A Birth Story with Mama Mia

I was puttering around at work like I do--
having just finished rearranging the Garden Room
with it's plants n' pots n' baskets n' all things
"garden",
I was looking around to see what else I could do--
when I checked my phone for messages
and got the message from Mama Mia
that she was at the hospital and was staying there
to be induced because Dr. H said it'd be better for
Baby Lincoln to make his grand entrance
into this world sooner than later.

I was so excited!
I got to go see a miracle today!WooHoo!
I took off my work apron, grabbed my things,
said my goodbyes and I was on my way to be with
Mama Mia.

I'll call her Mama Mia because I've known her
since she was a Mia Maid (the Young Women's group in Church)
at 14 years old...
I was pregnant with The Caboose way back then.
So Mama Mia and I have known each other a long time.
I was thrilled to be asked to attend her birth!
Mama Mia is one of those young women you never forget--
hilariously funny, the most excited one in the room
whose wheels were forever turning and turning and turning!
You knew where she was by following the laughter.
I love her.

So I got there @2:20pm,
Mama Mia was already hooked up to a pit drip and fluids--
she had just eaten (yeah!), and was hanging out
with her Mom, Denise (whose been my Visiting Teaching companion way-back-when),
and her sister Julie,
then her oldest sister Jackie arrived with her son Brandon.
And they all brought bags of treats and such,
ready for the duration of labor and delivery!
They were all so excited to meet this new baby!

With the Pitocin started,
and Mama Mia relaxed,
she says outloud,
"Now what?"

I wanted to keep everyone's attention on this moment--
it's always important to me that in the midst of small talk,
we stay focused on why we're gathered together, ya know?

So I said, holding my pen and notebook,
"Let hear some Words of Wisdom for Baby Boy about his Mom
from her family".
A moment of Silence followed.
I nodded over to Julie, "You go first."
Well, that did it; tears bubbled over,
"His Momma loves him. She loves him so much. She's gone through alot for you. She took the hard road. She made the hard choices."

Everyone else in the room nodded and added their appreciation for those choices and as a family of women is likely, more tears followed.

"Okay", I said. "Gramma Denise's turn."

"She'll make you laugh. You'll always laugh. She'll be a good mom and have good advice for you."
Jackie added, "She knows how to get you outta a jam!  (much laughter!)
Gramma Denise, "Because she's probably who got you in it!" (side-splitting laughter!)

Jackin continued, "She's a problem solver. She sees a problem and always comes up with a solution."

Then these beautiful women talked about their father and husband, Rudy, who died suddenly in 2006.
His passing left a huge hole in their family...it changed their lives.  All of them shared how they'd learned the hard way to make it in the world without the financial cushion of stability and what the effects that has had on them.

Mama Mia said she learned how "entitled" she thought she was before as a teenager...and how since then, she's learned to work hard to take care of herself and the strength she discovered in her own abilities.

Memories rose up as each recalled their experiences with their husband and father--
some deeply personal moments and light-hearted ones too..
they came in waves attended with either laughter or tears or both.
On this in particular, he is missed very much.
Mama Mia looks down at her belly,
rubs it like only a pregnant mother can--
protectively, knowingly, rubbing love into her baby--
and says, 
"I will ALWAYS take care of him. N' I will make him laugh."

Bathroom Break.
Soon after, a good family friend, Paul S. shows up--
hugs all around and more sweet conversation follows,
naturally.
It's Paul--a product of the South, he is and always has been,
 one of the friendliest men I have ever met.
His family loves their family and it shows.

30 minutes later, Nurse Beth comes in and says
she's been watching the monitor at her desk,
and sees Baby Boy could use more oxygen,
so we put Mama Mia on her left side
and an oxygen mask is on her.

I offered, "This is a good time to get a blessing."
In my experience,
when an oxygen mask is offered at the very beginning of labor,
that is not a good sign.
A call is made to another good friend and priesthood holder,
Vonn, who shows up 20 minutes later--
again with the hugs and smiles and familiar chatting--
then Paul and Vonn proceed with the blessing.

Not even 5 minutes later,
Nurse Beth comes in and says, "Baby's looking good."
And removes the oxygen mask and lets Mama Mia sit upright again.
Our friends leave, and I grab a stool and sit at the foot of the bed,
and ask if it's Ok to rub her feet with
some eucalyptus spearmint lotion--just to help her relax.
We do that for a good while,
and I'm watching the monitor--it's not good.
Baby's not recovering well after the small contractions that he's feeling.
Nurse Beth comes back in,
Mama Mia lays on her side again, with oxygen mask.
Then, her Mother's Intuition kicks in...
"I don't think he's going to be able to handle labor, ya know?
He wants OUT now.  He's excited to meet me!
I think I should get a c-section.
I don't want anything to happen to him."

I told her to tell Nurse Beth how she's feeling.
Nurse Beth came back in the room right then,
and Mama Mia shared her feelings.
Nurse Beth nodded her head in agreement,
poked her head out the door and
said the doctor was right outside it,
so she'd get her in there.

Doctor H walks in, says, baby is stressed it's time for a C-section.

Nurse Beth brought scrubs for Gramma Denise to put over her clothes--
sisters Julie and Jackie helped her get those on;
Nurse Cindy came in with the consent papers
and prepped Mama Mia for surgery.
Anesthesiologist came in,
went over the procedure, took some questions,
and said he'd see her in a few minutes in the OR.

We said our "see ya in a few minutes",
hugs all around and I gave Gramma Denise a hug,
"You can be sure Rudy is here right now with you all."
Denise said, "He sure is."
Mama Mia stood up and off she went--
walking to the OR with her parents next to her.

Baby was delivered at 7:18,
everyone did great.
 He was tiny though, 5.6 and just under 19" long.
I left the hospital when Mama Mia came back to her room--
she was surrounded by those strong women of hers and
 I knew she was in good hands.

The sun was setting...it was a brilliant red-orange--
I didn't have my camera, so I called home
and got the voice message--
"Someone, go outside and take a picture of the sun! It's beautiful!"
I watched it drop lower and lower behind the Rocky Mountains
on my drive home,
reminiscing about how funny it is
that I got to be there for Mama Mia.
How, when I was her teacher all those years ago,
it was never even a thought that
I'd be involved in her life as a young pregnant mother.
And I thought about Rudy--
a quiet devoted family man,
that we only knew from Church,
and yet everyone loves his family so much,
especially in his absence.
I am indeed honored,
privileged to have been at his grandson's birth.

I pulled into the driveway,
glanced west towards the Rockies and
the sun was gone.