Baby goats. Tiny hops, floppy ears, and enough personality packed into one little body to make anyone smile. Honestly, what’s not to love?

Well… the waiting.

This year, the anticipation was real. Knowing exactly when Martha had been exposed to the billy goat somehow made the countdown even harder. Every single day became a routine of checking the barn camera, peeking into the barn “just one more time,” and studying the goats for every possible sign of labor.

And Martha? Oh, she looked done. Huge. Miserable. Uncomfortable. The kind of pregnant where you just look at someone and think, “There is absolutely more than one baby in there.”

Then came the morning chores.

That’s when I noticed she was losing her mucus plug. Instantly, I knew: today was the day. A day filled with baby goats, excitement, and all the fun that comes with kidding season.

But of course… I had to go to work.

So there I was all day long, obsessively checking the barn cam while my husband played lunchtime reporter, sending updates from home. Martha showed little signs of progression throughout the day, so by the time I got home from work, I was thrilled thinking I’d get to actually enjoy watching the birth unfold.
When I checked on her, she definitely seemed to be progressing. I gathered towels, supplies, and all the “just in case” things every goat owner keeps nearby while trying not to panic.
​

About 45 minutes later, she started pushing harder.

And harder.

But something felt wrong.

There was no little hoof. No tiny nose. No sign of a normal delivery. I remember staring and thinking, What exactly is she pushing out?

Then reality hit. The baby was breech. And stillborn.

Martha had pushed so hard through such a traumatic delivery that afterward… she just stopped. Completely stopped trying.

My husband and I sat there stunned. Surely that couldn’t be it. We waited about 30 minutes because normally the next kid comes pretty quickly after the first.

Instead, Martha laid down and took a nap.

Cue the frantic internet searching.

One thing we quickly learned? Goat owners swear by a homemade labor-boosting drink:

• Water
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• Two crushed Tums​

The sugar and calcium are supposed to help kick contractions back into gear. The internet confidently told us we should see pushing again within 30 minutes.

“Okay,” we thought. “We’ve got this.”
Thirty minutes passed. Then 45. Then an hour.

Now we were at an hour and a half since the first delivery, and panic started creeping in. The excitement of baby goats had completely disappeared and turned into fear. Real fear.

We started asking the questions nobody wants to ask:
Do we call the emergency vet? How long can she go like this? Are we going to lose Martha?

I finally walked into the house because emotionally, I just needed a minute. I felt defeated. Sad. Helpless. I looked at Jeremy and asked, “What are we going to do?”

Then suddenly--

Through the barn cam, I heard a baby cry.

I don’t think I’ve ever run so fast in my life.

I burst into the barn and found Martha standing there with two more babies. One was already up and wobbling around behind her, partially cleaned off and full of life. A quick text to the house we have babies bring me gloves and towels. 

One baby still in the sack, Not breathing.

I immediately started blaming myself for stepping away. What if I had stayed? Could I have saved it? I tried everything I could think of, but deep down, I think the baby was already gone.

And that’s the hard part nobody talks about when it comes to farm life.

The adorable baby goat photos on social media? They don’t show the heartbreak, exhaustion, panic, and moments where you feel completely helpless. Sometimes kidding season is pure joy. Sometimes it’s devastating. And sometimes it’s both within the same hour.

But through all of it, Martha made it.

And watching that tiny surviving baby wobble around the barn later that night reminded me why we do this in the first place.

Because even after the hardest days, baby goats still somehow find a way to bring joy back into the barn.

And we have welcomed Chip....you know Minnesota Marthas Cookies are like the best Chocolate "Chip" Cookies.

It never fails, spring means fixing all the holes. Its like someone went around trying to see how long until we figure out where all the holes are .

A fence that can hold water can keep goats in. 

This is the part of farming that feels so defeating, its where we spend so much time doing all the things that are on the never ending to do list 

Each year we say the list will get done.....we dream, I mean dream that the list would get done.

But getting outside on weeknights makes the evenings feel like a million bucks. Now if Minnesota could just get it together when it comes to the weather that would be great!