A LONG over due Midwifery Journal ~

September 8-12, 2013 Sitting at another birth, September 9, rocking in a rocking chair while a young 17 year old Mongolian woman is quietly laboring. So I have a few minutes to write.  A break...we actually had a 41.5 hour break :) It was so nice! I tried to sleep in (I have to have my phone on since I'm on call and random texts would wake me up here and there) and didn't get out of bed until after 9.   Last night I was praying and "told" the Lord that someone could go into labor because I felt all rested. Well, someone did and rested was anything but how I would describe how I felt! 11:30pm Freida texted me and when I called her I was told that someone was in labor and her contractions were only a couple minutes apart so we girls needed to head over. I dropped the phone and ran up the two flights of stairs. "Jena, we need to leave now or we might miss the birth!" I said, waiting just long enough to know that she was awake and then back down the stairs I ran to throw some clothes on, grab the birthing stool and jump in the car. I totally forgot to grab my headcovering in the bustle to get out the door. Less than five minutes later we were pulling out of the driveway and flying down the road.  I never knew that house numbers could go down and then up again on the same road. Thinking we missed the house we were driving up and down the road, even tried a long unmarked lane until we thought to try going further even though according to the house numbers we should have already passed it. Sure enough, we hadn't gone far enough. Good thing we didn't miss the birth because we could find the driveway that was less than 1/2 mile away from us! (September 10-After two births I now have time to write again...) We finally made it down the lane and grabbed our things while jumping out of the car running up the stairs and into the house. You always enter a house slowly and peacefully, no matter how hastily you were racing to get to the door :)  Walking in the door I listened carefully for baby sounds. Had we missed it? Hearing only the sound of a woman breathing in labor we proceeded a little lighter than we came into the house.  This is the trip for heads that are Asynclitic (meaning, the head is tilted when it comes through the birth canal.)  I've never had a woman get in so many different positions before in order to get a baby out! I learned some new ones! :)  September 9- baby boy Boaz M, 4:10am, 8lb 10.5 oz, 21 inches long.  The little one, thankfully, stayed asleep through the whole thing. I had to slip into his room to get something yet the little one didn't even stir. When we were doing his newborn exam we heard little cries from the other room. For the first time brothers would meet. There was a look of confusion and perplexity as the little one year old took his first look at his little brother and forever companion. After a few moments looking at the baby, he turned towards his mommy and started crying for her. Safely snuggled into mommy he kept looking, a bit unsure, at his baby brother.  Completely and totally worn out...it was the first birth I've ever started falling asleep when the woman was pushing. We all went and crashed in the living room. I was awoken to Jena handing me baby Boaz to hold while she got his mommy up to get into the herbal bath. Rocking him, I was unsettled by his breathing, so I tilted him and tried to assist him with clearing out anything that was still in there. Jena came to take him back to his mommy and I switched places, stretched out the chair, covered my face with my hoodie and started falling asleep when a little one year old waddled over to me in wonderment at how I looked. After telling him what I was doing and him staring at me for a few moments and then waddled off to his toys.  "Laura, do you want to go home or are you planning on staying here?" Are the words I half woke up hearing.  "Oh yeah...is it time to go?" I barely awake responded. "Yes, we're all ready and everything is in the cars."  "Ok...I'm coming..." "Oh, Laura...we start prenatals in 2 hours." Freida said as she walked out the door. And I kinda sorta stood up, got my flip flops on and shuffled out the door and down the stairs and got into the drivers seat of my car in disbelief that I really was going to drive while still feeling as if i was asleep. It was a long 20 minute drive home.  Two hours?? We got home around 7am...and I crashed into my bed.  8:30am I awoke to a knock on my door. "Are you ready to go?" Freida asked. I rubbed my eyes and woke up enough to know that someone really was at my door asking if I was ready to go on prenatal visits.  After some conversation I decided to stay home and sleep for a couple more hours and then I would meet her somewhere. Jena decided the same thing. So sleep we did...for maybe 2 hours, I think. I woke up then went up to Jenas room and we made a plan for the day.  Walking down to my room to get dressed, I looked at my phone and saw that I got a text from Patty saying that two people were in labor and to come to her house.  I ran upstairs to let Jena know, then... (Uh oh, have to go help Jena clean up a meconium blow out!!!) Then...we got all out stuff and headed out to go to Patty's. We arrived before she and the couple did and so we got everything ready.  (Had to go do the baby's footprints, then he decided to put his foot on me and gave my shirt a footprint ;) He's now all bundled up and ready for mommy. He is seriously an absolutely adorable baby!! Now back to yesterday...) The couple were missionaries in Mongolia. The woman is 17 and from Mongolia and the husband is 28 and American. The poor thing had the hardest time with labor. We thought a couple times that maybe she was ready to push, but then after assessing we found out that she wasn't. I broke her water and that helped bring the baby down but also made it more intense. Patty didn't think it would be that quick so she left to go get her kids from school.  Not more than ten minutes later, our very calm and quiet Mongolian girl was screaming and yelling. I jumped up and "ran" in the room. Oh the poor thing was NOT doing well. After coaching her through a few contractions and thinking I calmed her down I would go back into the living room. A few contractions later she was back screaming and crying again and back in I would rush. This happened several times! Back and forth, back and forth. Sometimes I would only get her calmed down for one contraction go back to sit down only to jump up and rush back in as the next contraction was started, which she very clearly let us know by her screams.  In the tub she went...the tub helped...for 20 minutes.... (It's now September 12, 12:08am...we're sitting in the main room at a swartzentruber birth with the soft glow of the one kerosine lamp waiting...waiting for the baby to come, #10 and now I have time to write, hope I get caught up!)  A couple hours she was complete and pushing...in several different sudden positions with lots of screaming and yelling.  R & J (baby boy, no name yet- born at 6:04pm September 9, 2013 weighing 8lbs 6oz, 22 inches long, head: 14 1/2, chest: 13 1/4. LOA, I caught him, he had the cord around his neck and body and nuchal hand/arm. Lots of vernix! I broke her water at 1:51pm. Head born 6:03, placenta 6:14pm. He was named: Joseph Gilead  (Heres my attempt at writing what was actually at the time happening: September 10, 2013- Waiting again...back at Pattys house, this time with gloves ready tucked in the side of my skirt, so glad we are here, just hoping that she doesn't have the baby in the car!!!!  We were on our way here to get my camera and bag of food, we also stopped at the New Bedford care Center and dropped off some supplements, when Patty texted me to come here because Linda was in labor. Got to run! She should be here any minute!!!  She's here!!)  Ok, let's pick up somewhere, I'm a bit lost...hope it makes some sense and can be followed.  We got there around 1:30pm and then had to run and get pads for the bed. We flew to Walmart. I dropped Jena off at the door and she ran in, ran back out and off we flew. The light turned red just as we got to it, a semi was the first car that would be coming and I knew I had faster pickup than it did, so I pressed the gas and sped in front of it. We were determined not to miss this birth. We were all ready just in case she would come in ready to have the baby.  (September 11-Be right back, gtg check on the laboring woman with #10) Back to September 10- She arrived around 2:30pm and we jumped out of our seats and ran to the door, I quickly opened it and was ready to run to the car when I remembered..."be calm and composed"... So, I waited for some type of signal to let me know what to do. All was quiet and no one was rushing out of the car nor hollowing that the baby was coming so I very calmly turned around, walked inside and waited for them to come in.  The look on her face told me that we could relax for it wasn't coming in the next few minutes.  We got her in and all settled and it wasn't very long, maybe 30 min, until the cutest little baby, with the biggest round head, was born at 3:03pm. He seriously was absolutely adorable!! He has two older brothers and two older sisters.  Milan  M ( & D) September 10, 2013 at 3:03pm weighing 9lbs, 21 inches long, LOA,   He was all settled nursing and we were in the living room when Jena decided to go in and check on him. "Laura...come in here please..." Jena said with a tone that sounded a bit pleading and desperate.  "Ok, what do you need?" I replied, knowing it wasn't anything life threatening by her tone. "I need you, come here." Is something of what followed. I walked in and started laughing at what I saw.  She was very carefully holding a baby that was covered, baby and blanket included, in meconium. She was holding him out for me to take him...  "Here, you take him and you can clean him up." She said hoping I would relieve her  (#10- Its now September 12, 2013- Getting more intense, getting close, 8-9cm. Got the heart tones with just barely enough light shining in from the one lamp in the other room. Back to journaling while I still have a few minutes)  I smiled big at her, and the smiling mom and dad, and told her that I had confidence that she could clean him up good and well. After she realized that her pleading wasn't going to get her out of the job she took him over to the table and I instructed her on how to go about this. Then I decided to help her out by cleaning up half of his body and quickly putting a diaper on. I bundled him up, after doing his Newborn exam and walked around with the precious little bundle.  His mommy went up for her herb bath and I held him and got his footprints, to which he decided to print my shirt with his inked foot. That fun task done i took him up for his mommy to wash him up. Downstairs he came all clean and happy. We got him all dressed, brushed his hair like a little man, bundled him up and placed him gently in the middle of the pillow with his birth announcement by his side. He could have not looked more precious.  After a little bit we went back to Freida's house to eat and enjoy the rest of the evening. After we are we went out to finish the garden/yard chores that we had started in the morning and yet had to stop because it was over 90 outside and very humid! I went to watering the garden, flowers and everything else and then as I was putting the hose away I remembered my dusty dirty car.  I love water and quite enjoy washing cars and even though it was dark washing the car sounded very relaxing and fun. The water felt great too since it was still quite hot. After that we came in, got my pjs on and played the longest and hardest game of scramble, it was just the two of us girls. Then to bed we went. For a very nice full nights sleep. What a productive day we had!! I woke up, September 11, not sure what the next day held. I had wonderful devotions and then went upstairs to find out the schedule for the day.  Freida and I talked about the previous days birth and then she let me know that we had two prenatals coming to the house and that was it for the day.  (#10- Maybe its time...rocking in the hickory rocking chair...one of my favorite things to do here...lets see if I can get caught up before she starts pushing...)  We had the prenatals then off we went, not sure exactly where, but off we went. Sent off a package, went to a store, got some stamps and then the thought popped in my head to try and find the Hickory Rocker Shop where I got Nalani's rocker 4 1/2 years ago.  We first found a bakery and asked him, oh...I amazingly remembered the name of the rocker shop...and asked them. They sent us down some roads to the only rocker shop she knew of. There we went, he didn't have any, nor did he even make the middle sized ones. I asked if he knew of Yoders Rocker Shop and he did!! He said that he was, still, the only one that made the middle sized ones but that he was quite sure he probably wouldn't have any left. After getting the address, this time I had a GPS to find it whereas the last time all we had were a couple signs that led us all over the place and asking from house to house to try and find the unmarked rocker shop.  I found the place just as it looked 4 1/2 years ago. :)  Long story short, he had 3 of the middle sized...longer story short...I ended up getting all three of them!! Home we went to eat and have a relaxing evening. Neither of us thought we'd have a baby tonight... I was home alone, it was dark and I had my pjs on. My capri green polka dot pj pants, a t-shirt on with my hair down, when I heard the beep that goes off when someone comes in the driveway. I bit perplexed and cautious I looked out the door. "Ring..." Well, I guess I have to go to the door dressed like this I thought. To my shock and probably his, it was an Amish man stopping by to get some herbal calcium for his wife.  Resting and planning on heading to bed shortly I looked at my phone and saw that at 9:30 I got a text from Patty that someone was in labor and to come on down to her place.  (We just had baby #10...2:00am, 1:00am their time. Hopefully I can finish before we have to leave, at least I'm finally on the present birth...)  I threw my skirt on over my green polka dot pjs, changed my shirt, grabbed my headcovering and pins, some food and as soon as Jena got in the door out we went on our way to Patty's. We both made sure to go to the bathroom before we left as we had a feeling we were going to a Swartzentruber place and the outhouses aren't the most inviting!  We met Patty at her house and away we drove. When it wasn't too curvy I gave Jena the wheel and put my head covering on, who knows how it looks but at least it's on!  We got here around 11pm and found that her contractions were around 5 min apart and she was 7cm. Knowing we had some time and my phone was only at 57% I went out to my car to charge it with my computer and eat a bit so I wouldn't get low blood sugar staying up all night. I decided to bring my things inside so as not to miss it. (Just had baby #11 at 3:58am September 12, 2012, 8lb, 21 1/4 inches long. Made it by 20 minutes...but a poor raccoon was killed and my poor car is crashed...)  Baby #10 was born at 2:00am, little girl. 7lb 4oz, no name yet.  At 2:30am September 12, I got a text from Freida that Miriam Y. was in labor and her contractions were 5 minutes apart and hard. Out the door we flew to come here. We texted Freida around 3:20 and she said that she was pushing, we were thinking that we would have missed it but we flew out of my horrible sounding car and up the dark steps, my phone being left somewhere in the car, in the house, up another flight of steps and into the room. No baby yet, time to breathe... September 12, 2013 at 3:58am he was born, baby #11. Lonnie Y., 8lbs, 21 inches. (R & M) OP My poor car...I had no idea how much damage a raccoon could do.  8.5 hours...2 births...and a crashed car later...back home...time to try and sleep. It's 6:00am Thursday September 12, 2013.