Racing the stork

Yeah, I know that the stork doesn't bring babies.....the mother and baby are the deciding factors. But I had a day yesterday where it felt like that big old stork was racing me twice, but I won both times.

Wednesday night I got a call from my pregnant overdue birth assistant. She was having contractions and felt they were getting closer together, but by bedtime they had settled into an every 12 minute pattern and didn't get any closer. She advised me to get some sleep and she would call if/when things got closer and progressed. I never sleep really well in that situation. You are always sure the phone will ring at any moment and she lives an hour away on the west side of Atlanta. I endured a snoring husband and restlessness mixed with fatigue.

Around 4:30 AM the phone did ring, but it was not my assistant calling but a new client from Columbus who traditionally has early babies with no problems. Her water broke and she was in labor. She goes really fast and I had a two hour drive.

I have a young lady staying with us right now acting as my interim birth assistant but this client had asked me just me and no one else. So I left Janelle at home with the admonition that I might need her to go to my regular birth assistant's house and monitor her if things picked up there.

On the way to Columbus, the dad called and said mom wanted me to know things were getting close. I still had an hour left in my drive when they made that phone call. About 5 minutes before arrival, dad called again and wanted to know my location. Mom felt pushy. I told him I was almost at his road. A 5 lb. 4 oz. little girl arrived just 15 minutes after I did. She was healthy, cried and pinked up, had no trouble nursing or anything else. Great birth!

I headed back home, trying very hard not to fall asleep at the wheel. Arrived home, downed one gluten free biscotti, took a shower and went to bed. I slept for about an hour and the phone rang again. This time it was my regular assistant saying her contractions had taken a leap from 12 minutes apart to 2-3 minutes apart and things were moving quickly. She was entirely alone as her husband, a police office, had to appear in court that morning. I had an hour drive to get to her. Janelle and I quickly drove to her house and unloaded gear. Her husband was thankfully there by then. Baby came about an hour and a half after our arrival. She pushed out a 9 pound girl and then had a bad hemorrhage, which resolved fairly quickly. Mom was a little light headed for a bit, but handled it pretty well. This baby nursed like a champ too.

After cleaning up mom, baby and area that mom birthed in, Janelle and I ate some dinner out then came home and took a long soaking tub bath. We got a full night's sleep (much needed!) without the phone ringing again.

But it's a full moon tonight. I can't guarantee I won't be racing the stork again....