The Biggest Gift of All

This little love was the biggest gift of all arriving on Christmas morning! Jeanne' thought she was in labor on Sunday, December 21. That was the first night I stayed over to support Jeanne' during her labor. We quickly figured out that she had a pattern of having a lot of contractions at night that were almost gone by the time the sun was up. I went on to work on Monday and took care of things at home Monday night knowing I could quickly get there if things picked up.
Tuesday, December 23, I went on to work, but soon they called saying that contractions were still steady and the midwife was coming to see if this might be the day. I left work to be there with her and we expected a baby soon. The midwife determined that she was a ways off from delivering and advised Jeanne' to get some rest. I worked at Mom's house and we had a pretty easy day waiting for things to pick up. True to form, they started to pick up as evening approached. Jeanne' was working much harder now and we thought for sure a baby would be there soon. Around 8 o'clock that night the midwife came back and determined that a little progress had been made, but delivery was a ways off. I stayed through the night trying to support her as she worked through each contraction. Again, around daybreak the contractions almost stopped and Jeanne' decided to get some rest.
At this point it was Christmas Even and I decided to go home to see the kids and take care of a few preparations there. I waited for them to call me to come back, but the afternoon passed with no word and I went on to church with Aaron and the kids. Dad joined us there and came back for Christmas Eve dinner while Mom stayed with Jeanne'.
I went to bed a little after midnight because I was just worn out from all the nights without sleep. A few minutes later, Aaron brought the phone saying it was Mom. Jeanne' was asking for me and labor was moving along. The midwife had determined that the baby was head down, but she wasn't lined up straight making it hard for labor to progress. Jeanne' had done exercises and movements during contractions to try to straighten up her head and move labor along. I arrived around 1 a.m. and Jeanne' was working very hard and diligently doing all the midwife asked of her. Around 2:30 a.m. she got in the tub to start pushing and at 3:45 Olivia Claire was in her arms - a perfect little Christmas gift! We could not have been more thrilled for her! Olivia weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces and was 20 and a half inches long.
Jeanne' was a warrior momma and had the birth that she had wanted - at home and in the water. I couldn't be happier for her. Now I get all the newborn snuggles without the sleepless nights!

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