Birth stories

Midwife + Nursing Baby = Crazy Stories!
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Midwife + Nursing Baby = Crazy Stories!

For a little change of pace, I thought it’d be fun to recount some of the craziness that took place in my life over this past summer. With my third-born arriving in February, I took a break from delivering babies while we adjusted and recovered. As the summer came closer, and the due dates of those fist mamas approached, I’ll admit that I had some misgivings. For starters, it wasn’t like I was getting vast amounts of sleep. 🙂 Then, you add my dear, intense, unpredictable baby to the mix. The plan had been to bring the baby along, and make sure I had an assistant along to help out, should my baby need help while I was unavailable. I had these lovely visions of those “crunchy” midwives that you see doing everything toting their happy baby around on their back…but that’s not reality in my case!

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my baby girl when these stories start…

My babies have all been of the “high needs” class, and baby #3 has been no exception. But that adds another dimension to the situation when you’re talking of bringing an extra little person along to something as unpredictable and intense as a birth! Thankfully, I was blessed with very understanding clients, and they were all duly warned beforehand that if I was hired, so was my baby…but I also promised to do my best to keep distractions to a minimum. So here are some tales from this past summer as I toted my little companion with me at all hours of the day and night!

As it turned out, I didn’t have alot of time to stress over how it was all going to work out, as my first mama went early. When I took the early morning call, I had to think that the timing was beautiful, as I had JUST finished feeding Talitha, and had just gone back to bed. (On another note, it also happened that my sister was staying the weekend, so Joel didn’t even have to babysit the other children!) This meant she was ready to be buckled into the van, where she promptly fell asleep-and she slept long enough for me to arrive at the house, unload, set things up and have my babysitter/assistant arrive to help me out. And it just happened to be my dear friend/helper who can now say she’s cared for ALL of my babies at births over the years. Beth did a great job of playing with Talitha, taking her outside for a walk when she was fussy, and acting as my second set of hands at the same time.

Beth entertaining Talitha

Beth entertaining Talitha

It felt like an answer to prayer, then, when my baby slept in the new  baby’s nursery during the birth itself, and for the hour after. She even sat in her Bumbo while we finished cleaning up! With the exception of crying while the mama was in transition (this was when Beth took her for a walk!), she did really well. This made me figure that maybe this whole thing of bringing a baby along wouldn’t be so challenging after all…

Until the next birth! It was that evening that I realized that my baby girl does not appreciate Chipotle’s spicy chicken. I already knew that dairy products caused her stomach to protest, so I had forgone any cheese and sr. cream on my burrito the night before. But the chicken must have been too much. This time, a good friend from my church was along to help babysit, and provide any additional help we might need at the birth. All was well when we arrived, but as the evening wore on, Talitha protested everything…nursing…sleep, you name it. Lynelle ended up walking her up and down the road, and finally baby calmed down and went to sleep. But once she was down, she awoke for her usual night feeding, and blissfully slept through the birth and ensuing clean up. The biggest challenge, then, was getting home when it was her usual time to get up, and now mama wanted to sleep!

Fast forward several busy weeks…by this point, I had two mamas that could technically go anytime. And then at the last minute, I ended up taking over care for another friend, as her midwife had a planned trip out of town (planned well in advance-the hope was that this baby would arrive before she left!), and her baby had decided to take her own sweet time to arrive. Wouldn’t you know, the day this baby decided to come, all of my back-up helpers were either out of town or busy…and my own family was in the middle of helping to host a youth group of 20 from OH, as well as prepare for a big open house that the ministry my husband works for was hosting that evening. Timing can be amazing sometimes! 🙂 It’s also amazing, though, how God can work out all the details…a friend helped

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Amy & Talitha

with my older children so my husband could finish his projects for the day, and one of the youth group girls graciously consented to being pulled into a totally unexpected job. Amy ended up not only caring for my baby, but also caring for the laboring mama’s older toddler, as well. The baby came in the middle of the afternoon, once again finding Talitha sleeping during the birth, and we made it back to the open house that evening just as they were ready to ask the blessing on the meal.

I had a couple of weeks to wait, then, as the next babies weren’t in any hurry to come. In fact, I had pretty much given up on being at either of them, as we had planned to be out of town for a weekend (again, this was planned before these mamas started care), and with both of the babies still inside, I figured the chances were slim that they would both wait on my return. But when we returned home from our little trip, both babies were still waiting! The amazing thing was that they also waited until after the following afternoon, when our church was having an ordination that my husband was part of…I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if I had received a call during that time! That evening, after a big, busy day in which Talitha missed a good nap, I got a call-and we decided that this time I should leave her home sleeping (she had just gone down), and hope that either I would be home by the time she got up, or else we’d figure out a plan B. I went on out, and after awhile realized I wasn’t going to be home to feed her, so my babysitter went by my home and brought Talitha to me, around 2am! She looked rather puzzled when she arrived, but after taking everything in, she nursed and went down for a good nap, waking once and needing some attention.

waiting patiently for mommy to finish paperwork

waiting patiently for mommy to finish paperwork

We went on to have a baby, and soon after I got another call-this time from the other mama. Things were happening fast, so after checking things over again, I left my newly-delivered mama in the hands of my assistant Gretchen, pulled Talitha out of bed and tucked her into her carseat, and raced across town. By the time I reached this home, I knew things were moving quickly, and since Talitha was sleeping, she just stayed in her carseat while I went in and joined my assistant (Lynelle) for the birth, which took place within half an hour of my arrival! Once Talitha awoke (about an hour later!), Lynelle brought her in and she was happy as a lark, and she did well the rest of the morning as we returned to the first mama and completed another appointment before we got home.

But the next birth was not so rosy from Talitha’s perspective…I had hoped that if things happened in the night, I could just let her sleep. My usual babysitter was unavailable, and after calling around, I found a friend who was willing to help out, and she brought Talitha to me when it was time for her to eat. Teething was in full force, and my little girlie was not a happy camper. I honestly don’t know what I would have done with out Heidi, who patiently walked her around the neighborhood until she went to sleep…

The last two births of the summer took place about a week apart, and both ended up being similar stories…both took place at some time during the night, both places Talitha protested being put to bed (I have a travel pack n play that would always take with me), and both times once she finished protesting, she went to sleep and was fine.

Sleeping peacefully in her bed

Sleeping peacefully in her bed

So thus ended the adventures of Talitha joining mommy at births!
As a general rule, I only take on 2 clients per month, as I find more than that very stretching…partly due to demands on family time, partly to the difficulty in sleeping after a birth when you have little ones at home, and partly because I want to enjoy being a mom besides being a midwife. 🙂 So doing 8 births in 3 months time was a record since I’ve been combining midwifery with family life. My husband and I marvel as we look over the summer…there were so many other things going on, besides these births, and yet we’re amazed at the way God directed and orchestrated these events. There is a dear older midwife around here that tells me God always sIMG_0031eems to work things out in a perfect way…if I could just learn that from the get-go, it would eliminate alot of stress in my life! But this is a little picture of how things came together this summer, from just one perspective-that of having a nursing baby. Now that my baby is getting older, it will hardly happen anymore. On one hand, it looks much easier to not have that additional unpredictable factor included at births-and on the other hand, I’m going to miss my little buddy!
Random Life Happenings…
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Random Life Happenings…

Well, my hopes to keep up with blogging a post at least once a month fell to the wayside this summer! My big plans and ideas came to a rather screeching halt when we found out that we have another little one on the way…soon after that discovery I was sick enough with morning sickness that I found it hard to keep anything up besides the bare minimum! I’m very grateful to be past the 1st trimester by now, and we’re anticipating our new arrival to make his/her appearance come early March. This news does, of course, have ramifications for midwifery-at this point I am taking clients until the beginning of February, and will then take time off until May. For updates on my client schedule for the next months, feel free to check out the “current availability” tab.

We had a fun family trip out to KS for my sister’s wedding at the beginning of July. All of my immediate family (along with much of my extended family) lives in the central KS area, so it was good to reconnect with family and friends again. Making memories by taking horseback rides, going fishing, eating donuts with Grandpa, visiting the zoo, and in general being spoiled by all the grandparents, uncles and aunties made for a lovely time as far as the children were concerned! 🙂

Family Photo at Aunt Charis' wedding

Family Photo at Aunt Charis’ wedding

Two baby girls made their appearance in June, with both of them ending in lovely births. It’s always a special privilege to be involved when a baby makes it’s arrival…those first moments of a family being together for the first time, savoring the new baby looks, smells and cuddles are all so amazing and unique to each individual, and it makes me so grateful to be able to be a part of it!

Little baby K, and my sweet assistant Beth, who also helped me with the delivery of baby K's big sister!

Little baby K, and my sweet assistant Beth, who also helped me with the delivery of baby K’s big sister!

My little guy delighted to hold baby C. when she came for a visit!

My little guy delighted to hold baby C. when she came for a visit!

Another new development that has occurred recently is taking on a new student here at Gentle Delivery Childbirth Services.  At some point in the near future, I’d love to tell you more about Emily, but I’ll just give you a little teaser for now. 🙂 Those of you who are current clients will likely be meeting her in some of your upcoming visits, and from the interaction we’ve had so far, I think you’ll thoroughly enjoy her and her passion for serving mamas and babies in this special time of life. Emily is just getting started in her training, and I’m excited about having a steady assistant to help me out with visits and births during the months ahead!

September brought with it two little fellows, who both interestingly enough, decided to make their arrivals on Saturday nights! They both seem to be thriving, and if they continue at the present rate, won’t be little fellows for long! For both of these births, I had the assistance of Gretchen D, a midwife/assistant who lives nearby.

Baby R with Gretchen and myself

Baby R with Gretchen and myself

and here with baby L!

and here with baby L!

Hopefully it won’t be quite so long until next time…but there’s a little peek into my life the past while…and here’s a peek into what is to come, as birth kits are prepared for the upcoming fall babies!

Birth kits ready to be delivered to families at their home visits!

Birth kits ready to be delivered to families at their home visits!

Have a lovely fall, and thanks for your continued interest in the work here. If you haven’t already done so, feel free to take a peek at our facebook page: facebook.com/gentledelivery. And keep posted on the blog for new pages coming soon!

Another Birth Story!
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Another Birth Story!

We recently celebrated our daughter’s birthday, and I thought maybe you all would enjoy reading the story of her birth…this was written almost 2 years ago….just before the birth of our second:

Ever since my daughter was born, I’ve wanted to write down her birth story, both for myself and for her to read someday. Now that “little brother” will be making his appearance any time, I figured I really should get her story written before having another birth to get it mixed up with. So here goes….

Our baby was due June 26, which meant that I really wasn’t expecting to have a baby until the end of June, or maybe even the beginning of July. After seeing many first-time mama’s get so disappointed over not hitting their “due date”, and proceeding to go at least a week overdue, I was determined that I wouldn’t set such expectations.  This was one area where I really didn’t have an expectation…the week before she came, I was busily painting several rooms in our house (“nesting instinct” for sure!), and then Joel’s family hosted a surprise baby shower for us on June 18. While the shower really was a surprise, he had talked with me about dates for something, and I assured him that I would still be doing quite fine by Father’s Day weekend, with probably another couple of weeks to go yet. Shows you how much I knew, after all! During the last 6-7 weeks of my pregnancy, I had continued to get very swollen, and my blood pressure was creeping higher, so I wonder in retrospect if my body just realized that it was time to get the baby out.

I still vividly remember getting up Sunday morning and noticing some bloody show, and signs that my water had possibly broken. I wasn’t totally sure (and wouldn’t you know, that was the one weekend that another midwife was using my kit, so I didn’t even have the test strips to check it out!), but I started crying as I told Joel about it, which made me wonder if maybe I really was going to start labor soon. Since my mother had several labors where she experienced prolonged rupture of membranes, once again I didn’t want to count on anything happening very quickly. I figured it could be a good while yet before we saw any “action”, so I still got ready for church…I didn’t really want anyone asking any questions, and since our home is right off the road, I knew that EVERYONE would know that there was the possibility of something going on if I wasn’t at church and yet our vehicle was in the drive.  During the service I was a bit uncomfortable, experiencing some cramps and things, but still nothing regular. After church I had a humorous conversation with two moms about how I shouldn’t get my hopes up in going anytime soon…and inwardly I was smiling as I figured I probably only had days or hours left, and not weeks!

With it being Father’s Day, we had planned to eat lunch with his family down the road (they only live a mile from us, so it wasn’t far). Joel wondered if I still wanted to go, and once again I wanted to show up just to keep people from knowing what was going on. I still felt pretty good, though I could tell that the cramps were getting stronger, and I was beginning to lose a bit more fluid. Everything went fine until right at the end of lunch, when all of a sudden I just wanted to be home…and I was afraid that the pad I was wearing might not be catching all of the fluid! Joel caught the message that I wanted to go, so he made some remark about the pregnant mama needing a nap, and whisked me out…with my swollen feet and hands, no one objected to my not helping with dishes, or wondered anything about us leaving so quickly!

We came home and laid down, and right around 3 or 3:30pm, I experienced my first REAL contraction. Not one of those low-crampy kind of aches, but the actual thing. It woke me right up, and after that my adrenaline kept me from sleeping anymore. However, things still picked up slowly, with the contractions only coming every 10-15 minutes or so, and were fairly easy to relax through. At this point, we called our folks to let them know that it looked like I really was in labor, which of course made them all excited. I still was figuring on hours and hours yet to go, so I took care of some things around the house, and Joel had a friend over for an early supper (they sat out on the porch to talk). At about 6:30, the contractions got more intense, and started coming more frequently. Joel thought it would be a good idea to call the midwives and let them know, especially since one was coming up from Lancaster and had a two hour trip ahead of her. I told him that I was fine with letting them know what was going on, but that I probably had another 24 hours at least to go, so there wasn’t any hurry. He didn’t agree with me, which was a good thing!

By 8:00, we went ahead and had Rose come over, as Joel thought I should have someone here. He also called Debby and told her that he thought she should go ahead and come…and meanwhile the contractions were about 5 minutes apart, lasting around a minute. I changed into more comfortable clothing, and tried to get comfortable, though I wasn’t finding it easy. I finally got in the shower, which gave some relief. Rose wondered if I wanted to be checked, but I didn’t-I was afraid at this point that I was probably only at 2-3cm, and wasn’t sure I could handle that news with how intense the contractions were.  Joel started filling up the tub, as I always thought that I would like to labor in water…though our tub faucet wasn’t working well, and it took an hour to fill up! By 9:55, Rose suggested that she check me, and Joel encouraged me to…and I was a stretchy 6-7. That was encouraging, though the contractions by now were coming so close and so hard that I was finding it difficult to stay on top of them. The most comfortable thing I could do was sit on the birth ball, lean my head on the bed, and squeeze onto Joel’s hand…and there was NO way I could think about making the effort to get into the tub at this point!

That next hour was intense, with the contractions coming every 2-4 minutes, and lasting a good long time, and I was beginning to wonder how I could ever get through a whole night of this. I still remember thinking “they always say that when you think you can’t do it anymore, you’re almost through”, but then dismissing the thought as wishful thinking.  By this time, we were beginning to wonder where Debby was…Rose called her, and found out that she also figured she had a good amount of time to get there with this being my first baby and all, and she hadn’t left right away. I couldn’t blame her, as I would have done the exact same thing! Rose told her she should hurry…it was 10:40pm by that time, and I was close to 9cm. That surprised all of us! Just before 11:00, I started feeling pushy, and Rose said I was complete. Right about that time Debby walked in, so I felt like I could relax to begin pushing.

By this time I moved to the bed in a semi-sitting position, as it seemed to be the most comfortable for pushing. The pushing part was not at all what I was expecting…I guess I had heard enough moms say that they enjoyed that part of it as it felt like they were doing something, but I felt like I wasn’t making any progress, and there was a constant sharp pain near my pubic bone. It took only 35 minutes of pushing, and she was born with a nuchal hand…which I think attributed to the pain during pushing AND to the tear coming out!

Having that squalling little baby put on my chest was amazing…I kept looking down at her and thinking, “she’s mine to keep!”. Although we hadn’t had a sonogram during the pregnancy, Joel and I both felt like the baby was going to be a girl, so it almost felt like it was no surprise to see our little daughter. She pinked up and cried right away-just about as perfect as it can get. I was in for another surprise, though…I felt so sore that I could hardly move afterwards! The placenta came about 10 minutes after her birth, and I was so relieved to have everything all over, and thankful for how well everything had gone. Postpartum continued without incident, though it almost made me laugh to think of how difficult it was to get out of bed just to go to the bathroom, and how incredibly sore and tender everything was-and this was a small baby! I decided then that I did not believe the nonsense that is talked about in regards to a mom not needing pain relief if she is sutured right after birth, as she is still numb and on a high from the birth…that certainly was not the case! 

Rose was ready to go within two hours after the birth, and since Debby had been up the night before at a birth, she stayed the rest of the night to catch some sleep before heading back. We were so grateful for how the Lord took care of every detail, and gave us a wonderful first birth experience, and a beautiful, precious daughter!

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our little princess!

Matthias’ Birth Story
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Matthias’ Birth Story

With this being the start of a new year, I’m attempting a new start at keeping this blog more up-to-date. My hopes are to at least post once a month, so we’ll begin with this, and see if I can keep it up! Blessings to each of you in 2014!

Having just celebrated Matthias’ first birthday, I thought you all might enjoy hearing a few of the details surrounding his birth…

They say that being a midwife to a midwife can be a challenge, and I’m afraid I’ve proved that to be true once again. My second pregnancy, while easier during the first half of the pregnancy, was definitely more uncomfortable during the last several months. My friend/neighbor was expecting as well, and since we were due the same day, we joked about who was going to have hers first. In hindsight, I don’t think I was really joking-I thought I should be the first one, as I was certainly bigger and seemed to be more uncomfortable!

However, wouldn’t you know, but 2 weeks before our EDD, my friend calls me at 4am wondering if I’m having my baby, as she thinks hers is on it’s way. At the beginning of her pregnancy (before I knew I was pregnant myself!), she had asked if I would deliver hers, but with our due dates being so close, it was pretty much impossible to commit to it, which was disappointing for me, as births have been pretty few and far between since moving to PA. Once she found out I wasn’t in labor, she said she’d call if things progressed before her midwives arrived (they had 45 min. to drive), and sure enough, things progressed rapidly, and I was soon on my way up the hill and had the sweet privilege of delivering a little boy about 10 min. before the midwives arrived. It really was humorous, me, who was so big and cumbersome I hadn’t cleaned my own tubs in weeks, was leaning over a large tub delivering a baby without any thought at all!

Baby E - here about 1 hour old!

Baby E – here about 1 hour old!


I remember reading somewhere when I was initially beginning my midwifery training about there being strong hormones present at a birth, and how these sometimes made other pregnant women have their babies when they were exposed to a birth environment, so it wasn’t very hard to wish that I would have my own baby yet that day. However, it certainly didn’t work that way, and I began what turned into a very long week. With my first baby, I had no “false labor”, and everything was very straight forward. This time around, I had night after night of timeable contractions, little sleep, and an active toddler to care for during the day. Then Thanksgiving vacation arrived, and Joel was home from school for 4 days-and that would be a PERFECT time to have a baby. But that didn’t work either! By the end of the week I was a basket-case…exhausted, ready to be done, my blood pressure was going up and making me feel sick, and I was ready to do anything to get this baby out. My midwife suggested that I try to get some sleep, and wait to do anything until I was rested…which sounds like something I would have told someone else…but wouldn’t hardly hear myself.

Sunday morning I again had timeable contractions. Strong enough to be uncomfortable, but I wasn’t going to dare miss church, lest all the ladies wonder if I was home in labor, only to show up pregnant again next week. We had a Thanksgiving get-together with Joel’s family, and by the afternoon all my possible labor signs had died down. I hiked up our mountain trail TWICE (really desperate!), and gradually got grouchier as the day wore on (hormones kicking in, in retrospect). By afternoon we had decided to give castor oil a try, so I started chugging, and consumed more than I will recommend to anyone to take again. However, by the end of four hours of hoping something would kick in, it felt like nothing was happening. I cried again…and talked to my midwife …she lived 2 hours away and thought she should go ahead and come “just in case”, but I was just as adamant that there was no reason she should drive all that way only to turn around and go home again.

At 9:30pm I checked to find that was a good 4cm dilated-not much more than a few days before. So I let my midwife know that nothing was going on, and I was giving up and going to bed. Joel and I had a few minutes to talk, and then I had a contraction around 9:45pm. We thought, maybe things are actually going to start…and a few minutes later they did…this time I had a massive contraction, followed quickly by another and my water broke. Joel jumped up and said he’d better make sure Debby was on the way. She assured him that despite my wishes that she would wait, she was already on the road. By the time he came back to our room, contractions were coming so strong and so fast that I thought I was going to go crazy. At that point I asked him if we should go ahead and tell Rose to come (she was a midwife friend of ours who lived close by and was home in our area for Thanksgiving break-we had been hoping she could be there for our birth). He gently told me that I had contractions like this for a long time with Yoanna, so there really wasn’t any rush. To this I replied that if I had to go a long time like this I would just die, and I meant it.

Because he was teaching school, Joel needed to have a sub to take his spot the next morning since it looked like he wouldn’t be going in himself. So he quickly got on the phone to line one up-he had made some tentative plans but needed to make sure they were confirmed. It felt like he was on the phone forever…the contractions were incredible, and I didn’t even have time to move between them…every time I even breathed another one would start, and I never even got up off the end of the bed. By about 10:05, I started calling for Joel…not too loudly, as we wanted Yoanna to stay sleeping…but I didn’t know how I was going to make it. When Joel realized how serious things were, he tried to call Rose…which took longer than it should have, as I had scribbled her number on a scrap paper, and couldn’t tell Joel where to find it! I still remember him finally getting ahold of her, and hearing him tell her that she’d better hurry, as he didn’t think she had 10 minutes to get here (and she only lives 1 mile away!).

Right about then I realized that unless Rose really hurried, no one else was going to be around. This baby was COMING! Thankfully, I had set up my birth kit earlier that day, and everything was ready. Joel had the bowl of immediate supplies handy, and stepped right up to the plate. It was kinda weird…one minute I couldn’t think of anything, and the next minute I’d think, “oh, I need to make sure I…” Guess that’s the strange side of coaching so many other people through their births! Joel did especially well at helping me to slow down and breathe, allowing Matthias to be born slowly…I felt like my body was just pushing him out without me making any decisions. At 10:20pm, Joel caught his son, and handed him to me, and we both looked at each other a bit awed. It was just over 25 min. from the first major contraction! Rose walked in about 2 minutes later, about as surprised as we were to see the baby had already come.

We quickly called Debby, and told her we were in good hands with Rose, so she turned around and went home…good thing, too, as she had a quick one the next morning that she would have missed if she had been at our place. Rose took care of all the remaining things, and Joel said he was really glad to have her walk in and finish the job. We were so grateful for a safe birth, but for the record, my husband says he isn’t going to plan on delivering the next one solo. And we found out why the last weeks were so uncomfortable…Matthias weighed in at 9 lbs., over 1 ½ lbs. larger than his sister!

About an hour after his rapid arrival!

About an hour after his rapid arrival!


Big sister meeting baby brother

Big sister meeting baby brother

Matthias around 1 week old

Matthias around 1 week old


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Photos from a home birth…

First, I have to mention that I am still excited about the special birth I had the honor of assisting with early yesterday morning. It was one of Heidi’s clients, and after much prayer and anticipation, we were thrilled to witness a lovely VBAC-it was a beautiful birth anyway, but the fact that it was her first vaginal birth following a c-section with her first pregnancy added an extra-special dimension. I barely made it, with only 20 minutes or so to spare!

Now, I’m excited to finally have pictures to post of a birth that occurred back in January. This mama had a photographer there, and has generously allowed me to use some of the photos in order to share her experience with others. Thanks, Kristina!

So, for those of you who enjoy pictures, or are just curious to know a little more about what a home birth looks like, here you go….

Mom was laboring in the tub as the birth was getting closer, with her support people and myself surrounding her

Doppler and other supplies sitting nearby

My dear assitant, Heidi, stands ready to lend a hand when needed, as an aunt peeks in to check on progress

Heidi charting progress as the labor continues

This mama worked beautifully with her contractions, allowing her body to relax and open

Baby Z in mom's arms just moments after birth

All snuggled up and meeting various family members

I begin the newborn exam, while Heidi charts in the background

Taking all his important measurements

Footprints

Heidi and I after everything is finished

Mom and baby enjoying some time together

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A jungle baby story

An aerial view of the little village of Santa Rosita, in the Petén region of Guatemala

An aerial view of the little village of Santa Rosita, in the Petén region of Guatemala

This week I have enjoyed the special treat of having a good friend, Ashley Beck, here visiting. We met in Guatemala in 2006, while students at the same Spanish school in Antigua. She has been working as a nurse in two different clinics since that time, and we have kept up here and there. This past April I had the opportunity to visit her in Guatemala, and now she is here in Kansas with me! That’s something we never thought would happen….her family is from PA, and there isn’t much to draw her to KS, but her brother found a good reason to come to this state-he’s getting married this Saturday to a girl who lives in the western part of the state. I’m grateful, as it’s been lots of fun to introduce Ashley to my family and life here.

When we met that winter of ’06, my brother and I had plans to study Spanish for almost two months, and then spend several weeks visiting various missionaries that we knew involved in work throughout Central America. While attending a two-week class on Medical Missions in NC, we met a sweet couple, Jeff and Crystal Yoder, who were planning to return to their work in Guatemala. They invited us to come and visit them while we were in the country, which was an invitation we eagerly accepted. Imagine our surprise, then, when we met Ashley the first week we were in language school, and found out she was returning to her post in the Petén area of the country, and was going to be working with Jeff and Crystal! That increased my anticipation of the visit, and after 5 weeks of language school, we headed up to Santa Rosita to see these dear people….

Santa Rosita is a very tiny village, located on a large river. It is just south of the Mexico border, and is close to a larger town called El Naranjo. I believe there are about 30 houses, and the mission clinic is a real asset, as the closest hospital is about 4 hours away.

Well, all this introduction to set the stage for the following story. With Ashley here, we were reminiscing about this particular birth, and I thought some of you readers may enjoy hearing the story. I’m going to copy the story as told by Jeff Yoder,  in one of his updates.  This takes place in February, 2006. Enjoy!

“Another major event of this month was the arrival of a new little baby.  One Sunday afternoon, a lady came and asked Ashley (our nurse) if she’d go upriver and check out a lady who thought she was going into labor.  We prayed about it, debating whether we should get involved.  Ashley has really wanted to start doing midwifery, has observed a number of births, and helped sometimes, but wasn’t sure if this was the time to start as a midwife.  We decided to go, and piled into our boat and headed up.  It wasn’t very far up at all, just below the rapids.  Kelsey has helped with a number of births, so she went along as Ashley’s support.  It turned out that she wasn’t really in labor yet, so Ashley left it that they would call another midwife in when she went into labor, and also would call Ashley, so she could observe.

“That evening, right after supper, a fellow showed up outside our door.  Here it was Arturo, the husband of the expectant mother!  He said his wife was in labor, and they decided to stay in Santa Rosita and use the elderly midwife here.  So Ashley and Kelsey went to the midwife’s house to watch.

“Around 10:30, the girls came back to our place for a few minutes before returning.  The labor was proceeding only slowly, so the birth didn’t seem imminent.  The mother was in a tin-roofed board hut with a dirt floor.  The walls were papered with old newspaper and the cockroaches ran up and down, on top of and behind the newspapers.  In the corner the hen and chicks peeped to each other.
“As the night passed on, the girls ended up piling onto a bed with the others waiting for the birth and sleeping for a while.  Around 2:30, they woke up again, and things were moving along faster.  Just about the time they started to see the top of the baby‘s head, a commotion broke out in an adjoining room.  The hen started cackling and flapping around, chicks peeping.  “Oh, that rat!” said the midwife.  She scurried off into the other room, grabbed the machete, and started running around whacking at the rat.  Pans clattered, hitting the floor, and the rest of the people called out encouragement, “He’s over there!”  Ashley and Kelsey decided that they might have to deliver the baby themselves.  But the midwife returned, a bit sheepish, and delivered the baby around 3:20.  He’s a healthy little boy, and probably weighed around 7 lbs at birth, though they didn’t weigh him until a day later.  (On the story of the rat, the chicks will be the midwifes source of meat, so the rat was going to affect her livelihood.)  Needless to say, the girls were elated after their night.
“The family was so appreciative that they made Ashley take Q50 (about $7 US) and gave her a half-grown rooster.  (Ashley shared the rooster with us the other evening in a caldo (soup) of some sort — quite tasty.)”

It was one of the most memorable births I have attended….actually, one of the least complicated, just the most interesting environment!

myself and Ashley with the baby, the day after his birth

myself and Ashley with the baby, the day after his birth

by

A story of God’s hand at work….

With the change of month into September, I was thinking about past years and where I was at this time.  One memory that stood out to me happened a year ago this month….

As a student at Family Birth Services in Dallas, TX, I had the special priviledge of working with many families who gave me the opportunity to practice and improve my midwifery skills. One such family had a sweet daughter just a couple of months after I arrived at FBS, and a year later they were anticipating the arrival of another baby. With the second pregnancy, they chose me to be their midwife, which was made extra special because of assisting with the previous birth.

Early on in the pregnancy, during one of the prenatal visits, we found that the baby’s heart rate was much lower than what it was supposed to be. Being concerned, we immediately went for a sonogram, and the prognosis did not look good. Knowing there was not much we could do, the decision was made to wait and see what happened, and in the mean time this family took their situation to their church and family for prayer.

To make a long story short, after several weeks of monitoring the baby’s condition, things slowly improved, and by the time it came close for this little one’s delivery, the sonographer could not find anything wrong! What an answer to prayer! In the back of our minds, however, there was still a question of whether or not the baby would be normal, due to the amount of time that had lapsed with the decreased HR.

After a very quick birth, which we midwives flew to get to, a precious little girl was born.  Her color was great from the beginning, and she appeared perfect during the newborn exam. Today she is still healthy and beautiful, and a testimony of how God answers prayer and heals….

When I went for the two day home visit, big sister was excited about showing off the baby!

When I went for the two day home visit, big sister was excited about showing off the baby!