Saturday, May 07, 2011

change subject to plan sort of saturday

Annie the Mastiff with six puppies

After four days without city power (EDH) - we got EDH in the night Friday which caused exuberant dancing (Troy) and much joy (the rest of us).  It is truly shocking how the moods of the expats are directly linked to the amount of electricity being provided.  Seems like we'd all be a little deeper than that.  But no. Not.

Our oldest daughter is visiting. We planned to arise early today and head to Jacmel to see our friends the Mangines and to maybe enjoy some swimming, beach, and Basin Bleu scenery.  We wanted Britt to see Basin Bleu because the one time we went there our faces hurt from smiling when we left; it was that much fun.

On Friday Gwenn wrote to say that much rain has been falling in Jacmel and Basin Bleu might not be very bleu - it might be Basin Brown and the river level might make it hard to get there.  We talked it over and decide to stick to our plan. Even if we had to skip getting to Basin Bleu we would get to hang with them and sit by the pool and enjoy a pretty drive.

Our kids started waking up at 5:30 this morning.  Why? Why? Why?  So dumb.  We have never convinced any of them that sleep is awesome and they should try it for longer stretches of time. As I made mental lists of what needed packing for our one night trip, at 6:30 Beth said:


The Jacmel plan went out the window and we went to Beth's house.  Britt and Paige stayed with Beth. I went with Jonna to help Nocelia with labor.  An hour later I switched and as Beth and Britt drove to the Maternity House, Paige kept watch over puppy labor.  In the five minutes that Beth and Britt were headed this way and I was headed that way, Paige was there alone for puppy number seven to be born.

Down the street Nocelia gave birth to a premature baby girl who is doing very well so far considering she is just shy of 36 weeks. Britt got to cut the cord at about the same time Paige was trying to revive a puppy just a half mile away.

All of this happened prior to 9am. The day has continued on in total unpredictability.  Another woman is in labor now but probably won't deliver until tomorrow.  Three more stillborn puppies were born. Some visitors from Korea showed up. Some visitors from Minnesota showed up.  In typical Haiti fashion, at bedtime last night we knew nothing of any of what took place today. 

Today was wild and fun. We have a new plan mapped out for family fun day again tomorrow.

We fully expect it to not happen. :)



Nocelia's baby girl ~ 5lbs
As of the writing of this post:
  • Annie is the proud Mastiff Mama of 4 girls, 2 boys and sadly the last four of the pups were stillborn.
  • Nocelia is the proud Mama to her seventh born child - a girl.
  • Junie is in labor with her first child and will appreciate prayers throughout the night and tomorrow. (Beth and Jonna midwives over all sorts of creatures appreciate prayers too!)