Sweet Pea the Pig 

My darling little pink pot belly pig has been one of my greatest joys .  She exemplifies her name.  All I have to do is call her and she comes to me know matter where she is .  She has total trust in me that I love her , will take care of her and will never bring harm to her.  Pigs by nature are prey animals so they are always weary of others and have the fight or flight reflex .  They are quick to respond to loud noises or new situations and often times with defensive behavior.  She was recently pregnant with her second litter.  I moved her out of the pen with the others and into a private pen with soft straw in preparation for the big day.  I have been checking on her many times during each day thinking “ today is the day”.  My husband and son were  recruited to do the same.  It became so routine that they started to believe that maybe she was never going to give birth. I was beginning to wonder if she was becoming way over due. 

One Saturday morning I had to go into work ( which is unusual as I normally donʻt work on Saturdays).  I checked on her as I normal do and noticed that she was lying on her side . I didnʻt think much of it and I tossed her food in as usual.  What I did notice was that she did not get up right away for her food .  She did get up but a bit slower than normal. I just thought that she was moving slow because she had gotten so big. I was really just focused on getting to work on time. However I could not ignore the still small voice inside of me that said,  “ She will give birth today”.  I mentioned to my husband  and son that I thought that today is the day for Sweet Pea and could they please check on her .  He and my son were watching TV and they just grunted “ OK” and continued to watch their show.  

I left for work which was to see a home health patient. All of my thoughts and attention were on work. When I had finished with the treatment session I called home to tell my husband that I was done and wanted to go do some errands. As an after thought I asked him to get my son to check on Sweet Pea. I could hear my son through the phone saying “Thereʻs one baby pig in with Sweet Pea!”  

“What!” I yelled .  All I could think was how I knew she would give birth today. But I did not pay attention to the still small voice.  I told my husband I made a change of plans, I was coming straight home instead. So I asked him to please make sure she was alright until I could get there. All the way home I could feel excitement welling up inside. I just kept smiling and thanking God. I love all the birthing times on my farm. The idea of new life  fills me with awe.  

When I arrived I quickly changed clothes and went to Sweet Pea.  Sure enough there it was. A tiny little pink baby pot belly pig. How precious it was. Sweet Pea was lying on her side. It was noticeable that she was breathing a little heavy but it was not so to be too concerning.  Or so I thought.  I was anxiously awaiting the next baby to be born. After about an hour I became very aware of the fact that nothing was happening. Nothing.  She wanted to lay down but had no other symptoms.  After about 2 hours she began to shake a little and breath a bit hard but still nothing . I decided to research and found that if no other babies or the after birth do not come within 30 minutes of the first birth concern should begin. Oh boy.  The next instructions were quite specific.  I must enter the pig to retrieve the babies or facilitate the passing of the after birth.  I systematically got my supplies. Although I had never done this before I knew that I must if I was going to save Sweet Pea.  First I cut my fingernails .  Then I gathered together my disposable rubber gloves, and corn oil .  I removed my jewelry and had my son look up the anatomy of a pig on his phone to provide some sort of guide for this procedure.  I tried at least 5 different times but each time I was unable to complete this as she was very uncomfortable and would not let me .  I knew very soon that  the outcome was completely in Godʻs hands.  I know as basic knowledge that all things are in Godʻs hands but I was acutely aware of this as I starred at my beloved Sweet pea. 

I noticed that she was feeling warm from the summer heat so I set up a fan to blow gently on her .  I wanted to let her know that I loved her and was there for her so I spread out an old blanket on the soft straw next to her in the pen and I laid down next to her. She loved to be rubbed behind her ears and on her belly .  I began to sing songs to her while rubbing her.  I knew that she felt loved and I knew that she loved me. The connection was amazing. I rolled over and wrapped my arms around her as if to give her a big hug placing my head next to hers.  I prayed to God for safe keeping. I told God that I knew that Sweet Pea was his little pig and she was given to me for safe keeping . I asked God to please heal her and let her be pain free. We fell asleep together for nearly 5 hours.  I woke up suddenly and checked on her and checked the time.  Too much time had gone by with no change.  I continued to pray.  My mother came by on her way home from errands and checked on Sweet Peaʻs progress.  She noticed that she was beginning to move around a little and thought that maybe she would begin to give birth again. To our surprise a baby came falling out!! A healthy baby girl!  This was truly a miracle.  From all that I had read and learned it was unheard of to have such a large amount of time between deliveries of babies in mammals.  Death was surely imminent with this much time lapse.  Or so they say.  Within 30 minutes out pops another !  Another healthy baby girl!   After 30 more minutes out pops another baby! A healthy baby boy!  Sweet Pea was lying on her side and began nursing all of her new babies. What an amazing site to see.  I knew I was witnessing a miracle. I had prayed for help for Sweet Pea and God answered my prayers. I was reminded that God always answers prayers just not always in our time or the way we want it.  I was so thankful that he answered my prayers.  I knew that it was not over yet though.  She had to pass the after birth to ensure her own safety and good health.  I continued to stay with her for 4 more hours but nothing happened . Again I placed Sweet Pea into Godʻs hands.  I felt that I could go in the house and go to bed. I knew that I had done everything that I could do. God was in control.  At 4 in the morning was prompted to go outside and check on her . Low and behold she had indeed passed the after birth. I knew that God had awakened me so that I could witness this. I went back to bed comforted.  By morning Sweet Pea and her 4 healthy little ones were walking all around the pen just as happy as ever . I had witnesses a great miracle.  For most people this would seem very trivial.  For me I knew beyond any doubt that it was truly by the hand of God that Sweet Pea and her babies had survived.