November 30, 2021 by gentlemidwife

Birth Story of our Christmas-time Baby

As we enter into the Christmas season again, I have to think about the year we were anticipating our own Christmas baby, and what a delightful time of year it was to cozy up inside with a newborn! Our little Tirzah had quite the dramatic entrance into the world, and it almost makes me laugh every time I recount it…

By the time I was expecting my fifth baby, I knew to expect lots of contractions and discomfort, and this pregnancy was no exception. Thankfully my blood pressure was staying within normal limits, and everything else was proceeding smoothly. But after several nights with contractions and signs that labor could be imminent, I was getting TIRED. Once you loose that much sleep and feel heavy and uncomfortable all the time, you start to wonder how on earth you are going to make it through labor yet! One night I was pretty sure it was the “real deal”, after being up for hours with regular contractions, only to find everything stopped once the birth team was here and the pool was filled! Funny that it took the fifth child to experience that “false run”, but after not calling the midwife soon enough last time, we were trying to not repeat that scenario—only to send everyone home after a couple of hours!

My previous baby had come after an extremely intense labor, and I was trying hard to not allow fear to overcome my anticipation of this birth. Lynelle, my good friend and birth assistant, had told me that I really should try the birth pool this time around, and even offered to take care of all the set up and prep to make that happen. So we had set up the pool in the office, and had everything ready to go, and I was really hopeful that it would make a difference in the intensity, especially at the end.

Everything set up and ready go for round #1!

Fast forward a couple of days: after getting a good night’s sleep, I woke up on Saturday feeling like this baby needed to be encouraged to come. I’ve taken Castor Oil before, but every time I thought about that option it made me want to puke. So I figured there had to be an alternative: enter the Midwives Brew! I had read about this recipe (used often by European Midwives), but had always figured that the small amount of castor oil combined with the other strange ingredients wouldn’t actually be effective. But by this point I was willing to at least TRY it and see! My husband was on board (he was ready to see me up at night nursing a baby instead of up at night with contractions!), but I warned him that I really didn’t think it would work.

Mid-morning, I took my youngest for a little “mommy date”, and we headed to Wegman’s for a few groceries and the ingredients for the brew (see this post to find out what those are!). I had fun picking out a few things that I thought would sound good to eat or drink IF I was in labor later on, and we had a pleasant little outing. Once I returned home it was about lunch time, so while Joel fixed lunch, I blended up the brew, and sipped it down before eating a little lunch. While not the best flavor I’ve ever tasted, it wasn’t nearly as bad as downing large amounts of castor oil in juice!! My stomach felt a little funny, but eating some food and then chewing some gum seemed to settle things.

This was the weekend that one of our little local Victorian towns always holds an event called “A Victorian Christmas”. That event combined with the opening of an exhibit of an Underground Railroad station in one of the museums there had made me want to take the children out for awhile if we were still waiting on a baby over that time. Since Joel had a Bible Study planned at our house for the afternoon, it felt like a great opportunity to take out the older children for some educational distraction and let me get a chance to think about something other than baby waiting! Since all I had been experiencing for two hours was some minor stomach discomfort, I decided to head out around 2:30pm, despite my husband’s slight misgivings. Laughingly I joked with him that if I called him he’d better answer the phone, as it might mean I needed him to come pick me up!

Bellefonte is about 10 min from our house, and we parked and went through the historical museum, only to find out that it did not contain the Underground Railroad Exhibit like I had thought. The curator pointed us up the road about half a block to the right museum, and the children and I headed that direction. Right as we hit the steps (around 3:30pm), I felt a slight “pop” and had a thought that perhaps my water had broken. But I wasn’t sure, and decided since we were RIGHT THERE we might as well go in. I felt a bit of dismay when the museum volunteer cheerily told us that the exhibit was on the top floor…UP THREE FLIGHTS OF STAIRS!! We started up the stairs when I felt my first real contraction, and I immediately thought that we’d better not stay long. The children were oblivious, of course, and thoroughly enjoyed exploring, while I tried to act like nothing was amiss as the contractions quickly started getting stronger and harder. I hurried them through the exhibit and back down the stairs, stopping briefly in the bathroom where I confirmed that indeed my water had broken. As we headed outside, my children excitedly discussed the next place we would go…and I seriously informed them that we needed to get home NOW. They looked at me puzzled, and I told them I thought baby sister was going to be coming, to which my 6 year old son replied “how do you know? Your water hasn’t broken yet, has it?”. That made me laugh in spite of the situation, and when I told him it HAD, they all got really serious!

The half-block walk back to the car seemed to take forever, as the contractions were definitely picking up in speed and intensity. Once we pulled out and started on the road, I called Joel. The first time he didn’t answer, but then when the phone rang the second time he figured he’d better pick up! I told him that labor had begun, and to please have all the Bible study men out of the house by the time I got home and figure out where the boys were supposed to go…and to pray I could drive home safely! Next I called my friend Lynelle, as I knew that she would need to get a babysitter for her children, and I really wanted her free to get the pool started if things continued. Once I was finished with this phone call I knew I couldn’t make any more calls and drive, as things were just too intense. It was all I could do to stay focused on driving! I kept praying a policeman wouldn’t pull me over, as I had no bandwidth to explain why I was headed home instead of to the hospital!

I reached home, and our friend Daniel had his van running so he could pull out with the boys as soon as I arrived with Matthias. I pulled in the garage around 4:20, and had a massive contraction that made me unable to even get out of the vehicle. I heard Joel on the phone—he had called our midwife to see if I had called her yet (I hadn’t!! She was next, but I couldn’t make another call after I talked with Lynelle!), and she said she’d be on her way. I still remember running inside to the bathroom, trying to focus on relaxing, and coming to grips with the fact that at this rate I would not be having a water birth, then Joel calling through the door “the pool is warm and half way filled if you want to get in!!” He had so sweetly started filling the pool, turning on the music, and getting things ready the minute I called home! I told him he’d better call Lynelle and Priscilla (our friend who was going to come help with our girls and take pictures), and they’d better hurry, and I still remember the relief of settling into the warm pool.

Just a minute or so old! Pink all over except for her slightly bruised face which was caused by her speedy birth!

Once I got in the water, the intensity and closeness of the contractions subsided, and I had a chance in between to catch up Joel on all that had transpired. Lynelle and Priscilla don’t live far, and arrived within a few minutes, and I still remember us all laughing in between contractions as the craziness of how fast things were happening! It wasn’t long before I felt the pressure of Tirzah’s head descending, and Lynelle was ready to help in anyway she could. Priscilla called our girls in, and they all clustered around the pool, quiet with excitement and anticipation. This time around I didn’t want anyone to touch me (other than squeezing Joel’s hand!), and I have never experienced the awareness during pushing as I did with this birth. It was an incredible experience to actually breathe her out and catch her myself—something I don’t think I could have done without the help of the water! I pulled her up to my chest, she cried right away, and we settled back in the warm water, both amazed at all that had happened. It was 4:42pm, only 20 minutes after I had arrived home!!

My girls were so delighted to help welcome their little sister, and their eyes shown as they stroked her head, and I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to sit back and relax and catch my breath. Being in the warm water seemed to decrease my usual after-birth shakes, and we had a long chance to connect and rest. Rose Marie arrived about 20 min later, and since I hadn’t delivered the placenta yet, daddy and the girls took baby sister to the other room while I transitioned to the birth stool where the placenta came easily. I was feeling good enough (and minimal blood loss!) that I showered quickly, and then cozied up on the couch while our midwife and friends did all the baby checks, and Joel popped a pizza into the oven. Eventually Priscilla went to bring the boys home to meet their sister, and we had a lovely evening rejoicing in our new gift. I had never had a daytime baby, and I couldn’t believe how good I felt and how I was hardly even tired! After everyone had some supper and everything was cleaned up and taken care of, I took our new baby upstairs, and we cuddled up together for the night-so thankful for the amazing experience, and still in a bit of unbelief!

July 5, 2019 by gentlemidwife

“The First Birth”: A Story from 18 Years Ago

Not the baby featured in this story, but another baby born early on in my training!

From the time I was young (8 years old or so!), I had an interest in midwifery. I’m sure it stemmed from the fact that my mother used midwives for her pregnancies and the births of my five younger siblings, which gave me exposure to this “alternative” type of care. This was back in the day when having babies at home was NOT the popular, photographed and blogged about way to have your baby as it has become today! The midwives that cared for my mother seemed like an extension of our family, and as a young girl growing up, they were certainly some of my heroes that I wanted to become like when I “grew up”.

I think I was about 14 when I seriously felt like midwifery was something I wanted to pursue. Still very young and extremely inexperienced…with no idea what all this profession entails! I had read lots of missionary biographies, and a common experience in most of them included helping in some way (either unexpectedly or because they were prepared!) in childbirth in various countries. So it seemed to my 14-yr-old mind that this was certainly a skill that would be good to know, and I pictured myself helping women in some far-off jungle or desert clinic someday. As I got older, I continued to feel a major pull towards midwifery that wouldn’t go away.

By the time I was 16, I was convinced this is what I needed to start pursuing. My parents wisely recommend that I begin by doing some reading, and they told me that they thought I should probably try to attend a few births before diving in head-first in a midwifery study program. Their reasoning was that perhaps this was just a passing whim, and why sink all sorts of time, energy and money into something only to find out that I would faint at the sight of blood, or have some other sort of aversion to what all comes with the birth territory. This is no joke. I personally know people who were SURE midwifery was what they wanted to do, but when they faced the nitty gritty, it didn’t take long to realize that it wasn’t their calling after all!

So, the next question was how on earth was I going to get any birth experience in, seeing as I was so young and inexperienced?!? I figured I would have to wait years for the opportunity, though I was reminded that if God wanted it to happen, He could figure out a way. That’s what makes my first birth experience so special-it was completely unexpected!

The summer that I was to turn 17 found me helping several families out on a weekly basis, going in to care for children, clean, cook, or do whatever was needed as a mother’s helper. One family was expecting their fourth child that summer, and they were excitedly planning their first homebirth in our state. Seeing as they had several young children, and that I had been spending a lot of time with them over a number of months, they asked if I would be on call to come and help babysit when the mom went into labor. This was the plan, with a backup plan being set where the children could go to a neighbor family’s home if the mom decided she could relax better without children in the house.

So one hot (Kansas is REALLY hot in July!) day, I got a call that the mom was in early labor, and that they would be glad if I could come care for the children so she could concentrate on resting and relaxing. I went over and made supper, took care of some household things, and entertained the children so mom and dad could focus together. An hour or so after supper, the mom decided that she would prefer the children leave the house, which left me thinking that I should probably go since my job was done. But the mom looked at me and said “I want the children to go, but you are to stay. I don’t want you going anywhere.” I sure wasn’t going to argue with that! She then went on to tell me that she wanted me to rub her back “just so” while her husband finished setting up the birth supplies and called the midwives, which I was more than happy to do. All of a sudden things kicked right in, and I vividly remember both parents bemoaning the fact that they hadn’t studied better on how to catch a baby if the midwife didn’t make it! I was blissfully ignorant, as I was only aware of my own mother’s very long labors, and figured we still had a very long night ahead of us. Little did I know!

I continued my “job” applying back counter-pressure as dad set up birth supplies, sweated nervously as he watched the signs of his wife progressing rapidly, read his childbirth class manual, and gave his wife emotional support. Thankfully, the midwives arrived just as mom started feeling more pressure, and all the last details were quickly set up and ready to go. About half an hour after the midwives arrived, a beautiful, howling, red little boy made his safe and smooth appearance, and I was in awe. I had no idea birth could be this beautiful, and I was so very, very grateful for the amazing opportunity. I was flying pretty high for days after this experience, and as you can imagine, I was totally convinced that this was what I wanted to do.

What is really hard to believe is that this baby will turn 18 this summer…I cannot believe that time has flown, and this many years have passed. After this first birth, I attended random births that I was invited to (word started getting around that I was interested, and some very sweet, very brave women invited me to share in their experiences, for which I will always be grateful!), and eventually began midwifery school when God opened the doors. It’s now been over 10 years since I graduated and started my own practice, and I continue to be thankful for those who initially helped me to start down this path by allowing me to be present at such personal, private life events. As I continue to reflect back on memories and celebrate 10 years of practice, I want to especially thank each of you moms and midwives who took this very young girl under their wing and gave her experiences that will last a lifetime!

I’m so privileged to be involved in this work of ushering life into the world!

April 27, 2019 by gentlemidwife

A Peek into a Local Home Birth!

I’m tickled to share these photos with you this month! While birth photography has gained in popularity in many of the large cities across the US, it’s not a very common thing in our area. So it’s pretty rare for one of my client families to hire a photographer to be present at their birth. Earlier this year, I was privileged to help Maria’s family for a second time as they welcomed their newest addition, and they graciously allowed me to post some of the photos from the birth here. One fun & unusual aspect of this birth is that my assistant for this birth and the photographer are both involved with the local doula agency that Maria administrates. Check out the Doulas of Central PA if you are looking for local birth & postpartum doula support! And if you’re looking for a birth photographer, check out Denae at Vigilante Photography

The twinkle lights added a festive atmosphere, and I love seeing how moms relax when they get into the water.

Kristina has been helping as my birth assistant in between her doula babies, and you can see her here jotting down notes on the labor & delivery chart.

First good look at each other!

Older siblings watch excitedly, all excited to see baby brother!

He’s here!

Traditional sling scale to weigh baby…look at big sister’s face of concentration!

Newborn exam…always done within sight of mom and any interested family members!

Checking out feet reflexes and creases!

Foot prints for the records!

Born at Home!

Midwife gets a little chance to snuggle baby before handing him back to mama.

Great birth team-thanks, ladies!!

April 1, 2017 by gentlemidwife

Is Homebirth the Right Option for Me?

As a midwife providing home birth services, I hear this question frequently. It is my goal to provide families with the information they need in order to make the right decision for them-home birth is not for everyone, just like hospital birth is not for everyone! Ultimately, the choice of where to give birth and which care provider to use is the responsibility of the parents seeking such services, and it’s my desire to assist you by providing accurate information that can assist you in making this decision.

Since this question is one of the foundations of whether or not to pursue working with a midwife and planning towards a home birth, I thought it might be helpful to provide links and resources that may help you in determining the answer to this question. As always, I am happy to sit down and talk with anyone who wants to ask specific questions and discuss their options in person, but I know that many of you would like to gather some more detailed information before a formal meeting. Thanks to the availability of information via the internet, great books, educational videos and more, there are many resources that you can access to learn about the potential risks and potential benefits of midwifery care, and specifically the home birth option.

FILMS & DOCUMENTARIES:

Why Not Home? The Surprising Birth Choices of Doctors and Nurses: This is THE current film on home birth and why some families make this choice…and this film in now available to watch online and/or be purchased for home viewing! From the description on the website: Why would doctors who attend birth in hospitals choose to have their own babies at home? What do they know about birth that others don’t? Join Jessicca Moore, filmmaker and nurse practitioner, on a compelling journey through maternity care in the United States. Told through the lens of doctors, nurses, and midwives, Why Not Home? examines the latest evidence on risks and rewards of different birth settings. The film presents a balanced and accessible view on the latest research, along with moving personal stories of medical practitioners faced with big decisions for their own growing families. Viewers are challenged to move beyond preconceived ideas, and to envision a fresh future for maternity care in America. Watch it here.

The Business of Being Born: This film has been out for a number of years now, but it still contains some great information on birth choices, interventions, birth locations and more. You can watch it free on youtube here.

Natural Born Babies: short video of several moms and dads describing what influenced them to make the choice to deliver at home. Watch here

ARTICLES:

Midwives Alliance of North America’s large, recent study of planned homebirths: study of planned homebirths.
Perspective on absolute risk for most low risk women.
Breakdown of Study results for both hospital and out-of-hospital births, especially focusing on quality and competency of care provider, written by birth researcher Henci Goer: available here.
Dispelling myths surrounding home birth.
A doctor explains why she chose home birth-she has other articles on her site that are worth reading, too! Choosing Home Birth
9 Reasons Why Some Women Choose Hombirth
Home Birth Safe for Low-Risk Women
Midwifery Care Making a Comeback in the USA

BOOKS:

Your Best Birth: Know All Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices, and Take Back the Birth Experience by Rikki Lake & Abby Epstien. An easy-to-read overview of options available to moms, this book covers all the possibilities (hospital, home, OB/GYN, midwifery care, etc.) and why different options may work best for different situations and individuals.
Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin. Ina May began her career as a midwife back in the hippie movement of the 1970’s. Since then she has delivered thousands of babies, and has done extensive research in the field of natural birth, and she shares her wisdom in this book. She highlights the need to make a choice of birth location in which the mom feels totally comfortable, be that home, birth center or hospital. Great information about routine procedures, tests, and how to have a healthy pregnancy and wonderful birth experience.
Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block. While not a very positive or light-reading style book, this one can really help you understand how medicalized maternity care has become in our country, and enables you to think through some of the routine policies and procedures that are in place in our countries hospitals. Very eye-opening and thought-provoking.

WHAT MIGHT IT LOOK LIKE?

And finally, some couples wonder about what a home birth might look like. What about “the mess”? How can it work at home, if we’ve only experienced the hospital setting? How do midwives adapt to different settings, positions and environments? How does the medical side of midwifery care happen in a home setting? These videos, pictures and personal stories can give you a glimpse of what home birth with a midwife looks like for some families:

Birth Story and Photos: Augustine William
Photos of a Homebirth in Philly: Baby Girl
Video of Homebirth and Newborn exam: Baby Natalie
Video of Homebirth with German Midwife: Baby Leah
Video and Photos of Home Waterbirth: View Here
Video of Home Waterbirth: Baby Lemma
Waterbirth (this midwife is a friend of mine!) born at home

I’d love to hear from you-what helped you to determine whether home, birth center or hospital was the right location for your birth? What resources would you recommend to help other families make their decisions? Feel free to comment below, or send me an email with your suggestions. I love hearing from my readers!

February 6, 2016 by gentlemidwife

The Peaceful Birth of Talitha ~ Part 2

Here is the promised second part to Talitha’s birth story. If you want the background leading up to where this story begins, click here.

By this point in the afternoon, the noise from downstairs was almost constant, as Chris was doing his best to finish the basement project up by evening. Lucy had called telling us that their ETA was around 8pm, and just ecstatic to hear there was a good possibility that she might get to be around to see her nieces’ birth (we had told her before that we would love for her to be there, but also told her not to get her hopes up, as there were still two weeks until the due date. I think she prayed pretty hard!). I think it was around 5 or 6 that I went ahead and took a dose of castor oil, hoping that it might help things move along in order to have a baby by morning. We were just getting ready to sit down for supper around 6:30, when Rose arrived at the door-she thought she’d just come hang out, and check in on us! During supper, she noted that I was having to breathe through contractions pretty consistently, to which I replied that “I can still talk through these so I’m trying not to notice them”. She just smiled. Chris ended up clearing out of the basement around 8pm (Joel finally told him he’d better just clear out-he hardly had time to finish the project after waiting so long to start in the morning!), giving us about 20 min. to sweep, dust, and start getting the bed ready, when Daniel & Lucy arrived at 8:15. Lucy assured me that she could make the bed. By now I was starting to notice the contractions, so I took Rose to see where baby things were, and we talked more about where we were planning to do the birth, etc. We opted to “camp out” on the main floor, as Daniel was going to be banished to the basement, and we were hoping the toddlers would sleep through the birth in their own beds upstairs. One huge blessing of home birth is the ability to be flexible with the birth location! (oh, and we became more flexible as the evening wore on…)

At 9pm, I felt that release of pressure and felt the trickle that made me think my water had broken…and sure enough, the next contraction confirmed that! Now THIS felt like the “real deal”, and I knew I didn’t have much time before needing a place relax free from distraction. I told Joel that it might be a good idea for the children to go to bed (they were still super excited about the arrival of their aunt and uncle), and he caught the drift, and hustled them off to bed. Daniel disappeared, and it didn’t take real long for our living room/fireplace room to be transformed into a birthing room! Joel had borrowed a large air mattress which he set up in front of the wood stove, and Rose & Lucy got all the supplies out and in good order. I found it most comfortable to sit on the ball, as it helped to be able to move and relax at the same time.

I had always dreamed about having lovely music playing while I labored, and during my pregnancy had been very blessed by the “Sleep Sound in Jesus” CD by Micheal Card. Joel so sweetly made sure to put it on, and I can still remember how special it was to meditate on some of those lovely songs between and during contractions. The mood of the room was so peaceful, with the lamps turned low, Rose & Lucy quietly chatting in the corner, Joel holding my hand (and not minding my squeezing him…during labor I DO NOT want to be touched, but I sure need his hand to squeeze!), and these sweet songs filling the air. The one in particular that stood out to both of us was “Even the Darkness is Light To Him”…the lyrics that kept repeating in my mind were “so you are safe as the light grows dim, even the darkness is light to Him…The Father above does not slumber or sleep, He wakefully watches our ways, then there’s no reason for you to weep…would not Jesus safely keep…?” Even though it was intense, it was also amazing to me to feel so at peace and at rest, after so many events, activities, responsibilities, etc. that had taken place those last weeks and months.

Time seems to stand still during labor, or at least you lose all ability to gauge time. I think I spent about 45 min. or so laboring on the ball, and feeling grateful that this time I had a chance between contractions to completely relax and prepare for the next one (so unlike my previous birth!), even though they were coming about every 2-3 minutes. Joel would encourage me, Lucy would ask questions about labor and birth, we’d all chat for a little bit, and then another one would hit. Although I have such peaceful memories, I’m also struck with the fact that I vividly remember thinking “this is the hardest work I have ever done in my LIFE…how on earth can women forget how hard it is to have a baby?!” So there is one perspective on the roller coaster of emotions in labor! Another thing, that when I’m not in labor I can laugh about, but the one piece of instruction that stands out the most to me from all my years of working with other midwives and childbirth educators, the thing I remember is “if your lips are loose then your cervix is too”. I can’t remember who said it, but it sure is practical! For some reason, that is a point I can focus on, trying to keep my face muscles loose, and thinking about how it means everything else is loose and open, too.

Sometime between 10:15-10:30, I all of a sudden wanted to go to the bathroom. Once again, you’d think I’d know, but when Rose asked if I thought it was time to push, I told her that surely things weren’t that far yet, and that I was positive this was just a result of the castor oil. She looked skeptical, but being the sweet midwife that she is, she just said to go ahead. As I moved to the bathroom, Joel left to get something in the kitchen. Once I sat down, I felt one massive contraction coming on, and immediately needed his hand. After several extremely intense back-to-back contractions, there was that massive feeling of pressure, and instant change in tone. At this point, Joel strongly encouraged me to move off the toilet…and I’ll admit that inside I was thinking that that was a totally crazy suggestion…lots of babies are born on the toilet…and how on earth can I move now?!? However, Rose had quietly brought in the birth stool, and when I saw it next to me it looked possible to move, which we did as soon as the next contraction was over. I can honestly say that I don’t find pushing enjoyable…it’s like the last sprint in a long race, and I wonder if I’m going to be able to do it…but within 2-3 contractions, our little Talitha entered this world at 10:46pm. Only 1 hr. and 46 min. after my water broke and active labor started-and the castor oil wasn’t even necessary! She seemed a bit stunned, and took a bit to pink up and really cry…I kept rubbing her over and pinching her toes and telling her to breathe…Rose commented that I sure couldn’t quit being a midwife, could I? Once she gave a good long cry I held her close, and was amazed-she was no little baby, and she had a lovely head of dark hair!

Less than an hour old here, I think!

The remainder of postpartum went well…I moved from the bathroom (seems like births have a habit of happening in the tight, small quarters of the house!) and snuggled into the temporary bed set up in front of the cozy woodstove (that night was one of the coldest we had that winter!), then Rose did the newborn exam. Even with all my determination to grow a smaller baby (her brother had been 9#), and all my attempts to eat a strict diet and exercise regularly, this baby girl weighed 8#15oz, and that at a good 2 weeks early! And no, my dates weren’t off! Big

Yoanna meeting her sister

sister Yoanna got to come down and kiss the baby, and her eyes full of awe were so sweet as she gazed on her little sister. After some food, and an absolutely lovely shower, I was packed off to my own bed upstairs. The ladies had the house looking normal again, Rose headed home (by now the snow had stopped, and the snow plows had gone through), and we enjoyed the pampering of Aunt Lucy for the next 4 days. Having her around to entertain the toddlers, cook meals, clean the house, and take care of all the little details was a tremendous blessing, and another gift from God.

Talitha Shalom means “Little Girl of Peace”, and it’s our prayer that she will embody this name as she grows, and that her life can be filled with God’s peace…just like the night of her birth was!

The children meeting baby the next morning

Three little ones to nurture!

Capturing her expressions

Dear Aunt Lucy and Uncle Daniel!

Less than 24 hours old!

Mama has her hands full!

Talitha with baby E-the one I caught just two days before my birth…this was their first time at church!

February 5, 2016 by gentlemidwife

The Peaceful Birth of Talitha ~ Part 1

Note to my readers: I kept thinking I’d get this story written long before now, but I finally finished it just before my baby turns one. How time flies! My apologies on the length…there were so many details that had to be shared to give the background, but if you aren’t interested in those, just wait for the actual “birth story” coming soon!

When I sit down to write out the story of Talitha’s birth, the subject that continually comes to mind is that God answered prayer. Seriously. The winter of 2015 was unlike any I have ever experienced to this date, full of stretching in areas physically, spiritually, and emotionally. In order to understand part of the picture of how so many things came together in order to make her birth the peaceful event that it was, bear with me as I give you some background to that cold February night…

My husband, Joel, has served with All-Nations Bible Translation for many years, and earlier in 2014 the decision had been made to build a training base in the State College area, just 2 miles or so from our home. It would take too long to recount the ways God opened doors for a location, permits, funds, etc, but suffice it to say that, as generally happens with construction projects, this one had taken much longer than expected before all the red tape was completed in order to begin building. Which translates into the “crunch” time beginning while I began my last trimester of pregnancy, even though it hadn’t initially been planned that way. While I was not helping with construction J, it was our responsibility to make sure the volunteers had coffee, snacks for break, lunch, and sometimes even a place to stay along with breakfast and supper. Joel had tried to get help in for this, but to make a long story short, nothing worked out-though he was able to get a number of churches and interested individuals to help with some of the food prep, in order to reduce my load. I will admit that these months were HARD. When I’m pregnant, I’m extra emotional, uncomfortable, unsocial, and ready to be DONE. To add hostessing, food prep, and all the effort that goes into that to having two toddlers to care for, all the while dealing with pregnancy issues stretched me beyond what I thought I was physically able to handle. Oh, and I should mention that our small church community (made up of about 7 families) had THREE pregnant mamas, two major moves, a house renovation project AND health issues during the last two months of my pregnancy. But God gave strength, and we pressed on, reminding ourselves that at least the construction project wasn’t something that was going to be repeated!

How the building project looked in January…so much snow that volunteers had to be taken up the lane in a 4 wheel drive vehicle!

Besides the building project, I also was committed to delivering babies! The “last” baby I had on my radar before my own was due the end of January. When I took on this sweet couple, it was with the idea that January would be my “rest month”, as Joel was actively lining up help for the month in order for me to prepare for our baby. I also figured that since there were a solid 5 ½ weeks between this mamas due date and my own, this also should be no problem. Well…sometimes God has other plans in mind! I started getting a bit nervous about how all of this was going to work out when I began having preterm labor signs of my own around 33 weeks. When I realized that I was beginning to dilate, and that baby was settling lower and lower, we seriously reduced my time on my feet, which helped to slow the contractions. I began praying that God would help baby wait at least until this other baby came…and that baby wouldn’t come before we could do it at home. We figured out a workable plan in which I would sit with my feet up after every hour or two of work, which helped to keep things at bay, though I started wondering if we’d be meeting our baby sooner rather than later. But back to babies…the one due in January was not to be my “last” one after all! One of the ladies in our church, who is a good friend, had some things come up which made their family feel like perhaps the midwife they had chosen was not a good fit for them. While I do not normally get involved with a situation such as this (there’s often a deeper reason when a couple and midwife part ways late in pregnancy, and it’s not something to delve into without concern), we had a close relationship with this family, and felt like we needed to help them out. Incidentally, this mama was due the same week as I was, and we had been neck-to-neck throughout our pregnancies, though she was convinced she’d deliver first, as her babies tended to come early. We lined up a back-up, just in case, as there was the real possibility we’d both be in labor at the same time…

Getting things ready for baby sister to arrive!

So all of that brings us to the first week of February. At this point, I’m still having contractions whenever I ‘m on my feet for awhile, and I’m waiting on two babies before my own can come. It’s the kind of situation where you keep saying, “Okay, Lord, let’s see how you’re going to work all this out…” 🙂 In the middle of all this, we started a renovation project in our basement…we had help to do it, and wanted to have the basement ready by the time my mom came to help after our birth, and I didn’t want to be dealing with dirt, dust and noise with a newborn, so we dug in. There were times I cried-like when the heater came on in the basement and spewed concrete dust all through the house…but the guys made great progress throughout that week, and one afternoon a sister from church came over to help me clean. After waiting about 10 days from his due date, the “January baby” came…and I felt like it was a direct answer to prayer to have a clear night for travel (no snow and ice on the road) and a straight-forward, relatively short labor, complete with a healthy baby. I felt a huge sense of relief, too, as that was one more responsibility off my shoulders, allowing me to feel more prepared for my own baby.

By the time the third week of February began, my friend and I were wondering who was going go first. I had reached that point where one is chronically uncomfortable, but so had my friend. That Sunday night she went into labor (just 3 days after moving into her newly renovated house…talk about cutting it close!), and early Monday morning I was called over, helping them to welcome a baby girl within an hour or two of my arrival. Once again, God was gracious, giving them a lovely birth, with no issues that would have been challenging for this very-pregnant midwife to take care of! This week were also trying to finish up the renovation in our basement, as Joel’s sister, Lucy, and her husband were supposed to be arriving that week in order for Daniel to do some trim work at the ABT project. So I napped around construction noise, and felt grateful that meals at the ABT project were being taken care of by another church family who had moved into our community just the week before (remember my mention of two moves over this time?!).

Baby E around 24 hrs old…this was the day before my own baby came!

Another aspect of uncertainty surrounding this birth also had to do with the availability of my own midwife. Our dear friend, Rose, had been involved with our previous two births, and we really wanted her for my midwife again this time. For each birth, God answered specific prayer related to her availability, and this time was no exception! She was working down in Lancaster, and while she had permission from her employer to head our direction when needed, my last labor hadn’t given us a lot of warning-and Joel was not in a hurry to do a solo birth again! I had also been hoping to have my student, Emily, involved, even thinking that at least she’d get some good practice if Rose couldn’t make it in time. But she was already committing to attending her next midwifery class in Maine, which was scheduled to take place the last two weeks of February. So we prayed, and committed the situation to the Lord, knowing that He would work it all out somehow…but not knowing exactly who would be a part of our birth team.

Tuesday night, the 17^th/18^th, I slept fitfully, being awake for several hours with contractions. While intense enough to keep me from sleeping, they wouldn’t get any stronger, and I kept wondering at what point I should be calling Rose to come. When morning finally arrived, I was tired and discouraged. By this time I had experienced many uncomfortable nights with little sleep and lots of contractions, and wasn’t sure how much longer I could survive physically and mentally. After so many hours of consistent, time able contractions through the night, finding myself at only 4cm was so disappointing…surely things should be happening by now! Joel was so understanding, and after giving me time for a good cry on his shoulder, he sent me for a long, relaxing bath, after which he put me back to bed to see if I could sleep. He then proceeded to tell our friend who was working in the basement to wait to come for several hours. I know this seems like an unrelated detail, but it played into the events of the rest of the day! I was able to sleep in the quiet house, and once I woke up refreshed, Joel told Chris to come back-we found out that Daniel & Lucy were coming that evening, instead of waiting for the next day-so we needed the basement for them to sleep in!

I still look back on that Wednesday as a gift. Up to that day, my life had been so full, the schedule so tight, so many urgent, pressing things to take care, running from here to there. No time for reflection, or for that mental preparation that is so helpful when facing something like labor. Even after having had two natural births, I found myself fighting fears of a different type this time. Nightmares of having to be taken to the hospital, because I couldn’t take the pain. Wondering if I could mentally cope with whatever might come in labor. Every time I would voice those fears, my husband would remind me that they weren’t coming for the Lord, and that I needed to trust in Him, and resist those fears. Yet having a day in which to reflect, and be able to gear up mentally for labor was something I needed in order to be prepared. Joel encouraged me to take the day “off”, and he even suggested taking our little family out for lunch. It’s one of those sweet memories I have…our last outing as a little family of 4, enjoying some relaxed time together at the local Chinese buffet. Talking about when the baby might come, and the children soaking up the time with mommy and daddy.

Contractions continued to come and go throughout the day, and Joel (wisely) wondered if it might not be a good idea to touch base with Rose. He really didn’t want her to be very far away if things did start to happen! Rose informed me that she was off work the rest of the week, and was thinking of heading up to her family’s place in order to do some study, and be closer to us in case baby decided to come. I went for a walk in order to get some fresh air and sunshine (though a storm was brewing), and found contractions very strong and intense while walking, though they would slow down again whenever I would sit. Around this time, Joel and I discussed whether or not I should consider taking castor oil. While we didn’t want to interfere with God’s timing of this birth, we also knew that I was physically very run down, and we were concerned about how I would handle more sleepless nights should things continue. After talking with Rose again, and finding out that she was studying at a nearby restaurant, as she felt from the tone of my voice earlier that she should be close by (and a snow storm was predicted for later on in the evening!), we decided to try castor oil if things didn’t move forward on their own. The mind-body connection is amazing, as contractions began to pick up again after just knowing that Rose was 2 miles away!

To be continued….

January 16, 2016 by gentlemidwife

Some Recommended Reading

As we’ve headed into a new year, I’ve been taking the time to update old records/files/paperwork, etc. One of the fun things I’ve updated is my current library list. While the internet can be an excellent resource for many topics, I still enjoy a good book that can stay on my nightstand, or be read while I nurse baby (one of the best things about having a nursing baby is getting guilt-free time to sit and read a book!). This past year I was introduced to a number of books that I had not read before, and I thought it’d be fun to share a few of those titles to you, in case you’re looking for something new to read!

One of the library shelves in my office

Ina May’s Guide to Breastfeeding by Ina May Gaskin: I found this jewel at a thrift store this summer, and picked it up just because of Ina May’s name. It’s a great resource to have on hand if you’re wanting some extra help or information on breastfeeding issues. One thing I appreciated was that she actually dove into the issue of tongue-ties causing nursing difficulties, which is something that many manuals on breastfeeding overlook. Overall, this book was a great easy-to-read book that I would recommend adding to your home library!

Pushed: The Painful Truth about Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block: This book is not your “feel-good-warm-and-fuzzy” type, but if you’re in to making informed choice, and understanding the politics and protocols that go on behind the scenes, especially here in the US, this is an eye-opener. Jennifer explores the history behind different changes to the maternity care scene, how insurance companies dictate much of hospital’s protocols, how our lack of understanding our bodies and understanding the normal function of birth contributes to the rise of interventions, the limitations in so many areas of good alternative care options, and more. While it can be a bit depressing at times, it was definitely educational, and helpful in understanding risks vs. benefits of different medical choices.

The Official Lamaze Guide: Giving Birth with Confidence by Judith Lothian: While this one has been around for awhile, I had never taken the time to pick it up and read through it. I found that it really wasn’t all about a particular “method” for birth, but more about understanding how your body works, and how to work with it. Clear, concise information written in an easy-to-read style, with birth stories to boot.

Cut, Stapled, and Mended: When One Woman Reclaimed Her Body and Gave Birth on Her Own Terms After Cesarean By Rosanna Rosewood: This one deserves a disclaimer-while the story was fascinating, I don’t recommend or agree with everything this mama pursued in her quest for a VBAC. However, this book helped me to understand many of the challenges that brave VBAC mothers must make as they recover, heal, and prepare for birth from an emotional, spiritual and physical standpoint. I found it valuable as I seek to help mothers who desire a VBAC without having personal experience.

Besides the mentioned books, I’ve encountered a few new resources that I would heartily recommend:

Spinning Babies DVD’s: The Parent Workshop & Daily Essentials. Gail Tully, the instructor of these DVD’s and the brains behind the Spinning Babies website, has so many tips, suggestions and information to offer-and it all helps to make pregnancy more comfortable, understand your body, and encourage baby to be in good postion…which ultimately helps your labor, birth and recovery to go so much smoother! If you haven’t spent time on Gail’s website, it’s worth looking in to!

VBAC:Know the Facts by Jen Kamel: Jen has compiled an immense volume of research and facts surround VBACs, and presents them in a fascinating seminar that can be taken online or attended live. This 6+ hour seminar addresses subjects such as myths, actual research results, how and why different hopsitals have different protocols, what complications can increase risks (and how to avoid some of them!), and the list goes on and on. If you are considering a VBAC and have questions, or just want to learn more about the subject, this would be a very worthwhile investment. I learned so much from it!

More books…and they don’t all fit here, either!

This past year I had a friend who contacted me-she was newly pregnant, lived in another state, and wanted to know where to start in figuring out what she wanted for her pregnancy, birth, caregiver, etc. What a list of questions! And where do you start?!? So I’ve been on a quest to find factual, evidence-based information to help new moms in making decisions and sorting through all the myriads of opinions and information. If you have a resource that was particularly helpful to you, I’d love to hear about it! Feel free to comment (below), leave a message on the facebook page, or send me an email at: gentlemidwife@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you!

And if you want to check out my updated Recommended Reading/Library List, feel free to look at it here: https://gentlemidwife.wordpress.com/recommended-reading/ Remember, clients have access to this library as part of their maternity care package!

June 21, 2014 by gentlemidwife

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!

our little princess!

January 1, 2014 by gentlemidwife

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!

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!

Big sister meeting baby brother

Matthias around 1 week old

Gentle Delivery Midwifery Services (Centre Co. PA)

"…He shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young." Isaiah 40:11

birth stories