Anticipating 8....

Greetings! This morning Tim left for Manila...then he's off to Butuan, then to Dipolog....he is meeting his dad somewhere in there and the Impact Nations team, as well. He will be teaching water filtration, sharing what the Lord has done here in Mindanao, maybe even preach a bit...(he's not too excited about that!) He will also be meeting with some old Filipino friends from his first trip up to Dipolog late last year! I am sure he will have plenty of pictures and I will be sure to have him write a very long post as soon as he gets home.


But for now, I am anticipating 8 days without my dear love. I hate when he's gone. I can handle the overnighters and even the two-three days....but 8 days just seems like an eternity. Yeah, people do it all the time and I am sure that my pregnancy hormones have tons to do with it, but the truth is, it's hard running the house and going to school and working clinic on my own....but it's even harder to be without my precious best friend. I know God will use him greatly and I know the Lord will take good care of me.....so I press on....on to a busy week of homework and babies.....Yesterday I had the enormous pleasure of delivering baby Jenelyn...pictured above. Her momma, Irene, labored well and after having two boys and one girl, she was so grateful for the second girl. Only weighing in at 5 pounds, this little muffin is so precious and thriving like a champ. Irene's bana was close beside her throughout and was such a joy to work with. What a great, but tiring birth!

So after trying to complete paperwork and baby baths, exams, and clean up, I forgot to eat lunch....and I began to get a little weak in the knees....and then something REALLY exciting happened....

Naomi was on shift with me and she had just received a new patient, Wilma. Wilma was fully dilated and wanting to push....so scurrying around, we got a birth cart set up, oxygen and prepared for Wilma's delivery. Ate Elsa was going to assist, I would chart the birth, and Ate Krys would supervise.

And then it happened....one baby came...healthy strong...but the momma's abdomen didn't get smaller....there was something or SOMEONE still inside! Immediately Krys jumped in with a doppler to find another heartbeat!! But it was so weak....we all started praying and Krys called another supervisor in to help....

Between Krys and Naomi, baby #2 was born....Identical twins! Ate Elsa was tending to the first twin, Krys to the second, Naomi to the patient and all the other midwives that popped in were racing to get supplies, oxygen for two, oxytocin for mom who was bleeding up a storm...and me... I was writing like a MADMAN trying to keep up with 5 midwives calling out information regarding Baby #1, Baby #2, and Momma. There were pulse rates, heart rates for three, injections, IVs, bloody bags and kidney basins, laundry buckets, oxygen lines and tanks, birth sets, scissors, and gloves being passes every which direction....me calling out, "NEXT CHECK, 5 MINUTE APGAR SCORE FOR BABY 1....1 MINUTE APGAR SCORE FOR BABY 2", Naomi describing the enormous placenta...."Round, complete, two three vessel cords, peripheral insertion...." and Every midwife available trying to clean the birth area and set up for postpartum.

The amazing thing is, baby number 1 was over 5 pounds and just a chunk with a BIG umbilical cord...healthy. Baby number 2 was only 3 pounds, skinny with a very, very skinny, little umbilical cord...but baby number 2 was the first to breastfeed and later, had the best baby exam! Talk about God's grace! We were praying she would survive and VIOLA, God does miracles.
So here is Wilma and her special twin girls....the talk of the town...twins are EXTREMELY rare at Mercy because we are instructed to transport them immediately during labor. But Wilma was already pushing when she arrived! So we had to keep her....and what a blessing. I was so exhausted and HUNGRY! I kept getting dizzy and baby Stewart was moving all over the place inside! I quickly grabbed a bite of tuna....then got back to work....then I had to pee...gosh, I was so weak, but the Lord sustained me despite the insane shift, baby checks, and excitement!

And then Tim bought me some McDonalds after shift. That helped enormously.

Naomi stayed well into the evening to make sure the little ones were thriving. Momma had to be transported for extreme blood loss, but we are all certain she will be okay. Please pray for her that the Lord gives her strength and energy, heals her body quickly, and protects these two precious twin girls from any infection or complication! What an emotional day! Thanks for praying.

Now I am off to attempt to finish the last bit of this gigantic assignment....I have two more days to do it....I could really use your prayers as I am really tired.....grateful and blessed, but tired. Homework doesn't come easy these days and I feel like my brain is literally being sucked out by my placenta or something....I make so many mistakes and while I am learning to have more grace for myself, it's really embarrassing to make so many silly mistakes in front of your supervisors....my brain feels like mush and I find it takes almost everything outta me to remember just the slightest details...like putting oxytocin on the birth carts....or remembering to sign my name on documents....I can look at the same page for hours and not see mistakes or things that need to be done...simple things that were so easy and almost mechanical for me before being pregnant.

And then I try to remember the miracle....the precious gift God is giving Tim and myself....And that He knows my needs, knew how my body and mind would handle the stress, and formed this little one inside before the creation of the world....so He will continue to be faithful. I know that without a doubt....but I sure could use the prayer!

Thank you for all your prayers and encouragements! Please continue to keep us updated. We love news from home. Be blessed!