blessings a go-go

What a hugely busy and fulfilling week!
Tuesday afternoon I was temporarily stranded at Kate's house with the kids (we had walked there) because a big fast and furious rainstorm came on like nobody's business. I called Greg to come pick us up. We were soaked to the bone just by strapping the kids into the backseat.
At home I started dinner and called Tammy. No answer. I left a message asking how she was doing with the big barometric pressure shift (the way sudden shifts can put ladies in labor~little did I know they didn't get a drop of rain during all of that). As soon as I hung up Clint called saying: Tammy's water just broke!
Now is that crazy or what? And they hadn't even heard my message.
I dropped everything and went to their house, as Tammy has this lovely history of: Pop! Goes the Water! and 2-3 hours later: Here Comes the Baby! I called off work and cursed the traffic on the way.
But nothing happening. I stayed for 2 hours or so and left. Thinking surely things will start in the night when kids are fed and in bed (like so many moms do). I had my wonderful neighbor and mom on the side, ready to pop into action to watch the kids. That night I restlessly slept. I dreamed of catching 3 different babies, all with no gloves on (which grossed me out). I woke up every 45 minutes or so to check my that my cell phone was working and on. Finally the alarm woke me up.
It was Sarah's first day of school. A lovely morning. Dropped her off and went back to Tammy's to listen to the baby. Sounded great. High heart tones like always, always (GIRL!~~ I did have a dream about a month ago that it was a girl, and my gender dreams while I was pregnant were always right too!) Discussed different options, my protocol, the medical system's protocols for prolonged ruptured membranes, etc.
Picked Sarah up from school. Mowed the grass (got sweaty but didn't want to shower yet b/c I still had to clean the credit union). Made dinner, then drove to Tammy's . Still, not a whole lot of contractions at all. One here, one there. Baby sounded fine. Tammy doing well. Clint a little anxious. All of us really wanting to meet this wee baby.
So I cleaned the credit union. Got done in enough time so I could do a last-minute consult with a couple (who were very sweet and asked such good questions~like they've actually thought why they want a homebirth more than a defiant answer of: I dont wanna be at the hospital! ~ I mean, that's great and all, but there's a lot more to it). Got home at 8:30. Talked to Tammy who was chatty as always. Told me that she was having "some" contractions every 10 or so minutes, "maybe" (I could picture her rolling her eyes as she said it.) Said to call back if things changed.
I nursed Eamon to sleep and was reading Sarah Little House when Clint called and said: TammyIsHavingContractionsEvery5MinutesAndWantsYouToCome!!!

I got there 20 minutes later to this incredible birthing mama contracting every 2 minutes (she later reported that she had her "stop and thankful" rest just before I got there! Yowza!)
My friend and assistant Sarah arrived minutes after me. All of the equipment and supplies we had set up upstairs the day before needed to be brought down b/c their little guy was asleep in their bed. So Sarah, Clint and me gingerly walked up and down the stairs gathering things as Tammy did her moaning, rocking labor thing.

By the time everything was set-up, Tammy told us the baby was coming. Gloves! Where are they?! I get them quick and clumsily, 2 fingers in one hole, etc. Argh, just like my dream! Tammy is standing like this gorgeous Aztec birthing goddess, upright and so strong, Clint in front of her, steadying her. I ask if she wants to get down on the floor. No. She stand wants to stand. Amazing. Baby scalp just appearing, oozing out incrementally with one steady contraction. No pushing, just the uterus pushing down, down. The head comes out. Over the head comes big clots of blood. I wipe them away, and more come out. I wipe off the baby's nose and try to keep all this blood from going up it. Sarah and I look at each other and raise eyebrows. Where are these big clots coming from? It appears that nothing has torn. I feel for a cord around the neck and don't find one. But my one finger in allows more clots to come out.
Not worried because I know this baby is coming out any second, and it does, followed by more clots. I find her cord is wrapped up under one arm, across her back and looped over the other arm, under her armpit and back around (like the outside hem of a vest).
Because Tammy is standing, I gently catch baby onto my chest, as I receive her, her eyes flash open and look at me, like a fish looks at you as it swims out of your hands. She closes them. Her fist swings up and manages to get inside my happy, smiling mouth and I laugh because I dreamed of not having gloves and now I have a bloody fist in my mouth?! But I know and love these people (and I've got the low-down on their blood work!)
Clint looks around Tammy's shoulder and announces: It's a Girl!
Holy cow! That's awesome! I hadn't seen for myself yet and always let the parents announce it anyway. Tammy said later that she had seen that it was a girl when she first came out.
This baby is dusky purple. The same shade I remember their last baby being. I assume its the Mexican showing through like beautiful sunset colors. It doesn't worry me. She makes a few gasps, but is mostly quiet. No squawking, screaming newborn. She is a little slow to breathe on her own, so I do one little puff to get her going. It works, she cries and then is quiet again. About 4 minutes later Tammy informs us the placenta has just come out. No surprise. This sweet little one was pulling it out with her (which probably explains her slow breathing start).
The older boys came down stairs and were so smiley and sweet. Everyone oohed and aahed over the concept of a GIRL in the house!
And that is that! This sweet, clever baby girl was nursing with a perfect latch a half hour later. Tammy's bleeding was minimal. Just a wee little tear that will heal fine with the herbal baths and rest.

What a privilege and an honor to catch a friends baby, not once, but twice in a lifetime!
Good, good stuff. I've been on this little high for days.

Yesterday I did a quick morning visit with Tammy, then did a bunch of annoying errands. Stuffed 44 little muslin bags full of comfrey, lavender, and uva ursi for give-away herbal baths (with my business info on, of course) for this local birth expo tomorrow. Last night and tonight I've helped my one senior client go through and organize tons of photos he took while in the army from 1946-48. Pictures of Paris, Frankfurt, and other areas of Germany. Bombed out buildings, destroyed bridges, miles of trains looking like skeletons since they too were bombed. The Paris pics are all touristy stuff (the Concorde, the Obelisk, the Eiffel Tower, etc), but they're neat to see because he was 19 and in a woolen army uniform. He's now 79! I tell ya, not a bad gig. I sit at a kitchen table drinking Diet Coke (he's a diabetic) and we cut out old captions and place them with the photos in new books. And lately his girlfriend has been hanging out with us and I love her best. She's the sweetest woman. Lucky me.
Today was full but nice. Saw Tammy and the baby this morning for a checkup and the horrible newborn screening. Received the nicest card and yummy raspberry lambic as an extra gift. So nice!
After that I had a quick breakfast with "The Other" Amanda. Good time catching up on each other's lives.
After that I went to the bank and to the hardware store (Greg has been using his free time this week to do all kinds of work to our boiler pipes and gas pipes, which has meant a lot of visits for lengths of pipe, copper elbows, etc).
Home again. Eamon nursed to sleep. I clean the house, go to another hardware store. Then its time for me to go.
Go to Kate's to get a gift certificate for massage (my entry fee for the birth expo~ they raffle off the prizes from vendors).
Next, hit up Office Max for the brochures I ordered earlier this week.I had them printed on the wrong paper. Too thin, a little disappointed, yet pleased because it was soo much cheaper than the heavier stuff from last time.
By 2pm I was at myFriday 2-5 gig with the other senior couple. Ran around doing shopping and errands which always makes the time fly.
At 5pm I had to go to the hospital to set-up my table for the expo tomorrow.
Home by 5:30, quick eat a crappy veggie burger. Greg came home with the kids. I see them for 15 minutes before I head off to my 6-11 gig. That flew by too (with all the old photos), and he let me go at 10:20 (still get paid for 6-11).

Tomorrow mom is watching the kids so I can sit from 10-2 at this expo. Sarah has a birthday party from noon-2 and I'm still trying to figure out a way to get her there. (My mom doesn't want to drive with the kids in her car with her bad eye. And bad me is like, "Aw, c'mon. It's just 5minutes up the road!")
I've got to clean sometime this weekend.
Sunday I have a consult for folks due in March. They live an hour away. My dad is taking the kids after we have breakfast to my sister's house so she can watch them.

PHEW! I look forward to next week. It will be Sarah's first full week of school. I'm no longer on call. It will be our real chance to get used to this Sarah school/ Mama work routine.
Greg has been completely awesome.
He's totally stepped up and doing 50% of the housework now that I'm all over the place. And maybe even more. He's doing stuff I never think to do, like taking down all the curtains and washing them. He's vacuumed all the radiators out. He's also figured out that if he takes the kids out of the house to do fun things like go to the park or library, they're happy, mostly well-behaved and the time goes by faster! He reported this to me with pride. I smiled and acted happy for him that it was going so swell. Part of me wanted to hug him for being such a good dad. But part of me wanted to clock him in the eye for taking 7 years to comprehend what I've been telling him about this whole parenting thing.

Ah well, it's all good. My back is killing me though. I'm going to bed. It's after midnight now and the excitement of the last few days is sinking in.