Of course I thought I was safe planning a family Christmas gathering this coming Thursday evening. One daughter is spending the holiday down in south Georgia so we planned our family Christmas a little early. Should be fine with two December mommas due the first week of the month, right?
Wrong.
One of them just delivered yesterday in my office, pretty near the file cabinet. No, that wasn't the plan but it was working at the time. She was supposed to deliver in my office. The house they are living in is owned by someone who wasn't comfortable having them deliver there. This mom was a repeat client from south GA, having moved up here to the Atlanta area about mid-pregnancy. She was supposed to have a water birth. I had the pool assembled but they were bringing the clean hose to fill it. Upon arrival, mom was so deep into labor that it became clear to me the pool was a moot point. There would be no time to fill it. Mom wanted to at least try so dad was faithfully filling it. I was rushing around trying to finish setting up for the birth.
She was so intent on her labor, on her knees beside the pool, resting her head on the side for support. I did manage to get some chux pads under her because her water was still intact. A short few minutes later I heard her say, "OK, here we go!" She was pushing. I asked someone to hurry and get the vinyl/flannel tablecloth that had been intended to protect the mattress on the guest bed in case she birthed in there. It was slid under her while I donned gloves and grabbed a towel and my stethoscope. It one push I held the top of a little head in my hands and with subsequent pushes the baby girl was born. Dried her and made sure she was breathing and threaded her back through the mother's legs so she could sit back and bring her new baby up to her chest. When the mom leaned back on some pillows against my filing cabinet and picked up her baby, her eyes met mine with a smile and she said, "Well, hello. This is the first time I've seen your face this morning!" Made me laugh. Well, she had been a little busy focusing on other things.
Wrong.
One of them just delivered yesterday in my office, pretty near the file cabinet. No, that wasn't the plan but it was working at the time. She was supposed to deliver in my office. The house they are living in is owned by someone who wasn't comfortable having them deliver there. This mom was a repeat client from south GA, having moved up here to the Atlanta area about mid-pregnancy. She was supposed to have a water birth. I had the pool assembled but they were bringing the clean hose to fill it. Upon arrival, mom was so deep into labor that it became clear to me the pool was a moot point. There would be no time to fill it. Mom wanted to at least try so dad was faithfully filling it. I was rushing around trying to finish setting up for the birth.
She was so intent on her labor, on her knees beside the pool, resting her head on the side for support. I did manage to get some chux pads under her because her water was still intact. A short few minutes later I heard her say, "OK, here we go!" She was pushing. I asked someone to hurry and get the vinyl/flannel tablecloth that had been intended to protect the mattress on the guest bed in case she birthed in there. It was slid under her while I donned gloves and grabbed a towel and my stethoscope. It one push I held the top of a little head in my hands and with subsequent pushes the baby girl was born. Dried her and made sure she was breathing and threaded her back through the mother's legs so she could sit back and bring her new baby up to her chest. When the mom leaned back on some pillows against my filing cabinet and picked up her baby, her eyes met mine with a smile and she said, "Well, hello. This is the first time I've seen your face this morning!" Made me laugh. Well, she had been a little busy focusing on other things.
So, this one is delivered and now I'm still waiting on a first time mom who is over due by 13 days.
I have some cooking to do tomorrow for our family dinner and of course, I would really love to be there when my children and grandchildren open their gifts. Timing is everything in this business.
0 comments:
Post a Comment