Baby # 7!!

It's 4am, and I am sleeeeepy, but. I just wanted to let you all know that I caught baby #7!!!

She and her mama are so sweet :) Now I need to get them settled in postpartum and maybe get a little nap in before shift change. I will post pics as soon as I can...yawn!

The Badjao

The last couple of days have been pretty quiet so I think I'll tell you a little about some of our clientele. They are called the Badjao, but we sometimes lovingly call them "Goodjao". They are sea gypsies, some nomadic, and some live in these huts-on-stilts over the water. This particular family has a long tradition of diving for pearls, and he and his father make them into jewelry. Some are cultured, some are not. All of them are real and beautiful!!! This shell has several uncultured pearls embedded in it. There are pearls sold EVERYWHERE here for crazy low prices, but it's way more fun to buy them from our Goodjao.

A very productive day!!

Today started out with a lovely brunch with one of my Supervisors, Erin. It was the most fun I've ever had doing paperwork!! We drank iced coffee, and completed the forms and evaluations for my first 5 births.

I went straight from that to swing shift. When I arrived, there was a labor waiting for me, that seemed to have a ways to go. She just kept smiling away, but wanted to be checked. She was 10cm but had a lip of cervix, so I told her to keep breathing through contractions. About an hour later she started pushing, and had her baby out in 30 min (first time mom!).

So that's baby # 6!!! 5lbs 8oz...So cute!!

Still, she just kept on smiling:) The only time she stopped smiling was when she had to be sutured. Not fun for anyone, but it was my first opportunity do it! It was more complicated than we had thought upon the first evaluation, but I did just fine.

Now it's nearly midnight, and I should really go to sleep!

Hugs!!!

Baby #4 and baby #5 pics!!!

Yay! I now have 5 catches!!! Another very smooth delivery, even though the mom had a heart-shaped uterus!! Now I'm off to the air con (air conditioned room with black-out shades) to get some much needed sleep. :)

Fun times!

Today was the day that the last of the second year students left for home. I only knew them for two (really intense) weeks, but they had a pretty big impact on me. Big hearts and gentle spirits.

They wanted to have a "buntis dance party" before they left (buntis = pregnant), so if you wanted to come you had to dress up 38 weeks+ buntis! It was hilarious and we all had a blast!!!! I was the only one in this crew who had actually ever been

"buntis" :) We walked down to the clinic so the girls on shift could join in the fun (it was a very slow night).

This sign is so random, I had to toss it in. It was on the window at the pharmacy.

I am just fine :)

First of all, I want to apologize for not posting for so long. This week has been full of Night shifts, and the second year students are leaving. So, there have been lots of events and holes to fill in the time where I'm not catching up on sleep. The girls that live in this house are truly a blessing, I will miss them when they go.

We have not noticed any typhoons or earthquakes here at the clinic (we are pretty far south from the earthquake). We have had some internet trouble, however, which has been a major contributor to the lack of communication (especially yesterday).

The last 2 days I wanted to post that I caught baby #4!!! It went very well, and I will see her for a postpartum/baby check today!!

My bana says that I need to start posting more often again...people are starting to worry :) He is so sweet! So that is exactly what I will do, provided the internet holds up.

I love and miss you all!

Baby J and misc.

Even when there are no babies to catch, there is plenty to do! There are always mama's and babies to take care of, rooms to prep, supplies to organize... and if those things are done, friends to get to know better!!!

Went to DMC again to find Baby J... another wild goose chase! At least he wasn't in the ER anymore, but he was tucked into another crowded corner. He and his mom were sharing a cot-like bed with another mom and baby, but at least it had a cushion! Still had an umbilical IV, but not O2. his mom still didn't know what the problem is, but it seems like the worst is over for now.

The in between time...

Today was a pretty mellow day. I had day shift, but I was 4th up (and 3 babies were born). However, one of those was a surprise preemie. By LMP, she was 38 weeks and was measuring at a normal fundal height for the Philippines. The baby was a little over 3 lbs, and by the gestational age assessment was between 27 and 30 wks. He had apgar scores of 8 and 9, which is crazy good, and had no problems breathing. His only trouble was a lack of a sucking reflex, which is a very big problem. So, unfortunately, he had to go to DMC like baby J. His care should be less complicated, since his problem is obvious, but please add him in with your prayers for baby J.I should be able to visit DMC tomorrow with my friend who caught the preemie. I'll let you know how it goes!

Before Baby J came, I had a small but fun adventure to a place called Hagimit falls on the Island of Samal. (I didn't really have time to blog about it 'till now) We left at 8, and were home by noon. It started with a boat ride to the Island, then a very

relaxing and beautiful motorcycle

ride through the countryside up to the falls. Really, the best part of the trip was the the ride

there and back :)

Baby J update

After scouring the hospital..and all of the seemingly random large rooms filled from wall to wall with children and their families, we were finally asked "did you check the ER?" We didn't even consider the notion, because (according to the second year student) That would be very unusual even for this hospital.

So, we gave it a try. There she was, holding baby J, all tucked in the tiny corner of the resuscitation room...right where we left them yesterday (24 hrs before)!! She stayed in that chair in between the baby tubs all night, hours after giving birth! It was so crowded we had to squeeze by a few sick children and the failing resuscitation of a premature baby to get to her. She gave us a huge smile and explained that her bana went to go get food for her. The baby did have an umbilical IV, and still had free flow O2. He looked better, but still had a little blue around his mouth. She didn't have anything to report, no tests had been done that she knows of.

Please continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Thank You!

PS this is a pic of about half of one of the rooms we looked through, packed with people. the ER room she is in is just 8x8ft.

It's just another day for you and me... pics added

No, I didn't go back to Paradise Island, I went to DMC (Davao Med. Ctr.). It is truly a terrible, terrible place, but it's the only option for our poorer patients when things happen that are out of our scope of practice.

I caught baby # three yesterday on morning shift. The labor was fast, and it went really well, but the baby came out really floppy. We had to use PPV (positive pressure vent.) but even when he perked up, his cry was really weak as was his tone. We kept him on blow-by O2 for 4 hours, and he seemed to be getting better, but as soon as I moved him from the O2 to do footprints, he started to fade. His color seemed to get worse when he cried, which is a bad sign. I put him back on blow-by and he pinked up, but decided to transfer him because he was too weak to nurse, and we were worried it might be a heart condition.

We could barely cut through the chaotic crowd. I can't really describe how awful this place was, and I couldn't believe I had to leave this poor little one in that mess. We were Squeezed into a tiny little corner and got the baby set up with their O2, prayed with his grandma, and then had to leave.

I will go to check on them after shift today... If I can find them. Apparently it isn't an easy task to locate people there even when they're checked in.

Please pray for baby J.

The day is not over yet...

Today was a very long day... not that it wasn't good. I had prenatals starting at 7:30, then skyped with my beautiful children and my mom for a while @ noon :) had a baby check (for 2nd one I caught) at 2:00. I did a little more skyping with Nate <3, and made dinner... a HUGE wok of cashew chicken (yum!). As it turns out, all of the full time 2nd year students(who were taking their final) didn't come to dinner, and others had shift. That left three of us, LOL! So we took our dinner up to the balcony and had a very cozy meal together. The second-years came home hungry and are now working on the wok. (BTW, the other giant pot is the rice!) There will be no left-overs tomorrow. Now it's time for me to get ready for night shift at 10. I really should have taken a nap, but oh well :).

Ahhh, Paradise!

Went to Paradise Beach resort with my friend Gretchen today. got a massage on the beach, soaked in the sun, and did some snorkeling. Fantastic!!!

Baby #2

Walked into swing shift today, and again someone was ready to pass on a mom who was fully dilated and pushing!! She was a primip (1st baby), and it was a pretty tight squeeze, but she did great! She lost a lot of blood, so I had to keep a pretty close eye on her for a few hours, but she walked out 6 hrs after birth ready to take her baby home!
I'm going to go fall asleep to a glorious thunderstorm, and hopefully go to "Paradise Beach" tomorrow. (if there isn't too much flooding)

My first Filipino Catch!!!!!

WoooHooo! I caught my first baby in the Phlippines today!

After a long but productive swing shift last night, I got to the house and caught up on some email Got to bed @ about 1am (had to chat with my bana) <3.

We all saunter in for "endorsements" (report for shift change), and one midwife was handing over a 9cm patient. The midwife in charge asked if I was catching yet, and I very calmly said I was, so she told me to head in there because she sounded "pushy".

Sure enough she was ready to go!... to the CR, that is. (CR= comfort room, which is what they call the bathroom or restroom). I tried to explain to her that it was the baby, and it wasn'

t more than 10min later that she had her baby in her arms!!! No laceration, no excess bleeding (two very common things here) Whew!

10 minutes of baby-catching, 3 hrs of paperwork :P But that's just the way it is. Her postpartum care went very smoothly, and I was able to discharge her before my shift ended.

Made Lisa's famous Hawaiian chicken for the house tonight. Everyone says "thank you" Lisa!!!

Um...Wow!!

Went with some house mates to the market yesterday, which wasn't the most pleasant olfactory experience to say the least. I mean I immediately slathered mint lip balm under my nose and it didn't even cut it a little. Eeeeew! That was the meat and fish side. The other side had beautiful and very interesting produce.

After that, I had swing shift (2p-10p) and it was soooo slow all day. I was on my computer posting pics and chatting with the other midwives... worried that I wouldn't make nearly as much progress as I had hoped. Then @ 7:00, just like that, 2 labors come in, and the one that had been putsying all day got super active. 3 labors at once usually requires 9 staff @ the pushing stage, but we only had 6. Needless to say, I finally got the 2 more assists that I needed to move on and get in the "catch" rotation. :) Yay!!

Some scuba pics...more to come.

I went with my house mates Gretchen and Jordan. We had a blast!

In between dives, we sat on the beach and had Buko Juice (young coconut).