Chapter 5
"What?!" exclaimed Jim. This was the last thing that he expected to hear. Panic started to set in. He didn't know what he should do.
"There's no way we can continue riding. Do you have any blankets? We'll create a makeshift bed for her outside. It'll give me more room to help her," said Doris. Thankfully she was taking control of the situation.
"Yes, I keep extra blankets up there," responded Jim. "I'll go and get them." Jim got the blankets and spread them out next to one of the back wheels, so Mike could lean up against it.
"Norm, help get Melinda out of the stage and put her on the blankets," Doris told her husband.
"No! I don't want to stop. I want to have my baby in Dodge City!" cried Mike.
"I'm sorry, honey, but your baby has other plans. Whether you like it or not, you have to follow your baby's plans," said Doris.
Mike allowed Norm to help her get out of the stagecoach. She settled herself on the blankets. This was not how it was supposed to happen. Mike planned to be in Dodge for several weeks before she gave birth. She felt more pain in her back and her hand immediately went there. Doris saw Mike's gesture.
"Back labor," Doris said.
"What?" asked Mike. She was confused.
"You're having back labor. The pains in your back that you've felt on this trip are contractions. Trust me I know. I've had six kids and I had back labor with two of them," answered Doris.
"Ohhhh," Mike groaned. "I feel so much pressure, like I have to push."
Doris couldn't believe that Mike already wanted to push. This labor was happening way too quickly. There was no time to get help. "Let me check. As much as your body wants to push, you don't want to do so too early. That will make the bith that much more difficult," said Doris.
She checked Mike's dilation. Looking up at her, Doris told Mike it was time to push. Mike brought her knees up and parted her legs. She grabbed the wheel spokes behind her and prepared herself to push out her baby,
"Alright, on the next contraction, I want you to push out through your bottom," instructed Doris. "Don't use your face muscles. That's not going to help."
Norm and Jim were on the other side of the stagecoach to give Mike her privacy. They both knew she was in good hands with Doris. Hearing Mike's moans and cries of pain, both men were extremely grateful that it was the women, and not the men that gave birth. They both knew that they would never be able to go through the pains of labor and childbirth.
Mike felt her next contraction and pushed with all her might. She pushed for as long as she could, and then she had to catch her breath. Mike actually liked pushing. It seemed to ease the pain. Doris instructed Mike to push again. Mike complied. Just as she thought she would collapse from straining so much, the head came out.
"Melinda, the head is out. I just need one more big push from you and you'll meet your baby," said Doris, cradling the baby's head in her hands.
Mike looked down and saw the head resting in Doris' hands. Wanting to see the rest of her baby come out of her body, she kept her eyes open and pushed hard. Mike felt and saw one shoulder come out and then the other shoulder come out. Once that wide point was clear, the rest of the infant slid out with ease. Doris deftly caught the baby and Mike leaned back in relief. She did it, and most importantly, she saw her baby leave her body. Seeing that was something that Mike could not put into words. It was obviously an amazing thing to witness, but it was so much more than that.
Doris had taken her husband's knife and cleaned it the best she could. She used it to cut the umbilical cord. Earlier Mike had told Doris that she did have some baby clothing and blankets in her suitcase. Doris had gotten a blanket earlier and used it to clean the newborn as much as she could. She then cleared the infant's mouth and nose and slapped the bottom to initiate a cry. After being swatted on the bottom, the baby made its presence known loud and clear.
Doris wrapped the baby up and gave it to Mike. "Congratulations, it's a girl," she said.
Mike eagerly accepted the wailing baby. A girl. Her daughter. A miracle. Looking at her daughter, Mike could already see the baby would have her physical features, especially her hair. Thin wisps of auburn hair adorned the top of her head. She also noticed that the baby was rooting around her breasts. Mike carefully exposed one of her breasts and the baby latched on immediately and began suckling. The sensation took Mike by surprise, but she enjoyed it.
"Wait until you meet your daddy, little one," Mike whispered to her daughter. Mike continued to whisper. "Dan, no, Matt. I have to get used to calling him Matt. That's who he is. Matt, there's been a change of plans. I'll now be coming to Dodge with our beautiful daughter. I can't wait for you to meet her. I know you're going to love her as much as I do. We can be a family together." Mike decided she would wait to name the baby when she got to Dodge. She wanted Matt to be a part of the naming of their child. Mike believed he had a right to be included in choosing a name.
Doris had gone to give the good news to her husband and Jim. She told them the baby was a girl. She hadn't heard anything that Mike had said to her newborn. She returned to tell Mike that she wasn't quite done with the birthing process. She still had to deliver the afterbirth.
"You're going to feel what seems like contractions. When you feel those I want you to push," Doris told Mike.
"Okay," answered Mike, still mesmerized by her beautiful daughter suckling at her breast.
Mike was about to get ready to deliver the placenta. Suddenly, she wasn't feeling so well. "Doris, I'm starting to feel lightheaded." Those were Mike's last words as she started to blackout
TBC
