Kim Warren Cabillo

Greetings! My Tim is coming home from Manila this evening! YEHAAAAWWW! I will have him write the next post complete with updates on his trip and pictures, too. But first....

I got to welcome little Kim Warren Cabillo into the world this morning. His momma, Rowena (pictured above with her new son) came into Mercy at 6:05 am FULLY dilated and ready to POP... I had JUST begun my shift and could barely keep my eyes open....until Ate Elsa, who was on night shift, endorsed her new labor with...."Bethany, she is pushing...."

I jumped up not even knowing her name or who she was talking about and donned gloves and a pink pad.....

And went and met my new patient....she was certainly pushing, but nothing seemed to be happening...not even any opening. So my supervisor suggested she change positions to the birth stool....she pushed and pushed.....and baby's heart rate went down significantly.....we were somewhat concerned, but it was too late to transport and this baby just needed to come out....

She changed positions again to the bed and after many "Maayo Kaayo, Wen-wen!" (Very Good, Rowena!) and "Ginhawa!" (BREATHE!) And "Abre, Wen-wen!" (open up, Rowena!) and finally "Ha, ha HA!" (breathe while baby's head is crowning...DON'T PUSH!)....."VOILA!" (WOW!) I pulled baby out and it was followed by oodles and puddles of meconium. But Rowena did awesome and despite the difficulty in pushing, at 6:47 am, Kim Warren was born weighing in at 7 pounds 3 ounces. And he is CUTE!


The sad part was that her husband could not be at the birth as he was delivery buns to a business, but came in time for the baby's bath and newborn exam.....all went well....he was VERY happy that he FINALLY had a boy after two girls! Praise God for healthy births! We prayed a blessing over Kim Warren together and I was able to discharge them before the end of my shift! Awesome.

And then, do you remember April!? She was my continuity from last month, but was transferred in a frenzy to DMC as a result of going into labor at 34 weeks....but then when she had her baby there, they found it to be FULL TERM! That's what happens when you are inaccurate with the timing of your last menstrual cycle! But she came into prenatal exams yesterday to visit me! And here she is with her son, Harl Christian.

She was excited to show him off and had many questions to ask about breastfeeding and his "yoohoo" as she referred to it... I will let you guess what THAT is. :) But everything is perfect with him...yoohoo and all.

AND, I finished my 3rd exam yesterday, as well.....not sure how I did, but I will continue to pray!

AND I took another continuity named, MJ! She is due in March and I am very excited to be able to take her as my patient. She is a high school teacher here in Davao and has high hopes of traveling abroad with her husband. It is her first baby and she is so nervous, but FULL of joy and excitement....she was more hyper and bubbly than me! I loved it! We had so much fun during her prenatal exam that I nearly forgot to give her a tetanus shot and remind her of her impending urine analysis! I am excited to get to know her and her family...her bana works for "Jack and Jill", a chocolate and cookie company unique to the Philippines....they make my FAVORITE yummy cookies called Milky Knots....Mmmmm...AND she is bringing me some goodies next prenatal! "I like cookies" (not candy, mom....COOKIES!...inside joke)

Anyways, today I actually felt like a midwife...I did! I felt a bit (though not totally) more confident and made VERY few mistakes today. I was so blessed. God is so faithful and good to me. And the most amazing part was that as tired as I was, I was totally enjoying myself and my birth shift team.

What a joy and a blessing. After quite a few days of transports and continuities delivering at DMC, today was a gift. I am truly thankful....AND MY BANA COMES HOME TONIGHT!!!!!!!

Be blessed.