Heather locked her eyes on Carol, anxious and exhausted. “What do you think? Can I push yet?”
Carol looked hopeful. “I think,” she said, trying to sound confident, “that you’re not going to get any more effaced than you already are, and you seem fully dilated.”
Jane flashed a smile at Heather, while Jennifer let out a whoop.
“Thank heavens,” Heather said, relaxing a little and feeling a huge sense of accomplishment. “I never thought you’d say that. What do I do?”
Carol pulled the thin blanket, which was only needed for privacy since David had successfully heated the house to over eighty-five degrees, off of Heather’s legs, then positioned a stack of towels nearby and lit two additional candles. Ty had found the LPN at home, too sick and weak to be able to assist, leaving just the women of the house upstairs with Heather, while Ty and Jane’s husband, Gordon, waited in the basement with the children, ready to be called on if needed.
Carol moved quickly to arrange things around Heather’s legs. “Let me get set up. It should just take a minute or two. Once I’m ready, I’ll have you start pushing when you feel the next contraction coming on. If all goes well, we should have this baby delivered in just a few minutes. You excited?”
Heather groaned as another contraction began. “I’m excited to… have the pain…be over. Being a m…mother scares me…right now.”
Carol wiped her own forehead with a wet towel. “This will be nice having the patient tell me what’s going on and be able to help. Usually my patients just moo a lot or try to kick me.” She tucked a shower curtain liner under the end of the box spring, placed a bowl of water to one side, towels on the other, said a quick prayer, and smiled. “Alright, Heather. I’m ready. Tell me when the next contraction begins, then start to push, but not too hard to begin with. I’ll have you push along with the contractions. Alright?”
Heather nodded in relief and waited. “Okay, I can feel it beginning.”
Carol felt Heather tense up. “You’re doing fine. You know how hard your contractions have been. Match your pushing to the contraction, so you’re pushing the hardest when the contraction peaks, then ease back with it.”
Heather grunted and began to push, panting hard as she did so.
“That’s good, Heather. I can feel the baby’s head coming towards me.”
Heather bore down for thirty seconds, then held it. “The contraction’s ending,” she gasped. “What should I do?”
“Ease back on your pushing, okay. And take some good, deep breaths. Pushing like that is hard work.”
Carol coached Heather through a few more contractions, until the baby finally descended enough for her to grasp the baby with her fingers. She used both hands and tried to gently pull. “Just a little bit more, alright.”
“Aaaahhh!” Heather yelled again at the end of a contraction, sweat running in streams down her face. “It’s so hot in here.”
“The head is crowning, keep doing it. I think I can deliver the head with the next contraction, but it’ll require another good, hard push from you.”
Heather nodded, and waited, taking a sip of the water Jennifer offered. Ninety seconds later she felt another contraction building. “Here it comes!”
Carol guided the baby’s head as Heather tensed. “Remember, a long, hard push on this one.” Heather’s legs flexed, and Carol once again felt the baby descending through the birth canal. “You’re doing great,” Carol encouraged. “It’s coming! Keep it up.”
Jennifer and Jane knelt on either side of Heather, encouraging her as she struggled with the pain of the delivery. “I can’t do it,” Heather blurted, her strength giving out.
“You don’t have a choice,” Carol said sternly. “The nose is out, push hard!” she demanded, her voice rising to a shrill pitch in the otherwise quiet house.
Heather tensed again, took in a deep breath, gave a powerful push, and held it as long as she could.
“You did it!” Carol cheered. “The head is out; you can relax.”
Heather sunk back into the pillows, breathing hard, unable to talk. Jennifer once again held the cup to her lips. “Here, drink this,” she said. “You’re doing wonderful.”
Carol used a clean rag to wipe blood and fluid from the baby’s face. Gray, waxy vernix matted the baby’s hair tight against the scalp, and she dabbed at that while waiting for the next contraction to begin. “The hard part is over, Heather,” Carol said, smiling at the new mother, beads of sweat glistening on her forehead. “The baby looks small. I think we can get it all the way out on the next contraction.”
Heather closed her eyes. “This is so hard,” she mumbled. “Is it a baby or a basketball?”
Jane laughed and rubbed the girl’s hand. “It hurts like the dickens, doesn’t it? You’ll forget the pain though and probably have a couple more kids. I did.”
Heather shook her head. “This cured me. You’re looking at an only child.” She caught her breath and grimaced. “Contraction!” she said.
Jane and Jennifer both leaned in to help support Heather as she bore down, and Carol described the birth as it happened. “I’ve got one shoulder…doing good…other one’s out,” she said as she carefully pulled on the child as it emerged. “I see the cord…now it’s coming out. I’ve got him!” she said triumphantly. “Oh, wait. I mean I’ve got her. You have a baby girl. Congratulations!”
Heather collapsed back in exhaustion, too tired to speak. She smiled and tried to see the baby in Carol’s arms.
“She’s beautiful, Heather,” Jennifer said. “You should be so proud. You’re our first new mom since everything happened.”
“You told me if it was a girl you wanted to name her Madison,” Jane said. “Is that still what you want?”
Heather nodded weakly as Carol worked on the crying baby, its tiny, frail cries filling the living room. Jennifer slid over and helped cradle the baby while Carol wiped her clean, then wrapped her in a blanket before handing the bundle carefully to Heather. “The cord is still attached, so don’t pull too hard.”
Heather snuggled the baby tight to her chest and kissed her on her head. “She seems so tiny,” she said. “Any guess how much she weighs?”
Carol ignored the question as she tied strings around the umbilical cord two inches apart.
“Spencer, my last one, was a little over eight pounds,” Jennifer chimed in. “Madison looks smaller than he was. I’d guess maybe six and a half, or seven pounds at most.”
Jane nodded. “Her color is good. Nice pink cheeks.”
The baby’s cries quieted, and she began to root around.
“She wants to nurse,” Jane suggested. “You probably won’t have any milk yet, but you should put her on.”
“The cord’s cut,” Carol said. “So she’s not tethered to you anymore. You should still have some contractions to help deliver the placenta, but they won’t be as strong. I’ll cut the cord closer to her bellybutton when you’re done nursing.”
Heather shifted the baby and pressed her to her left breast, which Madison quickly responded to, trying to latch on. “Ouch. That hurts a little,” Heather said, wincing and wiping several strands of hair off of her face. “I can’t believe it’s over. It’s been such a long pregnancy.”
“Here you go; eat this,” Jennifer said, handing Heather a piece of bread. “Your milk should come in in a couple of days. It’s not as bad as childbirth, but it can sure get uncomfortable. Kyle liked it because it made my boobs bigger, but I never looked forward to that part of motherhood.” Jennifer paused, looking around at the women grinning at her. “Okay, not sure why I shared that with you. Don’t let that leave the room, alright?”
The women laughed. “He’s not the only one,” Jane responded. “I think it’s universal.”
Carol continued to work on Heather, with a large bowl between them, positioned to catch the fluids and afterbirth as she pulled gently on the umbilical cord. “If we were in a hospital, they’d be drawing blood, running tests, and taking samples. All that stuff makes a country vet’s head spin. It’s much simpler with animals.”