The most wonderful time of the year is quickly approaching. Kidding season!!! Don't let me fool you, though. It's also the most stressful time of the year and it tends to bring out my craziness. Here are a couple of short true stories for you.
Ambien and Late Night Checks Do Not Go Together
Until the moms-to-be decide to let us know exactly what time they will be kidding, every 2 hour checks are a necessity. All we have to do is run outside and make sure no one is having contractions, but it tends to be a difficult task when you're Ambien(sleeping pill) drunk. It's no secret....I'm an insomniac. Always have been. And for many years, I did take Ambien to help me sleep. If it wasn't for the random late night snacks and strange activities such as cleaning the house, it did help me sleep....sometimes a little too soundly. One night, Josh woke me up and told me to get dressed, so we could go and check on everyone. I stumbled to the bathroom and threw on my "crap" clothes and ventured into the kitchen where Josh was waiting. Then, he just stared at me like I was some sort of alien. I said "what?". He told me to go back to bed. I still couldn't figure out what he was talking about. He told me to look at my hoodie. I looked down and saw that my hoodie was on backwards, with the hood actually covering half of my face. Yep. It was best for me to just go back to bed, and he took care of that momma check. No more Ambien for this girl.
Kiddings Bring Out My Crazy Side
For those who have been lucky enough to experience a kidding with me, I apologize. Mix anxiety with the craziness of my babies being in pain, I tend to have a short fuse and no patience. Only a handful of people have seen this side of me. Poor Farmer Riley.....it's a good thing he loves me. In 2015, Riley was here when we kidded. It was his first time being present for the kiddings. I was outside doing an afternoon check on the pregnant girls, and sure enough, Molly was in labor. I ran and yelled at Ri to come out and help me. He had just pulled his pizza out of the oven and said "what about my pizza?". I told him to bring it with him and eat outside. He slowly meandered his way into the kidding area, munching on his pizza. Just to make things more exciting, it started to rain. I was prepared, though!!! I brought Ri a raincoat. I threw it to him and told him to put it on. After what seemed to be 5 minutes, I shouted "what are you doing? What's taking you so long?" He responded with some mumbled words I couldn't understand. I turned around and realized I had accidentally brought rain pants, and he was trying to put them on as a coat. He had his arms in the leg holes and was desperately trying to find the hole for his head. All I could do was laugh. It was one of those moments we'll never forget.
With all of the stress that comes with kiddings, it's so worth it once all of the kids are on the ground and are healthy. I could never count how many times I smile and how many times I laugh throughout a day. Baby goats keep me young at heart. With 10 moms due within 8 days of each other, I should be extra young this kidding season. Wish us luck!!!!!
