the van and I saying goodbye to Freida when... "riiinnnggg"
"Oh no... not again" I thought, "this is the second time I've been getting ready to walk out the door when the phone has decided to interrupt all my plans." Don't get me wrong, I LOVE deliveries, it's just that at times I wish that they'd come at more convenient times. Not too realistic of thinking, I know.
Freida let me know that Martha was in labor and being how quick she normally goes that it would be best for us to head over. I quickly gathered my things together, grabbed my food, put my veil in my pocket as I was planning to put it on in the car and headed up the stairs. Freida thought it'd be best for me to drive separately so I could go to Amy's and the Hagan's after the delivery. She gave me three boxes to drop off at the post office and then asked me to pick up Emily and head towards the delivery. I couldn't believe I was actually going to the post office when someone was in labor but as I normally do I prayed that if it was the Lord's will that we would get there in time.
I looked down at my gas gauge, oh no, I didn't have enough to do all the running around that I would be doing on Sabbath and who knows how long it would take at Martha's house. Gas stations can be hard to find down here. Well I found one but their CC thingy wasn't working so I handed Emily some money and had her run in to pre-pay so that when I got it ready they would be ready and I could pump it and get out of there as quickly as possible. Patience is something I do well with, except for when I'm on my way to a delivery. The Lord has been working with me on that quite a bit lately! Getting stuck behind slow cars, red lights, and now the gas station are just a few examples of how He's been doing it. So as I was trying to pump the gas nothing was happening, and nothing was happening, and nothing was happening... Emily ran out and I asked her if she could go back in and see if they did it right. She ran back out letting me know that they had put it on the pump on the other side of where I was.
"No problem" I said to Emily "It'll reach over here"
"What?" She said in a bit of surprise.
"Sure, I'll pump it and you watch the cost as it goes up and tell me how close I'm getting"
"Ok" She said, with a bit of laughter.
"Where are we at?"
"just $10"
"ok"
"13" "14" "15"
By this time we were both laughing, I'm sure it must have looked a bit funny.
"we're at $18 now"
"ok, let me know when we get to $19.50 and I'll start slowing down" I said.
"we're there, 50, 69, 72, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99... STOP!!"
I hurriedly put the gas thing back and we jumped in the car to go. She got directions as we were driving. Down the driveway we went both ready to jump out of the car as soon as I stopped. We jumped out and ran into the house now realizing that I had not put my headcovering on. Uh oh, oh well... I couldn't do much now.
Freida had arrived not too long before we had. The house was quiet and Martha was having her contractions standing up in the bathroom. Emily and I calmed down and I called Amy at 2:18pm to let her know why I wasn't there.
"Splash"... uh oh... we knew what that meant. Completely ungloved and not ready the baby was coming and coming quick. Freida and I ran over to her and Freida delivered the baby, I wipped the baby's head which was covered in blood and held onto the little one as Emily frantically ran around the room trying to find the baby blanket which was "on the bed" only it really was in the kitchen. What a mess, but Praise the Lord we had a healthy baby girl at 2:20pm.
It took 3 weeks but I finally got a bit tired of wearing dark clothes most of the time. So being I was going to Amy's house I decided to wear light colors and do my hair regularly. BAD CHOICE!!! I had blood in several locations on my light blue zip-up sweater and even on my face. We went into her room and put her in bed for the delivery of the placenta. it was coming quick, so quick that I had no time to even put gloves on. I cut the cord and then went to go wash up. She was the cutest little thing. After her mom was situated Emily and I happily took the little bundle to go wash her up.
She did so well with her washing, she didn't even cry. I had to wash her hair three times and then get the comb to try and get everything out of her hair.
We had fun getting her hair all sudzy and playing with it.
She just laid calmly in my arms letting me do anything I wanted to her.
She just laid calmly in my arms letting me do anything I wanted to her.
Sweet little Regina Faith ~ 7lb 11oz
Time to wash her feet
Look how adorable she is, she didn't even wake up when I washed her feet.As we were getting ready to walk out the door Martha inquired as to what the baby's blood type was. Oh no, that's right... Martha is Rh-. We stopped her husband as he was taking the placenta to the garbage and got the blood we needed to test her blood type. B+, this meant that she would now have to go in and get Rho-Gam. Were we ever grateful that Martha remembered. We then left and off to Amy's for an hour I went.
I walked in Amy's door, I wasn't able to call her to let her know I was coming, and got smiles all around as everyone was wondering how I happened to be there so soon after I had called to say that we were at a birth. The Lord answered both Amy and my prayers that it would be quick. yet not too quick, it happened perfectly. Emily and I were there 5 minutes before the baby was born.
I ran upstairs with them to show them some pictures and then we all decided to go outside for a few runs and some sledding.
The sun was so beautiful
Doesn't this look like fun??
I figured out what my problem was... I was going down the hill the wrong way. Being that I'm left-handed I wanted to go down turned one way, yet Amy's brother informed me that I was doing it wrong. After switching sides it was a lot easier.
Amy and I
Amy and I...again
I then left their home and went up to the Hagan's house for a wonderful meal and fellowship.
Ahh.. Laura.. So sweet.. I am so glad you were able to make it but more I like her name Regina Faith.. The Picture of you and Amy is adorable as well. You are living quite the life up there. Seems as though you are enjoying it.. Take care. Love Amy
ReplyDeleteHello! My name is Miranda, and I'm starting a correspondance course for midwifery within the next few days, Lord willing. I want to use it on the mission field, so I'd like to start an apprenticeship soon so I can go on the field soon! :-D I live in Erie, PA. Do you know of any midwives within 45 minutes of here that may be interested in apprentcing me? If so, could you please e-mail me at sewingirl2@msn.com?
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I really enjoyed reading your post.
In Christ,
Miranda