Chapter 10

"How much longer can this go on," Abigail Beaumont asked me. "I just don't think she can take much more. It's already after 3:00 in the morning and the baby hasn't moved any, what can you do?" I clenched my fists in frustration saying, "I don't know," looking at my wife lying on our bed. Gabby's clothes and hair were drenched in sweat, she was so weak she could barely open her eyes and hadn't been able to push the last couple of times she had a contraction. Even though I hated to do it, I had to make a decision. Turning toward Abigail, I said, "I think that I will go ahead and give her some laudanum for the pain and help her to relax. When she seems to be out of it, with your help and Bet and Addie's we will place her into a delivery position, hoping it will apply enough pressure to the baby's rump, pushing it further down.. I believe its head is in place but hasn't advanced. I can feel the top of the head with just the tip of my finger but nothing more. I fear it's been in the birth canal so long that it may be in distress. Are you ok with this?" I asked. She replied, "anything at all that will move things along. I don't want to lose the baby, but I certainly can't lose my daughter. She only seems to be briefly aware of what's going on and she no longer has any strength. Do what you must," she declared.

I reached for my bag and explained to Bet and Addie what they were going to do, they looked at each other nervously, but agreed to help. Putting a measured amount of the liquid into a small tea cup, I went to sit on the bed beside Gabby. As I cradled her head I whispered to her how brave she had been and that, as I had promised, I was going to give her something for pain. I helped her to take the laudanum and then a small sip of water to remove the taste from her mouth. She smiled up at me and whispered, "You are the best ever. Please help our baby," and then she closed her eyes and drifted off again. I gently laid her head down on the pillow and felt her pulse. I then told Bet and Addie to get some towels from the bathroom and to heat some water. I also told them that it would take about 20 minutes for the medicine to take effect and to get themselves some coffee and to take a break.

After they had left the room, I turned to Abigail and said, "I fear the worse has happened. I don't hear any heartbeat but Gabby's, and there is no movement when I press on her stomach, not even a slight resistance."

Abigail reached for the rocker as she sat down. "I fear that this birth will cause my daughter lots of heartache, bad memories and a since of loss. She may never recover and who's to know if she can or will have any more children." "I never thought that she would have had such a difficult time. All of my children were easy births and I was a lot smaller than Gabby. Her recovery without the baby will be a long and stressful one. I know it has got to be just as hard on you being the father and her doctor. I know that she could not have been in more capable hands," she said with a slight smile.

I just smiled back at her, "At least the pain medicine will help her to forget most of what is going to happen. She will go to sleep and when she wakes up all of this will be faint memory. If you would please keep an eye on Gabby, I am going to go downstairs and re-supply my medical bag of anything that I might need. Just feel the pulse in her neck or wrist and let me know if it gets faint. I will only be gone a moment." Abigail nodded her reply as I left the room.

After a few moments she started to feel restless, she went over to check on Gabby and to bathe her head with a damp rag. She then wandered around the room taking in her surroundings. It seemed her daughter had made a right nice home for her family. The curtains were sewn from a material she had remembered Gabby storing away in her hope chest, along with some embroidered pillows that lay on the small lounging chair in front of the window. Eyeing a small stack of books she went over to look at them and recognized some from Gabby's own childhood, laid out in anticipation of reading them to her own child. The small cross-stitched homily "Home Sweet Home" hung on the wall above her dressing table which, of course in the usual Gabby fashion, was neat as a pin and everything in it's place. She then eyed the hateful tub that had been stored back into Gabby's dressing room, whatever had she been thinking to take a bath as large as she was. But, that was Gabby in every way, much like herself, though she hated to admit it.

She turned as she heard footsteps and saw Addie coming into the room with a tray. "I thought you might like some coffee, I wasn't sure how you took it, so I put some sugar and some cream on the tray along with a small sandwich. I figured you need to keep your strength up to help Miz Gabby." "Thank you for being so thoughtful, Addie. As I said before, my daughter thinks of you, Bet and Thomas, as family and has mentioned so in her letters home, several times. I appreciate that you are here to help her since I am so far away," Abigail replied as she took her seat in the rocker and placed the the tray on her knees. Addie nodded her head in thanks and went over to check on Miz Gabby. "I shore do think highly of her and the doc, they fit right in here just like they had lived here all their lives. They have always been good to us. But, I fear that this little household will be sufferin' some heartache before daybreak gets here," and wiped her eyes with her apron.

Abigail had nodded in agreement as I came in to the bedroom. "How is she?" I asked. "Just fine doc, I just felt her pulse and it's slow but steady. Reckon how long she will be under before she comes to?" Addie asked. "I gave her enough that it should last about 8 hours. Long enough to deliver the baby and to let her rest some afterwards," I replied. Bet came into the room with a fresh pitcher of hot water and some towels. "I had these towels in the oven on a low heat keeping them warm. Thomas is just at the foot of the stairs and will stay there. He said just to holler down at him if you need somthin' he will fetch it," she said. After she had laid the towels down and set the pitcher on the table, she went to stand by Addie, at the head of the bed.

I gave the three women in the room a grim look, "I feel that I have to take drastic measures," I said. "Gabby won't feel anything at all, and at some time we will have to be a little rough with her, but we have to deliver the baby." "Please just follow the instructions I give you and if I forget to say please or thank you, overlook me. When we start we will have to move fast, once we get the baby far enough down I have to remove it or it may slide back into the birth canal, causing distress on Gabby. If you feel that you can't assist me, let me know now, I can't have anyone leave in the middle of the procedure," I said as I looked at each of them. They each nodded their head in agreement.

"OK, let's get started," I said. "Abigail I need you to move the pillows from behind her head, we will get her into a sitting position and your job will be to keep her that way, also to keep feeling her pulse making sure it is steady, you have to let me know if there is any change at all." Abigail moved to the head of the bed and begin to remove the pillows from underneath her daughter's head. Addie helped her onto the high, four poster bed and to get into a kneeling position behind Gabby, struggling to keep Abigail's dress and petticoats out of the way. When she had finished she looked back at me.

"Addie, I will need you and Bet to get on either side of the bed and each hold a knee, keeping it in a bent position so that I can have plenty of room to maneuver the baby. I am hoping that the position Gabby will be in, will be enough to push the baby down far enough so that I can reach it. Is everyone ready? Then let's get started."

Abigail put her arms under her daughter's armpits to help support her in a sitting position. I slid the sheet just up to Gabby's knees to help keep her covered and to provide a drape. I had moved a small bedside table close enough so that the lamp, turned up high, would provide the light I needed to complete that task. Bet, on one side of the bed and Addie on the other saw him nod and they each pulled a knee up as I had instructed.

"OK," I said, "I can just feel the top of the head. Abigail I need you to use all your might to push Gabby higher up into sitting position and then forward, Addie, Bet pull her knees up harder. OK, OK I feel it moving down, keep holding her, don't let up." "Here it comes, I can get my fingers under one arm, keep pushing, pushing. OK, STOP!!"

The baby was out and lying in my hands. It had to have weighed no more 5 pounds. From the way it looked one of the hips had been dislocated and it had lodged so that it could no longer move forward. I slowly rubbed its chest, willing life into it. I then rolled it over facedown, onto my hand and massaged hoping against all hope that it would move. Addie and Bet had slowly lowered Gabby's knees and covered her, Abigail moved from underneath her daughter's head and slowly eased her down on to the mattress. They all three moved to stand behind me and to look down at the little baby who was going to bring so much joy into their lives. My tears were bathing the baby as I cradled it into my arms. Abigail slowly reached for the baby wrapping it in a clean towel and nestled it next to where Gabby lay sleeping. She heard me stand and turned to look as Addie held her in her arms while I sobbed like a small child. They all had tears in their eyes as Thomas slowly stepped into the doorway, keeping his back turned away from where Gabby and the baby lay on the bed. I straightened and said, "I have to finish her delivery, I still have to remove the afterbirth." Thomas and Bet stepped outside the room and pulled he door shut. I then pushed Gabby's knees in to a bent position and instructed Addie to massage her lower stomach. When they had finished, Abigail and Addie took over, cleaning Gabby up and freshening the sheets around her. I held the baby close as they changed Gabby's nightclothes and bathed her face, pulling her loose hair back in to a bun.

"We need to do something about her milk, it will be letting down soon," said Abigail. "Should we bind her up in cloths?" she asked. I did not respond, walking back and forth with the little bundle with the faintest red curls on top of her head, whispering. I had cleaned the baby and finally walked over and laid her next to Gabby, swaddled in the hand stitched blanket Gabby had made stating when she had finished, that it was going to be the first receiving blanket and always the favorite. Abigail walked over to him and placed her arm around his shoulder saying, "Whatever is my little girl going to do now?"

All of a sudden Gabby moved, and everybody froze. How were they going to tell her about the baby? I thought I had at least a couple of hours before she woke up, looking at his timepiece. Gabby slowly wrapped her arms around the baby and nestled it's head under her chin and drifted back to sleep.

I was in such despair, pacing back and forth, muttering to myself as if I had a decision to make. With a jerk of my head I asked, "Where are Thomas and Bet?" Thomas tapped on the door and slowly opened it. "What do you need doc?" he asked. I saw that he had been crying and that Bet's tears had wet his shirt where she had laid her head for comfort.

"I have made a decision, and I am going to have to ask that all of you be party to it. As much as I hate to do it we are going to lie to my wife." They all looked at him as if he had lost his mind, whatever could he be talking about. "James," said Abigail placing a hand on his arm, "Maybe you need to lie down, you have had as much as any man can stand for one night." I shook her off and said, "Listen to me, losing that child will be one of the worse things my wife, the love of my life, will ever experience. My job is to love, provide and protect her and that is what I am going to do."