My Winding Road to Midwifery: January 2014

Monday, June 2, 2003, I wrote: “Friday before last I ate some smokies that didn’t agree with me and so Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday I had diarrhea. Since then I have to be very careful what I eat because so many things don’t agree with me.

“Also, we are in the process of adding to our family again so I need to be careful to get what I need.”

August 24, 2003 (Becky’s birthday): “[We] visited with the midwife in Bonners Ferry and the one in Sandpoint. They both seem very experienced and knowledgeable. We both like the one in Sandpoint better although I like the office in Bonners Ferry more. We haven’t decided which one to go to yet—moving has kind of taken precedence over everything.”

I’m not sure why I wrote that we both liked the midwife in Sandpoint better. I liked both of them equally well. We decided to go with Denise in Sandpoint because Dan liked her better and I liked them both. It was kind of silly because Sandpoint is farther away than Bonners Ferry, after all, we were living in Bonners Ferry at the time. I could have walked to my appointments had we gone with Barb.

On Thursday, January 29, 2004, I wrote: “Our new arrival finally made is entrance into the world two days ago. Seth Michael was born at 7:05 pm, Tuesday, January 27, 2004. He was 7# 14oz and 19 inches. He’s probably close to that now.

“He’s the fastest birth we’ve ever had. My visiting teachers came over at 2:00 Tuesday and all I would have said then is that I was having some decent Braxton Hicks but nothing more. By 3:30, I figured that maybe this was the day and I called Denise at 4:00 because I’d lost my mucous plug.
I finished the story on Tuesday, February 3, 2004: “Laura, Joanna, Daniel and Amena came home from Lori’s about 4:30 and I told them we were having a baby. I put the plastic shower curtain on the bed and made it like normal with blankets because even then I didn’t feel like we’d be having the baby that day—that I might be able to get some rest that night.

“. . . @ 5. . . I didn’t want to go to our temple recommend interviews at church at 6:30 because it would be just my luck that my water would break while we were there.

“I don’t know when they did break, but it was sometime between 5 and 6:30. . . .the blankets and extra sheets [hadn’t been taken] off the bed until just before and I still had all my clothes on—I was procrastinating because I just didn’t feel like moving. Once I gushed all over the bed, [I changed and] just knelt on the bed because sitting wasn’t much fun. That must have been 6:30ish and contractions were getting really hard. I had another gush in here sometime.

“At 6:40, . . . Denise [was called and told] if she hadn’t left, she needed to right NOW. I was making plenty of noise by then. Joanna brought me juice between contractions until I scared the children all away. . . [a chair was brought in for me to lean on] and from 6:40+ I stayed there.

“I wanted to push but didn’t feel like I should yet. [After looking in a mirror] I didn’t think I looked like I was ready to push either. . .[but] tried pushing without pushing. I’d felt the crowning and then . . . ‘it’s a head covered with black hair!’ Then he said that the cord was around the baby’s neck.

“In such a state, not being able to think, I tried to decide if I should try to get the baby out as quickly as possible or try to wait. Well, nature took its course and during the next contraction, I did the push without pushing thing again and out popped baby.

“. . .when the baby was out, [the cord was] undone. I leaned back on the pillows then and . . . baby—another boy!—[was put] on my stomach. He was bluish except his red face and we got him covered up with a towel. Dan started rubbing him and stuck his finger in his mouth before he made a noise and then it was just one cry.

“I rubbed while [Denise was called] and baby started to pink up and make more noise as we rubbed. By the time Denise and Jolene arrived, all the children were out again and baby was looking pretty good except his hands were still pale. His feet may have been also but I didn’t really notice. He’d also started rooting around a bit by then.

“Dan wanted to name him Seth. Joanna is the only person who objected—I think she just didn’t like it. No middle name was forthcoming though. Then while I was in the bathroom getting cleaned up (the placenta having been delivered and my having been checked for rips and tears (of which I do not recall there were any)) Dan said that he was holding Seth and the name Michael popped into his head.

"Seth is in the bedroom now beginning to make noise and I am feeling like he could stand to be hungry.”

Sherri had quite a library in New Mexico that I availed myself of while pregnant with Cedric. I knew a lot more for his birth than I had for any of my previous births. I had done even more reading during this pregnancy. It was something to feel the crowning and finally understand why it is called ‘the ring of fire.’ Once I understood the importance of this, I knew better what to expect. This was good knowledge to have.

I think it is safe to say that I felt more prepared for Seth’s actual birth than I had for the rest. I think that, in general, it was a good birth although looking back at it, it was somewhat scary as well even though I didn’t have enough presence of mind to think so until much later. The cord wrapped around his neck could have been life-threatening; we were blessed that Seth was born with no lasting physical or mental issues.

As you will see in one of the pictures, Cedric used to like to climb into the cradle with Seth. I think that Cedric missed being the baby to a degree and that he loved his little brother. I’m not sure if being the seventh child is a curse or a blessing (it most likely depends on the circumstances), but for certain Seth was a much loved baby brother.

One funny story I almost forgot. I don’t know if I knew how many Mormon clients Denise had had but I do know that Jolene had had no experience. Midwives usually come for at least one home visit. This serves to show them where you live so they know where to go and the general layout of your house. Also, they are able to get a feel for family life. Denise and Jolene came for their home visit in December. We had our Christmas tree up and when they walked in, Jolene said, “Oh, I didn’t know you celebrated Christmas!”