Three Billy Goats Gruff

***WARNING!!! GRAPHIC PICTURES TO FOLLOW!!!***

Me and Miss E keeping Meadow company during labor

     Meadow finally went into labor last night around 5:30pm. The kids and I were inside having dinner and I could hear her lower, quieter cry happening more frequently over the baby monitor so I slipped away quickly to take a quick peak. I figured I had about two minutes MAX so I made a quick assessment, and just happened to witness her having a contraction. I had the same ah-ha moment that I had with myself each time I finally went into labor. For days I'd question "Is this it? Could this be the beginnings of labor?" But when it is finally really happening I just know, and at this moment I just knew.

Meadow having a contraction during early labor

    
     I called Mr. J at work and told him that I was finally certain that Meadow had gone into labor. While he was wrapping things up at work to come home for our first kidding EVER, I was trying to calmly allow the kids to finish eating their dinner so we could all bundle up and head out to see Meadow. I hadn't even put my dinner on the plate yet and at this point I was too excited to eat anyway so I just put all of the leftovers in the fridge, wiped up the kids and the table and left the dishes in the sink to do later. 
     Mr. J arrived around 6:00pm and by then we were already out with the goats. Meadow seemed to be progressing nicely and was getting more and more vocal. By 6:30 Miss D and Mr. T were cold and bored, so Mr. J took them inside and agreed to let me and Miss E stay out with Meadow. I will forever be grateful for his willingness to let me stay by Meadow's side throughout her entire labor. Miss E has been obsessed with kittens and puppies and how they are born for quite a while now, so she and I had already talked about her desire to watch the baby goats come into the world. 
     We sat right in the kidding stall with her petting and comforting Meadow and she licked and sniffed us in between contractions and "told" us all about the pain as she contracted. Miss E was a little grossed out by the "goo" that came out of Meadow with each contraction, but otherwise seemed quite happy to be with me during this special occasion. We had a great time guessing how many kids Meadow would have, what colors we thought they might be, and whether we thought they'd be boys or girls. We told Meadow that we couldn't wait to meet her babies and even though, as Mr. J likes to inform me often, goats do not speak English, I am certain that she understood us. 

Right before Meadow began to push

     At one point Miss E told me that this was going to be "the best day of her life!" We had quite the tender moment together when she asked me if it was going to be mine and I told her that while this day will always be special to me, my favorite day was the day she was born. Upon hearing this she declared that this would be her favorite day as a kid but as an adult her favorite day would also be the day she becomes a Mommy! You just gotta love that kid. She is so wise beyond her years and this conversation is actually quite typical of ones we have on a regular basis. I will always remember and treasure our special one on one talks. 
     By now it was probably 7:15 and even though we were bundled, had a heating pad beneath the stall  and a heat lamp all set up, it was definitely getting cold! I half expected Miss E to run out of stamina, but she was still insisting that she was not too cold and wanted to stay to see at least one baby be born. Mr J. was listening to everything over the baby monitor from inside with the other kids and kept coming out to check on things every 10 minutes or so. I honestly have no idea how he was able to stay away as much as he did, but I will forver be grateful for him doing so and allowing me to "steal his thunder" and stay right by Meadow's side throughout her entire labor. It was truly an awesome experience and I will never forget it as long as I live.               

Meadow pushing. You can see the tail if you look closely

     Within the next fifteen minutes it became quite obvious to me that Meadow was in "transition." She was clearly unable to get comfortable, had begun moaning, rather than simply crying, and was starting to push a bit with her contractions now. By 7:30 she began to push consistently with each contraction and that's when I really switched into "Goat Midwife" mode. I was cheering her on more and more, rubbing her neck in her favorite spot and encouraging her as best as I could all while making sure that I didn't forget to alert Mr. J over the baby monitor to come once I could see a baby getting ready to come out. 
     I honestly completely lost track of time at this point. it was as if the clock just stopped. If you have ever been in labor (or been part of one I imagine,) you know exactly what I am talking about. Anyway, she only pushed 3 or 4 more times before I could see something coming and I called over the monitor for Mr. J to come out NOW or he may miss it. He soon appeared, with camera in hand just in time for the bubble to emerge and then a quick moment of panic rushed over me when I realized that what I saw inside that bubble was a wagging tail! I looked to Mr. J and said "I think that's the tail, what do I do?" In his ever calming way he replied "just let her do it." 

Sweet William entering the world backwards!

     It was at this moment that I doubted our judgement in encouraging Miss E to be a part of this. Was she ready to handle the harsh reality of this not ending well? Was I? Ugh! Too late to worry about that now I guess. With the next contraction, Meadow pushed and moaned with all her might and as I watched her struggle I thought to myself, "there's no way I am just going to sit here and watch her try to do this on her own. What does he know anyway? He's never given birth!"  So, with her very next contraction, I just went for it. I grabbed that slippery little bubble, yanked along as she pushed, and within seconds the first baby was out. 

Meadow meeting Sweet William

     As I was trying to get him to breath and help Meadow dry him off, the second baby just fell right out in the correct position onto the hay. I grabbed him, set him next to his brother and we started drying him off as well. Then, moments later a third black bubble emerged and I announced excitedly, "oh my gosh, there's another one...and he's black!" He came out in position right into my hands without a hitch and I broke the sac, got him breathing and put him next to his brothers as I dried him off as well. 

Sweet William, Timothy & Sawyer

     I was so in awe of how tiny they were. I don't know what I was expecting, but THEY WERE TINY...and skinny!!! I was actually a little freaked out when I pulled out the first one that he might not be alive or fully developed because he was so small and skinny. The only indicator that I had to let me know he was indeed alive and well before I broke the sac was the tiny rapid heartbeat that I could feel against my hand. Now I know what a healthy, live, newly birthed Nigerian Dwarf kid looks like.

Meadow is such an attentive Momma!

     By now it was probably close to 8:30 and Meadow was busy licking her babies and crying a constant, happy cry in between licks. It was so cute to see her with them. I sneaked a peak at each one two or three times not 100% sure of what I was looking for, but from what I could tell they all looked like Bucks to me. Miss E was pretty quiet and obviously still absorbing all of what she had just witnessed. She joked about naming the little black buck Aspen (one of our other doe's) since he looks so much like her. I suggested the names Sweet Wlliam and Timothy for the two white boys since they look so much like Meadow Sweet, their mom. Sweet William is a meadow flower and Timothy is a meadow grass. 

Timothy in front, Sawyer snuggled up in the back

     Once things settled down and it became obvious that all of the babies had been born (the afterbirth was hanging out,) Miss E finally decided that she was cold and tired, so Mr. J took her inside with the others to get ready for bed while I stayed in the kidding stall to swoon over the new additions to our farm with their very impressive mama. I was not about to leave her until I was sure everything was fine and that both she and the babies were healthy and comfortable for the night. I got the little black buck to nurse right away, but the other two were not showing any interest. 

The white boys look just like their Mama.

     At one point a little before 10pm I went inside to console Mr.T, who was just not settling down for the night without me, and that's when Mr. J saw Meadow finally pass the afterbirth. He got her cleaned up and also freshened the hay in her stall, and was able to get the other two kids to nurse. 
     We left mama and her three little boys all snuggled together on the heating pad under the heat lamp for the night and then I finally made it inside for dinner and a hot cup of cocoa before bed. I was so tired that you would have thought I'd birthed the three kids myself! But, it was a good kind of tired and even though we left the baby monitor on in our bedroom and I definitely slept with one ear open all night, I slept much better knowing that all was well. I find it very fitting that Meadow had her babies on the first day of spring and I couldn't be more pleased with our first kidding experience. I can't believe we get to do this two more times within the next month. It's certainly going to be a busy spring here on the farm! Now, our next adventure will be learning how to milk. I can't wait!

Blissfully Yours, Mrs. J :)