I don’t know why we must have babies born during horrible weather. I realize that Clementine came 18 hours before the rain started, but with almost 2.5” of rain all day, this hasn’t been an easy time for her.
She had a bit of scouring when I checked on her this morning, but she was still up and nursing, so we headed off to church, not sure what we would find when we returned.
When we got back, hours later, she could still stand to nurse but was shaking convulsively. After I fed the boys lunch, I brought her inside and rubbed her dry with towels warmed on the radiator. Joe was fascinated with her, and patted her head until I finally made him stop.
When she finally quit shivering, Isaiah and I took turns holding her as she slept for a couple of hours. Poor baby: it may have been her first deep, peaceful sleep.
When she started making sucking motions with her mouth in her sleep, I recognized that sign of hunger and returned her to her mother. Clementine immediately began to nurse, and stayed warm and dry for the rest of the day.
This felt like a triumphant moment in farming. I combined my knowledge of last year’s traumatic lambing, my experience parenting, and my gut, and came away with a living, healthy lamb. I like that.
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