This is my birthday table! I can now officially post a picture! Hurrah! Hurrah! See how lovely it is? See the green glasses and the wonderful sunlight? Thank you, Beth, for the beautiful setting, and Rose, for the amazing flowers!
Monday, April 14, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Birthday Birth Day
I had a birthday yesterday. It was great, even though I'm middle-aged, or maybe especially so! I also had a birth day yesterday.
The night before my birthday, sometime between 9 and 10 pm, I think, I received a call from one of my midwife friends. She was also one of my preceptors (another word for teacher) during my days as a student midwife. She wanted to know if I would be on call for her for an impending birth. I immediately thought, "Well, I purposely cleared tomorrow because it's my birthday." But I didn't say that. I said I didn't have anything going. She knew it was my birthday.
Anyway, she had two births going at the same time, and she did the proper thing; she went to the one that was going faster. Then she got another midwife to cover the slower birth. Me. Perhaps she would make it to both. I thought she might, as she said that this particular client had her water break early that morning, and had erratic contractions all day. First-time mom. So I thought maybe my midwife friend would make it to both births.
Well, the husband of the lady that was being saddled with my care, I'll call him David, called just shortly after my friend called. He was wondering how long they should give the "every five minute" contractions before calling me to come, since it would be a 2-hour drive for me. So much for erratic contractions. I asked him to observe his wife -- I'll call her Mary -- for 30 more minutes and then call me back with a report. He called me back. By this time it's 11:18 p.m. They're ready for me to come.
I did go. And the birth was lovely. David and Mary coped with having a stranger come into their home to catch their lovely new baby girl. And I now have a baby that I caught on my birthday. That's a first. It was a nice birth, pretty fast for a first-time mom. Total labor time including pushing was about 11 hours. That's nice, but it still seems long if you're the laboring mom.
I got home yesterday morning by 11:30. I laid down for a nap about 12 noon, waking up at 2 p.m.
Then I got to go to a dinner party held in my honor. The Crazy Ladies cooked for me. The Crazy Ladies are me, Beth, Suzan, and Rose, and Rebekah when she's not in California. They invited my mom and my sister and her kids, and Timothy, my son, as well. And of course Beth's husband Bob and my husband Jackie were there as well. If I knew how to post a picture it would be of the table set for us. Aren't the green glasses lovely? (Just imagine them!! Ok, ok, I'll try to learn how to put a picture up! Soon!)
We had greens from Beth's garden with Suzan's special dressing, then Rose's meat loaf, wonderful baked potatoes, and cooked greens (again from Beth's garden) with garlic bread that Bob prepared. And for dessert there was red velvet cake, made with love by Suzan. She doesn't even have an oven at her house! It took all kinds of maneuvering, but it was so jazzy when finished! It had sprinkles, and curlicue candles that were just fun!
I had three birthday cards in the mail, and one on my email, and several special calls from friends and family...it was a really nice birth day birthday. Thanks, everyone. Thanks, Lord.
The night before my birthday, sometime between 9 and 10 pm, I think, I received a call from one of my midwife friends. She was also one of my preceptors (another word for teacher) during my days as a student midwife. She wanted to know if I would be on call for her for an impending birth. I immediately thought, "Well, I purposely cleared tomorrow because it's my birthday." But I didn't say that. I said I didn't have anything going. She knew it was my birthday.
Anyway, she had two births going at the same time, and she did the proper thing; she went to the one that was going faster. Then she got another midwife to cover the slower birth. Me. Perhaps she would make it to both. I thought she might, as she said that this particular client had her water break early that morning, and had erratic contractions all day. First-time mom. So I thought maybe my midwife friend would make it to both births.
Well, the husband of the lady that was being saddled with my care, I'll call him David, called just shortly after my friend called. He was wondering how long they should give the "every five minute" contractions before calling me to come, since it would be a 2-hour drive for me. So much for erratic contractions. I asked him to observe his wife -- I'll call her Mary -- for 30 more minutes and then call me back with a report. He called me back. By this time it's 11:18 p.m. They're ready for me to come.
I did go. And the birth was lovely. David and Mary coped with having a stranger come into their home to catch their lovely new baby girl. And I now have a baby that I caught on my birthday. That's a first. It was a nice birth, pretty fast for a first-time mom. Total labor time including pushing was about 11 hours. That's nice, but it still seems long if you're the laboring mom.
I got home yesterday morning by 11:30. I laid down for a nap about 12 noon, waking up at 2 p.m.
Then I got to go to a dinner party held in my honor. The Crazy Ladies cooked for me. The Crazy Ladies are me, Beth, Suzan, and Rose, and Rebekah when she's not in California. They invited my mom and my sister and her kids, and Timothy, my son, as well. And of course Beth's husband Bob and my husband Jackie were there as well. If I knew how to post a picture it would be of the table set for us. Aren't the green glasses lovely? (Just imagine them!! Ok, ok, I'll try to learn how to put a picture up! Soon!)
We had greens from Beth's garden with Suzan's special dressing, then Rose's meat loaf, wonderful baked potatoes, and cooked greens (again from Beth's garden) with garlic bread that Bob prepared. And for dessert there was red velvet cake, made with love by Suzan. She doesn't even have an oven at her house! It took all kinds of maneuvering, but it was so jazzy when finished! It had sprinkles, and curlicue candles that were just fun!
I had three birthday cards in the mail, and one on my email, and several special calls from friends and family...it was a really nice birth day birthday. Thanks, everyone. Thanks, Lord.
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