I have always had a fascination with repeating numbers. I suppose it started with my birth on 09/09 at 11:11pm. Many times repeating numbers have played an important part in my life, and at the very least have helped me feel as though God was giving me a little wink or friendly nudge to say he’s there with me.
Although I have attended births for just shy of 3 years now, this birth was my first one as an official Certified Professional Midwife. It was also out of the ordinary, in that this client was actually not my client, but the client of a midwife I was helping out (who amazingly had 3 clients give birth on 10/10/10).
One of the best parts of my job is that I am a protector of birth. As a midwife, it is my duty to be vigilantly aware of potential complications, yet fiercely patient and ever willing to sit on my hands when things are going smoothly no matter how slowly. This birth was one that taught me more of patience and trust that, provided mom and baby are doing well, and steady progress is being made, no matter what the pace, the baby will come.
As the hours came and went, and a lack of sleep started to wear on all of us, many times during I found myself kneeling at the side of the bed in deep prayer that God would help me trust and have patience and strengthen this Mom and her baby, as well as let me know if there was anything different that must be done. Ultimately, it was with a prayer that the client asked me to give out loud, that minutes later brought a beautiful pink baby girl into the world.
Minutes later we turned to my assistant and asked, “what time?” Of course all the long hours of labor of this strong, trusting mom and her ever supportive husband was all the more sweet at that moment, with the words “10:10″. What truly are the odds of that? A baby born after close to 24 hours of active natural labor, at 10:10pm on 10/10/10. There was no doubt in my mind that this baby’s birth was truly in God’s hands, as is every birth.
At least, it is easy to recall if someone born on 10/10/10 at 10:10. However, I love it very much when you said that giving birth to a baby is a sacred momentum especially for a mother. I never give birth to a baby, but highly respect my mom who delivered 7 wonderful kid who are now 6 of them are parents to 14 other kids. I like your writings very much Elizabeth, it makes me understanding more of being a real mother.
Thank you, Neneng. I really appreciate that. It sounds like you have a very blessed mother and family.