BABY BIRTH!
Wow, that is all I can say in response to having the distinct and joyful pleasure of being the one to "tend" a young mother Friday. This is being known as the "God-mother" to the newborn, and I've been blessed to do this at least 12 times in the last 3 years! It never has become "routine" for me, and I am never less than breath-taken by the arrival of the little wrinkled, messy bundle into our harsh, cruel world. This was the 2nd time for me with this Mommy, her 1st son being the first time I tended by myself, and that was 2 ½ years ago. She came to the clinic around 7:30pm Thursday, so I thought we well may hear the cries of the tiny critter by midnight, but alas, this was not to be. She and I walked and walked those first hours – in the clinic, outside on the decks… She also lay on the floor, dozing lightly between contractions, it was cooler there, she said, than on the bed. The babe was slowly making it's way down toward the final goal, just more slowly than either of us preferred. But, as was bound to come, finally it was time to push. But, she argued, she didn't have the urge to strain, so she wasn't about to. Dear Heather was there by this time, helping me rub her back or belly through each contraction, tried to tell her that this urge was not nearly as strong after the 1st baby, but she wasn't listening. She adamantly insisted that someone had "tied her up", meaning put a curse on her to keep the baby from being born. We tried everything, but she just knew that she "wasn't going to born the baby without being cut" (having a C-section), and she was insisting that I bring her down in the boat. I said no, the baby was moving down just fine, but we were at the point where she had to help, she HAD to push, we were not leaving the island. God gave me the words of conviction, and I held her head in my hands, and I told her in no uncertain terms that I was going to help her open up, and she was going to push until the baby was out. There was no other choice, no other way. She finally said "ok, ok, I will try it your way." I was never so relieved in my life! So she stopped fighting her body and me, and pushed with all her might, and Heather coached her through each contraction, and I did my part – so God could bring that little bundle of joy into this world at 5:15am!!! He was a bit stressed from the wait to enter into it, but it didn't take long for him to pink up, cry lustily, and even open his little eyes to look about. As I had him over cleaning him up, Mommy burst into tears, reaching out to hug me and saying "I'm so sorry Miss Deirdre, you were right, I should have listened!" It's all good, what counts is they are both healthy, he at 7.75#, she at home just 2 ¼ hours after birthing him. I love my life!
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