New Year’s Day. The poinsettias had started to wilt. I checked her cervix and uterus while he placed her epidural. We took turns turning the little one away from being posterior. Early decels, then lates. Pitocin in one line, NS in the other. I set the table with sterile implements, more gloves, and containers for placenta. The grandmother kept quiet, it was usually her job to count with the contractions. He saw hair, we didn’t. After pushing for an hour, her temp was up and I called the NICU to come down for the delivery. We tried the kiwi vacuum extractor around three times and when it popped off twice, he pressed up on her stomach a dozen times before they heard her cry in a small shrill and we put her inside the warmer for a short while before she looked up at her mom.
