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I Delivered My Baby on the Side of the Road

Blog / Produced by The High Calling
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Editor’s note: Karyn's small business serves women affected by human trafficking, slavery and poverty. As we began this series on orphan care, she conceptualized a way to obtain birthing kits for Haitian mothers (Epidurals not included). Then Amy wrote a crazy story about delivering her daughter in a less-than-ideal way, which led to this clever highlight of Karyn’s project. This is High Calling community working together. I’d like to pay it forward.

I delivered my baby on the side of the road.

True statement. I birthed my second born, this toothless grinner below, on I-26, smack dab between Exit 18 and Exit 19. Sweet Ruby Catherine came screeching into the world surrounded by one foul-mouthed mother, one dazed father, two inexperienced EMS workers, and one much needed Good Samaritan.

Lessons learned from delivering my baby on the side of the road?

  • When they say your second baby comes faster than your first, they mean from the first contraction to holding the little bundle of joy could happen in under an hour and twenty minutes.
  • When you see emergency vehicles on the side of the road, don’t assume everything is under control.
  • All strangers aren’t bad. Some strangers turn out to be nurses driving along the highway.
  • God teaches you lessons about strangers and giving whether you think you need to learn them or not.

So why all the roadside delivery talk now?

Baby Ru A couple of reasons. The smiling chunk here turns two very soon, and her grand entrance into the world pushed me to think about the Delivery Kits Craft Hope is currently collecting (very basic supplies needed to help women delivery babies in Haiti). Plus, I was wondering if there’s a way for people to get involved with Craft Hope without having to buy the supplies, make the kits, and then send them off.

Idea!

My friend Karyn, from Delicate Fortress Creations, has put together Delivery Kits to send to Craft Hope for $8.50. For $8.50 you purchase an alcohol wipe, bar of soap, plastic sheet, latex gloves, receiving blanket, Purell packet, clean string, a gallon zip lock bag, and a handmade stuffed animal. Karyn collects the supplies, and she sends them off.

Is $8.50 more than you want to spend? There’s another option. For only $2.50, you can pay to have the kit shipped for someone else. Nice. Yep, you can get involved for only $2.50. Now, obviously I'm not comparing myself to women in Haiti, but coming from someone who didn't have her baby hospital-style, I really see the value of a plastic sheet. Too gross? Sorry.

Please go see Karyn about premade Delivery Kits, or take a minute and check out the project directly through Craft Hope.

Image by Kristin Moat, with permission via Flickr. This post has been reprinted from Amy Sullivan's blog.

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The Idea Camp will gather on February 25-26 in NW Arkansas to focus on the issue of adoption and orphan care. Inspired by this event, we are sharing stories related to the high calling of orphan care. If you have a story of your own to share, post a link at our introduction to this series, Caring for the Little Ones.

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