September 6 #2-
Emma simply amazes me! She's in very active labor and at 6-7cm she walks downstairs as I'm coming to check FHT's and asks if we want anything to eat because she was coming down to fix us something to eat! This morning she was laboring and then realized that she didn't have any bread and knew that her husband would be needing to eat so she made a batch of bread. :)
Oh, I would love to have a labor like hers if I ever have a baby!!
Time to go...will write when I can. :)
I'm back to write, it's Sunday afternoon now, September 8, 2013
Swinging on the porch swing, sitting on the chair outside in the sun on the gravel driveway, sitting on the floor by the woodstove trying to warm up, sitting on the bed, sitting on the chair charging my phone with the one outlet that worked!! (making me a very happy girl! Story will follow)...all places I waited, and waited...for 12 hours we waited.
And then I went upstairs to check on her and see of we could get the kerosine lamps and mantle lights lit since it was getting dark, and as I quietly opened the door I saw the first sign that things were really starting to get serious. She was lying on the bed and her husband was helping her through a hard contraction as she was quietly yet seriously breathing through it.
Now things were getting serious enough to think that we were going to have a baby, it would still likely be several hours but at least I knew it wasn't likely to stop.
I quietly slipped over and got the Doppler and after getting the heart tones slipped out of the room to leave them together as she labored.
Back down the steep stairway I went to go sit back on the couch and read. Sabbath was now here and I was reading and enjoying some time to reflect and meditate on the Word, with my handy dandy phone as my flashlight.
Shortly after her husband came down the stairs to light the lamps and stoke up the wood cook stove for the first time.
Lesson: don't use a wood stove for the first time when your wife is having a baby!!
Smoke filled the house as soon as the flame was lit. Around the house we ran opening all the windows we could find and then running up the steep stairs to shut the bedroom door where Emma was laboring. As I walked into the living room I looked through a haze. This was not good! After we had everything opened we sat on the couch to wait.
Daniel brought in a couple mantle lights so we could see and then walked into the living room where we were sitting.
"Um...how is that working?" I very quizzically asked as Daniel nonchalantly pulled the cord to turn on the fan.
See, they are Old Order Amish which means no electricity. I knew that the house that they were living in had been and English home as a saw all the electrical outlets, dishwasher, ceiling fans, etc, but I was assuming that none of them worked as the Amish were supposed to turn them off and never use them once they moved in.
"Electricity" He casually responded to my incredibly surprised and a bit shocked question.
"Electricity?" I said, at this point even more confused.
"Yeah, we just never turned it off when we moved in." He comfortably replied.
"So, does that mean that these outlets work to?" I said with a smile on my face.
"Yes" He said
"Oh, I'm SO excited" I said as I jumped out of the couch to try one to plug my ever dying phone into.
His laboring wife peeped her head around the wall upstairs to say "Oh, you have to use the outlet by the wood cook stove, the other ones don't work."
What a happy and surprised girl I was . :)
"We just have had the hardest time turning it off and it's not really wrong to have it and..." His voice faded away as he walked back upstairs to tend to his laboring wife.
We now had light, heat and I had electricity :) I sat by the stove reading when the light started the fade and fade and fade until we were sitting in darkness.
The propane had run out. Back to using my phones flashlight. Daniel noticed that it looked dark and so he went and got the one that stood up and had a larger tank of propane on it. This one was supposed to go 2-3 months before it needed to be refilled.
5-10 minutes later we were back sitting in darkness. Poor guy, he felt so bad.
Upstairs we went, I for sure got my stair exercise in while there, to see how she was doing. After checking to see where she was it and the position of the baby we made camp in their room. It wouldn't be too much longer now.
Patty has her women push in between contractions, that was new. Also, we tried to turn the babies head and so we put ice in the fingers of our glove and put it on the babies head, it was amazing feeling the baby move in response to the cold. I love how much of the head you can feel before it comes out, it's just simply amazing.
"So do you have a name?" I asked
Looking at her husband with a smile she turned back to me and said. "Yes...but we both have different names picked out."
"Oh, what are they" I replied
To which they both told me the girl name (our guess of what the baby was) that they picked out.
"But I think after all that you have gone through that we will name her whatever you want to." He said sweetly as he looked into her eyes with love and tenderness.
"We will see" She sweetly replied.
And back to hard contractions we went. She had hard back labor and so I was helping her with that until my arms got too sore so I showed her husband what to do. He was more than happy to help in any way.
"The head is moving down nicely and you are complete"
At this her husband turned into a little boy that had gotten told he could have any and all the candy he wanted in a candy store.
Kneeling down beside her, he took her hands in his and held them close to his chest. He leaned close into her and sweetly yet excitedly whispered something into her ear as the biggest smile came across his face.
"My husbands crazy isn't he?" She said with a smile and sweet little laugh.
Smiling ourselves I said "No, he's just one very excited daddy who loves you very much and can't wait to hold your baby in his arms."
I sat back and soaked in the reality of what I was a part of. What intimacy and love I was able to be a part of. Watching how tenderly he was with her and how in tune he was to her with what was going on was so touching. And I was able to be a part of this, this most amazing and life changing event in their lives. What a gift. What a picture of what marriages are to be and what a picture of the intimacy that God wants to have with us.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he for the first time saw a part of his babies head. It was simply precious watching him through this whole process.
We decided that he should help deliver his baby, to which at first he was a bit unsure of what to do yet wanting more than anything to help being his baby into the world. After I assured him that I would guide him through what to do he was even more excited.
They both watched intently and the head started coming.
I delivered the head, swept my finger around the get the chin out. Then having him put his hands above mine he helped bring his baby into the world. (She was a little stuck so I reached in and gave a little assistance getting her out.) The tears flowed from his eyes down his cheeks as he held his baby, baby girl, and looked into her eyes for the first time.
I helped him show her to her mommy and then place her gently on her stomach. He walked around and holding his wife, the tears kept coming...they had their baby. She did an amazing job, and he was right by her side through it all.
After the corn stopped pulsating we claimed it, daddy cut it, and we left the three of them to have some time together.
With hearts full and lots of paperwork to do we walked the steps down to the living room to work and wait a bit.
When we went up the three of them were laying all nestled together, simply adorable. Little Marie was so alert and looking all around taking everything in.
Marie D. ( D & E ) Born Saturday September 7, 2013 at 12:28am, weighing 8lb 8oz, 20 1/2 inches long, head: 13 1/4, chest: 13 1/2, ROA
3 hours??? Yes, that's the longest time I've ever had to wait for a placenta to come!!! Patty went downstairs to sleep and left me in the room with them for the placenta to come. Daniel went and filled the tank for the mantle lights so we could see and us girls sat and waited...and talked :) We had some wonderful spiritual conversations. They are very sweet and godly people. After the whole days events...I made some new friends :) We tried everything we could think of to get that placenta out! It just didn't want to come. Finally she was squatting on the bed and pushing...and I suggested she cough...I think it shocked her just as much as the placenta and praise the Lord it came out! :)
While we were waiting we did the newborn exam, washed her thick black hair and then I got to help teach her daddy how to get her dressed and how to wrap her up in a blanket. It was so cute and she did so well being patient and calm with him.
My payment: a baby announcement card :)
Also while we were waiting I was sharing how I was hoping I would be able to go to church Sabbath morning. The church I was wanting to go to was about 30 minutes from them, which was an hour or so closer than it was from home. I unfortunately hadn't thought of packing church clothes when I left Friday morning to go to her house.
"Oh, you could borrow one of my dresses for church." Was her sweet offer. :)
I can only imagine what people would have thought if I went to church in an Amish dress with a Mennonite head covering!!
Around 4:30am I left to come home. That was the longest 1 1/2 hour drive in my life. I've never come so close to falling asleep while driving in my life. If it wasn't for the hills and curves I would have been in serious trouble. Praise the Lord I made it home safely. It was about scary when I noticed my eyes shutting as I was driving around the curves when I still had 26 miles to go.
From 6:00-8:30am I slept...then up to get ready for church...well, i was a bit tired so I couldn't get out of bed until after 9, my body just refused. I ended up getting to church right before the sermon started.
My prayer: Lord please give me Sabbath off
I went to some friends house and crashed in their camper for a little bit and then had an amazing lunch and wonderful fellowship. After I went and visited my Amish friends.
If eyes could take pictures what pictures I would have! They have six simply adorable children. They are finally getting more comfortable with me. One by one they came outside and sat along the steps of the porch, smiling and listening attentively to their mommy and I talk. I discovered that the two older ones actually understand most English, of which I'd have never know since they don't speak! :) Yet their smiles and nods to my questions let me in that they really did understand what I was saying. As I was leaving the oldest one, followed by the next oldest smiled really big and said. "Goodbye, have a nice day and we will see you next time." And then ran off behind the flower bush. I left their home to the chorus of three little ones voices telling me goodbye :)
Today...has been a wonderful and much needed day off. A day of rest, relaxation and laundry! Even now while I type this I'm laying in bed.
Freida made me a pie, that was breakfast :) She has a pond by her house and I sat down by it for awhile and watched the fish and a big heron fly back and forth in front of me.
Who knows what this week holds, but I'm so looking forward to it. It's such an incredible blessing being here.
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