On this day, Lucas was born. He was fifteen days late, and I was desperate to get this kid out of me. My first birth had gone quickly, so my midwife forbade me from taking anything to induce labor naturally. But I couldn’t stand another day of being pregnant. So I took castor oil, which I immediately vomited. It worked! I went into labor soon after. And the midwife got to my house with only minutes to spare.
Luke didn’t arrive until 11:40 that night. But it was a brief four-hour labor. I only pushed twice before he shot onto the bed.
Ben, not even six yet, slept so soundly on the sofa that my sister couldn’t rouse him for “the big reveal.” His catcher’s mitt lay on the cedar chest, though. So thoughtful of him to have it ready for our use.
The midwife, midwife to the Amish and at my home in Maryland practicing illegally, told my mother I could have had a dozen babies. I told her to bite her tongue. I’m oddly proud of her comment, as if being able to carry and push out a dozen babies is something I worked toward, like getting good at hurdles or becoming proficient in trigonometry. It maks me want to have ten more babies, to show her that yes! I can have a dozen! Aren’t I great? Fortunately, sense has prevailed, and I stopped after Luke.
Birthin’ a baby at home. That’s what I did on April 20, 1991. Luke joined his family that day. That’s what he did.
I birthed a baby at home on 4/20/91 also in the rural hills of Northern California. Alton was my second baby. The midwife got lost finding our place so my husband went out to find her., before cell phones. By the time they got back altons head was crowning and he was soon born. Now he’s an amazing talented compassionate person.
Saturday, April 20, 1991
On this day, Lucas was born. He was fifteen days late, and I was desperate to get this kid out of me. My first birth had gone quickly, so my midwife forbade me from taking anything to induce labor naturally. But I couldn’t stand another day of being pregnant. So I took castor oil, which I immediately vomited. It worked! I went into labor soon after. And the midwife got to my house with only minutes to spare.
Luke didn’t arrive until 11:40 that night. But it was a brief four-hour labor. I only pushed twice before he shot onto the bed.
Ben, not even six yet, slept so soundly on the sofa that my sister couldn’t rouse him for “the big reveal.” His catcher’s mitt lay on the cedar chest, though. So thoughtful of him to have it ready for our use.
The midwife, midwife to the Amish and at my home in Maryland practicing illegally, told my mother I could have had a dozen babies. I told her to bite her tongue. I’m oddly proud of her comment, as if being able to carry and push out a dozen babies is something I worked toward, like getting good at hurdles or becoming proficient in trigonometry. It maks me want to have ten more babies, to show her that yes! I can have a dozen! Aren’t I great? Fortunately, sense has prevailed, and I stopped after Luke.
Birthin’ a baby at home. That’s what I did on April 20, 1991. Luke joined his family that day. That’s what he did.
I birthed a baby at home on 4/20/91 also in the rural hills of Northern California. Alton was my second baby. The midwife got lost finding our place so my husband went out to find her., before cell phones. By the time they got back altons head was crowning and he was soon born. Now he’s an amazing talented compassionate person.