Greetings! This is little Nicholas John. Born 6/10/08 at 10:01 pm weighing 6 lbs. 15 oz. I like him. 

This is his momma, Macaria, my continuity pictured two posts ago.....and below is her bana, Oliver....he's great.
So, I was already on swing shift and pretty busy. I had one patient who was pretty active and then I got a text from Macaria at 4:30 pm..."Ma'am Beth, busog (contractions) pas-pas (fast) and daghang (a lot) of dugo (blood) sa pwerta (you can guess that one!)." So I wrote her back very cautiously, "Maayo! (good!) Tubig imong pwerta? (your water broke?)" Next response, "Wala...I come see you? (No, now I come to clinic!)". I figured I would just check her contractions, see how she was faring, do an internal exam to find she was 2 cm dilated and send her home....NOPE!

By 5:30 pm, she arrived at the clinic....somewhat panicky aand quite in pain...I knew I would not be sending her home. Yup, 5-6 centimeters dilated and vital signs all normal. So I passed my other dear patient (who was almost pushing) to the next midwife and had to concentrate on my continuity...mind you, this is her first baby and even though she is 5 cm, she could labor for another 10 hours or longer!! ARGH! So, I prepared for a looooong shift and the possibility of no sleep for a very, very long time.

Tim came by the clinic to bring me more food (BLESS HIM!) and a tasty treat of Halo Halo (which was a life saver because it was cold and I was very HOT...sweating the whole time!). By 9:25 pm, Macaria was wanting to poop! A good sign! I told her to just breathe and we would wait a bit longer....she couldn't seem to poop. By 9:40 pm, she said, "Maam Beth....I REALLY want to poop! Can I poop?" So I got her to stand beside the bed knowing that she really didn't need to poop, the baby was just coming soon and it felt like she needed to poop! Sure enough, one little squat and her baby's head was just ever so slightly visible! She was pretty excited through the moanings and groanings....she quickly got on to the bed not wanting anyone to help her and began to push....

She push her baby's head little by little for a VERY long time....or so it seemed. And at 10:01 pm, her baby boy took his first breath...it was tough for him, but he did it in a pool of his own meconium...that's baby's first poo, if you are not aware. :) Sorry for the details, but they are pertinent.

So both mom and baby were doing well and the meconium seemed not to have any effect on the first couple hours of Nicholas' life....until about 1:30 am....I was still there, tired, worn, weary and REALLY sweaty! Nicholas' breathing started to get harsh....retracted....he was struggling, though all his vital signs remained normal. So I headed home and another midwife checked his breathing later during the night. Things seemed normal.

Then he came a day later for his first baby check....yellow, weak, sleepy, not feeding, losing a LOT of weight, high respirations and running a fever! His momma was apprehensive and not sure what to make of it all...she was still recovering herself! I referred them to a pediatrician and advised her to breastfeed as often as possible even if it meant waking little Nicholas every hour to do so. She took him out in the sun a bit and tried once again to breastfeed on the way to the pediatrician. 

The next day she came back to see me...apparently the baby was fine according to the pediatrician, but he still had lost even more weight, was still yellow, and refused to breastfeed more than 8 minutes. We prayed and she shared that she had another appointment with the pediatrician next Tuesday just to make sure he is getting better and not worse. Then she is coming to see me again to check all the vital signs and get an update. Please be praying for her little baby....he's a precious one.

In other news..... I heard from Weensee's momma today! He is doing great, drinking milk and eating well! YIPPEEE! Still on medication, but she is so grateful to the Lord knowing that he will make a full recovery in Jesus' name!

Tim is pretty fried and stressed as of late....but we're doing our best to trust the Lord regardless of the "fiery darts" we've been getting lately. If you could be praying for some serious financial protection, we would greatly appreciate it! God has been so faithful thus far, so we expect Him to continue to be so. :) 

Our little baby is doing fantastic (PRAISE GOD!)....everyone this week has been saying, "Okay, B...you look sooooo preggo now!" In other words...I no longer look fat! This is good! I think my belly must have popped in the last week....clothes just don't fit at all! :) And Promise is moving a ton....she moves books and plates all by herself now....my belly has become unfit in her eyes to be the table of any object. She loves to play trampoline games on my bladder and has only got me racing to the bathroom once to see if I peed myself from the crazy pressure! I am having minor contractions every hour or so now reminding me of the pending adventure I am just three months shy of and how quickly I need to get some things in order!!! We just bought our first baby item last week, too! A little dresser (see below!) we made into a change table made by a little Filipino man for 20-some bucks! Now we just need a crib, a trash can, and a shelf.....we'd love to get a rocking chair as well, but we'll see. Little by little we are trying to put some moola away to purchase an item here and there. Tim is especially excited to meet our little lady....he can't wait.

Thank you all for the many comments and encouragements this passed week...Tim is taking your advice and trying to take one day at a time. He is such a good hubby....and God is good all the time. Thank you for your prayers as we continue to seek and serve, grow and learn....be challenged and stretched. Be blessed!