"I was determined to do it if that would help him"

Two things in the mailbox today: a school district newsletter and the following, a birth announcement and thank-you letter from one of the women in my childbirth classes.

This young, Amish woman had a longish, tiring home birth with a sick baby who needed to transfer to a local NICU.

Her humble, self-sacrificing sentiments are, well, priceless.

I hope you see the beauty in what she writes, in her obvious transformation from young woman to *mother*.

~~~

August 30, 2010

Stephanie,

Hello! How are you doing? We are doing great. It's hard to believe that almost a week is past since baby [name, boy] was born. We came home from the hospital yesterday afternoon.

Thanks a lot for being here with us the other night. It helped me to not feel as much like giving up. I was so tired and worn out that I really didn't care much about anything, even when [midwife] told me how far I was dilated already. But it was all worth it. Thinking back, it just seems kind of like a dream.

[Baby Boy] was born at 10:13 a.m. - weight 8 lbs 8 oz, length 21". He has a nice amount of dark brown hair and bluish-gray eyes. Everyone says he looks like me or my twin brothers.

I had quite a time to get him started nursing. I wasn't allowed to breastfeed him till the second day, so I was pumping me out. He nursed real well the first two times, then after that he just pulled away and started crying. We tried giving him a bottle, but he refused that too. The doctor was very concerned then. They put a feeding tube down his nose and suctioned out his stomach and found out he wasn't digesting the milk. Now every time before I fed him, they would suction him out, then I would let him nurse as long as he wanted to, give him the bottle, and go pump me out. Usually by the time round one was done, I had to start all over again.

He was scheduled to eat every three hours, 24 hours a day, so I just about got no sleep. But I was determined to do it if that would help him.

On the fifth day, they let me feed him whenever he acted hungry, and I didn't have to give him the bottle anymore. He did good after that. :-)

Well, [Baby Boy] is taking a nap, so I should try to get one in, too.

Thanks again. I might call you once I am able to go to the phone.

Hope all is going well for you!

Your Friend,
Her Name
(Husband and Baby Boy too)
:-)