Lickety split, out comes another Woodruff girl! In a nutshell, Molly’s birth progressed exactly the same way as Lucy’s, minus the frantic car ride to the birth center. Six hour labor, twenty minutes of pushing in the tub, baby beat the midwife. If there were going to be a next time, we’d know to either have a midwife come live with us for the last few weeks or just plan on an unassisted birth!
About 9:30 on Thursday evening I started feeling uncomfortable twinges, definitely contractions and not the baby thumping and banging. I got Lucy settled down to sleep while Bob readied the birth tub. Our biggest concern was the right water level and temperature at the right time. The tub holds 600 gallons and the water heater maintains 30 gallons. We’d borrowed a giant water bath canner and Bob promptly started water heating on the propane stove outside, and put some lukewarm water in the tub.
Let it be noted that Molly came into the world in a room containing five typewriters, one of which played a crucial role in the birth (can you find it in this picture?) You can see Lucy sacked out on the couch.
We called Susie, the midwife, around 10:30 to let her know things were definitely cooking. I hung out in the living room, puttered with sweeping the floor and sitting in the comfy chair. Lucy woke up around midnight and Bob laid down with her on the couch. The contractions grew stronger and stronger and we called Susie again to update her; she was just getting in her car. Around 2:30am I got up and decided the tub sounded really good, so Bob got the hot water going from the hose, and set the canner boiling again.
As soon as I got in the water, I started pushing, which was NOT what I expected! I’d been so looking forward to laboring in the tub this time since I missed out last time! I wanted to step in the tub and feel the warmth and bouyancy melt away the pain of contractions! Well, okay, I know the pain would still be there, but the water lessens it. Blast, I missed my chance!However, the water still makes a peaceful transition for the baby from womb to world. Bob had been bustling around managing the hose, the pot of water, the phone, and me, but he quickly stopped everything and helped me through the last few contractions.
At 3:15, out came Molly Lavena!
You may be wondering about Molly’s middle name, Lavena. Here’s her namesake: Lavena Falls, Fiji.
Bob and I spent our honeymoon in Fiji and the hike on Taveuni Island along the Lavena Coast to Lavena Falls was a particularly special highlight.
It’s too beautiful to just share one picture!
Back in Newberg, Bob caught Molly and just as we were getting started admiring her and laughing that we had a baby all by ourselves, in whisked Susie and Kaylea (the midwives). They were both surprised and a bit disappointed they missed the birth, but suggested Bob might consider starting his own midwifery practice. Lucy slept through the whole birth, didn’t wake up until Whistler started barking when Susie came in! She was befuddled at the people and activity in the house in the middle of the night, but was excited about Molly.
Here’s Susie giving Molly a good looking over in front of the cozy warm stove. Susie has a wonderful air of calm confidence about her, which is exactly what you’d want in a midwife. When she walks into the room, you know everything will be okay.
Susie and Kaylea stayed for a few hours to make sure Molly and I were doing fine, Kaylea made some breakfast and got us settled into bed for a nice long morning sleep. What a wonderful way to have a baby, in our own cozy living room in the quiet of the night and right to sleep in our own beds.
Molly so far (now a week and a half old) is her father’s daughter. She sleeps. And sleeps. And sleeps. We see her sweet little eyes open for maybe an hour a day, otherwise she’s quiet as a mouse and sleeps through Lucy’s rambunctious couch-jumping, Bob’s home construction projects with power tools, everything! Ask Bob’s folks and they’ll tell you he was exactly the same way for the first two years: asleep. Hey, I’ll take it! It’s like having a little doll that poops a lot instead of a real baby! And yes, I realize this can change at any minute.
I’m working on getting some video up, here are a few more pictures to enjoy!
Brekkie with the girls
Lucy loves to decorate Molly with stickers
She's awake!
We're proud that all the waste from the birth didn't even fill a recycled plastic bag. We're not quite sure what to think about Bob's expression; perhaps he could use another nap.
Happy Green Family 