Heeeeey Juuuuude…..

My preceptor woke me at 2:45 in the morning. “Hey hun, baby is coming soon, get here as fast as you can.”
I woke up in a hurry, threw on jeans, a top, brushed my teeth and pulled my hair back in a ponytail. I called my fiancé and told him what was up, and I was off!
“Lord, don’t let me get lost”, I prayed.
I arrived at the cozy home 15 mins later. The house was warm and comforting. The smell of coffee and fresh bread haunted me, making my mouth water. I wanted to curl up in a ball and go back to sleep and at the same time I felt like someone had just given me an injection of epinepherin (pure adrenaline).
I walked into the bedroom and saw our laboring mama. She was in the pool, floating on her back, head and ears submerged and blowing bubbles in the water every time a contractions came on. So cute. She was so composed. The second I walked in she looked at me and said, “Hi! Help yourself to a cup of hot coffee and some treats on the stove!”
I couldn’t believe it! Here she was in full-blown labor wanting me to make myself at home and be taken care of! Haha. I thanked her and said that maybe a little bit later, (like after the baby was born) I would help myself to cup of coffee.

She labored beautifully and her husband was a sweetheart, helping her through every contraction and encouraging her through each one. While she labored, we boiled some hot water, and steeped some tea and herbs for her to use later.

After about an hour, she was fully dilated and ready to push! She pushed out the baby’s head under water, and as he restituted, he opened his eyes and looked all around. Amazing!
With one more push, his chunky little body flopped out of her, into the water and floated up out of the water into her arms.
A baby is born! Glory to God! Heeyyy Juuuddeee…..

After the baby was born, we waited for the placenta. And waited. And waited. And waited. An hour passed and we had tried a few different positions to help the placenta come out. Squatting, standing, laying on the bed…. NOTHING. Then the bleeding came. And Came. And came. Still no placenta. The midwife decided that a bimanual removal of the placenta would be too risky because of the bleeding. After 20cc of pitocin (a medication to stop bleeding), and still no placenta, the bleeding finally subsided but the placenta was still not out.
We told her that we would have to transport her to the nearest hospital for retained placenta, and she was broken hearted. Her mother and I laid hands on her and prayed for her that the Lord would comfort her during this time and we reassured her that He was with her and would never leave her.
She had peace again and was ok with going to the hospital. We called for an ambulance to transport her and so they came and got her.
She was taken care of and recovered beautifully after they had to surgically remove her placenta.
All in all, it was a wonderful labor and birth with a not so wonderful ending. But God was with her and she knew that. Thank You Lord for being with us through it all. And thank you Lord for a healthy baby and healthy mom!