My dear friend Michelle has had both her babies at home with me, it's just how we do it. Over the years our friendship has grown, Michelle even spent some time as apprentice between babies one and two. But then the unthinkable happened and Michelle's husband Ryan was relocated to Ohio for work. Yeah, Ohio. Well they have phones and internet in Ohio but still I was so sad to see them go, my little baby-friends in tow.
We were managing just fine until Michelle drops bombshell #3, due in early July. Ahh man, how am I going to manage carting all my kit to Ohio for a birth? And who would assist? Is that even legal? Ok, looks like you're coming home for a while Michelle. And this seemed like a good idea until it actually came time to strap two year old Oliver and four year old Lacy into the minivan for the 2,500 mile trip to Cali. Oh yeah, she was 9 months pregnant too thereby assuring they would get to visit every roadside and diner bathroom between Cinci and SF. The fun really started when they got to Winnemucca and met up with the National Junior Rodeo Championship crowd in the middle of the night in a windstorm, I couldn't make this stuff up.
Michelle and family arrive and our house is bursting at the seams but I'm overjoyed to have my best sister-friend hanging out on my sofa and her babies giving me oatmeal kisses every morning.
We laughed, we cried we waited for baby#3 to come, and waited, and waited. At 42 weeks Michelle finally starts real baby-having labor and perfect beautiful Ashby Elizabeth is born into her mother's hands at 2:42 pm on July 13, 2008. The baby is immediately surrounded by her dad, big brother and sister and my children Evan and Erin. What love! Tears and hugs and oohs and ahhs, all babies and mamas should be so loved up at birth.
While this birth wasn't easy for Michelle, are they ever? and wasn't easy for me, being midwife and friend is a lot of space to hold...I wish every family could experience such safety, love and care around birth.
I got to watch Ashby grow and bloom for the next week before Michelle strapped all three (three!!) kids into the minivan to head home. Having a baby without medication is child's play compared to a cross country trip with three youngins, you're a braver woman than I Michelle!
Welcome Ashby, we love you!
