Holy Smokes, I Delivered a Baby
Delivering a baby – stay calm and catch
Never in a hundred years did I think I would. Yet, I delivered my 8th child at home. Myself. Don’t get me wrong, my wife did the hard work. She is straight up amazing. She wanted a home birth this time and, silly me, I said “sure you can have a home birth if we have another kid.” We already had seven and I had every intention of really following Natural Family Planning this time. We weren’t having any more kids. Yet, there I was, at home, in our bathroom, delivering our 8th baby.
We had 7 typical hospital deliveries
We have come a long way from the days when men stood in the lobby smoking cigars, pacing anxiously wondering, waiting to find out if mother and baby were ok. Is the baby a boy or a girl? Now, most men are in the delivery room, coaching the mother of their child through labor pains (mostly by breathing like idiots but hey, we try), and hearing the doc announce the gender. My wife and I had seven such deliveries.
The waiting game
Kim and I, since we were following NFP pretty closely, were pretty sure we conceived, on the actual night of conception. Sometimes the spirit moves you and afterward there’s another little one in the family. As Catholics, we believe we accept children lovingly from God and, we were pretty sure there was going to be another one that night. We actually started looking at names. That same night, Kim reminded me of my home birth promise should number 8 come along.
We waited a few weeks and then took the home pregnancy test. It quickly turned positive. I told Kim, if we have a home birth I’ll be the one delivering. She asked if I’d rather deliver in the car along the road on the way to the hospital or at home? We hired a wonderful midwife and we talked through what to do if she didn’t make it in time. Basically, have a clean towel, catch, give Kim the baby, make them comfortable and wait for her to arrive…and that’s exactly what we did. Nature is pretty amazing.
KitKat’s birthday
Kim called a little after 9 AM. I was teaching. My students seemed to hope it was my wife. They wanted to see the excitement. Sure enough, her water had broken. As fast as the previous 2-3 labors had gone after that point, I quickly called the office and gathered my things. My assistant principal covered the class and I was home in less than twenty minutes. And then nothing happened. No contractions. All afternoon. The older 3 kiddos are in 4H and we decided we would take them to the meeting as a family. The midwife had met with us and checked progress around 1 PM and said things looked good but it was likely going to be a while. Call her as soon as contractions start.
Labor and Delivery
We got in the van and were not out of the neighborhood when a good strong contraction hit. Kim, stubborn as she is said, it was just one, keep going. We had towels and the birth kit in the car…just in case. We arrived, the kids did their meeting and got to go to the shooting range. 6:30, an hour after the first contraction, another strong one. 7:30 the meeting was finishing and another strong contraction. Don’t worry she said, they’re an hour apart. We got home. I got the littles around and in bed. Once they were asleep I went to check on Kim. Lowe and behold, she was in the shower with Boo timing contractions. (Headslap emoji) I asked how long this had been going on and at that moment realized, I really was going to deliver this baby. They were two minutes apart and coming quick but Kim said wait for another one or two to be sure, then call the midwife. Yes Dear. After the required contractions, we called.
There is a key detail I haven’t mentioned yet that is pretty important and a key factor as to why I was pretty sure I would be employing my little league catcher skills. The midwife had a 45 minute drive to get to our house. Fifteen minutes after calling, contractions were coming at one minute apart and lasting a minute or so. I called her again to tell her that she wasn’t going to get to the house in time. She reminded me of the particulars.
The kids are huge helpers and wanted to be involved. The older 5 were all up. Bruiser and Mo wanted to keep their distance. Love Bug, Boo and Rotten wanted to be involved. The time had arrived for KitKat to join us. Bruiser brought the towels. Love Bug and Boo sat with him outside the bathroom and anxiously awaited their new sister. As for me, I prayed. Lord give us a smooth delivery and keep Kim and KitKat healthy. Help me to protect them through this delivery.
Prayers answered
Kim never ceases to amaze me and this delivery was no different. I caught KitKat and wrapped her up in a clean towel. We went to the bed and I laid KitKat on Kim’s chest. The kids all joined us in the bedroom. I delivered the baby, Kim labored amazingly. The kids participated, each in their own way. The midwife arrived and did her thing with Mom and baby, very healthy. I breathed a sigh of relief and felt overwhelmed at the blessings in my life.