Waiting

It has been a very quiet summer for births so far.  In fact, the last birth I attended was the first week of June. Finally, today the call came at 11:30am, "she's brewing" said the Midwife.  "Brewing" is midwife-ease for "perhaps she might be heading into labor and so you might want to plan accordingly."   Not knowing when I would be needed on shorter notice I packed my bag and then waited for the next call.

All the essentials here (snacks, BP cuff, phone, notes/directions, camera bag, etc.). The only things missing are mints.  No one likes a birth assistant with dragon breath.  My watch is on the fritz so I snatched my husband's. I have to wear one to count heart rates- I am thinking that his will not fit well under my gloves.  I'll be sure to wipe of any amniotic fluid before I return it :)  Also on the fritz is my stomach...a little Imodiam AD to the rescue.  Yikes.

While waiting, I did other very responsible things like: fixing dinner early and putting it in the fridge to reheat later, attempting a short nap, a couple loads of laundry, programming the address (homebirth) into my GPS, shaving my armpits, and fishing out my scrubs and crocs. Mostly I just waited and waited some more. Sometimes I think I prefer the "middle-of-the-night-get-here-in-10-minutes!" kind of call.  I remind myself that one of the primary ingredients for natural birth is patience.

It is now 7pm and still no active labor. The poor mama has been ordered to choke down some castor oil. It probably won't be long now. I am crocheting these little flowers,

and waiting....

Hope to be back tomorrow with a birth story.